Paratus

About Paratus

Latin for "prepared," Paratus is a podcast sponsored by Veritas International University. Paratus is dedicated to helping Christians develop a Biblical worldview, assisting listeners to think scripturally and soundly about the world today.

Publisher

Dr. Brian C. Nixon

Category

education · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 Sept 2023

Latest episode

3 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

28 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Oct 2026

   What Is the Biblical and Scientific Case for a Historical Adam and Eve? | Casey Luskin & Michael Keas

   Were Adam and Eve real historical people, and how should Christians evaluate scientific arguments about human origins? Host Luke Betzner welcomes Dr. Casey Luskin and Dr. Michael Keas to examine the biblical case for a historical Adam and Eve, the fossil and genetic evidence discussed in debates over human ancestry, and proposals for reconciling Christianity with evolutionary accounts of human origins. Drawing on The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith, the conversation explores Jesus’ and Paul’s references to Adam and Eve, four alternative models of human origins, questions surrounding biblical genealogies and the dating of humanity, and population-genetics modeling. Luskin and Keas explain their arguments for the traditional view and discuss how evidence and coherence shape their evaluation of competing models. Their interpretations and critiques are presented as the guests’ positions in an ongoing debate. In this episode The biblical case for a historical Adam and Eve Fossil evidence and human genetic diversity Evolutionary creationism, Homo divinus, genealogical Adam and Eve, and Homo heidelbergensis proposals Genesis genealogies and the question of when Adam and Eve lived Population-genetics models and the possibility of an original pair Recommended books and further reading Chapters 00:27 Introduction and guests 03:47 The biblical case for a historical Adam and Eve 12:16 Two scientific challenges: fossils and genetics 18:53 Four alternative models of human origins 27:53 Evaluating the models against Scripture 36:15 Do biblical genealogies establish a date? 40:18 Genetic diversity and a primordial pair 47:45 Final thoughts 50:50 Recommended reading 53:41 Support Paratus and closing Resources mentioned The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith, edited by Joseph M. Holden, William A. Dembski, and Casey Luskin C. John Collins, Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? and Reading Genesis Well Casey Luskin, “Comparing Contemporary Evangelical Models Regarding Human Origins,” Religions Discovery Institute: discovery.org (https://www.discovery.org/) About Paratus Paratus is the podcast of Veritas International University, helping Christians develop a biblical worldview and think scripturally and soundly about faith and culture. Learn more at ves.edu (https://ves.edu/). Support Paratus and Veritas International University Help sustain this outreach at ves.edu/give (https://ves.edu/give/).

2. 

   26 Sept 2026

   Has Science Refuted Miracles and the Supernatural? | Jonathan McLatchie & Brian Miller

   Has science refuted miracles and the supernatural? Paratus host Luke Betzner welcomes Discovery Institute scholars Dr. Jonathan McLatchie and Dr. Brian Miller to discuss what scientific inquiry can tell us about extraordinary events, how historical reasoning differs from laboratory experimentation, and the philosophical questions raised by claims of divine action. Continuing Season 8's exploration of science and Christian faith, the conversation draws on Richard G. Howe's chapter in The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith, edited by Joseph M. Holden, William A. Dembski, and Casey Luskin. The guests examine David Hume's objections, the historical case for Jesus' resurrection, claims of contemporary miracles, and the relationship between scientific evidence and philosophical assumptions. The guests' interpretations and arguments are presented for listeners to consider. Chapters 00:27 Introduction and guests 02:40 What can science tell us about miracles? 05:07 Historical science versus laboratory science 09:49 Defining miracles and their biblical purpose 12:03 The God-of-the-gaps objection 17:44 Where science ends and philosophy begins 22:44 David Hume's objections to miracles 28:50 Forgotten historical defenders of Christianity 32:24 Can science refute the existence of God? 37:20 Angels, demons, and contemporary miracle claims 41:14 Invisible causes and evidence of agency 47:27 Final arguments and the resurrection 51:50 Brian Miller's concluding thoughts 54:46 Recommended reading 56:54 Guest organizations and closing Guests Dr. Jonathan McLatchie is a resident biologist and fellow at Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture and founder of Talk About Doubts (https://talkaboutdoubts.com/), a ministry offering private conversations to people exploring doubts and questions about Christianity. Discovery Institute profile (https://www.discovery.org/p/mclatchie/). Dr. Brian Miller is Research Coordinator and Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. His research interests include the origin of life, protein rarity, and the intersection of engineering and biology. Discovery Institute profile (https://www.discovery.org/p/miller/). Recommended reading and resources Craig S. Keener, Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World — recommended by Brian Miller. John Douglas, The Criterion; or, Rules by Which the True Miracles Recorded in the New Testament Are Distinguished from the Spurious Miracles of Pagans and Papists — recommended by Jonathan McLatchie. George Campbell, A Dissertation on Miracles. William Paley, A View of the Evidences of Christianity. George Lyttelton, Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul. Lydia McGrew, Hidden in Plain View: Undesigned Coincidences in the Gospels and Acts, and her other works on Gospel reliability. Library of Historical Apologetics (https://historicalapologetics.org/) — a source for historical apologetics works mentioned during the discussion. Explore the guests' work at Discovery Institute (https://www.discovery.org/). Learn more about Veritas International University and support Paratus at ves.edu (https://ves.edu/). Next episode: the historical Adam and Eve with Dr. Casey Luskin and Dr. Michael Keas.

