Thank you again, Professor. I never expected to see things this way. I might have to revisit this series again once I've gone through it once. I can see there is a depth I cannot yet grasp. I see the flickering shadows on the wall. I yearn for more.

Sir, could you please do a series on Christian philosophy? Thank you.

The Chesterton quote at 7:30 "...but because of the theory,..." What theory? If there is a holistic overarching theory of Christianity, then it needs to be spelled out. You can say "everything is knit together through Christ", But how? If Christ is the central thread then how are the various other threads connected to each other? Are we changing our metaphor from tapestry to web?

Brilliant lecture, thank you. I just wish someone could have assisted him in positioning the camera; his posture is distracting.

Prof. McGrath, the coat simply doesn't fit everyone. I am 68, and am an active, committed member of a very progressive church (United Church of Canada). The coat simply doesn't fit lots of us in the United Church, hence we take huge liberties with the Christian tradition. I need faith community, and I was born into the Christian tradition, so I am comfortable with the very, very loose coat we wear. However, the Christian world picture simply doesn't make sense to me on an intuitive level, and never has. 1. A personal God: to me, a "person" is necessarily finite and mortal, limited in space and time. A "person" who is none of those things just doesn't work for me, a contradiction in terms. 1. Divinity of Jesus: ditto. 2. Story of "original sin": a bad story! Where on earth did the serpent come from? Is he one of the animals named by ha-adam? That hypothesis doesn't fit the narrative. Eve's eating of the fruit doesn't seem like that bad of a slip, and God's response seems a huge overreaction. And the idea that henceforth all humanity/the earth is tainted by this mistake seems utterly absurd! Again, God's response to the human situation seems badly overblown - this is a loving, infinitely wise, trustworthy God? Nope, not to me at all! 3. Jesus' death is a sacrifice that God for some reason needs to balance the scales, so that all who have faith in Jesus and repent, are "saved." Oh, come on! I was sexually abused by my father all of my childhood and adolescence, which badly damaged me in life-long ways. But I never desired any "sacrifice," punishment, etc., from him to restore relationship. All I needed was recognition of the wrong, an apology, and a sincere attempt at re-building relationship in a healthy way. I wanted him back, I loved him, I had no desire that he suffer at all, just be a real father. If I can do this, surely an infinitely loving, wise God can do the same! Christianity makes perfect sense to in historical perspective, and I've studied that for many years, at the advanced graduate level (would have completed PhD if illness had not intervened). But it is not a coat I can wear as a 20th/21st century person. The New Testament is a fascinating document, but it doesn't speak to my heart at all, and never has. I know it does for some, and, frankly, I envy them. I'd love to wear the coat, and tried for decades, but, nope, just doesn't fit. So I hang, quite happily, with that bunch of people for who interpret Jesus as a social justice warrior who waves a Pride flag. Such a Jesus is, of course, neither that of the biblical or historic Christian tradition, and neither does it really find a basis in scripture. That's not an issue for me at all; the creators/redactors of the biblical texts took just as much freedom as we do with their texts and traditions - eisegesis really is the best way to interpret the text, unless you are a scholar. It's the values that matter, and the values of the United Church of Canada are my values. A question for you regarding this apologetics business, is how best should the apologist respond to the person who says - sorry, can't wear this coat? It's way too tight and small, can't get my arms in it, can't do it up. I can respond - I say, hey, it doesn't fit me either, so try our new version. Don't worry about your atheism - you can say I'm one of them, and there's lots where I am. The values where I am are real good, and having a caring, supportive community to help you make sense of the vicissitudes, ambiguities, and heart-breaking tragedies of life really helps. We're there when illness strikes, when death comes, when you lose your job. We don't demand that you believe anything. We do ask that you sincerely try to open your mind, heart and hands, that's our commitment to each other, and to the rest of the world. If you don't share our social justice values and are uncomfortable with the Pride flag, however, our place won't work for you.

Thank you for your instruction. Shaffer (sp?) "non-inclusive language"? Was not he quoted as saying "he or she"? Not "inclusive"? Fiddlesticks!!