Awhile back I was amused to see that the BBC had a news story entitled, No evidence of mermaids, say US government. According to the article, a broadcast on mermaids, which was a work of fiction, was mistaken as a documentary. This led to people questioning if mermaids actually existed, and the National Ocean Service stating, “No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been … [Read more...]
Are Natural Disasters a Judgment from God?
“If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is, ‘God is crying,’ And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is, ‘Probably because of something you did.’” (Jack Handy, Deep Thoughts, 1992) Whenever America recovers from yet another massive natural disaster – or “act of God,” in insurance company lingo - the inevitablequestion … [Read more...]
European Witch Hunts and the Christian Church: The Conclusion
Today's post is the third and final installment of a series, but it can be read as a stand-alone article. For more background information, you can find the first installment HERE and the second HERE. Was the Church Ultimately Responsible for the Horrors of the European Witch Hunts? There are many different theories about the root causes of the European witch hunts. Some … [Read more...]
Moral Ontology And Metaethics
The argument from morality is an argument for the existence of God which explores the metaethical basis of moral rules, in particular their ontological basis. In order to better understand the argument and whether or not it is successful it is important that theists and atheists have a clear concept of what metaethics is and the different positions that philosophers have held. … [Read more...]
Defeating Ella's Doubts
It had to happen.My one and only child, Ella is turning fourteen and despite her exposure to better Christian education, her inquiring mind raises questions that only she can deal with, by reading and seeking the Living God. The usual questions have already come up, and more besides. "How do we know that God is there?" "If God created the universe, who created God?" "How do … [Read more...]
Book Review: Chosen But Free
One of the major debates in Christianity is the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's free will. Many people interpret the two to be at odds. Each side believes that the other side will result in compromising some essential doctrine of the faith. I wish I were immune to such a debate, but I'm not. I have found myself in the middle of it; not debating for one side or … [Read more...]
Are Most Scientists Atheists?
Oftentimes atheists claim that the overwhelming majority of scientists are unbelievers and attempt to support their position by pointing to a number of polls that query the religious temperature of scientists, which have been conducted over the past decade or so. By offering such data, atheists try and argue that immersion in science dispels the supposed superstitious and … [Read more...]
Atheism and Death
A blog called Just Atheists was written by a group of atheists who tried to explore ethics and justice in the absence of a Creator who grants us those things. One author named Brian J. Sabel wrote a post in March 2008 that explored death and why he believed that a nonreligious view of death was superior to the religious one. Unfortunately, the original article is long gone. … [Read more...]
Mahayana Buddhism – A Short Introduction and Analysis
Mahayana means greater vehicle, as compared to other schools of thought which were considered lesser vehicle. Mahayana is the dominant school of Buddhism in the world today. The form of Buddhism found in countries such as China, Tibet, Japan and Korea is Mahayana. The now popular Zen Buddhism of Japan and the Vajrayana of the Dalai Lama are Mahayana Schools of thought. … [Read more...]
A Presentation of the Ontological Argument
Over recent months I have given special attention to the ontological argument for the existence of God [1], drawing upon a framework first purposed by St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109). In this post, I hope to deal with Anselm’s argument in an explanatory manner as well as deal with in some length on the nature of modal logic and its application to this argument. Robert … [Read more...]