Geisler & Turek Rebuttal: Chapter 9 (Part 2)
Chapter 9. Do We Have Early Eyewitness Testimony about Jesus? By Matthew Wade Ferguson and Jeffery Jay Lowder (This post continues where part 1 left off.) (ii) New Testament Textual Accuracy: “Textual accuracy” measures the degree to which copies of a document match that of the original document. Although none of the original New Testament documents … Geisler & Turek Rebuttal: Chapter 9 (Part 2)
Geisler & Turek Rebuttal: Chapter 9 (Part 1)
Chapter 9. Do We Have Early Eyewitness Testimony about Jesus? By Matthew Wade Ferguson and Jeffery Jay Lowder As we read them, Geisler and Turek seek to accomplish three things: (i) review the extra-Biblical evidence for Jesus; (ii) show the New Testament is textually accurate; and (iii) begin an extended, multi-chapter defense of the New … Geisler & Turek Rebuttal: Chapter 9 (Part 1)
Spot the Fallacy #2: Fine-Tuning and the Prior Probability of Theism
Note: This post is another post in our series of articles designed to engage non-philosophers. Despite the title, you don’t need to literally name a fallacy assuming there is one. What these posts are really designed to do is to get you to describe, in plain English, why the argument (or objection) presented isn’t successful. … Spot the Fallacy #2: Fine-Tuning and the Prior Probability of Theism
Naturalism, Theism, and Moral Ontology: A Reply to William Lane Craig
Abstract: This paper considers William Lane Craig’s metaethical argument for God’s existence. Roughly, the argument is that the existence of objective moral values provides strong evidence for God’s existence. I consider one by one Craig’s various reasons in support of the argument’s major premise, namely, that objective moral values and the nonexistence of God are at … Naturalism, Theism, and Moral Ontology: A Reply to William Lane Craig
What is Faith? – Part 5
We have been examining the Thomist view of faith, as characterized by Richard Swinburne in Faith and Reason (FAR). In order to avoid the implication that one must reason in a circle in order to have ‘faith in God’, a supporter of the Thomist view of faith can draw a distinction between beliefs about God … What is Faith? – Part 5
On Atheism and Brightness
I’m often told that atheists are really smart when it comes to religion. Then I read their replies to moral arguments for God’s existence and cry out, “WTF?” Take this argument: If no G, then no O. But O. Therefore, G. Why the f&*^ would anyone think it’s even relevant to bring up X, Y, … On Atheism and Brightness
A Catholic Blogger Offers a Very Thoughtful Reply to my Question about Prayer and Government
Dr. Gregory Popcak is a fellow Patheos blogger who blogs at “Faith on the Couch” in the Patheos Catholic Channel. He’s written a very thoughtful reply to my previous post, “Question for Theists: Why Is It Important to Begin Governmental Meetings with Prayer?” His reply is titled, “Prayer Works: A Psychological Case for Public Prayer … A Catholic Blogger Offers a Very Thoughtful Reply to my Question about Prayer and Government
What is Faith? – Part 4
We have looked at a simple and widespread understanding of ‘faith in God’: Definition 1 Person P has faith in God IF AND ONLY IF P believes that God exists. One problem with Def. 1 is that the devil himself would have ‘faith in God’ based on this definition, and thus this could hardly be considered to … What is Faith? – Part 4
New Series: Spot the Fallacy #1
Let E be some piece of evidence and T be theism. Now consider the following argument. E1 favors T. E2 favors T. . . . En favors T. ————– Therefore, T is probably true. (Aside: You could swap out N=naturalism for T and the same fallacy would apply.) Can you spot the fallacy? If you’re … New Series: Spot the Fallacy #1
Question for Theists: Why Is It Important to Begin Governmental Meetings with Prayer?
As I was thinking about this question, I thought to myself, “Anyone who wants to pray can always go down the street to a church, synagogue, or mosque. They can also pray silently. If I were a theist, that is what I would do. What’s the problem? Why do they feel it important to use … Question for Theists: Why Is It Important to Begin Governmental Meetings with Prayer?