“Debating Christian Theism” is out
Yesterday I received my contributor’s copy of Debating Christian Theism edited by J.P. Moreland, Chad Meister, and Khaldoun A. Sweis, from Oxford University Press (554 pages). The volume contains forty pro-and-con essays debating topics relating to theism and Christianity. Most of the essays are on familiar topics and written by the “usual suspects.” For instance, … “Debating Christian Theism” is out
Coyne Declines Craig’s Debate Invitation; Craig Declines Mine
I contacted William Lane Craig a few days ago to see if he was open to scheduling a a debate in 2014. He declined, on the grounds that he is really scaling back his speaking engagements so that he can focus on his book about God and abstract objects, part of which will be delivered … Coyne Declines Craig’s Debate Invitation; Craig Declines Mine
God as a ‘Necessary Being’ – Part 2
Although there is an extensive discussion of the meaning of the claim ‘God is a necessary being’ by Richard Swinburne in his bookThe Coherence of Theism (revised edition, hereafter: COT), the main passages that I’m interested in understanding are found in a shorter and more popular book: Is There a God? (hereafter: ITAG), also by … God as a ‘Necessary Being’ – Part 2
Did Jesus Exit? – Part 8
In Did Jesus Exist?(hereafter: DJE) Bart Ehrman argues for something like the Minimal Jesus Hypothesis (MJH), which I have clarified and tweaked a bit to get to this formulation: ======================= There was a flesh-and-blood person who was… 1A. named Yeshu’a, and 2A. an adherent of Judaism, and a male descendant of the Hebrew people, and … Did Jesus Exit? – Part 8
A Quick and Easy Refutation of Theologically-Grounded Ethics?
According to many skeptics, including many philosophers, the idea that God is the foundation of morality can be refuted according to the Euthyphro dilemma (ED). Socrates, in Plato’s Euthyphro dialogue (10a), asked: “Is what is holy holy because the gods approve it, or do they approve it because it is holy?” In modern times this has been … A Quick and Easy Refutation of Theologically-Grounded Ethics?
John Danaher’s Blog Series on Mind-Body Physicalism
Overview: Part 1: The Argument from Past Explanatory Success Part 2: Hempel’s Dilemma Part 3: The Knowledge Argument Part 4: Absent and Inverted Qualia
God as a ‘Necessary Being’ – Part 1
In his book The Coherence of Theism (Revised edition, hereafter: COT), Swinburne defends the claim that the sentence ‘God exists’ makes a coherent statement. In Part II of COT, Swinburne defends the coherence of the concept of “a contingent God”, which is basically the traditional concept of God minus the attribute of ‘necessary being’. In … God as a ‘Necessary Being’ – Part 1
Diagram of Options in Moral Success Theory
This diagram is an excerpt of a much larger and more complete taxonomy of metaethics. The branch shown here is for moral success theory, which may be defined as the combination of the following views: Cognitivism: moral judgments express beliefs Success theory: at least some of those beliefs are true
On Generalizing about the Other Side’s Dishonesty and Ignorance
Randal Rauser and Chriss Halquist have been exchanging a series of posts about the alleged dishonesty and igorance of apologists. (See Randal’s latest post here.) If Randal’s post is an accurate summary of the exchange with Hallquist–and I have no reason to doubt that it is–then my technical judgment of this exchange can be summed … On Generalizing about the Other Side’s Dishonesty and Ignorance