Faith and Reason Exchange

David and Adam reflect further on the problem of evil.

David and Adam were joined by Dr. Lex Newman, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah, to talk about the problem of evil. (This episode was originally released on October 2nd, 2024.)

David and Adam discuss the books they are currently reading and why. David shared his experience listening to a biography of Mother Teresa, which he found fascinating for its insights into her private, spiritual life. Adam discussed Occult Feminism by Rachel Wilson, which explores the esoteric roots of feminist ideology, and The Islamic Dilemma by Christopher Frost, which offers a Christian apologetic approach to engaging with Muslims. They also touched on other works, including Yaroslav Pelikan's The Christian Tradition, Kallistos Ware's In the Image of the Father, and Adam's attempt to read the Bible as literature using the NLT.

David and Adam discuss AI's potential to replace cognitive work and the resulting impact on human dignity, responsibility, and spiritual growth. They discuss how AI could lead to the atrophy of human intellectual abilities, similar to muscles not being used, and how this outsourcing of thinking could affect various professions and education. They explored concerns about AI-generated content, the flattening of knowledge, and the loss of depth in human interactions, such as AI-generated emails. The discussion also touched on the importance of struggle and grit in personal and spiritual development, warning against over-reliance on AI. 
The article mentioned at the beginning of the episode can be found here.

David interviews Adam about his upcoming book, The Turk at the Door: Luther, Islam, and the Fate of Christendom in the 16th Century, which is set to be released in one week. They discuss common questions about Islam that Adam receives during lectures, including questions about Islamic violence, the nature of true Islam, and the historical context of Islamic expansion. The conversation covers topics such as Muhammad's early life and military conquests, the concept of jihad, the role of the caliphate, and similarities between Islam and other restorationist religions like Mormonism. They also discussed how the Quran contains echoes of Christian and Jewish texts, and explored the challenges of translating Islamic texts.