Kurios Minds
52 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsThinking well about the things that matter most. Helping to equip Christians with tools to defend their faith. Showing the reasonability of Christianity to non-Christians.
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Episodes
Year in Review
June 20, 2020 16:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBIt's been an amazing journey in Albuquerque reaching out to students at the University of New Mexico. Surprise encounters and challenging conversations have come to the surface. Many of these relate to previous podcast topics. Here is a summary of the year in podcasting, experiences with outreach, insights about wisely engaging in conversations, the God who drives my motivation, and my heart for you to know Him better.
A Biblical Christian Approach to Racism and Bullying
June 13, 2020 18:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBI always tell myself to avoid social and political issues and stay the course with apologetics and evangelism. At the same time, the stories on everybody's mind provide an opportunity to think through a strong biblical approach. Here are a few stories of highly racist people who have been changed by the presence of God. There are also stories from the Bible that show person-to-person tension and hatred are a recurring problem. They arise out of insecurity and a choice to walk in darkness, a...
"All Religions Teach the Same Basic Thing"
June 06, 2020 03:00 - 23 minutes - 15.8 MBWhy do people claim that all religions teach essentially the same fundamental truths? It is tempting for those who have not committed themselves to a single worldview to claim this because they have an incomplete, even shallow, perspective of the major claims of various world religions. They also may just want to avoid controversy and see the value of each type of diverse person. However! Does this claim align with logic, with fundamental religious claims, and can it withstand the claimant's...
Apologetics in the Book of Romans
May 30, 2020 04:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBThe book of Romans does not explicitly mention the practice of apologetics, that is, the defense of the Christian faith. However, there are many portions of Romans that have a lot of relevance with apologetics today. This looks at chapters 1 through, where faith versus works is one of the central ideas. The concept of grace through faith divides orthodox Christianity from false spin-off groups and other world religions. Other issues in apologetics also surface, including evidence for the exi...
Tribute to Ravi Zacharias
May 23, 2020 02:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBThe Evangelical Christian community, the philosophy community, the apologetics, and the intercultural ethics community lost one of the most powerful voices. Ravi has bridged many gaps, from East to West, from academic to common, from seasoned believers to unbelievers, from philosophers to story-tellers. This tribute features some pieces of a Ravi paper I wrote recently, some of the quotes that best define what he taught, thoughts from others in the philosophy/ apologetics community. It clos...
Bible Inspiration: Unity, Theology, Miracles
May 16, 2020 05:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBThis is the fourth part on testing the inspiration of Scripture. These are tests 7-10 we can use to test the inspiration of various texts that are claimed as Scripture. What does the authorship reveal about the possible inspiration? Does it depend on a single author, many authors, or later recollections by unknown scribes? What is the level of unity that resides in the text? Is it uniformity, disunity, too shallow for profound unity, or deep unity through diversity? Even more importantly, do...
Testing Bible Inspiration through Prophecy
May 09, 2020 03:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBProphecy is an intriguing topic even for those who seem religiously disinterested. However, prophecy is a sign of God's existence. It is a sign of God's communication and specific interest in what is being revealed. Several religions, religions with critical disagreements, claim to have prophecy as a sign of their legitimacy. How legitimate are the claims of prophecy contained in various holy writings? How is Bible prophecy different? We'll take a quick but vast overview of Bible prophecy ...
Bible Inspiration: Science and the Human Condition
May 02, 2020 16:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBThis is a middle portion on the inspiration of the Bible. There are 10 marks of inspiration that will be weighed against 12 religious texts. While brief references are made to the texts of other faiths, this mostly stands as a test to the Bible's authenticity. Enough references to the nature of other texts shows the marks of inspiration on the Bible alone. Test 4: Is the text consistent with scientific fact? How much science is does the Bible intend to communicate? Are they any divine scient...
Testing the Inspiration of Scripture/ Religious Writings
April 25, 2020 01:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBIf we only take the accuracy of the Bible as evidence for the validity and inspiration of Scripture, a large void still remains. Does every reliable text have the mark of inspiration? Do other religious texts have the mark of being divinely inspired? Why or Why not? There are several tests and several texts to examine. Candidates for inspired documents have included the Bible, the Tanakh, the Quran, the Mahabharata, the Tripitaka, Guru Granth Sahib, the Avesta, Science and Health With a Key ...
Has the Bible Been Corrupted?
