Apologetics

In this discussion I return to Scholar GPT to ask it to perform a Bayesian calculation of the probability of God. I decided to include a few additional lines of scientific evidence for God that I did not include during my discussion with Academic Perplexity. I’m not certain Scholar GPT grasped the significance of the birth of the Universe from the initial conditions of “no spacetime” as Academic Perplexity did. For space reasons, I did not argue every point I might have. Stil

In this discussion I ask Perplexity AI about the scientific evidence for God and ask it to perform a Bayesian calculation of the probability of God based on two lines of evidence. Of course, there are many other lines of evidence but Perplexity seemed to grasp the persuasiveness of the argument so I limited the calculation to two lines of evidence. Perplexity calculates the probability of God at 99.9999%. Me : In my view, the scientific evidence for God is much like the scie

Perplexity AI is a popular Large Language Model (LLM). It has both a free version and a paid Pro version. For this discussion, I used the free version in Academic mode. Academic Perplexity is very similar to Scholar GPT, which is Chat GPT's academic mode. The knowledge base is trained strictly on academic literature, not from sources on the web. Some researchers prefer Perplexity AI in the Academic mode over Scholar GPT because Perplexity will cite the exact papers it is ref

ChatGPT is a popular artificial intelligence or Large Language Model (LLM). GPT stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer. It is a remarkable technology. In fact, ChatGPT has been credited as a co-author of a number of peer reviewed science papers. When in the Scholar mode, it is called Scholar GPT.   Scholar GPT has been pre-trained on a large number of science papers in a variety of fields. Large Language Models are not perfect. In some cases, they misunderstand the qu

I recently posted the Nuremberg Argument on the FreeThinking Ministries Facebook page: 1- If the Nazis were properly convicted at Nuremberg, then God exists. 2- The Nazis were properly convicted at Nuremberg. 3- Therefore, God exists. I also shared this short video. The Nuremberg argument I shared is sound because proper convictions are based upon truth. If Chief Justice Jackson’s case – which was sufficient to convict the Nazis – was based upon false premises, then the Nazis

Why can't there be multiple necessary beings? There is a good a reason why no professional philosophers make this objection to ontological arguments (I’ll add the caveat that it’s possible that there is one somewhere who has made this objection, but I’ve studied this argument and its objections for years, so I should have found it if anyone has). Basically a maximally great being (MGB) is what a valid ontological argument needs to work and by definition a MGB is one thing an

Question: After watching your debate with Alex Malpass on Unbelievable? , I have a question regarding the following argument you offered: If naturalistic determinism is true, then human beings lack libertarian freedom. If human beings lack libertarian freedom, then their rational processes are unreliable to attain truth about metaphysical matters. Human beings’ rational processes are reliable to attain truth about metaphysical matters. Therefore, human beings have libertaria

Question Tim, thank you for the clarification Questions="><em>Questions" About="About" Divine="Divine" Hiddenness ="Hiddenness</em></a>"> . I want to register a worry I have about the first example given in your paper. Admittedly, you note that the second example is more persuasive than the first but maintain that both are sufficient to show that Schellenberg's argument cannot survive molinism. I want to specifically challenge that second claim. Consider the following two CC

Question: Hey, Tim. I recently read your paper against the hiddenness argument and I had an interpretation question. The first scenario you describe how “After coming to believe in God, a person may rebel against God and, in turn, damage the faith of other believers.” For me it wasn’t clear what you meant by faith. When you say ‘damage the faith’, do you mean damage the theistic belief of others or do you mean damage the relationship that others have with God? Or, possibly

Question Dear Dr. Stratton, I was watching a debate review where Taylor Cyr was talking about a revised Epicurean argument against determinism (pretty close to some of your Free-Thinking Arguments). While I don't think he raised any good objections (he didn't spend much time on it), his mention of it made me think of a possible objection to the support you use in your argument. I'm eager to get feedback on this, it probably comes down to a misunderstanding on my behalf. You s

