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Philosophy

Van Til and the Problem of Evil

In this episode, we are joined by Rev. Dr. William D. Dennison, pastor of Emmanuel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Kent, Washington, to reflect on Cornelius Van Til’s student paper “Evil

Read More »

Loving the Law

In this episode of Christ the Center, Camden Bucey and Carlton Wynne are joined by Rev. Stephen Spinnenweber, author of Loving the Law: The Law of God in the Life

Read More »

The Roots of Reformed Moral Theology

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Bruce Baugus to our program to discuss his book, The Roots of Reformed Moral Theology, published by Reformation Heritage Books. In this comprehensive work,

Read More »

Michel Foucault

Dr. Christopher Watkin joins us to speak about his book, Michel Foucault, published by P&R Publishing in the Great Thinkers series. Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas,

Read More »

Karl Barth and Idealism

Jim Cassidy speaks about Karl Barth and his relationship with idealism. On the heels of Lane Tipton’s recent course, Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til, the

Read More »

The Philosophy of David Hume

Dr. James N. Anderson speaks about the philosophy of David Hume, one of the foremost thinkers of the Western tradition. Hume is well known for his influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism,

Read More »

Dort’s Study Bible: Colossians 2:8 and Philosophy

These [pagan] philosophers in their appearance of wisdom [schijnwijsheid] had only imagined things about God and about the way to the supreme good, which these teachers would mix with the Gospel, as do also the scholastic teachers in the Papacy, whereby the simplicity and straightforwardness of the saving doctrine of the Gospel is considerably darkened and distorted.

Read More »

Thinking through Creation

Christopher Watkin speaks about his book Thinking through Creation: Genesis 1 and 2 as Tools of Cultural Critique. Watkin looks to the early chapters of Genesis for foundational doctrines about

Read More »

Bavinck’s Philosophy of Revelation

Cory Brock and Nathaniel Gray Sutanto speak about Herman Bavinck’s Philosophy of Revelation (Hendrickson Publishers). Drs. Brock and Sutanto have edited a new annotated edition of Bavinck’s Stone Lectures, which were delivered

Read More »

Scripture: The Speech of God

The more I read orthodox theology, the more apparent it becomes that a fundamental tenet of Christian belief is either embraced or ignored (to various degrees) by any given author.

Read More »
Jacques Derrida

Derrida’s Theology

French intellectual Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) was one of the most important contributors to the post-modern philosophical movement. He was also one of the most notoriously difficult philosophers to understand. In this

Read More »
Jacques Derrida

Derrida’s Ethics

French intellectual Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) was one of the most important contributors to the post-modern philosophical movement. He was also one of the most notoriously difficult philosophers to understand. In this

Read More »
Jacques Derrida

Derrida’s Metaphysic

French intellectual Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) was one of the most important contributors to the post-modern philosophical movement. He was also one of the most notoriously difficult philosophers to understand. In

Read More »

A Theological Account of Logic

Nathaniel Gray Sutanto speaks to us about his paper “Two Theological Accounts of Logic: Theistic Conceptual Realism and a Reformed Archetype-Ectype Model,” published in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion.

Read More »

Theology and Philosophy

In an article discussing the theology of Albert Ritschl, Herman Bavinck writes that throughout history Christian theology “fashioned for herself a philosophy or appropriated an existing one such that as that

Read More »

Which Comes First, the Intellect or the Will?

Jeff Waddington compares Alvin Plantinga and Jonathan Edwards on the perennial anthropological question regarding the relationship between the intellect and the will. In 2000, distinguished Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga offered

Read More »

God and Necessity

Jared Oliphint and Nathan Shannon discuss Brian Leftow’s God and Necessity (Oxford University Press). In this volume, Leftow seeks to offer a metaphysic of modality. This leads him into a discussion of

Read More »

Intuition in Contemporary Philosophy

In this short essay, I want to draw out the nature and downfalls of a salient principle of analytic philosophy: the primacy of rational intuition. Philosophers think of rational intuition

Read More »

The Hard Problem of Consciousness

Consciousness and personality are perennial topics of conversation among philosophers. But that doesn’t mean they’re topics only for the academy. These subjects touch each of us deeply, because they are at the very

Read More »

