One Man’s Modus Ponens…Part 5

November 27, 2013 by 3 Comments

Here is a creationist argument for the existence of God:1. If God exists, then it is very likely that the basic kinds of plants and animals all began to exist at the same time.2. If there is no God, then it is very unlikely that the basic kinds of plants and animals all began to exist at the same time.3. The basic kinds of plants and animals all began to exist at the same time.Therefore:4. Other things being equal, it is probable that God exists.Here is another … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apologetics, argument from biological evolution, arguments for atheism, atheism & naturalism, Bible, Christianity, creationism, evolution, logic, philosophy, philosophy of religion, religion and science, science, skepticism, theism 3 Comments

One Man’s Modus Ponens…Part 4

November 23, 2013 by 1 Comment

In A Companion to Philosophy of Religion, there is an article by Jeffrey Jordan on "Pragmatic Arguments", that covers Pascal's Wager. According to Jordan, there are at least three versions of Pascal's Wager. In this post I will examine one of the three versions, which goes something like this:1. Either God exists or it is NOT the case that God exists. 2. If God exists, then a person who believes in God will be much better off than a nonbeliever. 3. If it is NOT the case that God exists, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apologetics, arguments for atheism, arguments for theism, atheism & naturalism, benefits of religion, Bible, Christianity, logic, philosophy, philosophy of religion, religion, skepticism, theism 1 Comment

One Man’s Modus Ponens…Part 3

November 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Here is a Christian argument for the existence of God:1. If God raised Jesus from the dead, then God exists. 2. God raised Jesus from the dead. Therefore: 3. God exists.There is no need to make this into a modus tollens, because premise (2) clearly begs the question. The claim that 'God raised Jesus from the dead' assumes that there is a God who is available to perform miracles, such as the resurrection of Jesus. But the question at issue is whether God exists, so (2) assumes what … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apologetics, arguments for atheism, arguments for theism, atheism & naturalism, Bible, Christianity, logic, miracles, philosophy, philosophy of religion, resurrection, skepticism, theism Leave a Comment

One Man’s Modus Ponens…

November 15, 2013 by 24 Comments

Here is an argument for the existence of God:1. If there is a God, then it is very likely that there is a book that was written many centuries ago that is purported to be a divine revelation, and that is widely known about, and that is filled with nothing but true facts and wisdom and clear and sound moral guidance, and that provides great help for people to live good and happy lives.2. If there is no God, then it is very unlikely that there is a book that was written many centuries ago … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apologetics, arguments for atheism, arguments for theism, atheism & naturalism, benefits of religion, Bible, Christianity, logic, philosophy, philosophy of religion, religion, skepticism, theism 24 Comments

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 18

November 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

When I was a young boy, I enjoyed watching many episodes of Superman on a black-and-white television.  When I was about ten or eleven years old, my family would gather on evenings when the TV show Batman was on; we would eat hot-buttered popcorn while watching the show together.  Later in my life Hollywood began making blockbuster movies about superheroes.  Superman was one of the earlier blockbusters (1978).  For my birthday this year I received a set of Blu-Ray movies called The Dark Knight Tri … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apologetics, atheism & naturalism, Bible, books of interest, Christianity, debates, logic, miracles, philosophy, philosophy of religion, resurrection, skepticism, theism Tagged With: , , , , , Leave a Comment

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 17

October 27, 2013 by 2 Comments

Does L, the special source used by the author of the Gospel of Luke, represent Jesus as a male descendant of the Hebrew people?Like Mark and Q, L uses masculine nouns, pronouns and verbs of Jesus:L 7:11b-15 "his disciples" "with him" "As he approached" "When the Lord saw her, he had compassion" "he came forward" "And he said" "He gave him" L 7:36-47 "asked him" "He went" "took his place" "he was eating" "his feet" "this man" "he would have known" "touching him" " 'Teacher' " "he … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apologetics, atheism & naturalism, Bible, books of interest, Christianity, debates, debates, logic, miracles, philosophy, philosophy of religion, resurrection, skepticism Tagged With: , , , , , 2 Comments

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 16

October 13, 2013 by 13 Comments

Did Q represent Jesus as a male descendant of the Hebrew people?We have previously seen that both Mark and Q represent Jesus as a devout Jew, i.e. as a devout follower of the religion of Judaism. But someone can be Jewish in this sense of being an adherent of the Jewish faith without being a descendant of the Hebrew people.Q does represent Jesus as a male.First, the name 'Jesus' was a common name of Palestinian Jewish males in the first century, and 'Jesus' was NOT a common name of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apologetics, Bible, books of interest, Christianity, debates, debates, logic, miracles, philosophy, philosophy of religion, resurrection, skepticism Tagged With: , , , , , 13 Comments

Did Jesus Exit? – Part 15

September 27, 2013 by 9 Comments

Part of MJH (the Minimal Jesus Hypothesis) is that Jesus was a Jewish male. Jesus was "Jewish" in both senses of the word: he was an adherent of the religion of Judaism, and a male descendant of the Hebrew people, according to MJH.We saw in Part 14 that Mark represents Jesus as both a follower of Judaism and as a male descendant of the Hebrew people. What aboout Q? Does Q also represent Jesus as a follower of Judaism and as a Hebrew man?I will use the International Q Project … [Read more...]

Filed Under: apologetics, Bible, books of interest, Christianity, debates, debates, logic, miracles, philosophy, philosophy of religion, resurrection, skepticism Tagged With: , , , , , 9 Comments

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