In my last post, I explained the position of Theological Utilitarianism as expounded in William Paley’s The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy. I pointed out The Principles was first published in 1785, four years before Jeremy Bentham published An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. In this post, I want to look at the influence Theological Utilitarianism had […]
Entries from January 18th, 2018
Divine Command Theory and Utilitarianism forgotten bedfellows? Paley’s Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (part two)
January 18th, 2018 1 Comment
Tags: Abraham Tucker · Christian History · Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Jeremy Bentham · John Brown · John Gay · John Locke · John Stuart Mill · Utilitarianism · William Paley
Divine Command Theory and Utilitarianism forgotten bedfellows? Paley’s Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (part one)
January 16th, 2018 Comments Off on Divine Command Theory and Utilitarianism forgotten bedfellows? Paley’s Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (part one)
This post is adapted from a short essay I wrote on William Paley’s Ethics In a widely used textbook, James Rachels refers to “revolution in ethics” which occurred in the 18-19th centuries. Referring to upheavals such as the American Revolution, French Revolution, Rachel’s contends that people began to think differently about Ethics. There arose “A […]
Tags: Christian Hist · Divine Command Theory · Utilitarianism · William Paley
“Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” THE TORAH AS A NORMATIVE AUTHORITY IN 1ST CORINTHIANS 5 (part two)
January 12th, 2018 Comments Off on “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” THE TORAH AS A NORMATIVE AUTHORITY IN 1ST CORINTHIANS 5 (part two)
Paul’s polemic against Judaizers in the Galatian correspondence, as well as his insistence in Romans that justification comes by faith (pistis) and not by works of the Torah, has led many interpreters to see Pauline ethics as thoroughly anti-nomian. In a previous post I challenged this thesis by documenting Paul’s appeal to both the Torah […]
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Update
January 11th, 2018 Comments Off on Update
Last year I gave an address on Contemporary Philosophy of Religion and NCEA Religious Studies to the New Zealand Association of Philosophy Teachers. This paper has now been published on the website of the Presbyterian Church schools resource office. Enjoy.
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“Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” THE TORAH AS A NORMATIVE AUTHORITY IN 1ST CORINTHIANS 5 (Part One)
January 9th, 2018 6 Comments
This post is based on an essay I wrote for an undergraduate course on the history of religion I did a couple of years ago. I plan to expand upon it and publish it in the future. Feel free to add comments and thoughts on my admittedly controversial ideas. Paul’s polemic against Judaizers in the […]
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Annihilationism and the Infinity of Hell: Bawulski and the Disproportionality Argument
January 5th, 2018 10 Comments
This is part of a talk I gave at the Rethinking Hell Conference in Auckland earlier this year. Evangelical Annihilationist’s such as John Stott, Edward Fudge, John Wenham, and various others challenge the traditional view that hell is a place of eternal conscious torment. They contend that biblical language such as “eternal fire,” “eternal destruction,” “death,” […]
Tags: Annihilationism · Hell · Shawn Bawulski
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.
