Post tagged with proper basicality

  • From Jerusalem to Salem: A Conversation with Matt McCormick

    September 06th, 201111:05 AM ET
    By Randal Rauser
    After 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 ...

  • Assorted Replies to the Faith, Reason, and Believing the Bible is the Word of God Discussion

    July 02nd, 201011:04 AM ET
    By Randal Rauser
    Tentative Apologist: "I have just completed a two day jaunt in the mountains and am now deep in the wilds of southern British Columbia (the westernmost Canadian province). Hence, the radio silence for the last couple days. I offer here scattered replies to the discussion in The Tentative Apologist Reader on Faith and Reason. I will catch up with ot...

  • “God Exists” ... still properly basic after all these years

    December 31st, 200902:14 PM ET
    By Randal Rauser
    In my last post I pointed out that certain claims do not require evidence. Rather, their denials do. Such is the case with (1) There are minds other than my own.(2) An external world exists. The solipsist who denies (1) owes us an argument as does the idealist or antirealist who denies (2). But then I pointed us to (3) God exists. Is it at least ...

  • How to crack a nut: arguments against rationality in religion

    September 16th, 200904:52 PM ET
    By Randal Rauser
    In my last epistemology post, "What does it mean to say religious beliefs are properly basic?", I proposed that religions beliefs could be properly basic in a way parallel to sense perception beliefs. (Not all religious beliefs would be of this kind mind you, but at least some could be.) This issue is a pivotal one since it is widely assumed by cr...

  • What does it mean to say religious beliefs are properly basic?

    September 11th, 200909:48 AM ET
    By Randal Rauser
    In "Why 'Religious people are just nuts' is easier said than defended" I recounted a conversation with my good friend AnAtheist.Net who can be found online at, uh, AnAtheist.Net. On his website, in the "About" section, he writes "Faith is not a virtue but a failure in applying critical thinking." Sigh. I dealt with this old canard awhile ago by dem...
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An exploration of faith, knowledge, reason and doubt (with the occasional trite pop culture reference thrown in for good measure).