Philosophy

¿Es el molinismo verdaderamente compatible con la idea de personas en otros mundos posibles? ¿Realmente puede ser posible que haya una verdad contrafáctica sobre mí tal como "Si hubiera nacido en el siglo 18, me hubiera puesto del lado de los colonos americanos contra los británicos"? Así que, aquí, depende mucho la teoría de la identidad personal de uno, así como lo que cuenta para discernir verdades modales. Yo personalmente sostengo al menos un resumen básico de la teoría

¿Soy responsable por mis creencias o acaso algo más me las impone? ¿Qué crees? ¿Cómo sabes que esas creencias que sostienes son buenas (sin mencionar si son verdaderas)? Hoy en día muchos filósofos, científicos y teólogos rechazan la idea de que los seres humanos puedan tomar decisiones genuinas. Creo libremente que están equivocados, ya que parece como si poseyéramos el libre albedrío y pudiéramos tomar decisiones reales (al menos ocasionalmente). Además, como he demostrado

Recientemente me he dado cuenta de un video en Internet que está haciendo su camino alrededor del campus de la universidad local. Varios estudiantes universitarios me dijeron que después de ver el video, realmente les hizo cuestionar su fe. Ahora, esto podría sorprenderte, pero estoy a favor en cuestionar la fe de alguien (animo a los ateos a hacer lo mismo), pero si hay que cuestionar lo que creen, ¡debería ser por razones lógicas y buenas! En mi experiencia, usualmente son

I used to be a 5-point Calvinist! Not only did I hold to each petal of the TULIP , I also rejected the idea that humanity possessed libertarian freedom in any form or fashion. I held to the position that not only did God causally determine salvation and damnation, but also that God causally determined everything. If one chose to drink Coke instead of Pepsi or if one chose to eat at McDonalds instead of Burger King: God caused all things to happen exactly as they happen. More

A Facebook friend of mine and I have had a respectful debate regarding Molinism and Calvinism over the past few days. Sean Luke is a committed Calvinist as I used to be for over a decade . I freely chose to leave the Calvinist camp several years ago for several reasons (or God causally determined me to stop being a Calvinist). Sean reminds me of myself back in those days. I argued against Molinism in a similar manner before freely choosing to abandon the Calvinist conclave. I

It looks like CARM is discussing Molinism again . From the first sentence, we find ambiguities that may affect the ability of a person to dissect the claims. Nonetheless, I will stipulate what I reasonably believe CARM to mean so we can move on (from here on out, I will refer to Matt Slick, since he is the one who wrote the article). First, he starts out with “Molinism fails as a philosophical position.” What does this mean? Does it mean that Molinism fails to be a philosophi

As a Christian father with young children, I’m always looking for resources to help me prepare my little ones for a post-Christian culture. Our society is filled with unbiblical - and even anti-Christian - ideas, and the thought of raising a child in such an environment is very daunting. That’s why I am thankful for by John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle . This insightful book is a must-read for parents, pastors, or anyone who desires to prepare the next generation to navigat

In another article found on FreeThinkingMinistries.com , Tim Stratton has argued why "Calvinism is Impossible."  By "impossible" Stratton means logically impossible when held alongside other essential Christian doctrines. I would like to continue in that line of thought and examine a common Calvinistic proof text. Consider Ephesians 1:4 (KJV): According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love

Over the last few years a storm has been brewing. This storm that rumbles throughout public forums of debate, social media, gymnasiums, church parking lots, school lunchrooms, and barber shops across the globe comes in the form of a question.  One question has captivated the hearts and minds of the people—Who is the Greatest of All Time? Lebron James or Michael Jordan. Indeed some of my readers are probably irate because in asking that question I didn’t put Michael Jordan’s n

PREGUNTA Estimado Tim: En tu artículo "La Omnibenevolencia de Dios" señalaste que en el punto de vista islámico, Alá es muy similar a algunas opiniones calvinistas de Dios. En relación con este punto de vista, dijiste: "Dios no es todo-amor, y cualquier cosa que Alá haga es simplemente llamado "bueno'' incluso si es aborrecible". Estoy de acuerdo contigo, pero un ateo recientemente se opuso a su declaración con lo siguiente: Esto suena como el punto de vista cristiano tambi

