When the Human Rights Act was passed in 1993 I supported the writing of non-discrimination rights into law. At that time I, like many New Zealanders, believed that people had a right to not be discriminated against that the government should protect. Since then, reflecting on the issue has lead me to change my mind. […]
Entries Tagged as 'Ethics'
Nonsense on Stilts: Non-Discrimination Rights
March 29th, 2014 16 Comments
Tags: Discrimination · Rights and Freedoms
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
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
Talks from Baltimore Available
February 13th, 2014 Comments Off on Talks from Baltimore Available
For those who are interested, the Evangelical Theological Society has put recordings of all the papers presented in Baltimore online for a price of $4 each. My 2 presentations are available here. The talks include the Q&A so during the second presentation Professor Swinburne from Oxford University can be heard offering critical comments on my […]
Tags: Canaanites · Evangelical Philosophical Society · Evangelical Theological Society · Richard Swinburne
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
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.
