In my recent dialogue with Justin Schieber we had an interesting exchange on Justin’s commitment to a position he refers to as “naturalism”. To get the most out of this article, you should begin by taking ten minutes (or so) to get the background exchange. You can start watching from here. In this exchange, Schieber […]
Archives for April 2015
A Primer for (Generous) Transgender Theological Reflection
It should be no surprise that North America has been gripped by the story of Bruce Jenner’s transgender journey. This is a topic that is not going away any time soon. I blogged about this difficult topic three years ago in “The impossible problem of transgender children“. Blogger James McGrath just tackled the topic in a thoughtful […]
Can Christianity guarantee your happiness?
Apologist Matt Fradd sent me a link to an interesting article by Christopher West titled “Has Brad Pitt Found What He’s Looking For? (I Haven’t)”. In the article West reflects on the way a fellow Christian appropriated a confession from actor Brad Pitt. In the quote, Pitt comments to an interviewer on his own melancholy nature: […]
Justin Schieber’s objections to the proper basicality of theism considered
In my March 8th debate with Justin Schieber I offered three arguments, the first of which was concerned with defending the claim that belief in God can be properly basic. In his rebuttal Justin offered a couple arguments. I’m going to respond briefly to these two arguments here. Universal Sanction Objection Justin’s main rebuttal to my argument […]
Transcript for the Rauser/Schieber Debate
We now have a transcript of my March 8th debate with Justin Schieber. The transcript covers the first hour of the debate and includes the two opening statements and rebuttals. Luke Breuer, Larry Wolcott and epicurus volunteered a lot of time in transcribing the text. My thanks to them! You can download the PDF document here: Rauser […]
69. Danielle Strickland on the Gospel and Kingdom
Christians are people of the Gospel. But what is the gospel, exactly? Like many evangelicals, I grew up thinking that the gospel was the claim that Jesus died for our sins, full stop. That description is correct in what it affirms but wrong in what it leaves out, for the Gospel is so much more. […]
Intelligent Design and Astrology
Yesterday in the discussion for my article “The Anthropocentrism Switcheroo“, I made the following comment: “Everybody’s interested in how some words are defined. Like most scientists, Tyson is very interested to defend a particular definition of “science” … and to ensure that dissonant definitions like that assumed by ID are excluded.” This prompted Andy Schueler […]
Belief and Doubt in the 21st Century
March 2015 discussion at Taylor Seminary
Does God Exist? The Rauser/Schieber Debate
Debating the existence of God – Randal Rauser arguing for the affirmative, Justin Schieber arguing for the negative. Held at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, March 7, 2015.
Interview: What on Earth Do We Know About Heaven?
March, 2015 – boldcupofcoffee.com We sat down with Dr. Randal Rauser to discuss his book ‘What On Earth Can We Know About Heaven’ and explored the idea of our theology of the after life, how it effects our daily living and why it matters.
Interview: Healthy Debate and Discussion
February, 2015 – boldcupofcoffee.com We sat down with Dr. Randal Rauser and Paul Douglas Walker and tackled the idea of Healthy and Helpful Dialogue in a world where the art of listening to understand is usually overshadowed by listening to respond. How can we be both open and critical in our conversations.
Interview: A Discussion on Apologetics
January, 2015 – boldcupofcoffee.com We sat down with Dr. Randal Rauser for a Bold Cup Of Coffee to discuss the idea of being a Tentative Apologist: Rethinking The Art of Giving a Defense and also his book: God or Godless. One Atheist. One Christian. Twenty Controversial Questions. (with John W. Loftus)
A Reader’s Journey through God or Godless this May
Two weeks from today, on May 4th, I will be starting a new series in which I blog through the twenty chapters of God or Godless, my 2013 book with John Loftus. I’d invite readers who haven’t yet read the book to pick up a copy. (The Amazon widget link is right there on the right […]
The Anthropocentrism Switcheroo?
One of Justin Schieber’s arguments in our recent debate was based on the size and hostility of the universe. Justin argues that the size and hostility of the universe to (human) life favors naturalism over theism because we would expect the universe to be large and hostile to life if naturalism were true but we […]