In this paper John Loftus aims to expose the special pleading inherent in William Lane Craig's psychic (or spirit-guided) epistemology. After questioning the need for apologetics and warning about the monumental challenges to it, Loftus urges Christian apologists to become honest life-long seekers of the truth, to get a good education in a good field of study, to accept nothing less than sufficient objective evidence, and especially to determine how to know which religion to defend. He then goes on to sharply contrast these recommendations with the modus operandi of today's Christian apologists.
René Descartes searched for certain knowledge, a goal that was long ago abandoned by most philosophers. But a lack of certainty does little to undercut the need for sufficient evidence before accepting a proposition about the nature of our experience in this world. All we need to do is think inductively rather than deductively, think exclusively in terms of probabilities, and understand that when speaking of sufficient evidence what is meant is evidence plus reasoning based on that evidence. I know as sure as I can know anything that there is a material world and that I can reasonably trust my senses. I conclude that the scientific method is our only sure way for assessing truth claims.
Based on conversations with religious family members, Bob Harriet outlines key takeaway points about rational deliberation about religion with the faithful. He concludes, for instance, that fundamentalists reside in a bubble that cannot be penetrated from the outside by philosophical arguments, the results of biblical scholarship, or other such academic concerns. Thus, unless freethinkers particularly enjoy engaging in argument for its own sake, or have other reasons for offering up arguments, it is best to simply live and let live given (as Harriet sees it) the futility of attempts to change the beliefs of the faithful.
A tongue-in-cheek look at the intelligent design movement and the logical consequences of the intelligent design theory.
The Kuzari Proof is a famous proof of the validity of Judaism and is commonly used in outreach programs to convince estranged Jews to return to the fold of observance. The author will demonstrate the logical flaws in this proof in hopes that it leads all parties to conduct discourse on a higher level of understanding.
"Christianity and theism disproved via the Lee Strobel logic methodology."
Considering humankind's technological developments, war now has the potential to totally destroy life on our planet. Historically, Christianity has had three broad attitudes on war: pacifism, the just-war, and the crusade. Does present-day Christianity provide a viable system of guidelines for war and peace?
Plugaru argues that most versions of the Cosmological Argument are useless as a proof of the existence of God.
At the core of Christian dogma is the faith-based belief that God exists. This faith-based belief and the foundation on which it stands constitute a cornerstone of the religion. This essay discusses the implications of belief in God, looks at whether this belief is logical or illogical, and analyzes how that determination affects Christian dogma and Christians who believe and obey it.
Fine-tuning arguments in favor of the existence of creator-gods garner a certain amount of respect, even beyond the theological circles where you would expect them to be influential. In this essay I show how testing the assumptions of the fine-tuning argument can cause it to produce unsatisfying or bizarre conclusions, and how a reevaluation of the probabilities at its heart negates the argument entirely.
The "Intelligent Design" movement claims that the scientific community has neglected the possibility that the features of living things are the product of intelligent design. Although the intelligent-design hypothesis is sometimes viewed as a Trojan horse for introducing certain theological hypotheses into science, intelligent design can be performed by entities that are both nonhuman and nontheological, and the scientific community has actually dealt with several important examples of these.