April 18, 2020 01:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBBart Ehrman and Daniel Wallace agree that there are hundreds of thousands of variants (differences) between all the New Testament manuscripts. Why does one say that this destroys the textual integrity of the Bible while the other says that the textual integrity remains very much intact? How many manuscripts are there and how close to the events are they? Were the authors of the New Testament able to speak in an informative manner? How did we land on the books that are now in the Bible rather...
Evidence for Miracles and the Resurrection
April 11, 2020 06:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBDavid Hume taught that a lie is always preferable to the unlikely event of a miracle. Here is why he depends on circular reasoning and naturalistic presuppositions, and thereby cannot make any judgments regarding the likelihood of miracles. But why should we think that miracles are possible? Why should we believe that the Resurrection, the central miracle to the Christian faith, is more likely than a lie or a deception? We'll examine the philosophical proof of miracles, the marks of honesty...
Why Would God Make Viruses?
April 04, 2020 02:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBNew events often take us right back to the problem of reconciling evil and hurt with a good, powerful, loving God. However, the problem of evil depends on the existence of prior good. And when we take an objective look at humanity, nature, and even viruses we see an overwhelming sign of intricacy and good design. But why is there any that goes wrong? In addition to this subject, there are still some interesting things that Christian leaders are doing and saying. Should pastors keep gathering...
Christian Perspectives of the Coronavirus
March 29, 2020 16:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBAmerica and the world at large are carefully focusing on the effects and responses to the Coronavirus. As history is being written in the global response, ecclesiology and theology are being fleshed out as well. There are a variety of perspectives that seem to contribute to a healthy overall perspective. Ministry leaders see this time as an opportunity to serve, share truth, and learn new things. Reformed Theology/ Calvinism emphasizes God's complete and specific control. Pentecostalism focu...
What Else Did Jesus Claim About Himself?
March 21, 2020 01:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBEveryone in the world seems to have a perspective on who Jesus is. To figure this out, isn't it best to see what the man said about himself. He wouldn't be something he claimed not to be, right? Many say that Jesus never claimed to be God. While he didn't utter the specific phrase that modern westerners demand, he did communicate his deity with certainty to the people around him. Here are another 15 to 20 ways Jesus communicated the nature of who he is.
Did Jesus Claim to be God?
March 14, 2020 03:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBWhat is the self-understanding of Jesus? Muslims tend to believe that whatever Jesus said about himself is true. They are quick to point out that Jesus claimed submission to the Father. Jesus certainly realized this and stated a few things about it. But what else did he say? Well, he didn't say the words, "I am God; worship me." However, he communicated such things in ways that alluded to the established Scriptures--with which the people of that area were very familiar. We will begin worki...
Jesus Did Not Die on the Cross?
March 07, 2020 01:00 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBThis is a part of the series on Islam. Today, we tackle the most drastic and bold historical claim coming from Islam--that Jesus did not die on the cross. What reasons do Muslims give for this belief? Where does the weight of evidence lie? What are the implications if this claim is true/ not true? Here are 15 reasons Muslims give for denying the crucifixion, 15 responses, and some additional insights into this important issue.
Islam and the Paradox of Salvation
February 29, 2020 01:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBThis follows a couple of the previous episodes on an exploration of the attributes of God. Last week, we looked at God's holiness, goodness, justice, and love. This left a puzzling question regarding how anyone can be saved according to Islamic theology. This salvation paradox (or Paradox of paradise) must reconcile these five agreeable points: A. People are messed up. B. God is holy and good. C. God is just. D. God is loving. E. Some people go to heaven. Given Islamic theology, E could not ...
The Goodness of God in Islam and Christianity
February 22, 2020 02:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBThere are 11 attributes of God to look at in this comparison of Christian theology and Islamic theology: -Omnipresence, Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnitemporality (timelessness) -Immutability (Unchanging) -Immanence/ Transcendence, Holiness, Knowability -Goodness, Love, and Justice The primary focus in this one is God's goodness, Love, and Justice. Again, both faiths agree in theory. However, a love relationship is absent from the Quran but very prominent in the Bible. In addition, the Islami...
God According to Christians and Muslims
February 15, 2020 01:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBThis is an examination of 5 of the 10 (or so) descriptions of the nature of God. It begins with figuring out what God is like from careful philosophy, especially as it relates to the cosmological argument. With the philosophical stance in place, we'll look at whether Islamic/ Quranic theology describes God the same way. Then we'll compare Christian/ Biblical theology to these same aspects of God's nature. Omnipresence--Omnipotence--Omniscience--Omnitemporality--Immutability
Testing the Quran: Prophecy and Consistency
February 08, 2020 02:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBIf the Quran is what Islam says it is, then it ought to have several marks of divine inspiration. We can test the Quran according to what it claims about itself, what Muslims claim about it, what previous Scripture says, and what careful thinking reveals. There are several tests that would need to be passed before a writing could be considered as divinely inspired. In the past, prophecy and internal consistency have been marks of validity that continue the possibility of divine intervention....
