In this episode, we drill down further into how the Realist/Nominalist debate shapes our understanding of God with special guest and expert, Dr. Paul Gould.

In this podcast, we discuss:

• What is “Divine Conceptualism” and how does it relate to Moderate Realism?
• What are some of the intellectual resources we gain when we hold Platonist ideas about abstract objects and traditional theist understandings about God’s nature?
• How does distinguishing the two types of creation help us understand God’s creative activity?
• Where do distinctions about Platonic and Aristotelian thought help us sort through what we can know about reality?
• How does “Divine Exemplarism” help us make sense of difficult passages in Scripture?
• How can we make sense of the concept of “Divine Simplicity” without falling into incoherence?
• What is the concept of “Divine Aseity” and what requirements does it actually place on our ideas about God’s nature?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate, Part 1
• The second episode in the series: #46 – Good Reasons to Believe in Things We Can’t See: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 2
• The third episode in this series: #47: The Beliefs, Distinctions, and Cultural Impact of Nominalism: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 3

Recommended resources:

• To find out more about Paul Gould and his work, please visit his website – Paul Gould
• J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, chapter on Properties
• Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, chapter on Properties
• J. P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul

In this episode, we continue exploring realism and nominalism by taking a deeper look into Nominalist beliefs.

In this podcast, we discuss:

• What does a person mean when they say they are a nominalist?
• How is nominalism a contributing factor to current cultural beliefs?
• What are the major distinctions within nominalism?
• How do moderate and extreme nominalists understand properties? What are the challenges inherent in these ideas?
• Why would a person be inclined to hold nominalist views?
• How do we engage in this discussion with fellow Christians?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Stan Wallace, “Three Reasons to Believe in Things You Can’t See,” (four-part series)
• The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate, Part 1
• The second episode in the series: #46 – Good Reasons to Believe in Things We Can’t See: The Realism/Nominalism Debate, Part 2

Recommended resources:

• P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, chapter on Properties
• Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, chapter on Properties
• JP Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul

In this episode, we continue exploring the differences between Realism and Nominalism by discussing good reasons to hold a Realist perspective.

In this podcast, we discuss:

• What good reasons do we have to believe in abstract objects that we cannot see?
• How is it that we are intuitively aware of things we cannot see?
• Why do we naturally group things together? Is this “seeing” the universal they all share?
• What are relations? Are they real? Can we see them?
• What were some of the ideas that early modern empiricists got right?
• What kinds of theological problems do we bump into when we reject realism?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Stan Wallace, “Three Reasons to Believe in Things You Can’t See,” (four-part series)
• The first episode in this series: #45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate

Recommended resources:

• J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, chapter on Properties
• Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions, chapter on Properties
• Scott Smith, The The Dangers of Nominalism, on The Kirkwood Center Podcast

#45 – What Makes Things What They Are? The Realist/Nominalist Debate

In this episode, we kick off a series discussing the most fundamental issue underlying all other questions: what makes things what they are? How does a proper understanding help us live well and flourish in our world?

In this podcast, we discuss:

• Defining the two options: realism (universals exist) and nominalism (universals don’t exist)
• What is God’s relationship to universals? Is this a threat to His uniqueness?
• How does thinking well about this issue help us grow in the knowledge and love of God?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Stan Wallace, Have We Lost Our Minds?
• Pitirim Sorokin, The Crisis of Our Age (archive edition)
• Paul Gould, Beyond the Control of God? Six Views on The Problem of God and Abstract Objects

Recommended resources:

• J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview
• Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland, Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult: A Beginner’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions
• Scott Smith, Dangers of Nominalism: An Interview

In this episode, we continue our series by discussing the final chapter of Stan’s new book, Have We Lost Our Minds?: Neuroscience, Neurotheology, the Soul, and Human Flourishing.

In this podcast, we discuss:

• How does understanding what people are help us in proclaiming the Good News?
• How can we avoid the two extremes of only caring for the body or only caring for the soul in missional contexts?
• What does it mean to have confidence or trust in a belief? How does faith relate to certainty?
• How does a commitment to holistic dualism help us avoid dehumanizing others?
• How can holistic dualism help us integrate our faith and our professions?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Find out more about Have We Lost Our Minds?
• Get the introduction to the book for free on the Global Scholars website.
• A printable group discussion guide to Stan’s book can be found here.

In this episode, we continue our series by discussing Chapter 9 of Stan’s new book, Have We Lost Our Minds?: Neuroscience, Neurotheology, the Soul, and Human Flourishing.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What problems arise when we reduce spiritual formation to just the physical
• What problems arise when we reduce spiritual formation to just the immaterial
• How we should understand the unity of the body and soul as it relates to spiritual formation
• What it looks like to take a both/and approach to spiritual formation in our lives
• How this topic has impacted our churches
• How Dallas Willard’s model of growth in Christ differs from what neurotheologians offer
• God’s role and our role in spiritual formation

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Find out more about Have We Lost Our Minds?
• Get the introduction to the book for free on the Global Scholars website.
• A printable group discussion guide to Stan’s book can be found here.

In this episode, we continue our series by engaging Chapters 7 and 8 of Stan’s new book, Have We Lost Our Minds?: Neuroscience, Neurotheology, the Soul, and Human Flourishing.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What is the difference between valuing science and scientism?
• Was Dallas Willard a neurotheologian?
• Does neurotheology help people grow in Christlikeness?
• For the sake of simplicity, why not just understand persons as material beings?
• How can the body and soul interact if they are such different types of things?
• Wait, does this mean animals also have souls? Is that Biblical?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Find out more about Have We Lost Our Minds?
• Get the introduction to the book for free on the Global Scholars website.
• A printable group discussion guide to Stan’s book can be found here.
• Thinking Christianly Episode #32: Having Better Conversations by Avoiding Logical Fallacies
• Thinking Christianly Episode #40: “The Unity of the Soul and Body”: Chapter 6 of Have We Lost Our Minds?

In this episode we continue our series discussing Stan’s recent book Have We Lost Our Minds?, exploring the book’s themes with neuroscientist and apologist Sharon Dirckx, Ph.D.

In this episode, we discuss:

• In what ways do we talk about the brain doing what persons do?
• How did Sharon’s experience in brain imaging research help her conclude that we are more than just our brains?
• What is the role of honest and open dialogue in finding truth in this and all other important areas?
• How does acknowledging the first-person perspective as a way of knowing change the conversation about mind-brain relations?
• Are there studies in neuroscience that suggest a soul?
• What are the most compelling objections to holistic dualism from the neuroscientific perspective?
• How could thinking Christians respond to these objections?

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Sharon Dirckx, Am I Just My Brain?
• Find out more about Dr. Sharon Dirckx’s work on her website and through the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics
• Find out more about Have We Lost Our Minds? Get the introduction to the book for free on the Global Scholars website. A printable group discussion guide can be found here.
• Thinking Christianly Episode #21: A Case Study in Thinking Christianly and Making a Difference: Edmund Husserl
• Thinking Christianly Episode #22: The Importance of Legacy: More Lessons from the Life of Edmund Husserl
• Premier Unbelievable?: Iain McGilchrist & Sharon Dirckx • Brain science, consciousness & God
• Michael Egnor and Denyse O’Leary, The Immortal Mind: A Neurosurgeon’s Case for the Existence of the Soul

Additional Resources:

• Sharon Dirckx, “Christ Renews our Minds, not Our Brains“, Christianity Today, August 18, 2025