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The Argument from Silence, Part 9: Mormonism’s Missing Golden Plates

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I began this series with a Bayesian interpretation of arguments from silence and then proceeded to use that interpretation to evaluate various arguments from silence about Jesus and God. In this post, I want to assess an argument from silence against a central claim of Mormonism, namely, that the Book of Mormon is the English translation of golden plates … The Argument from Silence, Part 9: Mormonism’s Missing Golden Plates

Off-Topic: A U.S. Constitutional Amendment Wish List

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All the presidential primary debates, primaries, and causes got me thinking about the U.S. Electoral College, which in turn got me thinking about changes I’d like to see made to the Constitution. 1. Eliminate Lifetime Supreme Court Appointments. See, for example, here. Instead, have Supreme Court justices get, say, 20-year terms after which they are ineligible … Off-Topic: A U.S. Constitutional Amendment Wish List

Three Ontological Arguments

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I have been trying to provide some clear and plausible versions of the ontological argument for one of my classes. This is a lot harder than it sounds. Below is what I have so far. The first argument is an attempt to capture what Anselm was arguing in his first version in Proslogion. The second … Three Ontological Arguments

What Could God do about Evil?

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My post “Evil: Still no Good Answers” has provoked a lively discussion with over 200 comments. Theistic commentators naturally want to argue that there are indeed plausible reasons for God to permit evil, even evils of the magnitude, extent, and variety that we find in the actual world. A common theme of these replies is … What Could God do about Evil?

What is Christianity? Part 3

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One objection to my cognitivist view of religion and of Christianity goes like this: “Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with Jesus Christ.” In the previous post in this series, I argued that (1) Christianity is a religion according to the Bible.  So, Christians who believe that the Bible is the inspired … What is Christianity? Part 3

Evil: Still no Good Answers

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Here is an essay written by my friend Eddie Tabash. He is a Constitutional lawyer, legal scholar, and one hell of a defense attorney. Here he tells of his experiences growing up as the son of an Auschwitz survivor. http://secularhumanism.org/index.php/articles/7861 Eddie also provides enlightening and incisive comments on evil and theism. When confronted with instances … Evil: Still no Good Answers

Message to Moderate Muslims

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The position of the moderate Muslim is unenviable. Conservative Muslims castigate you as apostates and heretics. Right-wing Americans lump you with the terrorists and fanatics. So extreme has the anti-Muslim fervor become in the United States that Donald Trump can call for temporarily banning all Muslims from entering the country—and his poll numbers go up! … Message to Moderate Muslims

TRUMP: His Bigotry & Hate is not Welcome in the U.K. or Israel

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Racists and Bigots are allowed to to speak and to advocate their racist and bigoted views in the USA, but other countries have laws against such hate speech, so Donald Trump could be blocked from entry into Britain. ============================ =============================== More than 360,000 people, angered by Donald Trump’s call to ban the entry of Muslims … TRUMP: His Bigotry & Hate is not Welcome in the U.K. or Israel

TRUMP: Make America Hate Again!

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In previous weeks the top two Republican candidates for president were (1) an ignorant racist bigot (Trump), and (2) an ignorant religious nut case (Carson).  I used to think that about 1/3 of the Republican party was brain dead, because that is about the portion of Republicans who still believe Obama is a Muslim and … TRUMP: Make America Hate Again!