Homage to Kobe// Morality in the Quran
February 01, 2020 01:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MBFeelings from last Sunday's tragedy had to be shared before clearing the way to re-engage with this week's topic. This 24:08.126 podcast is just a drop in the ocean of tears that have been, and will continue to be shed for the Kobe Bryant, one of the most powerful influences in US sports. Then this week's apologetics topic begins. This is part of the series on testing the inspiration of the Quran. Does the morality contained in the Quran reflect divine inspiration? Or are there signs of self...
Historical Accuracy in the Quran
January 25, 2020 02:00 - 23 minutes - 15.8 MBDoes the Quran offer accurate historical insights? This question is topic #5 in a seven step evaluation of the accuracy and inspiration of the Quran. Historical accuracy is a necessary, but not sufficient, measure to gauge whether the Muslim holy book has the mark of divine inspiration. There are several brief accounts in the Quran which mention stories and people who are part of the history of the Bible. Do these contradict? If there are discrepancies, which history should be preferred?
Examining the Quran
January 18, 2020 01:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBThe Quran is the centerpiece of the faith of hundreds of well over a billion people. Muslims consider it to be the most accurate and comprehensive text on the nature of Allah (God) and Allah's requirements for people. We will examine the reasons that Muslims say it is the word of Allah. We begin looking at 7 tests for the accuracy and inspiration of the Quran. The greatest focus is given to the question of whether the Quran provides accurate (even divine) scientific insights. Mathematical p...
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus
January 11, 2020 00:00 - 24 minutes - 16.6 MBWelcome to 2020! New year, same routine. Kurios Minds is a Christian apologetics podcast that inspires believers and non-believers to think well about the things that matter most. This week features a review of Nabeel Qureshi's book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. Nabeel was a very devout Muslim who wrestled with the evidence for the Christian faith. He proved to be incredibly reluctant to accept Christian truth claims. Why was he so reluctant? What strands of thinking eventually changed his ...
Age of the Earth Debate (2 of 2)
January 04, 2020 01:00 - 24 minutes - 16.7 MBMike Edenburn and Doug Brown continue their debate regarding the age of the earth. They discuss issues of Bible hermeneutics and scientific interpretation in defending a young earth (Brown) or an old earth (Edenburn). The episode picks up where part 1 left off. Edenburn just finished questioning Brown about his YEC position. Doug will begin questioning Edenburn about his OEC position. Both guests also contribute a segment on evidence for God's existence and make some points regarding the t...
Age of the Earth Debate (pt 1 of 2)
December 28, 2019 01:00 - 25 minutes - 17.9 MBMike Edenburn (OEC) and Doug Brown (YEC) join the podcast to continue the topic of science, faith, and the age of the earth. In order to highlight their respective positions, we shift to more of a debate format. Doug Brown opening statements: 1:57 Mike Edenburn opening statements: 5:27 Moderator Question 1 - Distant Starlight: 9:04 Moderator Question 2 - Water Deposits: 12:32 Moderator Question 3 - Appearance of Age: 15:06 Moderator Question 4 - Waste of Time: 17:53 Cross-Examination 1, Mik...
Science, Faith, and Age of the Earth Discussion
December 21, 2019 05:00 - 24 minutes - 17.2 MBMike Edenburn (OEC) and Doug Brown (YEC) join the podcast to discuss their area of interest and their Christian convictions. We discuss how science and faith correlate. Mike and Doug each present their basic hermeneutic theory regarding how to read the creation account of Genesis 1 and 2. We also discuss philosophy of science and the part that biases can play in certain areas of science. In the end, Mike and Doug agree that certain strategies of critical thinking will provide the Christian a...
Questions About Christmas
December 14, 2019 05:00 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBWe'll examine some of the common questions critical thinkers and Kurios Christians ask about the events we celebrate at Christmas: When was Jesus born? What's the story with the wise men? Are the prophecies legitimate? Why should we think Mary was actually a virgin? If Christmas has pagan roots, is it OK to celebrate it?
What's With the Money-Hungry Preachers?
December 07, 2019 04:00 - 23 minutes - 15.8 MBAre wealthy preacher evidence against the truth of the Christian message? Is it OK for certain preachers to have big incomes? Is it OK for any Christian to have a large income? What should our attitude be toward this? Yes, there are certainly some greedy preachers who do not accurately represent what faith in Christ looks like. But... are you and I any better? The same people-pleasing, self-gratifying approach that leads Christian authors and speakers astray is the same thing that leads yo...
