The #1 Doctrine That Answers Christianity’s Toughest Questions with Dr. Tim Stratton

I Don't Have Enough FAITH to Be an ATHEIST

Dr. Frank Turek

Religion & Spirituality, Education, Christianity

4.8 • 5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2024

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It's the age old question--if God is sovereign over all things then how do we have free will? And if God controls everything, does that make Him the author of evil since He causes humans to sin? How do we reconcile a good God with all of the pain and suffering that's happening in the world?

It can seem like a bit of a conundrum for Christians, and the lack of satisfactory answers has caused many people to turn away from God. But what if there was a doctrine or school of thought that could help us make sense of these seemingly intractable problems? Joining Frank on the podcast this week is CIA graduate and professor of Theology at Trinity Theological Seminary, Tim Stratton, who has spent his fair share of time studying these dillemmas. So much time in fact, that this centuries old school of thought known as "Mere Molinism" became the focus of his doctoral dissertation. During the episode, Frank and Tim will answer questions like:

What event in his personal life caused Tim to question his former Calvinist beliefs?
Where does the term Molinism come from?
What are the two "main ingredients" of Molinism?
How does Molinism compare to Arminianism and Calvinism?
What is the proper interpretation of Romans 9?
How does Molinism solve the problem of evil?
How does Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame apply to Molinism?

If you've ever struggled with the problem of evil or wondered how we can possibly steer our own ship when God is completely omniscient, then this episode will definitely give you a few light bulb moments! For more information on this topic, be sure to check out Tim's contribution to Faith Examined (a collection of essays written by CIA graduates) or Tim's book 'Human Freedom, Divine Knowledge, and Mere Molinism'.

To view the entire VIDEO PODCAST be sure to join our CrossExamined private community. It’s the perfect place to jump into some great discussions with like-minded Christians while simultaneously providing financial support for our ministry.

You can also SUPPORT THE PODCAST HERE.

RESOURCES MENTIONED DURING THE EPISODE:

Faith Examined book: https://a.co/d/hvS13kK
Free Thinking Ministries: https://freethinkingministries.com/
Tim's book on Mere Molinism: https://a.co/d/bBWr0u1
In-Person CIA (Charlotte, NC): https://crossexamined.org/what-is-cia/
CIA Online 2024: https://bit.ly/3T8Unjw

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Does truth exist?
0:03.0	Because you have faith, does that make this book true?
0:05.0	Does God exist?
0:07.0	So when someone says there is no truth, if you apply the claim to itself, what should you say?
0:13.7	Is that true?
0:15.5	They don't think Christianity's true.
0:18.6	They're talked out of it.
0:20.3	You know why they're talked out of it?
0:22.2	Because they've never been talked into it.
0:24.0	Cross-examining skeptical and apiistic view.
0:28.0	Welcome to Cross-examine with Dr. Frank Turrick.
0:32.0	Ladies and gentlemen, what if I told you that there was one theological doctrine or system of thought
0:41.0	that if true, would help you answer so many of the most difficult
0:46.4	questions about God, about Christianity and help you answer the objections to Christianity.
0:54.0	Let me give you a few of the problems that this theological doctrine or system of thought can help you answer.
1:01.0	How can God be sovereign and man be free you know the old
1:05.4	conundrum of God's sovereignty versus man's free will predestination Calvinism
1:12.0	Armenian is there a system of thought that can help us untangle
1:17.6	and answer that seemingly intractable problem.
1:22.8	Another problem, I think this theological doctrine
1:25.3	or system of thought can answer is if God
1:27.7	controls everything, wouldn't that mean he cause humans to sin?
	...

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