The results are in on my survey on the strongest argument for God’s existence. And the cosmological argument has won! Since most folks these days are most familiar with Craig’s version of the Kalaam Argument, my guess is that most folks think Craig’s Kalaam Argument is the strongest argument for God’s existence. I’m sure Craig […]
Archives for October 2017
On the claim that believing God exists of necessity is “defining God into existence”
For the second time in as many days an atheist has tweeted me with the charge that asserting God exists of necessity is “defining God into existence.” Here is the most recent example, the amiable Shane McKee: So the theist merely defines God into existence? This is sloppy. — Shane McKee (@shanemuk) October 30, 2017 […]
An Atheist Defining Theism: The Curious Case of Sean Carroll
This week Unbelievable features a dialogue/debate between atheist Sean Carroll and theist Luke Barnes on whether God or naturalism best explains the universe. I was thirty minutes into the program when I found myself needing to press pause and ask, “Did Sean Carroll really say that?” And the answer is, yes, yes he did. So […]
New Atheism as a failed exercise in incivility and anti-intellectualism
One might reasonably identify the advent of the so-called New Atheism with the publication of Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion and Bobby Henderson’s The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster in 2006. Or perhaps Sam Harris, The End of Faith in 2004. One thing is clear: the movement — if one might indeed call it a “movement” — has been […]
Inerrancy: Still Hazy After All These Years
I grew up in a Pentecostal fundagelical church where we prided ourselves on taking Scripture seriously. That meant, among other things, a commitment to literal interpretation. From a literal six days of creation to a literal thousand year millennium, we took Scripture in what we believed to be the natural sense. And that meant reading […]
The Humility of True Leaders
The other morning I was watching MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle, guest hosted by Chris Jansing. In the segment Jansing was interacting with a panel including a general in the United States army. At one point she referred to the general as a “sergeant”. Oops! That’s a significant faux pas! Immediately, Jansing caught herself and, with […]
When Christian fundamentalism is at its ugliest
The feud between Donald Trump and Rep. Frederica Wilson has been ugly. (While all of Trump’s feuds are ugly, this is uglier than most) Particularly disappointing have been the disparaging attacks directed at Wilson herself. On that score the biggest disappointment was no doubt John Kelly’s decision to disparage her as an “empty barrel” and […]
The Storymen Podcast on What’s So Confusing About Grace?
This week I was pleased to be a guest yet again on one of my favorite podcasts, The Storymen Podcast, with JR. Forasteros, Matt Mikalatos, and Clay Morgan. The interview is a foray through evangelical Christianity, grace, salvation, and a healthy dose of pop culture. You can visit the podcast below. http://www.norvillerogers.com/podcast/storymen/ https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/extras-tentativeapologist/StoryMen-Episode170-ConfusingGrace.mp3Podcast: Play in […]
Which Conversations Will You Sponsor?
In my previous article, “If you don’t debate young earth creationists, are you stifling the debate?” I argued for the general policy of not debating with young earth creationists or giving them a platform. One of my readers, Mark, expressed some reluctance with this policy. The concern was free speech. He wrote: “I am a pretty […]
If you don’t debate young earth creationists, are you stifling the debate?
The other day I listened to a young earth creationist debate on “Unbelievable”. I was not impressed by the representative of young earth creationism. Not only did he challenge his Christian interlocutor by suggesting he had a sinful reading of Genesis, but he engaged in an old young earth creationist tactic called the “Gish Gallop” […]
The Top Five Reasons I didn’t like the Young Earth Creationist on “Unbelievable”
This past week “Unbelievable” with Justin Brierley featured a young earth creationist named John Mackay in debate with theistic evolutionist Keith Fox. Professor Fox was congenial and no doubt is well informed on his topic of genetics. But he was not a great debater. And it became clear very quickly that Mr. Mackay was well […]
Conservative Christians find sex and violence offensive. But what about mediocrity?
The other day I found myself in conversation with some Christians about Netflix. One lady stated that she had decided not to get Netflix because she found some of the content offensive — pornographic, she called it. I was puzzled by this reaction. “No doubt the city library also has content one might find offensive,” […]
97. Redemption and Omar Khadr
The story of Omar Khadr is inextricably interwoven with that of Canadian identity in a post 9/11 world. For years his story occupied national headlines, often polarizing a nation as it embodied concerns about security and terrorism, Islam and the clash of civilizations, punishment and the promise of redemption. As a public narrative, Omar’s story begins […]
Thoughts and Prayers and the Atheist’s Scorn
Hurricanes. Wildfires. Mass shootings. The possibility of nuclear annihilation. Is it any surprise that we regularly hear the call to extend “thoughts and prayers” to others? As predictable as that phrase may be at times like this, equally predictable is the scornful reply from many an atheist. That reply typically amounts to “Thoughts and prayers? […]
