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:: Christianity vs. Other Worldviews

This page is devoted to our debates with leaders of other religions and callers to the show.

"Debates" podcast:  

(Here for iTunes)

Click here for the complete archives of the Don Johnson Radio Show.

 
 

Discussion with Jason the Ex-Christian

(MP3)

  • Don and Brandon take a call from Jason, who abandoned a version of Christianity after 25 years of belief and ministry to became a "secular humanist." A key line from this conversation occurs at around the 1:15 mark: After Don explains what he thinks the universe is all about, Jason replies "If Christianity was about God loving us and us loving God, I would still be a Christian."

Debate with Jared the Atheist

(MP3)

  • Don and Brandon take a call from Jared, who thinks that belief in God is a stupid leap into irrationality.

Discussion with Bill the Naturalist

(MP3)

  • Don and Brandon talk with Bill, an atheist caller from Virginia. In a discussion that ranges from bears to objective morality, each man presents and defends some evidences for their worldview.

Discussion with Atheist Emery Wang

(MP3)

Discussion with Justin the Atheist

(MP3)

  • Don and Brandon compare worldviews with caller Justin. They discuss, among other topics, why Don thinks Justin's understanding of Christianity is faulty and whether the accuracy of the scientific method is actually evidence for atheism.

Debate with Aaron the Agnostic about The Problem of Evil

(MP3)

  • Don and Brandon talk again with caller Aaron, this time about what the existence of evil in the world tells us about whether or not God exists and what he is like if he does.

Discussion with Atheist Caller Gabriel

(MP3)

  • Don and Brandon compare worldviews with Gabriel, an atheist listener who had some questions about their use of the moral argument.

Discussion with Aaron the Agnostic

(MP3)

  • Don and Brandon talk to caller Aaron about whether or not you can approach a topic like the resurrection without some presuppositions about the nature of reality.

Discussion with a Caller who Would Like to Import Ideas from Other Worldviews into Christianity

(MP3)

  • Don and Brandon talk with David, who wishes more Christians would look to the New Age movement (among other places) for spiritual guidance.

Discussion with "Boredom" about the Evidence Supporting Our Respective Worldviews

(MP3)

  • "BoredomConsumesEverything" calls into the Don Johnson Show because he doesn't think there is any evidence to support a theistic worldview.

Debate with Dr. Robert Price, Part 1

(MP3)

This is part 1 of a debate in which Paul will alternate between interviewing Don and Dr. Robert Price on the subject of the historicity of the resurrection.

Dr. Price is Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies at         Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary, the founder and editor of The Journal of Higher Criticism, and a Fellow of the Jesus Seminar. He holds a PhD in Systematic Theology from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary and another PhD in New Testament from Drew University. He is the author of many books including Jesus Is Dead.

Debate with Dr. Robert Price, Part 2

(MP3)

In this episode Paul Arnends interviews Dr. Price and gets his response to Don's argument in Part 1 of the debate.

Debate with Dr. Robert Price, Part 3

(MP3)

In this episode Paul Arnends interviews Don and gets his response to last weeks discussion with Dr. Price.

Debate with Dr. Robert Price, Part 4

(MP3)

This was supposed to be Dr. Price's chance to respond, but debate host Paul Arends wanted some clarification of some of Don's positions before proceeding. This show, then, is Paul's presentation of some of the problems he has with Don's argument, followed by an interview with Don to get his response. Brandon Ridley also joins Don in that part of the broadcast.

Debate with Dr.Robert Price, Part 5

(MP3)

This episode includes an interview with Dr. Price followed by a commentary by host Paul Arends about where he thinks the debate stands.

Debate with Dr.Robert Price, Part 6

(MP3)

After an introduction by Paul Arends, Don and Brandon discuss the debate to this point and address some of the points brought up by Paul and Dr. Price last week.

Debate with Sigfried the Naturalist

(MP3)

  • Caller Sigfried defends his naturalistic worldview against Don's claims that it cannot account for rationality or morality. Later in the conversation, Don makes a case for the historicity of the resurrection of Christ and answers some of Sigfried's questions about the Bible.