Will the Real Bonhoeffer Please Stand Up? Part 3

Kant’s Copernican Revolution might have been better described as a theological warhead aimed directly at theology. The immediate epistemological carnage caused by Kantian Transcendentalism can be witnessed initially in Schleiermacher’s

Read More »

Van Til’s Concrete Universal

Laurence O’Donnell, III, a Cornelius Van Til scholar and critic, has labeled Van Til’s trinitarian theology “idiosyncratic.” He made this remark with respect to Van Til’s conception of the trinity as

Read More »

Covenantal Apologetics and Common-Sense Realism

Nathaniel Gray Sutanto joins us to speak about apologetics and his recent article titled, “Covenantal Apologetics and Common-Sense Realism: Recalibrating the Argument from Consciousness as a Test Case” in JETS, 57/4 (2014)

Read More »

Redeeming Philosophy

Dr. Vern Poythress comes to the program today to speak about his book, Redeeming Philosophy. In today’s discussion, Dr. Poythress helps us examine the roots of Western philosophy, uncover some of

Read More »

How Did Evil Come Into the World?

Dr. William Edgar discusses the question, How Did Evil Come Into the World?, which is also the title of his recent addition to the Christian Answers to Hard Questions series.

Read More »

How Can I Know For Sure?

Dr. David Garner comes to the program to speak about the topic of his new booklet, “How Can I Know For Sure?” from the Christian Answers to Hard Questions Series, published by

Read More »

Chance and the Sovereignty of God

Dr. Vern S. Poythress, Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, speaks about his new book, Chance and the Sovereignty of God: A God-Centered Approach to

Read More »

Old Princeton and Right Reason

Dr. Paul Kjoss Helseth, Professor of Christian Thought at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota, joins the panel at Christ the Center to speak about Old Princeton and right reason. Many in the Reformed tradition

Read More »

Reasons for Faith

K. Scott Oliphint, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, speaks about the relationship of philosophy to theology. Dr. Oliphint has written Reasons for Faith: Philosophy in the

Read More »

Logical Positivism

Dr. Lane G. Tipton, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, describes logical positivism, a type of analytic philosophy incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of

Read More »

Engaging Philosophy as a Christian

Jared Oliphint sits down with Dr. K. Scott Oliphint to speak about how Christians should approach the subject of philosophy. They speak about the necessity of the Christian position, the

Read More »

An Introduction to Universals

Philosophy for Theologians opens up the subject of universals by discussing the basic approaches to reality found in thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. After laying an introductory foundation, the

Read More »

The Ethics of Bankruptcy

Dr. David Skeel, professor of corporate law at UPenn, discusses Christians in legal studies in addition to the ethics of bankruptcy. David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of

Read More »

The Relationship of Philosophy to Theology

For Reformed theologians it can be rather difficult to articulate the relationship between philosophy and theology. Is philosophy simply theology asking different questions? Is it a distinct discipline that can

Read More »

The Clark/Van Til Controversy

K. Scott Oliphint explores the issue of divine and human knowledge as it relates to the Clark/Van Til controversy. Dr. Oliphint is Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster

Read More »

The Philosophy of Science

In a call to our modern society to reexamine the fundamental presuppositions of the dominant worldview, the panel discusses the philosophy of science. post photo from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight

Read More »

The Untamed God

Jared Oliphint and Nate Shannon lead a discussion on Jay Wesley Richards’ book The Untamed God: A Philosophical Exploration of Divine Perfection, Simplicity, and Immutability. Participants: Camden Bucey, Jared Oliphint,

Read More »

Formulating a Christian Epistemology

Several contributors to Philosophy for Theologians convene to discuss the guidelines for formulating a Christian epistemology. As a starting point, the panel looks at the seminal work by Edmund Gettier Is

Read More »

Natural Theology

The idea of natural theology has been much debated. One’s understanding regarding the project of natural theology will inevitably impact substantially one’s apologetic methodology and epistemology. K. Scott Oliphint and

Read More »

Thomas’ Second Way

Bob LaRocca leads a discuss on Thomas Aquinas’ Second Way. The Second Way is an argument for the existence of God from efficient causes. The flow of the argument is

Read More »

