I’ve been asked so many times how an atheist could possibly become a theist. Atheists cannot believe one of their own would change his or her mind and Christians have a hard time believing an atheist could change. Once they get over the shock of talking to a believer who used to be a dreaded atheist, Christians want to know what they can say to atheist family members or friends … [Read more...]
DNA Replication: An Engineering Marvel
Recently I have been reviewing some literature on the elegant molecular mechanisms by which DNA is replicated. As an undergraduate biology student, I recall being struck by their sheer complexity, sophistication, and intrinsic beauty. As I read about such a carefully orchestrated process, involving so many specific enzymes and protein complexes, and its extraordinary accuracy, … [Read more...]
A Different Argument from Morality
The Moral Argument I don’t like the traditional version of this argument that argues from the moral law to a moral law-giver: Traditional Argument from Morality Premise 1: There is an objective moral law. Premise 2: Every law implies a law-giver. Conclusion: Therefore, there is a moral law-giver. The most important problem with this argument is, if God is not just making … [Read more...]
How to Use Pop Culture as a Community Apologist
I’ve been contributing to a series at the Christian Apologetics Alliance with the goal of encouraging people to become “community apologists.” The purpose of the series is to help the local church develop an intellectual defense of Christianity by raising up, in every community, “someone with an interest in apologetics who will make themselves available to teach apologetics in … [Read more...]
Much Undead Ado About Nothing
The debate about what it means to be human has taken an interesting direction following the recent fixation with zombies. The Walking Dead and Philosophy opened with two essays arguing that the consideration of philosophical zombies (P-Zombies) - theoretical beings identical to humans but lacking consciousness, qualia, or sentience - mitigates against a purely materialistic … [Read more...]
How Do You Solve A Problem Like A Zombie?
Even before "The Walking Dead" and "Jersey Shore" became popular, the world had been introduced to the notion of philosophical zombies, theoretical creatures identical to human beings with one tiny distinction - they have no consciousness, qualia, or sentience. Imagine a twin who is identical to you in every possible material way but lacks any type of inner subjective … [Read more...]
Arguments from Desire
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: C.S. Lewis popularized the argument that people have desires for real things (desire for money, desire for power over something, etc.). People have, at least unconsciously, a desire for God and heaven. Therefore, God … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God: Fine-Tuning
I was comfortable as an atheist. I could do anything I wanted to do (or could get away with) and laugh at the masses of people stuck in the merry-go-round of belief in a "higher power." I laughed at them privately, with friends, and publicly on my radio talk show. So, it came as quite a surprise when I heard that science might support creation of the heavens and the earth by … [Read more...]
The Kalam Cosmological Argument
One of the most frequently cited and debated arguments for the existence of God is the Kalam Cosmological Argument. I have not written on the argument before because there is simply so much good material on it out there that I don't think I can add anything new. I have, however, run into numerous people with questions on the argument recently, and felt the need to finally get … [Read more...]
Poll: What grounds objective moral truth?
Choose one option from this poll: What grounds objective moral truth (think “human rights”)? The good is a construct of God, man or nature. God wills the good in accordance with his loving nature. Nothing, there are only constructs which do not obligate. Or, in other words: The good is a construct of God, man or nature—the good is created (made up). God wills the … [Read more...]