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 […]
skepticism
What is the Flying Spaghetti Monster (and why should I care)?
You are a believer
I just posted the following tweet: I find it tiresome that atheists regularly call me a "believer". Everyone's a believer in something. And if you always call *other* people believers you may not get around to reflecting on what it is that *you* believe. — Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) August 16, 2020 It is truly unfortunate […]
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 […]
Should you be able to say when you wouldn’t be a Christian in order to be a Christian?
This morning, I posted the following as a tweet: Atheists often challenge me by asking the conditions under which I would reject the Bible as God’s Word, or say that God isn’t perfectly good or conclude that Christianity isn’t true. The assumption is that if I don’t provide those conditions, the faith I now have […]
A simple way to rate the skepticism of atheists and agnostics
Ask your atheist or agnostic friend to consider the following scenario and then consider at what point she would conclude that God had answered the prayer and thus that God exists. So here’s the scenario. Your friend calls you up to say that she just received an unexpected bill for $4353.43 which must be paid […]
My Response to the Pinecreek-Doug-Dilemma
In “A street apologist puts me in my place” I provide a link to an extended critique of my critique of Bill Craig, courtesy of Pinecreek Doug. I’m laboring under some work deadlines at the moment so I asked my readers to view Pinecreek Doug’s extended critique and summarize the gist for me. Bilbo wrote […]
Reflections on a study Bible for atheists
Note: this is a revised version of an article I originally published in 2014. The online community of activist atheists tends to speak of their rational superiority to religious people. But the fact is that rarely have I seen such egregious, unchecked bias as I have among this group. And in this article, I would like […]
How do you know you’re not dreaming?
Chinese philosopher Zhuang Zhou once dreamed he was a butterfly. When he woke, he observed, “Am I a man who dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly who dreams it is a man?” And so, the epistemological question is this: how do we know that reality is not a dream? I’m going to offer […]
Could God command something morally heinous?
This article is excerpted from my 2016 book An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar (Prometheus), coauthored with Justin Schieber. Support the authors and consider buying a copy! You won’t be disappointed. Well, okay, you might be disappointed — life gives no guarantees — but I’m betting you won’t be. Anyway, without further ado, let’s […]
The Ways of Atheist Indoctrination
Many atheists are keen to identify indoctrination within Christian (or other religious) communities. Not surprisingly, however, they typically fail to recognize the extent that indoctrination can occur among atheists. In this article, I am going to take a look at indoctrination in the contemporary resurgence of atheism known as “the new atheism.”[1] I can already hear […]
Atheism, Christianity, and Naive Empiricism
The term naive empiricism refers to the view that knowledge only comes through empirical means (e.g. science). It’s called naive because this strain of empiricism lacks nuance and fails to recognize the amount of information, belief, and knowledge which is not acquired through empirical means. The most famous naive empiricists of the twentieth century were the logical positivists, but […]
God, deliver us from skepticism! (Then again, maybe not.)
The other day somebody on Twitter asked me how I manage to write so many articles. My response included noting the many sources of inspiration … like Twitter. As a case in point, consider this tweet that Michael Brown posted yesterday: When a reliable, trusted friend shares with you how God has worked a miracle […]
Conversations with Radical Doubt Part 2: How do you refute solipsism?
Solipsism is the view that only the individual exists. In that respect, the precise content of solipsism shifts with respect to every individual who holds it. If I am a solipsist then I believe only I exist and everything else I experience (including you) are contents of my mind and nothing more. If you are […]
