Bob Enyart’s Ten Caricatures of Atheism
I recently stumbled across a webpage by Pastor Bob Enyart which claims to disprove ten atheist clichés in “eight seconds or less.” All that he actually accomplishes, however, is tearing down ten strawmen of his own creation. To see why, let’s stipulate that atheism is the belief that God does not exist. Atheist Cliché Enyart’s Caricature of … Bob Enyart’s Ten Caricatures of Atheism
Is Atheism Presumptuous? A Reply to Paul Copan
My reply to Copan was published in 2000. To the best of my knowledge, Copan has neither published a reply nor issued a retraction of his claim. LINK
My 1998 Article: William Lane Craig: Christian Theism’s Hired Gun
On April 3, 1998, Christian philosopher William Lane Craig debated Oxford chemist Peter W. Atkins (pictured at right) on the existence of God at the chapel of the Carter Presidential Center in Craig’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. According to one of the Christian organizers of the event, former President Carter had shown interest in introducing … My 1998 Article: William Lane Craig: Christian Theism’s Hired Gun
Did Jesus Exit? – Part 9
The current version of the Minimal Jesus Hypothesis (MJH) has five parts:=======================There was a flesh-and-blood person who was…1A. named Yeshu’a, and2A. an adherent of Judaism, and a male descendant of the Hebrew people, and3A. living in Palestine as an adult (in his twenties and/or thirties) in the 20s C.E., and4A. known to be a preacher … Did Jesus Exit? – Part 9
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
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
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
Did Jesus Exit? – Part 7
For the following discussion of the chronology of Jesus’ ministry, I’m drawing upon the evidence and reasoning and conclusions presented by John P. Meier in his book A Marginal Jew, Volume 1: The Roots of the Problem and the Person, Chapter 11 “‘In the Fifteenth Year’…A Chronology of Jesus’ Life” (hereafter: AMJv1). Jesus was crucified … Did Jesus Exit? – Part 7