In my previous post I found myself in the surprising situation of defending Pat Robertson’s widely panned commentary on the morality of divorce in the case of advanced Alzheimer’s. I was not necessarily agreeing with Pat’s view, but I was certainly sympathetic to it. Not everyone was in agreement. A couple people offered reasonable […]
ethics
Is it moral to divorce a spouse with Alzheimer’s Disease?
If you would have told me yesterday that I would find myself in sympathy with a controversial ethical position taken by Pat Robertson I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are. Christian Post blogger Olabode Ososami’s article “Divorce and Pat Robertson’s Alzheimer’s Gaffe” has changed all that. In an interesting article Ososami points out that […]
Does God answer prayers for parking spaces at the Pottery Barn?
Right now a prayer is being offered up by a desperate mother somewhere at a camp in Somalia. Her severely malnourished child is suffering from severe diarrhea and vomiting. She has been told by one of the men that these are signs of cholera. Her child is dying in her arms and she can do […]
While we’re on the topic of abortion, here’s a great debate (and the prochoice guy wins!)
Abortion is, as we all know, one of the most heated of all moral debates. That is one of the reasons I think so highly of this debate between Peter Kreeft and David Boonin of the University of Boulder. It is all about careful moral reasoning rather than heightened moral rhetoric. (Not to say that […]
Did Adam Smith’s invisible hand give us the “Skymall” catalogue?
I continue my recent practice of reposting old articles from my CP blog that are no longer available. In this post (originally titled “The Tragedy of Capitalism”) I offer a meditation on the absurdity of contemporary consumer capitalism. *** One hour into my flight home yesterday from Denver, panic set in. I had completed my […]
Abortion and the old Coat hanger Argument
“We tried universal illegal abortion and the results were quite horrific.” That statement was written by one of my faithful readers named Beetle and it is worth some reflection. It is worthy of that reflection because it provides a handy rehash of that most venerable and visceral of pro-choice arguments: the coat hanger argument. That argument seems […]
How many ‘F’ words in a film is TOO many?
It has been nineteen years since conservative commentator and film critic Michael Medved published the bestseller Hollywood vs. America: Popular Culture and the War on Traditional Values (HarperCollins, 1992), a book that made him a hero for “family values” conservatives across North America. While Medved made some valid points about the debasedness of some pop […]
Would Jesus drink a Budweiser?
You know what the difference is between Catholic and Baptist communion? When the Catholic priest prays for the wine it becomes the blood of Christ. When the Baptist pastor prays it becomes grape juice! Okay, maybe it isn’t the funniest joke in the world. Theological jokes do tend to be a bit on the stale […]
On the ethics of a Christian positively blurbing a book on atheism
John W. Loftus’ new book, The End of Christianity (Prometheus, 2011), a collection of essays by atheists, was just released a few weeks ago. It serves as a companion volume to last year’s The Christian Delusion. And it wears its raison-d’etre on its sleeve. I intend to provide a review of the book in the […]
Can we freely dispense with free will?
Last week I made the claim that “Naturalism is inconsistent with free will.” The most surprising response came from The Atheist Missionary who replied: “Absolutely. I no more had the free choice to type this sentence than I did to take my next unconscious breath.” It would seem then that The Atheist Missionary is a […]
Can atheists be trusted?
Last week Stephen Maitzen, a very fine philosopher of religion, provided the links for two of his papers. The popular distillation of the argument is “Does God Destroy our Duty of Compassion?” (Free Inquiry, (Oct/Nov 2010), 52-53). That is the place if you want a quick overview of the argument. The second paper, ostentatiously titled […]
Saving money on a stamp? An ethical conundrum
Let’s say I receive a letter from Alby. I want to write back to Alby. Is it permissible to save money on a stamp by putting my letter into his envelope and writing “return to sender” beside the return address? After all, I’m not lying am I? I didn’t write moved, which would indeed be […]
Three theses on devotional child killing
The article I presented at the Atlanta SBL meeting, titled “‘I want to give the baby to God’: Three theses on devotional child killing” is now available! This is the biggest release since Gran Turismo 5! So to read and/or download the paper you can click here or go find it in the “Academic Papers” […]
I want to know what evil is
The critics never liked Foreigner much, but then their mullet-wearin’ Camaro-drivin’ fans never liked the critics much. And really, who could resist the infectious drive of an arena-grade power ballad like “I want to know what love is”? Although Lou Gramm may have been asking what love is, I think he had a reasonably good […]
