The Peter S. Williams Podcast

First in a series of podcasts with William O'Flaherty and Peter Byrom on my book C.S. Lewis vs. the New Atheists (Paternoster, 2013).

First podcast in 2014 on 'All About Jack: A C.S. Lewis Podcast' - re-podcasted here with permission.

Sermon from the 8 am service at Highfield Church Southampton, Palm Sunday 2016. Several quotes in this sermon were from John Dickson's book Humilitas (Zondervan, 2011).

Audio from the March 15th book launch of Dr Peter May's excellent book on persuasive evangelism: The Search for God and the Path to Persuasion (MD, 2016)

Interview with Dr Peter May about his recent book on 'persuasive evangelism': The Search for God and the Path to Persuasion (MD, 2016)

Lecture followed by Q&A hosted by the University of Reading Philosophy Society and the University of Reading Theology Society, 2nd March 2016.

Talk given at the 'Reasonable Faith?' course, Highfield Church, Southampton, 28th Febuary 2016. cf. my YouTube Playlist on Mormonism and Mike Licona's article series 'What to Say to Mormons.'

Presentation at my church 'home group' on the gospel of Mark, 16th Feb 2016. Includes an over-view of the structure of Mark's gosepl, an argument for the plausibility of thinking it was written by John Mark and published in Rome in 49 AD, a look at what we know about Mark from the New Testament, how Mark passes some standard historical tests (e.g. short time-gap, early manuscripts), an archaeological discovery relating to a passing comment made by Mark about the sons of Simon of Cyrene, and a discussion of the gospel's later 'long ending'.

Presentation made to the Southampton University Christian Union Apologetics Group, January 2016. Apologies for the intermittent 'sounds off' from some musicians!

Recommended Resources

Peter S. Williams, Biblical Prophecy YouTube Playlist www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQhh3qcwVEWgq_Hba52LXvmcUHR4T01oa

https://beliefmap.org/prophecy-fulfilled/tyre/

John A. Bloom, ‘Is Fulfilled Prophecy of Value for Scholarly Apologetics?’ www.bethinking.org/is-christianity-true/is-fulfilled-prophecy-of-value-for-scholarly-apologetics

Larry Brandt, ‘Messianic Prophecies – First Things First’ www.bethinking.org/is-the-bible-reliable/messianic-prophecies-first-things-first

Kyle Butt, ‘Tyre in Prophecy’ www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=13&article=1790

Craig Davis, Dating the Old Testament (RJ Communications, 2007)

James Deitz, ‘Christianity for the Technically Inclined: Risk Assessment, Probability, and Prophecy’ in Tough-Minded Christianity: Honoring the Legacy of John Warwick Montgomery (William A. Dembski & Thomas Schirrmacher ed.’s: B&H Academic, 2008)

Hugh G. Gauch, Jr., ‘Best Practice for Prophecy Arguments’, Philosophia Christi, Volume 16, Number 2 (2014)

Norman L. Geisler, ‘Miraculous Bible Prophecy Fulfilments’ (Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics) https://philosophical11.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/miraculous-bible-prophecy-fulfillments/#more-151

J.P Moreland, ‘The Historicity of the New Testament’ www.bethinking.org/is-the-bible-reliable/the-historicity-of-the-new-testament

Robert C. Newman, ‘Daniel’s Seventy Weeks and the Old Testament Sabbath-Year Cycle’ http://apollos.ws/argument-from-prophecy/Daniel's%20Seventy%20Weeks%20and%20the%20Old%20Testament%20Sabbath-Year%20Cycle.pdf

Robert C. Newman, ‘Fulfilled Prophecy as Miracle’ in In Defence of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case For God’s Action In History (R. Douglas Geivett & Gary R. Habermas ed.s’: Apollos, 1997)

Robert C. Newman, John A. Bloom, and Hugh G. Gauch, Jr., ‘PUBLIC THEOLOGY AND PROPHECY DATA: FACTUAL EVIDENCE THAT COUNTS FOR THE BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW’ JETS 46/1 (March 2003) 79–110, www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/46/46-1/46-1-pp079-110_JETS.pdf

Robert C. Newman ed., The Evidence of Prophecy (IBRI, 2001)

William Paley, Evidences of Christianity (Bibiobazaar)

Bernard Ramm, ‘The Evidence of Prophecy and Miracle’ http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/rev-henry/16_evidence_ramm.pdf

Robert H. Stein, Jesus, The Temple And The Coming Son Of Man: A Commentary on Mark 13 (IVP Academic, 2014)

J. Warner Wallace, ‘Fulfilled Prophecy’ http://coldcasechristianity.com/tag/fulfilled-prophecy/

Peter S. Williams, ‘The Design Inference – A Critical Review’, Philosophia Christi, Vol.9, No.2, 2007, www.bethinking.org/does-evolution-disprove-creation/the-design-inference-a-critical-review

Peter S. Williams, Understanding Jesus: Five Ways to Spiritual Enlightenment (Paternoster, 2011)

Peter S. Williams, ‘Luke 2:22-40: The Presentation at the Temple’ http://podcast.peterswilliams.com/e/luke-222-40-the-presentation-at-the-temple/?token=6d568dc904a6dc7bccf880c4d5136ddd

Peter S. Williams, ‘Old Testament Prophecy: History and the Fate of Jerusalem in the Eight Century BC’ http://podcast.peterswilliams.com/e/old-testament-prophecy-history-and-the-fate-of-jerusalem-in-the-eigth-century-bc/?token=12a433fd528e3d673ada6130d3696b40

Talk from the 'Reasonable Faith?' meeting at Highfield Church, Southampton, 7th Feb 2016.

