The other day I was speaking about doubt to a group of Christians. During the discussion that followed one lady said that while she was a Christian, she thought that even if Christianity is false and reincarnation is true, that her current belief system would put her in good stead with the law(s) of reincarnation. […]
doubt
Can a person be 100% Christian if they’re only 50% sure it is true?
Christians are typically understood to be, among other things, people who believe certain propositions about God. For example, Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead. (Romans 10:9) However, as is so often the case, what initially seems simple becomes much more complicated upon closer inspection. In the past I’ve explored the complexities […]
Does one sin when one doubts? A response to Pascal
Countless people have wrestled over the years with the problem of divine hiddenness. In particular, they’ve wondered why, if there is a God, he isn’t more readily apparent in the world. More than three centuries ago Pascal provided the following answer: “It is not in this manner that He has willed to appear in His […]
How not to do apologetics: Lessons from Francis Church and Virginia (Part 1)
If you had a big question in the late nineteenth century, and you lived in the vicinity of New York, it made sense to send your question to The New York Sun newspaper. After all, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” As a result, when Virginia O’Hanlon began having big questions about […]
Is thinking about God a big waste of time?
Walter worries that such high falutin’ discourse might be. He writes: There are times when I wonder if the mental energy expended over this question is worth it. He then goes on to offer an argument for passivity about the most perfect being there could be. My view is that if there exists a benevolent […]
Things to keep atheists and Christians (and almost everybody else) up at night
In “John W. Loftus and the Ideologue Barometer” I proposed the following test to discern how ideologicallly committed a person is to their beliefs: Ask yourself this: if I were invited to discuss the three things that most bother me about my belief system, how quickly could I come up with a list and how […]
Blaming those who doubt
In my last post I critiqued the 5 Minute Apologist Rick Cornish for his claim that “Honest, objective investigation repays our efforts with more than adequate evidence to know him [that is, to know that God exists].” I don’t dispute for one minute that some doubt in God’s existence may be borne out of an intellectually dishonest appraisal […]
Conversations with the Five Minute Apologist (Part 2)
We now return to our spotty engagement with Rick Cornish’s book 5 Minute Apologist. Today’s quote comes from a chapter that discusses the existence of God as it builds toward the following climax: “When all the available evidence is considered, it overwhelmingly supports the existence of a personal, moral Spirit distinct from the world but […]
Doxaphobia and its foolish pretenders
So far as I know, “doxaphobia” is a neologism traceable to me. At least I haven’t seen it used elsewhere. And what is doxaphobia, you ask? Well first off, don’t confuse it with “doxophobia” which is the fear of expressing one’s opinion. However, doxaphobia is a kissing cousin of doxophobia. While the latter is the fear of sharing […]
Can you be expected to love somebody who might not exist?
In “Does God limit evidence to protect human freedom?” I critiqued Gerald O’Collins’ claim that God limits the evidence for his existence to protect the freedom of humans to choose to believe in him. David Evans responds: “O’Collins seems to be saying that God always leaves room for a reasonable doubt as to His existence. […]
Doubting your firm foundation
The other day a kindly elderly lady knocked on my door. She said she was from the Urban Missionaries of Canada and wanted to know if I would be interested in taking her survey. I agreed, though I told her I’m a theologian and that might skew the results. She smiled and said that would […]
John Loftus doesn’t believe Christianity is false after all!
MaxVel had an interesting exchange with John Loftus over the issue of skepticism. John continues to describe himself as a skeptic who doubts. So MaxVel challenged him by asking: “Do you doubt your doubt? Are you also skeptical of your skepticism?’ John responded with the complete lack of nuance that is his trademark. The guy […]
Why Christians don’t give up God easily (and why atheists don’t accept him easily)
Have you ever noticed that people are typically very reluctant to give up deeply held beliefs? Present a Christian with three unanswerable arguments against the truth of Christianity and next Sunday … she’ll go back to church. Present an atheist with three unanswerable arguments against the truth of atheism and next Sunday … he’ll still […]
Please rescue me lest I drown: On the fear of losing faith
The following is an essay I wrote on three different kinds of fears that keep Christians from examining their faith. Please rescue me with a strong hand to deliver from these waters of doubt lest I drown Bill Mallonee, “Dreamcoat” Some years ago a seminary student came to me with a question. She had […]
