Philosophy

Question Dear Dr. Stratton, JD Martin has said that saying “exhaustive Divine determinism” (EDD) is redundant (“they don’t know what they’re talking about” he says) because on determinism everything is causally determined (I tend to agree it is redundant). I know that you have sought to make a distinction as you explain “Mere Molinism”, etc.  How would you respond? Why do you think including the word "exhaustive" is important?  - Drew Dr. Tim's Response Hi Drew! Thank you for

Sermon Outline Riddle me this: What’s black and white and RED all over? I remember the first time my dad posed that question to me when I was a young child. Even as a little boy – untrained in philosophy – I knew something was amiss. I intuitively understood that if something was literally black and white . . . like a news paper . . . then it could not be the COLOR RED all over. After all, something cannot be the colors RED and Black and White simultaneously and in the same s

To become a Mere Molinist all one has to do is affirm two propositions: 1- God possesses middle knowledge.  2- Humans possess libertarian freedom. These are the two pillars of Mere Molinism, and after surveying the scriptural support, perfect being theology, and philosophical arguments, many Christ followers seem to think that these two key ingredients are non-controversial and easy affirmations -- unless one is previously committed to either exhaustive divine determinism (E

I recently launched a new Facebook group called Mere Molinism (click here to join) . This private group is focused on discussing the essential ingredients of mere Molinism (human libertarian freedom and divine middle knowledge) along with related issues. This group is unique for several reasons. First, all the admins possess or are currently pursuing graduate degrees in theology or philosophy. Second, one does not have to affirm Molinism to be in this group. As noted in the "

In this Apologetics315 Podcast , Brian Auten and Chad Gross chat with me about . The show notes are as follows:1:03 – Intro to Tim Stratton1:41 – Why Molinism on the podcast?3:20 – Welcome to Tim Stratton3:54 – How Tim became a Christian9:37 – God as a maximally great being10:43 – Tim’s dissertation11:18 – What does Tim find compelling about Molinism?12:42 – The  Mere Molinism Facebook group 16:14 – What is the problem that Molinism is trying to solve?22:47 – How to briefly s

Michael Huemer has established himself as one of today's leading philosophers on a variety of topics ranging from ethics, to political philosophy, to logical paradoxes, to epistemology. Skepticism and the Veil of Perception (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001) is concerned with this last topic. Huemer is concerned with rebutting skepticism in general and skepticism about the external world in particular. His solution is a version of direct realist foundationalism. The bo

(This fictional post was first published by Jacobus Erasmus at http://jacobuserasmus.com/blog/bl0-cultural-insanity.html ) I got chased out of Nature Park Zoo, . Why is the zoo so cruel? All I want is the flamingos' food. They feed the flamingos the most scrumptious brine shrimp, which cannot be found elsewhere and which is like chocolate to me. Does that make me a weirdo? Perhaps slightly. But there is nothing wrong with being a weirdo. Now, I'm not trying to the flamingo

One does not have to look far to see a lot of confusion in how the issues of Critical Race Theory (CRT), sexual identity, and Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE) intersect, so I want to give you a few thoughts and explanations. Currently, there is a lot of discussion about school boards forcing CRT into our schools, and some states such as Florida and Texas recently passed bans on CRT. There is also a lot of discussion about how this is intertwined with CSE, which is being pushed in

Since publishing Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism in October of 2020, almost every day I have dialoged with determinists. They are either theological determinists (typically Calvinists) who are seemingly committed to exhaustive divine determinism (EDD) or they are scientific determinists (typically naturalists/atheists) who believe that all things about humanity are ultimately causally determined by the laws and events of nature. These folks seem determined

Suppose a mad scientist while you were sleeping gained access to your brain, implanted special microchips, and now has the ability and opportunity to exhaustively control (causally determine) all of your thoughts and beliefs all the time. Although you are unaware, the mad scientist now has control over exactly what you think of and about and -- more importantly -- exactly how you think of and about it. All of your thoughts about your beliefs and all of your beliefs about yo

