Real Atheology
51 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 31 ratingsReal Atheology is a conversational podcast focusing on contemporary philosophy of religion from an atheist perspective which features discussions, interviews, and debates for philosophy of religion nerds of all metaphysical stripes.
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Episodes
RA049: The End of Divine Hiddenness? (Part 6 of the Divine Hiddenness Series)
December 22, 2023 16:53 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBThis video is a response to a recent video by Christopher Cloos at Christian Philosophy Academy. Chris' Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja9dldyWQwE&t=1445s In his video, Cloos presents an objection to Schellenberg's divine hiddenness argument from a recent essay by Daniel Howard-Snyder which argues that, possibly, God may hide from people to attain a 'better start' to a relationship with them even while being perfectly loving. I first trace the dialectic between Daniel Howard-Snyde...
RA048: A Conversation on Divine Hiddenness with Gavin Ortlund (Part 6 of the Divine Hiddenness Series)
December 22, 2023 16:44 - 1 hour - 156 MBIn this video, Justin Schieber joins Dr. Gavin Ortlund for a friendly conversation on Schellenberg's argument from Divine Hiddenness.
RA047: Gavin Ortlund is Wrong about Divine Hiddenness (Part 5 of the Divine Hiddenness Series)
November 29, 2023 22:06 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBA few weeks ago, Gavin Ortlund of Truth Unites released a video exploring the argument from divine hiddenness and giving several objections to it. While I appreciated Gavin's wrestling with the argument, I did not think his objections are successful. This video seeks to respond to those objections by clarifying aspects of Schellenberg's reasoning. Gavin Ortlund's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d-6UhOS0FE&t=2262s
RA046: The Case for Nonresistant Nonbelief (Part 4 of the Divine Hiddenness Series)
November 02, 2023 23:18 - 18 minutes - 17.4 MBWelcome back to the Hiddenness Series. In the last episode, we looked at Schellenberg's concept of a nonresistant nonbeliever which plays a central role in his argument from Divine Hiddenness. To refresh, somebody is a nonresistant nonbeliever if they (1) fail to believe that God exists and (2) that failure is not the result of their resistance to God. We also looked at the concept of resistance at play here and we saw that it included a desire component in conjunction with actions or omissi...
RA045: What is a Nonresistant Nonbeliever, Really? (Part 3 of the Divine Hiddenness Series)
October 18, 2023 02:51 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBAccording to Schellenberg’s argument from Divine Hiddenness, a nonresistant nonbeliever is, simply put, somebody who fails to believe in God in such a way that the failure is not itself the result of resistant self-deception. A key premise of the divine hiddenness argument just is the claim that such persons exist and/or have existed in the past. For most people, this premise will appear obvious and this appearance likely the result of their connections and communications with other people. ...
RA044: The Argument from Divine Hiddenness (Part 2 of the Divine Hiddenness Series)
October 18, 2023 02:51 - 21 minutes - 20 MBIn this episode Justin Schieber continues the hiddenness series by presenting J.L. Schellenberg’s Argument from divine hiddenness. Since the 1993 publication of his Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason Schellenberg’s argument has received widespread attention and still generates deep engagement. This is because many atheists find it to be quite powerful and persuasive. Many theists find it challenging and worth responding to. This episode is intended as a presentation of Schellenberg’s argumen...
RA043: The Varieties of Hidden Experience (Part 1 of the Divine Hiddenness Series)
October 18, 2023 02:46 - 23 minutes - 42.5 MBBroadly speaking, Arguments from Hiddenness are philosophical arguments with atheistic conclusions arising from the fact that either the felt presence of, the nature of, or the very existence of God is somewhat less clear than we might expect if God existed. As with the problem of evil, there is no single argument from hiddenness. Rather, there is a whole family of arguments united by these ideas. We begin our new hiddenness series with a broad introduction to that family.
