Podcast

A Christian Worldview and Science in Apologetic Perspective: Introduction

Audio from a video for NLA University College course module: 'A Christian Worldview and Science in Apologetic Perspective'.

Recommended Resources

• John Lennox, Has Science Buried God? Second edition (Lion, 2009), chapters 1 & 2
• J.P. Moreland, Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology (Crossway, 2018)
• Del Ratzsch, Science and Its Limits: Natural Sciences in Christian Perspective (Apollos, 2000)
• Peter S. Williams, ‘The Dawkins – Lennox God Delusion Debate: Three Philosophical Problems with Dawkins’ Worldview’ http://podcast.peterswilliams.com/e/the-dawkins-%e2%80%93-lennox-god-delusion-debate-three-philosophical-problems-with-dawkins-worldview/
• Peter S. Williams, ‘Apologetics in 3D’ https://youtu.be/hiUHeaEaPLA
• Peter S. Williams, ‘Is Christianity Unscientific?’ https://youtu.be/mWiU2p_PIE8
• Peter S. Williams, ‘Is Christianity Unscientific?’ Theofilos (2013) http://www.peterswilliams.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Is-Christianity-Unscientific-Theofilos-Paper.pdf
• Peter S. Williams, ‘A Pre-Modern Reflection on the Modernist Roots of Postmodernism’ https://youtu.be/jrG781NqtDw
• Peter S. Williams, ‘A Pre-Modern Reflection Upon the Modernist Foundations Postmodernism’ Theofilos (Volume 7, 2015:2) http://www.peterswilliams.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Postmodernism_v5.pdf
• Peter S. Williams, ‘The Apologetics of Cultural Re-Enchantment in 3D’ Theofilos  2019/1 (June / July) https://theofilos.no/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/3e_Forum_Williams_The-Apologetics-of-Cultural-Re-Enchantment-in-3D.pdf
• Peter S. Williams, ‘‘Natural Theology and Science in Contemporary Apologetic Context: An Overview‘ Theofilos (Vol. 12, 2020, issue 1.)’ https://theofilos.no/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Theofilos-vol-12-nr-1-2020-Supplement-forum-1.pdf
• Peter S. Williams, ‘Apologetics in 3D: Persuading Across Spiritualities with the Apostle Paul’ http://www.peterswilliams.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Peer-Reviewed-Paper_Apologetics-in-3D.pdf
• Peter S. Williams, ‘Four dozen key resources on apologetics and natural theology in an age of science‘ that I curated and annotated for a special Supplement edition of Theofilos (Vol. 12, 2020, issue 1) https://theofilos.no/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Theofilos-vol-12-nr-1-2020-Supplement-biblos.pdf
• Peter S. Williams, Apologetics in 3D: Essays on Apologetics and Spirituality (Cascade, 2021)
• Peter S. Williams, A Faithful Guide to Philosophy: A Christian Introduction to the Love of Wisdom (Wipf and Stock, 2019), chapter 16

Outgrowing God? (November 2021)

Edited recording of a class, hosted online by Bjorn Hinderaker, for students at NLA University in Norway, covering some themes from my book Outgrowing God? A Beginner's Guide to Richard Dawkins and the God Debate (Cascade, 2020).

Apologetics in 3D (November 2021)

The presentation portions of an online class on 'Apologetics in 3D' for students of NLA University College in Norway, from 14th October 2021.

ELF 2021: Archaeological Evidence for Jesus

Recording of my workshop on New Testament archeology and the evidence for Jesus from the online 2021 European Leadership Forum, in which I show that archaeological evidence indicates that:

• Jesus, son of Joseph and brother of James, existed in 1st century Israel
• Jesus was crucified
• Jesus was buried in a now empty Jerusalem tomb
• Grave robbery was an offence that may have been associated with Nazareth (where the NT says Jesus lived) by the early 2nd century
• Despite his crucifixion, Jesus was considered divine by some within a few generations (c. 120 yrs) of his death
• The 1st century biographies of Jesus in the NT have been repeatedly verified by archaeological discoveries, which should encourage us to trust them on matters we can’t independently verify

ELF 2021: 'Old Testament Historicity: From Abraham's Ur to Daniel's Babylon'

Edited recording of my post-forum seminar on Old Testament history from the on-line European Leadership Forum conference in May 2021.

Conference attendee Albert Crespo, who did his Master's thesis on the royal offices in the period of the first temple, helpfully brought to my attention the fact that two bullae mentioning Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch the son of Neriah are now thought to be forgeries. During my talk I referenced one of these bullae in good faith, but I have edited this reference out of this podcast.

See: "The Authenticity of the Bullae of Berekhyahu Son of Neriyahu the Scribe", Yuval Goren, Eran Arie, BASOR 372, www.researchgate.net/publication/305753694_The_Authenticity_of_the_Bullae_of_Berekhyahu_Son_of_Neriyahu_the_Scrib; www.bible.ca/bulla/bible-bulla-jeremiah-clay-bullae-inscription-Belonging-to-Baruch-Berechiah-Son-of-Neriah-The-scribe-Jer-36-4-1975-1996ad-Reuben-Hecht-israel-museum-605bc-forgery-fake.htm. 

