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Question: Dear Dr. Tim,  I'm interested to know if you have any biblical thought on the alien thing?!? Do you think there might have been sightings, contact, etc.? I was wondering if there is anything biblical in regards to that? With the recent government hearings on this and the conspiracy theories going around for some reason you were the first person I thought to contact. - Tammi Dr. Tim's Response: Hi Tammi! Yes, I do have some thoughts about what to do with extraterrest

Is slavery good?  Absolutely not! The first book of the Bible makes it clear that being sold into slavery against one's will is the epitome of evil. Scripture also shows how this specific evil (as well as all evil, suffering, and affliction) will ultimately be used by God for good. In Genesis, chapters 37 through 50 , the Bible recounts the story of Joseph being sold into slavery. Joseph was a favored son among his brothers and faced betrayal when they sold him into slavery o

One of my favorite arguments for the existence of God is known as the Moral Argument (made famous by William Lane Craig). I believe that it is sound and forceful. The deductive syllogism is typically stated as follows: If God does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not exist. Objective moral values and duties do exist. Therefore, God exists. Click here to watch a short video of how William Lane Craig defends the premises of this argument. Click here to wat

Edit 9/29/23 -  I can no longer recommend this movie in good conscience. For more, see my YouTube episode of FTMonthly released on 9/29/23 and read this article entitled the Ballard of Truth . Recently, I had the opportunity to watch the hot new film Sound of Freedom .  If you have not heard of this movie, you may be living under a rock of some sort as it has been making headlines since its release on July 4 th . A fairly low budget film that was completed five years ago bu

A few months ago I was invited to speak to a group of parents at a church. The topic: Standing on Truth in Love .  A few months prior I was invited to another church to speak on Identity and how to address it in a post-Christian culture (to book speaking engagements click: HERE ).  In both instances I started my talk on the topic the same way: with a quick note on conversations, and how to have them in different contexts. Over the past decade I have become convinced that on

Although I have offered multiple arguments against exhaustive divine determinism (EDD), one of the best ways to see the absurdity of EDD -- a view advanced by Calvinist scholars -- is to simply read the Bible carefully. That is to say, if one intentionally reads the Bible through deterministic lenses, one will quickly see that determinism opposes biblical Christianity. Indeed, a careful reading of Scripture might provide the most powerful reason to reject determinism.  A par

Question Dear Dr. Stratton, Why do you spend so much time arguing with other Christians about free will? Why do you spend so much time arguing against Calvinism? We are all on the same team. We all worship the same God. We all share the same gospel.  While these topics are very interesting and fun to think about, do they really make that much difference at the end of the day?  - Jared Dr. Tim's Response Thank you for the question, Jared. I fear that answering it will make som

The holiest month of our culture’s liturgical calendar is upon us. June, when pride is linked to sexual identity and the eschewing of the historical norms of sex and gender. A month when nearly all corporations will virtue signal their fealty to the secular religion of Sexual Gnosticism under the guise of the misguided notion of self-actualization. Every year, in June, we are hit in the face with a barrage of rainbow flags, pride-progress flags, parades, and logo changes. Pa

If you have followed Dr. Douglas R. Groothuis’ work through the years you will know him as an excellent philosopher and dynamic apologist.  His work in philosophy at Denver Seminary is among the best in the nation and his keystone work on Christian Apologetics released in 2022 is as well. Dr. Groothuis' most recent work, however, carries the most significance yet. I have taken a keen interest in racial issues and ideologies within the American historical framework for quit

As a pastor, I have primarily received formal training in the fields of Christian theology, biblical studies, and church history (BA: Christian Theology, SPU; MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary). Nevertheless, my theological studies have led me firmly to this conclusion: that a robust acquaintance with the tools and foundations of philosophical thinking is essential to doing clear, unconfused theology. As a result, both during and posterior to my graduate studies, I have sough

An outspoken proponent of Calvinism, exhaustive divine determinism, and compatibilism, recently objected to my claim that the Held Hostage Objection was a silly reason to be a compatibilist (see, What If Science Proves Determinism ). In summary, my response to this so-called "hostage crisis" is threefold: Science is the wrong tool for the job. The Free-Thinking Argument and the Arguments from Reason provide  reasons  to reject potential ignorant claims of scientists. If one i

I've spent inordinate amounts of time debating the issues of determinism and libertarian freedom with those who believe that antecedent (prior) conditions determine all things about humanity. In essence, I have attempted to dialogue with humans who don't think we are much different than puppets or robots .  Since I have had so many debates with people who think they are basically wet robots, I thought it would be fitting to have this conversation with an actual robot -- an on

How often have you gone to the movies with high expectations, only to be let down? On the other hand, you might end up being pleasantly surprised when you go into the theater with low expectations. This past weekend, I had a rather unique experience. After a two-hour drive to Lincoln, Nebraska, I finally found a rare movie theater showing the film Nefarious . Nefarious, based on the 2016 novel A Nefarious Plot by Steve Deace, was written and directed by Chuck Konzelman and

Joshua Rasmussen  has become one of the most important thinkers in philosophy and theology today. When he speaks, I listen; when he writes, I read! I was blessed to receive a review copy of Josh's new book: Who Are You, Really?: A Philosopher's Inquiry Into the Nature and Origin of Persons . What I love about Rasmussen's writing is that he has the rare gift of being able to take top-shelf philosophy and explain it in such a way so that those who do not have graduate training

Question:   Hi Dr. Stratton, I’ve been struggling with doubting my salvation. Do I have to know for certain I am saved in order to know I’m saved? Thank you, Lindsay Dr. Tim's Response:  Hi Lindsay, The easy answer I give to someone who is worried about whether they are saved or not is that if someone is worried that they aren’t saved – and they want to be – then they don't have much to worry about. This is because, at the end of the day, those who don’t want to be in an eter

If you are active on Twitter (Give us a follow: @freethinkmin ,  @JoshRKlein ), or social media in general, you might notice that every so often the story of David and Bathsheba bubbles to the surface.  It is an interesting debate, seemingly between liberal (in the technical sense) and conservative theologians, about whether David’s actions with Bathsheba constitute, not only adultery and murder, but rape as well. The "conservative" theologians saying that there is no eviden

Never before have we witnessed first-hand such a rapid degradation of reality. Common sense seems to have died long ago, but now "logic" and "science" are also on their deathbeds. The prognosis of their revivability and survivability is yet to be determined. Their deaths directly relate to the "post-modern" worldview, which believes truth is relative and cannot be known. In today's increasingly secular environment, we are told, "That may be your truth; but it is not mine," or

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

The best defense against "arguments raised against the knowledge of God," as the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5, is good theology. As an analytic and systematic theologian, I have seen that when one grasps the fact that God is a maximally great being -- and one grasps exactly what that means -- then the multitudes of arguments raised against the existence of God have no teeth in their bite.  In the final chapter of my book, Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere M

The Grammy’s have long been a cultural symbol of transgression. The goal of the Grammy’s used to be to celebrate the best music artists in the world. It was an awards night. Or, at least, it used to be. They have always been edgy and culturally progressive. For instance, in 1973 Helen Reddy thanked God for her award but referred to God as “she” while doing so. The secular entertainment industry lends itself to this sort of subversive rhetoric. But recently the Grammy’s hav