If you’re not following the debates on all things scientific and religious, it’s easy to come away with the vague sense that science has “proven” that (a) the ‘mind’ is really just the brain, or (b) that there’s no such thing as life after death, or (c) there’s no such thing as an immaterial soul.… Continue reading What Science REALLY Says About the Soul (& Life After Death)
Tag: atheism
Why “One Fewer God” is a Terrible Argument for Atheism
If you’ve spent any time reading Christian-atheist dialogues and debates, chances are you’ve come across the “one fewer god” argument (sometimes less grammatically called the “one less god” argument). The most famous articulation of it is from the late historian Stephen Henry Roberts, who said: I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe… Continue reading Why “One Fewer God” is a Terrible Argument for Atheism
Is Religion Just a Social Construct?
A new study suggests that moral religion only arises in societies that have hit a population of about 1 million people. What should we make of this claim, and does it prove that religion is just a social construct?
Does Teaching Religion “Brainwash” Kids?
Is teaching children religion brainwashing? The question was posed at Debate.org, and an astounding 86% of respondents said yes. So why should Christian parents share the Gospel with their children?
Are We Living in the Matrix?
If the soul doesn’t exist, then the mind is just matter, a sort of sophisticated computer. If that’s the case, we’d be lead to the absurd possibility (even likelihood) that the universe doesn’t really exist, but is just a computer simulation. Here’s why that argument is surprisingly popular right now (even being debated at the American Museum of Natural History), and three reasons where is – and all materialism – goes wrong.
But Who Created God?
A surprisingly common objection raised by atheists against the idea of God is “who created the Creator?” The argument asks, essentially, why theists think that creation needs a Creator, but the Creator doesn’t. For example, Lawrence Krauss asks, “the declaration of a First Cause still leaves open the question, ‘Who created the creator?’ After all, what is the difference between arguing in favor of an eternally existing creator versus an eternally existing universe without one?”
4 Errors about the Burden of Proof for God
As longtime readers know, I used to be a lawyer before entering seminary to prepare for the Catholic priesthood. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that I’m fascinated by questions about the “burden of proof” in religious questions. For example, does the burden of proof fall on the believer or the atheist? What sort of evidence is permissible to meet this burden of proof? Do “extraordinary” claims require extraordinary evidence? Should they meet an extraordinary burden of proof, above the burden required for other sorts of claims? Here are four ways that those questions are answered incorrectly.
Trial by Fire: Modernity’s Response to Miracles
We moderns think of trial by ordeal as proof positive of the irrational dogmatism of our religious ancestors’ culture. The idea of determining someone’s innocence or guilt by having them hold a red-hot iron seems, well, insane. But new evidence suggests that the process worked… and might provide documentary evidence of a huge number of miracles. That modern researchers refuse to even consider this possibility reveals a great deal more about the irrational dogmatism of our own irreligious culture.
Can God Be Known?
Can we actually know anything about God? This is one of the most fundamental questions, and many people, particularly agnostics, will say “no.” The argument tends to go something like this: God, if there is a God, is so far removed from human experience and knowledge that there’s nothing that we can say about Him (or Her… Continue reading Can God Be Known?
Do You Need God to Know That Abortion is Wrong?
The New Republic’s latest “contribution” to the abortion debate is remarkable, in that, despite getting virtually everything it says factually wrong, it still raises an interesting problem for pro-choicers and atheists. Here’s the Twitter teaser to the piece that started it all: How the anti-choice platform is fighting to stay alive: http://t.co/m8kuGANs2Q pic.twitter.com/fxTeRyj444 — The New… Continue reading Do You Need God to Know That Abortion is Wrong?