Yahweh vs. Thor
On my Twitter timeline, I saw the following: “Atheism does not require certainty. But we can be as certain the Christian god does not exist as Christians are that Thor does not exist.” If I were to reword the tweet, albeit in a way that is too long for twitter, I would have offered something … Yahweh vs. Thor
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 6
In Part 4 of this series, we saw that Theodore Drange interpreted Christian theologian Charles Hodge to be arguing as follows (“Why Resurrect Jesus?” in The Empty Tomb, p. 56) : (2a) (JRD) is a sufficient condition for (JSG). Therefore: (1a) (JRD) is a necessary condition for (JSG). ============ Abbreviations: (JRD) Jesus rose from the dead. (JSG) Jesus is the … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 6
The Logic of the Resurrection – Index
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 1 Different assumptions about the existence of God have different implications concerning the resurrection. The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 2 As Richard Swinburne has pointed out, a complete case for the resurrection must be a three-legged stool, resting upon general background evidence, prior historical evidence, and … The Logic of the Resurrection – Index
How and When Should You Use Ridicule, If At All? It Depends on Your Goals
I think it’s self-defeating for philosophers who want to engage in genuine inquiry to use ridicule. If one’s primary goal is to be an apologist first and a philosopher second (such as William Lane Craig), then I think ridicule can change some minds while alienating others. (By mentioning his name, I’m not claiming that he … How and When Should You Use Ridicule, If At All? It Depends on Your Goals
Stupid Atheist Meme #1: If You Could Reason with Religious People…
After my post Apologetics Infographic #1, I planned to do a related series titled, “Stupid Atheist Memes.” I see, however, that Ed Brayton had the idea first. (See here for the latest in his series; the others so far are here, here, and here.) I trust he won’t mind if I do my own series … Stupid Atheist Meme #1: If You Could Reason with Religious People…
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 3
The logic of the resurrection apologetic goes roughly like this: NOTE: This does not represent Swinburne’s case for the resurrection. It is a rough representation of a case for the resurrection that follows the general logic laid out by Swinburne (constituting a three-legged stool). ============== KEY TO DIAGRAM (DOC) Jesus died on the cross on … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 3
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 2
The two most important writings on the resurrection of Jesus are, IMHO, Richard Swinburne’s book The Resurrection of God Incarnate (Oxford University Press, 2003; hereafter: ROGI), especially the Introduction (pages 1-6), and Theodore Drange’s short article “Why Resurrect Jesus?” in the collection of skeptical essays The Empty Tomb, edited by Robert Price and our fearless … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 2
The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 1
In thinking about the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus, one needs to either determine an answer to this very basic question: Q1: Does God exist? Or else one needs to determine some sort of approach to how this question is to be dealt with in relation to the two key questions about the … The Logic of the Resurrection – Part 1
What is Faith? – Part 7
I’m going to take a detour and temporarily set Mr. Swinburne’s characterization of the Thomist view of faith aside. But I will continue to examine the Thomist view of faith, specifically as presented by Dr. Norman Geisler. As Jeff Lowder has recently shown, Dr. Geisler’s case for Christianity is a failure. IMHO Jeff won that … What is Faith? – Part 7
Some Thoughts on Naturalism and Morality
It is supposed, by some, to be difficult for naturalism to account for moral properties (both axiological properties like goodness and badness and deontic properties like rightness and wrongness). William Lane Craig and Paul Copan, have each argued incessantly that naturalism cannot account for moral properties. Craig has offered the following argument: This argument has … Some Thoughts on Naturalism and Morality