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Parsing Plantinga: is there such a person as God?
Here’s a very interesting interview with probably the greatest living Christian philosopher. Like many of my peers, I’m a big fan. Read the whole thing to see why I picked a teapot. Here are some...
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two new papers published online
At the Journal of Analytic Philosophy, and at the Journal of Biblical Unitarianism. Thanks to the editors of both journals for their good work. The first paper continues the discussion with Hasker of...
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podcast episode 45 – Sir Anthony Buzzard on Christian mistakes
In this less biographical episode, Sir Anthony and I discuss various Christian mistakes: obsession with Hebrew names for God and for Jesus, keeping kosher food laws and Jewish holidays, the doctrine of...
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podcast episode 51 – Dr. Ravi Zacharias on the Trinity
Dr. Ravi Zacharias is a popular, Indian-born, evangelical apologist, the author of many books and articles, a frequent public speaker, and a veteran of Christian radio. Recently here at the trinities...
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podcast episode 58 – We can’t prove the Trinity by reason alone
At least, not in the way tried by Professor Richard Swinburne. I briefly argue against such attempts in this episode, drawing on my forthcoming paper “On the Possibility of a Single Perfect Person.”...
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podcast episode 60 – Dr. Carl Mosser on deification in the Bible
Does the Bible ever speak of redeemed humans as “gods”? Many Jews and Christians have thought so. In this episode Dr. Carl Mosser takes us on a journey through this theme in the Bible, including Psalm...
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Dr. James N. Anderson on Paradoxes in Theology
Theologian-apologist-philosopher Dr. James N. Anderson of Reformed Theological Seminary has posted his new entry for IVP’s New Dictionary of Theology on “Paradox” – that is, on apparent...
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podcast episode 68 – Dr. Harriet Baber on Relative Identity and the Trinity
“I’ve heard of John and Peter, and James – but who is this Cephas?” A more informed Bible reader will tell him that Cephas is Peter. The point is not that Cephas is like Peter, or similar to Peter, but...
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reader question on the Trinity and numerical sameness
A podcast listener recently emailed me to ask (emphases added): I won’t hide that I’m a happy Trinitarian and yet that I’m thoroughly enjoying your podcast since it provokes my theology and forces me...
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the evolution of my views on the Trinity – part 9
Last time I explained Samuel Clarke’s approach to the Trinity, which pushed me to re-examine my beliefs, and to really dig into the New Testament. This time, some questions that may occur to you about...
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podcast 80 – Foreknowledge, Freedom, and Randomness
If God foreknows all that you’ll do, doesn’t that imply that you have no control over how your life turns out? It just is going to happen as it’s already been known, right? And conversely, if you have...
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podcast 88 – Dr. Trent Dougherty on the Problem of Evil
In this episode Dr. Trent Dougherty of Baylor University tells us about his spiritual journey from secular, to evangelical, to Roman Catholic. Then we then discuss his general approach to what...
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“trinitas” in Tertullian’s On Modesty (De Pudicitia)
The Greek trias, translatable as “triad,” “trinity,” or (I think misleadingly) “Trinity,” had been used a few decades before. But the first known use of the Latin trinitas is by Tertullian, and we...
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“Divine Deception” Defended
In recent posts here and here my co-blogger and friend arch-nemesis Chad McIntosh has tried his hand at refuting my Divine Deception argument. I’ve already responded to numerous tries to get around it...
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the dud of “corporate personality” or group persons
In his latest bombing run, Chad occasionally talks in ways that suggest that I’ll actually alleging divine deception in my “Divine Deception” paper. Again, I must remind the reader that I don’t think...
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podcast 111 – Dr. Joseph Jedwab on divine omnipresence – Part 1
(click for image credit) Theologians say that God is everywhere, which is to say omnipresent or ubiquitous. But why do that say this, and what does the claim mean? Is God literally located, and in all...
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podcast 112 – Dr. Joseph Jedwab on divine omnipresence – Part 2
In this second philosophical conversation with Dr. Joseph Jedwab (part 1 here) we discuss some of his reasons for thinking that God is strictly aspatial but loosely spatial and present at all places....
