The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Principles of Justice
Clay Jones argues that Jehovah commanded the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites (men, women, and children), but that this command and the obedience of the Israelites to the command was morally justified because the Canaanites deserved the death penalty for various serious crimes or sins which were violations of the laws of Jehovah (see his article “Killing the Canaanites”). … The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Principles of Justice
The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Part 5
have been imagining that Jehovah was at least quasi-just and thus demanded trials for each Canaanite before the Canaanites were condemned to death as punishment for a serious crime or sin. My argument is that there were many kinds of BIAS on the part of Jehovah and the Israelites which would make such trials unfair … The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Part 5
The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Part 4
In Part 3 of this series, I raised twenty objections to a Conservative Christian approach to the Old Testament stories about Jehovah commanding the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites (men, women, and children). Most of the objections are to the effect that some particular aspect of the slaughter of the Canaanites is evidence that JEHOVAH IS … The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Part 4
The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Part 3
In Part 2 of this series, I began to discuss the Conservative response to the Old Testament stories about Jehovah commanding the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites: The Conservative Christian response: The story of the slaughter of the Canaanites is FACTUAL, but Jehovah was morally justified in commanding the Israelites to slaughter the Canaanites (men, women, and children) in … The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Part 3
The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, I outlined three main Christian responses to the stories of Jehovah commanding the slaughter of the Canaanites and of the Israelites carrying out this command. There are significant problems with each of the three Christian responses, but the response with the most obvious and most serious problems is the … The Slaughter of the Canaanites – Part 2
Jesus: True Prophet or False Prophet? – Part 1
In his book The Resurrection of God Incarnate, Richard Swinburne argues that the case for the resurrection of Jesus must include three major components: I. General Background Evidence – evidence for and against the existence of God, and evidence about whether and why God would be likely to perform a miracle, especially raising someone from the … Jesus: True Prophet or False Prophet? – Part 1
A Primer in Religion and Morality
My recent interview for the Atheistically Speaking podcast inspired me to compile this quick primer in religion and morality, in order to help clarify the many different concepts at play when we talk about morality with and without God. I consider this a work-in-progress so any constructive criticism would be appreciated. Update (5 May 2015): I have revised … A Primer in Religion and Morality
Eternal Accountability vs. Pascal’s Wager
I think I may have conceived of a novel response both to pragmatic moral arguments (such as Victor Reppert’s recent post about eternal accountability) and Pascal’s Wager, but I’m neither certain it is novel nor that it works. The basic idea is that these two arguments contradict one another. To the person who is uncertain about God’s … Eternal Accountability vs. Pascal’s Wager
What Explains God’s Moral Grounding Power? Part II
In an earlier article, I wrote about a question for divine command metaethics, a question that I called the Moral Grounding Question. Moral Grounding Question (MGQ): In virtue of what do God’s commands ground moral obligations? (or, in virtue of what does God have MG-power?) In that previous post, I explained the moral grounding question … What Explains God’s Moral Grounding Power? Part II
G&T Rebuttal, Part 6: Chapter 7
Chapter 7. Mother Theresa vs. Hitler In this chapter, G&T present a version of the moral argument for God’s existence which I call the “Moral Laws Require a Moral Lawgiver Argument,” which they formulate as follows. Like the earlier arguments, this argument is deductively valid. Like the earlier chapters about this argument, I plan to … G&T Rebuttal, Part 6: Chapter 7