Question: Dear Dr. Stratton, John Martin Fischer  has stated that one of the primary reasons that he is a compatibilist is because of what Kevin Timpe calls the “Held Hostage Objection” (HHO). The HHO states that if determinism were to be scientifically proven in some fashion then the compatibilist wouldn’t have to alter their views of moral responsibility or human freedom whereas the incompatibilist would have to make major revisions to their worldview (lest they be inconsis

Good evening! To everyone watching this debate, thank you for taking theology seriously. And to Dr. James White, it’s an honor to have this conversation with you. Thank you, sir! James and I disagree on tonight’s topic, but we have two things in common: (i), we are brothers in Christ . . . and (ii), we never have a bad hair day! Although this is an in-house debate, “outsiders” (as Paul refers to them in Col 4:5) are watching closely. If White’s view of God prevails, atheists

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

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

I have always found it amazing how many notable Christian mouthpieces have vociferously denied giving any credence to Marxist ideology while at the same time giving wholesale credence to Marxist ideology. What is obvious to the most thoughtful observer schooled in Marxist philosophy is obscured in the minds of those who are saturated with it. The best way to make a disciple of Marxism is to convince the student they are not a disciple of Marxism. This does not mean that every

When debating the FreeThinking Argument with naturalists (those who presuppose nature is all that exists), they often accuse me of being a "presuppositionalist" (a.k.a., "a presupper")! This means that they incorrectly believe that I am assuming naturalism is false to conclude the supernatural exists. If this were the case, I would be committing a textbook example of begging the question -- a logical fallacy! I was glad to hear that some "presuppositional apologists" have c

Suppose you awoke tomorrow and the coronavirus pandemic had come to an end and all suffering had ceased. Not only are you no longer experiencing any suffering of any kind, but neither is anyone else. All suffering resulting from moral or natural evil — including COVID-19 – was nothing but a memory. Is there any reason to think that it would stay that way? To answer this question, take a short quiz: Question #1: Would you take this “suffering-free world” for granted? Would yo

For such a bright guy, Richard Dawkins—famed evolutionary biologist and outspoken atheist—sure makes a lot of controversial statements on Twitter . He's recently done it again, causing a firestorm because of a series of tweets on eugenics : In case you never learned about eugenics in school, here’s dictionary.com’s definition : “the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, especially by such means as discou

I met Tim Stratton when he reached out to me after reading my book Reason and Proper Function: A Response to Alvin Plantinga . He enthusiastically let me know that the argument I presented in that book supports a version of libertarian freedom that he endorses. At first, I wondered “what did I write to support libertarian freedom?” Then I questioned, “What does Tim mean by libertarian freedom?” So I asked him: “Do you mean libertarian freedom as contra-causal freedom?” Tim sa

After three long years of intense research and writing, I finally submitted my doctoral dissertation in hopes of getting three pesky letters to follow my last name for the rest of my life: Ph.D. (I passed)! My final submission was 350 pages long (including the bibliography). To keep it relatively "short" -- and to eventually complete this project in a timely manner -- I unfortunately had to "axe" many points that I was originally planning to include. These arguments went to t

Question: Dear Tim, This is a three-pronged question: What is The FreeThinking Argument ? What are the premises of the argument? And what reasons are there to believe that the premises are true? Please lay out a defense of all of the argument's steps. - Evan Tim's Response: Thank you for the question, Evan. <1 > > Before I explain and defend the FreeThinking Argument , it is vital to define a term that the argument hinges upon: Libertarian Freedom (libertarian free will/

Suppose you awoke tomorrow in a state of affairs in which suffering had ceased. Not only are you no longer experiencing suffering of any kind, but you became aware that all suffering had come to an end. There was no more suffering resulting from moral or natural evil -- and even gratuitous animal suffering was nothing but a memory. Is there any reason to think that it would stay that way? In order to answer this question, take a short quiz: Question #1: Would you take this

I once had the pleasure of interacting with Arminian theologian, Dr. Jack Cottrell. Many Arminians also claim to be Molinists. In fact, many scholars believe that Arminius was a Molinist! Cottrell, however, is an Arminian who opposes Molinism. Here is a sampling of our online debate. Hi Jack, I sincerely thank you for adding me as a FB friend. Kyle asked me to take a look at your comments on Molinism as he is contemplating these differing views. If you don’t mind, I would

I have been a Christian for many years—since I was a teenager—and I have been a pastor for about 42 years, but I have to admit that I know so little about God. I say that not with a fake humility, but because it is true. I want—like most of believers—to have a deep relationship with God, but far too often there are only periods that punctuate a rather ordinary life. In fact in my experience, there is a certain illusiveness about God. C. S. Lewis tapped into this longing when

William Lane Craig is famous for resurrecting and defending the Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA). The argument appeals to both philosophical and scientific evidence for the beginning of the universe. If the Kalam is sound, it seems to prove the existence of God. The question is raised: Is the argument sound given our modern, scientific understanding of cosmology? In this essay I will review and examine the premises of the Kalam to see if we have good reason to affirm them a

The primary goal of FreeThinking Ministries is to equip the church to engage the culture. Thus, we spend a lot of time not only demonstrating the reasons as to why Christian theism is true, but countless hours are also devoted to helping the Body of Christ think correctly on certain issues. One issue that demands clear thinking is abortion. It boggles my mind as to how many of my Christian friends vote for pro-choice political candidates. I have no idea how one who refers to 

Welcome to the second installment in my series, Stuff Atheists Say ! ( Read part 1 here. ) This series is dedicated to bad arguments and statements that some atheists (the internet troll type) make to derail a conversation and avoid having to put forth any arguments or evidence of their own. My intention is not to smear every nonbeliever as there are many thoughtful and honest questions that skeptics ask which need to be answered. In fact, there are many atheists who are just