RA042: Kenny Pearce on Arguments and How to Have Them Productively
July 19, 2023 01:24 - 1 hour - 94.6 MBThis is our second discussion with philosopher doctor Kenny Pearce. In this episode we pick up the conversation by discussing Pearce's thoughts on the practice of apologetics in contrast to philosophy. This led to a consideration of what arguments for or against God may need to be retired or deemphasized. In particular, Pearce explains why the moral argument isn't the most promising argument in the theist's bag. We end by discussing strategies for making dialogues in the philosophy of religi...
RA041: Joe Campbell on Hume's Refutation of the Cosmological Argument
July 04, 2023 14:15 - 1 hour - 67.8 MBIn this episode Ben Watkins continues his series on Hume with a look at section IX of Hume's Dialogue's Concerning Natural Religion. Section IX finds Hume's Demea, Philo, and Cleanthes presenting and subjecting to analysis a cosmological argument for the existence of God. Ben and Dr. Joe Campbell discuss the argument as presented and the various criticisms that Hume brings to bear through his three characters. Dr. Joe Campbell's paper on Section IX of the Dialogues. https://www.jstor.org/st...
RA040: Jeffrey Jay Lowder on Philosophy of Religion
June 17, 2023 22:41 - 58 minutes - 53.7 MBIn this episode, Justin Schieber sits down with Jeffrey Jay Lowder for a wide-ranging interview. Fans of the show will no doubt be familiar with Jeff's work. From founding Infidels.org and the Secular Outpost to his contributions to The Empty Tomb and his several public debates, Jeff has earned his reputation as a fair-minded and philosophically informed atheist. We discuss the origin of infidels.org, Paul Draper's famous argument from Pain and Pleasure and everything in between. See Jeff's...
RA039: Matthew Adelstein on Utilitarianism and Theism
June 04, 2023 03:54 - 42 minutes - 39.7 MBIn this episode, Ben Watkins sits down with Matthew Adelstein to discuss utilitarianism and theism. Utilitarianism, in its classical forms, claims that what we morally ought to do is act in ways that would maximize happiness and minimize suffering. This simple moral calculus is open to several important objections, but if true, has important consequences for theism as traditionally conceived. If God morally should create a world that maximizes happiness and minimize suffering, as would be th...
RA038: Debate: Schieber and Hernandez on the Existence of God.
May 16, 2023 03:06 - 2 hours - 131 MBThis debate was between Christian apologist Eric Hernandez and atheist podcaster Justin Schieber. The event was organized by Capturing Christianity and held on May 6, 2023 at the Lanier Theological Library in Houston, TX. Visit capturingchristianity.com for this and similar events.
RA037: Bill Vanderburgh on Misinterpretations of Hume’s Of Miracles
April 21, 2023 20:41 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBAs a follow up to the last episode which gave a general overview of Hume's famous essay, Ben Watkins interviews philosopher Dr. Bill Vanderburgh on his 2019 book David Hume on Miracles, Evidence, and Probability. The conversation explores some of the reasons the text is often misinterpreted. The importance of placing Hume in his historical context is emphasized in response to common objections. Get Dr. Vandenburgh's excellent book here: https://www.amazon.com/David-Hume-Miracles-Evidence-Pr...
RA036: Ben Watkins on Hume Against the Believability of Miracles
April 07, 2023 23:11 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBIn this episode, Real Atheology co-host Ben Watkins takes us on a tour through parts one and two of Hume's controversial essay 'Of Miracles'. Ben begins by providing context that serves to undercut some popular but ultimately uncharitable readings of Hume's central thesis. With the infamous argument clarified, other common objections are also explored.
RA035: Andrew Pavelich on the Moral Problem with the Free Will Defense
March 26, 2023 03:22 - 1 hour - 72.2 MBPerhaps the most common response to the problem of evil is an appeal to the goodness of free will. Free will, it is argued, is so good that it justifies God's policy of non-intervention in cases where evil is the result of the free actions of moral agents. in his 2019 article published in The Heythrop Journal titled The Moral Problem with the Free Will Defense Against the Problem of Evil, Dr. Andrew Pavelich argues that there exists a deep disconnect between the theist's appraisal of free wi...
