IntroductionA few days ago, Davidian, another of the authors here at Answers in Reason, linked me to an article titled ’36 Questions for Atheists’ on a site called ‘Adherent Apologetics’. While generally I would not respond to an article like this, I thought it might be interesting to reply. It is not that there is anything particularly special about this list of questions that lead me to respond, it is, essentially, a collation of all of the common questions that…
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Questions are great. They, hopefully, make us think about things and can open a world of conversation. I have spent a lot of time on the internet discussing various topics, and have often found the religion-based ones a bit of a dead-end. On both sides, we seem to have folks more concerned about pushing their own point forward and not taking the time to understand the other person. We also tend to come across the same points. I mean, how…
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This is part four of a four-part series. So God isn’t omnipotent. He’s still the Creator. When believers say, “God is beyond understanding, beyond definition,” they don’t really mean it. At the very least, I would say, there is one characteristic that provides a very clear definition of God: “God is the entity that can determine the nature of matter and its interactions in a definable region. God makes universes, at least this one.” That’s why Jews, Christians, and Muslims…
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This is part three of a four-part series. Is God all-knowing? Well, this is absurd on so many levels. If God was all-knowing then why were Adam and Eve punished (kicked out of the Garden of Eden) for eating of the forbidden fruit? Didn’t God see that one coming? Is it fair to punish someone for doing something that was practically built-in to their design by their supposedly perfect, inerrant designer? And what of free-will? How can we freely choose…
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This is part two of a four-part series. What is the nature of the Abrahamic God? Besides creating the universe and life, what does He do? What are His superpowers? There have been many secondary claims made about the Abrahamic God: He is variously claimed to be omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent (all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving). These claims are easily disputed through scripture, experience, and reason. Let’s examine them. Is God all-loving? The Greek philosopher, Epicurus (341-270 BC) famously asked: “Is God…
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What “Proof of God” justifies your position? I begin a four-part series today. Philosophers, theologians, and scientists have been grappling with the issue of God’s existence for millennia. Much of the discussion in past centuries may have been motivated simply by curiosity or by a protest against theological dogma. For many of us in the modern world, the notion of God is a very private one. God may show up in our prayers but frequently doesn’t have much effect in…
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Defining Apologetics Apologetics may be simply defined as the defense of the faith. The simplicity of this definition, however, masks the complexity of the problem of defining apologetics. It turns out that a diversity of approaches has been taken to defining the meaning, scope, and purpose of apologetics. From Apologia to Apologetics The word “apologetics” derives from the Greek word apologia, which was originally used of a speech of defense or an answer given in reply. In ancient Athens it…
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Jehova, The Immoral god The bible tells us not to kill, not to covet, not to be jealous, yet throughout the Old Testament there is an evil monster doing just that. Let me introduce Jehovah, the immoral god of the bible. He is a jealous god by his own admission and jealousy, in its very nature, requires the act of coveting. Due to this he will make those that decide to pray to or adore another deity pay, sometimes with…
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Evolution is supported by strong evidence and is a widely accepted scientific theory, so why do some Christians and Muslims still reject it? Firstly I would like to point out that not all Christians and Muslims reject evolution. Some even go as far to say it is metaphorically described in the Bible and Qur’an. Even some creationists are now saying that micro-evolution* is possible. However there are still a large portion that reject evolution. To put this in perspective, about…
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Is God a Psychopath? Firstly we have to define what it is that we are talking about. The God being addressed in this article is the Abrahamic God of the Bible, and as such, Biblical scripture and commonly held Christian beliefs will be used as evidence to support the case being presented. The term Psychopath is rarely used in modern professional psychiatry, and it is often used as being interchangeable with the term Sociopath, and both of these conditions fall…
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