Big news yesterday: BREAKING: Boy Scouts of America will allow transgender children who identify as boys to enroll in scouting programs. — The Associated Press (@AP) January 31, 2017 Here is how Southern Baptist theologian and church leader Russell Moore responded: This is crazy, IMO. https://t.co/8ddusaaxjD — Russell Moore (@drmoore) January 31, 2017 I think […]
Archives for January 2017
Skeptical Theism and Skepticism Simpliciter: A Response to Jason Thibodeau
In his two-part article “If it’s okay for God to allow horrors, then we don’t know much about God” (Part 1; Part 2) Jason Thibodeau presents an articulate and concise skeptical argument against theism. There is a lot packed into his article, and I’m not going to attempt to address it all here. But in this […]
Elective abortion as the right to kill your children
There are few political and social issues as controverted and fraught with mutual animus as the debate over abortion rights. Unfortunately, the heat is only multiplied by the common retreat to unfortunate and misleading rhetoric. Consider, for example, the practice among some prolifers of referring to abortion as a genocide. This is language that I’ve […]
Responding to Four Popular Arguments for Atheism
I recently did an interview with Catholic apologist and Pints with Aquinas podcaster Matt Fradd. In the interview we made our way through ten popular atheist arguments/declarations. Four of them are available in the most recent episode of Pints with Aquinas (the rest of the interview is limited to those who support the podcast through […]
If it’s okay for God to allow horrors, then we don’t know much about God (Part 2)
This article is part 2 of a guest post by Dr. Jason Thibodeau. For part 1 click here. Jason teaches at Cypress College and blogs at The Secular OutPost. You can also visit him online at “Not Not a Philosopher.” III: Reply #1: We Know Enough In his recent book, An Atheist and A Christian Walk […]
If it’s okay for God to allow horrors, then we don’t know much about God (Part 1)
This article is part 1 of a guest post by Dr. Jason Thibodeau. Jason teaches at Cypress College and blogs at The Secular OutPost. You can also visit him online at “Not Not a Philosopher.” I: The Problem of Evil Every year in the United States an average of 37 children die after being left in […]
The Ethical Principle Behind #NotMyPresident
Over the last several weeks we’ve all encountered the hashtag #NotMyPresident along with the accompanying sentiment. The response has been predictable: Trump was elected by the electoral college, so he is president. And if you’re American, he’s your president, period. Yesterday conservative Christian radio host Michael Brown issued his own indictment of the #NotMyPresident crowd. In Brown’s […]
“You’re an atheist with respect to every other God. I just go one God further”: A Brief Reply
If you’re a Christian and you’ve invested much time talking to average atheists, you’ve likely encountered this potted rejoinder: “You’re an atheist with respect to every other god. I just go one god further.” The idea, presumably, is that there is something inconsistent and arbitrary about belief in a particular understanding of God. It is more […]
God, Evolution, and Creation: A Short Interview
Here’s are some clips from an interview I did with Pastor Todd Petkau of Riverwood Church in Winnipeg. In these clips we discuss creation, Darwinian evolution, and doubt. Dr. Randall Rauser Interview – Unapologetic from Riverwood Church on Vimeo.
Does the hostility of the universe toward life support atheism?
Justin Schieber argues that it does. I disagree. And then we argue our positions for an hour. And things get heated. Harsh words are spoken. Tears are shed. (Just kidding about that last bit.) But we do argue. For an hour. Still sound interesting? Check out our moderated informal debate on the Serious Inquiries Only […]
Faith That’s Not Blind: A Review
J. Steve Miller, Faith that’s Not Blind: A Brief Introduction to Contemporary Arguments for the Existence of God (Acworth, GA: Wisdom Creek Academic Press, 2016). In Faith that’s Not Blind, J. Steve Miller gives exactly what the subtitle promises: a brief introduction to contemporary arguments for God’s existence. At twenty chapters, seventeen arguments, and 125 pages (endnotes included), the […]
Does doctrinal agreement constitute evidence against God’s existence?
Justin Schieber and I debate this question in our book An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar. We recently took the show on the road with an in-depth and spirited debate on this question at Unbelievable with Justin Brierley. Click here to listen to the show with Randal, Justin, and Justin. And then join the discussion.
Some Unbelievable Reflections
A couple days ago Justin Schieber and I appeared on an episode of Unbelievable with Justin Brierley in which we debated the question of whether widespread religious (or theological) disagreement constitutes evidence that God does not exist. More on that in a moment. This is my sixth appearance on Unbelievable. Over the years I have been on the show debating with […]
Bad Atheist Memes: God, Sexuality, and Bacteria
Over the last couple weeks Jeff Lowder has forwarded me a few painfully bad atheist memes. (Keep it up, Jeff! These are always fun for a slow news day.) Here’s the one he tweeted me this morning: https://twitter.com/Atheist_Khan/status/818113221202681857 I replied: “Why? Because human sexuality is of no more moral or ontological significance than bacterial reproduction?” I […]
