In the past, I have often lamented the way that people exhibit cognitive biases in their critical engagement with opposing views. I have especially noted how Christian apologists are prone to do this (as in this critique of Andy Bannister and this critique of Paul Copan). But this isn’t just about Christians: non-Christians do it as […]
Golden Rule
If atheists are offended by a theodicy, does that give them a right to be rude?
In my interview “God and the Problem of Suffering: An Interview with Paul Buller” Paul provides a brief summary of his theodicy according to which God allows at least some evil as a means by which moral agents can acquire moral virtue. The article prompted a long comment from The Atheist Missionary (TAM) which concluded […]
On helping the poor
I almost retweeted this dig at Joel Osteen. Then I remembered all the things I haven’t sold to feed the poor.
Is the Golden Rule now a luxury we can ill afford?
Some time ago Catholic apologist Matt Fradd posted an exchange we had discussing God’s not Dead in which I offered some serious criticisms of the film. A reader recently posted a comment in response to the article which included the following passage: “I disagree [with Randal] that we should have a ‘sympathetic and a generous portrait […]
Things Christians say to explain away biblical moral atrocities
First off, what’s a moral atrocity? It is the kind of event perpetrated by moral agents such that, if you read about it in the newspaper, you’d naturally exclaim “That’s a moral atrocity!” And by saying that you’d be meaning (among other things) that the event in question is an egregious moral evil which could not plausibly […]
Does the Golden Rule apply in geopolitics?
Do you really think the only way to bring about the peace is to sacrifice your children and kill all your enemies? (Larry Norman, “The Great American Novel“, 1972) In “American-based terrorism, or, Why I think I’d like to be a Quaker” I pointed out one terrorist that the United States had harbored for years. […]
