Skepticism about Religion – Part 5: Disagreement between Religions
========================= II. There are good reasons to be SKEPTICAL about religion and religious beliefs. A. Religion is NOT the key to Happiness and Virtue, contrary to common belief. B. Significant Disagreements exist Between Different Religions. ======================== Significant Disagreements exist Between Different Religions According to Christianity, Jesus was God incarnate, fully God and fully human. But … Skepticism about Religion – Part 5: Disagreement between Religions
Intelligent Design: Get ready for another round
President Trump’s choice for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, is very likely a supporter of teaching Intelligent Design (ID) in public schools. Her husband, Dick DeVos, ran for Governor of Michigan in 2006 and explicitly stated his support for ID ( https://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2006/09/21/devos-and-intelligent-design ). It is not unlikely, then, that ID proponents will be emboldened to … Intelligent Design: Get ready for another round
Unapologetic Review – Part 10: Evaluation of Reason #9
REVIEW OF ANALYSIS OF REASON #9 In Part 9 of this series, I asserted that the main argument in Unapologetic is Reason #9, and I argued that Reason #9 invoved the following assumptions: 5. ANY claim that is based on faith cannot be reasonably defended. 6. Philosophers ought NOT recognize and participate in an alleged sub-discipline of philosophy that … Unapologetic Review – Part 10: Evaluation 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
Black Holes and the Problem of Evil
Data produced by the Hubble Space Telescope show that the brightest supernova ever recorded was actually a star being torn apart by a black hole in what is being called the ASASSN-15lh event. This has a high “coolness factor” for astronomy enthusiasts. But I couldn’t help but wonder a little whether there were any planets … Black Holes and the Problem of Evil
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 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
Unapologetic Review – Part 3: The Main Argument
I cannot recommend the book Unapologetic by John Loftus, because I have not carefully read the whole book yet. But I have read Chapter 5, which I take to be the heart of the book, and I can recommend reading Chapter 5 of Unapologetic. It is an interesting, informative, and thought-provoking chapter about the philosophy … Unapologetic Review – Part 3: The Main Argument