Thomas’ First Way

Bob LaRocca brings Thomas Aquinas’ famous first way to the table. Thomas’ ways have become staples in apologetic discussions. Participants: Bob LaRocca, Jared Oliphint, Jonathan Brack

Read More »

Paradox in Christian Theology

The Christ the Center panel recently met with Dr. James Anderson, assistant professor of theology and philosophy at the Charlotte campus of Reformed Theological Seminary, and author of Paradox in Christian

Read More »

Quine’s Two Dogmas of Empiricism

Willard Van Orman Quine (June 25, 1908 – December 25, 2000) (known to intimates as “Van”) was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition. From 1930 until his death 70 years

Read More »

The Metaphysics of Aristotle

The crew spends a few minutes discussing the metaphysical system of Aristotle, one of philosophy’s greatest minds. Participants: Bob LaRocca, Camden Bucey, Jared Oliphint, Jonathan Brack

Read More »

Logical Positivism

Logical positivism is a combination of empiricism and mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions in epistemology. The crew provides a brief overview of the view and major players. They then

Read More »

Bertrand Russell’s (Un)Apologetic

The group discusses Bertrand Russell’s infamous essay Why I Am Not a Christian. Russell led the 20th century British revolt against idealism and contributed greatly to the philosophical field of

Read More »

René Descartes

René Descartes (31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650), was a French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist. He has been dubbed the “Father of Modern Philosophy,” and much of subsequent Western philosophy is a response

Read More »

Bavinck, Reid and Realism

We realized many of our discussions on the Reformed Media Review were drifting toward the philosophical.  And we also believe there is a general lack of good philosophical resources –

Read More »

Bioethics

The Christ the Center panel had the privilege of conversing with Dr. David VanDrunen, the Robert B. Strimple professor of systematic theology and ethics at Westminster Seminary in California, about

Read More »

Christian Essentialism

K. Scott Oliphint returns to Christ the Center to discuss God’s attributes. Understanding God as He is related to creation is no doubt a complicated task. Traditionally, theologians have spoken

Read More »

Van Til and the Problem of Evil

In this episode, we are joined by Rev. Dr. William D. Dennison, pastor of Emmanuel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Kent, Washington, to reflect on Cornelius Van Til’s student paper “Evil

Read More »

Loving the Law

In this episode of Christ the Center, Camden Bucey and Carlton Wynne are joined by Rev. Stephen Spinnenweber, author of Loving the Law: The Law of God in the Life

Read More »

The Roots of Reformed Moral Theology

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Bruce Baugus to our program to discuss his book, The Roots of Reformed Moral Theology, published by Reformation Heritage Books. In this comprehensive work,

Read More »

Michel Foucault

Dr. Christopher Watkin joins us to speak about his book, Michel Foucault, published by P&R Publishing in the Great Thinkers series. Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas,

Read More »

Karl Barth and Idealism

Jim Cassidy speaks about Karl Barth and his relationship with idealism. On the heels of Lane Tipton’s recent course, Introduction to the Theology and Apologetics of Cornelius Van Til, the

Read More »

The Philosophy of David Hume

Dr. James N. Anderson speaks about the philosophy of David Hume, one of the foremost thinkers of the Western tradition. Hume is well known for his influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism,

Read More »

Dort’s Study Bible: Colossians 2:8 and Philosophy

These [pagan] philosophers in their appearance of wisdom [schijnwijsheid] had only imagined things about God and about the way to the supreme good, which these teachers would mix with the Gospel, as do also the scholastic teachers in the Papacy, whereby the simplicity and straightforwardness of the saving doctrine of the Gospel is considerably darkened and distorted.

Read More »

Thinking through Creation

Christopher Watkin speaks about his book Thinking through Creation: Genesis 1 and 2 as Tools of Cultural Critique. Watkin looks to the early chapters of Genesis for foundational doctrines about

Read More »

Bavinck’s Philosophy of Revelation

Cory Brock and Nathaniel Gray Sutanto speak about Herman Bavinck’s Philosophy of Revelation (Hendrickson Publishers). Drs. Brock and Sutanto have edited a new annotated edition of Bavinck’s Stone Lectures, which were delivered

Read More »

Scripture: The Speech of God

The more I read orthodox theology, the more apparent it becomes that a fundamental tenet of Christian belief is either embraced or ignored (to various degrees) by any given author.

