Three Amazingly Good Books
I am currently reading three amazingly good books. I can sum up all three books in one word: “Wow.” If you are interested in the philosophy of religion (and, if you’re reading this blog, you probably are), then you should run, not walk, to the nearest bookstore to get your own copies. If any theists … Three Amazingly Good Books
Jesus Married?
So, Jesus was possibly married? https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-gospel-of-jesus-wife_n_1891325?1347990916=&icid%3B=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl3%7Csec1_lnk1%26pLid%3D207309 Wow. What would his home life have been like? I guess we are allowed to indulge our imaginations: “Well, Mr. Big Shot! Mr. ‘Son of Man!’ Out with “the boys” all night again, huh? That Peter calls himself a fisherman. He looks like he is fishing for free meals … Jesus Married?
Anselm for Undergrads
I have lately had the unenviable task of trying to explain Anselm’s ontological arguments to undergraduates. Over the years I have read many expositions of ontological arguments and many critiques. However, I had never sat down and gone through Anslem’s arguments line-by-line. Now I have done so in an effort to make a hand-out that … Anselm for Undergrads
Prosblogion: Physicist Sean Carroll on God and Modern Physics
Kenny Pearce at Prosblogion comments on Sean Carroll’s essay, “Does the Universe Need God?“, which we linked to a couple of days ago. The article is a model of constructive dialog between philosophy and physics. Carroll shows engagement with the major philosophical arguments under discussion, and does not come off as condescending or dismissive. He … Prosblogion: Physicist Sean Carroll on God and Modern Physics
Open Question to Muslims
Let me preface this post by saying I know very little about Islam. After reading the news about the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Libya and the U.S. embassy in Egypt, I’m really starting to wonder about how the attacks fit together with “mainstream” Islam. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here are the … Open Question to Muslims
God’s Goodness and the Resurrection of Jesus
Most defenses of the resurrection of Jesus have focused on historical questions, for example:Q1. Was Jesus crucified in Jerusalem by Roman soldiers around 30 C.E.?Q2. Did Jesus die on the cross on the same day he was crucified?Q3. Was Jesus buried in a stone tomb on the evening of the day he was crucified?Q4. Was … God’s Goodness and the Resurrection of Jesus
Eric Russert Kraemer’s Darwin’s Doubts and the Problem of Animal Pain
This paper interacts with (and appears to defend) Paul Draper’s version of the evidential argument from evil, the argument from the biological role of pain and pleasure. From the introduction: It is a truism that the influence of Darwin’s work on evolution is profound and ubiquitous. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the … Eric Russert Kraemer’s Darwin’s Doubts and the Problem of Animal Pain
Paul Draper’s Review of Goetz and Taliaferro’s Naturalism
There are many gems in this review; here is one. To begin with, the alleged advantage that metaphysical theists have because they attribute necessary existence to God is not real, since there is no more reason to believe that a concrete non-natural divine person can exist necessarily than there is to think that nature can … Paul Draper’s Review of Goetz and Taliaferro’s Naturalism
Atheist Ethicist: Morality and Questions Belonging to Science
Over at the Atheist Ethicist, Alonzo Fyfe comments on Baggini, Krauss, and Coyne on science and morality. In this field, among these people, it would seem that somebody would start weeding out the nonsense claims. Yet, I continue to find statements that would embarrass a student in Philosophy 121: Introduction to Ethics. If there is … Atheist Ethicist: Morality and Questions Belonging to Science
Sean Carroll: Does the Universe Need God?
That is the title of Carroll’s essay in The Blackwell Companion to Science and Christianity. Carroll argues that cosmology doesn’t require or support theological hypotheses. An online copy is available at the blog, What There Is and Why There Is Anything. LINK