theism

I Don’t Care – Part 6

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Aquinas is often thought of as a rigourously logical and systematic thinker.  This is only half-true.  There is a good deal of vaguness, ambiguity, and illogical thinking in his book Summa Theologica, as far as I can see. Here is a cautionary note from a philosopher who is an expert on Aquinas: From the concept of … I Don’t Care – Part 6

I Don’t Care – Part 5

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The famous Five Ways passage by Aquinas in Summa Theologica does not contain five arguments for the existence of God. Rather, it contains ZERO arguments for the existence of God.  There is actually only one argument for the existence of God in the Summa Theologica, and the reasoning in the Five Ways passage only represents a … I Don’t Care – Part 5

I Don’t Care – Part 4

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I have previously argued that, contrary to popular opinion, there are ZERO arguments for the existence of God in the famous Five Ways passage by Aquinas in Summa Theologica (Part I, Question 2, Article 3: Whether God Exists?). Now I’m getting into what I do care about, namely the ACTUAL argument(s) that Aquinas gives to prove the … I Don’t Care – Part 4

Bibliography on Arguments for Atheism

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(redated post originally published on 7 November 2011) The purpose of this bibliography is to provide a comprehensive listing of academic resurces which contain presentations, formulations, or defenses of various arguments for atheism. The bibliography currently omits any references to resources which criticize those arguments; I hope to fix that in the future as time … Bibliography on Arguments for Atheism

I Don’t Care – Part 3

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According to the Christian philosopher Peter Kreeft, and many others, Aquinas gives five different arguments for the existence of God.  In the Handbook of Christian Apologetics (IVP, 1994; hereafter: HCA) by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli, there is a chapter that lays out twenty different arguments for the existence of God, and the first five arguments … I Don’t Care – Part 3

I Don’t Care – Part 2

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OK. Maybe I care just a little bit. I summarized my complaint against Aquinas’ Five Ways this way (in response to a comment from Jeff Lowder): I’m just pointing out that (a) NONE of the Five Ways is an argument for the existence of God as it stands (in the section called “Whether God Exists?”), … I Don’t Care – Part 2

I Don’t Care

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Thomas Aquinas pulled a classic BAIT-AND-SWITCH move in Summa Theologica:  “Therefore it is necessary to arrive at a first mover, moved by no other; and this everyone understands to be God.” “Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God.”  “Therefore we cannot but admit the existence … I Don’t Care

Does God Exist? Part 2

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Here is a third option for breaking down the question “Does God exist?” (click on the image below to get a clearer view of the chart): This is a variation on Option 2 (see the previous post in this series). In this analysis I stick with the process of simply adding on divine attributes to … Does God Exist? Part 2

Does God Exist? Part 1

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The overarching question for my ten-year plan is: Is Christianity true or false? After I clarify this overarching question, the first major question to investigate is this: Does God exist? I will, of course, at some point need to address the traditional arguments for the existence of God (ontological, cosmological, teleological, and moral arguments).  But I … Does God Exist? Part 1