Should Christians Reject the Soul for Biblical Reasons?

Question Dear Dr. Erasmus, Tim Stratton shared your post, Objections to the Existence of the Soul, to the UK Apologetics and Evangelism Facebook group, of which I am a member. In that group, there is a very knowledgeable Christian who does not seem to believe in the existence of a soul yet says he is not a … Continue reading Should Christians Reject the Soul for Biblical Reasons?

Objections to the Existence of the Soul

In a recent blog post, Professor Keith Parsons offers three reasons for why (he thinks) the soul does not exist. (You might recall that Parsons debated William Lane Craig in 1998). Since Parsons’ objections to substance dualism (for simplicity, I will hereafter refer to substance dualism simply as ‘dualism’) seem rather common among lay atheists, … Continue reading Objections to the Existence of the Soul

Las Vegas & Lack of Belief

The Monday morning of October 2nd, 2017, America awoke to horrible news that some are calling “The Las Vegas Massacre.” At this early point in the investigation it seems as if a “lone wolf” booked a hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay. From this elevated position, and after weeks of meticulous … Continue reading Las Vegas & Lack of Belief

5 Arguments For the Existence of Free Will

Free Will is a topic debated among Christians and even some non-Christians. The Christians who affirm that men have free will in the libertarian sense are typically Arminians, Molinists, and Open Theists. Christians who deny free will in the libertarian sense generally fall into the Calvinist camp. I have argued elsewhere that libertarian free will is the … Continue reading 5 Arguments For the Existence of Free Will

Modern Thinkers Increasingly Confirm a Designed Universe

The idea that the universe might bear some marks of design has traditionally been denied in academic circles. Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins has famously stated that:  “The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.” [“God’s … Continue reading Modern Thinkers Increasingly Confirm a Designed Universe

A Revised Free Thinking Argument: Two Birds with One Stone

One thing that has always surprised me is how some Calvinists align themselves with atheists to argue against a common foe: Molinism! That is to say, many Calvinists affirm that God exhaustively causally determines all things. This is not some straw man I am inventing. In his recent essay, notable Calvinist, Matthew J. Hart affirms this … Continue reading A Revised Free Thinking Argument: Two Birds with One Stone

Neil deGrasse Tyson: Stick to Your Day Job

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a world renowned astrophysicist and, in my opinion, the leading science popularizer in the world today. I greatly respect Tyson as a scientist, but he is not a good philosopher and a much worse theologian! In fact, Tyson’s philosophy is that philosophy is “useless” and that it “can really mess you up.” Be … Continue reading Neil deGrasse Tyson: Stick to Your Day Job

A Choice Apart From Time

Question Dear Tim, I recently ran across a blog post by an atheist who is a physics major with a philosophy minor. In response to the Kalam Cosmological Argument, he contends that God could not have created the universe. His argument proceeds as follows: 1. The word “choice” must imply a progression from a state of multiple … Continue reading A Choice Apart From Time

Brian Cox, Souls, & the Large Hadron Collider

There are so many great scientists out there. The things they get to discover and explain to the rest of us lay people are always very cool. Every so often, however, a well-known scientist will get a bit of publicity over a controversial comment they make. When theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking’s book, The Grand Design … Continue reading Brian Cox, Souls, & the Large Hadron Collider

Ghosts, Zombies, & Substance Dualism

Question Tim, have you seen that CERN has provided scientific proof that the soul (or the “ghost in the machine”) does not exist! Too bad for your Freethinking Argument! This scientific data does fatal damage to the Interactionist Substance Dualism you argue for because the only way for an immaterial substance to move a material object … Continue reading Ghosts, Zombies, & Substance Dualism