LINK: Stephen Law’s Evil-God Challenge
In his recent debate with William Lane Craig, Stephen Law presented his evil God challenge. Law had formally documented this challenge in a 2009 article in the academic journal Religious Studies. Here is the abstract: Abstract: This paper develops a challenge to theism. The challenge is to explain why the hypothesis that there exists an … LINK: Stephen Law’s Evil-God Challenge
Biological Evolution as Evidence against Theism
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The Argument from the Biological Role of Pain and Pleasure
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The Scale of the Universe as Evidence for Naturalism?
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Summary and Assessment of the Craig-Drange Debate (1997)
(This is yet another old debate summary and assessment from my archives. I think I wrote this around 1998. I am posting it here unchanged.) On February 26, 1997 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, William Lane Craig debated Theodore Drange of West Virginia University. The topic was, “Does God exist?” Note: video of … Summary and Assessment of the Craig-Drange Debate (1997)
LINK: Matt McCormick’s Atheism Blog
His blog isn’t new, but I just discovered it and wanted to mention it here. LINK For those of you who do not know who Matt McCormick is, he is an atheist philosopher of religion at California State University at Sacramento.
A Simple Statement of the Problem of Evil
I have been trying to come up with a statement of the problem of evil that is comprehensible to undergraduates. Below is my draft. It makes for a rather long post, but any comments, suggestions, or criticisms would be appreciated. A SIMPLE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM OF EVIL Believers tell us that God is good. … A Simple Statement of the Problem of Evil
The Evidential Argument from Mind-Brain Dependence: A Reply to Bilbo
In my response to Victor Reppert’s anti-naturalistic argument from pain, I stated that a more specific fact (consciousness is dependent upon the physical brain) about consciousness is antecedently more likely on naturalism than on theism. Bilbo provided several feedback messages in response to this claim. As I read him, he thinks the argument is no … The Evidential Argument from Mind-Brain Dependence: A Reply to Bilbo
Carrier and Wanchick debate: Argument from Mind-Brain Dysteleology
In the Carrier-Wanchick debate, Carrier gives an argument for naturalism from the fact that minds are embodied in brains. As part of the setup, he writes: If BT [Biblical theism] is true, then (a) a brainless mind is possible, (b) God could have imbued humans with one, (c) no mind exists that was not deliberately … Carrier and Wanchick debate: Argument from Mind-Brain Dysteleology
The Possibility of Proving the Non-Existence of Something
In a recent blog entry, theistic philosopher William Vallicella criticizes a statement made by psychologist Paul Vitz, in which Vitz asserted that it is “intrinsically impossible” to “prove the non-existence of anything.” As Vallicelli correctly points out: “But surely there are things whose nonexistence can be proven. The nonexistence of a round square can be … The Possibility of Proving the Non-Existence of Something