The Vote No blog will be linking to some of our posts as the referendum on the illegality of smacking draws nearer. The first one, published today, was my piece attacking the argument that those accused of child abuse should not be permitted to attempt raising a defence. It is already drawing comments – feel […]
Entries from July 18th, 2009
Senator Jim Demint on the Proposed Hate Crimes Amendment
July 18th, 2009 16 Comments
Wintery Knight has posted the video below from a debate of Senator Jim Demint speaking on the proposed hate crimes amendment currently before the US Senate. I do not agree with all of the Senator’s arguments; the Senator seems to oppose the idea that some crimes or assaults are worse than others; however, having distinctions […]
Tags: Hate Crimes
Top 10 NZ Christian Blogs – May 09
July 18th, 2009 7 Comments
The Top 10 New Zealand Christian Blogs for May 09 are as follows: [1.] NZ Conservative 14.5 (7 – 22 ) [3.] MacDoctor Moments 19.5 (22 – 17) [2.] MandM 20 (5 – 35) [4.] Something Should Go Here, Maybe Later (HalfDone) 25.5 (20 – 31) [5.] Keeping Stock 32.5 (29 – 36) [6.] Say […]
Walter Sinnott-Armstrong on God, Morality and Arbitrariness
July 17th, 2009 21 Comments
Is morality independent of religion? One common argument for this position is that denying it makes God’s commands arbitrary. Walter Sinnott-Armstrong argues, Let’s assume that God commanded us not to rape. Did God have any reason to command this? If not, his command was arbitrary, and then it can’t make anything morally wrong. On the […]
Tags: Atheist · Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Philosophy of Religion · Walter Sinnott-Armstrong · William Wainwright
Boonin’s Defense of the Sentience Criterion: A Critique Part II
July 16th, 2009 Comments Off on Boonin’s Defense of the Sentience Criterion: A Critique Part II
In Boonin’s Defense of the Sentience Criterion: A Critique Part I, I noted that a defender of the permissibility of feticide, who does not also want to endorse infanticide and who defends the sentience criterion, must “identify a reason for holding that the potential of a human brain is morally relevant after” the fetus acquires […]
Tags: Abortion · David Boonin · Don Marquis · Ethics and Medicine · Feticide · Sentience
Boonin’s Defense of the Sentience Criterion: A Critique Part I
July 15th, 2009 3 Comments
This two-part series was originally published as: Matthew Flannagan “Boonin’s Defense of the Sentience Criterion: A Critique” Ethics and Medicine – An International Journal of Bioethics Vol 25:2 (Summer 2009) 95-106. It is reproduced on this blog with permission. Abstract Defenders of the permissibility of feticide commonly argue that killing an organism is not homicide […]
Tags: Abortion · David Boonin · Don Marquis · Ethics and Medicine · Feticide · Sentience
See William Lane Craig and Christopher Hitchens debate: Does God Exist?
July 14th, 2009 3 Comments
You are invited to a Thinking Matters Auckland, God, Morality and Society, DVD screening: What: William Lane Craig v Christopher Hitchens debating Does God Exist? When: Tuesday 21 July – 7:00pm Where: Lecture Room 2, Laidlaw College, 80 Central Park Drive, Henderson, West Auckland Format: DVD followed by discussion. Cost: Free – donations appreciated. If […]
Tags: Apologetics · Events · Thinking Matters
A common objection to belief in the God of the Bible is that a good, kind, and loving deity would never command the wholesale slaughter of nations. In the tradition of his popular Is God a Moral Monster?, Paul Copan teams up with Matthew Flannagan to tackle some of the most confusing and uncomfortable passages of Scripture. Together they help the Christian and nonbeliever alike understand the biblical, theological, philosophical, and ethical implications of Old Testament warfare passages.
