If you want a simple and effective way to identify a Christian apologist worth listening to, ask them to share their thoughts on the problem of evil. If they keep their discussion of the problem in the abstract and if they suggest that it is a problem easily solved, you should keep looking. But if […]
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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? […]
A Case Where I Spend WAY TOO MUCH Time Analyzing a Snide Atheist Meme
Here is a tweet from the folks at “Atheist Republic”. Call it a meme if you want. (Might as well since the word “meme” seems to apply to most anything that gets retweeted.) So here’s the meme: pic.twitter.com/AduwjnloUq — Atheist Republic (@AtheistRepublic) August 16, 2017 I’m not sure what definition of “bullshit” the folks at […]
On Praying for Milo
We live in an age where extreme and hateful voices like that of Milo Yiannopoulos get way more attention than they deserve. I was disgusted when Bill Maher hosted Milo on Real Time last week (and I applaud Jeremy Scahill for withdrawing from the show in protest). By the time the video surfaced of Milo advocating for […]
Cursing the Killer: On Praying the Imprecatory Psalms
Over the years I’ve preached my sermon on the imprecatory psalms on several occasions. Not surprisingly, when you return to an issue on multiple occasions, your position is liable to develop in particular ways. And so it is here. Initially my assessment followed that of C.S. Lewis: the imprecatory psalms represent a wicked desire for […]
God and the Problem of Suffering: An Interview with Paul Buller
In this interview I discuss that most difficult of problems, God and suffering, with Christian apologist Paul Buller. Paul is a co-founder of the Network of Christian Apologists in Calgary, AB and the author of the book Suffering: The Heart of the Matter. But while Paul loves to pursue the intellectual side of Christian faith, his perspective on suffering […]
The Act of Killing: A Review
Pull the annals of the twentieth century off the shelf and you will find them dripping with the blood of countless victims of genocide. While Steven Pinker may be right that world history is progressively becoming less violent and more civil, that is little comfort to the victims of Hitler’s concentration camps, Cambodia’s killing fields, […]
61. The Chaplains: Notes from the Frontlines
Given that C. S. Lewis wrote one of the most influential theodicies of the twentieth century, The Problem of Pain, you might have thought he would’ve been uniquely prepared for the shock and grief of losing his beloved wife Joy to cancer. But you’d be wrong. Whatever the value of theodicies may be in the intellectual […]
Why “The Wolf of Wall Street” is an evil, despicable film
I haven’t watched Martin Scorsese’s new film “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Nor do I intend to. Consequently, you might think it a bit presumptuous of me to opine — and with such moralizing forcefulness! — on a film I haven’t yet watched. What gives? Well let’s start with the premise. The film stars Leonardo […]
Smith, Jones, and wandering into “Wandering in the Darkness”
Yesterday I started reading Eleonore Stump’s magisterial 2010 book Wandering in the Darkness: Narrative and the Problem of Suffering (Oxford: Clarendon Press). It’s a BIG book, both in terms of pages (668 of ’em!) and size (6.8”×9.6”). But even more importantly, it’s big in vision as Stump brings her formidable intellect as one of the leading philosophers […]
Check out my Beliefnet article on evil
The title says it all. I just published an article with Beliefnet called “Facing Evil: Why Christians and Atheists Need Each Other.” In the article I argue that each side has a challenge to the other when it comes to thinking through the profound problem of evil in the world.
Can free will solve the problem of hell?
I’d like to come back to my critique of Blanchette and Walls’ essay on hell in God and Evil. Let’s begin with a little indulgent self-quotation to set the stage: First Blanchette and Walls note that God could override human freedom that opts for hell, but he chooses not to because “Without genuine moral freedom, this […]
The Reason for Hell: A critical engagement with Timothy Keller (Part 3)
In the previous installment of this series I pointed out how Keller endorses C.S. Lewis’ dubious account of hell as self-inflicted torment. As Keller says, “hell is simply one’s freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory into infinity.” (80) What this view lacks in biblical support it more than makes up for in […]
William Lane Craig, God and Evolution
Earlier this week T’sinadree asked me to respond to William Lane Craig’s response to a question about evolution at “Reasonable Faith.” You can read the question and Craig’s response here. The question comes in the form of a challenge from Michel of Germany who argues that God would not have created through evolutionary processes. Michel’s […]