I recently published an article entitled, “Molinism is Biblical” the morning of June 8th. That same morning a response article was written, published, and shared on my Facebook wall by Sean Luke, a self-proclaimed Calvinist who took exception to my biblical exegesis. My article referenced several passages of scripture that seem to contradict common Calvinistic thought. Sean objected to my arguments and provided some pushback. Although I think he is missing some key aspects

How well do you know Tim Stratton , founder and president of FreeThinking Ministries ? Let me list some facts about Tim: Christian apologist who blogs at FreeThinking Ministries Enrolled in the Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics program at Biola University from 2012 - 2014 Graduated with Highest Honors on December 19, 2014 Heavily influenced by the works of Dr. William Lane Craig Has a passion for theology, philosophy, apologetics, and destroying Naturalism Predestined

Question Dear Tim, I've really enjoyed reading your articles on Molinism. I think Molinism is a great theological philosophy, but it seems to be nothing but a philosophy. I don't see how Molinism could be called a biblical view at all; where are the scriptures supporting Molinism? I simply don't see any. Because Calvinism seems to own the corner on the market regarding biblical data, I simply cannot leave my reformed tradition even if it does have some philosophical problems

Every time I turn around I find someone else denying that humans have free will . From scientists to philosophers to theologians, it’s the cool new trend. We aren’t actually making free choices. We have been programmed either by God or our DNA to act in a certain way and have no choice but to follow it. To be perfectly clear, we deny all types of determinism, whether it’s physical or divine. Free will is what puts the in Freethinking Ministries and our cornerstone is the Fre

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a world renowned astrophysicist and, in my opinion, the leading science popularizer in the world today. I greatly respect Tyson as a scientist, but he is not a good philosopher and a much worse theologian! In fact, Tyson's philosophy is that philosophy is "useless" and that it "can really mess you up." Be that as it may, Tyson seems to spend much of his time these days stepping out of his field of expertise -- science -- and stepping into philosophical

Question Dear Tim, In your article The Omnibenevolence of God you pointed out that on the Islamic view, Allah is quite similar to some Calvinistic views of God. Regarding this view, you said: “God is not all-loving, and whatever Allah does is simply called “good,” even if it is really hateful.” I agree with you, but an atheist recently objected to your statement with the following: This sounds like the Christian view point too. If God is the standard of ‘good’ then whateve

Welcome to another installment of Stuff Atheists Say , a series dedicated to combatting slogans and sayings that skeptics raise to stop conversations in their tracks. You can catch up on the previous articles here: part 1 , part 2 , part 3 , part 4 . Today’s slogan is a common skeptic phrase, made famous by the late Christopher Hitchens. And recently I was surprised - and annoyed - to hear it regurgitated in a children’s television show. It is typically raised in regard to so

Question Dear Tim, I recently ran across a blog post by an atheist who is a physics major with a philosophy minor. In response to the Kalam Cosmological Argument, he contends that God could not have created the universe. His argument proceeds as follows: 1. The word "choice" must imply a progression from a state of multiple possibilities to a state of single actuality. 2. The word "time" must imply a progression from one state to another. 3. Since a choice is one such progr

Dear Dr. Welty, Tim Stratton recently wrote an article critiquing your essay in Calvinism and the Problem of Evil . Since that time, you wrote a response to Stratton on your website and Stratton responded with a well-written counter-rebuttal to your response entitled " Gunslingers & Guilty Minds ." As a lawyer who deals with "guilty minds" on a daily basis, I would like to join the conversation. Although your response to Stratton was well written it contains a few errors

Thursday the 27th of April, I published an article responding to Greg Welty’s chapter in the book Calvinism and the problem of Evil . I specifically argued against a view of Calvinism that is wedded to exhaustive divine determinism (a view that God causally determines all things: actions, behaviors, beliefs, and thoughts) .  I was shocked — and honored — that Greg Welty himself wrote a rather long article on his website in response to me just two short days later! As Welty