Last week I was invited to be part of a discussion on divine command ethics in Google hangouts. The full discussion is now on-line as episode 22 of Ode to Dialogue: “Discussing Divine Command Theory.” Enjoy.
Entries Tagged as 'God and Morality'
Video: “Discussing Divine Command Theory” Special Guest: Matthew Flannagan
September 1st, 2014 7 Comments
Tags: Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · MandM on Video
Ethical Supernaturalism is still more Plausible than Naturalism: Carrier’s Preliminary Objections
August 20th, 2014 5 Comments
Last year I had an article Is Ethical Naturalism more plausible than Supernaturalism: A reply to Walter Sinnott Armstrong published in the journal Philo. In the comments section a reader asked me to comment on a response to that article published by classical historian Richard Carrier. This post will be the first of several where I do so. In, Is […]
Tags: Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Publications · Richard Carrier
Dialogue with Randal Rauser
March 13th, 2014 1 Comment
When I was in Baltimore last November I caught up with fellow theologian and blogger Randal Rauser. Randal is professor of Theology at Taylor Seminary in Edmonton Canada. Randal and I have had some spirited but cordial exchanges in the past, including a panel discussion at the Society of Biblical Literature in 2010.While we do not […]
Tags: Baltimore · Canaanites · Divine Command Theory · Old Testament Ethics · Randal Rauser
Matt to speak at the EPS Apologetics Conference in Baltimore on Morality and God’s Commands
November 12th, 2013 Comments Off on Matt to speak at the EPS Apologetics Conference in Baltimore on Morality and God’s Commands
This blog’s Matthew Flannagan has been invited to speak at the 12th Annual Apologetics Conference of the Evangelical Philosophical Society in Baltimore, USA. The theme of this year’s conference is Reasonable Faith in an Uncertain World. Matt’s talk is titled “Morality and God’s Commands: Answering Common Objections.” The blurb for Matt’s talk is as follows: “It is […]
Tags: Apologetics · Baltimore · Divine Command Theory · EPS Apologetics Conference · God and Morality
Is a Divine Command Theory Psychotic? Sam Harris on Divine Commands Part III
November 5th, 2013 2 Comments
In Sam Harris on Divine Commands Part I I criticised Harris’ characterisation of divine command meta-ethics. I refuted Harris’ contention a divine command theory is pscyopathic in Is a Divine Command Theory Pscyopathic? Sam Harris on Divine Commands: Part II. In this last post in this series, I will address Harris’s contention that a divine command theory reflects […]
Tags: Debates · Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Is the Foundation of Morality Natural or Supernatural? · Religion and Violence · Sam Harris · William Lane Craig
In Defense of the Bible: A Comprehensive Apologetic for the Authority of Scripture
October 25th, 2013 1 Comment
Another of the books Matt has contributed to arrived from the publisher’s today. In Defense of the Bible: A Comprehensive Apologetic for the Authority of Scripture addresses and responds to the major contemporary challenges to the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture. It is edited by Steven B Cowan and Terry L Wilder and published by B&H Academic. The […]
Tags: Apologetics · Doug Geivett · Ethics · Genocide · In Defense of the Bible: A Comprehensive Apologetic for the Authority of Scripture · Mary-Jo Sharp · Paul Copan · Published · Steven B Cowan · Terry L Wilder · William A Dembski
Ad Hominens, Special Pleading, Straw Men & Red Herrings: John Loftus’ Response to MandM
October 3rd, 2013 26 Comments
John Loftus has written a response to my post “There Probably are no Duties. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Your Life!” Before turning to Loftus’ critique, let me recap my argument. While my post was satirical, it was intended to make a serious point. This being that many common and influential critiques of theism are […]
Tags: John Loftus · Outsider Test for Faith · Slavery

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.




