Skepticism about Religion – Part 2: Caveats and Qualifications
DOES RELIGION HAVE A POSITIVE CORRELATION WITH HAPPINESS? There are many empirical studies that appear to show that religion has a positive correlation with happiness. However, there are a number of important caveats and qualifications that need to be taken into consideration here: 1. Viewed in geographic terms, religion has a NEGATIVE correlation with happiness. … Skepticism about Religion – Part 2: Caveats and Qualifications
Why I Reject the Resurrection – Part 4: Skepticism about the Supernatural
SKEPTICAL CLAIMS ABOUT SUPERNATURAL BELIEFS Two points from my List of Key Points about the resurrection relate directly to skepticism about the supernatural: 1. Nobody KNOWS that supernatural beings exist. 2. Nobody KNOWS that supernatural events occur. There are two more related points that should be added to the above two points: 21. Nobody KNOWS … Why I Reject the Resurrection – Part 4: Skepticism about the Supernatural
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 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”
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 8: The Design of the Human Brain
The third argument in Phase 2 of Geisler’s case for God is another development of his argument from design, and it has many of the same problems as the second argument in Phase 2. Here is the third argument, sticking closely to the words used by Geisler: ARGUMENT #3 of PHASE 2 26. God … Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 8: The Design of the Human Brain
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 7: Argument #2 of Phase 2
Here is the second argument in Phase 2 of Geisler’s case for the existence of God: ARGUMENT #2 of PHASE 2 21. “…the design of the universe is far beyond anything that man could devise.” (WSA, p.26) 22. IF the design of the universe is far beyond anything that man could devise, THEN the designer … Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 7: Argument #2 of Phase 2
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 6: Arguments for the Intelligence of the Creator
Here is my version of Geisler’s first argument in Phase 2 of his case for God: ARGUMENT #1 OF PHASE 2 10a. Only a being with great power could create the whole universe by itself, and only a being with great power could sustain the existence of the whole universe by itself (for even just one moment). 11a. There is a being that both (a) created … Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 6: Arguments for the Intelligence of the Creator
McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 1: An Eternally Bodiless Person
Here are the basic premises of McDowell’s Trilemma Argument (hereafter: MTA), from The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict (hereafter: NETDV by Josh McDowell: ================= …Jesus definitely claimed to be God (see below and in Chapter 6). So every person must answer the question: Is His claim to deity true or false? This question deserves a … McDowell’s Trilemma – Part 1: An Eternally Bodiless Person