Reasons To Believe Podcast

In this episode, biochemist Fazale Rana is joined by Brazilian lawyer and philosopher Tassos Lycurgo to discuss how the laws of logic point to the necessary existence of God. In this freewheeling conversation, they also discuss the relationship between mathematics and God and explore other philosophical arguments for God’s existence.

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Hugh Ross as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   Soft Tissues in Fossils A research team from the University College Cork (UCC), Ireland, published two separate reports in which they present evidence for melanin pigments and keratin filaments in fossilized feathers. The researchers developed models for the chemical alterations of melanin and keratin during fossilization. Using these models, they identified degradation products in fossilized feathers that age-date 120 to 130 million years old. Young-earth creationists cite the recovery of soft tissue materials in fossils as evidence that Earth is only 6,000 years old, and the fossil record is the result of a global deluge. They argue that it’s impossible for biological materials to survive for millions of years and, therefore, the fossils must be thousands of years old. In this episode, biochemist Fuz Ra

Join Fazale Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   Free Will: An Illusion? The prominent neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky has created a stir with the recent publication of his book Determined. Based on a wide range of findings from neuroscience and genetics, Sapolsky argues that free will is an illusion. All of our decisions are predetermined by influences beyond our control.   In this episode, biochemist Fazale Rana discusses the radical and far-ranging implications of Sapolsky’s dangerous idea, before presenting the scientific evidence, demonstrating that free will really exists.    Rana concludes by offering a model for free will based on the Christian worldview.   References: Determined: A Science of Life without Free Will

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   Cosmic Explosion Risk Astronomers have discovered yet another risk to advanced life in the universe—extremely luminous, fast-cooling transients. The most likely explanation for this newly discovered cosmic exploder is a tidal encounter between a star and a stellar-mass black hole or a star and an intermediate-mass black hole. It will take further observations to determine the precise risk of these events to advanced life in the universe. Initially, however, it appears that Earth resides in a galaxy, galaxy group, and galaxy cluster where such events should either be nonexistent or extremely rare.   RESOURCES: AT 2022aedm and a New Class of Luminous, Fast-Cooling Transients in Elliptical Galaxies   Dust Drives Dinosaur Demise Overwhelming evidence points to dramatic extinction events in Earth’s history where m

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss ground-breaking scientific discoveries that have theological and philosophical implications, including for the evidence of God’s existence.   Pig Organs in Humans Recently, research teams from NYU Langone Health, the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and the University of Maryland independently achieved milestones by transplanting kidneys and hearts from genetically engineered pigs into brain-dead patients and terminally ill patients otherwise ineligible for transplants.  Xenotransplantation holds the promise to ease the demand for organ transplants but raises a host of ethical questions.  In this episode, biochemist Fuz Rana discusses the technical challenges that xenotransplantation must overcome before it can move into the clinical setting. He also describes some of the ethical challenges associated with xenotransplants.  Once these challenges are overcome, the questions remain: What should the Christian perspective be on xenotransplantation? Should

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   JWST Galaxies Explained The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed that early galaxies have much brighter ultraviolet luminosities than many big bang creation models predicted. Do such data challenge the creation view? Further research suggests not. Using a computer simulation, astronomers have found that the standard big bang creation models can still accommodate the new data from JWST. Their conclusions remain consistent with the findings reported in the Stars, Cells, and God episode #79 on the “Source of Heavy Elements”, aired on November 29, 2023.   RESOURCES: Bursty Star Formation Naturally Explains the Abundance of Bright Galaxies at Cosmic Dawn Dilution of Chemical Enrichment in Galaxies 600 Myr after the Big Bang   AI Sees Differently than Us As AIs (artificial intelligence) mimic more and mor

Join Hugh Ross and Jeff Zweerink as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   Too Many Early Galaxies The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed about ten times as many galaxies within the cosmos’s first 420 million years as what some big bang creation models predict. Astronomers are searching for an explanation for this overabundance of early galaxies. Possible scenarios include a high number of supernova events during the universe’s first 420 million years. Different big bang models predict different average star masses and different star formation rates during the universe’s first half billion years. It will take at least another year of JWST observations to determine which of these big bang creation models correctly describes very early and later epochs of cosmic history.       Resources: Pointlike Sources among z > 11 Galaxy Candidates: Contaminants Due to Supernovae at

Join Fazale “Fuz” Rana and Hugh Ross as they discuss new discoveries taking place at the frontiers of science that have theological and philosophical implications, including the reality of God’s existence.   Neanderthal Flower Burial Nixed Were Neanderthals like us? The answer to this question has profound implications for our understanding of human origins, and for the RTB creation model. Some anthropologists argue that Neanderthals engaged in ritualistic burials reflecting the capacities for symbolism and religion—features that define modern humans. One of the most important pieces of evidence for ritualistic burials among Neanderthals comes from the Shanidar Cave in northern Iraq. One of the layers harboring Neanderthal remains and artifacts includes a partial adult skeleton that was unearthed in what appears to be a grave. The skeleton had a clump of pollen grains from flowering plants on top of it. Some anthropologists believe that this find indicates Neanderthals buried their dead with flowers—possible

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