Month: November 2014

More on the Arbitrariness Objection to the Divine Command Theory

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I’ve been carrying on a conversation with Matthew Flannagan about the arbitrariness objection to the divine command theory. You can find my first post on the issue here and Matt’s response here. In this post I am going to continue my defense, against Flannagan’s objections, of the arbitrariness argument (AA): A very brief summary of … More on the Arbitrariness Objection to the Divine Command Theory

Schellenberg’s Defense of Nonresistant Nonbelief / Divine Hiddenness

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In this post, I want to summarize J.L. Schellenberg’s defense of the claim that nonresistant nonbelief exists (or, synonymously, divine hiddenness obtains). As I’ve explained before, Schellenberg’s most recent formulation of that argument is as follows. (1) Necessarily, if God exists, anyone who is (i) not resisting God and (ii) capable of meaningful conscious relationship with … Schellenberg’s Defense of Nonresistant Nonbelief / Divine Hiddenness

Swing and a Miss: Another Failed Refutation of Schellenberg’s Hiddenness Argument

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Philosopher of religion J.L. Schellenberg is the foremost defender of an argument for atheism known as the argument from nonculpable nonbelief (aka the argument from divine hiddenness). As I’ve explained before, Schellenberg’s most recent formulation of that argument is as follows. (1) Necessarily, if God exists, anyone who is (i) not resisting God and (ii) capable … Swing and a Miss: Another Failed Refutation of Schellenberg’s Hiddenness Argument

Another Christian Apologist Uses Fallacious Objections to Evolution

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Real shocker, right? My Twitter feed included a link to an article which I want to comment on: Bill Nye’s Naturalistic Evolution is Absurd: Contesting ‘Undeniable: Evolution and the Science of Creation’: Bill Nye’s Atheistic Evolution Is Preposterous Evolution is one of the most powerful and important ideas ever developed in the history of science. Every question … Another Christian Apologist Uses Fallacious Objections to Evolution

Correction: My Earlier Post on the Catholic Church and Brittany Maynard was Wrong

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I previously published an erroneous blog post regarding Catholic doctrine on people who commit suicide and whether, according to Catholic doctrine, Brittany Maynard is in Hell. I regret the error(s) in that post. I’ve decided to delete the post in its entirety.  That has the unfortunate consequence of making the comments on the post no … Correction: My Earlier Post on the Catholic Church and Brittany Maynard was Wrong

Quentin Smith on Bertrand Russell on “Unyielding Despair” and the Meaning of Life

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In his essay, “A Free Man’s Worship,” Bertrand Russell writes: Such, in outline, but even more purposeless, more void of meaning, is the world which Science presents for our belief. Amid such a world, if anywhere, our ideals henceforward must find a home. That man is the product of causes which had no prevision of … Quentin Smith on Bertrand Russell on “Unyielding Despair” and the Meaning of Life

Important New (Advanced but) Must-Read Book on Ethics without God by Erik Wielenberg

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Oxford University Press has just published the latest book by Erik Wielenberg, entitled Robust Ethics: The Metaphysics and Epistemology of Godless Normative Realism. Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of Wielenberg’s work; his previous books include Value and Virtue in a Godless Universe (Cambridge … Important New (Advanced but) Must-Read Book on Ethics without God by Erik Wielenberg