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Current TV Episodes

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• 101. Does God Make Sense? [God] How can you know whether God really exists, if you do not know what God really is? Diverse religions have diverse views and surprise is in store.
• 102. How Vast is the Cosmos? [Cosmos] Everyone knows that the universe is huge, but no one could have imagined how staggeringly immense the universe, or multiple universes, may actually be. It stops your breath.
• 103. Why is Consciousness so Mysterious? [Consciousness] How can the mindless microscopic particles that compose our brains "experience" the setting sun, the Mozart Requiem, and romantic love?
• 104. Did Our Universe have a Beginning? [Cosmos] Everything in the universe has a beginning, but how can the universe as a whole have a start date? Does a universal commencement make sense? What would it possibly mean?
• 105. How are Brains Structured? [Consciousness] As far as we know, brains are the most highly organized matter in the universe. How they make their magic is just astonishing.
• 106. Arguing God's Existence? [God] You've heard the raucous noise about God; now listen to the cogent arguments, con and pro. Not that determining the existence of God is up for vote; when searching for Truth, majority opinion counts for nothing.
• 107. Why a Fine-Tuned Universe [Cosmos] How can so many numbers of nature, the constants and relationships of physics, be so spot-on perfect for humans to exist? Beware: there is more than one answer lurking here.
• 108. Do Persons have Souls? [Consciousness] Is the "Real You" a special substance that is both nonphysical and immortal? Most people think "Certainly". Most scientists think "Certainly Not". What some theologians think may trouble you.
• 109. Arguing God from Design? [God] The world certainly appears to be designed. Are appearances deceiving? Discover new twists to this old argument.
• 110. Could Our Universe Be a Fake? [Cosmos] Perhaps our entire universe is like a gigantic computer game, the creation of super-smart hackers existing somewhere else? Before you smirk and laugh, watch and think!
• 111. Does ESP Reveal the Nonphysical? [Consciousness] Some claim that their scientific study of extrasensory perception, or parapsychology, overturns the worldview of science. Should we take these startling pronouncements seriously?
• 112. Arguing God from First Cause? [God] Does everything need a cause? Everything in the universe surely does. But what about the universe as a whole? And what about God — assuming God exists — does God need a cause?
• 113. Can Science Deal With God? [Cosmos] Science can deal with God in at least three ways: Showing how God is not necessary; showing how God is likely; not relating to God at all. Only one way can be correct.

• 201. Is There Life After Death? [Consciousness] Do we survive bodily death? Can our personal awareness transcend physical decay? There are no bigger questions and there are no shortages of answers. Some claim to have evidence.
• 202. Arguing God from Morality? [God] Humans have a sense of right and wrong. Does this mean that morality is absolute? And if absolute, would God be needed to make it so? Even theologians are perplexed by God & Morality; some even admit it.
• 203. How Many Universes Exist? [Cosmos] More than one universe? A ridiculous question no more! How could multiple universes be generated, and can we ever find evidence, one way or another? Talk about expanding your horizons: you can't imagine what's in store!
• 204. Can Brain Explain Mind? [Consciousness] What is it about the brain that enables some scientists to claim they can explain mind? And what is it about scientific explanations that some philosophers reject?
• 205. What is the Mind-Body Problem? [Consciousness] How is it possible that mushy masses of brain cells, passing chemicals and shooting sparks, literally are mental sensations and subjective feelings? They seem so radically different.
• 206. Is Time Travel Possible? [Cosmos] Some scientists take time travel seriously. Should you? What does time travel reveal about the nature of space and time and the laws of physics under extreme conditions?
• 207. Did God Create Time? [God] God and Time are two huge mysteries; relating them probes the nature of God, and perhaps even the existence of a Creator. If God is in Time and experiences its passage, then how could God have created Time? Also Leibniz's famous question: "Why didn't God create the world sooner?"
• 208. Does Evil Disprove God? [God] Theologians have no tougher task than explaining evil, its enormity even more than its existence. Give the clergy their due: they've devised clever, even profound, rationale. But at the end of the long day, do these explanations, or rationalizations, really work?
• 209. Why are Black Holes Astonishing? [Cosmos] They warp space and time, squeeze matter to a vanishing point, and trap light so that it cannot escape. How can black holes perform such stupendous tricks, and what can we learn from them?
