Christopher Hitchens, in his Introduction to the Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever, has a witty counter to those who claim that religious people are especially good: My own response has been to issue a challenge: name me an ethical statement made or an action performed by a believer that could not have been made or performed by a non-believer. As yet, I … [Read more...]
No Christian Children?
In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins writes that “a Christian child” is nonexistent. As he puts it: Atheists need to raise their own consciousness of the anomaly: religious opinion is the one kid of parental opinion that – by almost universal consent – can be fastened upon children who are, in truth, too young to know what their opinion really is. There is no such thing as a … [Read more...]
Is Atheism a Religion?
At The Richard Dawkins Foundation For Reason and Science you can find a witty and urbane video of TV host and comedian Bill Maher. In the video Maher is primarily arguing that “atheism is not a religion." Maher contrasts the difference between atheism and religion like this: When it comes to religion, we’re not two sides of the same coin, and you don’t get to put your unreason … [Read more...]
Atheism, Humans and Robots
The standard disclaimer: I am not speaking about or attacking atheists. Instead, my goal is to rationally work through the logical implications of the atheistic worldview. (Please notice how I define atheism). My conclusion is that, if atheism is true, then we need to re-imagine how we understand human beings. … [Read more...]
“That’s Just What You Think”: Responding to Relativism
The other night, while I was at an outdoor party and cookout, I got into a very interesting conversation with a friend of a friend. Her outlook on life was quite different from my own, which led me to ask a number of questions to better understand where she was coming from, how she saw life, and what was important to her. Overall, we were having an engaging, lively … [Read more...]
Is God Good? Are Humans Bad?
The following is the transcript of a talk given at Church of the Cross during the "Dealing with Doubts" series on August 19, 2012. Today we are going to look at perhaps the most difficult question that any human can face: the problem of evil and suffering. The problem of pain. This is a problem that everyone has to resolve. Christians agonize over how to think about the … [Read more...]
The Problem of Blind Faith
In talking with skeptical students around Boston, I have learned that few things drive them as crazy as Christians with a blind faith. They are perplexed: "How can your core convictions be completely divorced from reason and logic?" Three examples, just from the past year, illustrate the problem: … [Read more...]
God's Grace and Apologetics
The Christian Apologetics Alliance has featured an incredible diversity of posts this month on "Becoming A Community Apologist." Let's review the terrific posts we've had and then consider: in light of God's grace, how might you steadily grow as an apologist? In particular, I want to talk with you about feeling overwhelmed. When we feel overwhelmed, how does God's grace speak … [Read more...]
How To Get Apologetics In Your Local Church
In 2010, Brian Auten at Apologetics315 hosted a series on how to get apologetics in your local church. He has graciously permitted us to repost the table of contents for this series. Enjoy! .... The goal of this project is a simple one: to share stories, experiences, and advice that will help Christians to start their own local apologetics initiatives. … [Read more...]
The Atheistic Leap of Faith
In the course of having thousands of conversations about the ultimate issues of life, I’ve encountered many skeptics who, out of a deep respect for their religious friends, are reluctant to explain their objections to faith. These skeptics have noticed that, for their friends, the practice of religion is fundamental to filling their lives with meaning, purpose, joy, and service … [Read more...]