Philosophy

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

By Corrado Zuppardi 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

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

I recently finished Michael Bergmann's Justification Without Awareness . It was very dense and I will certainly have to read it again since some discussions were above my current level of understanding. But I'll offer some thoughts on the parts that I did understand. The topic is epistemic justification. The book is divided into two parts. Part one develops an extended argument against epistemic internalism and part two defends epistemic externalism from objections. As a com

Objection: Tim, in your paper, Bignon’s Review of Mere Molinism: A Rejoinder , you wrote the following: “I wrote a 300-page book surveying biblical data, historical theology, metaphysics, epistemology, perfect being theology, and apologetics. I only had one chapter to devote to a philosophical defense of libertarian freedom. Thus, I did not have the time or space to survey potential objections (of which I am aware and which I believe do not scathe the FreeThinking Argument)”

My recently published book, Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism , has, for the most part, received positive reviews. But I had anticipated a negative response from one particular philosopher, Guillaume Bignon, a Calvinist, whom I critiqued in the book. Bignon provided a 50-page “extremely negative assessment” criticizing almost everything in the book — from my English and grammar, to my philosophy and theology. In the paper linked below, I offer a critical re

The book, Debating Christian Religious Epistemology , was a brilliant idea. It is educational, cordial, up-to-date with current scholarship, and quite enjoyable. For my friends (especially my Christian friends) who often ask me for good introductions to epistemology, this is among the best at least with respect to religious epistemology. The book begins with a helpful overview introducing the reader to religious epistemology. The topics covered include the structure of justif

This year, I have the privilege of studying abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland. While Scotland is now considered one of the more secular places on earth, it has a rich history of Christianity dating back to perhaps the early third century. So naturally, I made sure to enroll in Edinburgh University’s History of Christianity as a World Religion course. Readings for the course varied in time period, language, cultural context, and subject matter; they ranged from the diary of Perpet

Question: Dr. Stratton, in your book you point out that if our thoughts and beliefs are causally determined by physics and chemistry, then they are not reliable. I agree since physics and chemistry are not intentionally aimed at true beliefs. However, related to that, you also say that even if God casually determines all of our thoughts and beliefs all the time, then they still aren’t reliable. God is an intentional being (much different than physics and chemistry), so why wo

I recently made a video for the FreeThinking Ministries YouTube channel entitled Divine Determinism and the GOD OF MISCHIEF . In this video I point out that if naturalistic determinism is true, then all human thoughts and beliefs are causally determined by the forces of nature, the initial conditions of the big bang, past events, perhaps some quantum mechanics, and all other things outside of human control. Since these naturalistic events would be causally determined by proce

A parable, according to Merriam Webster , is "a short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle." Jesus was famous for teaching morality through the use of these tools. With that in mind, consider a thought experiment, a modern-day "parable," if you will: A trained MMA fighter notices a suspected rapist/murderer was breaking into his neighbor's house to presumably rape and kill his neighbor's daughter who was home alone. What if the highly s