This episode features a conversation with Randal Rauser. 

Randal is a systematic and analytic theologian, Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Taylor Seminary in Edmonton, and author of several books including An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar , which was definitely source of inspiration for my and Adam’s book Meta.

Besides giving our book a nice blurb, Randal hosted Adam and I on his podcast and at his home in Edmonton. We also had a fantastic pub dialogue with a small group the evening prior where we dove into all sorts of fun philosophical and theological debate. 

In this podcast, Randal and I discuss his background and academic interests, and got into some of the big questions like “why is there something rather than nothing”, morality, consciousness, free-will, and the nature of abstract objects. We also talked about the importance of epistemological humility as we wrestle with these issues. 

Beyond the theist and atheist divide, we then dove into some controversial topics within Christianity such as divine simplicity, and the nature of hell. Randal is incredibly intelligent, all the while humble, and did a very nice job serving up some of the complex topics in an accessible way. Though the conversation goes deep and far out at times, I thought Randal gave an excellent tour of philosophical theology.

So please, enjoy the conversation between yours truly and Randal Rauser…