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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

When a Christian grasps the maximal greatness of God that is both implied in Scripture and deductively concluded via the Ontological Argument , everything seems to become clear and life gets better (even during times of suffering).  One of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis is the following: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Similarly, now that I grasp the utter perfection of G

I have spent many years wading through the history and ugliness of race relations in our culture and throughout the church.  There are some ugly moments, especially in America, for the church to deal with in regard to racism.  The evangelical support for Slavery in the mid and late 1800s and of segregation thereafter are a blight on our tradition. Theologically, these arguments for slavery never held any water, neither did arguments for racism or segregation. And, over time,

After surveying the writings of prominent Reformed theologians, I have concluded that many were/are quite open to the concept of what I refer to as limited libertarian freedom . That is to say, although these Reformers might have rejected libertarian freedom when it comes to soteriological matters (issues pertaining to salvation), they seemed to leave metaphysical room and, as Oliver Crisp writes in Deviant Calvinism , “conceptual space, so to speak, to prescind from determin

With tears welling up in my eyes, I read the Facebook post written by Dr. Michael Heiser; the effects of stage 4 pancreatic cancer were getting worse. This was heart-breaking news. Many of us had been prayerfully hopeful for Dr. Heiser’s healing over the past few months. Our prayers are still with him and his family as he, by all indications, seems to be finishing his race. But what a race this has been. What a blessing it has been to follow this man’s ministry. It’s not poss

It is important to note that I unabashedly approach my theology from a Protestant-Reformed perspective. After all, I have been a Protestant pastor in the Evangelical Free Church of America for nearly a decade. Although I left the pastorate to pursue analytic theology and apologetics (I am no longer employed as a pastor), I am still active in the denomination. Although I affirm Mere Molinism (based upon a couple ideas advanced by a Spanish Jesuit), I am not a Jesuit. I am Ref

Language is complex. Language provides the building blocks for communication in society.  What certain words or phrases mean within a given context helps to shape the understanding of the culture at large. Words, and their definitions, are what organize society. Words that define a culture’s foundational institutions most of all. Concise language provides clarity and direction for communities, cultures, and countries. Language matters. It is important to define what I mean

Question Dr. Stratton, If you say if God determines all things and some believers have false theological beliefs would that mean God determined them to believe false things and that makes God deceptive? And if you would say yes to that.. if you think that God determined Jesus to die on the cross does that make God also a murderer? If you think God determined Pharoah to harden his heart does that make God cruel? If God determined Assyria and Babylon to destroy Israel does that

Paul Manata has raised objections to my arguments against exhaustive divine determinism over the past few months. In fact, Manata seems to have made it his mission to personally lead the charge against An Explanation and Defense of the Free-Thinking Argument which I coauthored with JP Moreland. Below, Manata’s concerns will be quoted and addressed. <1 > >  Paul Manata: “On S&M’s paper on the Freethinking Argument: Made it to the conclusion. Wrote notes and comments as I read

Objection! "Over and over and over again, Stratton claims that Paul Manata is question-begging against “epistemic” incompatibilism. < See=">See" this="this" link ="link</a>" for="for" details="details"> . But, I don’t understand. Who’s argument is being presented? Is it Manta’s ? Is it the compatibilist’s? Who has the burden here to show that epistemic compatibilism is false? It is clearly NOT the compatibilist’s burden; it is the incompatibilist’s burden. How can an interlo

Recently, on Eli Ayala's Revealed Apologetics website, author Joshua Pillows published a blog article entitled TAG summarized & Explained: An Absolute Proof of God .  I found Pillow's article to be a clear and well-written account of the t ranscendental a rgument for God (TAG). Because of his clarity, it also provides reason as to why most Calvinists and a large percentage of those who practice Reformed theology cannot logically appeal to the TAG as an apologetic (lest one sh

Are you a Christian Nationalist? The midterm elections are upon us. People will go out in mass to vote on Tuesday (many have already voted in early voting states) and the national rhetoric around how we ought to run the country has reached a fever pitch.  It always does.  Relentless attack ads, mudslinging, misrepresenting an opponent’s platform, or, flat out lying about it.  This has been the way of American politics for as long as I can remember. I wish it weren't so, but

Paul Manata is known to be an aggressive but intellectual defender of exhaustive divine determinism (EDD) on social media. He is also more than willing to attack a fellow Christian's character in the process. He has recently taken issue with my arguments against EDD and my arguments for libertarian freedom. He took to social media in an attempt to debunk my arguments while also throwing a few personal insults. While Manata’s behavior is not becoming of one who considers himse