Thinking Christianly

By Stan W. WallaceReligion & Spirituality Christianity Education Self-Improvement

Thinking Christianly episodes

October 15Who and What Can We Trust? Epistemology 3 – Episode 54
In this episode, we explore the nuances of religious epistemology, focusing on Internalism versus Externalism, and how these frameworks influence our understanding of how we know God. We discuss how Christian thinkers like Plantinga approach these issues, and how to evaluate who we can trust in the midst of complexity.
In this podcast we discuss:
How do we understand the difference between Externalism and Internalism as it relates to epistemology?
How do Internalists and Externalists address the idea of “normal”?
The four properly basic beliefs and how we gain knowledge.
Alvin Plantinga’s epistemological framework and philosophical contributions.
The negative influence of logical positivism in scholarship, and how it shows up in broader culture.
How can knowledgeable Christians support each other epistemically?
How do we evaluate who to trust for correct information?
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
Series Episode 1: How Do You Know? Are You Sure? Epistemology – Episode 52
Series Episode 2: Who Wants to Live a Lie? Epistemology 2 – Episode 53 – Thinking Christianly
Alvin Plantinga, Two Dozen (or so) Arguments for the Existence of God: The Plantinga Project
Find more information on the work of Alvin Plantinga here.
Randy Newman, Questioning Evangelism, Third Edition: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did
Neal Gillespie, Charles Darwin and the Problem of Creation
JP Moreland, Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology
Richard Swinburne, Epistemic Justification
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Religious Epistemology
02:10 Defining Internalism and Externalism
04:04 The Significance of Properly Basic Beliefs (Not accurate/wrong place)
08:03 Plantinga’s Reconciliation of Faith and Reason (Not accurate/wrong place)
12:02 The Role of Evidence and Experience
16:01 The Authority of Experts and Community
20:00 The Fall and Its Impact on Knowledge
24:09 Logical Positivism and Its Critique
28:00 The Sociological Roots of Belief
32:07 Practical Implications for Christian Faith
45 min
September 15Who Wants to Live a Lie? Epistemology 2 – Episode 53
In this episode, JP and Stan discuss the requirements and responsibilities of truth-seeking as rational beings created in God’s image.
In this podcast we discuss:
What does our knowledge of reality have to do with our ability to live a meaningful life?
Why is seeking truth considered a virtue?
In what ways does Christianity uniquely elevate the role of reason?
What is a “justified true belief” and how does that framework help us see beyond Scientism?
How does understanding epistemology help us in evaluating the claims of Scripture?
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
Antony Flew and Roy Abraham Varghese, There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind
Stan W. Wallace, “Four Reasons Why The World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind“
J.P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul
Series Episode 1: How Do You Know? Are You Sure? Epistemology – Episode 52
47 min
August 15How Do You Know? Are You Sure? Epistemology – Episode 52
What does it really mean to say that we “know” something? In this episode, we begin a series on epistemology, the study of knowledge and reasonable belief.
In this podcast we discuss:
What is knowledge (including knowledge about God)? Can we have it? If so, how? Can we be sure?
What kinds of knowledge exist and how do we access them?
What is the difference between certainty and defeasibility? Must we have certainty to have knowledge?
What is the role of skepticism and how should Christians respond?
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
Roderick Chisholm, The Foundations of Knowing
J.P. Moreland and Garrett DeWeese, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, Chapter 2
J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, Part II (Chapters 3 through 7)
51 min
July 15What Ideas Are Shaping Our Culture? Answering Questions About Postmodernism, Panpsychism, and Enchantment – Episode 51
In our first-ever question-and-response episode, Stan and JP engage with listener questions about postmodernism, panpsychism, and enchantment.
In this podcast we discuss:
How can adopting a broader, more holistic sacramental theology help us to understand the nature of reality?
What is panpsychism, and why does the “Combination Problem” make it implausible? How is it incompatible with the Christian worldview?
Can we understand our world as “enchanted” without slipping into panpsychism?
Are we culturally post-Postmodern?
Why is this moment in the history of ideas such a crucial one for Christians to offer a better answer?
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
Ask your question here: https://www.speakpipe.com/ThinkingChristianly
Stan Wallace, Have We Lost Our Minds?
Paul Gould, Cultural Apologetics: Renewing the Christian Voice, Conscience, and Imagination in a Disenchanted World
Charles Taylor, A Secular Age
John W. Cooper, Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate
46 min
May 15What Happened to Truth, Goodness, and Beauty? The Cultural Impact of Nominalism – Episode 50
In this episode, we discuss more ways the realism/nominalism debate is having a dramatic impact on all we think and do as we wrap up our series on this important topic.
In these episodes, we discuss:
Our culture’s confusion over what art is due to implicit nominalism
How nominalism undercuts our knowledge of chemistry, biology, and ethics
Ways in which nominalistic thinking seeps into our language and reinforces our confusion
Nominalism as the seedbed for critical theory and other destructive cultural ideas
The necessity of realism to understand our growth in Christ
How nominalism cuts the heart out of Christian theology (and is assumed in Islamic theology)
Final comments on the stakes of the realist/nominalist debate

