Faith and Science

What if the very thing that makes you you—your thoughts, feelings, and sense of self—can't be weighed, measured, or explained by physics alone? In this episode of Faith and Science, we dive into one of philosophy's most stubborn puzzles: the origin of consciousness. Drawing on rigorous Christian apologetics, we explore why leading naturalist philosophers have struggled to account for belief, emotion, and thought using matter and energy alone—and why this gap points toward evidence for God as the most logically coherent explanation. It's a conversation that blends hard philosophy with a compelling biblical worldview, showing how something as ordinary as a passing thought may be extraordinary evidence of the supernatural.

Joining the discussion is Dr. John Ashton, co-editor of The Big Argument: Does God Exist?, who tackles the claim made by prominent naturalist philosophers that consciousness—along with beliefs, emotions, and desires—can be reduced to nothing more than chemical reactions and electrical voltages in the brain. Dr. Ashton unpacks why this materialistic explanation collapses under its own logic, using vivid illustrations like a message written in sand to show how thoughts are fundamentally non-material realities that can't be weighed or measured, even though they arise within a physical body. He concludes that this unbridgeable gap between mind and matter is best explained not by blind evolutionary processes, but by a non-material, self-existent Creator who designed human beings with the capacity to think, choose, and reflect His image.

In this episode, you will hear:

Why philosophers like Marvin Minsky, Paul Churchland, and Daniel Dennett wanted to strike words like "belief," "desire," and "emotion" from science altogether

The self-defeating logical trap of philosopher Stephen Stich's famous claim that "there are no beliefs"

The "message in the sand" illustration—how a phrase like "John loves Colleen" reveals that meaning and emotion are non-material, even when written on physical matter

Why the human body works like a "transducer," translating non-material thoughts into real, physical actions in the world

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Could a computer ever actually think, feel, and know right from wrong the way you do? In this episode of Faith and Science, we dig into what separates a machine that simulates thought from a mind that truly experiences it — and why that gap matters far more than most people realize. Along the way, we uncover striking evidence for God, explore how Christian apologetics answers one of AI's toughest philosophical puzzles, and unpack what a biblical worldview has to say about the origin of the human mind.

Joining the conversation is Dr. John Ashton, author of The Big Argument: Does God Exist?, who draws on insights from philosopher Dr. Charles Taliaferro to tackle this question head-on. Skeptics claim consciousness could eventually arise from purely material processes — whether through clever programming or blind evolutionary chance — but Dr. Ashton walks through the biochemistry of human development, the mystery of animal instinct, and the astonishing complexity of the DNA code to show why that claim falls apart under scrutiny. He concludes that only a conscious mind can produce true consciousness, pointing not to lucky accidents or lines of code, but to a purposeful, intelligent Creator behind it all.

In this episode, you will hear:

Why AI's face and voice recognition are impressive mimicry — but not proof of genuine consciousness

How the discovery of the DNA code helped convert world-renowned atheist philosopher Antony Flew into a believer

The staggering, near-impossible odds behind the universe's fine-tuning (a number as large as 10 to the power of 10^123)

The true story of a serial killer raised on evolutionary thinking who found remorse — and God — after confronting his crimes

Watch all the episodes on our YouTube channel at this link: https://www.youtube.com/@CreationConversations/featured

Discover more inspiring Christian content—browse all our video & audio podcasts here. www.youtube.com/@3abnaustraliaradio885/playlists

How could Noah possibly fit every species—dinosaurs included—onto one boat, and still explain how their descendants spread to every continent on Earth? In this episode of Faith and Science, we tackle the questions skeptics love to raise about the Genesis flood account, walking through the ark's dimensions, the difference between "kinds" and species, and the post-Babel migration that repopulated the globe. Along the way we dig into real creation science evidence, from naval engineering principles behind the ark's design to genetic diversity within created kinds, building a strong case for evidence for God rooted in a consistent biblical worldview.

