Holy Fools (2017) Michael Moore That strange and sickly world into which the Gospels lead us—a world apparently out of a Russian novel, in which the scum of society, nervous maladies and ‘childish’ idiocy keep a tryst (Nietzsche 1895/1918, p. 96). The jury is still out on the correlation between religiosity and psychopathology. Several studies […]

God Doesn’t Punish? (2019) Michael Moore The claim that “God doesn’t punish” appears about 100,000 times on Google; another 150,000 hits can be found when French, German, Russian, and Spanish equivalents are also added. Haven’t the authors of this phrase heard of the Flood (Genesis 6:7): “So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the […]

On (False) Prophets and Messiahs (2016) Michael Moore The word “prophet” comes from the Greek for “one who predicts.” It served as the accepted translation of the Hebrew “navi”—itself from a Semitic source, which in Akkadian and Arabic indicated “call, announce.” Some Latin sources translated Greek “prophetes” with Latin “vates” (still current in English, and […]

Filthy Lucre: The Church and Wealth (2019) Michael Moore “Filthy lucre,” wrote Titus (1:11), and Matthew (6:19, 24) concurred: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth,” for “Ye cannot serve both God and mammon.” Luke (12:33) instructed his flock: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not […]

Zens’ New Defense of TAG (2001) Michael Martin   Introduction In an Internet paper entitled “A Christian Response to atheist thinker, Michael Martin on TAG and the foundation of induction,” Adam Spurgeon Zens attempted to defend Greg Bahnsen’s inductive form of the Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God (TAG). As I showed in my […]

Zens’ Defense of TAG (2000) Michael Martin   In a recent internet paper entitled "A Christian Response to atheist thinker, Michael Martin on TAG and the foundation of induction," Adam Spurgeon Zens attempts to defend Greg Bahnsen’s inductive form of the Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God (TAG).[1] Unfortunately, Zens does not seem to […]

Is Christianity Absurd? Michael Martin Introduction For the purpose of my argument I will understand Christianity to mean the religious view that is characterized by doctrines such as Salvation through Christ, Heaven, the Atonement, the ethical views of Jesus, and belief in God.[1] So understood is Christianity absurd? This question is seldom asked, let alone […]

Wittgenstein’s Lectures on Religious Belief (2001) Michael Martin In 1938 Wittgenstein gave a series of three lectures on religious belief at Cambridge. We do not have his own lecture notes but we do have twenty pages of notes taken down by one or more of his students.[1] Wittgenstein did not check their accuracy and they […]

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Religious Studies 19 (1983): 57-64. The page numbers below show the position of the text within that pagination scheme.] ________________________________________ 57 Pascal’s Wager as an Argument for Not Believing in God (1984) Michael Martin Can Pascal’s wager for the existence of God be turned against the religious […]

Atheism and Humanistic Value Theory (1996) Michael Martin   What is the relation between atheism and humanistic value theory? Can one be an atheist [1] and not accept any humanistic value theories? Can one accept a humanist value theory and believe in God? These are the sorts of questions that I want to address in […]

Human Suffering and the Acceptance of God (1997) Michael Martin   Why is there so much human suffering in the world if God is all good and all powerful? As I have shown elsewhere although there have been many answers to this question none are successful.[1] However, an answer has been offered by William Craig […]

You may order books by Michael Martin here. A brief biographical sketch is also available. Are There Really No Atheists? (1996) [ 16K ] Martin refutes Greg Bahnsen’s argument that there are no atheists. Butler’s Defense of TAG and Critique of TANG (1996) [ 11K ] Michael Butler in a recent paper published on the Internet has attempted to […]

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 16 (1984): 257-262. The page numbers below show the position of the text within that pagination scheme.] ________________________________________ 257 Does the Evidence Confirm Theism More Than Naturalism? Michael Martin Boston University   A positive answer is given by George Schlesinger in […]

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Teaching Philosophy 9:1 (October 1986): 90-91. The page numbers below show the position of the text within that pagination scheme.] ________________________________________ 90 An Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism, Gordon Stein, ed. Prometheus Books, 1980, 354 pages, $14.95 pbk. Michael Martin This book is a useful reminder that […]

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Teaching Philosophy 5:2 (April 1982): 152-55. The page numbers below show the position of the text within that pagination scheme.] ________________________________________ 152 Atheism: The Case Against God, George H. Smith. Prometheus Books, 1979, 355 pages. $6.95 pbk. Michael Martin Boston University This book is a hard hitting […]

