Crazy–Even for Ken Ham
Spock, ET, Marvin the Martian, ALF, Mork, the Third Rock from the Sun group and many other lovable aliens are all going to hell, I guess. In the pictures I have seen of this guy, his hair is combed, and his shirt is buttoned up. He looks like he has bathed recently. How can that … Crazy–Even for Ken Ham
Does Cosmos Promote Atheism?
Stargazing is my hobby, and I subscribe to various related publications, including the magazine Astronomy. Bob Berman is a regular columnist for Astronomy and his columns are usually entertaining and informative. Occasionally they are peevish, as when he recently devoted much of his monthly column to a matter of pronunciation. He insisted at length that … Does Cosmos Promote Atheism?
Atheists’ Favorite Parts of the Bible
There is a link on Debunking Christianity to an interesting article by Valerie Tarico on the topic of atheists’ favorite Bible verses. I thought that they would be the really horrid ones like II Kings, Chapter 2, where we have the lurid story of the prophet Elisha, who was approaching the town of Bethel when … Atheists’ Favorite Parts of the Bible
Belated Response to Ed Feser
Ed, sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. All of May was taken up by final exam grading and then copy-editing and indexing my new book, due out in August, It Started with Copernicus (completely unabashed and self-serving plug). This is a response to your post of April 25, “A … Belated Response to Ed Feser
Craig’s “Historical Evidence” for the Death of Jesus – Part 4
William Craig asserts that “Jesus rose from the dead”. In making this claim, Craig takes on a burden of proof. A crucial part of this burden is to prove that Jesus actually died on the cross, since a person can rise from the dead ONLY IF they have previously died. Unfortunately, in most of his … Craig’s “Historical Evidence” for the Death of Jesus – Part 4
Theism, Atheism, and Dismissive Attitudes
Here are two hypotheses about theism, atheism, and dismissive attitudes. H1: for (some / many / most) theists, how dismissive a theist is to atheism is inversely proportional to how familiar said theist is to the best, most robust arguments for atheism* H2: for (some / many / most) atheists, how dismissive an atheist is to … Theism, Atheism, and Dismissive Attitudes
Morality and Atheism: An Exchange with Prof. Feser
Note: This is my initial post of an exchange with Dr. Ed Feser on the topic “Can morality have a rational justification if atheism or naturalism is true?” My answer, of course, is “Yes it can!” I decided to address the issue by spelling out, in some detail, what I think a good naturalistic theory … Morality and Atheism: An Exchange with Prof. Feser
C.S. Lewis on the Torments of Hell
This is a modified quote from my essay “Hell: Christianity’s Most Damnable Doctrine” in The End of Christianity, edited by John Loftus, Prometheus Books, 2012. The page numbers in parentheses refer to Lewis’s book The Problem of Pain. Now, I know, as my friend John Beversluis discovered when he wrote his wonderful book on Lewis, … C.S. Lewis on the Torments of Hell
Justin Schieber on Dogmatism
“Ignoring faults of arguments that agree with your conclusions is what leads to dogmatism.”
Forward into the Past
It looks like my home state of Jawja is going to follow Arizona’s “lead” and is trying to pass legislation that would broadly permit discrimination against gay people: Wow. This news definitely induces a sense of deja vu for me. When I was a kid growing up in the Atlanta area in the 1960’s there … Forward into the Past