“But to affirm the Bible as the inerrant word of God, as one extreme, is so far removed from a reasonable faith that it just seems incredible for me that any thinking person can believe it.”http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/2008/05/whos-ignorant.htmlUnfortunately for Loftus, this accusation is self-incriminating. For Loftus is an apostate. He used to believe it. He used to be an ordained minister in a denomination which affirms inerrancy. He likes to remind us that he studied under William Lane Craig to become a Christian apologist.So fall all those years, Loftus was not a think... [read more]

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Even if you only casually read through news websites (such as those of CNN or FOXNews), several times per month you will notice headlines such as the following:TOO MUCH, TOO LITTLE SLEEP TIED TO ILL HEALTH IN CDC STUDYStudy: Long-Term Breast-Feeding Will Raise Child's IQWOMEN, WANT A HEALTHY MARRIAGE? MARRY MAN UGLIER THAN YOU, STUDY SAYSSTUDY: FOOD IN MCDONALD'S WRAPPER TASTES BETTER TO KIDSStudy: 1 in 50 U.S. babies abused, neglected in 2006 And naturally we’re all aware of the competing studies that exist too. One study shows that eggs are bad for you; another that they’re good for y... [read more]

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“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Rev 21:8).Speaking of damnable lies:robert said...“The Triablogers, especially Steve Hays, repeatedly attack and ridicule persons, not arguments.”That’s a demonstrable falsehood. In my response to Reppert and others, I’ve gone into great detail attacking their arguments. This is not a case of attacking the person instead of the argument.But this is my ge... [read more]

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In the comments section of Steve's post Victor Reppert asks if his "refutation" of Frankfurt Style Counterexamples, FSCs, was really as easy to refute as he thinks:Victor Reppert said:I wrote my master's thesis on free will. It still seems to me that the distinction between the freedom of action of freedom of choice means that we can ask the question "was the choice free" independent of any consideration of whether in a counterfactual situation, a person could have carried out their action had they chosen otherwise. PAP, as I see it, applies to choices, not actions.I must ask myself, is it ... [read more]

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Dan at Arminian Chronicles gives some necessary and sufficient conditions for ascribing "libertarian free will" to an agent. Rather than write an entire post interacting with his post, I'm just going to draw attention to two statement. Dan said,"[Libertarian Free Will is not] The ability to create ex nihilo."But God's free will has this ability."[Libertarian free will is] Being able to choose either option implies both options are possible, which implies neither option is necessary."But choosing evil, for God, is impossible. It is necessary that he choose good because he is necessarily good... [read more]

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Douglas Moo on Paul on hell (PDF).

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Why do many people feel that everlasting punishment is unjust?1.One factor may be social conditioning. In modern penology, there’s a correlation between crime and time. The convict is sentenced to serve a certain amount of time behind bars. He receives a shorter sentence for a lesser offense, or a longer sentence for a graver offense.But this is a modern development. And it has nothing to do with the retributive theory of punishment. Rather, it’s predicated on the remedial theory of punishment. Rehabilitating the offender by sending him to a “penitentiary” or “reformatory” or �... [read more]

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When Reppert gives links for arguments I give links for counter-arguments.Robert Allen discusses criticisms of Frankfurt counter-examples: "Below, I respond to four recent attempts to show that "Frankfurt cases," as examples structurally identical to Frankfurt’s have come to be known, fail of their purpose. In the first, I expose a misconception of what it is to be disadvantaged. My challenge to the second stems from its reliance upon the notion of "moral luck." The third, while conceding that Frankfurt cases do falsify PAP in regards to "complex" actions like casting a ballot, argues tha... [read more]

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“I was also intrigued by Georges Rey's paper ‘Meta-atheism: Religious Avowal as Self-Deception.’ Many of us skeptics have had occasion to wonder if some of the religious people we encounter really believe in what they insist they do. We get further suspicious when some of their behavior seems to fit badly with their beliefs: why, for example, all the devastation and mourning if a loved one really has gone on to a wonderful afterlife?”http://secularoutpost.blogspot.com/2008/05/philosophers-without-gods.htmlThe social and theological naïveté of this objection is downright comical.1.... [read more]

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I propose three brief arguments against the conjunction of some fairly basic, historic, and (mainly) uncontroversial Christian doctrines with libertarian free will. Some of the cash value of these arguments can be applied to the current debate both Hays and I have been engaged in with Victor Reppert. Given his statements on freedom and moral responsibility, some highly problematic propositions follow. Propositions Reppert wouldn’t, apparently, want to jettison.I’ll quote some claims Reppert has advanced or agreed with in the context of our debate.“By libertarian freedom is meant freed... [read more]

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