• 210. What is Free Will? [Consciousness] If it seems obvious that you are perfectly free to choose and decide, then it seems perfectly clear that you underestimate the problem (and have never questioned a philosopher). Free Will is a huge problem.
• 211. Arguments for Atheism? [God] Turn the tables on whether God exists. Atheists take their best shots at disproving God; theists deflect the arguments, defending God. Atheists come harder still; theists fight back. We keep the arguments tough-minded and the think ing critical.
• 212. How Could God Interact with the World? [God] If God exists, and if God ordains history and generates miracles, how does He do it? Fiddle with each and every atom? Command all of them en masse? What possibly could be God's technique?
• 213. What's the Far Future of Intelligence in the Universe? [Consciousness] Consider humanity's astounding progress in science during the past three hundred years. Now take a deep breath and project forward, oh say, three billion years.

• 301. How Could God Know the Future? [God] God is supposed to have perfect knowledge, which includes all true statements about the future. Does this mean that God knows everything about what is to come? But if the future doesn't yet exist, then there is nothing now to know. Theologians battle among themselves.
• 302. Is the Universe Fine-Tuned for Life and Mind? [Consciousness] If the universe had been ever so slightly different, human beings wouldn't, couldn't, exist. All explanations of this exquisite fine-tuning, obvious and not-so-obvious, have problems.
• 303. How does Beauty Color the Universe? [Cosmos] What do scientists mean when they call the laws and regularities of nature "beautiful"? On the largest supra-cosmic scales, and on the smallest sub-atomic scales, why do scientists use "beauty" to assess their theories?
• 304. What Things Really Exist? [Consciousness] When you ask "what things really exist", and you think deeply about this universal probe, you see the whole world anew. It's such a simple question; how does it inspire such profound insight?
• 305. Where are They, All those Aliens? [Consciousness] Most scientists assume that the universe must be populated with innumerable alien intelligences and civilizations - after all, we humans can't be so special. OK, so where are they, these "innumerable alien intelligences and civilizations"? How come there's zero evidence?
• 306. Why is There Something Rather than Nothing? [Cosmos] Forget science. Forget God. This is the ultimate question: What if Everything had Forever been Nothing? Not just emptiness, not just blankness, but not even the existence of emptiness, not even the meaning of blankness, and no Forever. If you don't get dizzy, you really don't get it.
• 307. Can Many Religions All be True? [God] No one denies the diversity of human religions, and the apparent incompatibility of their core beliefs. Many believe only their own religion to be True. Some claim all religions reflect the same Truth. Others assert that differing dogmas expose the emptiness of all religion.
• 308. Is Consciousness Fundamental? [Consciousness] Is our mental life a random accident, solely the product or byproduct of physical brain? Or is there something deeply special about conscious awareness that may reveal a hidden reality?
• 309. Is There A Final Theory of Everything? [Cosmos] It is the Holy Grail of physics: All the particles and forces of nature unified and explained by equations so simple that you can print them on your tee shirt. Are we getting there?
• 310. How can Emergence Explain Reality? [Cosmos] Does ordinary stuff have mysterious properties? Take anything; find all its parts; combine those parts any way you like. What do you expect? Nothing at all like what you have. It's called "emergence" and it describes how wondrously our world works. But is it a real mystery?
• 311. Is This the End Time? [God] In every generation, some religious believers imagined their time to be the end time. Why is this so? Is our generation different? What, in a religious nutshell, is the End Time?
• 312. Eternal Life is Like What? [God] Almost all religions promise eternal life. In one form or another, the message goes forth that death is not final. But each religion paints its own portrait of the hereafter: some are collective and ethereal in the spirit, others individual and corporeal in the body. Which would you choose? (Your opinion means nothing, of course.)
• 313. Do Science & Religion Conflict? [Cosmos] Don't let the heated argument or the smooth talk fool you: the struggle between science and religion carries deep significance. Meaning and Purpose hang in the balance as battle rages on many fronts.

• 401.  Why is Consciousness Baffling? [Consciousness] How does consciousness weave its magical web of inner awareness—appreciating music, enjoying art, feeling love? p; Even when all mental functions may be explained, the great mystery—what it “feels like” inside—will likely remain.
• 402. What is God Like? [God] What can we know about God? The easy answer is “nothing”: God is not like anything. But that’s not good enough. If there is a God, God must have traits. No?
• 403. What does an Expanding Universe Mean? [Cosmos] The expanding universe is humanity’s monumental discovery. Beginning with something infinitesimally small, the universe has become something majestically large. How could this happen? What could this mean?