RA034: Kenny Pearce on Protestantism, Catholicism, and Apologetics
March 10, 2023 22:06 - 57 minutes - 63.9 MBIn the second part of Ryan's interview with Dr. Kenny Pearce, they discuss some of the issues surrounding the debate between Protestantism and Catholicism. In the second half the discussion turns to the issue of apologetics and whether there exists a clean distinction between it and philosophy of religion.
RA033: Kenny Pearce on Fruitful Dialogue and the History of Philosophy
February 24, 2023 22:14 - 1 hour - 93.2 MBIn this first part of Ryan Downie’s interview with Dr. Kenny Pearce, strategies for productive dialogue with those who hold opposing views are discussed. The conversation then turns to discussing the value of historical approaches to philosophy. Finally, they discuss Leibniz contributions to philosophy of religion and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to cosmological arguments.
RA032: Dustin Crummett on Harmony and Hiddenness
February 11, 2023 01:53 - 49 minutes - 64.9 MBIn this, the second half of Justin's interview with Dr. Dustin Crummett, they discuss an early paper of his in which he expands on an objection to the argument from divine hiddenness. The objection, known as the responsibility objection, claims that one reason God might have to keep belief from non-resistant persons is the good of the responsibility on the part of some in helping others learn truths of and about God. We also touch on his recent work on the argument from psychophysical harmon...
RA031: Dustin Crummett on Suffering, Spiders, and Simulations
January 27, 2023 21:37 - 1 hour - 79.1 MBIn this episode, Justin Schieber interviews philosopher Dr. Dustin Crummett (dustincrummett.com, https://www.youtube.com/@dustin.crummett, @Dustin_Crummett). Dr. Crummett received his PhD from the University of Notre Dame in 2018, and specializes in social and political philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of religion. In this first of two episodes, we discuss Dr. Crummett's fascinating work relating to the problem of evil.
RA030: Michael Hemmingsen on Soul-Making and Social Progress
January 13, 2023 21:00 - 37 minutes - 48 MBIn this episode, returning host Justin Schieber interviews Dr. Michael Hemmingsen on his 2020 paper titled Soul-Making and Social Progress which was published in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion. John Hick's Soul-Making theodicy, according to which suffering exists to provide opportunities to develop our moral virtue, is a popular response to the problem of evil. In his paper, Dr. Hemmingsen argues that advocates of John Hick's Soul-Making theodicy are thereby committed t...
RA029: Leibnizian Cosmological Arguments with Josh Rasmussen
May 29, 2022 05:11 - 1 hour - 185 MBWe sit down with leading analytic philosopher of religion Prof. Josh Rasmussen to discuss Leibnizian cosmological arguments. We also bring on a special guest, Logos, to facilitate a dialogue with Prof. Rasmussen as we all journey together to explore the very cutting edge of this important debate. This dialogue pushes the dialectic forward in ways that can benefit both theists and atheists. You can follow Prof. Josh Rasmussen's work at: https://joshualrasmussen.com/ Be sure to check out Pr...
RA028: Ben Watkins vs Trent Horn Debate Review
September 22, 2021 07:26 - 2 hours - 157 MBIn this episode, we critically review our co-host Ben Watkins's debate against Trent Horn of Catholic Answers at Capturing Christianity's conference CCv1. We are joined by esteemed guests Felipe Leon and Joe Schmid. This wide-ranging discussion covers such topics as intrinsic value, classical versus personalist models of God, the argument from motion, existential inertia, and the privation theory of evil. You can find Felipe Leon's work via the links below: http://exapologist.blogspot.c...
RA027, Pt. 2: Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on Atheism and Philosophy
August 25, 2021 23:20 - 1 hour - 79.6 MBThis episode ran a bit long, so we're splitting it into two parts. Here we interview Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on his new book Atheism Considered: A Survey of the Rational Rejection of Religious Belief (2020). This book is a systematic presentation of challenges to the existence of a higher power. Rather than engaging in a polemic against a religious worldview, Lorkowski charitably refutes the classical arguments for the existence of God, pointing out flaws in their underlying reasoning and highli...