A Conversation with Ala, Who Believes No Worldview is Wrong

(MP3)

  • A conversation with Ala, a caller to The Don Johnson Radio Show. She believes that all worldviews are "true" for whoever holds them, although they may not be "true" for her.

Examining the Worldview of The Secret:

An Interview with Kathleen Graham

(MP3)

Kathleen graciously explains her beliefs and candidly answers some questions from Don and Brandon regarding some of the more troubling worldview teachings of The Secret, such as:

  • Victims of genocide are guilty, at some level, of bringing it upon themselves.
  • There is no objective right and wrong in the universe, so Hitler cannot be morally condemned. We can only point out that the Allies knew how to harness the power of The Secret better than he did.

They also discuss the compatibly of the teachings of The Secret with those of Jesus (Don and Brandon see them as antithetical, Kathleen doesn't) and talk about about whether or not the worldview of The Secret is self-refuting and incoherent. It turns out to be a very interesting conversation.

Questioning the Atheism of The Infidel Guy

(MP3)

  • A discussion with Reginald Vaughn Finley, Sr, otherwise known as "The Infidel Guy." Mr. Finley is a graduate of the Atlanta Broadcast Institute and the founder of freethoughtmedia.com , atheistforums.com, faithandfreethought.com   and many other websites. He is also co-founder of The Atheist Network, another site dedicated to fostering the community of atheists.

    We ask Reggie usual questions: "What do you believe about reality and why? Is there any good reason to be an naturalistic atheist? Does that worldview best account for the data?" He has some interesting answers.

Debate with Scientologist David Barrington

(MP3)

  • From South Park to Rolling Stone, Scientology is prominent in the news these days. I debate the merits of Scientology's beliefs with dianetics expert David Barrington. Mr Barrington actually studied under L. Ron Hubbard and writes the website infocenter2.org.

Is There Any Good Reason to Be a Mormon?: A Discussion with LDS Scholar Alma Allred

(MP3)

  • I write often on my blog about how I think Mormonism is a religion that offers no good reasons to support its truth claims. Most recently I noted an example of this: recent DNA findings that suggested some historical inaccuracies in the Book of Mormon have been deemed largely irrelevant within Mormon Church circles. Alma Allred commented on that post, disagreeing with my assessment. I contacted him and he agreed to chat with me about this topic on my radio show.

Mr. Allred is a university administrator at the University of Utah and an LDS Historian. He teaches LDS Church History at the LDS Institute of Religion located near the University of Utah. He is a published author and has provided book reviews for the Mormon History Association and the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies. Most recently, he was one of the essayists in a book published by the University of Illinois Press, "Black and Mormon" edited by Newell Bringhurst and Darron Smith. (2004)

Debate with Al the Pantheist

(MP3)

  • A fun chat with a caller to The Don Johnson Radio Show about "intolerant" Christians and the nature of truth.

Faith vs. Science?: A Discussion with Skeptic Dave Thomas

(MP3)

Debate with Sean the Secularist

(MP3)

  • Sean, a caller to the Don Johnson Radio Show, thinks that religion is the bane of human existence and the main reason for violence on the planet.

Debate with Muslim Apologist Nadir Ahmed

(Real Audio)       (MP3)

  • We talk about why Islam is one of the world's fastest growing religions and whether there are any good reasons to believe it is true with Muslim apologist Nadir Ahmed of ExamineTheTruth.com.

Debate with National Atheist Leader Edwin Kagin

(Real Audio)       (MP3)

Debate with Zen-Master Audrey Carr

(Real Audio)       (MP3)

  • Our in-studio guest was Audrey Carr, co-author of "The Gospel According to Zen" and editor of "The Zen Game" website and newsletter. We debate her New Age views, including her beliefs about Jesus, the resurrection, historical Christianity and the nature of reality.

Audrey and I have had a cyberspace debate in the comments section of previous programs. The resurrection discussion is interesting in light of this 20/20 program which dealt with this issue. (You can get a summary of that program here.)

Audrey's original email was a response to the February 12, 2005 program and my written responses to that email is here.) UPDATE: Also, I have since posted reasons to believe the resurrection here.