Augustine famously commented on the nature of time, “What, then, is time? If no one ask of me, I know; if I wish to explain to him who asks, I know not.” Augustine isn’t alone: the nature of time remains among the most difficult and controverted topics in classic metaphysics. In that respect, it shares […]
Archives for February 2015
The Rauser-Schieber Dialogue Revisited
In preparation for my debate and dialogue with Justin Schieber next week, I re-listened to my Tentative Apologist podcast interview with him which I recorded in January 2014. And I thought to myself, “Gee, that was a good exchange, buoyed on by Schieber’s sharp logical mind and my David-Frostean interview skills.” If you haven’t heard […]
9. The 59-Second Apologist: If the Bible is God’s Word, then why isn’t it clearer?
It’s a great question: If the Bible is God’s Word, then why isn’t it clearer? Here’s one good answer: to keep seminary professors employed. While I am partial to that response, in this podcast we consider two other (admittedly more serious) solutions. To begin with, just as a human author can have reasons to be less […]
Belief and Doubt in the Twenty-First Century is Coming! (March 8th)
Here’s the poster for my upcoming dialogue with Justin Schieber on March 8th. Thanks to Justin for putting this fine poster together.
Divine Violence Revisited: My Response to Joshua Ryan Butler on “Unbelievable”
I just listened to the latest episode of “Unbelievable” with Justin Brierley which consisted of an interview with Joshua Ryan Butler and Jeff Cook. (You can listen to it here.) (You might recall that I recently reviewed Butler’s book The Skeletons in God’s Closet in three parts: part 1, part 2, part 3). The episode focused […]
Can you be Gay and Christian? My review on Amazon.com
Last November I posted a four part review of Michael Brown’s book Can You be Gay and Christian? Responding with Truth and Love to Questions About Homosexuality. I finally got around to editing it down to an Amazon.com review (a process that required about a 20% reduction in length). If you’re interested in reading the […]
Belief and Doubt in the Twenty-First Century: A Christian-Atheist Dialogue
First the bad news: my upcoming Calgary debate with Justin Schieber (scheduled for March 8th) has been cancelled. (Fear not, the March 7th debate in Edmonton is still very much a go.) This leaves us with a free Sunday to fill. As a result, currently Justin and I are planning a second event for Sunday, […]
I love Tabasco after all: An invitation to rediscover the church
I used to love Tabasco sauce. But over the last few years I’ve found it increasingly insipid. My opinion of the sauce continued to decline until a few months ago when I took to telling people that I don’t like Tabasco sauce, full stop. From that point on I shunned the bottle in our fridge and […]
My Calgary Debate on God’s Existence with Justin Schieber (March 8th)
Here’s the poster for my March 8th debate with Justin Schieber at Mount Royal University in Calgary, AB. If you know anybody in the Calgary area who might be interested please pass on this info. (And don’t forget about my March 7th debate in Edmonton!) Edit: The Calgary debate has been CANCELLED. (The Edmonton debate […]
Love has no shelf life: The goodness of life forever
I’d like to live forever, and under the right conditions I hope I can. I discuss that wish (and rebut those who look askance at the prospect) here. So I always remain puzzled by atheists/skeptics/naturalists etc. who insist that they really don’t want to live forever, even under the most ideal of conditions. Soren Kierkegaard […]
How should atheists think about theists who have a problem with atheism?
In “How should we think about atheists who have no problem with atheism?” I presented a simple argument. It goes like this. Some atheists do not have an existential problem with the implications of atheism, and at least some of those atheists seem to infer from this fact that the theist is wrong if she […]
How should we think about atheists who have no problem with atheism?
Yesterday my article “Do you have enough faith to be a theist? Or an atheist?” drew an interesting comment from a reader named Bilbo who reflected: “At a very dark perod [sic] in my life, when I was angry at God for everything, I tried living as an atheist for a few years. The bleakness […]
Do you have enough faith to be a theist? Or an atheist?
Joe Six-Pack atheist is proud to say he doesn’t have enough faith to be a Christian. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek responded with a nice Judo technique in their book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. Alas, neither has it right. It isn’t about how much faith one has, but rather what kind […]
Healthy dialogue in a polarized world
The importance of charitable and thoughtful dialogue has long been a particular interest of mine. (See, for example, my 2011 book You’re not as Crazy as I Think: Dialogue in a World of Loud Voices and Hardened Opinions.) So I was happy to join Drake and Paul at Boldcupofcoffee.com for a discussion of these themes.
