The New Zealand Association of Rationalist Humanists (“NZARH”) has a statement of aspirational ideals for the New Zealand state on their website. Entitled “The Tolerant Secular State” it is anything but. The first two sentences of the document exhibit a confusion which is inherent throughout (and commonly found in discussions of church and state): “The [...]
Entries Tagged as 'NZARH'
The New Zealand Association of Rationalist Humanists and the Privileging of Secularism
December 20th, 2010 189 Comments
Tags: Doctrine of Religious Restraint · Free Exercise · Freedom of Religion · Harry Potter · Jurisprudence · Lord Voldemort · NZARH · Paul Rishworth · Religion in Public Life · Rights and Freedoms · Secularism · Steven Smith
Contra Mundum: Selling Atheism
September 2nd, 2010 131 Comments
New Zealand motorists will have noticed a new genre of advertising billboards, those attempting to sell the concept that there is probably no God. These billboards are the collective efforts of the New Zealand Atheist Campaign, The Humanist Society and the New Zealand Association of Rationalist Humanists. Like all advertising campaigns, these billboards offer clever-sounding [...]
Tags: Atheism · Contra Mundum · Investigate Magazine · NZ Atheist Campaign · NZARH · The Humanist Society
There’s Probably No God? Fisking Atheist Billboards
July 12th, 2010 401 Comments
On the way back from Bloggers drinks we drove past one of the controversial atheist advertising billboards, put up by NZ Atheist Campaign, The Humanist Society and NZARH, which have appeared around Auckland. This appears to have come on the back of the Richard Dawkins inspired bus advertising that made headlines earlier this year. It [...]
Tags: Alvin Plantinga · Bad Reasoning · Christopher Hitchens · John Hare · NZ Atheist Campaign · NZARH · Paul Kurtz · Philip Quinn · Richard Dawkins · Robert Adams · Stephen Layman · The Humanist Society · William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig, Raymond Bradley and the Problem of Hell. Part Two.
June 23rd, 2008 12 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
Is God a Delusion? The Auckland Craig v Cooke Debate Online
June 21st, 2008 10 Comments
Dr William Lane Craig and Dr Bill Cooke debated the moot “Is God a Delusion?” at Auckland University on 17 June 2008. The debate was chaired by Professor John Bishop and was organised by New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists and Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship with MandM. High quality DVD copies of the debate [...]
Tags: Apologetics · Atheism · Bill Cooke · Debates · Events · Faith and Reason · NZARH · Philosophy of Religion · Rationalists · Videos · William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig, Raymond Bradley and the Problem of Hell Part One
June 21st, 2008 4 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
Equality or Hegemony: NZARH and Religious Trusts
February 16th, 2008 4 Comments
Generally I am not a fan of Post Modern ways of thinking; frequently what I see propagated under that banner is irrational and incoherent but made to look profound through the use of sophisticated sounding intellectualised language. However, one idea often touted as “post modern” I find plausible, at least in some contexts. This is [...]
Tags: Charity · NZARH · Rationalists · Religion in Public Life
The Rationalists: Round Two
July 30th, 2007 4 Comments
In an earlier post I mentioned the schism within The New Zealand Association of Rationalist Humanists (NZARH) between former spokesperson Paul Litterick and current spokesperson Dr Bill Cooke. NZARH contend that Dr Cooke was a Professor at The State University of New York at Buffalo. Paul Litterick maintains this is false. Litterick claims Cooke was [...]
Tags: Bill Cooke · NZARH · Paul Litterick · Rationalists