• 404. Is the Person All Material? [Consciousness] What makes a human being a “ person?” What provides our sense of unity and continuity? While most people assume that to be a person is to have a soul, most philosophers—and some theologians—believe that persons are all material.
• 405. Arguments Against God? [God] All who affirm that God does exist should examine the strong attacks of those who conclude that God does not exist, and then assess the sharp counterattacks of scholarly believers.  Belief in God is too important to be determined by cultural circumstances.
• 406. Are there Extra Dimensions? [Cosmos] Extra dimensions—beyond length, width, height—seem the stuff of science fiction. What would extra dimensions be like? Is time the fourth dimension? Could deep reality be so strange? And, anyway, why would we care?
• 407. Would Intelligent Aliens Undermine God? [Consciousness] Whether extra-terrestrial intelligences exist has profound implications for human religion. We are either alone or not alone in the universe, but no matter the ultimate answer, theists and atheists will each mold that answer, alone or not alone, to fit their opposing worldviews.
• 408. Did God Create Evil? [God] Whoever believes in the existence of God must explain the presence of evil. To theists, it’s “the problem of evil,” which they struggle to resolve. To atheists, it’s “the argument from evil,” which they wield like a sword. Moreover, if God is all-powerful and all-knowing, how could God not have created evil?
• 409. Is Mathematics Invented or Discovered? [Cosmos] Mathematics describes the real world of atoms and acorns, stars and stairs, with remarkable precision. So is mathematics invented by humans—like chisels and hammers and pieces of music? Or is mathematics discovered—always out there, somewhere, like mysterious islands waiting to be found?
• 410. Do Angels and Demons Exist? [Consciousness] Many theologians take angels and demons seriously. Why? Certainly, most human beings believe in angels and demons. Certainly, such nonphysical beings, in one form or another, populate most of the world’s religions.
• 411.  Why the Laws of Nature? [Cosmos] What’s real? What’s fundamental? There are regularities in nature, things that are or work the same—always, everywhere, across the universe just like in your kitchen. Down deep, what are the laws of nature? What makes them “laws”? And where do they come from?
• 412.  What is God's Judgment? [God] Every religion thunders its day of reckoning, and to examine God’s judgment is to probe God’s character and perhaps assess God’s existence. If God does not exist, God’s judgment may expose it. If God does exist, and assuming God is merciful as well as just, maybe we’ve missed the meaning of God’s Judgment.
• 413.  Why the Cosmos? [Cosmos] The search for meaning and purpose is humanity’s never-ending quest.  It is said that “How Questions” belong to the realm of science, but “Why Questions” do not. Yet startling scientific discoveries offer radical powers of explanation. Can “Why Questions” belong to science? What about the biggest “Why” of them all?

• 501.  How do Human Brains Think and Feel? [Consciousness] Nothing means anything without our brains: not science, not theology, not politics, not love. Everything we know and do—all the sense of human thought, all the feelings of human emotion—all are the product of the brains in our heads.
• 502.  Does a Fine-Tuned Universe Lead to God? [Cosmos] We human beings sit roughly midway between atoms and galaxies, and both must be so perfectly structured for us to exist. It’s called “fine tuning” and it’s all so breathtakingly precise that it cries out for explanation. To some, fine-tuning leads to God. To others, there are non-supernatural explanations.
• 503.  Wondering about God [God] The God debate is not a game. Is there a God? If so, what are God’s essences and traits? What are all the ways that God could be? Or could not be? We discover different beliefs of different kinds of Gods.
• 504.  What’s the Far Far Future of the Universe? [Cosmos] When we speak about the future of the universe, we mean when the sun burns out, when galaxies collide, when everything flies apart and ultimately evaporates. Do the untold billions and trillions of years from now make it irrelevant for us today? No. The far far future of the universe conveys meaning now.
• 505.  Solutions to the Mind-Body Problem? [Consciousness] Are human beings purely physical? Evolved at random and destined to die, extinguished forever? Or are we something more? A spirit or a soul, with existence beyond? What’s the relationship between our brains and our consciousness, between the stuff in our skulls and the essence in our minds?
• 506.  How is God The Creator? [God] If God exists, did God create everything? Did God create out of literally “nothing”? Suppose there was no beginning to the cosmos, just the universe going through endless cycles, what then? And what about “abstract objects” like logic and numbers, which seem to exist without any cause and no creator?
