(1982) Chapter 3: Three Criticisms Keith Parsons This thesis was originally written by Keith Parsons in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University, 1982. In the first two chapters of this thesis we have reached the following conclusions: First, we have […]

(1982) Chapter 2: Confirming the Occurrence of Apparent Miracles Keith Parsons This thesis was originally written by Keith Parsons in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University, 1982. Once it is agreed that the miraculous is not an inconsistent concept, the […]

(1982) Chapter 1: The Consistency of the Concept Keith Parsons This thesis was originally written by Keith Parsons in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University, 1982. Chapter 1: The Consistency of the Concept The most potent sort of objection that […]

(1982) Bibliography Keith Parsons The following thesis was originally written by Keith Parsons in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University, 1982 Boden, Margaret A. “Miracles and Scientific Explanation.” Ratio, 11 (1969), 137-44. Burns, R. M. The Great Debate on Miracles. […]

Various criticisms of this conception of the miraculous will be considered and the efforts of some Christian apologists to deal with these difficulties will be examined. The answer being sought by this thesis is whether the attempts to refute the philosophical criticisms of the miraculous succeed or fail--with the result that a cogent Christian apologetic cannot be produced. In other words, if the miraculous is an indispensable element of Christian doctrine, it might generate philosophical problems so great that it renders impossible the entire apologetic enterprise. The purpose of this thesis will simply be to determine whether or not this is the case.

Crooked evangelists fleece their flocks.

reviewed “In Behalf of the Fool” (1980) The Fool recently had the pleasure of hearing Josh McDowell entertain a packed house, mainly of college students, on the topic of “Maximum Sex.” The audience was snuggled together on the rug of a college cafeteria and listened attentively as he did a mildly suggestive stand-up night club […]

Reviewed “In Behalf of the Fool” (1980) Hal Lindsey came to town not long ago. The Fool was unable to attend his lecture at a local church and thought from the little bit he read in advance about his appearance, that responsible people would probably not be going–let alone being taken in by Lindsey’s mischievous […]

reviewed “In Behalf of the Fool” (1979) It was suggested to the Fool some time ago that C.S. Lewis’ book Mere Christianity is a good book for an unbeliever to read to establish a rational basis for belief in Christianity. The Fool had been told that Lewis is an example of a great scholar and […]

Smith discusses what atheism is, why it's important, and how best to defend it successfully.

Evangelical Agnosticism (1985) William Henry Young The Summer 1981 FREE INQUIRY contained the article “What is Agnosticism?” by H. J. Blackham. It dealt primarily with intimations of agnosticism among skeptical philosophers before 1869, when Thomas Henry Huxley invented the term as a label for his personal approach to religious and philosophical questions. This article will […]

Secular Humanism, Christian Theism, and the Meaning of Life J. Wesley Robbins In chapter Four of his 1987 book Scaling the Secular City,[1] J. P. Moreland poses a question which he says is the one that most people have in mind when they ask whether life is worth living or has meaning. The question is: […]

Fitting the Bible to the Data (1998) Victor J. Stenger Review of The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom by Gerald L. Schroeder. New York and London: The Free Press, 1997. How can both the Bible and science be right? Israeli physicist Gerald Schroeder says he can show us how. Let’s […]

The Functional Equivalent of God (1998) Victor J. Stenger   Review of The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God. Colorado Springs, CO: Navpress 1995. In Chapter 1, the author of The Creator and the Cosmos tells us of a meeting he attended in which a distinguished philosopher […]

Seeking Purpose in a Universe of Chance (1998) Victor J. Stenger   Review of Belief in God in the Age of Science by John Polkinghorne. New Haven and London: Yale University Press 1998. This book is taken from a series of lectures given at Yale by a well-known elementary particle physicist who took up the […]

The Other Side of Time (2000) Victor J. Stenger University of Hawaii   In The Creator and the Cosmos: How the Greatest Scientific Discoveries of the Century Reveal God, physicist Hugh Ross gives the following “proof of creation”:     “The universe and everything in it is confined to a single, finite dimension of time. […]

Miscellaneous   The Celebrity Atheist List [Off Site] A collection of the names of notable individuals who have been public about their lack of belief in deities, as well as some who seem to be skeptical when it comes to religion but whose beliefs are nevertheless somewhat ambiguous. Famous Dead Nontheists [Off Site] A list […]

References   Brown, Raymond E. An Introduction to the New Testament. (Doubleday: New York). 1997. Bruce, F.F. Jesus and Christian Origins Outside the New Testament (Hodder and Stoughton Limited: Great Britain). 1974. Cavin, Robert Greg. “Is There Sufficient Historical Evidence to Establish the Resurrection of Jesus?” Faith and Philosophy, July 1995. Charlesworth, James. Jesus Within […]

Notes   1. See Sections I.1 and I.2 for Davis’ analyses of these world views. In brief, supernaturalists grant the existence of supernatural entities, while naturalists do not. 2. Concerning the distinction between a corpse being resurrected into a supernatural being rather than being revived back to natural (as opposed to supernatural) life, I will […]

Concluding Remarks: Return to DT and the Possibility of Rational Resurrection-Belief and Resurrection-Doubt   On its barest interpretation, DT claims that both belief in and scepticism of the resurrection can be rational given an awareness of the most persuasive argumentative cases for both sides in the resurrection-debate; consequently, the truth or falsity of DT will […]

When Theories Collide   The proponents of Mythicism and Core Facts are aware of one another: both Martin and Wells have criticized Habermas (see Martin, pp.65-67, 87-97; Wells 1989, pp.22-23, 46-52); Habermas has also attacked both Wells and Martin on the matter of Jesus’ historicity (1996, pp.27-46)(32) and addressed Martin separately on the matter of […]