As many of you know, in 2013 I published an apologetics debate book with atheist John Loftus titled God or Godless. I thought Loftus did a good job in that book because he can handle short, pithy debates. (And a mere $7 for a paperback is a great deal!) However, when it comes to his blog, […]
John Loftus
Can a subjective, private religious experience be veridical?
It has been a long while since I engaged anything written by John Loftus. (Though I still think our book God or Godless is an excellent primer to the God debates.) But today I decided to provide a response to a brief new article he wrote titled “Subjective Private Religious Experiences Prove Nothing!” As I said, the article […]
Is the biblical God ignorant about science?
In “Did the biblical concept of God evolve from polytheism?” I reprinted one of the opening statements from my 2013 debate book God or Godless authored with John Loftus. That was so much fun that I decided to add a second instalment. In chapter 14 Loftus’ debate resolution is “The biblical God is ignorant about science”. I’ve […]
Did the biblical concept of God evolve from polytheism to monotheism?
My 2013 book God or Godless (co-authored with atheist John Loftus) is a collection of twenty short debates. In ten debates I argue for a debate resolution and John argues against it. And in ten debates John argues for his own resolution and I argue against it. That’s the way it was supposed to work, anyway. But […]
Impervious to Reason? On the rhetoric of atheistic fundamentalism
I haven’t read John Loftus’ most recent book Unapologetic: Why Philosophy of Religion Must End (Pitchstone, 2016). But today I did take a look at what Loftus has to say about me. Here’s the most significant excerpt: “Randal Rauser is an associate professor of historical theology at Taylor Seminary, Edmonton, Canada. He and I coauthored a debate-style […]
Responding to John Loftus’ attack on my co-author Justin Schieber
As I have already noted, John Loftus has posted the first two installments of what he is calling a “book review” of my new book An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar co-authored with Justin Schieber. Loftus raised the fatuous objection that the topic of debate — God as defined in classical theism — is […]
Two Early Reviews for An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar
The reviews for An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar are starting to come out. Unfortunately Prometheus sent John Loftus a copy given that he is a Prometheus author. Not surprisingly, he is doing his typical polemical hack job. In the first two installments he largely focused on engaging in ad hominem attacks on Justin […]
On those who call for an end to philosophy of religion
As my regular readers will know, I have a book co-authored with Justin Schieber forthcoming in which we debate the existence of God. Debates on the existence of God belong to the field of philosophy known as the philosophy of religion. Thus, Justin and I are engaged in an extended debate within the philosophy of […]
Can a person be a fundamentalist about atheism?
The question was posted by Mike D in reaction to my article “Atheist Fundamentalism Lives.” Mike writes: “How can you be a fundamentalist about something that has no doctrines, creeds, or dogmas? That’d be like writing a dissertation about the richness of TV programming on the “off” setting.” Mike goes on to state that atheists […]
Atheist Fundamentalism Lives
Over the last year or more I have scrupulously avoided any interaction with the work of John Loftus. But I can’t help myself. When I saw the following blurb for his forthcoming book Unapologetic which comes from Peter Boghossian, I was unable to restrain myself from writing a brief rejoinder. First off, here’s the blurb: Unapologetic offers the Philosophy […]
Is Jeff Lowder a philosopher?
Several months ago I blocked John Loftus from commenting at my blog and I resolved not to respond any further to his asinine mud slinging. However, I do find the need to respond in this instance, not to Loftus’ attacks on myself, but rather on Jeff Lowder. As you probably know, Lowder has been a […]
Science is no substitute for religion: A Reader’s Journey Through God or Godless (Part 7)
In chapter 5 of God or Godless I take the lead with the following debate resolution: “Science is no substitute for religion.” Of course, it’s also true that religion is no substitute for science. Each area of enquiry has its respective domain. Just as physics, geology or meteorology will not answer the question “How shall […]
The Biblical God Required Child Sacrifices for His Pleasure: A Reader’s Journey Through God or Godless (Part 6)
In this, the sixth installment of my readers’ guide to my book God or Godless, we turn to Loftus’ thesis where he argues that: “The biblical God required child sacrifices for his pleasure.” In his opening statement Loftus argues that “despite some biblical exhortations that child sacrifice was alien to the worship of Yahweh, a closer […]
If There Is No God, Then Everything Is Permitted: A Reader’s Journey Through God or Godless (Part 5)
In the third debate in God or Godless Loftus and I talk about moral value and moral accountability. The title is borrowed from Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov so that what it lacks in precision it makes up for in literary and historical significance. My opening statement recounts a serial killer entering retirement after a successful “career” […]