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new article surveying Theories of Religious Diversity
By me, here at the excellent Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (printable version). A taste of it: …pluralistic approaches to religious diversity say that, within bounds, one religion is as good as...
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podcast 138 – Pastor Sean Finnegan’s “Why Did Jesus Die?”
Thinking Christians have theorized in many ways about “atonement.” Just what it is about Jesus’s death on the cross that reconciles humans to their maker? Was it a ransom paid to the devil? An example...
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podcast 146 – Jesus as an Exemplar of Faith in the New Testament
During his brief ministry, did Jesus put his faith in God? Some Christians deny that he did, including Saint Thomas Aquinas and at least one present-day evangelical apologist. In this talk I argue that...
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podcast 147 – Dr. Daniel McKaughan on faith – Part 1
Is faith, as Mark Twain quipped, believing what you know ain’t so? Why do so many think that faith is valuable? What is it to have faith anyway? In this episode I talk with Boston College philosopher...
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podcast 148 – Dr. Daniel McKaughan on faith – Part 2
If faith is not simply believing that some doctrine is true, what is it? In this episode, Dr. Daniel McKaughan explains what, in his view, the Bible means by “faith,” and why it’s important. He argues...
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“On Counting Gods” published in TheoLogica
My paper “On Counting Gods” has just been published by the new five-language philosophy of religion / philosophical theology / analytic theology journal TheoLogica. I would especially like to thank...
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podcast 164 – On Counting Gods
The terms “atheism,” “monotheism,” and “polytheism” seem straightforward enough, but in fact there is unclarity in how a lot of scholars think and write about these, due to the ambiguity of the term...
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podcast 209 – Ludwig Neidhart – God and Time – A Defense of God’s Timelessness
In traditional catholic theologies, the popular view is that God is timeless, that God is not at all “in” time, like we are. In this episode, German philosopher Dr. Ludwig Neidhart defends and tries...
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podcast 213 – Has Bauckham clarified his “divine identity” theory? – Part 1
According to Dr. Richard Bauckham, traditional, Nicene language ought to be replaced by clearer, more contemporary language about God and Jesus. In a long series of publications, he has argued that we...
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podcast 227 – Who Should Christians Worship?
Which of these three arguments is sound? Argument 1: Only God should be worshiped. Jesus should be worshiped. Therefore, Jesus is God (i.e. Jesus is God himself, “they” are numerically one.) Argument...
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podcast 230 – The Failure of Fashionable Antiunitarian Arguments
If God were only one Person would he fail to be “perfectly loving,” and so fail to be a perfect being, even though he’s supposed to be perfect? Some have recently wielded arguments like this to try...
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podcast 231 – Swinburne’s Social Theory of the Trinity
Professor Swinburne is famous for his many books which carefully develop and defend Christian claims. In this talk given to the Evangelical Philosophical Society in March of 2018, he gives his latest...
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podcast 239 – Dr. Beau Branson on the Monarchy of the Father – Part 1
According to Orthodox analytic theologian Dr. Beau Branson the right way to understand the Trinity is that the one true God is none other than the Father, although there are three divine persons. There...
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podcast 262 – The Trinity before Nicea?
Were the earliest Christians trinitarian? This episode is pastor Sean Finnegan’s presentation “The Trinity before Nicea” recorded at the Theological Conference in April of 2019. Pastor Finnegan began...
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podcast 265 – What apologists don’t understand about the terms “being” and...
In this podcast I explain why I am not vulnerable to changes of “begging the question” or “assuming unitarianism” when it comes to the terms “being” and “Person” as used in Trinity theories. In short,...
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podcast 274 – McManus on Oneness Pentecostal Christology
In this episode I interact with “A Solution to Dale Tuggy’s Argument against Oneness Pentecostal Christology” – a blog post by Skylar McManus. In this piece he critically interacts with the following...
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podcast 276 – How is the Trinity Central to the Gospel? Or: How The Gospel...