RA027, Pt. 1: Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on Atheism and Philosophy
August 25, 2021 22:57 - 1 hour - 76.2 MBThis episode ran a bit long, so we're splitting it into two parts. Here we interview Dr. C.M. Lorkowski on his new book Atheism Considered: A Survey of the Rational Rejection of Religious Belief (2020). This book is a systematic presentation of challenges to the existence of a higher power. Rather than engaging in a polemic against a religious worldview, Lorkowski charitably refutes the classical arguments for the existence of God, pointing out flaws in their underlying reasoning and highli...
RA026: Aron Lucas on the Fine Tuning Argument
September 23, 2019 09:00 - 54 minutes - 36.3 MBFor this episode, we interview Aron Lucas about his objection to the Fine Tuning argument in his paper "Naturalism, Fine-Tuning, and Flies" that is published at https://infidels.org/library/modern/aron_lucas/flies.html
RA025: Dr. Felipe Leon on Mitigated Modal Skepticism
July 12, 2019 12:00 - 1 hour - 30.5 MBFor this episode, we interview philosopher Dr. Felipe Leon on the topic of Mitigated Modal Skepticism, the view that our modal knowledge is limited to the mundane. It seeks to the ground our modal knowledge in empirical sources, such as observation and observation-sensitive theory. This would mean our modal knowledge can not be extended to possibilities critical to a large variety of theistic arguments. We end up covering a number of related topics in the philosophy of religion. Felipe also...
RA024: Interview with Islamic Apologist Zach Christ
June 10, 2019 10:00 - 59 minutes - 41.4 MBIn this episode, the Bens get a fresh perspective from Zach Christ, a Muslim from America who now lives in Turkey. During the interview, Zach and the Bens compare and contrast the beliefs and philosophical defenses of Islam and Christianity, delving into the concepts of God, miracles, and the afterlife. They also discuss people's attitudes toward Islam in America and Turkey.
RA023: The Argument from Motion
February 04, 2019 13:00 - 54 minutes - 45.9 MBWe're back with a new episode! This time we tackle the Argument from Motion as presented in Ed Feser's book "Five Proofs of the Existence of God".
RA022: Jason Thibodeau on the Euthyphro Dilemma
August 21, 2018 01:15 - 1 hour - 36.2 MBIn this episode the Real Atheologians interview Jason Thibodeau about the famous Euthyphro Dilemma and how to respond to apologists who try to split the dilemma. Jason is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Cypress College.
RA020: Alex Malpass on the Kalam
August 14, 2018 00:45 - 1 hour - 34.4 MBThis is a follow-up episode on the Kalam Cosmological Argument where we interview philosopher Alex Malpass about his upcoming paper, co-authored with Wes Morriston, on the Kalam. Among other things, we discuss potential vs. actual/completed infinities, beginningless pasts, endless futures, and symmetry breakers. We'd also like to apologize to our Patreons, this episodes our return to properly thanking each of you at the end of the episode.
RA020: Alex Malpass on the Kalam
August 14, 2018 00:45 - 1 hour - 34.4 MBThis is a follow-up episode on the Kalam Cosmological Argument where we interview philosopher Alex Malpass about his upcoming paper, co-authored with Wes Morriston, on the Kalam. Among other things, we discuss potential vs. actual/completed infinities, beginningless pasts, endless futures, and symmetry breakers. We'd also like to apologize to our Patreons, this episodes our return to properly thanking each of you at the end of the episode.
RA021: Interview with Graham Oppy
July 01, 2018 13:58 - 1 hour - 42.9 MBIn this episode the Real Atheologians interview philosopher Dr. Graham Oppy. We discuss the Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism, defining naturalism, the Modal Ontological Argument, and a number of issues in contemporary philosophy of religion.
RA019: The Kalam Cosmological Argument
June 03, 2018 22:25 - 1 hour - 31.3 MBThis is a new beginning for Real Atheology as Ben Watkins welcomes Ben Bavar and John Lopilato as new co-hosts to the cast. Justin Schieber has taken a break from philosophy of religion in general to focus on college. We’ve decided to start things off with a Big Bang by tackling the Kalam Cosmological argument!
