In this first podcast of our second year, Jordan takes time to learn more about our sponsor Global Scholars. She gets the backstory of how the mission of this podcast and that of Global Scholars complement one another by interviewing Stan, who serves as President and CEO. Along the way are many great stories of how God is at work today in higher education globally.

In this podcast we discuss:

How professors influence their students to either seek Christ or reject Christ

How professors influence culture through what they teach their students

The estimated percentage of professors worldwide who are Christians

How a Christian professor helped Stan continue in the faith without even know it!

Examples of Christian professors integrating biblical truth into their teaching and writing

How J.P. has mentored Stan for almost 40 years now, and a similar relationship Jordan has

Why listeners may also be interested in Stan’s College Faith Podcast

Why Stan has hope for the university and future generations of students

Some ways God is using professors in the lives Ukrainian and Russian students

Other ways God is using Christian professors to share Christ and disciple students

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

Os Guinness, The Gravedigger Files: Papers on the Subversion of the Modern Church

The College Faith Podcast: Conversations at the Intersection of Christian Conviction and Higher Education. Specific podcasts discussed in this episode are:

Ken Elzinga, How Students Succeed at the Intersection of Christian Conviction and Higher Education

Christy Craft, Thriving as a Christian at a Secular University

Michael Kruger, Surviving Religion 101

Mary Poplin, Is Reality Secular? A Former Secular-Progressive Professor Says “No!”

Michael Kruger, Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College

Mary Poplin, Is Reality Secular?: Testing the Assumptions of Four Global Worldviews

Global Scholars website

A Personal Message from the President video

Why and How We Equip Christian Professors video

Lasting Change 2023: Our Current Strategic Plan video

As we watch the invasion of Ukraine in horror, we wonder what could possess Putin to use force so ruthlessly and indiscriminately. At least part of the answer lies in a philosophy of life that runs back through many other despots and finds it roots in the writings on Nietzsche. In this episode, Stan and JP discuss how pervasive the philosophy of Nihilism has come to be in shaping our daily lives, from the individual to the global level.

In this podcast we discuss:

What is Nihilism?

Nihilism in the trajectory of history

How Nihilism follows from the rejection of objective values and meaning

How Fredrick Nietzsche and his ideas impact culture

What Ecclesiastes says about Nihilism

How to spot Nihilism in popular culture

The “Ubermensch” according to Nietzsche and in history

How the collapse of the grand narrative of Christianity in the West impacts the future

How to have a meaningful conversation with someone who accepts Nihilism

The importance of committing to understand ideas as ambassadors in our culture

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

The Book of Ecclesiastes (NIV)

More information on Hilary Putnum’s life and work

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra

Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil

JP Moreland, The Recalcitrant Imago Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism

Romans Chapter 8 (NASB)

George Weigel, “Europe’s Two Culture Wars”

S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Randy Newman, Questioning Evangelism

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, directed by Peter Jackson (Newline Cinema, 2012)Stan's article on Nihilism

C.S. Lewis defined chronological snobbery as “...the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate of our age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that count discredited.” In this podcast, Stan and JP talk about this idea as a danger to Christians seeking to become mature in their faith, practical tips to wisely discern the value of old ideas, and how to rethink some of our modern assumptions.In this podcast we discuss: The idea of “chronological snobbery”The necessity of reading beyond our own time and placeHow our cultural chronological snobbery thwarts our search for happiness in the modern eraWhat it means to be a “dinosaur” and why we, like C.S. Lewis, should be one!A word about forgotten, pre-Enlightenment ideasHow to avoid the fallacies of appeal to novelty or traditionThe “clean sea breeze of the centuries,” and the benefit of historical understandingHow reading old books can help us become mature ChristiansResources mentioned during our conversation:More information about Owen Barfield’s life and worksC.S. Lewis, “On the Reading of Old Books,” in God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and EthicsC.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early LifeC.S. Lewis, Introduction to Athanasius' On The IncarnationC.S. Lewis, De Descriptione Temporum (Lewis’s inaugural lecture as Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University)C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of NarniaC.S. Lewis, “Men Without Chests” in The Abolition of ManMichael Ward, After Humanity: A Guide to CS Lewis's The Abolition of ManMichael Behe, Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to EvolutionFrancisco Suarez, On Efficient Causality: Metaphysical Disputations More information about Francisco Suárez’s life and worksJ.P. Moreland and Stan Wallace, “Aquinas versus Locke and Descartes on the Human Person and End-of-Life Ethics,” International Philosophical Quarterly, vol. XXXV, no. 3:319-330, 1995Aurelius Augustine, The City of God, Volume I (referenced Book 1, Argument 20)Stan Wallace, “How To Not Be A Chronological Snob”J.P. Moreland, UniversalsJ.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler, The Lost Virtue of Happiness: Discovering The Disciplines of The Good LifeThomas A. Kempis, The Imitation of Christ: A Timeless Classic for Contemporary Readers Teresa of Avila, The Way of PerfectionJohn of the Cross, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross Os Guinness and Louise Cowan, Invitation to the Classics GK Chesterton, The Ballad of the White Horse