Read More »
Jacques Derrida

Derrida’s Theology

French intellectual Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) was one of the most important contributors to the post-modern philosophical movement. He was also one of the most notoriously difficult philosophers to understand. In this

Read More »
Jacques Derrida

Derrida’s Ethics

French intellectual Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) was one of the most important contributors to the post-modern philosophical movement. He was also one of the most notoriously difficult philosophers to understand. In this

Read More »
Jacques Derrida

Derrida’s Metaphysic

French intellectual Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) was one of the most important contributors to the post-modern philosophical movement. He was also one of the most notoriously difficult philosophers to understand. In

Read More »

A Theological Account of Logic

Nathaniel Gray Sutanto speaks to us about his paper “Two Theological Accounts of Logic: Theistic Conceptual Realism and a Reformed Archetype-Ectype Model,” published in the International Journal for Philosophy of Religion.

Read More »

Theology and Philosophy

In an article discussing the theology of Albert Ritschl, Herman Bavinck writes that throughout history Christian theology “fashioned for herself a philosophy or appropriated an existing one such that as that

Read More »

Which Comes First, the Intellect or the Will?

Jeff Waddington compares Alvin Plantinga and Jonathan Edwards on the perennial anthropological question regarding the relationship between the intellect and the will. In 2000, distinguished Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga offered

Read More »

God and Necessity

Jared Oliphint and Nathan Shannon discuss Brian Leftow’s God and Necessity (Oxford University Press). In this volume, Leftow seeks to offer a metaphysic of modality. This leads him into a discussion of

Read More »

Intuition in Contemporary Philosophy

In this short essay, I want to draw out the nature and downfalls of a salient principle of analytic philosophy: the primacy of rational intuition. Philosophers think of rational intuition

Read More »

The Hard Problem of Consciousness

Consciousness and personality are perennial topics of conversation among philosophers. But that doesn’t mean they’re topics only for the academy. These subjects touch each of us deeply, because they are at the very

Read More »

Will the Real Bonhoeffer Please Stand Up? Part 3

Kant’s Copernican Revolution might have been better described as a theological warhead aimed directly at theology. The immediate epistemological carnage caused by Kantian Transcendentalism can be witnessed initially in Schleiermacher’s

Read More »

Van Til’s Concrete Universal

Laurence O’Donnell, III, a Cornelius Van Til scholar and critic, has labeled Van Til’s trinitarian theology “idiosyncratic.” He made this remark with respect to Van Til’s conception of the trinity as

Read More »

Covenantal Apologetics and Common-Sense Realism

Nathaniel Gray Sutanto joins us to speak about apologetics and his recent article titled, “Covenantal Apologetics and Common-Sense Realism: Recalibrating the Argument from Consciousness as a Test Case” in JETS, 57/4 (2014)

Read More »

Redeeming Philosophy

Dr. Vern Poythress comes to the program today to speak about his book, Redeeming Philosophy. In today’s discussion, Dr. Poythress helps us examine the roots of Western philosophy, uncover some of

Read More »

How Did Evil Come Into the World?

Dr. William Edgar discusses the question, How Did Evil Come Into the World?, which is also the title of his recent addition to the Christian Answers to Hard Questions series.

Read More »

How Can I Know For Sure?

Dr. David Garner comes to the program to speak about the topic of his new booklet, “How Can I Know For Sure?” from the Christian Answers to Hard Questions Series, published by

Read More »

Chance and the Sovereignty of God

Dr. Vern S. Poythress, Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA, speaks about his new book, Chance and the Sovereignty of God: A God-Centered Approach to

Read More »

Old Princeton and Right Reason

Dr. Paul Kjoss Helseth, Professor of Christian Thought at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota, joins the panel at Christ the Center to speak about Old Princeton and right reason. Many in the Reformed tradition

Read More »

Reasons for Faith

K. Scott Oliphint, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, speaks about the relationship of philosophy to theology. Dr. Oliphint has written Reasons for Faith: Philosophy in the

Read More »

