The Sean McDowell Show Responding to Arguments for God (Q&A with Professors)
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Apr 1, 2026 Greg Gansel, philosophy professor at Talbot School of Theology and author on religion and ethics, joins to tackle hard apologetics questions. He discusses divine hiddenness and human freedom. He walks through cosmological and fine-tuning arguments, the nature of math and morality, and why church hypocrisy and Nietzsche’s critique matter for belief.
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Why God Stays Hidden To Preserve Freedom
- Divine hiddenness can be explained as God withholding overwhelming evidence to preserve human freedom and genuine relationship.
- Greg Gansel and Sean McDowell note Old Testament theophanies reduced human agency and prompted idolatry, so God provides sufficient but noncoercive evidence.
Cosmology Points To A Personal Cause
- Cosmological arguments move in two steps: from an observable fact to a transcendent cause, then from that cause to Godlike attributes.
- Gansel emphasizes the second part is often missing and argues the best explanation for a cause of the universe is an intelligent, powerful person outside space and time.
Miracles Often Start The Journey To Faith
- Modern miracles can function as initial evidence that opens people to further reasons for belief.
- Both Greg Gansel and Sean McDowell cite healings, visions, and testimonies (e.g., Iranian conversions) as catalysts, but not coercive proofs.
