thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
I’ve seen it many times. A confident statement by a committed atheist that religion is dying out. It is inevitable. Modernisation, especially science, has made it impossible for the virus of faith to survive much longer. Scandinavia is a peaceful paradise and almost godless, and shows that once society rides itself of God, prosperity and […]
Over the years I’ve met many people, in ‘real life’ and on the internet, who have changed their beliefs about God. Some have moved from unbelief to belief in Jesus, others have moved from belief to atheism. And I have come across a few who have changed their belief twice – from faith to unbelief […]
I didn’t have high expectations of this book. I’m not that much interested in the so-called new atheists, nor in those who argue against them. And I think the world probably has quite enough books about CS Lewis. But I am interested in the philosophical arguuments generally. And I am a great fan of Lewis […]
My friend Howie has a blog, Truth is Elusive, and his latest post discusses the philosophical arguments for the existence of God, and whether they are effective or even useful. His broad conclusion is “not very” – that is not for him, not for many people, only for a few. I mostly agree with Howie […]
Most of us like to think we are reasonable people. Most of us think we have good reasons why we believe in God, or disbelieve. But we all probably know people who think quite differently to us, and yet they think their reasons are reasonable and ours are not. How can we understand what’s going […]
Last post I referenced 20 arguments for the existence of God by philosopher Peter Kreeft, some of which I find convincing, others less so. So this post I thought I’d put my head on the chopping block and rate 7 theistic arguments and 7 atheistic arguments. I’d be interested to hear how others rate them.
Peter Kreeft is a Professor of Philosophy and a Catholic. He is one of the almost three dozen writers at Strange Notions, a blog devoted to discussion between atheists and Catholics. Recently he blogged outlining 20 arguments that support the existence of God.
The Cosmological argument for the existence of God has been around for millennia, and is still much debated. Christian philosopher William Lane Craig has used various versions of it for years in debates with atheists, generally very successfully. So when an agnostic cosmologist with an interest in philosophy examines it, we are sure to learn […]
People believe in God, or disbelieve, for many different reasons. What convinces one person makes no impression on another. So I am always interested in what convinces people, or not. And I am very interested in attempts people make to give an integrated and holistic explanation for belief. Fellow blogger (Minimalist Christian) Phil Hemsley was […]
Scientific studies have suggested that religious belief (regardless of whether it is true or not) has many social and personal benefits, but may encourage more sexist attitudes and a lesser degree of openness to others. Some recent studies have looked at the association of religion with prejudice.