Observing the comments on blogs like this one, and trying to understand the thinking that informs them can be an interesting, but sometimes appalling, exercise. Most commenters here are liberal/progressive nonbelievers, but we get quite a few interlopers who come here to confront us, either to convince us that we are wrong, or often, it seems, just to disrupt our discussions. Their beliefs vary somewhat, but there is a common core that includes religious belief and far-right political views. Of… Read more
November 15, 2019
Religiosity and Anti-Vaxxers
November 15, 2019 By Jonathan MS Pearce
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Religiosity is dropping around the United States, that much is obvious from the stats. However, there has been a recent spike in those claiming to be religious, in at kindergarten age, in Vermont. This seems to be as a result of a change in exemption rules to vaccination. It is certainly the case that many countries or states around the world are considering whether to make, or have made, vaccination compulsory in light of a growth in anti-vaxxers, and a spike in… Read more
November 15, 2019
Act & Potency: Responding to a Critic
November 15, 2019 By Jonathan MS Pearce
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Some weeks back, I posted a short piece on act and potency, “Criticising the Idea of Potential and Actuality in Natural Law Philosophy” in which I quoted extensively from a book I am presently editing by Gunther Laird. Recently, I have received a response on this (“Response To A Tippling Philosopher On Act and Potency”) from Harrison Jennings at Quaestiones Disputatae. Whilst Jennings admits that conceptual nominalism is incompatible with Thomistic philosophy, which I assert in my post, it is not… Read more
November 11, 2019
The Problem of Evil, Skeptical Theism and “Good Reasons”
November 11, 2019 By Jonathan MS Pearce
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I have been discussing the Problem of Evil (POE) a bit recently, particularly the Logical Problem of Evil (LPOE), and without wanting to defend theism and belief in God, I have been defending the logical possibility of OmniGod in light of the existence of suffering. The basis of the POE, of course, is that if God is all-loving, -knowing and -powerful, then how come there is so much suffering in the world. The theist appeals primarily to some form of… Read more
November 10, 2019
Discussing the Logical Problem of Evil & Skeptical Theism
November 10, 2019 By Jonathan MS Pearce
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An interesting thread has developed on the thread to the post concerning the Logical Problem of Evil (LPOE) – thanks to those involved. I thought I would post some specific ones here for further discussion: [Slograman] @Jonathan Improbable as it may be, does LPOE also cover the morality of creating two moral systems (human morality and divine morality), and hiding the “logic” behind divine morality from human understanding? I find the very act to be not just improbable, but also… Read more
November 9, 2019
Meanwhile, in a Country with Decent Leadership…
November 9, 2019 By Jonathan MS Pearce
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New Zealand, on the right side of history. Important, given that 11,000 scientists have just warned: The world’s people face “untold suffering due to the climate crisis” unless there are major transformations to global society, according to a stark warning from more than 11,000 scientists. “We declare clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency,” it states. “To secure a sustainable future, we must change how we live. [This] entails major transformations in the ways our global… Read more
November 8, 2019
The Logical Problem of Evil
November 8, 2019 By Jonathan MS Pearce
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I have recently brought up the good ole problem of evil in a post concerning both religion and politics. Skl, a regular theistic commenter, was surprised by my remarks: [JP – There is no logical inconsistency with OmniGod and the existence of suffering, given his properties. … I don’t deny that there could be a reason why untold amounts of suffering might exist in the world. It’s not logically impossible in the context of OmniGod.] I had to read that more than once to make sure… Read more
November 6, 2019
The Problem of Evil & Politics: Defending the Indefensible
November 6, 2019 By Jonathan MS Pearce
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The Problem of Evil argument is ubiquitous in the world of theology and philosophy of religion. The debaters using this argument attempt to solve or accentuate the problem that exists in trying to understand the amount of suffering that takes place in the world, given that God is all-loving, all-powerful and all-knowing. The existence of God, to the theist, is so integral to their own existence and worldview that nothing can get in the way of concluding that God exists…. Read more
November 6, 2019
Entitlements
November 6, 2019 By Bert Bigelow
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Entitlement (noun) Having a right to something. The belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. A government program that provides benefits to any individual meeting certain eligibility requirements. As you can see, the word has a number of meanings. The Declaration of Independence asserts that “all men are endowed by their Creator” with those famous “unalienable rights.” That’s entitlement writ large! Too bad they didn’t include women in that, but I’m sure that’s what they intended…. Read more
November 5, 2019
Research Busts Faith School Academic Excellence Myth
November 5, 2019 By Jonathan MS Pearce
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I have previously written several articles laying out the problems with making the claim (particularly in the UK context) that faith schools are better for one reason or another: Are Faith Schools Better? An Issue of Correlation vs Causation Taxpayers Effectively Completely Fund Faith Schools ‘Faith’ schools three times more socially selective than others, new research finds (again) And so on. Now, more research has been published to defend my previously established views. As The British Humanist Association report: New… Read more
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