At the close of his 1967 book “God and Other Minds”, Alvin Plantinga argues that if theistic belief is to be dismissed as “irrational”, or in some sense “epistemically sub-par” on the basis that it lacks a rationally compelling argument, then likewise we should also reject belief in other minds, since the best argument for […]
Entries from May 30th, 2011
In Defense of Reasonable Disagreement
May 30th, 2011 39 Comments
Tags: Alvin Plantinga · Analogical argument · Disagreement · God and Other Minds · Rationality · Reformed Epistemology · Religious Epistemology · Richard Feldman · Theism · Theists
Auckland Bloggers Drinks – This Thursday
May 29th, 2011 2 Comments
The first Thursday of the month means Bloggers Drinks! The event for bloggers, blog trolls, blog groupies (bloupies) and blog readers who happen to be in Auckland. Past blogging celebrities in attendance include bloggers and blog readers from: 21st Century Renaissance, And All These Things, Annie Fox, As Yourself Hermitage, Barnsley Bill, Beretta, Blondie, Bowalley Road, The Fairfacts […]
Tags: Bloggers Drinks · Galbraiths
Pacifism, the Bible and the Sin of Selfishness
May 27th, 2011 20 Comments
‘If someone wants something from us and we do not want to give it to them that is the sin of selfishness and the Bible condemns selfishness.’ This was one of the three points a Christian pacifist speaker made in defending his stance at the panel discussion on War Ethics that Matt mentioned in Pacifism and The […]
Tags: Pacifism · Role of the State · War Ethics
Pacifism and The Golden Rule
May 26th, 2011 11 Comments
Last night I was part of a discussion panel looking at the Ethics of War; I defended classical just war theory. Speaking in defence of pacifism was one of the Waihope three who offered the argument that you cannot use force against an oppressor because of the Golden Rule, typically stated as: ‘do to others […]
Tags: Golden Rule · Pacifism · Waihope Three · War Ethics
I’m so Objective about how You’re so Subjective
May 25th, 2011 19 Comments
One general objection to theistic arguments for God is that no such argument could be based on the subjective experience of one’s own cognitive processes, and that therefore it suggests delusions of grandeur to think that one can get from such a basis to God necessarily existing. But to deny that a sound argument could […]
Tags: Atheism · Faith and Reason · Objectivism · Subjectivism · Theism
Just Think – Matthew Flannagan Speaking for ProLife NZ @ Waikato University
May 20th, 2011 Comments Off on Just Think – Matthew Flannagan Speaking for ProLife NZ @ Waikato University
Student group ProLife NZ have launched a campaign entitled JustThink (you can read more about it at the link). To kick things off the Waikato branch has invited Matt to speak on their key messages: Is an unborn child a human being? Should it have a right to life? Should our views on abortion affect others? […]
Tags: Abortion · Events · Feticide · Just Think · Pro Life NZ
Guest Post: One Less God
May 18th, 2011 92 Comments
Bethyada from True Paradigm writes: I have read a few posts on the ‘one less god’ proposition. Stephen F Roberts originally put it, “I contend we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I […]
Tags: Bethyada · Douglas Wilson · Guest Post · One Less God · Pluralism · Sam Harris · Stephen Roberts
A common objection to belief in the God of the Bible is that a good, kind, and loving deity would never command the wholesale slaughter of nations. In the tradition of his popular Is God a Moral Monster?, Paul Copan teams up with Matthew Flannagan to tackle some of the most confusing and uncomfortable passages of Scripture. Together they help the Christian and nonbeliever alike understand the biblical, theological, philosophical, and ethical implications of Old Testament warfare passages.
