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Randal Rauser

Home of progressively evangelical, generously orthodox, rigorously analytic, revolutionary Christian thinking (that's what I'm aiming for anyway)

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Archives for May 2013

Why did William Lane Craig violate the first rule of hosting?

May 31, 2013 by Randal

The first rule of hosting is simple: if you have a sidekick then treat him well because he just wants to make you look good. William Lane Craig flouted that principle on this edition of the Reasonable Faith podcast and poor Kevin Harris suffered as a result. Here’s the backstory. Craig had just made an […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Kevin Harris, Reasonable Faith, William Lane Craig

Heaven and the Value in Achievement Thesis

May 31, 2013 by Randal

In answer to the question “Why were we created here and not just directly into heaven?” I argued: “that there is intrinsic value in undergoing the personal history that brings you to a particular place or makes you into a particular kind of person which is simply not retained by creating the end product without […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: creation, heaven, theodicy

Do Christians and atheists really have to be at war?

May 31, 2013 by Randal

John Loftus has offered a response of sorts to my series “Why they don’t believe”. He calls it “Randal Rauser Debunks Deconversion Stories.” Debunking? Contrast that word with my own description: “we’ll begin with an introduction to the atheist and/or skeptic. Next, we’ll consider his reasons for his position in his own words. And finally, I’ll offer […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, Christianity, dialogue, theism

Heaven and the suffering of infants now

May 30, 2013 by Randal

In “Why were we created here and not just directly into heaven?” I explained that there is value in a moral history, and this is one reason why human beings were created as finite, imperfect creatures who can grow into the perfection toward which we’ve been called. Jason Thibodeau responded with, gulp, sarcasm: “Babies who […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: heaven, suffering, theodicy

Why were we created here and not just directly into heaven?

May 30, 2013 by Randal

This is the question as posed by Counter Apologist. The question is basically this: if we will get to the point where we don’t sin any more as a precondition for entering heaven, then why didn’t God just create us at the point in our history where we would not sin and get heaven started thereby […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: free will, heaven

Why they don’t believe: Edward Babinski

May 30, 2013 by Randal

This is the third installment in my series in which atheists and/or Christian skeptics who received a golden ticket in their Willy Wonka chocolate bar are invited into my factory to share their reasons for disbelief with my readers. Today we have Edward Babinski. Ed edited the book Leaving the Fold and blogs here. * […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, Christianity, Edward Babinski, skepticism, theism, Why they don't believe

William Alston on naturalism

May 29, 2013 by Randal

In the last few days we’ve been talking a fair bit about naturalism. So I figure this is a good time to point interested readers to a very good essay by Christian philosopher William Alston in which he critiques naturalism by arguing it appears to be more an attitude expressed by those who really like […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: naturalism, William Alston

The problem of evil as discussed by three Christian philosophers

May 29, 2013 by Randal

This is a thoughtful video well worth your time which is produced by Notre Dame’s Center for Philosophy of Religion. I know Meghan Sullivan and Trent Dougherty and they (and Sam Newlands) are all outstanding thinkers.

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Meghan Sullivan, problem of evil, Sam Newlands, Trent Dougherty

Naturalism, Christianity, and my Reasonable Doubts about Justin Schieber

May 29, 2013 by Randal

I’m going to respond here to Justin Schieber’s guest post which I invited him to write in response to comments  I made to his statement on why he is not a Christian which I also invited him to write. Got that? Good. Justin begins: “Randal begins his criticism with his signature parable artistry, by telling […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, naturalism, probability, theism, worldview

Justin Schieber responds … and then some!

May 29, 2013 by Randal

In light of the handful of criticisms directed at my comments in the post “Why they don’t believe: Justin Schieber“, I invited Justin Schieber to provide a guest-post reply. He has done so in fine fashion. So without further ado, “Justin Schieber responds … and then some!” * * * First, I want to thank Randal […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, Doubtcast, Justin Schieber, skepticism, theism

Why they don’t believe: Counter Apologist

May 28, 2013 by Randal

This is the second installment in the series “Why they don’t believe” in which atheists, agnostics and other assorted skeptics are invited to explain why the reject Christianity and/or theism. Today we have Counter Apologist who blogs at http://counterapologist.blogspot.ca/ * * * I was raised a fundamentalist Christian, went to evangelical private schools, was taught […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: apologetics, atheism, Counter Apologist, theism, Why they don't believe

Why they don’t believe: Justin Schieber

May 27, 2013 by Randal

Today I’m initiating a new series simply titled “Why they don’t believe.” Each is borne out of an invitation to a well-established internet atheist and/or skeptic to share his reasons for rejecting Christianity (or theism). I invited each to write a paragraph on the topic with my initial intention being to collate them in a […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, Justin Schieber, Reasonable Doubts, skepticism, Why they don't believe

Gödel the magic genie?

May 26, 2013 by Randal

At the end of “The A-Unicornist Replies. But is scientism still in the picture?” I point out that Mike D’s claim that philosophy is dependent on science stumbles, among other things, on the fact that the nature of scientific enquiry is defined philosophically: Jones says “science is defined as p.” P is a philosophical assertion about […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Gödel's incompleteness theorems, logic

The A-Unicornist Replies. But is scientism still in the picture?

May 26, 2013 by Randal

Mike D provided a reply to my critique in “A conversation doomed from the start?” The response, which comes in the discussion thread, is rather long, so I thought it best to reply here, not least because it helpfully clarifies and illumines the nature and depth of our disagreement. I took issue with Mike D’s statement that […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: A-Unicornist, philosophy, science, scientism

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