Can Christian faith be intellectually responsible—and what role should reason play in knowing and trusting God? Host Luke Betzner is joined by Christian apologist and scholar Dr. Don Deal for a careful exploration of faith, reason, evidence, logic, revelation, and truth.

Dr. Deal explains why biblical faith is neither blind belief nor skeptical paralysis. Faith and reason perform distinct but cooperative roles: reason evaluates evidence and exposes contradiction, revelation supplies truths human inquiry could not discover on its own, and faith entrusts the believer to what God has revealed. The conversation also examines how Christians can reason faithfully without elevating human reason above God.

In this episode

• How faith and reason work together without becoming identical
• Why reason is a God-given capacity rather than an autonomous judge over God
• General revelation, special revelation, and rational grounds for belief
• The dangers of fideism, rationalism, pragmatism, and circular reasoning
• Deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning explained
• Why logical training matters for discipleship, discernment, and evangelism
• Scientific reasoning, certainty, probability, and inference to the best explanation
• Truth, beauty, love, logic, and realities that science cannot measure directly
• How to engage skeptics and materialists through thoughtful questions rather than information overload
• How Jesus used Scripture, questions, evidence, analogy, and logical argument
• How Christians can weigh evidence with intellectual honesty and theological confidence

Chapters

 00:00 Welcome to Paratus
 00:27 Introducing Dr. Don Deal
 01:39 Dr. Deal’s journey from aviation to apologetics
 03:57 How faith and reason work together
 11:56 What reason is—and what it is not
 20:34 Pragmatism, contradiction, and competing worldviews
 23:40 Deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning
 28:22 Learning to reason well
 29:40 Why Christians should study logic
 31:49 The real conflict: truth versus error
 33:45 Science, induction, and levels of certainty
 36:10 What science cannot see
 39:12 Engaging materialists without “beating them with information”
 44:45 How Jesus used reason and evidence
 50:32 Weighing evidence as a Christian
 54:33 Faith that understands and reason that seeks truth
 55:54 Recommended reading
 57:15 Norm Geisler International Ministries and Veritas
 58:18 Preview of the next episode 

Guest

Dr. Don Deal is a Christian apologist, scholar, and Director of Classical Apologetics at Norm Geisler International Ministries. He also teaches scientific apologetics at Veritas International University. Learn more about his work and the Norm Geisler Institute at ngim.org.

Recommended reading

• Reasons for Belief: Easy-to-Understand Answers to 10 Essential Questions — Norman L. Geisler and Patty Tunnicliffe
• Twelve Points That Show Christianity Is True — Norman L. Geisler; available through the NGIM store
• Christian Apologetics — Norman L. Geisler
• Reasons for Faith: Making a Case for the Christian Faith — edited by Norman L. Geisler and Chad V. Meister
• Come, Let Us Reason: An Introduction to Logical Thinking — Norman L. Geisler and Ronald M. Brooks

Season 8 resource

This season’s conversations are guided by The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith, edited by William A. Dembski, Casey Luskin, and Joseph M. Holden.

About Paratus

Paratus is the broadcast ministry of Veritas International University, helping Christians develop a biblical worldview so they can think deeply, stand firmly, and live purposefully in changing times.

To learn more about VIU—or to support this outreach—visit ves.edu.

Are science and Christianity fundamentally at odds—or can they converge in a common pursuit of truth?

Host Luke Betzner opens Season 8 of Paratus with Dr. Casey Luskin and Dr. Jonathan McLatchie of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. Together they examine what science is, what biblical faith is, and whether the two are genuinely incompatible.

The conversation moves beyond the familiar “science versus faith” conflict. Luskin and McLatchie consider the limits of scientific consensus, the difference between evidence and authority, methodological naturalism, scientism, confirmation bias, and the importance of testing every claim. They also explore evidence bearing on a Creator—including the beginning and fine-tuning of the universe, the information-rich character of life, and the cumulative case for intelligent design and Christianity.