Resources mentioned during our conversation:
The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate
The second episode in the series: #46 – Good Reasons to Believe in Things We Can’t See: The Realism/Nominalism Debate
The third episode in this series: #47: The Beliefs, Distinctions, and Cultural Impact of Nominalism: The Realism/Nominalism Debate,
The fourth episode in this series: #48: God, Universals, and the Nature of Reality: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 4 (with special guest Paul Gould, Ph.D)
The fifth episode in this series: #49: Application of the Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 5: The Hidden Battle Shaping Our Lives and Culture
Madeline L’Engle, A Circle of Quiet – “Art is not a mirror, but an icon…”
David Hull, The Metaphysics Of Evolution
Hellen Pluckrose & James Lindsay, Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity―and Why This Harms Everybody
Jon Kelly, The Ontology of the Soul and Pauline Renewal of the Mind: How Holistic Dualism Accounts for the Restructuring of the Soul and Human Flourishing. Dissertation, University of St. Andrews
Recommended resources:
P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview
49 min
April 15Does Your View of Reality Shape Your Life? The Hidden Battle Shaping Culture – Episode 49
In this and the next podcast, we turn our conversation to points of application, discussing some of the ways the Realism/Nominalism debate is having a dramatic impact on all we think and do.
In these episodes we discuss:
If beauty is really in the eye of the beholder
Can there be justice for all if we are nominalists
How these ideas shape the work of physicians and therapists
The nominalistic assumption underlying Critical Theory
Why people say “That’s true for you but not for me.”
How we got to the point of believing there are more than two genders
Nominalism and abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia
If there is one correct interpretation of a passage of Scripture (or any other document, such as the Constitution)?
How nominalism cuts the heart out of Christian theology (and is supposed in Islamic theology)
What it means to discuss “family” without a realist understanding
Some questions that help people understand the limits of their Nominalist views
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate, Part 1
The second episode in the series: #46 – Good Reasons to Believe in Things We Can’t See: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 2
The third episode in this series: #47: The Beliefs, Distinctions, and Cultural Impact of Nominalism: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 3
The fourth episode in this series: #48: God, Universals, and the Nature of Reality: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 4 (with special guest Paul Gould, Ph.D) – Thinking Christianly
J.P. Moreland, Finding Quiet: My Struggle of Overcoming Anxiety and the Practices that Brought Peace
Thinking Christianly Podcast – #19: Finding Quiet When Experiencing Anxiety and Depression
Pitirim Sorokin, The Crisis of Our Age (archive edition)
Recommended resources:
J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview
47 min
March 15Does Reality Point Us to God? Exploring Universals and the Nature of Reality with Paul Gould- Episode 48
In this episode, we drill down further into how the Realist/Nominalist debate shapes our understanding of God with special guest and expert, Dr. Paul Gould.
In this podcast, we discuss:
What is “Divine Conceptualism” and how does it relate to Moderate Realism?
What are some of the intellectual resources we gain when we hold Platonist ideas about abstract objects and traditional theist understandings about God’s nature?
How does distinguishing the two types of creation help us understand God’s creative activity?
Where do distinctions about Platonic and Aristotelian thought help us sort through what we can know about reality?
How does “Divine Exemplarism” help us make sense of difficult passages in Scripture?
How can we make sense of the concept of “Divine Simplicity” without falling into incoherence?
What is the concept of “Divine Aseity” and what requirements does it actually place on our ideas about God’s nature?
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate, Part 1
The second episode in the series: #46 – Good Reasons to Believe in Things We Can’t See: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 2
The third episode in this series: #47: The Beliefs, Distinctions, and Cultural Impact of Nominalism: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 3
Recommended resources:
To find out more about Paul Gould and his work, please visit his website – Paul Gould
J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, chapter on Properties
Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, chapter on Properties
J. P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul
57 min
February 15Is Reality Discovered or Created? Understanding The Impact of Nominalism – Episode 47
In this episode, we continue exploring realism and nominalism by taking a deeper look into Nominalist beliefs.
In this podcast, we discuss:
What does a person mean when they say they are a nominalist?
How is nominalism a contributing factor to current cultural beliefs?
What are the major distinctions within nominalism?
How do moderate and extreme nominalists understand properties? What are the challenges inherent in these ideas?
Why would a person be inclined to hold nominalist views?
How do we engage in this discussion with fellow Christians?
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
Stan Wallace, “Three Reasons to Believe in Things You Can’t See,” (four-part series)
The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate, Part 1
The second episode in the series: #46 – Good Reasons to Believe in Things We Can’t See: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 2
Recommended resources:
P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, chapter on Properties
Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, chapter on Properties
JP Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul
45 min
January 15Can We Believe in Things We Can’t See? How Reason Reveals Reality – Episode 46
In this episode, we continue exploring the differences between Realism and Nominalism by discussing good reasons to hold a Realist perspective.
In this podcast, we discuss:
What good reasons do we have to believe in abstract objects that we cannot see?
How is it that we are intuitively aware of things we cannot see?
Why do we naturally group things together? Is this “seeing” the universal they all share?
What are relations? Are they real? Can we see them?
What were some of the ideas that early modern empiricists got right?
What kinds of theological problems do we bump into when we reject realism?
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
Stan Wallace, “Three Reasons to Believe in Things You Can’t See,” (four-part series)
The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate
Recommended resources:
J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, chapter on Properties
Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, chapter on Properties
Scott Smith, The The Dangers of Nominalism, on The Kirkwood Center Podcast
44 min
December 15, 2025What Makes Things What They Are? Understanding The Realist-Nominalist Debate – Episode 45
#45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate
In this episode, we kick off a series discussing the most fundamental issue underlying all other questions: what makes things what they are? How does a proper understanding help us live well and flourish in our world?
In this podcast, we discuss:
Defining the two options: realism (universals exist) and nominalism (universals don’t exist)
What is God’s relationship to universals? Is this a threat to His uniqueness?
How does thinking well about this issue help us grow in the knowledge and love of God?
Resources mentioned during our conversation:
Stan Wallace, Have We Lost Our Minds?
Pitirim Sorokin, The Crisis of Our Age (archive edition)
Paul Gould, Beyond the Control of God? Six Views on The Problem of God and Abstract Objects
Recommended resources:
J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview
Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions
Scott Smith, Dangers of Nominalism: An Interview
46 min