Graham Oppy: Yes, There Really Is Such a Thing as Expertise in Philosophy of Religion, and, No, You Can’t Get it from Pop Philosophy of Religion Books
Note: The following post is written by Graham Oppy and posted with his permission. Suppose I wanted to learn all about quantum gravity, starting from a position of total ignorance. How likely is it that there is a book that physicists could recommend to me that I could read, and that would give me the … Graham Oppy: Yes, There Really <I>Is</I> Such a Thing as Expertise in Philosophy of Religion, and, No, You Can’t Get it from Pop Philosophy of Religion Books
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 13: Existence and Attributes of a Necessary Being
In Phase 1 of his case for the existence of God, Geisler reformulates the argument from being as follows: Argument from Being #2 – Initial Version 50. If God exists, [then] we conceive of Him [God] as a necessary Being. 51. By definition, a necessary Being must exist and cannot not exist. THEREFORE … Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 13: Existence and Attributes of a Necessary Being
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 12: Is the Creator a Necessary Being?
PHASE 3: THE EXISTENCE OF A NECESSARY BEING Geisler abuses the word “God” yet again in Phase 3 of his case for the existence of God. The argument in Phase 3 is on page 27. It makes use of the conclusion from “The Argument from Being” in Phase 1 (pages 24-26). Here is the conclusion … Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 12: Is the Creator a Necessary Being?
Unapologetic Review – Part 9: Analysis of Reason #9
A KEY PASSAGE FROM PART 2 OF THIS SERIES: It appears to me that just as Chapter 5 is the heart of the book, and that the 10 Reasons are the heart of Chapter 5, so also I believe that Reason #9 (which concerns opposition to “faith-based claims”) for ending philosophy of religion is at … Unapologetic Review – Part 9: Analysis of Reason #9
Unapologetic Review – Part 7: Two Definitions of “Faith”
The Two Main Definitions of “Faith” in Unapologetic There are seven short statements in Unapologetic that appear to be definitions of the word “faith”. The definition given in Chapter 1 (p.37) is an incomplete version of the definition given in Chapter 2. The definition given in Chapter 2 is clear and worthy of serious consideration: … Unapologetic Review – Part 7: Two Definitions of “Faith”
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 11: The Structure of Geisler’s Case
I’m going to take a step back in this post and look at the overall structure of Geisler’s case for the existence of God, a presented in When Skeptics Ask (hereafter: WSA). PHASE 1: GEISLER’s FIVE WAYS On pages 15 through 26, Geisler presents five arguments for five conclusions. I call this Phase 1 of … Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 11: The Structure of Geisler’s Case
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 10: The Goodness of the Creator
REVIEW OF MY EVALUATION OF GEISLER’S CASE (SO FAR) In Phase 1 of his case for the existence of God, Norman Geisler presents five arguments for five different conclusions: In Phase 2 of his case for the existence of God, Geisler presents more arguments for conclusions about the attributes of “the” being that caused the … Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 10: The Goodness of the Creator
Unapologetic Review – Part 6: Faith as Irrational Trust
Some Key Points from Part 5 Mr. Loftus is on a crusade against FAITH, and his book Unapologetic, is a part of this crusade. But before any person who is a critical thinker (i.e. someone who “sits at the adult table”) chooses to join this crusade, Loftus needs to clearly specify the purpose of the … Unapologetic Review – Part 6: Faith as Irrational Trust
Unapologetic Review – Part 5: The Meaning of “Faith”
The Beating Heart of Unapologetic The heart of the book Unapologetic is Chapter 5: “Why Philosophy of Religion Must End”, and the heart of Chapter 5 is the Ten Reasons that Loftus gives for this conclusion (in the subsection of Chapter 5 titled “Why Philosophy of Relgion Must End,” on pages 131-135), and the heart … Unapologetic Review – Part 5: The Meaning of “Faith”
Unapologetic Review – Part 4: More Effort Required
“Communication is Hard” My wife is a very intelligent woman. I enjoy discussing religion, politics, and philosophy with her. When I lay out an argument, either for my own viewpoint or (as the devil’s advocate) for some alternative viewpoint, she almost always raises one or two sharp objections to the argument. She is also a … Unapologetic Review – Part 4: More Effort Required