Prayer is an important part of how we engage in relationship with God. It remains, however, a mysterious practice to many Christians. In this episode, Stan and JP discuss key beliefs about the role of prayer in the life of the believer. They investigate the purpose of prayer and why so many Christians feel frustration around the discipline of prayer.In this podcast we discuss: What prayer isThe relationship of prayer to God’s foreknowledgeHow we should understand unanswered prayer and disappointment with GodWhy God doesn’t interfere with our free willPrayer pitfalls: hat untrue ideas we might have about prayerHow prayer helps us co-labor with God toward his purposesWhy we should ask many people to pray for a specific requestThe value of written prayers in our formationThe possible relationship between our personality type and prayer lifeThe role of persistence in our prayer life.Resources mentioned during our conversation:Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God (not mentioned, but also see his Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God)Dallas Willard, A Paraphrase of the Lord’s PrayerJP Moreland, A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles: Instruction and Inspiration for Living Supernaturally in Christ Thomas Aquinas, A Prayer Before StudyJames Sire, Learning to Pray Through the PsalmsJames Sire, Praying the Psalms of JesusChester P. Michael & Marie C. Norrisey, Prayer and Temperament: Different Prayer Forms for Different Personality TypesC. S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer

On this episode of the Thinking Christianly podcast, we have the privilege of discussing J.P.’s newly released book, A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles. Jordan, J.P., and Stan share stories from their lives and the lives of others and evaluate whether or not the experience is a miracle or merely a coincidence. You will be encouraged and challenged by this conversation about God’s work in our day-to-day lives!

In this podcast we discuss:

The five types of miracles

How to evaluate supernatural experiences with faith and reason

Stories of God at work

Why we should talk with others about how God is revealing Himself

What it means to be “certain” and how this impacts our faith

The important distinction between “belief” and “knowledge”

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

JP Moreland, A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles: Instruction and Inspiration for Living Supernaturally in Christ (with free Kindle preview!)

JP Moreland, Kingdom Triangle: Recover the Christian Mind, Renovate the Soul, Restore the Spirit's Power

JP Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul

JP Moreland, Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity

JP Moreland and Mark Matlock, Smart Faith: Loving Your God with All Your Mind

JP Moreland and Klaus Issler, The Lost Virtue of Happiness: Discovering The Disciplines of The Good Life

JP Moreland, Finding Quiet: My Story of Overcoming Anxiety and the Practices that Brought Peace

JP Moreland and Gary Habermas, Beyond Death: Exploring the Evidence for Immortality

Craig S. Keener, Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World

Lee Strobel, The Case for Heaven: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for Life After Death

John Burke, Imagine Heaven: Near-Death Experiences, God's Promises, and the Exhilarating Future That Awaits You

JP and Stan continue their conversation on the nature of the soul, the many implications of us being a soul, and objections to substance dualism.

In this podcast we discuss:

Ethical decision making in light of substance dualism

Why the soul is the only grounding for our intrinsic value

The centrality of substance dualism to ethical issues at the beginning, during, and end of life

Contemporary conversations around the question, “What are we?”

Why the soul is needed to make the body valuable

What happens when the body and soul are separated at death

How horror genres often assume substance dualism

Substance dualism and Darwinism

Objections to substance dualism

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

JP Moreland and Scott B. Rae, Body & Soul: Human Nature the Crisis in Ethics

JP Moreland, The Recalcitrant Imago Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism

Thomas Nagel, Mind & Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False

Etienne Gilson, From Aristotle to Darwin and Back Again: A Journey in Final Causality, Species, and Evolution

John W. Cooper, Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate

Stan W. Wallace, “What Are We? The Three Answers Underlying Many Spiritual, Moral, and Political Disagreements”

A famous hymn is titled “It Is Well With My Soul.” What is this mysterious thing we refer to often, but have a hard time defining and an even harder time understanding? How is our soul different from our body and yet interact with our body? And why is it so important to have good answers to these questions? In this episode we tackle these tough issues, and draw out some of the practical implications related to understanding of life, death, the afterlife, and the person of Christ.

In this podcast we discuss:

What Scripture teaches about the soul (technically, “Substance Dualism”)?

Understanding what a “substance” is (hint: you can’t weigh it).

The key differences between the two prominent forms of Substance Dualism, and some implications of how both understand the soul-body relationship.

The implications of Substance Dualism in biomedical ethics and other related fields.

Stan’s personal example of how this all became very practical for him.

The relationship between science, theology, and philosophy when thinking about the soul.

Considering the objection “How can an immaterial soul interact with our bodies?”--the “mechanistic question” and the “skeptical question.”

What does it mean that the body and soul have a “basic” interaction?

How an understanding of Aristotle’s Four Causes helps us avoid errors in understanding soul-body interaction.

