Modern Library

Curriculum Vitae   Name: Graham Robert Oppy Date of Birth: October 6, 1960 Place of Birth: Benalla, Victoria, Australia Citizenship: Australian Education: Primary:  1966-1972, Wendouree Primary (#1813), Wendouree       1972: Dux, Full Scholarship to Wesley College Secondary:  1973-1978, Wesley College, Prahran, Melbourne       1978 HSC: General Distinction; Special Distinctions: English, Chemistry Tertiary:   1979-1985, Melbourne University, Parkville, Melbourne       1985: B.Sc./B.A. […]

Din Adami Insanlarimizi, Seriat’in Resim, Heykeltrasçilik, Musiki, Si’ir Gibi San’at Konularindaki Yasaklariyle Fikren ve Ruhen Gelisemez Durumda Tutar Bilindigi gibi güzel san’at’larin her dali insan varliginin ruhen ve fikren gelismesinde son derece önemli bir rol oynar. Her ne kadar bazi gayretkes seriatçi’lar Islam’da resim yasagi, heykel yasagi, musiki yasagi ya da si’ir yasagi vb… diye […]

  Uluslarin Mutlulugu Din Adami’nin Pençesinden Kurtulmakla Mümkün; Din Adami’nin Kötülükleri Son Bulacaktir Mutlaka Bir Gün! Daha önceki bölümlerde belirttigimiz gibi Bati’da aydin siniflarin en büyük amaci insan aklini din kitaplarinin köleliginden ve fakat ayni zamanda din adami’nin pençesinden kurtarmak olmustur. Bir yandan “Kutsal” diye bilinen kitaplarin akli dislayan yönlerini sergiliyerek kisi’yi ve toplumu bu […]

Argument Against God From Evil James Still One thing to remember when discussing the existence or non-existence of God is that we are limited by our language. The paradox is that by even suggesting the variable "God" we are forced to assume its existence for the sake of the discussion. This paradox was first recognized […]

Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations: The Grammatical Fiction of PI §307 James Still In §307 Wittgenstein is accused of denying that mental processes are an essential element within the individual who experiences a sensation S; only the expressions of S exist while S itself if a fiction. Wittgenstein counters that the only fiction involved in the discussion […]

Page Moved This page has moved. Please update your links. This page has been moved to:   https://infidels.org/library/modern/james_still/reliability.html

Critique of Moreland and Habermas’s Immortality Jim Lippard Department of Philosophy University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721 May 19, 1993 Gary R. Habermas Dept. of Philosophy and Theology Liberty University 3765 Candlers Mountain Road Lynchburg, VA 24502 J.P. Moreland Talbot School of Theology Biola University 13800 Biola Ave. La Mirada, CA 90639 Dear Drs. Habermas […]

Review of Atheism, Morality, and Meaning (2005) John L. Perkins   Review: Michael Martin. 2003. Atheism, Morality, and Meaning. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. 330 pp. This article was originally published in the Australian Humanist No. 74 (Winter 2004), the quarterly publication of the Council of Australian Humanist Societies. This version contains new editorial changes. It […]

Second Rebuttal for the Affirmative (Saladin, 5 minutes) Moderator: We now have one more set of rebuttals. These rebuttals will be five minutes and we will begin with Dr. Saladin. Saladin: Well in the mere five minutes remaining I can only answer a small fraction of Dr. Gish’s comments but I would [inaudible word] if […]

Conclusion (2001) Kyle J. Gerkin   A Suspect Approach The Case For Faith suffers from dishonesty in its approach. The book fancies itself as "a journalistic investigation into the toughest objections to Christianity." But the aim of the author, Lee Strobel, is not an objective, journalistic investigation, but rather an apologetic refutation. Strobel is an […]

  The Moral Foundations of Atheism and Christianity (1996) Mark I. Vuletic   The following article originally appeared (without the postscript) in The Free Mind: The Newsletter and Forum of the University of Minnesota Atheists and Humanists 2(5), January 1996.] Related: The Indispensability of Theological Meta-ethical Foundations for Morality: An abortive attempt by philosopher William […]

Rationally Speaking A monthly e-column by Massimo Pigliucci Department of Botany, University of Tennessee N. 3, October 2000 – "Whence Natural Rights? – A Dialogue" This column can be posted for free on any appropriate web site.  If you are interested in receiving the html code, please send an Further reading: The Cambridge Companion to […]

The Argument Clinic mathew   A reception desk in a sort of office building. Receptionist: Yes, sir? Man: I’d like to have an argument please. Receptionist: Certainly, sir, have you been here before…? Man: No, this is my first time. Receptionist: I see. Do you want to have the full argument, or were you thinking […]

