You have likely heard the term "the Dark Ages" to describe the period of history from about 450 A.D. to 1450 A.D. And you have likely heard a historian or science popularizer or two suggest that it was primarily the Christian Church of the time which was the root cause of suppressing true scientific knowledge of the physical cosmos. Medievals were ignorant, superstitious, and didn't do much of anything scientifically significant for nearly a thousand years. Our guest this week, author and historian James Hannam, says that this disparaging caricature of the Medieval Era is entirely wrong. This week's episode tackles the influence of Aristotle, the development of the university, and the idea of purpose in Medieval natural philosophy.

James Hannam is a historian of the relationship between religion and science in the United Kingdom. He is the author of God's Philosophers - How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science (published in the US as The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution) and The Globe: How the Earth Became Round. James is also a full-time tax consultant. You can find out more about James and his work on his website: www.JamesHannam.com.

Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to this week's podcast:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Scientism by Dr. Luke Barnes and Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Scientism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Naturalism by Daniel Ray.: www.watchman.org/Naturalism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Astrology by Marcia Montenegro: www.watchman.org/Astrology
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Richard Dawkins by Dr. Rhyne Putman: www.watchman.org/Dawkins
• Watchman Fellowship's complete Profile Notebook demo video: www.watchman.org/Demo

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.

PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Our 2024 year-in-review theme for this special broadcast is From Unbelief to Belief. We feature clips from selected episodes in 2024 discussing the problem of unbelief and the hope we have in Christ of overcoming unbelief, in our own lives and the lives of those we know and love. Some of the guests featured on this special edition of the Profile include Dr. Darrell Bock, Dr. Doug Groothuis, Alisa Childers, Dr. Jamie Dew, Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, Dr. William Dembski, Dr. Jana Harmon, Dr. Gary Habermas, and J. Warner Wallace.

As we come to the closing days of 2024, we ask you to consider a tax-deductible donation to Watchman Fellowship to help make our weekly podcasts possible. You may donate at www.watchman.org/give or become a regular monthly supporter at www.patreon.com/WatchmanFellowship. If you prefer to send a check, please make it payable to Watchman Fellowship and indicate your support for Apologetics Profile Podcast. Our address is:

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Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to today's podcast:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Bart Ehrman by Dr. Rhyne Putman: www.watchman.org/Ehrman
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Atheism by Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Jr.: www.watchman.org/Atheism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Deconstruction by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Deconstruction
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Divine Hiddenness by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Hiddenness
• Watchman Fellowship's complete Profile Notebook demo video: www.watchman.org/Demo

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.

PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

In today's age of rampant individualistic interpretations of Scripture how can we properly cultivate a right understand the Bible? Our guest again this week on the Profile is theologian and president of Indianapolis Theological Seminary Dr. Nicholas Piotrowski, author of the 2021 book In All the Scriptures - Three Contexts of Biblical Hermeneutics. Nicholas offers us some insights from his book, most importantly about understanding the layered nature of contexts related to the times and places in which both the Old and New Testaments were written. Good hermeneutics, he argues, should always point us to Christ.

Nicholas Piotrowski (PhD, Wheaton College) is the president and academic dean at Indianapolis Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he also teaches hermeneutics and New Testament studies. Faculty Bio: www.indysem.org/dr-piotrowski-bio-page.

Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to this week's podcast:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Bart Ehrman by Dr. Rhyne Putman: www.watchman.org/Ehrman
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Atheism by Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Jr.: www.watchman.org/Atheism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Deconstruction by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Deconstruction
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Divine Hiddenness by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Hiddenness
• Watchman Fellowship's complete Profile Notebook demo video: www.watchman.org/Demo

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.

PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

In today's age of rampant individualistic interpretations of Scripture how can we properly cultivate a right understand the Bible? Our guest this week and next on the Profile is theologian and president of Indianapolis Theological Seminary Dr. Nicholas Piotrowski, author of the 2021 book In All the Scriptures - Three Contexts of Biblical Hermeneutics. Nicholas offers us some insights from his book, most importantly about understanding the layered nature of contexts related to the times and places in which both the Old and New Testaments were written. Good hermeneutics, he argues, should always point us to Christ.

Nicholas Piotrowski (PhD, Wheaton College) is the president and academic dean at Indianapolis Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he also teaches hermeneutics and New Testament studies. Faculty Bio: www.indysem.org/dr-piotrowski-bio-page.

Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to this week's podcast:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Bart Ehrman by Dr. Rhyne Putman: www.watchman.org/Ehrman
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Atheism by Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Jr.: www.watchman.org/Atheism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Deconstruction by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Deconstruction
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Divine Hiddenness by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Hiddenness
• Watchman Fellowship's complete Profile Notebook demo video: www.watchman.org/Demo

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.

PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Perhaps two of the biggest objections you hear against God's existence are slavery and hell. Why would God, a loving God, allow such things? This week we continue our conversation with apologist with Josh McDowell Ministries, Matthew Tingblad, co-author with Josh McDowell of Why Did God Do That? Discovering God's Goodness in the Hard Passages of Scripture. Matthew will share with us his insights about these difficult objections and encourage us to focus on God's holiness and goodness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Matthew Tingblad is a writer and speaker holding a Master of Divinity from Talbot School of Theology. Matthew has a passion to grow and strengthen the church with a firm grounding for the Christian faith. With wisdom and sensitivity, he offers a unique approach to tough biblical questions and the deeply felt needs of teenagers, college students, and young professionals today by integrating theology and philosophy into apologetics. Matthew has led thousands of individuals to grow in a rock-solid conviction that God is real, God is good, and God is worth it.

Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to this week's podcast:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Annihilationism by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Annihilationism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Atheism by Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Jr.: www.watchman.org/Atheism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Deconstruction by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Deconstruction
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Divine Hiddenness by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Hiddenness

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.

PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Why? We often have many "Why?" questions when it comes to God and our relationship with Him. Why would God allow evil or why would God flood the earth? God does not tell us everything we would like to know, but He has revealed to us everything we need to know, including the fact that we can trust Him with our lives and that He is ultimately good. That is the premise for the book, Why Did God Do That? Discovering God's Goodness in the Hard Passages of Scripture, written by our guest this week and next on the profile, apologist with Josh McDowell Ministries, Matthew Tingblad.

Matthew Tingblad is a writer and speaker holding a Master of Divinity from Talbot School of Theology. Matthew has a passion to grow and strengthen the church with a firm grounding for the Christian faith. With wisdom and sensitivity, he offers a unique approach to tough biblical questions and the deeply felt needs of teenagers, college students, and young professionals today by integrating theology and philosophy into apologetics. Matthew has led thousands of individuals to grow in a rock-solid conviction that God is real, God is good, and God is worth it.

Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to this week's podcast:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Annihilationism by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Annihilationism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Atheism by Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Jr.: www.watchman.org/Atheism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Deconstruction by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Deconstruction
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Divine Hiddenness by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Hiddenness

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.

PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (around 700 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

Our guest again this week, astrophysicist and author at Reasons to Believe (www.reasons.org) Dr. Jeff Zweerink, tells us that we have nothing to fear, not even the multiverse! Many atheists and skeptics have tried to employ the multiverse as a means of explaining away God as the cause of the existence of our universe. Come and hear what Jeff has to say this week about how creation not only is not threatened by modern science, but how it ultimately can encourage and strengthen our faith when we learn more about it. By faith we know that the physical universe and everything it contains, both seen and unseen, are all ultimately declaring the glory of God. This week we conclude our discussion about Jeff's 2008 book, Who's Afraid of the Multiverse?

Jeff Zweerink is an astrophysicist and a senior research scholar for Reasons to Believe (www.reasons.org), an organization dedicated to demonstrating the compatibility of science and the Christian faith. Jeff’s work focuses on helping people of all backgrounds bridge the perceived gap between science and the Christian faith. Jeff has also made many media appearances, on television, radio, and in print. He earned a BS in physics and a PhD in astrophysics with a focus on gamma rays from Iowa State University. He taught and ran the planetarium at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, until postdoctoral research in gamma rays led him to the University of California, Riverside. Jeff is also a coauthor on more than 30 academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Astrophysical Journal, Astroparticle Physics, and Astrobiology.

Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to this week's podcast:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Scientism by Dr. Luke Barnes and Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Scientism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Carl Sagan's Cosmos by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/CosmosTV
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Naturalism by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Naturalism
• Book: The Story of the Cosmos by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/CosmosBook

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.

PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.

The universe is a fantastically wondrous place. There are more things in heaven and earth than are often dreamt of in our philosophies, to paraphrase Hamlet a little bit. And for the many things we can observe in the physical universe, science sometimes struggles to come up with an explanation as to what is really going on. How much more mysterious are those things which we cannot see? How should Christians think about things that the science of the heavens tells us cannot be seen, such as the idea of the existence of many different universes? That's the question we tackle this week and next on the broadcast with astrophysicist from Reasons to Believe, Dr. Jeff Zweerink. We talk about his 2008 book, Who's Afraid of the Multiverse? So, who is afraid of the multiverse? Come and see!

Jeff Zweerink is an astrophysicist and a senior research scholar for Reasons to Believe (www.reasons.org), an organization dedicated to demonstrating the compatibility of science and the Christian faith. Jeff’s work focuses on helping people of all backgrounds bridge the perceived gap between science and the Christian faith. Jeff has also made many media appearances, on television, radio, and in print. He earned a BS in physics and a PhD in astrophysics with a focus on gamma rays from Iowa State University. He taught and ran the planetarium at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, until postdoctoral research in gamma rays led him to the University of California, Riverside. Jeff is also a coauthor on more than 30 academic papers published in peer-reviewed journals, such as Astrophysical Journal, Astroparticle Physics, and Astrobiology.

Related Links: Access additional Watchman Fellowship resources related to this week's podcast:

• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Scientism by Dr. Luke Barnes and Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Scientism
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Carl Sagan's Cosmos by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/CosmosTV
• Watchman Fellowship 4-page Profile on Naturalism by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/Naturalism
• Book: The Story of the Cosmos by Daniel Ray: www.watchman.org/CosmosBook

Additional Resources

FREE: We are also offering a subscription to our 4-page bimonthly Profiles here: www.watchman.org/Free.

PROFILE NOTEBOOK: Order the complete collection of Watchman Fellowship Profiles (over 600 pages -- from Astrology to Zen Buddhism) in either printed or PDF formats here: www.watchman.org/notebook.

SUPPORT: Help us create more content like this. Make a tax-deductible donation here: www.watchman.org/give.

Apologetics Profile is a ministry of Watchman Fellowship For more information, visit www.watchman.org © Watchman Fellowship, Inc.