@RealAtheology is a first-rate curator of engaging philosophy of religion content on Twitter. In this article, I’m going to interact with one of those tweets: ..if Heaven is as good as any place can possibly be—and if human beings have severely limited freedom of action in Heaven, then there is at least some reason to […]
freedom
Does religion impose oppressive dress codes?
One of countless examples of a child being forced to wear something they don't want to wear due to social expectations. Unfortunately, for "Atheist Republic" that common social reality is framed as theism vs. atheism. As if atheist kids never have to wear stuff they don't like????? https://t.co/D9NSjneXw0 — Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) February 4, 2019 […]
My Eyes are Mirrors: A reflection on my dog staring out the window
The other day I took this close up of one of my dogs — Sonny — staring out the window, past the front porch and to the world waiting beyond. My wife pointed out that the porch and blue sky beyond were mirrored in Sonny’s eye (I apologize for the gross eye closeup): That in […]
Ted Cruz’s Five Most Beautiful and Powerful (but very UnChristian) Words
So I’m watching Ted Cruz’s speech at the GOP Convention tonight when he says the following: “Our nation is exceptional because it was built on the five most beautiful and powerful words in the English language, ‘I want to be free.’” Really? Those are the five most beautiful and powerful words? Wait, I thought Ted […]
When you are so free that you’re not free to choose evil
The 59-Second Apologist podcast on the topic “Will we have free will in heaven?” elicited the following comment from Mike D: “If the only possible choices in a Heavenly moral dilemma are all morally perfect ones, then you’ve basically just neutered the concept of free will into meaninglessness, because all possible choices are equally valid […]
Blessed are the unreflective?
What is the Gospel of salvation? What is it that you must believe to be saved? The minute you start identifying the necessary and sufficient conditions for benefiting from the Gospel with assent to a certain set of propositions, an uncomfortable consequence follows. You might call it the “blessed are the unreflective” clause. It goes […]
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 […]
