I am currently reading the book “True Reason” by Tom Gilson and others (the book's official website can be found here). This isn’t a traditional apologetics book per se. Rather, it is a collection of essays by authors responding to the new atheists’ cooption of the term “reason” to describe their worldview. The contributors are not so much concerned with making an affirmative … [Read more...]
Philosophy in the Abortion Issue, Part III
Now we’ve seen what goes into an argument, and how to possibly respond to an argument. We’ve also seen some arguments that commit logical fallacies, which is simply an error in reasoning. Now we’ll look at some arguments that are simply bad arguments, from both sides of the abortion fence. … [Read more...]
The Issue at the Heart of the Abortion Debate
I'm going to make what may initially seem to be contentious statements, so read the post to contextualize: If the unborn is not a person, then abortion is morally permissible, and it doesn't matter what you do with the unborn. If the unborn is a person, then abortion is morally impermissible, and the unborn must be protected. … [Read more...]
Philosophy in the Abortion Issue, Part II
Now that we’ve learned what goes into making an argument, let’s talk about how to respond to an argument. First, a bit about why philosophy is necessary. … [Read more...]
Philosophy in the Abortion Issue, Part I
Science can be a wonderful tool in the pro-life advocate’s arsenal. However, science can’t dictate morality, it can only inform morality. Science can tell us that something we are harming or killing is human; science can’t tell us that it’s wrong to kill that human. So while we can demonstrate scientifically that the unborn are living human organisms from fertilization, we must … [Read more...]
Should Apologetics Play A Role In Electing A President?
The first presidential campaign I covered as a journalist was Nixon vs. Humphrey in 1968. I was an atheist, so the candidates' religious viewpoints didn't matter much to me. I didn't care that Richard Nixon was a Quaker or that Hubert Humphrey was a Congregationalist. I didn't believe in God, so what they believed about an imaginary being didn't register as having any … [Read more...]
Fetal "Personhood", Abortion, and Allowing Exceptions for Rape and Incest
On October 26, 2012, a post appeared on a blog titled “The Dead Author’s Club” by “Christine” (her last name does not appear on the post) titled “Fetal personhood and criminalizing abortion: a prosecutor’s perspective.” The blog had nothing to do with dead authors, and to Christine’s credit she explained this from the outset. Instead, she wanted to express her thoughts about … [Read more...]
Does the Bible Justify Abortion?
To be clear, abortion is not a religious issue. I have written several posts against abortion using science and philosophy. But you’ll occasionally find someone who uses the Bible to justify abortion. You’ll even encounter Atheists who try to use the Bible to justify abortion if they know a Christian is arguing against it. You just want to stare back and them and ask, “Why are … [Read more...]
Why I am Pro-Life
Posted with the gracious permission of Sarah Ankenman, president of International Society for Women in Apologetics. Many people assume that I am only pro-life because I am conservative and usually vote Republican. Or that my religious upbringing and personal beliefs tell me I am supposed to be. While both those things are true, I have other reasons for being pro-life (six to … [Read more...]
Is Abortion Justifiable in the Hard Cases? Part III
One of the most tragic things in life is when a woman or a child dies during pregnancy or childbirth. Thankfully, technology has advanced to the point where the death rate from a pregnancy-related complication is extremely low. Less than 1% of pregnant women die from a pregnancy-related complication or in childbirth. [1] … [Read more...]