• 507.  What would Multiple Universes Mean? [Cosmos] Is there more than one universe? According to current cosmology, our entire gigantic universe is only one of innumerable universes, each universe like one tiny bubble in a limitless ocean of universes. What could all this mean?
• 508.  What Things are Conscious? [Consciousness] Consciousness is the great mystery of inner awareness. Where does it exist? Humans, obviously. Animals? Which animals? Chimps, elephants, dolphins, dogs? Termites, snails, amoeba, bacteria? What about non-biological intelligences like super-supercomputers of the future?
• 509.  Can Religion be Explained Without God? [God] Most people believe that God exists and religion is God’s revelation. But some claim that religion needs nothing supernatural; that religion, without God, can flourish because personal psychology and group sociology drive religion.
• 510.  What’s Real about Time? [Cosmos] Time seems natural and absolute: the flow of moments one following another from the indeterminable past to the knife’s edge present to the unknowable future. But this is not so. Einstein shocked the world by showing that time was “relative.” What’s the latest about time?
• 511.  How do People Maintain their Identity? [Consciousness] What does it mean to be a “self”? Look at an old photo. Then look in the mirror. Those two images are of the same person, right? How so? They don’t look the same. Their memories are different. And virtually every atom is different. We feel unity across time, but is this solidified self an illusion?
• 512.  Is God a Person? [God] If God exists, perhaps the most important question is whether God is a “person”. Only a person has awareness, beliefs, intents, goals, relationships. An impersonal force has none of these. If my hope counts, God exists and God is a person. But that’s absurd: my hope counts for nothing.
• 513.  Asking Ultimate Questions [Cosmos] I like pushing boundaries, trying to discern existence, searching the foundations of reality, knowing all that can be known. Overly ambitious? Sophomoric? I don’t care. I do it anyway. Here are ultimate questions.

• 601. Arguing God From Natural Theology [God] From biblical times to Darwin, natural theology tried to detect and discern God by seeing and sensing His presence in the world—the world alone, without revelation. But after Darwin’s theory of evolution, natural theology was rejected, even ridiculed. Why, now, its surprising revival?
• 602.  What is the Grand Structure of the Universe? [Cosmos]Galaxies and clusters of galaxies, untold billions of them, adorn the cosmos. How did such large-scale structure of the universe come about?
• 603.  Could ESP Reveal Spirit Existence? [Consciousness]Parapsychologists are sure ESP is real. Skeptics are sure it is not. But if ESP is real, would ESP need to go beyond physical laws, reaching into unknown non-physical realms?
• 604.  Is God All Knowing [God]What does it mean for God to be all knowing? Does being “omniscient” make sense? If so, can deep insights be gleaned about God? If not, could the whole concept of God be flawed?
• 605.  Why is the Quantum So Strange? [Cosmos]To know reality, one must confront the quantum. It is how our world works at the deepest level. What’s the quantum? It is bizarre, defying all common sense.
• 606.  Can Metaphysics Reveal Surprises? [Consciousness]How does metaphysics contribute to our understanding of the world? It asks the most profound questions: What kinds of things exist? How does causality work? Sound too abstract? How about: Does God exist? Are you a soul?
• 607.  Is God Necessary? [God]Whether God exists may depend on whether God is necessary. Even if God exists, would it have been possible for God not to exist? In other words, even if God does exist, could it have been otherwise?
• 608.  Would Multiple Universes Undermine God? [Cosmos]Arguments for God, and against God, each call the universe as witness, each count the universe as evidence. God believers invoke the universe’s apparent fine-tuning. God deniers envision a vast number of universes, so that anything can happen by accident, including us.
• 609.  Do Human Brains have Free Will? [Consciousness]Free will seems the simplest of notions. Why then is free will so vexing to philosophers? Here’s why: no one knows how free will works! Science, seemingly, permits no “gaps” in which free will can operate.
• 610.  Arguing for Agnosticism [God]Agnostics claim that they do not know whether or not God exists. Theists surmise they’re reprobates. Atheists suppose they’re cowards. Are there different kinds of agnostics? Can agnosticism deepen appreciation for existence?
• 611.  Are Science and Religion at War? [Cosmos]For centuries, science and religion have been battling, with science advancing, religion retreating. Is this proper? We follow the current battles. We propose no truce.
