Geisler & Turek Rebuttal: Chapter 9 (Part 2)
Chapter 9. Do We Have Early Eyewitness Testimony about Jesus? By Matthew Wade Ferguson and Jeffery Jay Lowder (This post continues where part 1 left off.) (ii) New Testament Textual Accuracy: “Textual accuracy” measures the degree to which copies of a document match that of the original document. Although none of the original New Testament documents … Geisler & Turek Rebuttal: Chapter 9 (Part 2)
Geisler & Turek Rebuttal: Chapter 9 (Part 1)
Chapter 9. Do We Have Early Eyewitness Testimony about Jesus? By Matthew Wade Ferguson and Jeffery Jay Lowder As we read them, Geisler and Turek seek to accomplish three things: (i) review the extra-Biblical evidence for Jesus; (ii) show the New Testament is textually accurate; and (iii) begin an extended, multi-chapter defense of the New … Geisler & Turek Rebuttal: Chapter 9 (Part 1)
Geisler & Turek Rebuttal, Part 7: Chapter 8
Chapter 8. Miracles: Signs of God or Gullibility? As I read them, Geisler and Turek (G&T) seek to establish four points: (1) If God exists, then miracles are possible; (2) Hume’s argument against the credibility of miracle claims is a failure; (3) miracles can be used to confirm a message from God (i.e., as acts … Geisler & Turek Rebuttal, Part 7: Chapter 8
G&T Rebuttal, Part 6: Chapter 7
Chapter 7. Mother Theresa vs. Hitler In this chapter, G&T present a version of the moral argument for God’s existence which I call the “Moral Laws Require a Moral Lawgiver Argument,” which they formulate as follows. Like the earlier arguments, this argument is deductively valid. Like the earlier chapters about this argument, I plan to … G&T Rebuttal, Part 6: Chapter 7
G&T Rebuttal, Part 5: Chapter 6
Chapter 6. New Life Forms: From the Goo to You via the Zoo? Drawing upon the work of sophisticated Intelligent Design (ID) theorists such as William Dembski, Michael Behe, and Jonathan Wells, this chapter uses many of the state-of-the art Intelligent Design (ID) arguments against evolution by natural selection. It also defends ID against various … G&T Rebuttal, Part 5: Chapter 6
G&T Rebuttal, Part 4: Chapter 5
Chapter 5. The First Life: Natural Law or Divine Awe? In this chapter, G&T defend a design argument focused on the first life. They also present a variety of objections to scientism and materialism. I will provide a very brief summary of their points, before providing my critique. (i) Argument to Design of the First … G&T Rebuttal, Part 4: Chapter 5
G&T Rebuttal, Part 3: Chapter 4
Chapter 4. Divine Design G&T provide a brief introduction to what they call ‘the’ Teleological Argument, which they formulate as follows. 1. Every design had a designer. 2. The universe has a highly complex design. 3. Therefore, the universe had a Designer. (95) Like the cosmological argument, this argument is deductively valid. Again, my plan … G&T Rebuttal, Part 3: Chapter 4
G&T Rebuttal, Part 2: Chapter 3
Chapter 3. In the Beginning There Was a Great SURGE G&T tell us that the “Cosmological Argument is the argument from the beginning of the universe” (74). That is sloppy; G&T have conflated the family of arguments known as ‘the’ cosmological argument with one specific version of that argument (the kalām cosmological argument). But let … G&T Rebuttal, Part 2: Chapter 3
G&T Rebuttal, Part 1: Introduction
The book’s introduction divides into six parts: (i) the crucial role that beliefs about God play in worldviews; (ii) an overview of three major “religious” worldviews; (iii) a discussion of the role of faith and facts in religion; (iv) three categories of problems with Christianity; (v) the faith of an atheist; and (vi) a high-level … G&T Rebuttal, Part 1: Introduction
Index: Rebuttal to Geisler’s and Turek’s “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist”
Review of Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist (Wheaton: Crossway, 2004). Like all apologetics books, both Christian and non-Christian, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist book takes a partisan approach to the philosophy of religion. Of course, by itself, the fact that it is a … Index: Rebuttal to Geisler’s and Turek’s “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist”