Recently, I shared some reflections on the issue of immigration. Drawing on Deuteronomy 23:15–16 and the way this passage was interpreted and applied by 18th-century abolitionists, I argued that our present situation is analogous to that of illegal overstayers fleeing certain forms of degradation in their home countries. Below are some of the responses I […]
Entries Tagged as 'Justice'
Some subversive thoughts about immigration part two: replies to objections
October 8th, 2025 Comments Off on Some subversive thoughts about immigration part two: replies to objections
Tags: immigration
A very belated report on my trip to San Diego
April 12th, 2015 Comments Off on A very belated report on my trip to San Diego
With trips to the US, Christmas, New Years, the summer break, Madeleine’s work, my preaching and juggling the family and the launch of my book, it has been a while since I blogged. Since the last post was about me going to the US I figured I should start by giving a very belated update on the trip […]
Tags: Evangelical Philosophical Society · Evangelical Theological Society · Society of Biblical Literature
On Judging Books by their Covers: A Fisk of the Secularist Outpost’s book review of Did God Really Command Genocide?
November 4th, 2014 Comments Off on On Judging Books by their Covers: A Fisk of the Secularist Outpost’s book review of Did God Really Command Genocide?
You should not judge a book by its cover, unless you are a secularist… then it is okay. In a post entitled “Books Like This Should be a Warning Signal to Inerrantists“, published on 26 September 2014, The Secular Outpost’s Jeffery Jay Lowder refers to Paul Copan and this blog’s Matthew Flannagan’s, then forthcoming, book Did […]
Tags: Canaanites · Did God Really Command Genocide? · Old Testament Ethics · Paul Copan
Richard Carrier and the Abhorrent Commands Objection
October 5th, 2014 4 Comments
In my last post, Richard Carrier and the Arbitrariness Objection, I argued that Richard Carrier’s attempt to defend Walter Sinnott-Armstrong’s arbitrariness objection failed. I also argued his defence of this argument is incoherent and engages in special pleading because the arguments he defends apply with equal cogency to his own version of ethical naturalism. When […]
Tags: Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Richard Carrier
Religious Freedom and Non-Discrimination
March 10th, 2014 20 Comments
Currently I am working on a post on the issue of non-discrimination rights and the morality of discrimination. In the mean-time I thought I would highlight the thoughtful commentary from James-Michael Smith in this video.
Tags: Discrimination · Freedom of Religion · Homosexual Conduct · James-Michael Smith · Religion in Public Life
Why Defamatory Speech is not Free Speech
May 27th, 2012 10 Comments
The following argument as to why a remedy requiring the removal of defamatory speech from a publication was not a violation of the right to free speech is representative of one I have previously put before the court: The right to Freedom of Expression is protected by s14 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990 […]
Tags: Defamation · Freedom of Expression · Freedom of Speech · New Zealand Bill of Rights Act · Rights and Freedoms
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.
Yet Another Lawyer Agrees: Marriage Amendment Act Bill is an Affront to Freedom of Religion and Belief
March 13th, 2013 22 Comments
Barrister Ian Bassett has given another opinion describing the risks to freedom of religion and belief of Louisa Wall’s Marriage Amendment Act Bill if it is enacted in its presently proposed form, which would include this amendment: “Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), no celebrant who is a minister of religion recognised by a religious […]
Tags: Freedom of Religion · Gay Marriage · Grant Illingworth · Ian Bassett · Louisa Wall · Marriage Amendment Act Bill · Marriage Equality · Paul Rishworth · Rachael Wong · Same Sex Marriage