A Definitive Case: David and Bathsheba

If you are active on Twitter (Give us a follow: @freethinkmin, @JoshRKlein), or social media in general, you might notice that every so often the story of David and Bathsheba bubbles to the surface.  It is an interesting debate, seemingly between liberal (in the technical sense) and conservative theologians, about whether David’s actions with Bathsheba constitute, … Continue reading A Definitive Case: David and Bathsheba

An Exercise on the Problem of Evil

Are you under a stay-at-home order? Consider thinking about the problem of evil (PoE). Here is a brief exercise. Suppose someone says the following to you: “God would never permit COVID-19. So, since there is COVID-19, there is no God.” How would you respond? Notice that this is an example of the PoE. But there … Continue reading An Exercise on the Problem of Evil

Thinking about Sickness and Death

Death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:2, NIV) Over the last few weeks, I have made some interesting sociocultural observations. For example, a local grocery store has limited the number of sanitizing wipes available for its customers and has offered to disinfect shopping carts for shoppers entering … Continue reading Thinking about Sickness and Death

human skeleton

3 Ways Richard Dawkins Is Inconsistent about Eugenics

For such a bright guy, Richard Dawkins—famed evolutionary biologist and outspoken atheist—sure makes a lot of controversial statements on Twitter. He’s recently done it again, causing a firestorm because of a series of tweets on eugenics: In case you never learned about eugenics in school, here’s dictionary.com’s definition: “the study of or belief in the … Continue reading 3 Ways Richard Dawkins Is Inconsistent about Eugenics

The Moral Argument: A Short Dialectic

The Argument There are several versions of the moral argument for theism.[i] One goes like this: If God does not exist, then objective morality does not exist. Objective morality exists. Therefore, God exists. (This argument is deductively valid by modus tollens.) The Dialectic Suppose a friend asks you why he should believe in God. You … Continue reading The Moral Argument: A Short Dialectic

The Normative Ethics of Avengers: Infinity War & Avengers: Endgame

As Tim Stratton has aptly noted in Avengers: Endgame, Middle Knowledge, & the Destruction of the Problem of Evil[1] and in the FreeThinking Podcast episodes 63 – 65, Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame are rich in philosophical content. In this article, I briefly examine the normative ethics of these films. The villain of … Continue reading The Normative Ethics of Avengers: Infinity War & Avengers: Endgame

Do Beliefs Matter When It Comes to Morality and Leadership?

Whenever there is disagreement on an important topic, one often played strategy is to claim the moral high ground. Morality is like the trump card of debates and so every side is eager to show why their position is more moral than the other’s. Whether it is in philosophy, politics, or even whose turn it … Continue reading Do Beliefs Matter When It Comes to Morality and Leadership?

The Philosophy of Dr. King

Note: Originally, I wrote this as a sister article to a piece I put out on MLK last year entitled, “Dr. King: Freedom & Free Thinking”; however, it ended up not being released at that time. So, I figured I would dust this article off and put it out there. Enjoy! When I was a … Continue reading The Philosophy of Dr. King

God looking angry

God Behaving Badly? – The Midianite Virgins

I was talking with a skeptic about the solution of the classic Euthyphro dilemma – God’s commands are good because God is good – and the skeptic asked, “If God commands rape, would that make rape good?” I replied that rape is an objectively evil act and therefore a good God would never command it. … Continue reading God Behaving Badly? – The Midianite Virgins

women crying

Can Empathy Ground Morality?

One of the most powerful arguments for the existence of God is the moral argument. Basically, an objective moral law requires a Moral Lawgiver. But many skeptics still aren’t convinced. They claim that they don’t need God or some holy book to tell them how to live; they have empathy. Dictionary.com defines empathy as “the … Continue reading Can Empathy Ground Morality?