In this episode

• Science as an empirical, evidence-governed search for truth
• Faith as rational trust grounded in evidence rather than blind belief
• Conflict, separation, and qualified-agreement models of science and religion
• Why methodological naturalism can prevent investigators from recognizing intelligent causes
• Scientism, cognitive dissonance, institutional pressure, and scientific consensus
• The Big Bang, cosmic fine-tuning, biological information, and the origin of life
• Why multiple independent lines of evidence form a cumulative case for theism and Christianity

Chapters

00:17 — Welcome and the Season 8 question
01:14 — Meet Jonathan McLatchie and Casey Luskin
03:50 — What is science?
07:50 — What is faith?
12:32 — How science and faith relate to truth
18:19 — Why people separate science and faith
25:21 — Methodological naturalism explained
29:23 — Confirmation bias and intelligent causes
33:34 — Scientism: when science becomes an idol
37:24 — Cognitive dissonance, theology, and scientific claims
42:17 — Testing agenda-driven claims with a scout mindset
45:31 — Creation, the Big Bang, and fine-tuning
50:20 — A cumulative case for design and Christianity
53:39 — Recommended books and further study
55:43 — Closing resources and a preview of Episode 2

Guests and resources

• Dr. Casey Luskin — Associate Director, Research Director, and Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture
• Dr. Jonathan McLatchie — Fellow of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture
• JonathanMcLatchie.com
• Talk About Doubts — confidential conversations for those examining doubts about Christianity
• Discovery Institute
• The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith: Exploring the Ultimate Questions About Life and the Cosmos, edited by William A. Dembski, Casey Luskin, and Joseph M. Holden

Recommended reading mentioned in the episode

Undeniable by Douglas Axe; Signature in the Cell, Darwin’s Doubt, and Return of the God Hypothesis by Stephen C. Meyer; works by C. John Collins on science and Genesis; Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique; and The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef.

About Paratus

Paratus is sponsored by Veritas International University and exists to defend and discuss unchanging truth in changing times—helping listeners think deeply, stand firmly, and live purposefully within a biblical worldview.

Learn more about VIU and support its outreach at ves.edu.

God’s grace is a central feature of salvation. Without grace, people can’t be saved.  As the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2: 8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Because of God’s unmerited favor, we have access to the Father by one Spirit, with Christ as our cornerstone. Therefore, grace is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith.

Christ’s resurrection stands at the core of the Christian faith.  Without the resurrection, Christianity is nothing more than moral teachings. It’s as the Apostle Paul declares in I Corinthians 15:14: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”  Hence, the resurrection is a crucial doctrine to defend.  Why?  Without it, Christianity stands or falls, offering no real means of salvation.  Therefore, the resurrection is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith.

Christ’s atoning death is the heartbeat of the Christian faith, leading to the resurrection.   As the Apostle Paul states in I Corinthians 15:3: “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.”  And it’s because of Christ’s death and resurrection that salvation is made possible for all who believe. This makes the atoning death of Jesus central to the Christian faith.   Because Christ sacrificially atoned for human sin on the cross, Jesus died for the unjust—that’s you and me, enabling God to be the Perfect Sacrifice for salvation.

If Jesus had two biological parents, then He would have been a sinner like the rest of us.  And unless Jesus was without sin, then we are without a Savior, one who can offer true salvation. Classical Christianity holds that Jesus was completely without sin, following the Apostle Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 5:21:  “ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Throughout history, there’s been challenges to the veracity and accuracy of the virgin conception of Jesus, saying it should not be considered an essential doctrine of the Christian faith. Some question if it if it occurred at all.  But here’s the thing to remember:  if Jesus had two biological parents, he’d be born into sin, and therefore unable to provide a pure sacrifice to redeem the world.  The fact that His perfection is protected through Mary’s genealogy (as described in the Gospel of Luke) is a clue to Jesus’ divine, miraculous conception. 

Because a perfect God can do nothing less than create a perfect world, God created all things perfect. But due to the fall of humanity through a misuse of free will, sin entered the world, wreaking havoc. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, people are born with a sin-nature. Every human being—except Jesus Christ—has been born a sinner. And because of this, Christ’s redemptive mission is to save us from our sin and establish a right relationship with God.  

Why? Because humans are unable to earn our own salvation. Furthermore, if there was no sin, Christ’s mission would not be unnecessary.  Therefore, human depravity is an essential doctrine because it deals with humanity’s need for a Savior.

The nature of Christ—that He is both human and divine—is foundational to a Biblical understanding of the Christina faith. Not only did the Old Testament predict the Messiah would be deity, but Jesus claimed to be the Messiah.  

Furthermore, Jesus’ humanity is a fundamental doctrine for our salvation.  As God, Jesus had direct access to the Father; as man, He could reach to humanity, offering the gift of salvation to all who believe. 

The nature of Christ—that He is both human and divine—is foundational to a Biblical understanding of the Christina faith. Not only did the Old Testament predict the Messiah would be deity, but Jesus claimed to be the Messiah.  

Furthermore, Jesus’ deity is a fundamental doctrine for our salvation.  As God, Jesus had direct access to the Father; as man, He could reach to humanity, offering the gift of salvation to all who believe.