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

NT Wright, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and The Mission of the Church

Jonathan J. Loose, Angus J.L. Menuge, J.P. Moreland, eds., The Blackwell Companion to Substance Dualism

Richard J. Connell, Substance and Modern Science

Stan W. Wallace, “What Are We? The Three Answers Underlying Many Spiritual, Moral, and Political Disagreements”

Understanding what we are answers many other questions, including the nature and means of flourishing as a human being. In this episode, J.P. and Stan describe human flourishing and endeavour to reclaim the idea of flourishing as an aim beyond pleasure or mere happiness.

In this podcast we discuss:

What it means to be made in the “Image of God”

What types of capacities and powers we share, to a limited degree, with God

Why only the Judeo-Christian worldview sees individuals as intrinsically valuable

Implications of our intrinsic value for biomedical ethics and for judging other culture’s values

Why being a human being is more than just being a certain type of biological species

The essential capacities that make us all human

The relationship between our essential capacities, maturity, flourishing, spiritual disciplines, excellent living, and becoming more like Christ

Why we will always be growing in the expression of our capacities, even in the afterlife

How understand our nature helps us understand the true meaning and purpose of life

Our culture’s wrong definition of flourishing, leading to many of our social ills and addictions

The role of a faith community in our journey toward full flourishing

How finding ways to express our unique gifts relates to finding true happiness

Identifying people who are ”good at life” and can be examples for us to follow

The three people who have most shaped JP and Stan in understanding how to flourish

The redemptive role pain and suffering can play in our flourishing

The important distinction between Christian heroes and Christian “celebrities”

JP and Stan’s personal obstacles and joys in being formed into the Image of God.

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

Example of Western outrage over the Tiananmen Square massacre

Stan’s article on what it is to be human and therefore to flourishing (and his recent interview on this topic)

One of JP’s writings on what it is to be human and therefore to flourish: with Garrett J. DeWeese, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner's Guide to Life’s Big Questions, Chapter Two - “Substances, Essences and Natures”

The three people most influential in Stan’s life

P. Moreland, Finding Quiet: My Story of Overcoming Anxiety and the Practices that Brought Peace

Stan’s College Faith Podcast interview with Roger Hershey

In this episode we discuss what it means that the Christian Scriptures are “without error.” With appropriate nuance and caveats given, the concept of biblical inerrancy is supported with the use of reason and logical argumentation. JP and Stan also discuss some of the false and/or poorly reasoned arguments made both for and against inerrancy.

In this podcast we discuss:

What the position on Scripture referred to as “inerrancy” entails.

Why the inerrancy of Scripture is essential for human flourishing and the common good.

Evaluating the claim, “Christianity is really just about a relationship with God, not these types of issues.”

How to engage skeptics in conversation about inerrancy.

Bad arguments both for and against inerrancy.

Understanding the distinction between reasoned certainty, spiritual certainty, and psychological certainty.

The strongest argument in defense of inerrancy.

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

Dr. J. P. Moreland’s journal article on inerrancy

Dr. Stan Wallace’s blog series on inerrancy

Norman Giesler (editor), Inerrancy

21st century updated edition

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy with Exposition

Additional resource not mentioned but helpful:

Inerrancy and Evangelicals: The Challenge for a New Generation

J. Merrick & Stephen M. Garrett, eds., Five Views of Biblical Inerrancy

Norman Geisler, A Review of Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy

As COVID restrictions are being lifted in the U.S., we are once again able to attend church in person. However, after twelve to eighteen months participating in church services online, many believers are wondering if they should return, or just continue attending online services. JP and Stan discuss some of the reasons many are asking this question, which leads them to discuss what the church is and why it exists. Principles are identified and conclusions drawn concerning if and how believers should understand church involvement.More specifically, in this podcast we discuss: Challenges local churches face as COVID restrictions easeWhat is the essence of the church—what is “church” at its core?Differences between the universal Church and its local incarnations (local churches)Implications of the Church being the “Body of Christ”Understanding the true mission of the Church and avoiding false narratives such as "progressive Christianity"Evaluating the claim "The local church…is the hope of the world."New models of local churches gaining momentum in North AmericaMillennials and the allure of "high church"Hope and challenges for the Evangelical church in our post-COVID realityWhether believers should commit to returning to “in-person” churchResources mentioned during our conversation:Gallup Report on Church Membership in the United StatesMillard J. Erickson, Christian Theology. Chapter 49: "The Nature of the Church""Another Gospel? with Alisa Childers," on the April 30, 2021 Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture podcast with Sean McDowell and Scott RaeAlisa Childers, Another Gospel? A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive ChristianityKevin Deyoung and Greg Gilbert, What Is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great CommissionPeter Wehner, "The Scandal Rocking the Evangelical World" in The AtlanticRalph D. Winter, "The Two Structures of God’s Redemptive Mission." Chapter 39 in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, ed. Ralph D. WinterMicro-church/underground church movementBishop Barron, "Christianity and the Modern World," S4 E15 of the Jordan B Peterson podcast.