• 612.  Why Explore Cosmos and Consciousness? [Consciousness]Cosmos and consciousness seem utterly different, the former encompassing the vast universe, the latter emerging from tiny brains. Yet consciousness founds most religions, and some cosmologists speak quietly, profoundly, about consciousness.
• 613.  A New Heaven and a New Earth? [God]The Judeo-Christian scriptures tell of “a new heaven and a new earth,” when all shall be made new. What could this mean? Could this ever make sense? Believers say, “It’s God’s mystery.” They should say more.

• 701.  How to Think About God's Existence? [God]God exists? God does not exist?  I find flaws and fallacies in both sides. So I step away from “arguments” about God and ask how to approach God’s existence. What’s the process?
• 702.  Why is the Universe Breathtaking? [Cosmos]I look up and I look down and I chill with awe. I look up to the universe and envision hundreds of billions of galaxies. I look down to the atom and imagine minuscule, infinitesimal particles and forces. This is reality.
• 703.  Does Consciousness have Meaning? [Consciousness]How has “inner experience” radically emerged from cosmic dust? Is consciousness only an accident of biology? Or does consciousness have deeper meaning?
• 704.  Arguing God from Miracles [God]I search for God but keep clear of miracles. Believers exhort me to accept that miracles are real, to recognize that miracles demonstrate the existence of a supernatural Being. I resist.
• 705.  Marvels of Space-Time [Cosmos]Einstein showed that space and time are essentially the same thing—a single entity, space-time. But space and time seem so radically different. How could space and time be literally the same thing?
• 706.  What Makes Brains Conscious? [Consciousness]Everything I know – everything! -- comes from my brain. Consciousness, our private sense of inner awareness, is the one big question to which we might find answers.
• 707.  Is God Perfect? [God]What does it mean for God to be “perfect”? Perfectly knowledgeable? Perfectly powerful? Perfectly good? Did God create the “perfect world”? That’d be hard to believe.
• 708.  What are the Scope and Limits of Science? [Cosmos]How much can science discover? Are there boundaries to science? Are there truths, real truths, beyond science?
• 709.  Is Human Consciousness Special? [Consciousness]Scientists say my consciousness is just my brain. Theologians believe my consciousness reflects the God who created it. Mystics hold my consciousness is a drop in the ocean of cosmic consciousness. Who’s right?
• 710.  If God Knows the Future, What is Free Will? [Consciousness]If God is infallible and knows the future perfectly, then God knows what I will do at every moment from my birth to my death. So where’s my free will?
• 711.  Can Science Talk God? [Cosmos]Some say that science and God are not related. Others, that science describes a world that evidences “God’s handiwork,” or a world that works just fine without God.
• 712.  Do Persons Survive Death? [Consciousness]Do I disappear at death? My body?  Sure, it’s gone. But my awareness? Does my consciousness end forever? What could be more frightening! Is there any hope here?
• 713.  Is Theism Coherent? [God]“Theism” is the belief in God. But atheists claim that theism is not coherent, meaning that God as a concept is riddled with conflicts, Inconsistencies and contradictions. Theists respond.

• 801.  Is Evil Necessary in ‘God’s World’? [God] If I seek God, I cannot avoid evil. Can the enormity of evil ever be compatible with an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good God? Couldn’t God have created the world without such evil?
• 802.  What’s Beyond Physics? [Cosmos]Are there revolutionary discoveries yet to be made? Radical revelations and shocking secrets? Does physical reality go beyond what we know today? Far beyond?
• 803.  Can ESP Reveal a New Reality? [Consciousness]If ESP is real–that’s a big “If”–then our entire worldview would change. Existence would be somehow enlarged. But extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence.
• 804.  Arguing God from Consciousness? [God]Some say that consciousness exists independent of brain, apart from the material world, and from this mystery some infer the existence of God.
• 805.  Does the Cosmos Provide Meaning? [Cosmos]We know the age of the universe, how stars were born, how galaxies were formed. But does the cosmos have meaning? Not make-believe, feel-good meaning. But real meaning.
• 806.  What Maintains Personal Identity? [Consciousness] What makes me a self? I see. I hear. I feel. How can separate perceptions bind together into a coherent mental unity? How can all be me? And how does my self persist through time?
• 807.  Arguing God from Being? [God]I’m obsessed by raw existence, which science can never explain. Does this mean that there is a God? I wish it were that simple. Yet some claim that a ‘Most Perfect Being’ must exist.
