I have been producing a series of podcasts on the question "Is Christianity true?". So far, four podcasts have been published, and I'm currently working on podcast # 5:http://thinkingcriticallyabout.podbean.com/The first four podcasts are introductory in nature, but in podcast #5, I will be shifting gears and will start working on an evaluation of Christianity. The first four podcasts are introductory, because I was working on the questions "Why think critically about whether Ch … [Read more...]
How NOT to Argue for Agnosticism
June 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment
I recently purchased a couple of introductory books on the philosophy of religion. One of the books is by a contemporary analytic philosopher of religion, Richard M. Gale, titled: On The Philosophy Of Religion (Thompson Wadsworth, 2007). The other is by a philosopher named Gary Cox, who is not a specialist in philosophy of religion: The God Confusion (Bloomsbury, 2013; hereafter: TGC) Gary Cox is a British philosopher who appears to be primarily interested in Sartre and exi … [Read more...]
Is Necessary Existence Necessary?
June 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Consider the following argument for the existence of God.1. Something exists. 2. Anything that exists must either exist contingently or necessarily. 3. It is impossible that everything that exists is contingent. 4. Therefore, there must exist at least one necessary being. 5. Only God could be a necessary being. 6. Therefore, God exists.I think any argument in support of 5 is going to be very weak, but I propose to set it aside for this post and focus on 2 (only peripherally on … [Read more...]
Hinman’s Two Ways – Part 1: Outline of Argument #1
May 29, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Joe Hinman wants me to set aside Mr. Geisler's pathetic case for God, and to give serious consideration to his case for God, which includes at least two arguments:Argument 1: an Aspect of Being is Eternal And Necessary (ABEAN),andArgument 2: Religious Experience Meets Epistemic Criteria (REMEC).In this first post, I will only get started with Hinman's first argument, attempting to clarify the basic structure of that argument.Here is an excerpt from Hinman's initial post on t … [Read more...]
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 18: The God of the Bible Exists?
May 27, 2017 by Leave a Comment
After laying out his case for the existence of God in When Skeptics Ask (hereafter: WSA), Dr. Norman Geisler attempts to link the God that he thinks he has proven to exist with "the God of the Bible":Is this the God of the Bible? At the burning bush, God told Moses his name and said, "I AM WHO I AM" (Ex. 3:14). This signifies that the central characteristic of the God of the Bible is existence. His very nature is existence. ...The Bible also calls God eternal (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:2), un … [Read more...]
INDEX: Geisler’s Five Ways
May 25, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Here is my multi-part critical examination of Dr. Norman Geisler's case for the existence of God in his book When Skeptics Ask (coauthored with Ronald Brooks):Geisler’s First Argument http://www.patheos.com/blogs/secularoutpost/2016/10/16/geislers-first-argument/Geisler’s Five Ways http://www.patheos.com/blogs/secularoutpost/2016/10/16/geislers-five-ways/Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 2: How Many Arguments for God? h … [Read more...]
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 17: God Exists?
May 24, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Because Dr. Norman Geisler is unclear and confused in his use of the word "God", he fails to properly conclude his case for the existence of God in his book When Skeptics Ask (hereafter: WSA).But this failure is easily fixed. I will reconstruct the final inference of his case for God in this post. First, here is a comment that indicates part of what Geisler thinks he has proven:We have said that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good, infinite, uncreated, unchanging, eternal, and om … [Read more...]
Geisler’s Five Ways – Part 16: Just One Unlimited Being?
May 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment
A standard objection to traditional arguments for God is that even if the arguments were successful, they fail to prove that there is just ONE god, leaving open the possibility that polytheism is true, and that monotheism is false. In Phase 5 of his case for God in When Skeptics Ask (hereafter: WSA), Dr. Norman Geisler presents an argument that is intended to deal with this standard objection:We have said that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good, inifinite, uncreated, unchanging, … [Read more...]
Follow The Secular Outpost!