"Why are we obligated to follow God's commands?" To respond by saying, "we are obligated to follow God's commands because God has commanded that we ought to follow His commands" is circular and does not work. It seems to me that the best way to answer this question is by noting that God's commands correspond perfectly with ultimate reality. Adam Lloyd Johnson, in his book Divine Love Theory , has noted that ultimate reality is the triune nature of God which *IS* love (1 John

Challenge For those who like the moral argument, here are my five challenges (framed as questions) for you. 1. Why think that moral realism is true? 2. Why think that moral facts/obligations need an explanation? 3. Why think that God would be able to explain the existence of moral facts/obligations? 4. What about non-theistic accounts of morality? 5. Can you show that theism surpasses all non-theistic accounts of morality as an explanation for morality? I expect that yo

The following is a recent conversation I had with a Calvinist. I enjoyed it because it was not emotionally charged even though he was asking questions in an effort to refute my arguments against Calvinistic determinism. His questions were thoughtful and allowed for clarification from which all can benefit. Please enjoy the following exchange (for clarity, the Calvinist's words are in blue. My words are in black): Calvinist : Dr. Stratton, you have said this many times, but h

Is slavery good?  Absolutely not! The first book of the Bible makes it clear that being sold into slavery against one's will is the epitome of evil. Scripture also shows how this specific evil (as well as all evil, suffering, and affliction) will ultimately be used by God for good. In Genesis, chapters 37 through 50 , the Bible recounts the story of Joseph being sold into slavery. Joseph was a favored son among his brothers and faced betrayal when they sold him into slavery o

One of my favorite arguments for the existence of God is known as the Moral Argument (made famous by William Lane Craig). I believe that it is sound and forceful. The deductive syllogism is typically stated as follows: If God does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not exist. Objective moral values and duties do exist. Therefore, God exists. Click here to watch a short video of how William Lane Craig defends the premises of this argument. Click here to wat

Scott Clifton is a Hollywood actor who has gained fame as a soap opera star ( One Life to Live, General Hospital, and The Bold and the Beautiful ). He has also gained the respect of both sides of the aisle in the "God vs. atheism" debate. Clifton is an ardent, but philosophically inclined atheist who goes by the moniker "Theoretical BS" (TBS). He recently tweeted out an argument against Christianity that left the Church scrambling. Indeed, many Christians did not know how to

The Four Horsemen of atheism stormed the cultural, philosophical, and spiritual scene in the early 21 st Century. Their dogmatic atheistic positions (or even anti-theist depending on who you talked to) were immediately popularized.  The late Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris comprised the crew.  They rode their vitriol for religious thought smack into the mainstream, seeking, for what felt like the first time, to proselytize religious folk

If God is so good, why did he command the Israelites to utterly destroy everyone and everything in the Old Testament? Is God a moral monster? Particularly in the conquest of the land of Canaan?  God calls for the complete and utter destruction of men, women, and children (as well as animals) multiple times .  How could a moral God do this?  Is that not genocidal malevolence? Would we not condemn a national leader today if they said “God told me to do murder thousands of c

It is Holy Week. Shouts of Hosanna and praise on Sunday transformed to screams of anguish and hate on Friday and culminated in gasps of unbelievable joy the next Sunday morning. In many ways, the sudden transition from praise to condemnation is still unfathomable today.  That is, until we realize that the people praising Jesus on Palm Sunday thought that he was someone, or something, that he was not.  This stunning reversal plays itself out time and time again on the world s

Apologetics, when done with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15), is beneficial in evangelism as we see the Holy Spirit use it time and time again in the Scriptures through Paul’s “reasoning” and “persuading” to draw souls to the Lord.  However, in this article, I will show how apologetics in the local church has other benefits: equipping the saints and preventing apostasy.  Of course our entire Christian walk should be dedicated toward evangelism; that is a given.  But, not