Question Dr. Tim, You recently shared a Facebook post high-lightning the Apostle Paul's words in 1st Corinthians 10:15. It reads: "I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say." You then added the following: "Be a FreeThinker. Don’t let something or someone else causally determine your judgments!" Do you really want to trust your own judgements and not let God cause and determine all of your judgements? Being led by the Spirit means letting God lead your min

Question Hey Dr. Stratton, A fellow libertarian has taken issue with your definition of libertarian freedom. Although you offer multiple definitions in your book and other writings, you often describe libertarian freedom in the following manner: "the ability to choose among a range of alternative options, each of which is compatible with one's nature at the moment of choice." The objector said that this definition fails and "simply isn't correct since it describes a view tha

God is a maximally great being by definition. He always has been and always will be perfect and maximally great (see Job 42:1-2 ; Psalm 145:3 ; 147:5 ; Isaiah 41 ; Jeremiah 1:5 ; 32:27 ; Luke 1:37  and the Ontological Argument ). With that said, however, for nearly 500 years many Christians have sadly advanced a "low view of God." In the book, The Knowledge of the Holy , A.W. Tozer says: “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

I’ve always enjoyed reading. And when the COVID lockdowns began in March 2020, there wasn’t much else to do for a long time. I took full advantage of this, though, and over the next year, I read a lot of books over a wide range of topics. For instance, I read the entire series by C.S. Lewis with my son (in the order ), which was wonderful. But not all of my reading was for fun. I focused mostly on current cultural issues, given all that went down in 2020. I wanted to bett

How does God’s knowledge relate to the created world? And if God knows the future, what does that mean for human freedom? In Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism Tim Stratton seeks to shed light on these questions by engaging with the apparent conflict between human freedom and divine knowledge. The bulk of the book is an historical survey of significant Christian thinkers. But Stratton also engages with myriad philosophical and theological arguments pertaining

Question: Hello Dr. Stratton, I just finished reading the section about the Kalam Cosmological Argument in your article about various arguments for the existence of God. I have been doing some very serious soul searching the past few months and have been questioning the validity of my own non-belief. While I wasn't surprised to find plenty of attempts to prove God's existence (many of them quite ridiculous, such as Anselm's original ontological argument), I was shocked by th

As a theologian and apologist who regularly offers a cumulative case for the existence of God, I am often asked to disclose my favorite argument in my repertoire. Indeed, near the end of a good Q&A session, where all kinds of questions and objections are raised, I can count on someone asking me what I take to be the best argument. This is often the one question that "stumps" me.  Although I have made a commitment to " never be stumped by the same question twice ," this questi

The purpose of this paper is to enquire into a topic of immense interest to the writer. In brief, the writer will outline the doctrine of mere Molinism (  because a full outlining and apologia of this doctrine in argument is beyond the scope of this paper) and inquire into how a feature of this doctrine can be attributed to Christology. Molinism is a little known and often neglected concept within theology. This doctrine was discovered by Luis De Molina who was a Jesuit Prie

Question:  Dr. Stratton, In your book Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism , you discuss perfect being theology. With that in mind, I have a question that seems impossible to answer:  Is it possible for more than one maximally great being to exist? - Dan Tim's Response: I enjoy dwelling upon perfect being theology and what it means to be a maximally great being (MGB). Indeed, I spill much ink in my book discussing the fact that God is a MGB. With your question i

I recently had the pleasure of interacting with a few folks studying philosophical theology after sharing my paper defending Mere Molinism from the objections raised by Calvinist philosopher, Guillaume Bignon. This led to a short, but profitable, exchange with Michael regarding Molinism and Hell. It sheds light on a couple important issues . . . please enjoy. Michael: Molinism is stupid. No one deserves hell for randomly selecting B rather than A (same cause, different eff