What is Christianity? Part 7
In the previous post in this series, I argued that the Christian apologist James Sire makes a fundamental mistake in his book Naming the Elephant, by defining “a worldview” as being a kind of commitment. A worldview is something that can be true (or false), but a commitment is NOT something that can be true … What is Christianity? Part 7
What is Christianity? – Part 1
Since I am planning to invest the next ten years (or more) of my life in an effort to investigate and answer the question “Is Christianity true or false?”, I need to start out by clarifying and defining the word “Christianity”. There are those who would argue that Christianity is not the sort of thing that … What is Christianity? – Part 1
Silence from the three Nazi, I mean GOP, Presidential Candidates
If a presidential candidate attended a NAZI rally to try to get some votes, and if the leader of the rally spewed hate-mongering rhetoric about working towards a “final solution” for the “Jewish problem” in the USA, do you think the mass media would be interested in reporting this event? Do you think the mass … Silence from the three Nazi, I mean GOP, Presidential Candidates
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