Skeptical Theism and Divine Deception: The McBrayer/Swenson response to Wielenberg   1. Skeptical Theism   Evidential arguments from evil often[i] take something like the following form:   If God exists, gratuitous evil does not exist. Gratuitous evil exists. Therefore, God does not exist   Gratuitous evil is evil for which there is no God-justifying reason. … Wielenberg’s Divine Lies, and McBrayer and Swenson’s response – my comments for feedback

Students say the darndest things. In their exams, no less. In one of my classes students were required to read selections from Darwin’s Origin and Descent of Man. Here are some comments from one exam: “I found Darwin’s The Descent of Man hard to read and hard to understand. As a Christian I have always … Darwin Proofing

PRESSING YOUR BUTTONS One way in which we can shape the beliefs of others is by rational persuasion. Suppose, for example, that I want someone to believe that Buckingham Palace is in London (which it is). I could provide them with a great deal of evidence to support that belief. I could also just take … Pressing Your Buttons (from my book Believing Bullshit)

Randal Rauser has responded to my suggestion that his review of my book Believing Bullshit was pretty shoddy (though not as shoddy as Martin Cohen’s in the THES). Go here. Understandable, I suppose. By combining selective quotation, misdirection and quite a lot of bluster, Rauser is quite successful at generating the impression I have been … Response to Randal Rauser’s response to my response to his shoddy review…

In a comment a couple of weeks ago I wondered aloud what “traditional marriage” actually was according to the Bible. This clears things up. Be sure to turn on your pop-up blocker before going to this site. I once heard that an atheist speaker was asked what readings he would recommend that would support atheism. … Traditional Marriage According to the Bible

From Good Christian Michelle Bachmann: And Jesus spake unto them saying, “Blessed are the rich, for they shall dine sumptuously. Verily, tiramisu and foie gras are their just rewards, for wealth is ever the product of godly diligence. But woe unto the poor! Bitterness shall be their meat and sorrow their drink, for, yea, the … Jesus Wants You to Starve the Poor

His post: Do naturalists have more to lose? If not, why are they crucifying Thomas Nagel?  In order to prevent this from becoming a back-and-forth mess, I’ve replied in the comments there. He’s a good guy, so I don’t mind sending him more traffic. If you’re interested, the discussion can continue there.

From my book Believing Bullshit. Moving the goalposts The expression “moving the goalposts” refers to a certain disreputable strategy in an argument. Suppose I claim Fred has never been to Brazil. It’s pointed out to me that Fred went to Brazil on his honeymoon. My claim has been shown to be false, but rather than … MOVING THE SEMANTIC GOALPOSTS – theological sleight-of-hand with words

I have greatly enjoyed posting and commenting on Patheos. The look is great and the organization of posts and comments is first-rate. However, I am finding the ads increasingly intrusive. It always irritates me when I am trying to read a page and the ad is jumping around trying to get my attention. I’ve gotten … Patheos is Great. The Ads Suck