Tag: philosophy of religion
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A Friendly Chat With An Atheist
Chris: Are you a believer?
Atheist: nope
an atheist
Chris: Ah.
Well it’s nice to have one of those around every now and then.
We have to get Christians from somewhere after all. 😀
So I presume you have heard the Christian Gospel?
Atheist: yup
Go to mass… et cetera 😉
Chris: I’m guessing that you’re joking. 🙂
Atheist: I am
Chris: So why are you an atheist?
Atheist: I don’t think that any spirits exist
be they gods, ghosts or anything else
Chris: That’s the definition of your position then.
Why do you hold it?
Atheist: I don’t see …
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You’re Only Christian Because…
So you’ve played a couple hands with your atheist friend by now. When he plays his 3 tens, you reveal a Full House. Suddenly, on the next hand he has a 2 of hearts, and Jack of spades, a Wild card, and a Level 57 Charizard. You pause, look at him sideways, and he grins back at you, basking in your inability to respond to his awesome play. He’s revealed, so he thinks, a deus ex machina (he seems to have lots of those). It’s a play sure to throw anybody off who isn’t prepared or knowledgeable about the game. …
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The Recent Rise of Covenantal Apologetics (3 of 10)
Covenantal apologetics have virtually no place in the academy.
It’s not that they shouldn’t have a place in the academy. It’s just that they don’t.
But why would we expect anything different? Covenantal apologetics are firmly grounded in the Christian worldview and are used to cast down every thought exemplifying its antithesis. It is not merely that non-Christians will misunderstand or reject covenantal apologetics in an intellectual sense, but rather that they will not even like them. So we should not expect to see covenantal apologetics pulling up a chair next to Naturalistic Atheism or Thomistic Christianity in the …
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Answering the Evidentialist Objection
Introduction
Oversimplification. The unbeliever, and the New Atheist in particular, thrive on it. The situation is no different when it comes to the strong demands for “evidence” in the context of apologetic debate. “Not enough evidence, God, not enough evidence” was the plea Bertrand Russell planned to use when he came face to face with God. I suspect it did not go over well.
Yet the loudest non-Christian voices among us continue to parrot Russell’s silly sentiment. It has even been given a name. The “evidentialist objection.” It is quite frequently captured in the contention that Christians should immediately provide …
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Dear Atheists: Please Get Better Objections
Joe is an atheist who takes issue with my asking another commenter about supporting evidence for his claims. When I asked the other visitor, “what’s your evidence that only evidence matters?” Joe responded, “Sir, you may not be stupid, but this phrase is nonsense. YOU use evidence to support everything.”
Apparently Joe buys into the idea that only evidence matters, that everyone uses evidence to support everything, and even that every claim must be supported with evidence. But if every claim must be supported by evidence, then the claim, “every claim must be supported with evidence” must also be supported …
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The Recent Rise of Covenantal Apologetics (2 of 10)
Douglas Wilson contends that there are, “…two tenets (of modern feminism): 1. men are jerks, and 2. women should strive by all means to become like them.” So who is this Doug Wilson? He is the witty guy who made the similar claim that, “There are two tenets of atheism: One, there is no God. Two, I hate him.” Wilson holds undergraduate degrees in Classical Studies and Philosophy and a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Idaho. He serves in Idaho as the pastor of Christ Church and is a professor at New Saint Andrews College (which he …
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Theistic Arguments and the Necessity of God
There are many different types of necessity.
Logical Necessity and the Ontological Argument
A logically necessary entity exists in every possible world. (A “possible world” is just a logically possible state of affairs.) That is, there is no logically possible state of affairs in which a logically necessary entity does not exist.
The ontological argument seeks to demonstrate, among other things, that God is a logically necessary entity. Since God is the greatest possible being, there is no logically possible state of affairs in which God does not exist. It is greater for God to exist in every possible …
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Paul Baird On His Informal Discussion With Me