• 808.  Can Science and Theology Find Deep Reality? [Cosmos]Some say that science and theology together reveal deep reality. Others say that only science makes sense; theology is myth. Which is it? Science alone? Or science and theology combined?
• 809.  What’s Wrong with Immortal Souls? [Consciousness]Do human beings have immortal souls? Science dismisses anything nonphysical, and even some theologians reject immortal souls. But if no immortal souls, what happens to eternal life?
• 810.  Does God have a Nature? [God]What does it mean for God to have a “nature”? Will contradictions emerge that deny God? Or can we know even a little of what such an incredible Being might be like?
• 811.  Are there Things Not Material? [Consciousness]Is the natural, physical world all-there-is? Or is there something more—a supernatural, nonphysical existence? I was trained in science, so I should be a naturalist. I’m not so sure.
• 812.  How Free is God? [God]God is supposed to be all-powerful, all-knowing and all good. In addition, God is supposed to be “perfectly free”? What does it mean for God to be perfectly free?
• 813.  Immortality and Eternal Life [Consciousness]I’d like to live forever. Wouldn’t you? But what would “living forever” mean? Almost every religion offers life after death. What would immortality and eternal life be like?

• 901.  Fallacies in “Proving” God Exists [God]The more I want God to exist, the more I must question proofs of God’s existence. “Bad arguments for God” scare me. Maybe all the “God Arguments” are bad? I hope not.
• 902.  Is Life and Mind Inevitable in the Universe? [Cosmos]Our universe must be “just so” in order for life and mind—for us—to exist. “Just so” is called “fine-tuning,” and it cries out for explanation.
• 903.  Arguing God with Analytic Philosophy [God]I desire God to be real, so I know that the easiest person to fool is myself. That’s why I favor rational arguments for, and against, the existence of a Supreme Creator.
• 904.  What would Intelligent Aliens Mean? [Consciousness]Do intelligent aliens exist? Who knows? But here’s what I do know: The potential existence of intelligent aliens probes meaning and purpose in the universe.
• 905.  Does a Creator God Work? [God]Creation is God’s glory; creating is God’s essence. I’ve heard this so often and so long it seems to make sense. But does it make sense?
• 906.  Mysteries of Cosmic Inflation [Cosmos]The very early universe likely underwent a period of enormous expansion called “inflation.” The theory stunned cosmology. Here’s the story of its discovery.
• 907.  How is God All Powerful? [God]The God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam claims to be “Omnipotent”—a Being who is all-powerful. Can this Omnipotent God do everything? Literally everything?
• 908.  Does Metaphysics Reveal Reality? [Consciousness]Some think metaphysics is ancient nonsense; others that it’s the bizarre occult. Real metaphysics asks the most profound questions, seeks the deepest truths.
• 909.  Complexity From Simplicity? [Cosmos]Our universe began with a swirling, seething plasma—everything, everywhere, all the same. Today we have galaxies, stars, planets, people. How did such structure come about?
• 910.  Do Humans have Free Will? [Consciousness]Free will seems so obvious. Whatever I want to do, I just do. But could “I” be fooled? Some say that free will is an illusion. Others, that it’s a mystery.
• 911.  What is God About? [God]Theists and atheists debate whether God exists. But what God are they arguing over? There’s enormous variation in the kinds of gods that populate religions.
• 912.  Does Consciousness Point to God? [Consciousness]Why does the mystery of consciousness lead some to the existence of God and others to only the brain? I’d like to believe in God. Can consciousness help me?
• 913.  The Mystery of Existence? [Cosmos]Call all-that-exists “something.” Why is there “something” rather than “nothing”? The question haunts me. Why is there anything at all?

• 1001.  Is the Universe Religiously Ambiguous? [God]Does God exist or not exist? How can so many people be so absolutely sure—either way? But maybe that’s the point! Maybe “God” and “No God” are both defensible. What would that mean?
• 1002.  Is Consciousness an Illusion? [Consciousness]Is consciousness something special in the universe, a carrier of meaning and purpose? Or is consciousness a mere artifact of the brain, a by-product of evolution? I hope consciousness is special, which is why I must be a skeptic.
• 1003.  What is God? [God]How can I assess whether God exists without exploring what kind of God is supposed to exist? So I examine God’s essence and nature.