This is What It Is All About
November 30, 2019 00:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBGetting back to the foundation! What is the Christian message? What is it that makes you a Christian? What does the Bible teach? If you are interested in that question or are interested in explaining to others the central Christian message, listen to this and other messages like it. The Good News is not just about a set of propositional ideas; it presents a choice to make. Will you follow and trust in Jesus Christ to be made right with God? Or will you trust your best efforts?
The Trinity and the Early Church
November 22, 2019 23:00 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBThere are a couple groups that do not favor the classic Christian idea of the Trinity. They say that the Bible teaches no such thing. To maintain and attempt to strengthen their position, they say that the Trinity has Pagan origins. They claim that Babylonian, Egyptian, and Roman paganism has provoked false ideas about the nature of God. This episode explores the claims by examining the early church father statements that pre-date Constantine's influence. Then it examines the deities of Grec...
Trinity Questions from JWs
November 16, 2019 01:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBRather than discuss a single question, this episode addresses several questions. The questions generally surround the topic of the Trinity, especially as it is represented by Jehovah's Witnesses. -Why can't the Christian community come to a conclusion regarding the Trinity? -Why did the Trinitarian church kill masses of people in the middle ages? -Is Jesus the same value and status as Adam? -Why did Jesus say, "The Father is greater than I"?
Jehovah's Witness Essential Theology
November 08, 2019 23:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBThis episode explores some of the fundamental attributes of God. Is God a localized spirit? Is the Father the same as the Holy Spirit? Is the Son entirely separate from God? How does the Father-Son dynamic demonstrate God's love for us and accrue salvation to mankind? (That sounds like a lot to cover in 23 minutes!)
Jehovah's Witnesses and John 1:1
October 26, 2019 04:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBJehovah's Witnesses reject the deity of Christ, yet John 1:1 says that the Word (Jesus) was God.... Or does it? Jehovah's Witnesses say that our Bibles have misinterpreted this term's original meaning. This is a response to the Jehovah's Witness claim and the wording of their New World Translation Warning! This is a pretty technical episode since it engages with the original Greek language. If you are familiar with some of the concepts, it might be fine. If you are new to the Greek language...
World Mission Society Church of God
October 19, 2019 02:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBLocally called the 7 Thunders, the World Mission Society Church of God may sound like the name of a Christian denomination, but they have hijacked a traditionally Christian name. The WMSCOG has been effective at drawing people, now boasting 3 million members in just a few decades This podcast explores their literature and a conversation I had with a promoter of this movement. I examine the claim that reason and the Bible support the Mother-God doctrine, that the Holy Spirit has the name of a...
Black Hebrew Israelites
October 12, 2019 04:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBThere is an active and aggressive movement that is making waves among certain minorities. They claim to be the true Israelites who are due to reap the benefits of the historic biblical promises of God. This generally has two major consequences. It sets up a superior race and diminishes those of other races. To promote the race and spread the religion, it manipulates biblical truth and the gospel. This is a biblical response and a limited cultural/ philosophical understanding of the Black He...
Moral Argument pt. 2
October 04, 2019 22:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBMorality reveals God's existence. Why? Because morality implies that humans are good and valuable beings. What is the origin of this? Accidental natural forces or an intentional being who is good by nature. There are a couple of responses that we may hear from unbelievers in response to the moral argument. First, the Euthyphro dilemma will force us to examine God's relation to goodness. Second, there is the problem of morally bad people possibly going to heaven, which forces us to look at t...
Morality Reveals God's Existence
September 28, 2019 00:00 - 22 minutes - 15.8 MBEvil exists. Everyone seems to believe that. But not everyone draws out the implications of this fact. Moral standards are present in the conscience of people. Moral standards distinguish good from evil. Good and evil are based on value and the expression or reduction of that value. If naturalistic evolution is true, this value is only an illusion. If the difference between good and evil is real, then a value-giver must have deposited value into the system. God is the standard of good and th...
Why is There So Much Violence in the Bible?
September 21, 2019 01:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBThe Bible is a book of several genres. One of those genres is history, which focuses on the journey of the Hebrews toward establishing their nation and readying themselves for the Messiah. In numerous places in their history, the Bible records God commanding the people to kill, kill, and kill some more. Are these battles and attacks really warranted? Is God excessively bloodthirsty? Or, as non-theists often claim, are these accounts evidence that God is not great, is not worthy of worship, ...
