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Randal Rauser

Home of progressively evangelical, generously orthodox, rigorously analytic, revolutionary Christian thinking (that's what I'm aiming for anyway)

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naturalism

Love comes from lousy neurons

April 27, 2018 by Randal

Wow, this guy is a real charmer. Here is a great example of why scientists (Linden is a professor of neuroscience) tend to make terrible poets, philosophers, and greeting card writers. Donald McKay, a wise Christian and scientist, used to warn of the naive “nothing buttery” of those who assume that demonstrating a physical, chemical, or […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: love, naturalism, reductionism

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a Partisan Hack with No Class

February 17, 2018 by Randal

Neil deGrasse Tyson could be a great science educator if only he would stick to science. He’s clever, articulate, highly knowledgeable, and has an undeniable folksy charm. Unfortunately, he also has an unfortunate penchant for engaging in wholly gratuitous and uninformed attacks on religious people. And this is where things get ugly. Tyson may know […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, naturalism, Neil deGrasse Tyson, partisanship

The Provincial Atheist

September 26, 2017 by Randal

The term provincialism refers to the unsophisticated individual who confuses their regional perspective (i.e. from the provinces) with a global or universal perspective. As a case in point, consider this passage from A.C. Grayling: tell an average intelligent adult hitherto free of religious brainwashing that somewhere, invisibly, there is a being somewhat like us, with desires, […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: A.C. Grayling, atheism, naturalism, provincialism

Is the human species sufficiently unimpressive that it supports naturalism over theism?

October 29, 2016 by Randal

Yesterday Jeff Lowder posted the following tweet: I replied: But Jeff disagreed: So if you hear a new heavy album and the guitars sound like they’re being played by second year guitar students, that provides a good reason to think the album wasn’t recorded by Metallica. Sure, all things being equal, that makes sense. (Having […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: apologetics, atheism, humanity, naturalism, Paul Draper, theism

How the British Humanist Association Promotes Propaganda

September 10, 2016 by Randal

This is my second critique of the British Humanist Association video “How do we know what is true?” In my first article on the topic I pointed out how the video tacitly endorses scientism and thereby undermines the value claims upon which humanism is predicated. It is now time to turn to the deeper and […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, British Humanist Association, epistemology, humanism, indoctrination, naturalism, propaganda, scientism

A Limited Appetite for Wonder

February 10, 2016 by Randal

There is no doubt that Richard Dawkins has an appetite for wonder. The title of his memoir tells us so. If that’s too cheeky, then let me hasten to add that I have no doubt he does have an appetite for wonder. While I haven’t read Dawkins’ memoir, I have read several of his other […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: An Appetite for Wonder, materialism, naturalism, Richard Dawkins

How to tell if somebody is demon possessed: points 3-5

December 17, 2015 by Randal

It’s time for me to wrap up this strange little series in which I discuss the criteria Father Thomas outlines for diagnosing an instance of demon possession. In this final article I’m going to summarize and evaluate points 3, 4, and 5. 3. New Language We begin with the third point which involves the demoniac suddenly speaking […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: demon possession, exorcism, naturalism, Ockham's razor

Jeff Lowder on Is the Atheist My Neighbor?

July 4, 2015 by Randal

When I was writing Is the Atheist My Neighbor? I wanted to have a chapter devoted to dialogue with an atheist. After all, the best way to gain perspective and nuance regarding the views of another belief community is to invite a representative of that community into conversation. However, not just any member of the […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, dialogue, Is the Atheist My Neighbor?, Jeff Lowder, naturalism

Knocking Down the Strawman Theist

June 21, 2015 by Randal

In my last article I made some positive comments about Julian Baggini’s book Atheism: A Very Short Introduction. The book is pithy, clear, and presents a very useful explication of how atheism relates to naturalism. Unfortunately, it is also brutal when it comes to engaging theistic philosophy of religion. This becomes readily apparent in chapter […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, Julian Baggini, naturalism, strawman, theism

Further reflections on Baggini’s Atheism: A Very Short Introduction

June 20, 2015 by Randal

Just over a year ago I began reading Julian Baggini’s little book Atheism: A Very Short Introduction. It’s a great little book, far more engaging and reliable than a library of new atheist books. That doesn’t mean I agree with it, however. Indeed, I didn’t get far before I wrote a response “Is atheism a […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, Julian Baggini, naturalism

Religion without God : A Review (Part 1)

June 3, 2015 by Randal

Ronald Dworkin. Religion without God. Oxford University Press, 2012. “The theme of this book is that religion is deeper than God. Religion is a deep, distinct, and comprehensive worldview: it holds that inherent, objective value permeates everything, that the universe and its creatures are awe-inspiring, that human life has purpose and the universe order.” (1) […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, naturalism, religion, Religion without God, Ronald Dworkin

Scientism and Sneer Quotes

June 1, 2015 by Randal

In my article “Science is no substitute for religion: A Reader’s Journey Through God or Godless (Part 7)” I critiqued John Loftus’s attempt to claim science for atheism. For example, Loftus writes: “Science answers questions and solves problems. Religion has never answered one single question or solved one single problem.” (50) Part of my response […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, naturalism, scientism. Edward Babinski

A Primer to my Reader’s Journey Through God or Godless

May 12, 2015 by Randal

In retrospect, this primer should have come before I started my series on God or Godless. But better late than never, right? So why write the primer now? I realized I needed it after writing the third installment in the series which is based on the first chapter and was itself titled: “If there is […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: apologetics, atheism, Christianity, debate, dialogue, God or Godless, John Loftus, meaning, naturalism, theism, worldview

Justifying Naturalism?

April 28, 2015 by Randal

In my recent dialogue with Justin Schieber we had an interesting exchange on Justin’s commitment to a position he refers to as “naturalism”. To get the most out of this article, you should begin by taking ten minutes (or so) to get the background exchange. You can start watching from here. In this exchange, Schieber […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: atheism, justification, Justin Schieber, naturalism

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