This section includes popular articles, academic (peer-reviewed) articles (published and unpublished), as well as academic book reviews.
Popular Articles
“Facing Evil: Why Christians and Atheists Need Each Other“
An article I wrote for Beliefnet in April, 2013.
“The ‘New Atheism’ as ‘Good News'” (christianity.ca)
While Christians have often lamented the rise of the so-called “new atheism”, I argue in this article that it provides an excellent opportunity to discuss the powerful evidence for the Christian worldview.
“How Could I Be Happy in Heaven With a Loved One in Hell?” (christianity.ca)
In this article (which originally appeared in Faith Today) I consider one of the most difficult of all questions: how can there be a heaven in light of the torment of those in hell?
Interview with Randal Rauser on Finding God in the Shack (Christiancinema.com)
This interview focuses on the book Finding God in the Shack and the many issues that have been raised by Paul Young’s best-selling book.
What is Baptism?
This paper was originally written for Alberta Baptist Association (ABA) churches to provide a survey introduction to the sacrament of baptism.
Academic Articles
“Not Caring About God Too Much: On Apatheism as Virtue”
Download here: A Defense of Apatheism
“The Atheist and the Antitheist: A Critique of the Rebellion Thesis.”
Annual FaithLife Lecture at Concordia University (Edmonton, AB)
Download here: The Atheist and the Antitheist
“The Antitheist Meets the Shepherd: A response to Yoram Hazony’s The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture” in Journal of Analytic Theology
“I want to Give the Baby to God: Three Theses on Devotional Child Killing”
Presented at the Evangelical Philosophical Society Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA (2010)
In this paper I argue that Christians ought (1) to reject all claims of praiseworthy or permissible devotional child killing or (2) at least that they ought to reject biblical claims of praiseworthy or permissible devotional child killing or (3) at least they ought to support the legitimacy and importance of the view that rejects praiseworthy or permissible devotional child killing.
“‘Learning in a Time of (Cultural) War: Indoctrination in Focus on the Family’s “The Truth Project” Christian Scholar’s Review
In this paper I analyze Focus on the Family’s thirteen hour worldview curriculum called “The Truth Project”. I examine it both for pedagogical style and informational content to demonstrate how it manifests disturbing indoctrinational elements.
“‘Let Nothing that Breathes Remain Alive.’ On the Problem of Divinely Commanded Genocide.”
Philosophia Christi
In this paper I critique Paul Copan’s defense of the Canaanite genocide while developing four counter-arguments to the possiblity that God could have commanded genocidal acts.
“On the Immorality of Disproving Peter Unger”
(unpublished)
In this paper I discuss Peter Unger’s arguments for our bracing obligations to the world’s poor (in the book Living High and Letting Die) as well as the moral implications of dissenting from his arguments.
“Worshipping a Flying Teapot? What to Do When Christianity Looks Ridiculous”
(The Other Journal)
In this article I discuss the importance of developing plausibility frameworks when doing apologetics. I advocate the pursuit of long-term cultural renewal as one dimension in the task of making Christianity plausible once again to the secular West.
Rauser-Worshipping-a-Flying-Teapot
“Is the Trinity a True Contradiction?”
(Quodlibet Journal)
In the article “Is the Trinity a True Contradiction?” I consider the possibility that an appeal to paraconsistency in logic could be used to explain the apparently contradictory nature of the Christian confession that in God 1 = 3 (that is there is one God who is three wholly distinct and completely divine persons).
(If the link does not work please cut and paste it into your address bar.)
“Rahner’s Rule: An Emperor Without Clothes?”
(International Journal of Systematic Theology)
In this article I argue that the well known axiom Rahner’s Rule appears to be either trivial or obviously false.
“Theology as a Bull Session”in Analytic Theology: New Essays in the Philosophy of Theology, eds. Oliver Crisp and Michael Rea
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009)
In this article I engage the philosophical discussion initiated by Harry Frankfurt and later taken up by G.A. Gohen and others around the concept of bulls__t, a term which references a disinterest in truth that contrasts both with truth-telling and lying. Unfortunately this disinterest in truth often affects academic discourse just as it affects other areas of society (e.g. advertising and politico-speak). I argue the point through a critique of the respective theologies of Jurgen Moltmann and Sallie McFague.
View Book Details on amazon.com
Academic Book Reviews
Book Review
International Journal of Systematic Theology
A review of Veli-Matti Karkkainen, The Trinity: Global Perspectives.
Book Review
Ars Disputandi
A Review of James Beilby, Epistemology as Theology.
Book Review
International Journal of Systematic Theology
A Review of William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland, Naturalism: A Critical Analysis (note: the review is on pp. 96-100).