Is God in Favor of Slavery?
September 14, 2019 00:00 - 23 minutes - 15.8 MBSome people think that God does not exist, at least nothing like the biblical God, because of the way slavery is mentioned in the Bible. If God is completely good, shouldn't He tell people to completely eradicate slavery? Instead, God seems cool with it. The argument is: -God is completely good. -God, in the Bible, promotes slavery. -Slavery is always only bad. -Therefore, a God of this description does not exist. ... But here is why the argument does not work: -God does not promote - ...
Bill Maher's Religulous
September 07, 2019 01:00 - 22 minutes - 15.7 MBBill Maher, the popular atheistic talk show host and comedian, came out with a "mockumentary" film a few years ago that pokes fun at religion and seeks to shame certain things within the Christian worldview. Unfortunately, some people take this as factual and well-researched. I address some of the problems with the film and urge people to do a more careful job of thinking about important things. At the question table, people commonly ask who we are associated with or what denomination we be...
The Social Gospel
August 30, 2019 22:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBWhat did Jesus believe his mission to be? According to some, Jesus came to show people and societies how to live better lives toward other people. This suggests he was primarily interested in the social/political side of life. This obsession with blending political preferences with pieces of Christian truth is turning some from an accurate view of Jesus's key purpose--to redeem people's hearts.
Cosmological Proof for God
August 23, 2019 16:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBChristians can expect to get asked for any shred of evidence that shows the existence of God. The cosmological argument is possibly the clearest and most airtight method of proving the existence of God. This episode explores a conversation I had in which I used this path of showing the existence of God. I also explore some of the common tactics that people may use to dodge the implications of this proof of God's existence.
Did Jesus Promote the Coming of Muhammad and Baha-U'llah?
August 17, 2019 00:00 - 23 minutes - 16 MBIslam and the Bahai faith both believe the words of Jesus. Both say that Jesus foretold of to coming of their respective great and final prophets. What did Jesus really say about the coming one? What did he say about the nature of his return? Is the Bahai faith consistent with the nature of truth and the nature of Jesus? What did Jesus believe about himself and say about his purpose?
Freethought on Abortion
August 10, 2019 03:00 - 23 minutes - 15.9 MBAtheists often like being referred to as "freethinkers." One would expect "freethinkers" to be open to a diversity of views and to reserve strict judgement regarding scientifically questionable things. However, I have recently found that to be very atypical of the atheists and "freethinkers" that I encounter. Here is an intriguing example from a conversation on the subject of abortion. This shows that those who say that dogmatic group thinking is a stopper to human progress are themselves no...
Critical Thinking pt. 3/3
August 02, 2019 20:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBThis is the third and final part in the series on Critical Thinking. We have identified problems for others; but what happens when we make those same criticisms toward ourselves. Can we be consistent and reasonable to the extent that we critique the inconsistency and unreasonableness of others? This includes an overview of the internal and external consistency of foundational Christian truth-claims.
Critical Thinking: Inconsistency
July 27, 2019 19:00 - 23 minutes - 16.1 MBThis is part two of three in critical thinking. Last time, we looked at the straw man fallacy and the importance of representing a position accurately. This time, we are looking at whether a worldview or a claim matches with itself and whether it matches with life. When happens when you turn someone's claim back on itself? Does the idea self-destruct? Does it match up with the way the person lives? Here are some tools to detecting these, including some specific examples from non-Christians a...
Critical Thinking: The Straw Man
July 19, 2019 18:00 - 22 minutes - 15.2 MBBuilt on the foundation of listening well, we now come upon the topic of critical thinking. However, critical does not mean that we present another person's perspective in a negative light. Rather, we are to represent their position with accuracy and grace. The opposite of this is known as a straw man, the fallacy of misrepresenting a position in order to make it easier to tear down. I give some examples of straw man arguments and strategies to help us avoiding using it ourselves.
The Listening Christian pt. 3/3
July 12, 2019 17:00 - 23 minutes - 16.2 MB"Listening Has its Limits." To this point I have promoted the idea that evangelism and apologetics ought to begin with listening--rather than proclamation. This might tempt us to think that we ought to listen no matter what. Should we have standards for conversation, though? Does there come a point when we should leave listening behind and find times of rest? How can we honor others while also maintaining standards and expectations?
The Listening Christian pt. 2
July 05, 2019 18:00 - 22 minutes - 15.5 MBPart two of the Listening Christian deals with the importance of asking good questions. It explores the benefits that questioning has on conversation, on the heart of the Christian witness, and on the mental development of both involved.