Jesus on Faith – Part 4
Stig Martinsen made a plausible objection to my argument for the idea that Jesus viewed giving EVIDENCE and ARGUMENTS as compatible with promoting FAITH: ============ I have seen the story of doubting Thomas in John 20 interpreted as an example of Jesus endorsing faith as opposed to belief grounded in evidence. I.e. 20:29: Jesus saith unto him, … Jesus on Faith – Part 4
Jesus on Faith – Part 3
Jesus talks about “faith” in Matthew Chapter 6 and also in Matthew Chapter 16 (Mat. 6:25-33 and 16:5-12). In both of these passages, Jesus tells his followers that they have “little faith”, and then Jesus puts forward an ARGUMENT or REASONS in order to INCREASE the FAITH of his followers. But this makes no sense if … Jesus on Faith – Part 3
Jesus on Faith – Part 2
In my previous post on this subject, I argued that the comments of Jesus in Matthew 6:25-33 concerning faith show that Jesus did NOT think that faith means firmly believing something for which one has no evidence (Bertrand Russell’s def. of “faith”) nor that faith means believing in the face of contrary evidence (A.C. Grayling’s def. of … Jesus on Faith – Part 2
Jesus on Faith
What does the word “faith” mean? According to my dictionary (The American Heritage Dictionary, 2nd College Edition), the word “faith” has several different meanings: Definition 1: A confident belief in the truth, value, trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. Definition 2: Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. Definition 3: Loyalty … Jesus on Faith
Faith and the End of PoR – Part 2
John Loftus referred me to Chapters 7 and 10 of his book The Outsider Test for Faith (hereafter: OTF), so that I could get a better understanding of what he means by the word “faith” in his blog post arguing for the End of Philosophy of Religion (PoR). Chapter 7 was of no help. The … Faith and the End of PoR – Part 2
Faith and the End of PoR
John Loftus has advocated the End of Philosophy of Religion as a discipline. In his post defending this proposal, Loftus repeatedly talks about “faith”. The word “faith” occurs 23 times in the post, and it occurs in 7 out of the 13 paragraphs that constitute the post. Some paragraphs have multiple references to “faith”: It … Faith and the End of PoR
Next Year
I wanted to retire this year, but that did not work out. I might be able to retire a year from now, though. There are a number of topics from this year that I plan to carry over into 2015: 1. The End of PoR? John Loftus has argued that public colleges and universities … Next Year
Why be Skeptical? Reason #1 (Lying Cheating College Students – Part 2)
If most people lie and if most people lie frequently, then that is a good reason to be skeptical. In previous posts I have provided evidence that very young children lie and that most children lie, that most teenagers lie and cheat and lie and cheat frequently, and that most college students lie and lie frequently. … Why be Skeptical? Reason #1 (Lying Cheating College Students – Part 2)
Don’t Criticize What You Can’t Understand
Recently, I found myself defending William Lane Craig’s reformed epistemology. I was defending it NOT because I believe it to be true or correct, but because his views were being presented as ‘stupid’ and obviously false. My impression was that those who were making these strong claims did NOT understand Craig’s views on epistemology, … Don’t Criticize What You Can’t Understand
Matthew Ferguson: PAMLA 2014 Paper: Philosophically Defining the Supernatural
From Ferguson’s website: Yesterday I presented a conference paper at the 112th Annual Meeting of the Pacific Ancient and Modern Languages Association (PAMLA). The conference theme for this year was “Familiar Spirits,” and I presented a paper titled “Philosophically Defining the Supernatural.” The topic relates to previous articles that I have written, both here in … Matthew Ferguson: PAMLA 2014 Paper: Philosophically Defining the Supernatural