Added Questioning Miracles: In Defense of David Hume (2024) by John W. Loftus to the Argument from Miracles page under Arguments for the Existence of a God in the Modern Documents section of the Secular Web Library.
Hume is widely regarded as the most important English-speaking philosopher in history. He wrote significant works on empiricism, epistemology, and philosophy of religion. In the latter Hume offered several powerful arguments against miracles in section 10 (“of Miracles”) of his seminal book An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. In this paper, John W. Loftus defends Hume against some of the most important objections to his critique of the rationality of belief in miracles.
New in the Kiosk: Shall Thou Not Kill? The Sixth Commandment as an Insufficient Argument Against Abortion (2024) by Adam Taylor
Is abortion morally wrong from a theological standpoint? Christians of the pro-life persuasion certainly believe so, arguing that it constitutes the murder of an innocent human life. In this essay, Adam Taylor examines the various arguments leveled against abortion by prominent Christian apologetics like Normal Geisler and Paul Copan, showing that their arguments fail to justify their apologetic conclusions. Taylor goes on to explore how the very Bible that they appeal to for justification of their opposition may in fact provide any number of reasons why abortion cannot, from a Christian standpoint, be reasonably opposed.
Recommended reading: The Resurrection and Its Apologetics: Jesus’ Death and Burial (Volume 1) (2024) by Michael J. Alter
Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Savior of the human race, who died for the sins of humanity on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:3). The next verse adds the essential “that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” In The Resurrection and Its Apologetics: Jesus’ Death and Burial (Volume 1), Michael J. Alter critically surveys the writings of leading Christian apologists about Jesus’ death and burial, and then explains why detractors and skeptics cannot accept the New Testament claim that Jesus died on the cross and received a tomb burial. The Resurrection and Its Apologetics series significantly contributes both to the academic and nonacademic world by reviewing and analyzing the most salient claims put forward in defense of Jesus’ death, burial, and bodily resurrection from the dead.