Episode 15: Soul Man

In this episode of the Theopologetics Podcast I interview Dr. Glenn Peoples in part 2 of our discussion concerning Christian physicalism, challenging him with a number of biblical passages which seem to contradict his position. This second interview spanned 2 hours, so I’ve split it up into two parts, this being the first. See episode 16 for the second part.

Music

Promoted Resources

Terminology

  • Occasionalism: a philosophical theory about causation which says that created substances cannot be efficient causes of events. Instead, all events are taken to be caused directly by God himself.

Biblical References

2 thoughts on “Episode 15: Soul Man

  1. I’m not sure if it was this episode or the following one, but the point was raised along the lines of “well, if I don’t have an immortal soul, how am I recreated as ‘me’ at the resurrection?”

    The answer seems simple enough … To put it crudely, God stores our genetic code when we die, and to paraphrase John Polkinghorne: at the resurrection God downloads our software onto the new hardware!

    I’ve always been a physicalist (though I did not know that is what it was called), but never made the connection until recently that the immaterial information that is stored in our DNA might define the totality of who we are and that this is what is “with the Lord” at our death. Not some disembodied spirit, but the real “me” that defines what I look like, as well as (I suspect) my motivations, weaknesses, tendencies, etc. The latter still has not been proven scientifically and we need to tread carefully up the slippery slope that would excuse behavior based on our genetics, but it seems like what we have learned in the last 50 years or so about genetics makes for some interesting Biblical insight.

    -Tim

  2. G’day Chris!

    This was a fantastic set of interviews with Glenn. I’m glad you put these challenges to him. I think as a result I can embrace physicalism a little more and ready to start a debate on it! (That’s how I learn!)

    I had some trouble downloading this particular file and after finally downloading it, it died about 5 minutes before the end. Not sure if other people have had similar experiences – but just letting you know. (I use iCatcher).

    Cheers
    Roy

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