# #90 A Heated Debate on Hell, Catholicism, and Fine-Tuning - Ethan Muse

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-uncertainty-podcast-7089022/90-a-heated-debate-on-hell-catholicism-and-fine-tuning-ethan-muse
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-uncertainty-podcast-7089022/90-a-heated-debate-on-hell-catholicism-and-fine-tuning-ethan-muse.md
Podcast: [The Uncertainty Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-uncertainty-podcast-7089022)
Published: 2026-07-03T18:20:00+00:00
Episode link: https://mileskdonahue.substack.com/p/90-a-heated-debate-on-hell-catholicism
Audio file: https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/204929883/a67840330d1c4392d269fad5edd45412.mp3
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Duration seconds: 5969

## Resource

Ethan Muse and I spar over the problem of evil, cosmic fine-tuning, infallible popes, and the doctrine of eternal conscious torment. Video of this interview is available on YouTube . To support the channel, do please oh please consider donating, either via PayPal or Buy Me a Coffee . Follow me on X because you’re awesome . EPISODE CHAPTERS: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:44 Rutgers, philosophy, and Catholic apologetics 00:05:08 Ethan’s path into philosophy 00:09:52 The goal of doing philosophy 00:13:52 Ethan’s conversion to Catholicism 00:17:55 Doubts, confidence, and the problem of evil 00:23:45 Miracle evidence and outweighing evil 00:25:04 Fine-tuning and theism 00:28:48 Frequency data, design, and Bayesianism 00:33:43 Mini-verses and apparent design 00:38:20 What fine-tuning means 00:41:04 Apparent design and fragile harmony 00:46:38 The infrared bullseye analogy 00:51:29 Design, stalking horses, and naturalism 00:59:56 Priors, bare theism, and Bayesian machinery 01:04:53 Papal infallibility and alleged counterexamples 01:11:36 Eternal hell and Catholic doctrine 01:19:46 Moral intuition against eternal torment 01:22:42 Saints, sin, and moral authority 01:30:12 Moral progress and Catholic tradition 01:32:57 Moral disagreement and final thoughts Get full access to Miles K. Donahue at mileskdonahue.substack.com/subscribe

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