Boudry’s Hoax on “Sophisticated Theologians”
Dr. Maarten Boudry performs a ‘Sokal-style hoax‘ on two theology conferences. Here is the abstract: The Paradoxes of Darwinian Disorder. Towards an Ontological Reaffirmation of Order and Transcendence. Robert A. Maundy, College of the Holy Cross, Reno, Nevada In the Darwinian perspective, order is not immanent in reality, but it is a self-affirming aspect of reality … Boudry’s Hoax on “Sophisticated Theologians”
Debunking the Myth of Persecution
I have a cartoon on my office door showing a pie chart representing religious affiliation in the U.S. Of course, by far the largest section of the pie is labelled “Christian.” All others are represented by small slivers. A speech balloon from the Christian part says “Help! We are being oppressed!” The rhetoric of oppression … Debunking the Myth of Persecution
Alex Rosenberg’s 2012 Argument for Nihilism
In his 2012 book, The Atheist’s Guide to Reality, Alex Rosenberg defends an argument for nihilism.[1] In this article I want to evaluate his argument. Definitions Before we turn to his argument, we first need to understand how Rosenberg defines his terms. Let us begin with the word “scientism.” In his own words, Rosenberg defines … Alex Rosenberg’s 2012 Argument for Nihilism
Implication vs. Entailment
In my recent post “The Perfect Goodness of God – Again” I used conditional derivation to prove a conditional statement, and took that to be sufficient to prove that the antecedent of the conditional statement entailed the consequent. Then I had second thoughts about that approach to proving an entailment. Penance for my possible sin … Implication vs. Entailment
Craig’s Argument from Intentionality
Here is my summary of Craig’s “argument from intentionality” in his recent debate with Alex Rosenberg. 5. God is the best explanation for the intentional states of consciousness in the world. Philosophers are puzzled by states of intentionality, the state of being about something or being of something. It signifies the object-directendess of our thoughts, … Craig’s Argument from Intentionality
Thoughts on the “Logical vs. Evidential” Distinction
Chris Hallquist recently questioned the significance of the distinction between logical arguments from evil and evidential arguments from evil. He writes: In general, the insistence of people who follow these issues on classifying versions of the problem of evil as either “logical” or “evidential” is weird. It isn’t something you see with any other kind … Thoughts on the “Logical vs. Evidential” Distinction
Mark Douglas Seward: Fine-tuning as Evidence for a Multiverse: Why White is Wrong
Abstract Roger White (God and design, Routledge, London, 2003) claims that while the fine-tuning of our universe, α , may count as evidence for a designer, it cannot count as evidence for a multiverse. First, I will argue that his considerations are only correct, if at all, for a limited set of multiverses that have … Mark Douglas Seward: Fine-tuning as Evidence for a Multiverse: Why White is Wrong
Blogging the Passive-Aggressive Way
I just happened to go to the Triablogue website. I noticed that Hays dedicated an entire post to his combox exchange with me regarding the failure of the Resurrection as an explanatory hypothesis. I found it interesting to see how he categorized the post: It appears that Hays has dedicated an entire blog post category … Blogging the Passive-Aggressive Way
An Atheist Guide to Love
Fellow Patheos Atheist channel blogger Libby Anne (Love, Joy, and Feminism) has a column in today’s Washington Post in the Guest Voices section. LINK
The Cammels with Hammers Civility Pledge
Daniel Fincke just posted this on his blog. Republishing here with his permission and with my full support. If you want to take this pledge too, post your signature and your comments and any personal addendums you make to it in the comments section below. Also consider reposting the full pledge and reasons for the … The Cammels with Hammers Civility Pledge