Did Jesus Exit? – Part 1
Let me lay my prejudices out on the table, before I get into the pros and cons about Bart Ehrman’s case for Jesus being an actual historical person. My current opinion is that it is very likely that Jesus existed, but I don’t think that anything about Jesus is certain, so I would allow for … Did Jesus Exit? – Part 1
Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 11
If I understand William Craig’s third objection to AMR, then he is basically offering an inductive teleological argument for the existence of God (similar to how Richard Swinburne argues for God) based on the assumption that there are objective moral values plus the claim that humans and the circumstances in which humans find themselves are … Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 11
Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 10
When I argue against the resurrection of Jesus, I generally take a two-pronged approach. First, I argue that there are various good reasons to doubt the claim that Jesus was alive and walking around on the first Easter Sunday. Second, I make a concession for the sake of argument; I grant the supposition that Jesus … Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 10
Defending a liberal approach to raising good citizens (rejecting religious-authority-based approaches)
My interview from West Midland’s Faith Forum (one year after the riots).
Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 9
I have argued previously that Craig’s first two objections to AMR are weak at best. The third objection might not be as weak as the previous two. However, the third objection is the most unclear of the three, so if it turns out to be a strong objection, that will be because we help Craig … Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 9
Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 8
I am not impressed by Richard Taylor’s appeal to etymology as an argument for the claim that all duties and all obligations are ‘owed’ to some person or persons (see part 7 for my objections to that line of reasoning). However, to be fair to Craig, Taylor’s appeal to etymology is not specifically and explicitly … Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 8
Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 7
Richard Taylor’s book Virtue Ethics: An Introduction (formerly published as Ethics, Faith, and Reason) provides a very readable and interesting defense of the view that the modern conception of morality originates with religion, especially with Christianity. William Craig quotes from Chapter 11 of this book as his primary support for his second objection to AMR. … Atheistic Moral Realism – Part 7
Draft chapter on Humanism, Science and Skepticism for comments….
Humanism: Science, Reason and Skepticism[1] What are science and reason? Humanists expound the virtues of science and reason. But what are science and reason? And we should we think it wise to rely on them? By science, I shall mean that approach to finding out about reality based on the scientific … Draft chapter on Humanism, Science and Skepticism for comments….
Baudrillard and pseudoprofundity
Here is a quote from Baudrillard that Prof Paul Taylor chose for the Radio 3 programme we recorded to be broadcast tonite at 10pm (I am talking about pseudo-profundity and bullshit and pointing a finger at some post-modern thinkers – listen here for a week [I am on from about 14mins30]): For ethnology to live, … Baudrillard and pseudoprofundity
The Alpha course vs. Philosophy
Extract from my OUP book Humanism: A Very Short Introduction, which references the Alpha Course (it’s from chpt 7) Religion vs. shallow, selfish individualism Let’s now turn to religious practice. Setting aside the issue of whether God exists, perhaps it might still be argued that religious reflection or observance is required if our lives … The Alpha course vs. Philosophy