Brian Klaas Tells Me Where I’m Wrong on Chance

On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Moore invites Klass-a political scientist, contributing writer at The Atlantic, and associate professor-to tell him where he is wrong on the nature of the universe. Klaas explains why he is a determinist and how that belief system has both similarities and differences to believing in a personal God. The two discuss the high level of pop culture interest in science fiction and the concept of a multiverse. Their conversation covers politics and power, physics and free will, and what reforming broken systems may look like.
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[@kathyh.w.3151]

More Russell Moore and Brian Klaas, please! Love this discussion.

[@sbwetherbe]

As a former fundamentalist Christian and current atheist, I enjoy listening to the RMS. Christianity with a heart AND a mind. This conversation is one of the more uplifting ones I've heard in a while. Thank you.

[@Smark71920]

There was a play on broadway back in 2014-2015 called If/Then staring Idina Menzel that examined the exact question of what if I took another path in life. The play only ran for a year. I wish it would come back or do a tour again or go off broadway. It was a really interesting show about choices and fate and the mystery of life. I was fortunate enough to see it twice but it’s one of those plays you might need to see 3 or 4 times to pick up on all the little nuances.

[@bunabear]

This was a great interview, thank you.

[@joanwalter6551]

Robert Frost said it best i.e.," I took the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference."

[@mattskionet]

This is a wonderful conversation. The giving up of control is common ground between science and religion. I would go further and say that eastern spirituality offers a unifying synthesis between science and religion, and Jesus's message, in my understanding, is fully consistent with Hindu/Buddhist spirituality. An example, the mind/body problem is a serious one for modern science but it disappears completely from the Advaita Vedanta perspective. 'The kingdom of god' and 'nirvana' or 'liberation' are different words for the same thing.

[@charlesskewis401]

Enjoyed this show very much.

[@johbitterman]

I'm not sure we can argue that it was the trip to Kyoko that determined the targets of the atomic bombs because because we are failing to take into account what brought about the trip to Kyoto. Where may we logically stop looking for causes for each effect we are seeking to explain? I think, not until we arrive at the First Cause, i.e., God. Ultimately, then, the reason for anything does not depend on a single action or circumstance that we can locate.

[@chappellroseholt5740]

Good afternoon from the beautiful SF Bay Area. Wonderful conversation, thank you! It is impossible to define "what God thinks" by his creatures, we all move through the world with the best understandings we can find. If fundamental Christianity is your best answer then that will be it. God has given us a marvelous world and minds to try to comprehend it. It won't all be the same. Blessings.

[@kathyh.w.3151]

Can we really say what would happened - make alternative predictions - if some past event changed? Maybe God would effect His outcome in spite of our actions. Even If Joseph had acted differently, who are we to say God's intention wouldn't have been fulfilled? Given God's sovereignty

[@barnabaswannabe1828]

Dr. Russell Moore, I love your show. Occasional Flukes might better describe history than guaranteed cycles. The "Many Worlds Interpretation" of Quantum Mechanics might be popular way to explain quantum measurements now (esp. in fiction), but it is not necessarily the best understanding of how real measurements work or Entanglement and The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox. I am deeply familiar with Quantum Mechanics and need to add that real Quantum Mechanics needs an added postulate to describe how measurements work. Any observer will also be quantized along with the things we want to measure. Also 3 spatial dimensions are not enough for multiple particles either way. Also we need to deal with "free will" and personal responsibility even if it is an illusion.

[@michaelRay2576]

This one is difficult to follow.

[@2serve4Christ]

Thou shalt not #kill. (Exodus 20:13) / Thou shalt not [be complicit in #genocide]. More than 14,500 #children killed in #Gaza. The latest #death toll stands at 35,287 #Palestinians and 1,139 people killed in #Israel since October 7. (2024.05.07)

[@HearGodsWord]

So.both sides are wrong.

[@jenniferabel2811]

Agnostic, here. How about: There is no free will, because no one can be happy unless he aligns his will with the will of God. He can believe his happiness lies elsewhere, and choose accordingly; but given enough time, he must inevitably choose his real happiness, which is to align his will with God's. Each person at any moment can choose to align his will with the will of God. "Even" the poor person with less of things and status than the Atlantic writer. (Our lives are short, so where do we gain all the time we need? Some flavor of eternal return, reincarnation, purgatory, the multiverse (haha, why not)? **I am not pretending this was my idea, but I like it very much. It almost converts me.

[@HearGodsWord]

Interesting take on things 👍