• 1004.  Do General Principles Govern All Science? [Cosmos]Are there “general principles” that encompass all sciences, that explain even beyond the sciences? What would that mean about our world and about us?
• 1005.  Are Brain and Mind the Same Thing? [Consciousness]If mind and brain are the same thing, then the physical world is likely all that exists. But if mind and brain are not the same thing, then what? Could reality go beyond the physical?
• 1006.  Current Arguments for God? [God]I like arguments about God, whether based on science, philosophy or personal experience. I like to push and to be pushed, explore the possible existence of a Creator. I must also consider defeaters of God.
• 1007.  Why Science and Religion Think Differently [Cosmos]Science and religion—each pursues Big Truth and offers total solutions. Science works. That’s for sure. Religion? Not so sure. Does any reality exist beyond the expanding reach of science?
• 1008.  What are Dreams About? [Consciousness]Throughout history, dreams have fascinated and mystified. Messages from God? Images of the subconscious? Much about dreams is myth. What‘s real?
• 1009.  Can God Face Up to Evil? [God]If I seek God and avoid “the problem of evil,” I fool myself. If there is a God, evil is God’s hardest problem. If there is no God, evil is No-God’s easiest evidence.
• 1010.  How Belief Systems Work [Consciousness]We like to think that we are rational, that what we believe is what is true. But we often believe because of our “belief systems”—“how we believe” may be more important than “what we believe.”
• 1011.  Do Religions Complement or Contradict? [God]I would like to believe in God, but conflicting religions trouble me. Religions clash and compete—and that’s a problem for those who believe or want to believe.
• 1012.  Why is Free Will a Mystery? [Consciousness]Our human sense is that our will is fully free. Our scientific sense is that every action is determined by a prior action. Free will versus determinism is a big question, affecting morality, responsibility, even consciousness.
• 1013.  Does the Brain Abolish Free Will? [Consciousness]Who’s the boss, me or my brain? Data from the brain, by itself, does not favor free will. But is there more to me than my brain? How to judge among the vast and competing claims about free will?

• 1101.  Time at Sea [Cosmos]Is time the ultimate stage on which all events play? Some physicists and philosophers say No—time is an Illusion; time is not real. How can that be?
• 1102.  What is Time? [Cosmos]To appreciate Time is to touch the texture of reality. Does Time differ from our common perceptions of it? Is Time fixed or flexible?
• 1103.  Why Believe in God? [God]This is personal. Why should I want to believe in God? Is belief a circular path of self-deception? Or the shortest route to bedrock reality?
• 1104.  Alternative Concepts of God? [God]Philosophers explore novel ideas of what God may be like. They challenge classical theism—the personal creator of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
• 1105.  Pantheism: Is the World God? [God]Is our search for God too narrow? Why do some philosophers espouse Pantheism? Pantheism’s claim is not shy—God is Everything and Everything is God.
• 1106.  How do Brains Work? [Consciousness]Everything we know, everything we think, comes from our brain. Are brains our “window to reality,” seeing what truly exists? Or are we bound by brains, mental slaves of the meat in our heads?
• 1107.  What would an Infinite Cosmos Mean? [Cosmos]Do stars and spaces go on forever? Do the numbers of galaxies, and even of universes, have no end? Here’s how “infinity” enriches appreciation of reality.
• 1108.  What is God’s Eternity? [God]Does God exist in time, experiencing time’s flow? Or is God eternal, existing outside of time, creating time? These questions help assess God’s existence and discern God’s essence.
• 1109.  Why is Free Will a Big Question? [Consciousness]Free will seems obvious, simple, common; but it’s subtle, profound, maddening, Free will probes the deep nature of human existence. But big questions have big problems.
• 1110.  Is Free Will an Illusion?[Consciousness]Some philosophers and scientists claim that because every event is determined by prior events, including every event in our brains, free will is not real. What are the arguments, the evidence?
• 1111.  What’s in a Resurrection? [God]Judaism, Christianity and Islam each proclaim a resurrection of the dead—a bodily reconstruction of all people from all time. How would it work? Does it make sense?
• 1112.  Does Hell Reveal God? [God]What kind of God would create hell? Does the truth of Christianity, Judaism and Islam depend on the reality of Hell? Does the nature of Hell offer Insight into what that God would be like?
• 1113.  Confronting Consciousness[Consciousness]Consciousness is what mental activity feels like inside—the private inner experience of sensation, thought and emotion. Consciousness is like nothing else.