Miracles & Scientific Method: Dialogue with Atheist

Last updated on: February 22, 2019 at 12:29 pm By Dave Armstrong

“Anthrotheist” (words in blue below) responded to my paper, Miracles, Materialism, & Premises: Dialogue w Atheist. This continues our discussion. He has been perfectly congenial and a worthy dialogue partner for at least eight months now. ***** It occurs to me, after taking some time to think about your responses, that I had missed a critical assumption underlying my biases (which are surely shared by many atheists and secularists): if every phenomenon has a natural cause, that cause can be investigated... Read more

Contraception, Natural Law, & the Analogy to Nutrition

Last updated on: June 24, 2023 at 10:16 am By Dave Armstrong

This reply to atheist Anthrotheist took place in the combox of my post, Miracles, Materialism, & Premises: Dialogue w Atheist. His words will be in blue. I collected four examples of my use of this analogy in past writings of mine (along with another observation by my friend, Al Kresta). There is considerable repetition, but we know that repetition is a great teaching tool, so I will leave it as it is. At the end I engage in what I thought was... Read more

Catholic Sex Scandal & Homosexuality: Reply to Atheist

Last updated on: February 21, 2019 at 8:02 pm By Dave Armstrong

This is an exchange with my frequent atheist debating partner, Anthrotheist. It began in the posted dialogue, Miracles, Materialism, & Premises: Dialogue w Atheist, and I will reproduce the relevant end portion of that here. Then it continued in the combox. His words will be in blue. ***** One example that I have noticed is how many things in society end up being blamed on the acceptance of homosexuality in our culture; the fact is, there aren’t enough homosexuals to make... Read more

Atheists, Miracles, & the Problem of Evil: Contradictions

Last updated on: February 21, 2019 at 12:21 pm By Dave Armstrong

If God were to prevent every instance of suffering, He would have to eliminate (it seems to me) both 1) human free will and 2) the laws of science. The first would turn us into robots, which is hardly a desirable outcome. The second would lead to chaos and an inability to do science. This is the high irony that I note among atheists. When they talk science, no miracles are permitted or even imaginable. But when they talk problem... Read more

Miracles, Materialism, & Premises: Dialogue w Atheist

Last updated on: February 22, 2019 at 12:36 pm By Dave Armstrong

“Anthrotheist” responded to my paper, Scripture, Science, Genesis, & Evolutionary Theory: Mini-Dialogue with an Atheist, which was a discussion with him. He has been perfectly congenial and a worthy dialogue partner for at least eight months now (I have seven dialogues with him posted on my Atheism page): thus proving that atheist-Christian dialogue is entirely possible, if both sides will simply listen to each other and be charitable and civil. It’s very rare, but it can and does occur, and that’s very... Read more

Ridiculously Politicized and Preachy Awards Shows

Last updated on: February 19, 2019 at 8:19 pm By Dave Armstrong

I refuse to watch any awards shows at all; I haven’t for years now. And I don’t because it is an insult to my intelligence. I’m not there to hear some actor’s political views, but to see excellence in the arts rewarded. I already know 98% of ’em are liberal clones and groupthinkers. I don’t need to be lectured like a snot-nosed kid about it. As for the Emmys in particular, I don’t watch network TV, anyway. I haven’t done that... Read more

Compassionate Liberals & the “Little” & “Littlest” Guys

Last updated on: February 19, 2019 at 7:44 pm By Dave Armstrong

In my opinion, liberalism ceased to be liberalism (in the very best sense of that term), when it ceased being for the “littlest guy” (i.e.the preborn child). I coined a saying many years ago: “the liberalism of death is the death of liberalism.” In the last election cycle, we also saw the increased irony and sad state of affairs, that liberals (basically — generalizing — the Democrat Party) also outwardly, openly distanced themselves from the “little guy” as well (working... Read more

Scripture, Science, Genesis, & Evolutionary Theory

Last updated on: February 18, 2019 at 2:17 pm By Dave Armstrong

Mini-Dialogue with an Atheist ***** This is from my analysis of the deconversion story (i.e., from Christianity to atheism) of “Anthrotheist”: a very pleasant, enjoyable dialogue. I have slightly revised it and added many links. His words will be in blue. ***** I honestly didn’t ever intend to claim that the Bible was meant to be a science textbook, but hasn’t it served at various points in history as exactly that? Sometimes it is misunderstood as that, by less sophisticated... Read more

“Faith Alone” & Salvation: Dialogue w Lutheran Pastor

Last updated on: February 18, 2019 at 12:38 pm By Dave Armstrong

This exchange came about in a Facebook discussion of my blog article, Faith & Works: Oil & Water or Two Sides of a Coin? Rev Ken Howes (Missouri Synod) is a friend of mine. We have engaged in several enjoyable and constructive dialogues and have great respect for each other. I would contend that such friendship (or at least respect: whether friends or not) is absolutely necessary for any truly good and instructive dialogue to take place. Pastor Howes has a law... Read more

Purgatory: My Biblical Defense of its Doctrinal Development

Last updated on: February 17, 2019 at 6:52 pm By Dave Armstrong

[drawn from various articles and books of mine, as a summary] ***** The bulk of Newman’s extraordinary work is devoted to the exposition of a series of analogies, showing conclusively that the Protestant static conception of the Church (both historically and theologically) is incoherent and false. He argues, for example, that notions of suffering, or “vague forms of the doctrine of Purgatory,” were universally accepted, by and large, in the first four centuries of the Church, whereas, the same cannot... Read more