The New Zealand Association of Rationalist Humanists (“NZARH”) has a statement of aspirational ideals for the New Zealand state on their website. Entitled “The Tolerant Secular State” it is anything but. The first two sentences of the document exhibit a confusion which is inherent throughout (and commonly found in discussions of church and state): “The […]
Entries Tagged as 'Philosophy of Religion'
The New Zealand Association of Rationalist Humanists and the Privileging of Secularism
December 20th, 2010 189 Comments
Tags: Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Free Exercise · Freedom of Religion · Harry Potter · Jurisprudence · Lord Voldemort · NZARH · Paul Rishworth · Religion in Public Life · Rights and Freedoms · Secularism · Steven Smith
The Separation of Church and Self: Rethinking Separationism
December 16th, 2010 119 Comments
Is it just for a pluralistic society to ground its public policy on religious premises? What role should religion play in such a society? Debate over questions like these has figured in theology, philosophy, political science, jurisprudence and popular culture for centuries. In contemporary Western pluralistic society the debate continues. Even for those unfamiliar with […]
Tags: Christopher Eberle · Coercion Test · Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Endorsement Test · Freedom of Religion · Gerald Gaus · James Madison · John Rawls · Jürgen Habermas · Justice Scalia · Law Studies · Lee v Weisman · Lemon Test · Nicholas Wolterstorff · Philip Devine · Philip Quinn · Philosophy of Religion · Political Philosophy · Religion in Public Life · Richard Rorty · Robert Audi · Separationism · Stephen Carter · Terence Cuneo · Vincent Phillip Muñoz
Download Matt’s EPS Talk “God and the Genocide of the Canaanites” (& other EPS talks)
December 16th, 2010 10 Comments
In November Matt flew to Marietta, Atlanta, Georgia and delivered a talk entitled “God and the Genocide of the Canaanites” for the Evangelical Philosophical Society’s (“EPS”) annual meeting. Matt’ talk is now available to download over here at the EPS website for the very low price of $1.99 USD. The EPS have made available for […]
Tags: Apologetics · Atlanta · Canaanites · Evangelical Philosophical Society · Genocide
God, Morality and Abhorrent Commands: Part III Philip Quinn
November 29th, 2010 5 Comments
In this three-part series I look at some different ways of adjudicating conflicts between apparent divine commands and moral beliefs. I started with Immanuel Kant, I then looked at Robert Adams’ defence of Kant’s position. Now I will complete the series by exploring Philip Quinn’s alternative view. In “God, Morality and Abhorrent Commands: Part II […]
Tags: Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Kant · Philip Quinn · Robert Adams
Back from Atlanta
November 27th, 2010 13 Comments
On Wednesday I arrived back in New Zealand after a full-on week in Atlanta. During this time I attended bits of four conferences: The Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), The Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Philosophical Society (EPS), The Evangelical Philosophical Society Apologetics Conference “Set Forth Your Case” and the The Annual Meeting of […]
Tags: Apologetics · Atlanta · Evangelical Philosophical Society · Evangelical Theological Society · Georgia · Set Forth Your Case · Society of Biblical Literature
“Does the Universe Have a Purpose?” Dawkins, Ridley, Shermer v Craig, Geivett, Wolpe (in English)
November 22nd, 2010 30 Comments
Richard Dawkins, Matt Ridley, Michael Shermer debated William Lane Craig, Douglas Geivett, David Wolpe on the topic “Does the Universe Have a Purpose?” on Mexican television on 13 November 2010. This is the english version:
Tags: David Wolpe · Debates · Douglas Geivett · Matt Ridley · Michael Shermer · Richard Dawkins · William Lane Craig
In Atlanta
November 18th, 2010 24 Comments
I have a few snaps of Matt in Atlanta, this first one had our kids excited when they saw it [which should tell you everything you need to know about just how much Matt is a fan of Dr Alvin Plantinga – LOL!] Fellow kiwi Rodney Lake of Thinking Matters Tauranga, also in Atlanta attending the conferences, took […]
Tags: Alvin Plantinga · Atlanta · Craig Hazen · EPS · Francis Beckwith · Georgia · JP Moreland · Mary-Jo Sharp · Mike Licona · Paul Copan · Rodney Lake · SBL · 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.
