apologetics

My Twelve-Year Plan

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In October of 2013, I came up with the idea of a Ten-Year plan to write a four-volume critique of Christianity: Plan for a Multi-Volume Critique of Christianity Some of my posts here at the Secular Outpost have been closely related to the Ten-Year plan and the topics it will cover. In January of this … My Twelve-Year Plan

Skepticism and Conjunctions

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Belief in God and belief in the Christian faith are both vulnerable to skepticism in view of the fact that both beliefs consist in conjuctions. Some of the key divine attributes are: In order for God to exist, there must be one and only one person who has all five of these divine attributes. If … Skepticism and Conjunctions

Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Wrapping up the Debate

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Josh McDowell and various life events have distracted me from the debate with Joe Hinman about the external evidence for the existence of Jesus. (Sorry for the delay, Joe.) I wrote an introductory post about the debate: Introduction to the Debate Hinman presented five arguments for the existence of Jesus based on external (non-biblical) evidence: … Debate: External Evidence for Jesus – Wrapping up the Debate

Repost: Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence (ECREE), Part 2: Is ECREE False? A Reply to William Lane Craig

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(This article was originally published on this blog on June 21, 2012. I am reposting because William Lane Craig recently tweeted a link to a video in which he objects to ECREE.) In my last post, I offered a Bayesian interpretation of the principle, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” (ECREE). William Lane Craig, however, disagrees with … Repost: Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence (ECREE), Part 2: Is ECREE False? A Reply to William Lane Craig

McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 5: The Creator of the Universe

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McDowell’s Trilemma Argument (hereafter: MTA), can be found in The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (hereafter: NETDV) by Josh McDowell (see pages 158-163). The first key premise of MTA is this: None of the canonical Gospels report Jesus as having asserted the claim “I am God” nor the claim “Jesus of Nazareth is God” nor the claim … McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 5: The Creator of the Universe

McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 4: An Eternally Perfectly Morally Good Person

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McDowell’s Trilemma Argument (hereafter: MTA), can be found in The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (hereafter: NETDV) by Josh McDowell (see pages 158-163). The first key premise of MTA is this: None of the canonical Gospels report Jesus as having asserted the claim “I am God” nor the claim “Jesus of Nazareth is God” nor the claim … McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 4: An Eternally Perfectly Morally Good Person

McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 3: An Eternally Omniscient Person

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McDowell’s Trilemma Argument (hereafter: MTA), can be found in The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (hereafter: NETDV) by Josh McDowell (see pages 158-163).  The first key premise of MTA is this: There is no good reason to believe that Jesus claimed to be God.  None of the canonical Gospels report Jesus as having asserted the claim “I … McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 3: An Eternally Omniscient Person

McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 2: An Eternally Omnipotent Person

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McDowell’s Trilemma Argument (hereafter: MTA), can be found in The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (hereafter: NETDV) by Josh McDowell (see pages 158-163). ================= …Jesus definitely claimed to be God (see below and in Chapter 6).  So every person must answer the question: Is His claim to deity true or false?   (NETDV, p.158) ================= The first … McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 2: An Eternally Omnipotent Person

McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 1: An Eternally Bodiless Person

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Here are the basic premises of McDowell’s Trilemma Argument (hereafter: MTA), from The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (hereafter: NETDV by Josh McDowell: ================= …Jesus definitely claimed to be God (see below and in Chapter 6).  So every person must answer the question: Is His claim to deity true or false?  This question deserves a … McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 1: An Eternally Bodiless Person