Reasonable Faith features the work of philosopher and theologian Dr. William Lane Craig, discussing the most important issues concerning the truth of the Christian faith today. Reasonable Faith aims to to provide an articulate, intelligent voice for biblical Christianity in the public arena, to challenge unbelievers with the truth of biblical Christianity, and to train Christians to state and defend Christian truth claims with greater effectiveness. Visit https://www.reasonablefaith.org for all…
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A listener working through Dr. Craig's book In Quest of the Historical Adam raises a pointed question about the model's implications: if Cain's wife came from outside the Adamic line, among the non-human hominins living alongside Adam and Eve, what would that mean for their children? Dr. Craig addresses the theological and biological status of such unions directly, explaining why any offspring…
What's it actually like to exist as a disembodied soul in the intermediate state between death and resurrection? A listener writes in with real existential unease about being "unclothed" from the body, and Dr. Craig turns to philosopher H.H. Price's theory that the afterlife might work something like a dream world, where mental images take the place of sense perception and souls communicate with…
Francis Collins and N.T. Wright recently fielded audience questions after a public conversation, several of which centered on the historicity of Adam and Eve. Collins argues that population genetics rules out a single ancestral couple, and lays out the model he finds most plausible: a couple selected out of an existing population and given something new. Wright suggests Genesis 2–3 might work the…
A listener from Morocco argues that beauty is like an emotion and not a property of objects, but says that doesn't make it subjective, since he considers emotions like fear objective too. Dr. William Lane Craig agrees aesthetic properties don't inhere in physical things (a chair isn't beautiful viewed from below; a piece of music's beauty isn't in the notes on a page), but rejects the "emotion in…
A new school year means a new round of hard questions for your kids about evolution, evil, supposed contradictions in the Bible, whether Jesus really rose from the dead, and why there are so many religions in the world. Kevin and Dr. William Lane Craig talk through ten questions students run into most, in class and out, and share some practical advice for parents who want their kids ready to think…
A listener asks Dr. William Lane Craig how Christianity's dependence on a historical resurrection (unlike Hinduism's Krishna) can be defended, then raises three questions that arise in evangelism: that "eternal life" can't be historically verified, that the NT accounts were written too late to trust, and that no clear OT prophecy points to a risen Messiah. Dr. Craig affirms Anil's core insight,…
A viral graphic accuses Dr. Craig of seven heresies. From Neo-Apollinarian Christology, his rejection of limited atonement and Calvinism, to his defense of Molinism. Dr. Craig and Kevin go through the list charge by charge, separating genuine ancient heresies from disagreements, and explain what actually crosses the line into heresy versus faithful, if debated, Christian doctrine.
Reasonable Faith marks a milestone with its 1,000th Question of the Week and it lands right alongside the ministry's 20th anniversary. This time, William Lane Craig turns the question on himself: what does two decades of Reasonable Faith look like in hindsight? He reflects on explosive growth (70+ million engagements a year), the unexpected power of video and social media in reaching closed…
A listener asks whether annihilation is even a coherent punishment for sin, given that Jesus's atonement on the cross required him to bear that same punishment—and as the eternal Son, he cannot cease to exist. Could God instead offer annihilation as an optional alternative to eternal separation? Dr. William Lane Craig agrees the objection is a serious problem for annihilationism: if Christ can't…
Dr. William Lane Craig continues his response to Paul Davies and Emily Qureshi-Hurst by examining some of today's most ambitious attempts to explain the universe without God. He critiques Wheeler's participatory universe, the multiverse, Boltzmann brains, and the search for a mysterious "Option X," arguing that classical theism already provides the explanatory foundation these theories lack. The…
A listener asks whether the eschatological renewal of creation might be delayed billions of years if God's redemptive purposes extend to alien civilizations that haven't yet evolved. Dr. Craig affirms that any extraterrestrial life would indeed be included in God's eschatological plans, but argues the consummation isn't tied to the natural history of all possible intelligent life—God will bring…
A listener pushes back on Dr. Craig's claim that neither Jesus nor Paul expected the second coming within their own generation. Pointing to Matthew 24:36 and Jesus' words to the disciples about "this generation," and argues that Jesus was predicting a coming in judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70, not his final return. Dr. Craig agrees with partial preterism as far as it goes, but explains why he…
Can the universe have purpose without a purposive mind? Dr. William Lane Craig responds to physicist Paul Davies and philosopher Emily Qureshi-Hurst as they wrestle with whether purpose is something real or merely something we invent. Along the way he discusses intentionality ("aboutness"), the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics, and why subjective meaning ultimately fails to account for…
A listener argues that 200 mg of propofol extinguishes the mind and not just consciousness. He believes this to be empirical evidence that undercuts belief in surviving death. Dr. Craig rejects the premise that mind equals consciousness, invokes Eccles' pianist analogy to explain why an impaired brain produces impaired mental function without the mind ceasing to exist, and points to…
