Doubt, Deconstruction, and an Apologetic of Kindness, with Keith Plummer

Welcome to the Very Kind Episode of The Apologetics Podcast!

Of course, almost every episode of this podcast is kind of kind, mostly because Garrick is just that kind of person. But this episode is the kind of episode that’s particularly kind, because we’re joined by Dr. Keith Plummer, who is widely renowned for his special kind of kindness.

Even the battle between your intrepid cohosts in Indiana, Jones, and the Raiders of Church History turns out to be cuddly and kind. Timothy puts a Pomeranian puppy named “Belferlein” into battle against Garrick's weapon of choice, which is a belt that once belonged to Mary the mother of Jesus. In the end, the belt is turned into a leash, and the dynamic duo decides to stop fighting and cuddle the puppy instead. That’s when Dr. Keith Plummer shows up, and things get even kinder.

Dr. Plummer is one of the contributors to a very kind recent book entitled Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church (The Gospel Coalition, 2021). In this episode, he is kind enough to talk to us about social media, deconversion, doubt, and the Doobie Brothers—a band whose 1976 hit “What a Fool Believes” includes the line “You don't know my kind.” All in all, this episode of The Apologetics Podcast is a one-of-a-kind experience in which even Timothy is kind, which is kind of rare. Also, “Bëlfërlëïn” would be the perfect name for a German industrial metal band, as long as they're a very kind band that likes dogs.

ABOUT GUEST AND HOSTS

Keith Plummer, Ph.D., is the Professor of Theology and Dean of the School of Divinity at Cairn University in Pennsylvania. He has a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he also earned his M.Div. in Apologetics. Follow Dr. Plummer at @XianMind.

Timothy Paul Jones, Ph.D., is C. Edwin Gheens Professor of Christian Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He teaches in the areas of family ministry and applied apologetics. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books, including Why Should I Trust the Bible?, The God Who Goes Before You, Perspectives on Family Ministry, and Christian History Made Easy.

Garrick Bailey is a Ph.D. student in systematic theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, studying Herman Bavinck and Roman Catholicism under the supervision of Gregg Allison.

LINKS TO CLICK

Before You Lose Your Faith: Deconstructing Doubt in the Church (The Gospel Coalition, 2021)

The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society (B&H Academic, 2023)

25 Basic Bible Studies: Including Two Contents, Two Realities (Francis Schaeffer)

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CLOSING CREDITS

Music for the podcast has been licensed through Artlist.io and performed by Cunningham Manor. Brief excerpts of music played in each program are included solely for the purposes of comment and critique as allowed under the fair-use provision of U.S. copyright law. “The fair use of a copyrighted work … for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (U.S. Code § 107, Limitations on exclusive