Myron Bradley Penner, The End of Apologetics: Christian Witness in a Postmodern Context (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013) (Follow this link to get the book in electronic format from Logos.) Full disclosure: I do not publicly label myself an “apologist.” However, in some ways that’s what I am just by virtue of many of the things that I do and say, and there are others who … [Read more...]
Could atheism be a properly basic belief?
Could people have a properly basic belief that God does not exist so that they do not need any other arguments or evidence for that belief in order to be justified in holding it? A recent conversation reminded me of what is now a rather old argument in relation to the question of belief in God (old in terms of twentieth century arguments anyway). Essentially, the issue was … [Read more...]
Don’t be discouraged: Why don’t people listen?
(The following is based on a talk I gave two weeks ago to a Thinking Matters event and also at a church camp, which is why it’s not written like an essay or article. It was presented as the last in a series of talks on faith and reason.) If I’m right, then faith in God – belief that God is real and trust that God makes a difference through Christ – is reasonable. There really … [Read more...]
On an idiosyncratic faith
Bear with me as I offer some thoughts on why I think so many criticisms of Christianity – along with so many versions of Christianity – miss the mark. Consider this list: God (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) exists God is uniquely revealed to us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, whom God raised from the dead By having a relationship with God though Jesus, who is … [Read more...]
Breaking down the moral argument
I harp on about the moral argument for theism, some think. That’s only because I think it’s an under-appreciated argument that has a lot more going for it than most of its critics believe. Here I want to lay out a simple version of the argument, explain why I think it works and how to defend it. A very simple version of the moral argument, probably the most common that I see, … [Read more...]
The fall and rise of the moral argument for theism
In light of the millennia of the history of philosophy that we have behind us, it was only recently – setting the last few decades aside – that the moral argument slipped out of the mainstream. In the first half of the twentieth century C. S. Lewis could refer to the moral argument with some confidence, and it may well have been the most common of the major arguments for God’s … [Read more...]
Born Atheists?
Is atheism or theism more natural for human beings? According to online author Tim Covell, “Everyone is born atheist. Religion is learned.” Over at the “rational response squad” you’re treated to the claim that “Many people don't know it but everyone is born an Atheist, it's not until a child has religious beliefs Pushed on them with out any evidence to support them that they … [Read more...]