In this short video, Drs. Ligon Duncan, Scott Swain, and Gavin Ortlund tell us how “the doctrine of the Trinity” is central to the good news. Of course, asking how “the doctrine of the Trinity” is...
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Playing with Davis’s Playful Proof
Stephen T. Davis is a much-admired veteran Christian philosopher. (For more about him, check out this podcast and this podcast.) Many have read his Logic and the Nature of God. I also particularly...
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podcast 277 – Was Christ tempted in every way?
In this nicely done short piece in Christianity Today, analytic theologian Dr. Oliver Crisp discusses a “paradox” (i.e. an apparent contradiction) involving Jesus and temptation. This apparent...
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podcast 287 – Dr. Andrew Perry on John 1
The Baptism of Christ This is the first in a series of podcasts dealing with how to interpret John 1:1-18. This famous Prologue to John’s gospel is unique in the New Testament. It is routinely read in...
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When and How in the History of Theology Did the Triune God Replace the Father...
I’m excited to announce that my paper with the above title has been published in the excellent open-access journal TheoLogica. In this paper I present what I think is a strong case that we see the...
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Craig: how Nicene orthodoxy rules out the full deity of Christ
I recently read a helpful new paper by Dr. William Lane Craig. Here are some quotes and comments: . . . for the [second-century] Christian Apologists, God the Father, existing alone without the world,...
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podcast 306 – Two Readings of Mark – popular or esoteric? – Part 2
In this episode I critique a reading of the Gospel According to Mark by Dr. Daniel Johansson in his chapter in The Essential Trinity, edited by Brandon D. Crowe and Carl R. Trueman. I call it an...
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Revised version of “Trinity” in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
On November 20, 2020 the excellent Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy published my 2020 revision. (Earlier versions: 2009, 2013, 2016.) My sincere thanks to the anonymous reader and to the editors...
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“trinitarians,” trinitarians, and me
Faithful listeners to the excellent London Lyceum podcast must be wondering what hit them, when it comes to “the doctrine of the Trinity.” First, theologian Dr. Glenn Butner espousing what I would say...
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“Must-Read Paper”“On Counting Gods”
At The Secular Outpost Jeffrey Jay Lowder gives a recommendation of and some interesting brief comments on my paper “On Counting Gods.” In part, he discusses how my distinctions apply to this...
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Dr. Ryan Mullins on “the Trinity”
Dr. Ryan Mullins, currently in a post-doc at the University of Helsinki in Finland, is doing some of the best work today in analytic theology, especially on topics like God and time, so-called...
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podcast 329 – Dr. Joshua Sijuwade on divine identity
Dr. Richard Bauckham has urged, especially in his book Jesus and the God of Israel, that everywhere in the New Testament Jesus is taught to “have the divine identity” or to “belong to the identity of...
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podcast 330 – Dr. Joshua Sijuwade on the monarchy of the Father
In this episode Dr. Sijuwade and I discuss his recent article “Building the Monarchy of the Father“. Topics include: what constitutes biblical monotheismdifferent meanings of the word “God”whether Dr....
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podcast 331 – Dr. Joshua Sijuwade on the metaphysics of monarchical...
At one point, influenced by the great Christian philosopher Richard Swinburne, Dr. Joshua Sijuwade held to a “social” Trinty. But now, following Beau Branson, he holds to a “monarchical trinitarian”...
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podcast 337 – Chris Date’s Search for a Viable Trinity Theory – Part 2
In this episode, apologist Chris Date continues to develop his Trinity theory we heard the roots of last time, and also adds in a new, similar but different theory. Starting from ideas in a Psychology...
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podcast 342 – New Year, New Podcasts!
Well, these are not new podcasts, but maybe some of these will be new to you. In this first podcast of 2022 I share with you some theology-related podcasts that I regularly listen to, serving up...
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podcast 345 – Is Jesus still a man? – Part 1
A few months ago a podcast listener wrote me a long email arguing that clearly, according to the New Testament, the risen and exalted Lord Jesus is no longer human, but is instead divine. In this...
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