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TechnoratiPOST PUBLISHED INSeptember, 2011
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Should you marry your theology to the latest science?
September 30th, 201112:49 PM ETI've been slowly reading through Michael Shermer's How We Believe in my spare time. It is a pleasant enough read, but has many noticeable weaknesses. Perhaps the biggest weakness is that Shermer is an advocate of the separation or two worlds model of theology and science (what Stephen Jay Gould called the "NOMA" or non-overlapping magisteria approa... -
Is the church supposed to be “a place for you”?
September 29th, 201112:09 PM ETIn the late 1970s a young preacher named Rick Warren started going door to door asking people why they didn't attend church. He then took that data and used it as a basis to start his church. And the rest, as they say, is history. I'm sure you could learn a lot of value from an exercise like that. "The greeter didn't look at me when he shook my ha... -
Ouranophobia and its treatment
September 28th, 201106:27 PM ETThe world is full of bizarre phobias. One of the strangest is arachibutyrophobia, the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth. (If you're that scared then why are you eating a Reese Peanut butter cup to begin with?!) As a theologian, my pick for the weirdest phobia (at least on the surface) is ouranophobia, the fear of heaven. How... -
Al Mohler says the devil is in the details. Ironically enough, he’s right.
September 22nd, 201104:26 PM ETImagine a defense attorney that is trying to defend his client's innocence against the charge of murder. To his initial delight the defense attorney comes across an eyewitness who is emphatic that the attorney's client did not commit the murder. The reason? The eyewitness says he saw another man commit the crime. Do you think the attorney would be ... -
The unconscionable act of executing Troy Davis
September 22nd, 201104:24 PM ETThe Supreme Court rejected the final appeal for clemency on behalf of Troy Davis. This despite the surprisingly weak eye witness testimony (much of which has since been retracted) which initially convicted him. This past year the United States criminal justice system executed 46 people, almost twice the number that was executed in Saudi Arabia. (Wh... -
How should we interpret the religious skepticism of elite scientists?
September 19th, 201105:43 PM ETThere have been many surveys of the religious belief (or lack thereof) of scientists. While certain factors vary, the overall pattern is strikingly consistent: scientists on the whole are less likely to be religious than the general population. And elite scientists (e.g. members of the NAS or Royal Society; nobel laureates, etc.) are less likely to... -
Is it moral to divorce a spouse with Alzheimer’s Disease?
September 17th, 201108:32 AM ETIf you would have told me yesterday that I would find myself in sympathy with a controversial ethical position taken by Pat Robertson I wouldn't have believed you. But here we are. Christian Post blogger Olabode Ososami's article "Divorce and Pat Robertson's Alzheimer's Gaffe" has changed all that. In an interesting article Ososami points out that ... -
Does God answer prayers for parking spaces at the Pottery Barn?
September 16th, 201104:24 PM ETRight now a prayer is being offered up by a desperate mother somewhere at a camp in Somalia. Her severely malnourished child is suffering from severe diarrhea and vomiting. She has been told by one of the men that these are signs of cholera. Her child is dying in her arms and she can do nothing. Her prayer is desperate and anguished. If God hears ... -
Is doubt good? Is skepticism a virtue?
September 14th, 201103:33 PM ETWhile reading through Michael Shermer's enjoyable book How We Believe: Science, Skepticism and the Search for God (New York: Henry Holt, 2000) I came across the following passage: "Doubt is good. Questioning belief is healthy. Skepticism is okay. It is more than okay, in fact. Skepticism is a virtue and science is a valuable tool that makes s... -
The End of Christianity? A Skeptical Review (Part 12)
September 13th, 201101:20 PM ETI was not very kind to David Eller's first contribution to The End of Christianity. I shall continue my curmudgeonly ways as I review his second contribution, an essay titled "Is Religion Compatible with Science?" I shall begin my complaints with the topic. Why "religion"? Why not focus on Christianity and argue for the incompatibility of Christia... -
Why “God hated Esau” is of no use to the Calvinist
September 11th, 201107:42 PM ETPete asked what a person who believes God is omnibenevolent does with "God hated Esau" (Malachi 1:3; Romans 9:13). There are a number of complexities in these passages. To begin with, there is the fact that the specific individuals Jacob and Esau serve as symbols representing people groups (Israel and Edom, or more broadly, insider and outsider). ... -
The End of Christianity? A Skeptical Review (Part 11)
September 09th, 201107:06 PM ETHell. It had to come up sooner or later. And it takes center stage in Keith Parson's contribution to The End of Christianity, chapter 10, "Hell: Christianity's Most Damnable Doctrine". I took away one important lesson from this chapter: Keith Parsons doesn't like Dick Cheney or Sarah Palin. In fact, I thought these were the two best lines in the e... -
The End of Christianity? A Skeptical Review (Part 10)
September 08th, 201108:41 PM ETChapter 9 of The End of Christianity brings us to Robert M. Price's essay "Explaining the Resurrection without Recourse to Miracle". In this chapter Price argues that "recourse to miracle is completely superfluous..." (219) as a means to explain the "resurrection data". To prove his point, Price dusts off three long forgotten theories that see... -
On putting Matt McCormick’s argument to rest
September 07th, 201103:15 PM ETLet me summarize my arguments against Matt McCormick's argument to this point. I will then quote his most recent full response and offer a final comment that engages his Salem argument. So first off, where we've come so far. As I noted, the central issue was the issue of rational belief. In particular, is it possible for a Christian to believe rat... -
From Jerusalem to Salem: A Conversation with Matt McCormick
September 06th, 201111:05 AM ETAfter being ignored by all the essayists of The End of Christianity for so long it's nice finally to get a little attention. And now Matt McCormick has responded to my critique ... promptly ... on a holiday (Labor Day) ... courteously ... with arguments. Looks like I hit the jackpot. Thanks for joining us Matt! Now down to business. Matt has not ... -
The End of Christianity? A Skeptical Review (Part 9)
September 05th, 201112:35 PM ETAfter a couple weeks hiatus I find myself picking up my review of The End of Christianity once again. Although I have published about fifteen posts in critique of The End of Christianity over the last couple months, I have not received a single response from the essayists. Well okay, there was one response: John W. Loftus summarily dismissed e... -
Drag me to cinematic hell: A Review of “Don’t be afraid of the Dark”
September 03rd, 201111:17 AM ETWhat was Gulliermo Del Toro thinking? The director who gave us "Devil's Backbone" and "Pan's Labyrinth" came up with this? (Del Toro is writer and producer while Troy Nixey directed.) The film has received some positive reviews from a few critics, most notably from Roger Ebert. Pay no attention to that. Pay attention to the C- grade from Cinemascor... -
The Wedge Strategy of Fiat USA and other nefarious intelligent designs
September 02nd, 201105:17 PM ETIn this post I want to respond to two different issues, both relating to ID. The first one is brought up by clamat in response to my critique of Expelled. Clamat writes: "Did the Discovery Institute renounce the Wedge Document and I didn't hear about it? Just because the basic claim of ID can be articulated neutrally doesn't change the fact that ...
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An exploration of faith, knowledge, reason and doubt (with the occasional trite pop culture reference thrown in for good measure).
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