New Zealand, like many nations, has a long history of the state taking real property, often without compensation. In this two part series I examine one sub-set of takings, minerals from the sub-soil of privately held property (although the argument herein could apply with equal force to any state taking). Drawing from common law, the […]
Entries Tagged as 'Theology'
Can State Expropriation of Minerals be Justified? Part I
March 5th, 2010 22 Comments
Tags: Crown Minerals Act 1991 · Edward Feser · John Locke · Property Rights · Rights and Freedoms · Sub-Soil Land Rights · Takings · William Blackstone
Christianity on Trial @ Auckland University
March 3rd, 2010 7 Comments
Thinking Matters have organised some free to the public Q & A seminars at the University of Auckland. Christianity on Trial Today, many best-selling atheists argue that belief in God is delusional and a roadblock to political, moral, and scientific progress. In this public Q & A event, several of New Zealand’s top Christian thinkers […]
Tags: Events · Jeff Tallon · Joe Fleener · Matthew Flannagan · Michael Drake · Science and Religion · Thinking Matters
Has Science Disproved God? @ Auckland University
February 28th, 2010 18 Comments
Thinking Matters have organised some free to the public Q & A seminars at the University of Auckland. Has Science Disproved God? Have the discoveries of modern science proved that belief in God is irrational and untenable? Does faith hinder or inspire scientific research? In this public Q & A event, several of New Zealand’s […]
Tags: Events · Jeff Tallon · Matthew Flannagan · Neil Broom · Richard Dawkins · Robert Mann · Science and Religion · Thinking Matters
Freedom, Science and Christianity: A Response to James Valliant Part II
February 18th, 2010 2 Comments
Recently Peter Cresswell published a guest post by James Valliant, which originally appeared on SOLO. In Freedom, Science and Christianity: A Response to James Valliant Part I, I addressed Valliant’s claims that science and freedom of religion were unanimously opposed by Christians and the success of science and freedom of religion in Europe was solely […]
Tags: Aristotle · Christian History · Dark Ages · Enlightenment · Founding Fathers · James Valliant · Libertarianism · Liberty · Mark Murphy · Nicholas Wolterstorff · Peter Cresswell · Regine Pernoud · Rodney Stark · Science and Religion · SOLO · W.E.H. Lecky
The Theological Foundations of the Enlightenment Philosophers
February 14th, 2010 7 Comments
In my previous post, Freedom, Science and Christianity: A Response to James Valliant Part I, I criticised a recent post by James Valliant. I plan to put Part II of this critique online later this week (after Madeleine is clear of her exam on Tuesday to edit it). Here, I simply want to pick up […]
Tags: James Madison · James Valliant · John Locke · Lactantius · Lindsay Perigo · Pierre Bayle · Tertullian · Thomas Aquinas
Freedom, Science and Christianity: A Response to James Valliant Part I
February 12th, 2010 14 Comments
Recently Peter Cresswell published a guest post by James Valliant, which originally appeared on SOLO. The following series is a critique of this piece. Valliant’s basic thesis is that, Both science and freedom came about among European Christians despite the best efforts of pious Christians to prevent their development, and only on a foundation of […]
Tags: Christian History · Dark Ages · David Lindberg · Enlightenment · Founding Fathers · James Hannam · James Valliant · Libertarianism · Liberty · Peter Cresswell · Regine Pernoud · Science and Religion · SOLO
Sunday Study: Two Forms of Inerrancy
February 8th, 2010 6 Comments
The discussion arising in response to my recent post Inerrancy and Biblical Authority, both on this blog and on some of the blogs that linked to it, got me thinking a bit more about this topic. I was reminded of an interesting comment made by Alan Rhoda regarding the doctrinal statement of the Evangelical Philosophical […]
Tags: Alvin Plantinga · Inerrancy · Michael Tooley · 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.
