In this episode, Brian and Chad interview Chris Date about his view on conditional immortality, which is the idea that the final punishment of the wicked is death and total destruction rather than eternal conscious torment. Chris provides an overview of the two contrasting views and shares his journey of how he became convinced of annihilationism after originally believing in eternal conscious torment. He then dives into key biblical texts that are often used to argue for eternal torment, such as Mark 9:48, Matthew 25:46, Revelation 14:9-11, and Jude 7, demonstrating how these passages can ac ..read more

In this episode, Dr. Hugh Ross joins Brian Auten and Chad Gross to discuss his book "Rescuing Inerrancy: A Scientific Defense." Dr. Ross, an astrophysicist and Christian apologist, explains how modern scientific discoveries actually strengthen the case for biblical inerrancy rather than undermining it. He argues against the notion that science forces a redefinition of inerrancy, showing how the latest findings in fields like genetics and cosmology align with a literal, historical interpretation of the Bible's creation texts. Dr. Ross' book is available at https://a315.co/3xfWniE A major focu ..read more

Historian Dr. John Dickson joins the show to discuss his book, Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History. Dickson provides an insightful, nuanced perspective on some of the most controversial episodes in Christian history, from the Crusades to the Galileo affair. He argues that while Christians have certainly made grave mistakes throughout history, the influence of Christianity has also been profoundly positive, pioneering hospitals, abolitionism, and education. Dickson is candid about the church's failures but also highlights inspiring figures like Eligius ..read more

In this episode, hosts Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Alisa Childers about the topic of deconstruction, and unpack ideas discussed in her newest book: The Deconstruction of Christianity: What It Is, Why It’s Destructive, and How to Respond co-authored with Tim Barnett. https://a315.co/3SmCWvp The podcast focuses on the faith deconstruction movement that is becoming more popular, especially among young people. Alisa Childers explains that deconstruction involves re-examining and often dismantling one's childhood faith. It stems from postmodern philosophy which questions whether objective ..read more

This special end-of-year episode features hosts Brian Auten and Chad Gross reflecting on 14 years of podcasting. They announce some changes coming in 2023, including less frequent but more focused episodes centered on topics they are passionate about. They also share lessons learned over 300+ episodes, like the importance of understanding multiple perspectives, asking good questions, and clearly explaining complex subjects. The hosts reminisce about memorable past guests. They discuss what makes some lesser-known thinkers stand out for their clarity and approachability. A lighthearted segmen ..read more

In this episode, hosts Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Michael Jones of the Inspiring Philosophy YouTube channel. They discuss the problem of divine hiddenness - the idea that if God existed, he would make his existence clearly evident to everyone, yet there are many non-resistant nonbelievers who earnestly seek God but do not find convincing evidence of his existence. This is seen as evidence against God's existence. Michael provides an overview of the divine hiddenness argument, explaining key concepts like "non-resistant nonbelievers." He argues that the idea of truly non-resistant n ..read more

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview Tyson James, the global director of Reasonable Faith Chapters. This episode of the Apologetics 315 podcast featured an interview with Tyson James, the global director of Reasonable Faith chapters. Tyson shared about his journey to Christianity and how studying apologetics strengthened his faith. He explained that Reasonable Faith chapters are small groups at churches focused on studying Christianity and answering objections, with the goal of fulfilling Reasonable Faith's mission at the local level. Tyson outlined the simple process for st ..read more

In this episode of the Apologetics 315 podcast, hosts Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview renowned apologist Greg Koukl. Koukl is the founder of Stand to Reason, an organization that equips Christians to defend their faith and engage in meaningful conversations. The discussion centers around using questions to have better conversations about Christianity, drawing from Koukl's books Tactics and his latest work Street Smarts. Koukl explains how questions can guide conversations in a more constructive direction and help "put a stone in someone's shoe" to get them thinking about faith topics. K ..read more

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross interview J. Steve Miller on the topic of deathbed experiences and near death experiences. 0:24 - Intro to Steve Miller and his books 4:50 - Welcome to Steve Miller 5:00 - How did he get into this area of research? 7:42 - What’s the difference between deathbed experiences and near-death experiences? 12:40 - Examples of these experiences 16:16 - The cumulative effect of many similar experiences 17:27 - What are the lines of evidence that are good when looking at these experiences? 22:20 - “Naturalism of the gaps” objections to NDEs 25:19 - The common ..read more

In this episode, Brian Auten and Chad Gross speak with Professor Nancy Pearcey about her book The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes - https://a315.co/468rzNF 0:24 - Intro banter on hobbit food 2:15 - Intro to Nancy Pearcey and her book The Toxic War Against Masculinity 6:16 - Welcome to Nancy 6:46 - Nancy’s background and why she wrote the book 9:14 - Francis Schaeffer’s influence on Nancy Pearcey 15:41 - Why a toxic war against masculinity? 18:35 - The statistics among Christians and non-Christians 22:18 - The difference between nominal Christian men and committ ..read more