There is a popular notion that doubt and skepticism are specially linked to atheism. But is that borne out by the evidence or is it just a bit of branding based on a limited selection of doubt? It is also very common to find atheism being linked to skepticism. There is a popular narrative that […]
rationality
Are there sufficient reasons to believe in God? My Opening Statement
In May, 2020, I participated in a debate on this question: Are there sufficient reasons to believe in God? My debate partner Sam and I divvied up the labor as follows: I argued that there are sufficient ‘reasons’ (i.e. properly basic grounds) to believe in God. Meanwhile, Sam argued that there are sufficient non-basic reasons […]
The Fact that You Were Once a Christian Does not Make Your Atheism More Rational
Who is Irrational? Some Quick Observations on the Rauser-Smalley Debate
I’m not going to comment on the entire debate. Instead, I will limit my comments to the historical resurrection of Jesus and related issues. In my debate on the rationality of Christian belief, David C. Smalley asked for historical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. I provided evidence. I noted that there is no […]
My Debate with David Smalley on the Rationality of Christianity
Today, I appeared on Modern Day Debate to debate David Smalley on whether a person can be rational to accept Christian belief:
Debating David Smalley on the Rationality of Christianity
Is Rationality Over-Rated?
The other day, I watched the 2019 Clint Eastwood film Richard Jewell about the security guard who discovered a bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and was subsequently accused of being the bomber. Jewell’s mother (played in the film by the always-excellent Kathy Bates) stood by her son, never doubting him for a minute. It […]
Are there sufficient reasons to believe in God? A Debate
Today, I appeared in a debate on the rationality of theism on the popular YouTube channel Modern Day Debate paired up with Sam Nes against Matt Dillahunty and Tom Jump. Check it out:
Does Being a Christian Mean Giving Up on Evidence?
This is a sermon I recorded for a local church in our time of coronavirus home-church. In the sermon, I argue that Jesus was centrally concerned with evidence to support his claims and this bequeathed to the church a strong emphasis on faith that is grounded on evidence as exemplified in the Apostle Paul and […]
Are Christians Inconsistent for Rejecting Non-Christian Miracle Claims?
In my article, “Responding to a Stale Atheist Talking Point on Miracle Claims,” I … respond to a stale atheist talking point on miracle claims. But since the article is a relatively brief amalgam of some tweets, it lacks in clarity what it makes up in brevity. However, I thought a second article that surrendered […]
The extraordinary claim that Christianity is irrational
This happens a lot: atheists online tell me that my beliefs are “absurd” or (only slightly more charitably) that I’m “irrational”. Here is an example of an exchange with a gentleman named Steven Tiger. He begins by taking the view that Christianity is ridiculous. Then he modifies it to the view that it is irrational […]
Would you get on the plane?
Yesterday, I posed the following question on Twitter: You wake up the morning of a scheduled flight from a vivid nightmare that the flight on which you’re booked crashes. You’ve never had a dream that vivid and it is terrifying, but you put it aside and drive to the airport. Once you arrive, you’re walking […]
Reasonable Belief, Reasonable Doubt, and the Resurrection of Jesus
Two days ago, I posted two Twitter surveys directed at two different groups and asking a similar question about an event which is purported to have occurred two thousand years ago. One would think it is possible for people reasonably to disagree about a topic this far removed in time and based on documentary evidence […]
Is Christianity falsifiable? Does it matter if it isn’t?
There is this all-too-common assumption among skeptics of religion that Christianity must somehow be “falsifiable” in order to be a legitimate interpretive framework for reality. The quick (and tempting) response is to say that Christianity is falsifiable: if there is no resurrected Jesus then there is no Christianity. However, many nominal Christians have continued in the […]