This is a longish post, but I would appreciate comments from those who have the patience to work through it. BTW, job responsibilities prevent me from getting into an endless loop of replies and counter-replies with respondents, so, if I fail to respond to all your messages, please do not feel that I am ignoring … Dallas Willard on the “Absurdity” of a Self-Sufficient Physical Universe

Secularisms, edited by Janet Jakobsen and Ann Pellegrini, is a half-good book. The good parts contain a lot of valuable information about varieties of secularism worldwide and their problems. The bad parts, including the introduction by the editors, are overcooked postmodern drivel. It’s a wonder I didn’t give up on the book after a few … Secularisms

“Atheists have no ultimate explanation for how the universe is. They have to leave it as a random occurrence.” There’s another common charge laid against the godless. And for naturalists, the accusation rings true. This need not, however, be a weakness. The ultimate explanations of traditional theism do not work. They all come down to … Atheists have no ultimate explanation

That’s an Australian accent, I think.

In conservative America—the real America, as some would have it—nonbelief is a liability. Everyone is supposed to be a Protestant, though this might include Catholic Protestants or Muslim Protestants. You are free to go to the church of your choice, but it is very important that you do go to a church of your choice. … Faith-based nonbelief

I hadn’t thought I would read Simon Blackburn’s Truth: A Guide. For some reason, I had formed the impression that it was a pop-philosophy book. While I think such books are very good things, I do not feel compelled to read them any more than a book on the physics of superheroes. Then I happened … Good philosophy, bad philosophy

The Premises and Conclusion of the Trilemma in EnglishThe intermediate conclusion–Either Jesus was a liar, or Jesus was mentally ill, or Jesus was God— is not itself a required assumption, because it can supposedly be deduced from the first three premises. So, McDowell’s Trilemma can be stated in terms of five premises and the main … The Logic of the Trilemma – Symbolization & Proof

Here is the logic of Josh McDowell’s version of the Trilemma argument found in Chapter 7 of Evidence that Demands a Verdict and Chapter 2 of More Than a Carpenter: 1. Jesus claimed to be God. 2. If Jesus claimed to be God, and Jesus was not God, and Jesus knew that he was not … The Logic of the Trilemma

I do run into this reasoning from religious right circles: “God promised he wouldn’t wipe us out in quite that way, so global warming can’t be happening (or harmful).” It’s infuriating to see its potential to influence public policy. I’m sorry, but these particular superstitions are dangerous. Unless by some wild stroke of luck they’re … When superstition gets dangerous

The American Religious Identification Survey 2008 results are online. One interesting note. In terms of “belonging,” or self-identification, 0.9% of Americans describe themselves as agnostic, 0.7% as atheist. But when asked about actual beliefs, 2.3% of Americans take an atheist position, while the “hard” and “soft” varieties of agnosticism add up to 10.0%. Interestingly, there … ARIS 2008