Show Notes
"If God is good, why is there pain and suffering?". Today, we have a video of atheist professor Paul Rinzler and I to discuss evil. This is our return to the Cal Poly Veritas Forum for a second year this time on the hardest question in apologetics. Not a debate to be won. A real conversation between two people who disagree deeply and like each other anyway. CHECK OUT:Paul Rinzler - Professor Emeritus at Cal Poly State University https://music.calpoly.edu/faculty/rinzler/index.html WATCH: Are Miracles Real? A Christian & Atheist Explore (Veritas Forum) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cWui4CRfZc CHECK OUT: Logos Bible 60 Day Free Trial (https://logos.com/mcdowell) *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [smdcertdisc] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/ Website: https://seanmcdowell.org CHAPTERS 00:00 – Welcome and framing 00:28 – Sean's opening: four points on evil and suffering 08:19 – Paul's opening: the case from natural suffering 15:43 – A time you experienced pain 21:23 – Is pain part of God's plan? 22:47 – Would a "bad God" explain the world better? 24:04 – Does evil actually exist? 25:47 – Moral evil, free will, and determinism 33:46 – Does the moral project require agency? 36:23 – Making sense of randomness in natural disasters 42:25 – When suffering seems cruel and unnecessary 47:20 – Where do you find hope? 51:21 – What's more powerful: death or love? 54:01 – Advice for students in hard seasons 59:00 – What's the purpose of life for an atheist? 1:02:30 – Can objective morality exist without God? 1:04:46 – Why pursue justice if suffering is endless? 1:08:08 – The biggest doubt about your own worldview 1:10:18 – The question of hell 1:15:02 – Morality, evolution, and caring beyond your tribe 1:20:05 – How do you define love? 1:24:42 – Closing thoughts Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
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CHECK OUT: Logos Bible 60 Day Free Trial (https://logos.com/mcdowell) CHECK OUT: Consider Supporting the Ministry! (https://seanmcdowell.org/give) *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [smdcertdisc] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/ Website: https://seanmcdowell.org Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
CHECK OUT: The Sean McDowell Collection (manuscriptshop.com/seanmcdowell) CHECK OUT: Logos Bible 60 Day Free Trial (https://logos.com/mcdowell) CHECK OUT: Consider Supporting the Ministry! (https://seanmcdowell.org/give) *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [smdcertdisc] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: X: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/ Website: https://seanmcdowell.org Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Can we actually get back to what the apostles wrote? That question sits underneath every other question about the New Testament. Before you ask whether the story is true, you have to ask whether you have the story at all. Dr. Michael Kruger came to Biola to walk me through it. His own interest started in a crisis, sitting at nineteen in an intro to New Testament class at UNC Chapel Hill taught by a young Bart Ehrman. CHECK OUT: The Sean McDowell Collection (manuscriptshop.com/seanmcdowell) CHECK OUT: Logos Bible 60 Day Free Trial (https://logos.com/mcdowell) CHECK OUT: Consider Supporting the Ministry! (https://seanmcdowell.org/give) *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [smdcertdisc] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: X: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/ Website: https://seanmcdowell.org Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.
Belle Liu is 21, she stepped into full-time ministry this year, and she has two mission statements: raise a biblically literate generation, and make Muslims Christian. I first heard about her this summer then Scottie asked if I knew her. What struck both of us watching her street conversations wasn’t the arguments, it was that you can tell she actually loves the person in front of her. Her testimony is remarkable and she tells it herself here. CHECK OUT: Logos Bible 60 Day Free Trial (https://logos.com/mcdowell) CHECK OUT: Consider Supporting the Ministry! (https://seanmcdowell.org/give) *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [smdcertdisc] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/ Website: https://seanmcdowell.org Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.