“A wholly good omnipotent being," contended J. L. Mackie, “would eliminate evil completely; if there really are evils, then there cannot be any such being.” (Mackie 1982: 150) Is it necessarily true that a wholly good omnipotent being who is able eliminate evil, would eliminate evil? Is it necessarily true that a wholly good omnipotent being who cannot prevent pain and … [Read more...]
Ask the Alliance: What about those who have never heard?
:::Ask the Alliance Question #1::: Question submitted by Samuel: What happens to an individual who has never heard of Christianity or God at death? One CAA member submitted simply this verse: And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things … [Read more...]
The Moral Objection to Miracles
In New York, on March 3, 1964 at 3:15am, Kitty Genovese was attacked, raped, and killed after driving home from work. Her neighbors heard her screams and did nothing. They could have easily saved her from suffering, rape, and death. It would have taken, at most, a few seconds to call the police. Was that too much to ask for? By having not intervened, they seem to be partially, … [Read more...]
The Problem of Evil: Impact of theology. Part 3 of 3
Part 1 Part 2 The Impact of Theology (The rest of this article is a bit of an aside over the internal debate between Calvinism and Arminianism within Christianity, but is pertinent to the problem of evil discussion.) A bit more should probably be said about the debate within Christianity between the Calvinist and Arminian views (while noting that either thwart the atheist’s … [Read more...]
The Problem of Evil: Is it a problem? Part 2 of 3
Part 1 Is it a problem? Evil is certainly a challenge for anyone, including Christians, to answer sufficiently. However, we can show that it potentially fits within the Christian worldview, and I believe it fits well (especially compared to other worldviews). In other words, it is a challenge, but I don’t think it is ultimately a problem. Remember, while you as a Christian … [Read more...]
The Problem of Evil: Whose problem is it? Part 1 of 3
The ‘problem of evil’ in Christian apologetics is and has been one of the top apologetic issues throughout history. Many have pointed to the attacks on 9/11 (September 11, 2001) as a turning point in our generation concerning this issue. The ‘New Atheists’ (Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, etc.) began writing their – soon to be popular – books not long after this event. For the … [Read more...]
Dualistic Versus Holistic Logic?
While on Facebook recently, I came across a picture that claimed to be outlining the differences between "Linear Thinking" (also known as "dualistic logic") and "Systems Thinking (aka "holistic logic"). It was presented from the perspective of approaches to teaching. The overall message of this particular Facebook page was that our educational systems should take a holistic … [Read more...]
Book Review: Has Christianity Failed You?
One of the major obstacles that I come against in defending the Christian worldview is simply a misunderstanding of the worldview. So many times people tell me that they reject Christianity based on one thing or another that Christianity teaches. In the vast majority of the cases people are rejecting something that is not Christian but they believe is Christian. In Has … [Read more...]
The Value of Existential Apologetics
As part of my exploration of new approaches to apologetics, I’ve been reading through Clifford Williams’ book Existential Reasons for Belief in God. So far, the hardest thing about understanding Williams’ thesis has been getting my head around the difference between an evidential argument for faith that uses needs as evidence of God and the existential argument for faith which … [Read more...]
Case For Atheism: Incompatibility of Bodiless Person?
In Philo, the Society of Humanist Philosophers published journal of Philosophy, Theodore M. Drange presented 10 incompatible properties arguments against the existence of God. In this article I explored Drange’s 7th argument, namely the incompatibility of a nonphysical person. Drange outlined “The Nonphysical-vs.-Personal Argument” as follows: If God exists, then he is … [Read more...]