Crespo also alerted me to the fact that William F. Albright’s interpretation of the (genuine) “Eliakim na˓ar Yokan” stamped jar handles - that Yokan referred to King Jehoiachin - is now thought to be incorrect: “This misinterpretation was not corrected for almost 50 years and resulted in a great deal of confusion over the chronological sequence and stratigraphical analysis of the archaeology of Judah from the time of the Divided Monarchy." – “The Eliakim Na˓ar Yokan Seal Impressions: Sixty Years of Confusion in Biblical Archaeological Research”, Yosef Garfinkel, Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 53, 1990. Again, I have edited out a brief reference made to this artefact in my talk.

See: www.bible.ca/bulla/bible-archeology-jeremiah-clay-bullae-seal-inscription-Belonging-to-Eliakim-servant-of-Jehoiachin-belonging-to-Jotham-misidentified.htm.

ELF 2021: 'How Our Desires Point to God: C. S. Lewis’ Theistic Argument from Desire'

Recording of a workshop talk from the online 2021 European Leadership Forum.

Psalm 42 states that ‘As the deer pants for water, so I long for you, O God’, but did you know that there's an actual argument for the existence of God, and even of heaven, from the existence of certain human desires? C.S. Lewis was captivated by this theme, and he produced the twentieth century’s principal thematic and argumentative engagement with what has come to be known by philosophers as ‘the argument from desire’. This talk explores Lewis' apologetic engagement with desire and how it points us to God.

‘Science, Natural Theology, and Christian Apologetics’: A Conversation between Peter S. Williams and Lars Dahle about a special Theofilos issue

Theofilos editor Lars Dahle talks with special edition guest editor Peter S. Williams about the first special, open access issue of the Nordic journal Theofilos. They explain the background to, and give an overview of, the contents of this special edition called Theofilos Supplement 2020-1. The overall theme for this thematic issue is "Science, Natural Theology, and Christian Apologetics". Through their engaging conversation Williams and Dahle provide snapshots of both the seven peer reviewed and the four more popular articles. They explore issues relating to the book of Genesis, natural theology and the influence of science in contemporary popular culture. Along the way, they explore something of the history of the relationship between science and theology.

This special issue of Theofilos is published here: https://theofilos.no/issues/theofilos-supplement-2020-1/

This podcast was originally published by Damaris Norge (https://www.damaris.no/stotte-oss/), and is re-published here by permission.

Richard Dawkins vs the Case for God - a critical guide

This open access lecture, delivered online for NLA University on 22nd April 2021, is followed by a Q&A period facilitated by Bjorn Hinderaker.

The Dawkins – Lennox God Delusion Debate: Three Philosophical Problems with Dawkins’ Worldview

This lecture examines three key philosophical problems with the worldview of atheist Richard Dawkins, through an analysis of his famous 2007 'God Delusion' debate/discussion with Oxford Mathematician and Philosopher of Science John C. Lennox, which was held in Alabama.

You can watch the debate @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF5bPI92-5o

You can watch the debate with Norwegian subtitles @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA0iVQcQXp

This lecture was delivered to students at NLA University on 22nd April 2021.

Recommended Resources

Peter S. Williams, “A Sceptic’s Guide to Richard Dawkins” http://podcast.peterswilliams.com/e/a-sceptics-guide-to-richard-dawkins/

———. “Cosmic Fine Tuning: Design or Multiverse?” http://podcast.peterswilliams.com/e/cosmic-fine-tuning-design-or-multiverse/

———. “Introduction to ‘Outgrowing God? A Beginner’s Guide to Richard Dawkins and the God Debate’ (Cascade, 2020)” http://podcast.peterswilliams.com/e/introduction-to-outgrowing-god-a-beginners-guide-totrichard-dawkins-and-the-god-debate-cascade-2020/

William Lane Craig, “Dawkins’ Delusion” www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/existence-nature-of-god/dawkins-delusion/

John C. Lennox. God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? 2nd edition (Lion, 2009)

J.P. Moreland. Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology (Crossway, 2018)

Charles B. Thaxton, et al. The Mystery Of Life’s Origin: The Continuing Controversy (Discovery Institute Press, 2020)

Peter S. Williams. Outgrowing God? A Beginner’s Guide to Richard Dawkins and the God Debate (Cascade, 2020)

———. A Faithful Guide to Philosophy: A Christian Introduction to the Love of Wisdom (Wipf & Stock, 2019)

———. I Wish I Could Believe In Meaning: A Response to Nihilism (Damaris, 2005)

Cosmic Fine Tuning: Design or Multiverse?

Lecture on the design argument from cosmic fine tuning delivered to students at NLA University College on 22nd April 2021. After describing cosmic fine tuning and one way of inferring design from that data, this lecture responds to the 'multiverse' objection to the argument.