3. 

   19 Sept 2026

   Faith and Reason: Is Christianity Rational? | Dr. Don Deal

   Can Christian faith be intellectually responsible—and what role should reason play in knowing and trusting God? Host Luke Betzner is joined by Christian apologist and scholar Dr. Don Deal for a careful exploration of faith, reason, evidence, logic, revelation, and truth. Dr. Deal explains why biblical faith is neither blind belief nor skeptical paralysis. Faith and reason perform distinct but cooperative roles: reason evaluates evidence and exposes contradiction, revelation supplies truths human inquiry could not discover on its own, and faith entrusts the believer to what God has revealed. The conversation also examines how Christians can reason faithfully without elevating human reason above God. In this episode How faith and reason work together without becoming identical Why reason is a God-given capacity rather than an autonomous judge over God General revelation, special revelation, and rational grounds for belief The dangers of fideism, rationalism, pragmatism, and circular reasoning Deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning explained Why logical training matters for discipleship, discernment, and evangelism Scientific reasoning, certainty, probability, and inference to the best explanation Truth, beauty, love, logic, and realities that science cannot measure directly How to engage skeptics and materialists through thoughtful questions rather than information overload How Jesus used Scripture, questions, evidence, analogy, and logical argument How Christians can weigh evidence with intellectual honesty and theological confidence Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Paratus 00:27 Introducing Dr. Don Deal 01:39 Dr. Deal’s journey from aviation to apologetics 03:57 How faith and reason work together 11:56 What reason is—and what it is not 20:34 Pragmatism, contradiction, and competing worldviews 23:40 Deductive, inductive, and abductive reasoning 28:22 Learning to reason well 29:40 Why Christians should study logic 31:49 The real conflict: truth versus error 33:45 Science, induction, and levels of certainty 36:10 What science cannot see 39:12 Engaging materialists without “beating them with information” 44:45 How Jesus used reason and evidence 50:32 Weighing evidence as a Christian 54:33 Faith that understands and reason that seeks truth 55:54 Recommended reading 57:15 Norm Geisler International Ministries and Veritas 58:18 Preview of the next episode Guest Dr. Don Deal is a Christian apologist, scholar, and Director of Classical Apologetics at Norm Geisler International Ministries. He also teaches scientific apologetics at Veritas International University. Learn more about his work and the Norm Geisler Institute at ngim.org (https://ngim.org). Recommended reading Reasons for Belief: Easy-to-Understand Answers to 10 Essential Questions — Norman L. Geisler and Patty Tunnicliffe Twelve Points That Show Christianity Is True — Norman L. Geisler; available through the NGIM store (https://ngim.org/?page_id=122) Christian Apologetics — Norman L. Geisler Reasons for Faith: Making a Case for the Christian Faith (https://www.crossway.org/books/reasons-for-faith-tpb/) — edited by Norman L. Geisler and Chad V. Meister Come, Let Us Reason: An Introduction to Logical Thinking — Norman L. Geisler and Ronald M. Brooks Season 8 resource This season’s conversations are guided by The Comprehensive Guide to Science and Faith (https://www.discovery.org/b/comprehensive-guide-to-science-and-faith/), edited by William A. Dembski, Casey Luskin, and Joseph M. Holden. About Paratus Paratus is the broadcast ministry of Veritas International University (https://ves.edu), helping Christians develop a biblical worldview so they can think deeply, stand firmly, and live purposefully in changing times. To learn more about VIU—or to support this outreach—visit ves.edu (https://ves.edu).

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.