Think Theism

An introduction to apologetics and how to have conversations about faith in good faith. This video is from our 2021 Spring lecture series covering Natural Theology & the Truth of Christianity. Each week, we evaluate the classical arguments for and against the existence of God and truth of Christianity. For more information go to http://rc-tamu.org/natural-theology […]

Ben (our resident Catholic) discusses the seven books of the Deuterocanon (or Apocrypha), what they are, and why they are included in the Catholic Old Testament canon. N.B. While Ratio Christi at Texas A&M does not officially take a position on the canonical status of these books and many Protestants reject them, they nevertheless are […]

We turn to the question of ancient Israelite religion. While we usually think of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism as the big three monotheistic religions, is the historical reality more complicated than that? Psalm 82 takes centre stage in a discussion of the unseen spiritual realm. Slides and video available at http://rc-tamu.org/confronting-old-testament-controversy/

We conclude our discussion on the question of Israelite origins by tackling the ethical objection to the Hebrew invasion of Canaan. Did God command genocide? How does Jesus influence our interpretation of these unnerving accounts? Slides and video available at http://rc-tamu.org/confronting-old-testament-controversy/

The question of Israelite origins remains one of the hottest debates amongst ancient historians. Did a massive Hebrew invasion force wipe out the Canaanites in the 15th/13th century B.C.? Is the entire military career of Joshua invented from thin air? Building off of the previous discussion of the exodus, we proceed into the murky waters […]

The Hebrew exodus from Egypt is the founding event both in Israel’s history as a people and the redemptive history of Christian faith. But, is there any evidence such an event occurred? We discuss the archaeological background, the major options for dates (early, late, and more), as well as different theories about the exodus. Slides […]

We conclude our discussion on Genesis, creation, and evolution by addressing the controversy over the historical Adam & Eve. First, we outline the biblical data concerning Eve & Adam. Next, we survey the scientific data related to human origins. Lastly, we wrap up by integrating different interpretations of Eve & Adam with various theological systems. […]

Zach and Andrew casually chat about some loose threads from the Genesis and science meeting. They clear up some confusion about stellar parallax, discuss additional interpretations of the days of Genesis, and expand on the intelligent design movement.

We continue addressing the controversy on Genesis, creation, and evolution. In this episode, we focus on the scientific questions of (i) the age of the earth, (ii) common ancestry, and (iii) how life diversified. Next time, we will hone in on the question of Adam & Eve. Slides and video available at http://rc-tamu.org/confronting-old-testament-controversy/

Confronting Old Testament Controversy 2: We begin our discussion on creation, evolution, and Genesis by addressing the controversy over the genre of Genesis 1-11, aka the “Primeval History”. Andrew surveys the relevant literary categories and the debate over literalism, metaphor, and history. Slides and video available at http://rc-tamu.org/confronting-old-testament-controversy/