Apologetics

Introduction In this article, I argue that when considering the existence of God, it is unreasonable to bracket background evidence in the manner described below. First, this move is methodologically insufficient. Second, it is conceptually questionable. The Argument from Gratuitous Evil and the Bracketing Method The argument from gratuitous evil is usually articulated as a version of the probabilistic argument from evil against the existence of God. The argument can be a

Recently Tim Stratton wrote a response to the following question: "On the framework of Molinism, if there are multiple “logical moments” (not to be confused with chronological moments) prior to God’s creative decree, then would this not imply that God knows and does not know a truth simultaneously? If so, is this not a contradiction nullifying the entire idea of middle knowledge and Molinism?" Tim's response is good and worth reading ( click here ). Although I agree with eve

I’m no professional apologist by any means, but I’ve been around the scene long enough to have witnessed plenty of apologetics presentations. I’ve also seen many of the same mistakes being made by new apologists. Here are 4 critical tips to avoid common rookie mistakes: 1) Beware the curse of knowledge Too many new apologists rush into presentations without realizing that their listeners have probably never heard of cosmological constants or Hilbert’s Hotel. When crafting

It is commonly held that Anselm’s argument in Chapter 2 of Proslogium is not a modally-significant argument, but that his argument in Chapter 3 possesses such significance. For example, in the first paragraph of Anselm's Neglected Argument , Brian Leftow refers to the argument in Chapter 2 as “non-modal” and to the argument in Chapter 3 as “a modal argument some find.” In this article, I submit that the argument in Chapter 2 is modally-significant. In short, I attempt to sh

Introduction In this article, I will briefly argue for the following theses: (a) it is not clear that Anselm’s ontological argument in Chapter Two of Proslogium presupposes that existence is a property, and (b) Anselm’s argument presupposes that objectivity and subjectivity are properties. Argument It is commonly held that, in Chapter Two of Proslogium , Anselm assumed that existence is a property (hereafter, the Property Assumption or PA) and that, since the PA is false,

“More than that: you say that then science itself will teach man (though this, to my mind, is already a luxury) that he really does not possess, and never did possess, either a will or a whim of his own; that he is, in fact, no more than a kind of piano key or organ stop; and that, besides, there is such a thing in the world as the laws of nature; so that everything that is done by man isn’t in the least a matter of his own will, but happens itself, according to these laws. C

Introduction The kalam cosmological argument is both historically and currently significant. William Lane Craig, the leading contemporary advocate of the argument, has dubbed it the kalam argument in recognition of its origin in the work of Medieval Muslim philosophers such as al-Ghazali. The argument continues to interest philosophers and theologians. Its structure is simple: Whatever begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Therefore, the universe has a

I closed Note One by calling Underground Man “grouchy.” That is an understatement. The man admits to being spiteful. He hates his neighbors, practices cruelty, and delights in the misfortune of others. He even claims to take pleasure in his own pain and bitterness, some of which is self-induced. For example: “I reached a point where, trudging back to my corner on some foul Petersburg night, I would feel a certain hidden, morbid, nasty little pleasure in the acute awareness

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." (Ecclesiastes 1:2)   In Part 1 of Notes from Underground , Dostoyevsky’s Underground Man claims that consciousness is a disease. In a loose sense, given certain assumptions, Underground Man makes a significant point. In a strict sense, however, he is wrong. Let me explain. First, we need some background. Dostoyevsky was a 19 th Century Russian novelist and philosopher. He is w

The problem of evil (pain or suffering) is probably the number one argument against the existence of God. While it is definitely not a problem that can be answered quickly and simply, I’d like to offer 18 short, rapid-fire responses that can be used to begin deeper discussions about why God allows evil: 1) Free will - Freedom is a great good that God has granted us. But God can’t give us free will and then forbid us from using it. He can’t give us commands and force us to ob

Suppose you awoke tomorrow in a state of affairs in which suffering had ceased. Not only are you no longer experiencing suffering of any kind, but you became aware that all suffering had come to an end. There was no more suffering resulting from moral or natural evil -- and even gratuitous animal suffering was nothing but a memory. Is there any reason to think that it would stay that way? In order to answer this question, take a short quiz: Question #1: Would you take this

Regarding my Ring of Truth blog: Andy said, //You've not shown that Christianity being true would make objectively wrong, bad or evil.// I did write the following (you must have missed it): "Is atheism any better? Not really. According to logically consistent atheism, since God does not exist, then humanity was not created on purpose or for a specific purpose — we are nothing but a “happy accident” — nothing more than dust in the wind. If this is true, then it follows th

What religion or worldview possesses the "Ring of Truth?" It is definitely not Islam or atheism! To be sure, this is not a deductive argument like the Kalam, Freethinking, or Ontological Arguments. I am simply encouraging readers to pay attention to their intuition. Although we cannot always trust our intuition, I contend that it is a great place to start when searching for truth. Moreover, when one's intuition is supported by a cumulative case of data, there is good reason

While as an undergrad at Salt Lake Community College in 1991, I gave a presentation in front of my humanities 101 class arguing Jesus Christ is the messiah, citing evidence for his resurrection. My professor literally cut me off during my presentation and told me it was over, that I couldn’t proceed. He later informed me that I was no longer welcome in the course because of proselytizing. Here’s the backstory. My professor had been teaching on myth for about six weeks, list

So Batman is an atheist. Or at least that’s what the headlines said in August 2018. I finally read the issue in question, Batman #53, which is part of the story arc “Cold Days” ( slight spoilers ahead ). In the story, Bruce Wayne, Batman’s alter ego, is serving on a jury. He sees a fellow juror wearing a cross and recalls his Christian upbringing, how he used to believe in God. But when his parents were murdered when he was a child, his whole world came crashing down, his fa

C. Michael Patton, in a recent blog , claimed to do some "math" and concluded that there are five great mysteries in Christian theology. While I am fine with an occasional appeal to mystery regarding a few topics, Christians often punt to mystery far too quickly. If we "punt to mystery" too quickly, we can sometimes give the impression that Christianity is nonsensical. For example, imagine a football team only gaining a total of seven yards after the second down -- three ya

Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!! Spoiler Alert!!! Seriously, if you have not yet seen the movie Avengers: Endgame , stop reading this and go to the movie theater and buy a ticket! Then come back and read this article. Consider yourself warned! One year ago, immediately after watching Avengers: Infinity War on opening night, I came home and started writing an article assessing one of the best movies I had ever seen (See Avengers: Infinity War & Possible Worlds ). I also mad

Last week I reviewed So the Next Generation Will Know by Sean McDowell and J. Warner Wallace . Now I have an interview with Sean giving some additional insight about the book. Enjoy! What were your motivations for writing So the Next Generation Will Know ? My three kids: Scottie, Shauna, and Shane. I wrote this book largely to research and think deeply about how to pass on my faith to my own kids. My hope is that it will both encourage and offer some practical steps for o

You’ve probably seen the statistics and heard the concerns. Young people are leaving the church in greater numbers than ever. While the youth of every generation share many common characteristics, this generation - dubbed - faces new and unique challenges thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones and easy access to the Internet. Young Christians are constantly bombarded with differing ideas and worldviews, all that are competing with the faith of their parents. It’s easy to giv

Recently, Peter Atterton, a professor of philosophy at San Diego State University, published an article in The New York Times entitled " A God Problem : Perfect. All-powerful. All-knowing. The idea of the deity most Westerners accept is actually not coherent. " Given the title, I was excited to read what this philosopher was sharing with the masses since this issue is one of the main foci in my PhD dissertation. After reading it, however, my excitement transformed into sever