RA018: Scott Davison on Petitionary Prayer
March 18, 2018 13:17 - 35 minutes - 25.1 MBToday I interview Dr. Scott Davison. Dr. Davison is professor of philosophy at Morehead State University where he specializes in Metaphysics, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion. Dr. Davison and I connected back in May of last year at a conference here in Grand rapids - a science and religion dialogue for which he was the keynote speaker. The presentation was on his recently released a book titled Petitionary Prayer; a Philosophical Investigation. I really enjoyed his analysis and had to have...
RA017: Erik Wielenberg on Debating Morality
March 04, 2018 23:04 - 46 minutes - 44.2 MBIn this episode, Ben Watkins sits down with philosopher Dr. Erik Wielenberg in Raleigh, NC immediately after his debate with philosopher Dr. William Lane Craig at NC state University. The debate, held on February 23rd, 2018, was on the question of what better explains objective moral values and duties. Wielenberg defended a form of godless normative realism while Craig defended a modified divine command theory. The discussion surveys the arguments and responses used in the debate as well as ...
RA016: What is Skeptical Theism?
October 09, 2017 23:04 - 29 minutes - 24.3 MBSkeptical Theism is a philosophical position about our ability to make meaningful inferences about what God, if such a being exists, is likely to create or allow. In this episode, Ben and Justin discuss one particular version of Skeptical Theism and the implications it has on arguments from evil and a few other issues as well.
RA015: Debating the Problem of Evil With Justin Schieber and Cameron Bertuzzi
August 28, 2017 18:42 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBRather than a live debate, what you are about to hear is an audio performance of an already written debate that’s been going on behind the scenes for the last month or so in the form of a series of essays written in reply to each other. The debate was on the problem of evil and it was between Justin Schieber and Cameron Bertuzzi. The debate clocks in at about an hour.
RA014: Paul Moser on Religious Epistemology and God's Elusiveness
August 02, 2017 23:43 - 56 minutes - 45.6 MBIn this episode Ben Watkins interviews philosopher Dr. Paul Moser. Dr. Moser is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. Professor Moser has published over 80 articles and authored many books including The Elusive God and The Evidence for God; Religious Knowledge Reexamined. Professor Moser’s research interests include epistemology, metaphilosophy, and the philosophy of religion. The interview touches on issues of religious epistemology, the hiddenness of God, and even natural t...
RA013: Quentin Smith on Natural Evils and Immaterial Minds
July 19, 2017 21:46 - 25 minutes - 22.6 MBA few weeks back I was delighted to have the opportunity to interview Dr. Quentin Smith. We sat down not far from the Western Michigan University Campus where he was professor of philosophy from 1993 until he retired in 2015. Dr. Smith received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from Antioch College and his PhD in philosophy from Boston College. He has written and published over 140 articles and has written and co-written several books including one with William Lane Craig titled Theism, At...
RA012: Felipe Leon on Ex Nihilo Creation
July 02, 2017 01:01 - 54 minutes - 45.5 MBFor this episode, we interview Dr. Felipe Leon on the metaphysical possibility of creation ex nihilo - or creation ‘out of nothing’. This is an indispensable metaphysical doctrine to classical theists. Dr. Felipe Leon is professor of philosophy at El Camino College in Torrance, CA. He received his M.A and Ph.D at University of California Riverside, and his current research interests are in philosophy of religion and modal epistemology. Recently, Dr. Leon co-edited and contributed to a collec...
RA011: Counter Apologist on God and Ethics
June 22, 2017 04:07 - 51 minutes - 45.7 MBFor this episode, Ben Watkins and Justin Schieber interview Counter Apologist on the moral argument. The moral argument is an argument about moral ontology and includes a premise which states, if God exists, objective moral values and duties do not exist. We discuss various strategies for interacting with this argument.
RA010: Ozymandias Ramses II on Atheism and Lacktheism
May 31, 2017 03:06 - 58 minutes - 51.5 MBYoutuber Ozymandias Ramses joins Justin Schieber and Ben Watkins to discuss competing contemporary definitions of atheism. Agnosticism and the burden of proof or justification are also discussed.
