July Podcast Roundup: An Interview with Dr. Vern Poythress

July Podcast Roundup: An Interview with Dr. Vern Poythress

I strive to encourage Christians to think carefully and critically about their faith not only through Reflections but also through two RTB podcasts. On one, Straight Thinking, I lead my colleagues in discussions of important issues in light of the Christian worldview. On the other, I Didn’t Know That!, RTB scholars offer unscripted answers to listener questions.

For this month’s podcast roundup, I’d like to highlight our four-part interview on Straight Thinking with Dr. Vern Poythress, professor of New Testament interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary, editor of Westminster Theological Journal, and prolific author. We cover several theological topics, namely science-faith issues.

Christian Worldview and Science: Interview with Dr. Vern Poythress, Part 1: We illustrate the Christian worldview’s positive impact on the scientific enterprise, naturalism’s inability to account for immaterial realities, God as the source of logic, the importance of the Trinity for understanding God’s love, and more. Dr. Poythress comments that “we as human beings have minds built in analogy with God’s mind and, therefore, we have the possibility of understanding him. Modern science is really about thinking God’s thoughts after him.”

Books of Nature and Scripture: Interview with Dr. Vern Poythress, Part 2: How deep does the idea of dual revelation run in church history and is there a valid biblical basis for it? Is it possible for believers to misunderstand Scripture, just as it’s possible for scientists to misunderstand the natural world? Dr. Poythress, Dave, and I contemplate these questions and more in an effort to encourage believers to interpret both the Bible and creation with care.

Historical Adam and Eve: Interview with Dr. Vern Poythress, Part 3: The historicity of Adam and Eve is a topic of contention today, both within and outside the church. Increasingly, popular theistic evolutionary perspectives argue that Genesis may be more mythical than historical in its depiction of creation. We talk about the serious problems that arise when we lose an historical Adam.

Christian Unity and Diversity: Interview with Dr. Vern Poythress, Part 4: We conclude our interview with a “potpourri” of topics and questions. We touch on unity among believers, the end times, St. Augustine, and Dr. Poythress’ favorite books.