18 days ago

Podcasts Faith and Religion ontological argument christian apologetics william lane craig alvin plantinga timothy stratton necessary being maximally great being possible worlds modal logic

“If God is even possible… must He be necessary?” Let’s test it.
Tonight we walk the ridge between reason and revelation. We’ll unpack the Ontological Argument from Anselm to Plantinga (with Craig & Stratton’s defense), answer classic objections (Gaunilo’s Island, Kant on “existence,” the “reverse OA”), and show how necessary existence points from a generic God to the Christian God—I AM (Exod 3:14) and the Logos (John 1).

What we’ll cover

Anselm’s core idea in plain language
Descartes’ “supremely perfect being”
Plantinga’s modal version (possible → necessary → actual)
Necessary vs. contingent existence (sticky visuals & analogies)
Objections answered: Gaunilo, Kant, “reverse possibility”
From Theism to Christ: I AM & the Word made flesh
Q&A: “Is an MGB coherent?” “Does evil refute maximal goodness?” and more

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
02:15 Why apologetics matters (1 Peter 3:15)
06:40 Anselm in plain English
14:10 Descartes’ formulation
18:25 Plantinga’s modal steps (the 6 lines)
28:40 Necessary vs. contingent (illustrations)
36:20 Objections & replies (Gaunilo, Kant, reverse OA)
52:00 From reason to revelation (Exod 3:14; John 1)
57:30 Live Q&A + call to action