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
What Explains God’s Moral Grounding Power? A Problem for Divine Command Ethics
The Divine Command Theory says that God possesses the power to ground or create moral obligations. Let’s call this power, in virtue of which God’s commands ground moral obligations, ‘moral grounding power’ (MG-power). Moral Grounding Power (MG-power): Being B has MG-power if and only if the commands of B ground moral obligations I want to … What Explains God’s Moral Grounding Power? A Problem for Divine Command Ethics
More on the Arbitrariness Objection to the Divine Command Theory
I’ve been carrying on a conversation with Matthew Flannagan about the arbitrariness objection to the divine command theory. You can find my first post on the issue here and Matt’s response here. In this post I am going to continue my defense, against Flannagan’s objections, of the arbitrariness argument (AA): A very brief summary of … More on the Arbitrariness Objection to the Divine Command Theory
Matthew Flannagan on The Arbitrariness Objection to Divine Command Ethics
There is a standard objection to the divine command theory (DCT) that runs as follows: I’ll call this the Arbitrariness Argument (AA). You can find versions of this argument in Walter Sinnot-Armstrong’s book Morality Without God? and in his article “Why Traditional Theism Cannot Provide an Adequate Foundation for Morality.” Here is a quote from the latter: … Matthew Flannagan on The Arbitrariness Objection to Divine Command Ethics
Books Like This Should be a Warning Signal to Inerrantists
I just saw an announcement of a new book by Paul Copan and Matthew Flannagan. Copan and Flannagan are good guys, but some of the positions they have to defend (because of their commitment to Biblical inerrancy) are not. I’m embarrassed for inerrantists. Just look at the publisher’s description (presumably written by one or both … Books Like This Should be a Warning Signal to Inerrantists
God and Massive Deception about the Resurrection – Part2
The key question at issue is whether (S2) is true or false: (S2) But God would neither perpetrate nor permit grand deception regarding the Incarnation and Resurrection. I have raised two objections against one reason that Cavin and Colombetti give for their conclusion that “(S2) is patently false”. One reason they gave was a passage … God and Massive Deception about the Resurrection – Part2
God and Massive Deception about the Resurrection
Robert Cavin and Carlos Colombetti have written an article raising some significant objections to Richard Swinburne’s case for the incarnation and resurrection of Jesus: “Swinburne on the Resurrection” (Philosophia Christi, Vol. 15, No. 2; hereafter: SOR). LINK I’m fully on-board with their overall conclusion that “…Swinburne’s argument for the Incarnation and Resurrection…is seriously undermined by … God and Massive Deception about the Resurrection
A Ten-Year Project – Part 2
Before deciding what topics and issues to cover in my multi-volume critique of Christianity, I want to look over some lists of common topics in (a) Christian Apologetics, (b) Systematic Theology, and (c) Philosophy of Religion. I looked through the table of contents of a number of handbooks on Christian Apologetics to come up with … A Ten-Year Project – Part 2