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Teaching Philosophy 8:4 (October 1985): 352-54. The page numbers below show the position of the text within that pagination scheme.] ________________________________________ 352 God, Freedom and Immortality, Antony Flew. Buffalo: Prornetheus Books. 1984, 183 pp, $8.95. MICHAEL MARTIN This collection of essays, divided into three parts (God, Freedom […]

Reply to Butler, Ventrella, and Fields (1996) Michael Martin   Introduction On the evening of October 26, 1994 a debate on the existence of God was scheduled between the late Greg Bahnsen and me at Rhodes College. This debate was canceled when SCCCS and I could not agree on whether the debate was to be […]

Atheism, Christian Theism, and Rape (1997) Michael Martin   One of the more dramatic debating maneuver used by Christian apologists against atheists is to argue that atheists can provide no objective reason for not raping people. This startling claim follows from the apologists’ wider claim that atheists can provide no objective moral reasons for anything. […]

On Two Reviews of Atheism, Morality and Meaning (2003) Michael Martin   Two reviews of my book, Atheism, Morality, and Meaning–one by Taner Edis[1] and one by Jeff Lowder[2]–have recently been posted on the Secular Web. Both reviewers, although initially praising the book saying that it is “well worth reading” and that the territory covered […]

Are There Really No Atheists? (1996) Michael Martin   Some Christians maintain that there are no atheists. They believe, of course, that some people profess to be atheists. But according to them these people suffer from a form of self-delusion. The doubters insist that in their heart of hearts people who profess not to believe […]

Justifying Methodological Naturalism (2002) Michael Martin   In his recent book Tower of Babel Robert T. Pennock argues against the New Creationists for failing to realize that science is committed to Methodological Naturalism (MN) and not Ontological Naturalism (ON).[1] Roughly speaking ON is the view that only natural processes or events exist. It maintains that […]

The Naturalistic Fallacy  and Other Mistaken Arguments  of Paul Copan (2000) Michael Martin   Paul Copan has replied in the form of a letter[1] to my rebuttal[2] of his critique[3] of my Secular Web paper.[4] In this paper I will respond to his defense of the ontological foundation of theistic morality, his claim that ethical […]

More on Heaven (2004) Michael Martin   Belief in Heaven as Liberating In his paper “Trouble in Paradise,” Tom Wanchick[1] raises some objections to my argument in “Problems With Heaven.”[2] But before he does, Wanchick notes the practical issues involved in Heaven. He maintains that the Bible is “brimming with practical import” and if it […]

Hugo Meynell’s Is Christianity True? (1998) Michael Martin   In Is Christianity True? Hugo A. Meynell, a Cambridge Ph.D. who teaches at the University of Calgary, provides an affirmative answer to the question posed in the title of his book.[1] After a short introduction in which he gives reasons for believing in God, he devotes […]

Positive Atheism and the Meaninglessness of Theism (1999) Michael Martin   In Part I of Atheism: A Philosophical Justification I argued that sentences about the existence of God are factually meaningless, hence, they are neither true nor false. However, in Part II of this book I maintained that if the sentences about God are not […]

On a New Argument for Agnosticism (2001) Michael Martin   In a recent Internet paper entitled "A Formal Justification of Agnosticism,"[1] Bill Schultz defends agnosticism by denying the universality of the Principle of Excluded Middle (P v ~P).[2] In addition, he accuses me of using the Principle of Excluded Middle to try to "force agnostics […]

Final Response to Frame Michael Martin   I would like to thank John Frame for the courtesy and care with which he has carried on the discussion. Our discussion has been stimulating and has raised many important issues in the philosophy of religion which believers, atheists, and agnostics must take seriously. Although it would be […]

Third Response to Frame Michael Martin   Science In my previous replies I suggested that on the standard sense of “miracle, ” a miracle is an event brought about by divine intervention in the natural course of events. Frame seems to understand this to mean simply that God caused the event in question to occur. […]

Response to Frame’s Response Michael Martin   My reply to Frame in "A Response to John Frame’s Rebuttal of The Transcendental Argument for the Nonexistence of God (TANG)" appeared on the Internet and now Frame has replied to my response in "A Second Response to Martin. " In my present reply I respond to what […]

A Response to John Frame’s Rebuttal of The Transcendental Argument for the Nonexistence of God (TANG) Michael Martin   My article, "The Transcendental Argument for the Nonexistence of God," was originally published in the New Zealand Rationalist and Humanist (Autumn 1996, p. 4). It recently appeared on the Internet and was replied to by John […]