Swinburne’s Cosmological & Teleological Arguments
I’m not going to try to fully explain and evaluate Swinburne’s Cosmological and Teleological arguments for God here. That would be way too much to tackle in one or two blog posts. There are just a couple of doubts or concerns about these arguments that I would like to express and explore. Swinburne’s inductive cosmological … Swinburne’s Cosmological & Teleological Arguments
Playing The Mystery Card (incl. McGrath vs Dawkins) from my book Believing Bullshit
PLAYING THE MYSTERY CARD Suppose critics point out that not only do you have little in the way of argument to support your particular belief system, there also seems to be powerful evidence against it. If you want, nevertheless, to convince both yourself and others that your beliefs are not nearly as ridiculous as … Playing The Mystery Card (incl. McGrath vs Dawkins) from my book Believing Bullshit
Best of All Possible Persons – Part 2
What do you get if you cross ‘the best of all possible worlds’ (from Leibniz) with ‘the being than which none greater can be conceived’ (from Anselm)? You get: the best of all possible persons, which is another way to conceive of God. Here are two proofs of the non-existence of God, based on this … Best of All Possible Persons – Part 2
Slicing Up the Metaphysical Pie
One basic question in metaphysics is this: How many gods exist? Atheism can be defined as the view that there are 0 gods. Monotheism is the view that there is just 1 god. Polytheism is the view that there are 2 or more gods. Thus all of the various answers to the metaphysical question above … Slicing Up the Metaphysical Pie
Best of All Possible Persons
Now this supreme wisdom, united to a goodness that is no less infinite, cannot but have chosen the best… If there were not the best among all possible worlds, God would not have produced any. (Gottfried Leibniz, Theodicy, translated by E.M. Huggard, 1951, p.128) According to Anselm, God is the being than which none greater … Best of All Possible Persons
Did Jesus Exit? – Part 22
I have argued that the agreement that exists between the seven gospel sources concerning the Minimal Jesus Hypothesis, could be explained on the basis of the common cultural idea of a ‘Messiah’. I conceded, however, that the crucifixion of the Messiah was not a part of the expectation of first century Palestinian Jews, but pointed … Did Jesus Exit? – Part 22
Did Jesus Exit? – Index
Introduction to the issue: Did Jesus exist? Outline of Did Jesus Exist? By Bart Ehrman. Various skeptical points by Ehrman, especially the insignificance of non-Christian historical sources. Keith Parson’s advice and Bart Ehrman on the Minimal Jesus Hypothesis (MJH). Development and clarification of the Minimal Jesus Hypothesis. About 17,000 Jewish males in Palestine were named … Did Jesus Exit? – Index
Did Jesus Exit? – Part 21
I have reviewed Q, M, and L passages, looking for crucifixion-related events. The Gospel of Mark includes several crucifixion-related events in Chapters 14 and 15: 1. The Plot to Kill Jesus 2. The Anointing at Bethany 3. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus 4. The Passover with the Disciples 5. The Institution of the Lord’s Supper … Did Jesus Exit? – Part 21
Did Jesus Exit? – Part 20
The Minimal Jesus Hypothesis (MJH) can be stated in terms of a list of a dozen attributes: A1. This person was a flesh-and-blood person. A2. This person was an adherent of Judaism. A3. This person was a male descendant of the Hebrew people. A4. This person lived in Palestine as an adult (in his twenties … Did Jesus Exit? – Part 20
Did Jesus Exit? – Part 19
In Part 14, we saw that Mark portrays Jesus as a devout follower of the Jewish faith. In Part 15, we saw that Q portrays Jesus as a devout follower of the Jewish faith. Does L, the special source used by Luke, portray Jesus as an adherent of Judaism? as a devout follower of the … Did Jesus Exit? – Part 19