Peter S. Williams & Miriam Animashaun argue in the affirmative and Jonathan M.S. Pearce and Boaz Dicks argue in the negative in this debate conducted on Thursday 28th January at Southampton University. Organised by the Southhampton Atheist Society and the Christian Union, hosted by Southampton University Debating Society. This isn't my recording and was very quiet, but I've improved the quality somewhat using my Wave Pad editing suite.

Sermon on Psalm 48 from the 8 am service at Highfields Church, Southampton, 31st January 2016.

Sermon from the 11 am service at Highfield Church Southampton, Sunday January 3rd 2016.

End of term 'Reasonable Faith?' question panel with Niv Lobo, Peter May and myself. In the first half of the meeting, Niv had given his testimony and the first question relates to this.

Sermon on Psalm 93 from the 8 am service at Highfield Church, Southampton, November 22nd 2015.

The second of two teaching sessions with CARE interns, this time in London at CARE HQ on 13th November 2015.

See Makoto Fujimura's Christian art, including 'Grace Foretold' @ http://www.makotofujimura.com/works/images-of-grace/

Salisbury Cathedral @ http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/

Listen to the Iona song 'An atmosphere of miracles' @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcY-8TmAa_I

Listen to the Roxy Music song 'In every dreamhome a heartache' @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPmMveU0dmc

The opening credits of 'The Bridge' can be viewed @ https://youtu.be/ZdcrN9Vggck

The opening scene of 'Blade Runner' can be viewed @ https://youtu.be/YaR5wVL9x2I

Listen to Woolly Wolstenholme's song 'Blood and Bones' @ https://youtu.be/6Ma1ajjPuyY

See the postmodern M2 Building in Tokyo @ http://www.archdaily.com/179653/ad-on-the-streets-m2-building-by-kengo-kuma

Talk from Highfield Church 'Reasonable Faith?' meeting, Sunday 15th November 2015. As a critique of evolutionary Christology I argue that the Epistle of James evinces a high Christology within a Jewish-Christian setting c. 12-27 years after the crucifixion (and that James was written by James the brother of Jesus).

Lecture to sixth form philosophy students at Downe House School, 10th November 2015. 

Antony Flew, Science & God - Handout 

Antony Flew: ‘Science qua science cannot furnish an argument for God’s existence. But… the laws of nature, life with its teleological organization, and the existence of the universe – can only be explained in the light of an Intelligence that explains both its own existence and that of the world. Such a discovery of the Divine does not come through experiments and equations, but through an understanding of the structure they unveil and map.’

Cosmological Argument from the Finite Past

1) There was a first physical event

2) Every physical event has a cause outside of itself

2i) Anything contingent must have a cause outside of itself

2ii) Physical events are contingent

2iii) Therefore, every physical events must have a cause outside of itself

3) Therefore, the first physical event had a cause outside of itself

4) The cause of the first physical event can’t have been a physical cause

5) Therefore, the first physical event had a non-physical cause outside of itself

Dallas Willard: ‘the dependent character of all physical states, together with the completeness of the series of dependencies underlying the existence of any given physical state, logically implies at least one self-existent, and therefore nonphysical, state of being.’ - ‘The Three-Stage Argument for the Existence of God’, www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=42

Fine Tuning Design Argument

1) The fine-tuning of the universe is due to either physical necessity, chance, or design.

2) It is not due to physical necessity or chance.

3) Therefore, it is due to design.

1) Things exhibiting ‘specified complexity’ are probably designed

2) The ‘fine tuning’ of the universe exhibits ‘specified complexity’

3) The ‘fine tuning’ of the universe was probably designed

Design Argument from Biological Information

1) Things exhibiting ‘specified complexity’ are probably designed

2) Life depends upon the ‘specified complexity’ of functional information encoded in genetic and epigenetic biological structures

3) Therefore, the best explanation of life includes an appeal to design

Recommended Resources

http://antonyflew.com/

www.reasonablefaith.org/

www.peterswilliams.com

William Lane Craig, ‘The New Atheism and Five Arguments for God’ www.reasonablefaith.org/the-new-atheism-and-five-arguments-for-god

Antony Flew with Roy Varghese, There Is A God (HarperOne, 2007)

Rodney Holder, Big God, Big Bang: A Universe Designed For Life? (Lion, 2013)

John C. Lennox, God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? (Lion, 2009)

Stephen C. Meyer, Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design (HarperOne, 2009)

Dallas Willard, ‘The Three-Stage Argument for the Existence of God’ www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=42

Peter S. Williams, A Faithful Guide to Philosophy: A Christian Introduction to the Love of Wisdom (Paternoster, 2013)

Talk delivered at the 'Reasonable Faith?' course, Highfield Church, Southampton, October 18th 2015.

Sermon on the 2nd half of Psalm 19 from the 8 am service at Highfield Church Southampton, 27th September 2015.

Material from the Gimlekollen College Study Tour 2015. You can listen to the Roxy Music song discussed in this session @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPmMveU0dmc