Welcome to the Website of Shandon L. Guthrie

Who I Am

Department of Philosophy
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
4505 Maryland Parkway
Box 455028
Las Vegas, NV 89154-5028

Vocational Posts:

- Visiting Lecturer of Philosophy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- (2002 - current)
Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the College of Southern Nevada
- (2003 - 2016)
Affiliate Faculty Professor of Philosophy at Regis University
- CPS School of Humanities and Social Studies Faculty
(2006-2012)

Education:

Ph.D. in philosophy, Manchester Metropolitan University, England
studied philosophy at University of Wales - Trinity St. David
studied theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, 1999
B.A. in philosophy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada 1998
A.A. in science, College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada 1997

Doctoral Thesis:

A New Metaphysics for Christian Demonology: Psychodynamic Immaterialism
Director: Dr. Lloyd Strickland

Research Interests/Specialties:

Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy of Christian Demonology
The Coherence of Theism
Existentialism
Biblical Studies
Protestant Theology/History
Ethics

Papers and Publications:

Books
The Conqueror's Tread: A Reasoned Approach to Spiritual Warfare (forthcoming).

Gods of this World (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2018).

Book Chapters

Forthcoming: “Angels, Early Theories,” Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Philosophy of Religion, ed. by Charles Taliaferro and Stewart Goetz (Wiley-Blackwell; 2019).
“Christian Demonology: A New Philosophical Perspective,” in Philosophical Perspectives of Demonology, ed. by Robert Arp and Benjamin McGraw (Routledge, 2017).

Conference Papers

"A Philosophical Assessment of the Extra-dimensional Hypothesis" (2018; paper to be read at the southwest division of the Evangelical Philosophical Society).
“An Ever-lacking Punishment? A Response to the Ethical Argument from Justice against Eschatological Annihilationism” (2018; paper to be read at the annual Evangelical Philosophical Society).
“A Reply to David Kyle Johnson: On Justified Belief” (2018; paper to be read at the southwest division of the Evangelical Philosophical Society).
“Can Demons Do the Extraordinary, Or Is It All In Your Head?” (2016; paper read at the pacific regional division of the Society of Christian Philosophers).
“The Implausibility of a Diabolical Theodicy” (2015; paper read at the mid-western regional division of the Evangelical Philosophical Association).

Journal Articles

“A New Challenge to a Warfare Theodicy,” International Journal of Philosophy and Theology, 5.2 (December, 2017).
"Rationalism and the Historical Mind-Body Controversy," Quodlibet, 4 (2002).

Other Professional Talks/Speeches:

Panel Debate on “Lust: How to Own our Sexuality” at the Center for Science and Wonder (April 28, 2018; forthcoming).
“What Hath Philosophy to do with Me?” speech for Phi Theta Kappa, the College of Southern Nevada’s local Honor Society (April 22, 2016).
“The Meaning of Life as a Tool for Evangelism” speech for the UNLV Christian Graduates Organization (April 25, 2014).
“Reasoning the Resurrection: Where Athens Meets Jerusalem” presentation in UNLV’s Phil: Reason & Religion course (Fall 2012).
Public debate with Dr. William Ramsey: “Which is More Reasonable: Christianity or Atheism?” at UNLV (April, 2011).

Membership in Professional Organizations:

Society of Christian Philosophers
Evangelical Theological Society
American Philosophical Association

Awards Received:

1997: The International Honour Society’s Certificate of Outstanding Scholastic Achievement

Courses Taught:

Philosophy of Religion
Logic & Critical Thinking
Ethics
American Philosophy
The Meaning of Life
Introduction to Philosophy

January 8, 2020

Happy New Year!

Well, things are off and running after a pleasant 2-week haitus from my academic duties. Our family enjoyed some much-needed time off capped by a ski trip we took to southern Utah. It was a great time.

This year promises to be filled with academic and ministerial work. On the academic side, I'll be looking to expand on my paper delivered to the annual EPS in November of 2019. On the heels of my research into the various views of spiritual warfare, I will be putting together a paper or two to be read at an upcoming conference. I hope that project will also culminate into a publishable paper.

In addition, I plan on wrapping up a first draft of my forthcoming book, The Conqueror's Tread. After finding out that John Walton recently published his view of spiritual warfare in his Demons and Spirits (Wipf & Stock, 2019), it is imperative that I interact with his approach to the subject. It seems best to categorize his view as a mythology model, but not like that of Walter Wink. Wink follows the old German Idealist notion that demons are nothing more exotic than something like a "mob spirit" or a "team spirit" where such "spirits" are not ontological realities as much as they are psychological ones. Walton takes a different approach: that a demon is precisely what the traditionalist expects but that when the New Testament authors invoke them, they are only incorporating them for the sake of some greater narrative and do not mean to be affirming their actual existence. For Walton, it is no different than the Old Testament authors referring to things like Leviathan, Rahab, or other chaos monsters--not that they authors are affirming their existence, but are incorporating such things because they would have been familiar to the authors' audiences and serve to (poetically) underscore a narrative point. I will be incorporating my responses (where relevant) to Walton's model which will require a bit more tinkering with my manuscript. After that, it's off to a literary agent in consideration for publication! To be clear, I expect the work to be aimed at a lay audience and not to the academic. However, the book promises to be filled with enough sophistication for the scholar. It serves as the spiritual sequel to Gods of this World, but is far less technical and rigorous than its predecessor.

