On Saturday Madeleine and I attended the launch of Laidlaw College (formerly Bible College of New Zealand or BCNZ). It was an impressive event which was well attended; the Minister of Education Chris Carter, local MP Lynne Pillay, United Future’s Judy Turner, various Waitakere City Councillors and former BCNZ Principals were in attendance. The MC […]
Entries Tagged as 'Theology'
More on God, Negatives and the Burden of Proof: Some responses to Mark V
July 13th, 2008 6 Comments
In my last post I took a swipe at certain popular dismissals of theism on the grounds that “God’s existence can’t be proved.” Mark V offered a measured and thoughtful response in the comments section. We enjoy feedback from our readers and I have always enjoyed his, particularly those on the Euthyphro dilemma and I […]
Tags: Atheism · Faith and Reason · Mark V · Philosophy of Religion · Science and Religion
William Lane Craig, Raymond Bradley and the Problem of Hell. Part Two.
June 23rd, 2008 13 Comments
In a previous post I mentioned Professor Raymond Bradley’s (Bradley) contention that, [3] The bible teaches that God will torture people endlessly for their beliefs. In his article he cites several scriptural passages in support of this contention. I think his exegesis is problematic; I cannot go into huge detail in a blog post but […]
Tags: Apologetics · Atheism · Bill Cooke · Debates · Divine Command Theory · Faith and Reason · God and Morality · Hermeneutics · NZARH · Philosophy of Religion · Rationalists · Raymond Bradley · William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig, Raymond Bradley and the Problem of Hell Part One
June 21st, 2008 5 Comments
During the Q & A at the recent Auckland Cooke – Craig debate, Professor Raymond Bradley (Bradley), Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Auckland University, offered an argument, which he has laid out in more detail in his article A Moral Argument for Atheism, as follows: Christians accept that: [1] Any act that God commits, causes, […]
Tags: Apologetics · Atheism · Bill Cooke · Debates · Divine Command Theory · Faith and Reason · God and Morality · Hermeneutics · NZARH · Philosophy of Religion · Rationalists · Raymond Bradley · William Lane Craig
Just in – the Palmy Debate
June 20th, 2008 1 Comment
I have an initial report from the Palmerston North Bill Craig v Bill Cooke debate held last night: There was a massive turnout of 1399 exactly in attendance. The word is that Cooke stepped it up and performed better than in Auckland but that Craig still won. Feedback from those in attendance was that it […]
Tags: Apologetics · Atheism · Bill Cooke · Debates · Faith and Reason · NZARH · Philosophy of Religion · Rationalists · William Lane Craig
The Battle of the Bills: A Review of the Craig – Cooke Debate
June 18th, 2008 8 Comments
My small idea of getting Dr William Lane Craig to have a debate at Auckland University ended up being an event that far exceeded my expectations. Despite the New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists (NZARH) booking a larger lecture theatre at the last minute we still had to open up three additional lecture theatres […]
Tags: Apologetics · Atheism · Bill Cooke · Debates · Faith and Reason · NZARH · Philosophy of Religion · Rationalists · William Alston · William Lane Craig
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
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.
