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

Crowd of NPCs

We’re All NPCs

It has become trendy in some circles to refer to people with certain political views as NPCs. In video game lingo, an NPC is a “nonplayable character,” a character that is not controlled by any player. They can be extremely simple or intricate and complex, but they are still mindless characters who solely follow their … Continue reading We’re All NPCs

Assessing Lowder’s Argument for Naturalism: Part 2

In my previous post, I discussed Jeffery Jay Lowder’s opening statement in his debate with Frank Turek on the topic “Naturalism vs. Theism”. Lowder defends the following three propositions: (1) The best explanation is the explanation with the overall greatest balance of intrinsic probability and accuracy. (2) Naturalism is an intrinsically more probable explanation than … Continue reading Assessing Lowder’s Argument for Naturalism: Part 2

Assessing Lowder’s Argument for Naturalism: Part 1

Jeffery Jay Lowder recently debated Frank Turek on the topic “Naturalism vs. Theism” (see https://youtu.be/ENZYEPpR2Jc). In this post and the next, I wish to examine the arguments that Lowder advances in his opening statement in support of naturalism (the view that physical reality is the ultimate reality and that no supernatural, non-physical beings, such as … Continue reading Assessing Lowder’s Argument for Naturalism: Part 1

The Freethinking Argument in a Nutshell

EDIT (1-9-24): When one Googles “The Free-Thinking Argument,” this blog article is often at the top of the list. While the big ideas behind this blog are true, the Free-Thinking Argument has evolved and been defended with more philosophical precision in recent years. After reading this article, please see the peer-reviewed academic journal article I co-authored … Continue reading The Freethinking Argument in a Nutshell

Can We Choose Our Beliefs?

Am I responsible for my beliefs or does something else impose them upon me? What do you believe? How do you know those beliefs you hold are any good (let alone true)? Many philosophers, scientists, and theologians today reject the idea that humans can ever make genuine choices. I freely think they are wrong as it sure seems as … Continue reading Can We Choose Our Beliefs?

Compatibilistic Free Will: Can you have your cake & eat it too?

I have spent the majority of my academic career contemplating free will. For over a decade I held the view of theological determinism and labeled myself as a “Calvinist.” For years I rejected the notion that humans were free to think or act in a libertarian sense. I found it interesting that when I began to … Continue reading Compatibilistic Free Will: Can you have your cake & eat it too?

God vs. Science

Some in academia today claim that science has “killed God!” They do not mean that in a literal sense. What they hope to communicate is that science has removed need for God, or stronger, that science has demonstrated the non-existence of God. Statements like these lead many to think these two concepts – God and science – … Continue reading God vs. Science