Also on the horizon is my involvement with two churches in the valley. First off, I'm collaborating with Calvary Chapel of Las Vegas in facilitating and on-campus ministry that is operating in cooperation with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. Be sure to check back for more details as they become available. I'm also collaborating with a startup church and helping it launch in February. The Oasis, spearheaded by Pastor Dave Tatlock, is coming to the north side of Vegas and seeks to welcome a diverse body of believers. Dave's heart for reaching this community and in educating them in sound doctrine makes the endeavor worth pursuing. As the church approaches its February 5th launch day, I'll be sure to post details. I'm excited to be standing alongside of Dave in seeing God move in this way.

These things, along with my usual professorial duties, are all kicking off rather soon. So, it's going to be a busy sprint out of the gate and into the spring season. As always, be sure to keep me and these projects in your prayers. It is much appreciated!

Publications

Professional Publications:

Gods of this World (Eugence, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2018)

"Assessing the Extra-Dimensional Hypothesis as a Christian Explanation of Paranormal Activity" (forthcoming)

"Angels: Early Theories," entry in The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion, ed. by Charles Taliaferro and Stewart Goetz (forthcoming)

“A New Challenge to a Warfare Theodicy,” International Journal of Philosophy and Theology, 5.2 (December, 2017).

"Christian Demonology: A New Philosophical Perspective," Philosophical Approaches to Demonology, ed. by Robert Arp and Benjamin McCraw (London: Routledge, 2017), chapter 3.

"The Implausibility of a Diabolical Theodicy" (paper read at the mid-western region of the EPS; 2015)

"A New Metaphysics for Christian Demonology: Psychodynamic Immaterialism" (Ph.D dissertation; 2015)

"Rationalism and the Historical Mind-Body Controversy," Quodlibet (Volume IV, Number 2-3; 2002).

“Concerning Theodore Drange’s Argument from Evil for the Non-Existence of God,” The Examined Life Online Philosophy Journal (Volume III, Issue 10; 2002).

On Gillespie’s Misapplication of the A-Theory of Time to the Impossibility of an Actual Infinite in the Kalam Cosmological Argument” The Examined Life Online Philosophy Journal (Volume I, Issue 3; 2000).

Popular-Level Articles:

"Do You Mean That You Believe in Devils Too?": A Reply to Hitchens and Barker (2016)

Can Satan Read Your Mind? (2011)

The Epistemic Argument Against Abortion (2008)

A Molinist Perspective on the Homiletical "Divine Appointment" (2005)

A Swift Response to Dan Barker's "Cosmological Kalamity" (2004)

Atheism and the Argumentum ad Ignorantiam: Why Atheists Cannot Avert the Burden of Proof (2003)

Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus (2000 - section IV reviewed by Dr. Ed Nelson)

"They Shall Never Perish": Possible Worlds and the Problem of Eternal Security (1998; 2010)

A New Discussion on Mormonism (1989; 2008)

Media

The Big 5 Series, Part 1: Did God Gommand Moral Atrocities in the Old Testament?

The Big 5 Series, Part 2:: How Can God Exist When There is Evil in the World?

The Big 5 Series, Part 3: How Can God Exist When There is Evil in the World? continued

The Big 5 Series, Part 4: Where Did God Come From? ... And Other Questions on Cosmology

The Big 5 Series, Part 5: Why Does God Seem so Hidden?

The Big 5 Series, Part 6:

[Questions about] God and the Coherence of the Divine Attributes

Debate on "Pride: What Should we See in the Mirror?" (Sept. 29, 2018) that occurred at the Center for Science and Wonder.

Opening Statement in Debate on "Lust: How Should we Best Own our Sexuality?" (April 2018) that occurred at the Center for Science and Wonder.

What Is Apologetics? (2014)

Debate: William Ramsey & Michael Gobaud vs. Shandon L. Guthrie & Jordan Fishel: Which is More Reasonable: Christianity or Atheism? (April, 2011)

"Mormonism pt. 1" and "Mormonism pt. 2" (2011)

Q & A Panel at UNLV on "How Do You Know God Exists?" (2011)

Q & A Panel at UNLV on "How Can You Decide Which Religion is the 'Right Religion'?" (2011)

Q & A Panel at UNLV on "If God exists, why would he allow his creation to experience pain, hurt, and sorrow?" (2011)

Q & A Panel at UNLV on "If God is loving, then why did he give word to those in the old testament to kill every man, woman, and child?" (2011)

Q & A Panel at UNLV on "What is the Trinity, and how can one God be three separate entities?" (2011)

Debate: Shandon Guthrie vs. Doug Krueger: Atheism vs. Theism: Which View is More Rational? (May 9, 2005)

Book

Gods of this World

“Philosophers of religion have focused almost exclusively on the existence and nature of God and the nature and destiny of human beings. But these philosophers have been remiss in engaging discussions about the possibility of there being adverse gods of this world (demonic beings) despite being a doctrine that comprises a significant part of the Christian confession. This drought in the literature has left a number of questions unaddressed including:

Hasn’t science buried the demonic?
Are there any successful philosophical arguments for the existence of Satan?
What kind of being is Satan? Is he the fallen angel of lore?
Is it reasonable for Christians to say that demons are purely immaterial spirits?
Can demons causally interact with the physical world and its inhabitants?

Can demons perform diabolical miracles? Shandon Guthrie broaches new territory beginning with a rigorous defense for the existence of Satan and his cohorts. He then advances and defends a model for how to understand their nature in terms of their ontology and causal powers. No other book has attempted a full-fledged natural diabology on behalf of Christian orthodoxy. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the dark side of Christian theology and metaphysics.”