Dr. John Ashton, author of The Big Argument: Does God Exist?, joins the program to address the popular evolutionary claim that the Noah's Ark account is scientifically and logistically impossible. Drawing on research from geologist Andrew Snelling, he examines the science of "kinds" versus species, the naval engineering behind the ark's dimensions, and how a single post-flood Ice Age could have created the land bridges that explain worldwide animal migration and unique regional wildlife like Australia's marsupials. The evidence points to a supernatural, divinely orchestrated event—one that lines up with global flood legends, ancient chronologies, and the sudden diversification of language at Babel, offering compelling support for intelligent design over naturalistic explanations.

In this episode, you will hear:
• Why the ark's true dimensions match modern naval engineering for a stable, ocean-going vessel—not the cartoon "bathtub" most people picture
• How the biblical distinction between "kinds" and species drastically reduces the actual number of animals needed on board
• The Ice Age theory that explains how land bridges formed after the flood, allowing animals and people to migrate and populate every continent
• Fascinating clues—from mitochondrial DNA to global flood legends and the shared origins of language—that independently corroborate the Genesis account

Watch all the episodes on our YouTube channel at this link: www.youtube.com/@CreationConversations/featured

Discover more inspiring Christian content—browse all our video & audio podcasts here. www.youtube.com/@3abnaustraliaradio885/playlists

What if the "millions of years" argument against the Bible is built on a foundation of unproven assumptions? In this episode of Faith and Science, we dig into radiometric dating — the go-to argument for an old Earth — and uncover surprising creation science evidence that challenges the standard timeline. From conflicting isotope results to a rapidly decaying magnetic field, this conversation offers compelling evidence for God and a fresh look at how science can align with a biblical worldview.

Joining host Kaysie Vokurka is Dr. John Ashton, co-author of The Big Argument: Does God Exist?, drawing on insights from chapter 9 by geologist Andrew Snelling. For decades, radiometric dating has been presented as airtight proof that the Earth is billions of years old, discrediting the biblical timeline. Dr. Ashton walks through the hidden assumptions behind these methods — unknown starting concentrations, contaminated samples, and evidence of accelerated decay — and contrasts them with carbon-14 findings in coal and diamonds that shouldn't exist if long ages were true. The result is a compelling case that the data doesn't point to deep time at all, but to a young Earth and a global flood consistent with the biblical record.

In this episode, you will hear:

Why different radiometric dating methods often give conflicting ages for the very same rock
How carbon-14 found in "million-year-old" coal seams defies conventional dating assumptions
The startling evidence for accelerated radioactive decay during Earth's catastrophic past
How the decline of Earth's magnetic field points to an Earth no older than about 10,000 years

Watch all the episodes on our YouTube channel at this link: www.youtube.com/@CreationConversations/featured

Discover more inspiring Christian content—browse all our video & audio podcasts here. www.youtube.com/@3abnaustraliaradio885/playlists

Could fossil graveyards stretching across entire continents be the fingerprint of a single, global catastrophe? This episode dives deep into the biblical flood evidence hidden in Earth's rock layers, and why it may be stronger than mainstream geology admits.

Host Kaysie Vokurka sits down with Dr. John Ashton, author of The Big Argument: Does God Exist?, to unpack chapter 9 (contributed by geologist Andrew Snelling). The conversation opens with a core conflict: does the geologic column reflect slow, gradual uniformitarian deposition over millions of years, or rapid, catastrophic burial? Using evidence from the Morrison Formation, the Tapeats Formation, marine fossils found in the Himalayas and Peru's mountains, and cross-bedding water-speed calculations, Dr. Ashton builds the case that the fossil record points to one massive, worldwide flood event rather than isolated local catastrophes separated by eons.

In this episode, you will hear:
• Why mixed marine, freshwater, and terrestrial fossils found together point to a single catastrophic "stew" event
• How rock layers bent at 90 degrees without cracking prove they were deposited in rapid succession, not over eons
• The erosion problem: why millions of years between layers should leave obvious gaps — and don't
• How whale fossils in mountain ranges and consistent global water-flow directions align with the Genesis flood account

Watch all the episodes on our Youtube channel at this link:
www.youtube.com/@CreationConversations/featured

Discover more inspiring Christian content—browse all our video & audio podcasts here. www.youtube.com/@3abnaustraliaradio885/playlists