Bonus Episode: Steven Pinker - The Blank Slate (2002). A Christian Reflection

This is a between-the-seasons bonus episode. I shall be back again on Monday to launch our new season on the book(s) of Kings. Back in October 2025, I read and studied. The Psychologist and Philosopher Steven Pinker's book 'The Blank Slate. As part of a study group I belong to. This is my reaction to it, first made available as a 'Patreon Only' bonus episode.

Title: Beyond the Blank Slate.

Episode Notes:

The Blank Slate by Steven Pinker is one of the most influential and controversial books in modern psychology. Pinker dismantles three persistent myths about human nature — the Blank Slate, the Noble Savage, and the Ghost in the Machine — arguing that our minds are not infinitely malleable, but deeply shaped by evolution and biology.

From a Christian perspective, this raises important questions. If his argument about human nature is real, what does that mean for morality, responsibility, and redemption? Can a scientific understanding of human nature coexist with a biblical one?

Segments:

• Steven Pinker and the Modern Mind
• The Three Myths of Human Nature
• The Case for Human Nature
• A Christian Response to the Moral Implications
• Beyond the Blank Slate — Grace and the Image of God

Scripture references:

Genesis 1:26–27 · Romans 3:23 · John 1:3–4 · 2 Corinthians 5:17

Reading List:

Steven Pinker, The Blank Slate (Penguin Books, 2002)

C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

Alister McGrath, The Open Secret

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