Randal Rauser

Home of progressively evangelical, generously orthodox, rigorously analytic, revolutionary Christian thinking (that's what I'm aiming for anyway)

ethics

Grandpa drowns. Humanity flourishes

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James (of http://www.atheistspot.com/) has presented a secular morality which seems to look like this: Thou shalt commit acts which further human flourishing and not commit acts which inhibit human flourishing. I think this is just another form of utlitarianism where we seek to maximize pleasure or happiness and minimize displeasure or unhappiness. We could thus […]

Vomit flavored jelly beans and other offenses to the natural order

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As I noted last time, people disagree radically on their conceptions of what it means to flourish. To some people, flourishing would mean growing old and full of years. But Roger Daltrey (lead singer of The Who) hoped he’d die before he gets old (see the lyrics for “My Generation” for further clarification). And as for Eric […]

I wanna kill myself … and you too

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Conversational Atheist has listed at his website  9 facts that Sam Harris has provided to go from is to ought. Unfortunately, I found myself stumbling on his very first fact:  FACT #1: There are behaviors, intentions, cultural practices, etc. which potentially lead to the worst possible misery for everyone. There are also behaviors, intentions, cultural […]

How do you critique infant sodomy to a moral skeptic?

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Now things are spinning out of control. James retorts: “You have ‘argued’ that certain moral facts are objectively true because you happen to see them, or intuit them, or sense them, to be true. Some argument! Well, Gary the corpse raper happens to see quite clearly that rape is good. How are you going to […]

How to fixate on a tennis ball

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Silver Bullet asked: “Randal, Let me pose a scenario to you: The Christian god apparently once commanded that someone be stoned to death for picking up sticks on a Saturday. Was this objectively moral? If so, how?” AcesLucky has since fixated upon this question like a border collie fixated upon a sheep (or, in suburbia, […]

Morality, the Divine Right of Kings, and Democracy

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In the last few days I have been hammering on the objective existence of moral facts because this creates a problem for naturalistic and atheistic views of the world (i.e. they don’t have room for such facts). There have been some noble attempts to sidetrack me from this singular purpose. The most notable, posited by […]

Paranormal Activity 2 and Moral Explanation

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Watching “Paranormal Activity 2” last week left me impressed. It is a very effective film. The premise, in half a sentence or less, is that security cameras set up all over a house start recording some very unusual activity. Initially the father is confident that it can be explained by appeal to natural causes. For […]

Surely you can’t be serious!

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“Airplane” inexplicably did not win the Palme ‘d’Or at Cannes. Looking back, it is hard to believe that it was passed over when you have riveting scenes like this. But this discussion is not really about “Airplane”. Rather, it is about the fact that there are things people say to us to which we rightly respond “Surely you […]

Why Sam Harris should not go into retail

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Imagine a store called “Harris Mart” which advertises great prices while proudly touting the slogan: “All our packages are made in the USA!” Anxious to shop American, support the local economy, and benefit from the quality of fellow American citizens, the locals all flock to Harris Mart. … until they discover that the advertising is, to say the least, […]

Sam Harris’ moral claims refuted, rebutted, and rejected

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Let’s recap the case I present against Sam Harris in “The Sam Harris Sinkhole.” He purports to offer a scientific ground for ethics consistent with a naturalistic view of the world, but his whole argument depends on assuming that sentience is a morally norative criterion. Thus, he must assume the fact in order to explain it, a model […]

A cannibalistic serial killer enters retirement

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A cannibalistic serial killer entering retirement reflects on his accomplishments. Trophies litter his cramped apartment — bloody panties in the living room and frozen fingers in the fridge — and he values them like the retiring company man values that Rolex watch given for thirty years of faithful service. He knows that others value those mundane things […]