Logical Positivism

Dr. Lane G. Tipton, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, describes logical positivism, a type of analytic philosophy incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of

Read More »

Engaging Philosophy as a Christian

Jared Oliphint sits down with Dr. K. Scott Oliphint to speak about how Christians should approach the subject of philosophy. They speak about the necessity of the Christian position, the

Read More »

An Introduction to Universals

Philosophy for Theologians opens up the subject of universals by discussing the basic approaches to reality found in thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle. After laying an introductory foundation, the

Read More »

The Ethics of Bankruptcy

Dr. David Skeel, professor of corporate law at UPenn, discusses Christians in legal studies in addition to the ethics of bankruptcy. David Skeel is the S. Samuel Arsht Professor of

Read More »

The Relationship of Philosophy to Theology

For Reformed theologians it can be rather difficult to articulate the relationship between philosophy and theology. Is philosophy simply theology asking different questions? Is it a distinct discipline that can

Read More »

The Clark/Van Til Controversy

K. Scott Oliphint explores the issue of divine and human knowledge as it relates to the Clark/Van Til controversy. Dr. Oliphint is Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster

Read More »

The Philosophy of Science

In a call to our modern society to reexamine the fundamental presuppositions of the dominant worldview, the panel discusses the philosophy of science. post photo from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight

Read More »

The Untamed God

Jared Oliphint and Nate Shannon lead a discussion on Jay Wesley Richards’ book The Untamed God: A Philosophical Exploration of Divine Perfection, Simplicity, and Immutability. Participants: Camden Bucey, Jared Oliphint,

Read More »

Formulating a Christian Epistemology

Several contributors to Philosophy for Theologians convene to discuss the guidelines for formulating a Christian epistemology. As a starting point, the panel looks at the seminal work by Edmund Gettier Is

Read More »

Natural Theology

The idea of natural theology has been much debated. One’s understanding regarding the project of natural theology will inevitably impact substantially one’s apologetic methodology and epistemology. K. Scott Oliphint and

Read More »

Thomas’ Second Way

Bob LaRocca leads a discuss on Thomas Aquinas’ Second Way. The Second Way is an argument for the existence of God from efficient causes. The flow of the argument is

Read More »

Thomas’ First Way

Bob LaRocca brings Thomas Aquinas’ famous first way to the table. Thomas’ ways have become staples in apologetic discussions. Participants: Bob LaRocca, Jared Oliphint, Jonathan Brack

Read More »

Paradox in Christian Theology

The Christ the Center panel recently met with Dr. James Anderson, assistant professor of theology and philosophy at the Charlotte campus of Reformed Theological Seminary, and author of Paradox in Christian

Read More »

Quine’s Two Dogmas of Empiricism

Willard Van Orman Quine (June 25, 1908 – December 25, 2000) (known to intimates as “Van”) was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition. From 1930 until his death 70 years

Read More »

The Metaphysics of Aristotle

The crew spends a few minutes discussing the metaphysical system of Aristotle, one of philosophy’s greatest minds. Participants: Bob LaRocca, Camden Bucey, Jared Oliphint, Jonathan Brack

Read More »

Logical Positivism

Logical positivism is a combination of empiricism and mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions in epistemology. The crew provides a brief overview of the view and major players. They then

Read More »

Bertrand Russell’s (Un)Apologetic

The group discusses Bertrand Russell’s infamous essay Why I Am Not a Christian. Russell led the 20th century British revolt against idealism and contributed greatly to the philosophical field of

Read More »

René Descartes

René Descartes (31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650), was a French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist. He has been dubbed the “Father of Modern Philosophy,” and much of subsequent Western philosophy is a response

Read More »

Bavinck, Reid and Realism

We realized many of our discussions on the Reformed Media Review were drifting toward the philosophical.  And we also believe there is a general lack of good philosophical resources –

Read More »

Bioethics

The Christ the Center panel had the privilege of conversing with Dr. David VanDrunen, the Robert B. Strimple professor of systematic theology and ethics at Westminster Seminary in California, about

Read More »

Christian Essentialism

K. Scott Oliphint returns to Christ the Center to discuss God’s attributes. Understanding God as He is related to creation is no doubt a complicated task. Traditionally, theologians have spoken

Read More »

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