My paper, “Can a Divine Command Theory Vindicate the Objectivity of Morality?” was published in Philosophia Christi, vol 21. No 1 2025. A copy is now available online at my academia.edu page. The abstract is below. Abstract:Defenders of divine command metaethics (DCM) often argue that one of its key advantages is its ability to vindicate […]
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New publication Online: “Can a Divine Command Theory Vindicate the Objectivity of Morality?”
May 17th, 2026 No Comments
Tags: David Brink · Divine Command Theory · Elizabeth Tropman · Michael Huemer · Objectivism
Star of Wonder: Matthew’s Nativity Narrative and it’s Critics, Part three
February 5th, 2026 No Comments
I have been considering the hypothesis that the star referred to in Matthew’s Gospel was a comet recorded by Han-dynasty astronomers in 5 BC. In a previous post, I examined an objection to this view that rested on two claims: First, that in the late first century BC comets were universally interpreted as negative omens. […]
Tags: Christian History · Star of Bethlehem
Star of Wonder: Matthew’s Nativity Narrative and its Critics, part two
January 2nd, 2026 Comments Off on Star of Wonder: Matthew’s Nativity Narrative and its Critics, part two
In a previous post, I addressed the claim that no star could exist that moves or behaves in the way described in Matthew’s Gospel. I argued that Matthew’s Gospel uses language found in Greco-Roman writings to describe comets, and that a comet could act in the way Matthew described. I also argued that we have good […]
Tags: Christian History · Christmas · Matthew's Gospel · Nativity · Star of Bethlehem
Star of Wonder: Matthew’s Nativity Narrative and its Critics, part one.
December 17th, 2025 Comments Off on Star of Wonder: Matthew’s Nativity Narrative and its Critics, part one.
Recently, I have been thinking about Matthew’s birth narrative. In particular, I want to discuss three claims that are sometimes made by critics of the narrative’s historicity. First, it is claimed that no star could exist that moves or behaves in the way described in Matthew’s Gospel. According to this objection, Matthew depicts a star […]
Tags: Apologetics · Bible · Matthew's Gospel · Star of Bethlehem
Some subversive thoughts about immigration part two: replies to objections
October 8th, 2025 Comments Off on Some subversive thoughts about immigration part two: replies to objections
Recently, I shared some reflections on the issue of immigration. Drawing on Deuteronomy 23:15–16 and the way this passage was interpreted and applied by 18th-century abolitionists, I argued that our present situation is analogous to that of illegal overstayers fleeing certain forms of degradation in their home countries. Below are some of the responses I […]
Tags: immigration
Should Christian’s follow the Torah?
October 4th, 2025 Comments Off on Should Christian’s follow the Torah?
Below is a sermon I gave at Crossroads Pokeno earlier in the year.
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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.
Goodbye NCEA, Farewell, Get lost, Good Riddance
September 21st, 2025 Comments Off on Goodbye NCEA, Farewell, Get lost, Good Riddance
Some readers of this blog will know that I work as a secondary school teacher. Recently, several people have asked my opinion on the government’s decision to ditch the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). My thoughts follow. When I was at teachers’ college, we were taught that New Zealand had the best curriculum in the […]
Tags: NCEA