Butler’s Response (1997) Michael Martin   Last summer I critically evaluated Michael Butler’s defense of The Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God (TAG)–the argument that logic, science, and objective morality presuppose the Christian worldview and his critique of The Transcendental Argument for the Nonexistence of God (TANG)–the argument that logic, science, and objective morality […]

Friendly Atheism (1996) Michael Martin   Should atheists be friendly towards theists? Is what might be called friendly atheism to be encouraged? This question is not only interesting it is own right but has obviously practical implications for atheists in dealing with theists in our society. In this paper I will explore this question relating […]

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 […]

[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 […]

Religion and Cultural Cleansing (2019) Michael Moore Traditionally, the transmission of knowledge across generations happens through spoken and written words. Both methods have their disadvantages: spoken words get distorted, whereas written ones are often destroyed. In this essay I will discuss the willful, ideologically guided destruction of religious and cultural heritage by representatives of competing […]

Does the Free-Will Defense Constitute a Sound Theodicy? Niclas Berggren 1. Proem A strong argument against the existence of the Christian god (henceforth referred to as God) is contained in the theodicy problem, which can be stated in the following manner: If God exists, he is all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfectly good.[1] The existence of suffering […]

Argument from Evolution Many conservative Christians and lay atheists alike claim that if biological evolution is true, then God does not exist. Ironically, while many conservative Christians have attacked evolution because it supposedly entails atheism, no contemporary atheist philosopher has used evolution as evidence for atheism. Indeed, the only philosopher who has formulated an argument […]

Book Reviews Lively Answers to Theists: Review of Robin Le Poidevin’s Arguing for Atheism (1998) by Keith Parsons The Many Forms of Atheism (Off Site) by Massimo Pigliucci Review of Antony Flew’s God, Freedom, and Immortality (1985) by Michael Martin Review of George H. Smith’s Atheism: The Case Against God (1982) Michael Martin Review of Gordon Stein’s […]

Now I will address a very sensitive point in this book, but one I feel very heartfelt about. I am going to make a bold, arguably arrogant assertion: Atheism better reflects the world we live in than theism. Now let me explain. Let me illustrate what I mean through the use of a potent example. […]

Naturalistic Inquiry This essay is written in response to those who have questioned me about ‘naturalism’, what it means to me, and why I am a naturalist. It is the product of several informal exchanges. First off, I would note that ‘naturalist’ is a title that I adopt with some hesitancy. It is amazing how […]

God, Atheism and Incompatibility: The Argument from Nonbelief (2001) Philip Kuchar   The Argument from Nonbelief against God’s existence (ANB) has been used by a number of writers, such as Theodore Drange [1] and J. L. Schellenberg [2], to show that the mere existence of nonbelievers or the presence of sufficient evidence for nonbelief in […]

Swinburne’s Explanation of the Universe (1998) Quentin Smith The following review of Richard Swinburne, Is There a God? (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. vi + 144) was originally published in Religious Studies 34 (1998): 91-102. I Swinburne’s Is There A God? presents a brief, updated version of his book, The Existence of God, in […]

Faith and Reason Agnosticism Freethought Logic FAQ Do Religious Life and Critical Thought Need Each Other? by Richard Carrier Text of a paper published in the Fall (1996) issue of Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, addressing why and how religious experience is to be approached critically, using Buddhist meditation as the central example. “Happy […]

Two Examples of Faulty Bible Scholarship (1999) Richard Carrier   In response to remarks by Douglas Wilson in a debate with Ted Drange (see Wilson’s first rebuttal), I have written on two examples of how some Christians don’t understand the importance of scholarship in truly understanding the New Testament, centering around 1 Timothy. The first […]

Naturalism vs. Theism: The Carrier-Wanchick Debate (2006)   Does God exist? Or is nature all there is? Richard Carrier and Tom Wanchick debate this question below. Who We Are What We Are Debating The Rules We Followed Wanchick’s Opening Statement Carrier’s Opening Statement Carrier’s First Rebuttal Wanchick’s First Rebuttal Wanchick’s Second Rebuttal Carrier’s Second Rebuttal […]

Response to James Hannam’s ‘In Defense of the Fine Tuning Design Argument’ (2001) Richard Carrier   In his essay “In Defense of the Fine Tuning Design Argument” (2001) published here on the Secular Web, I do not believe Hannam has addressed the full range of issues and problems with the Fine Tuning Argument as discussed […]

The End of Pascal’s Wager: Only Nontheists Go to Heaven (2002) Richard Carrier   The End of Pascal’s Wager: Only Nontheists Go to Heaven The following argument could be taken as tongue-in-cheek, if it didn’t seem so evidently true. At any rate, to escape the logic of it requires theists to commit to abandoning several […]