Ratio Christi at Texas A&M University

think theism

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Natural Theology 7: Did Jesus Exist?

Natural Theology 7: Did Jesus Exist?

An overview of the historical evidence for the existence of Jesus. This video is from our 2021 Spring lecture series covering Natural Theology & the Truth of Christianity. Each week, we evaluate the classical arguments for and against the existence of God and truth of Christianity. For slides and handouts go to http://rc-tamu.org/natural-theology Note: This video has been slightly edited for…

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OT Controversy 9: Why is the Catholic Old Testament Bigger?

OT Controversy 9: Why is the Catholic Old Testament Bigger?

Ben (our resident Catholic) discusses the seven books of the Deuterocanon (or Apocrypha), what they are, and why they are included in the Catholic Old Testament canon.

N.B. While Ratio Christi at Texas A&M does not officially take a position on the canonical status of these books and many Protestants reject them, they nevertheless are useful for understanding the Second Temple period.

Fa…

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OT Controversy 8: Were the Ancient Israelites Polytheists? We turn to the question of ancient Israelite religion. While we usually think of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism as the big three monotheistic religions, is the historical reality more complicated than that? Psalm 82 takes centre stage in a discussion of the unseen spiritual realm. Fall 2020 Confronting Old Testament Controversy Full Playlist:

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OT Controversy 7: Did God Command Canaanite Genocide? We conclude our discussion on the question of Israelite origins by tackling the ethical objection to the Hebrew invasion of Canaan.

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OT Controversy 6: Did the Israelites Conquer Canaan? The question of Israelite origins remains one of the hottest debates amongst ancient historians. Did a massive Hebrew invasion force wipe out the Canaanites in the 15th/13th century B.C.?

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OT Controversy 5: Did the Exodus Really Happen? The Hebrew exodus from Egypt is the founding event both in Israel's history as a people and the redemptive history of Christian faith.

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OT Controversy 4: Does Genetic Evidence Contradict Adam & Eve? We conclude our discussion on Genesis, creation, and evolution by addressing the controversy over the historical Adam & Eve.

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Addendum to "Does Genesis Contradict Science?"

Addendum to “Does Genesis Contradict Science?”

Zach and Andrew casually chat about some loose threads from the Genesis and science meeting. They clear up some confusion about stellar parallax, discuss additional interpretations of the days of Genesis, and expand on the intelligent design movement.

Referenced Papers

Laland Kevin N.,et al (2015) The extended evolutionary synthesis: its structure, assumptions and predictionsProc. R. Soc.…

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OT Controversy 2: How Should We Read Genesis 1-11? Confronting Old Testament Controversy 2: We begin our discussion on creation, evolution, and Genesis by addressing the controversy over the genre of Genesis 1-11, aka the "Primeval History". Andrew surveys the relevant literary categories and the debate over literalism, metaphor, and history.

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OT Controversy 1: How did we get the Old Testament? Confronting Old Testament Controversy 1: Zach discusses the text of the Old Testament (Tanakh) including the primary text types; the Septuagint, the Masoretic text as well as the most important manuscripts, including codex Leningradensis as well as the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in Qumran.

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What Do We Do With the Old Testament? w/ Dr. Micah Green

NEW EPISODE: What Do We Do With the Old Testament? w/ Dr. Micah Green

Despite being the majority of the Bible, the Old Testament remains a difficult and sometime perplexing corpus of writing. With ancient laws, long histories, and confusing prophecies, we are often left wondering…what do we do with the Old Testament?

We kick off our Fall 2020 semester with guest speaker Dr. Micah Green to address the question “What Do We Do With The Old Testament?”

Click here…

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The Genealogical Adam & Eve - an interview w/ Dr. Joshua Swamidass

NEW EPISODE! The Genealogical Adam & Eve - an interview w/ Dr. Joshua Swamidass @swamidass @peacefulscience

Zach and Andrew interview Dr. Joshua Swamidass about his new book The Genealogical Adam & Eve which aims to show that a literal Adam & Eve is fully compatible with the contemporary evolutionary account of human origins.

Video of the interview: https://youtu.be/HKZxPXiF9rA

Resources mentioned during or relevant to the episode

“The Genealogical Adam & Eve” by Joshua Swamidass (2019) https…

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Interview w/ Dr. Joshua Swamidass (Part 2)

NEW EPISODE! Interview w/ Dr. Joshua Swamidass (Part 2) We continue our conversation with Dr. @Swamidass this time on the deficiencies of neo-Darwinism. Stay tuned for our 3rd final part where we discuss the Genealogical Adam & Eve @peacefulscience

Part 2 of our interview with Dr. Joshua Swamidass. We discuss some of the particulars of why neo-Darwinianism is no longer the reigning paradigm in contemporary evolutionary biology. Swamidass argues that the deficiencies intelligent design theorists point to have been acknowledged (and addressed) as early as the 1960s. In particular, “Haldane’s dilemma” which was proposed in 1957 but widely…

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Interview w/ Dr. Joshua Swamidass (Part 1)

NEW EPISODE! Interview w/ Dr. Joshua Swamidass (Part 1) Check out the description for the video link! @swamidass @PeacefulScience

Part 1 of our interview with Dr. Joshua Swamidass. We discuss Dr. Swamidass’s journey from young-earth creationism to “affirming evolutionary science”. We also address the role evolution has played in some high profile deconversions from Christianity. Stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3 of our interview where we discuss the particulars of intelligent design and Dr. Swamidass’s new book The…

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Darwinism Devolving - an interview w/ Dr. Michael Behe

NEW EPISODE! Darwinism Devolving - an interview w/ Dr. Michael Behe (@DiscoveryCSC)

Zach and Andrew interview Dr. Michael J. Behe, professor of Biological Sciences at Lehigh University and Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. We discuss Dr. Behe’s work in the intelligent design movement with his book trilogy Darwin’s Black Box, Edge of Evolution, and Darwin Devolves.Next, we revisit the past with Dr. Behe’s contribution in the 2004 federal court…

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"God and/or Evolution?" - Dr. Michael Behe vs Dr. Joshua Swamidass (Veritas 2020)

NEW EPISODE "God and/or Evolution?" - Dr. Michael Behe vs Dr. Joshua Swamidass (Veritas 2020) @veritas @swamidass @DiscoveryCSC

Dr. Michael Behe and Dr. Joshua Swamidass debate evolution, intelligent design, and which way the evidence points.

Video of the debate available at tx.ag/veritas2020

The scientific community seeks to give an account of the world around us in terms of mathematical laws and natural processes; this description even extends to the account of biological life’s origin and evolution. For…

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Veritas 2020 Final Reminder

Veritas 2020 Final Reminder! Get tickets at tx.ag/veritas2020 Meet Dr. Swamidass before the debate: 12:00pm in MSC 2300B Meet Dr. Behe after the debate: 9:00pm in Rudder Tower 601

Veritas Forum 2020 “God and/or Evolution?” is on Feb 20, 2020 at 7pm in Rudder Theatre. Featured speakers are Dr. Michael Behe and Dr. Joshua Swamidass. Get free tickets at tx.ag/VERITAS2020

Before the Debate, meet Dr. Swamidass: We will be hosting a brown bag lunch discussion with Dr. Swamidass about his new book The Genealogical Adam & Eve which aims to show a literal Adam & Eve is…

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