RA009: Wes Morriston on Moral Freedom and The Moral Argument
May 22, 2017 21:33 - 48 minutes - 44.9 MBFor this episode of Real Atheology, Justin Schieber and Ben Watkins interview philosopher Wes Morriston. Dr. Morriston earned his PhD in philosophy from Northwestern University in 1972 and was a professor of philosophy at University of Colorado, Boulder from 1972-2014 when he retired as Emeritus Professor of Philosophy. Prof Morriston specialized in philosophy of religion. In the interview we discuss a variety of topics including a supposed tension that exists between a belief in what is o...
RA008: Evan Fales on the Problem of Evil
April 30, 2017 19:07 - 47 minutes - 39.3 MBIn this episode, Justin Schieber sits down with philosopher Evan Fales to talk about some of his work on the problem of evil as well as how he became interested in issues in philosophy of religion. Dr. Fales is professor emeritus at University of Iowa. Professor Fales' research interests include philosophy of science, metaphysics, epistemology, and most relevant to today's episode, philosophy of religion. RealAtheology.com YouTube Facebook Twitter Patreon Paypal
RA007: Irreducibly Normative Truths?
April 17, 2017 20:48 - 1 hour - 58.6 MBCory Markum joins Ben Watkins to discuss some questions about normativity. Many apologists put forward moral arguments for the existence of God which claim that atheism implies some form of moral nihilism. While both Ben and Cory do not find these arguments persuasive, Cory is not so sure about the view that is often called "moral realism." This view states that there are mind independent moral truths about what actions are good and bad, right and wrong, and virtuous and vicious. Ben, on the...
RA006: Josh Parikh on Resistant Non-Belief
April 05, 2017 01:06 - 52 minutes - 45.8 MBOxford philosophy student Josh Parikh joins Justin Schieber to discuss Josh’s rejection of a key premise in Schellenberg’s Hiddenness Argument (previously discussed in RA004). The premise, which states that there do in fact exist persons who are non-resistantly in a state of non-belief about God’s existence, is largely taken to be true by most philosophers of religion. RealAtheology.com YouTube Facebook Twitter Patreon Paypal
RA005: Debate: Schieber and Arndt on God and Suffering
March 21, 2017 23:47 - 1 hour - 65.8 MBIf an all-powerful, all-knowing, and perfectly good God exists, how does one explain the existence, intensity, and distribution of moral and natural suffering in our world? In this episode, Justin Schieber and Christian theist Timothy Arndt square off for a lively philosophical debate on the age-old puzzle that surrounds God and suffering. The debate was held at Grand Valley State University’s Allendale campus in the Cook DeWitt Center Auditorium on March 2, 2017. Hosted by Center for In...
RA004: Debate: Schieber and Giunta on Divine Hiddenness
February 25, 2017 00:11 - 1 hour - 57.9 MBEver since philosopher John Schellenberg published Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason in 1993, the argument from divine hiddenness has received an immense amount of attention from philosophers and laypersons. This episode features a lengthy interaction between Justin Schieber and Blake Giunta of beliefmap.org. The interaction was hosted on Unbelievable with its ever-gracious host, Justin Brierley. YouTube Facebook Twitter Patreon Paypal
RA003: Debate: God and Finite Creatures
February 11, 2017 19:35 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBAll creatures that exist in the actual world are finite creatures - that much is obvious. If God exists, he has created them. But should the fact of their finitude count against theism? Does theism lead us to expect to observe fundamentally different beings? In this episode, Justin Schieber and Canadian theologian Randal Rauser dialogue on these questions and more. YouTube Facebook Twitter Patreon Paypal
RA002: Article: The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism
February 02, 2017 07:57 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBAfter the apparent demise of a popular version of the logical problem of evil, philosopher William Rowe sought to resurrect the problem of evil in an inductive form. The result was his 1979 article titled The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism. In this episode, Justin Schieber and Ben Watkins have an in-depth dialogue about that important article. YouTube Facebook Twitter Patreon Paypal