When I began university I had strong socialist leanings. The reason was that I believed, as a Christian, we had a duty to help the poor. Studying at Waikato University, however, brought me face to face with socialist academics and left-wing activists and I discovered a hostile and dangerous social agenda that I could not […]
Entries Tagged as 'Christian History'
What About the Poor? Sustenance Rights Examined
November 18th, 2008 4 Comments
Tags: Christian History · Nicholas Wolterstorff · Role of the State · Welfare
Take Nobody’s Word for Anything – Especially Bob Brockie’s
October 3rd, 2008 3 Comments
In one of the definitive discussions of the issue, Philosophers Alvin Plantinga and Robert Pennock debated the teaching of evolutionary theory in public schools of religiously pluralistic societies at the December 1998 meeting of the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association. [The following is a crude rendition of the issues in the debate – […]
Tags: Bad Reasoning · Bob Brockie · Christian History · Faith and Reason · Science and Religion · Urban Myths
More on the “Dark Ages” and Other Propaganda
September 27th, 2008 13 Comments
Those of you who have followed my discussions with Peter Cresswell on the history of Christianity and the relationship between faith and reason in the middle ages may find this abridged article by Dr James Hannam interesting. Dr Hannam has recently completed his PhD on the History of Science at the University of Cambridge. UPDATE: […]
Tags: Christian History · Dark Ages · Faith and Reason · James Hannam · Science and Religion
The “Dark Ages” and Other Propaganda
April 22nd, 2008 12 Comments
Perhaps I am a glutton for punishment, but I have been having an interesting dialogue with Peter Cresswell about the history of theology. To sum up PC follows the 20th century novelist Ayn Rand. Rand’s followers view Aristotle as the “father of the enlightenment,” they appear to hold a view of history that is extremely […]
Tags: Christian History · Dark Ages · Faith and Reason · Peter Cresswell · Science and Religion
Perigo on Faith, Reason, and Tertullian
September 21st, 2007 1 Comment
In a recent issue of Salient Lindsay Perigo laments the “power wishful thinking”. Predictably he cites Christianity as a paradigm of such thinking. However, like many in the media who take swipes at orthodox or conservative expressions Christianity his analysis is superficial. Perigo writes. Two thousand years of Christianity have been based on a lie, […]
Tags: Bad Reasoning · Christian History · Faith and Reason · Libertarianism · Lindsay Perigo
Contra Christopher Hitchens
August 10th, 2007 Comments Off on Contra Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens’ critiques of religion get a thorough rebuttal here. My favourite paragraph is this expose, The effectiveness of Hitchens’ book is also undermined by the large number of errors it contains, many so glaring that they will be picked up by even a casual reader with some knowledge of history and theology. The Gnostic […]
Tags: Atheism · Christopher Hitchens · Religious History
The Flat Earth Myth
July 18th, 2007 2 Comments
A few days ago I got sent the following message from a high-school student in the US. I’ve been studying Christopher Columbus in my history class and my history books say that prior to Columbus everyone did think the world was flat……..I don’t know if it was a mistake in the history book or your […]
Tags: Dark Ages · flat earth · Religious History · Urban Myths
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.
