Franklin Graham is scrambling to reschedule venues for his upcoming evangelistic tour of Britain. All the venues he had booked have since canceled because of his stance LGBT people and his view that gay marriage is an abomination. From the perspective of LGBT advocates, Graham’s stance is no different than a person who calls interracial […]
free speech
Which Conversations Will You Sponsor?
In my previous article, “If you don’t debate young earth creationists, are you stifling the debate?” I argued for the general policy of not debating with young earth creationists or giving them a platform. One of my readers, Mark, expressed some reluctance with this policy. The concern was free speech. He wrote: “I am a pretty […]
Standing up against prejudice … and being called a hypocrite
In my podcast episode “A Response to Bill Maher on Religion and Free Speech” I criticized Bill Maher for invoking prejudicial attitudes against religion generally and Islam in particular in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack. In the podcast I argued that while Maher purports to be defending free speech, in fact his inflammatory […]
59. A Response to Bill Maher on Religion and Free Speech
In this podcast I offer a response to Bill Maher’s recent incendiary comments against Islam. While Maher attempts to position himself as a defender of the true spirit of liberalism and free speech, I argue that his understanding of free speech is egregiously truncated and produces rhetoric which foments misunderstanding, demonization, and the eroding of […]
How much freedom would you surrender to live comfortably?
This is a follow-up to my article “Is Edward Snowden a traitor?” The main critique of Edward Snowden is that NSA surveillance curtails terroristic activity and makes citizens safer. That is, the government monitoring and logging all your communication exchanges with other people makes you safer. And Snowden screwed it all up. Well if this […]
Why (most) political advertising should be illegal
Yesterday Glen Stassen of Fuller Theological Seminary provided the annual Wahl Lectures at Taylor Seminary. Professor Stassen’s father was Harold Stassen, Governor of Minnesota (1939-43), President of the University of Pennsylvania, and perennial candidate for US president. During the Eisenhower administration Stassen worked closely with the president. According to Glen (who shared this anecdote at […]
Every community has controversies they don’t teach (or even tolerate)
The Atheist Missionary replied to my post on Mike Licona and academic freedom as follows: “Licona’s experience is precisely why I am so dubious of relying on the opinion of Biblical scholars whose tenure is tied to adhering to the tenets of any particular religion.” Walter then chimed in: “Ditto. This is why I am […]
