This is first half of the paper I presented to the Naturalisms in Ethics Conference at Auckland University last year. In many of his addresses and debates William Lane Craig has defended a Divine Command Theory of moral obligation (“DCT”). In a recent article Walter Sinnott-Armstrong has criticized this contention.[1] Armstrong contends that even if […]
Entries Tagged as 'Philosophers'
Is Ethical Naturalism more Plausible than Supernaturalism? A Reply to Walter Sinnott-Armstrong Part I
February 7th, 2012 9 Comments
Tags: Divine Command Theory · God and Morality · Robert Adams · Walter Sinnott-Armstrong · William Lane Craig
More Mistakes: A Rejoinder to Randal Rauser
December 3rd, 2011 158 Comments
For those who aren’t aware, there has been something of a “debate”, but what I’d prefer to refer to as an “in house discussion” between Randal Rauser (Professor of Historical Theology at Taylor Seminary) and myself. The discussion so far can be found here: My initial article was Randal Rauser’s Mistake: A Defense of Calvin’s Doctrine […]
Tags: Arminianism · Calvinism · Circular Reasoning · Divine Justice · Divine Love · Fallacies · Justice · Limited Atonement · omnibenevolence · Question begging · Randal Rauser · Sin · Soteriology · Systematic theology · Total Depravity · Unlimited Atonement
Divine Commands Post 9/11
September 12th, 2011 43 Comments
The night of September 11, 2001, was a night we did not get much sleep in. By 4am September 12 (New Zealand time) our two-week old son and 14 month old daughter had woken us twice already. Frustratingly, I awoke again sometime after 4am to a different noise coming from the lounge; it turned out […]
Tags: 9/11 · Divine Command Theory · Osama Bin Laden · Raymond Bradley · Robert Adams · Terrorism
Freedom of Religion in a Secular Society @ Auckland University this Monday
September 8th, 2011 Comments Off on Freedom of Religion in a Secular Society @ Auckland University this Monday
As part of AUSA’s Human Rights week at the University of Auckland, and in association with Thinking Matters, Matt and I will be giving a free public lecture with Q&A on the topic “Freedom of Religion in a Secular Society” on Monday 12 September from 7-8.30pm in Clock Tower Lecture Room 032. The Facebook page for […]
Tags: Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Events · Freedom of Religion · Human Rights · John Rawls · Rights and Freedoms · Separation of Church and State · Thinking Matters
A Godless Public Square: Do ‘Private’ Christian Beliefs Have a Place in Public Life? Part I Matthew Flannagan – Theology
August 22nd, 2011 74 Comments
A few weeks ago, as part of Jesus Week at the University of Auckland, Thinking Matters and Evangelical Union hosted an event entitled A Godless Public Square: Do ‘Private’ Christian Beliefs Have a Place in Public Life? This event was a conversation between Theology, Philosophy and Law and featured Matthew Flannagan – Analytic Theologian, Glenn Peoples – Philosopher and Madeleine Flannagan – Legal […]
Tags: Christopher Eberle · Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Evangelical Union · Glenn Peoples · Jesus Week · Michael Tooley · Nicholas Wolterstorff · Phillip Quinn · Religion in Public Life · Richard Rorty · Robert Adams · Robert Audi · Stephen Carter · Terence Cuneo · Thinking Matters
Response to William Lane Craig’s Question 225: “The ‘Slaughter’ of the Canaanites Re-visited” Part II
August 12th, 2011 158 Comments
In my last post “Response to William Lane Craig’s Question 225: “The ‘Slaughter’ of the Canaanites Re-visited” Part I” I discussed William Lane Craig’s position on the Canaanite Conquest account (in light of the fact that Craig referred to my argument in his question of the week: “Question 225: The “Slaughter” of the Canaanites Re-visited”). I […]
Tags: Atlanta · Canaanites · Evangelical Philosophical Society · Genocide · Nicholas Wolterstorff · Old Testament Ethics · Paul Copan · Question of the Week · Society of Biblical Literature · William Lane Craig
Response to William Lane Craig’s Question 225: “The ‘Slaughter’ of the Canaanites Re-visited” Part I
August 11th, 2011 6 Comments
Every week William Lane Craig answers a question on his website; this week’s question of the week is entitled “The “Slaughter” of the Canaanites Re-visited”. The questioner asked what Craig thinks of the Canaanite Conquest account. I got a mention in Craig’s reply: “The topic of God’s command to destroy the Canaanites was the subject […]
Tags: Atlanta · Canaanites · Evangelical Philosophical Society · Genocide · Nicholas Wolterstorff · Old Testament Ethics · Paul Copan · Question of the Week · Society of Biblical Literature · 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.
