(pt.1 of 4) Does Truth exist? Even if it does, can we know it? Are we in the dark like Kant said that we are? Should we be absolutely skeptical as Hume told us we should be? This is Lesson #3 of our "Reason To Believe" Video Apologetics Class. Here we will begin to discuss the all important question of truth, and whether it can be known at all. We will be examining the claims … [Read more...]
If Atheists Exist, God Does Not?
The following is an interesting argument presented to me by a friend. The originator of the argument is unknown to me at this time, but seems to be an acquaintance or friend of a friend of a friend. In any case, it is interesting, and I evaluate it below. D1: God is defined as omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent D2: Revelation is Gods disclosure of Himself to His … [Read more...]
Book Review: Jesus and Muhammad
When I initially stumbled across Jesus and Muhammad by Mark A. Gabriel I was both curious and skeptical. I was curious to see how Gabriel would handle discussing these two men who represent the world’s largest religions; and I was skeptical, wondering if he would portray them accurately and with fairness. As I read, my curiosity was more than satisfied and my skepticism was … [Read more...]
Absurd Heroism: Camus and the Real Walking Dead
“Most of us would rather die than live a life where nothing is fundamentally valuable at all, right?” So begins Rachel Robinson-Greene’s depressing foray into a post-zombie world in an article entitled “Better Off Undead." I have been blogging my way through The Walking Dead and Philosophy, a fascinating book that has so far addressed issues involving logic (zombies like the … [Read more...]
European Witch Hunts and the Christian Church Part 2
This post is part 2 of 3. Part 1 can be read here. The Realities of the Witch Hunts The period of European witch hunts is generally defined as the four centuries between 1400 and 1800. Perhaps in part because of the intriguing, sensational nature of the subject, witch hunts have been blown well out of proportion in terms of their prevalence and victim estimations. According … [Read more...]
Cosmic Beginning And Grousing Of Religious Atheists
The first article of faith in Michael Palmer’s “The Atheist’s Creed” is that he believes, echoing Carl Sagan, that “the cosmos is all that is or ever was and ever will be.” (Palmer 2012:5) “The fact of the matter is that the most reasonable belief is that we came from nothing, by nothing and for nothing” (Smith 1993: 135), so we are told by Quentin Smith. Was Bertrand Russell … [Read more...]
Emergent Christianity in Memphis, Part 2
Emergents are Tolerant, Uncertain, and Relativistic, Except When They are Not In Part 1, I introduced a gathering of Emergent Christians in Memphis to honor Phyllis Tickle, Memphis' resident Emergent, and the forerunner in Emergent thinking. While the first post focused on Tickle's opening talk, and the claims she made in it, this post will focus on her controversial closing … [Read more...]
What is True Christianity(tm)? (part 2)
In my last post, I said that we should bow to the weaker brother and let him have his ritual. If he thinks that we must be baptized by triune immersion in a lake, then let him get baptized that way. If he thinks all Christians should abstain from alcohol, then don’t crack open an ice-cold Corona with a lime wedge in front of him. In the non-essentials of faith, let the … [Read more...]
The Hunger Games: Revisited
Last monthI posted a critique of the movie The Hunger Games. It came to my attention that Fred Edwords posted a short piece at the American Humanist Association's website addressing the general evangelical response to the movie. He linked to my original article and broadly addressed my comparison of the society of The Capital to where today's societies are leading. Mr. Edwords … [Read more...]
The Unembodied Person Objection Answered
One of the objections I've run across in speaking with atheists is the idea that God cannot exist because he's an unembodied mind. All of our experience dictates that persons cannot exist apart from bodies; if the God of traditional theism exists, he is both personal and an unembodied mind; hence, God cannot exist. So any arguments made from natural theology -- the moral … [Read more...]