I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist 1
Frank Turek of CrossExamined.org gives a two-part crash course of his book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (co-written by Norm Geisler), which looks at 12 specific areas of evidence for why Christianity is true. In these lectures, however, Mr. Turek focuses in on the four most crucial questions: 1. Does truth exist? 2. Does God exist? 3. Are miracles possible? and 4. Is the New Testament true?
Part one is an examination of the first two questions, beginning with the existence of truth. After defining truth, Mr. Turek then looks at the Law of Non-Contradiction, the Roadrunner Tactic, and objections to absolute truth. Moving on to the existence of God, he notes the differences between theism, pantheism, and atheism, pointing out that only one can be true. He concludes with an in-depth look at the cosmological argument, the teleological argument (including the anthropic principle), and the moral argument for the existence of a theistic God.
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist 2
Continuing from part one, Frank Turek (CrossExamined.org) examines questions three and four—Are miracles possible? and Is the New Testament true?—in his evaluation of the validity of Christianity. He starts with a summary of part one, showing what can be known about God through the use of the cosmological, teleological, and moral arguments and therefore which beliefs are false because of their contradictions to these truths. Next, Mr. Turek examines the definition of “worldview” more closely, looking at what is required for one to be feasible, concluding that only theism meets these requirements. He then looks at the possibility of miracles and the reliability of the New Testament in order to determine which version of theism is true. Though pressed for time, he is able to give sufficient evidence for his claims, as well as much for listeners to ponder.
Can We Be Good without God? (via Boundless)
I've been asked to speak today on the question, "Can we be good without God?" To answer, I'm tempted to tell you my own story. Years ago when I rejected God, I also rejected the distinction between good and evil. Then again, I was an extreme case. Someone who asks "Can we be good without God?" isn't trying to be extreme; he's looking for a halfway house. So instead of telling you my story, I'll try to lay out the logic of the matter...
No God, No Good
At a conference concerning the teaching of moral values in the public schools, a justifiably well-known philosopher from an eastern university asserted that the moral virtues were (1) those values without which we humans do not flourish because they are rooted in human nature, and (2) those values that enjoy a consensus that spans culture, country and century, something like the Tao described at the end of C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man. That moral values described or derived in either of these two ways are not truly moral and are not truly absolutes. As the following analysis will demonstrate, one must not contend that human nature and human flourishing yield moral absolutes, properly so-called, because such a theory fails to account for...
Hollywood’s Brush with Religious Belief
Many people today assume that faith in God amounts to “blind faith,” the idea that there is no objective evidence or logical reason to believe that God exists; faith is simply a subjective feeling or emotional choice. While it is okay to have a personal feeling that God is real to you, it is not okay to publicly announce that God exists and has certain characteristics for everyone. Our society is immersed in the subjectivication of belief.
Faith as irrational belief has become a favorite tool in the hands of today’s atheists. The latest salvo of atheist attacks on Christianity incorporate the notion that faith is irrational. Atheist Richard Dawkins, for instance...
Religion Poisons Everything
As I drove back to Colorado Springs from Denver today, the fog was so thick I could barely see the car ahead of me, much less the usual splendor of the Rocky Mountains to the west. I was listening to Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, who made some interesting points about the nature of faith. In the ongoing dialogue between theists and atheists that permeates society today, theists are often said to rely on faith while atheists rely on reason in the formation of their respective worldviews. Yet, such a stark dichotomy is too simplistic and out of touch with reality...
The New Atheists
Perhaps it goes without saying that the "new atheists" have arrived. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens (among others) have recently published volumes capturing many intellects and imaginations. As international bestsellers, their publishing efforts are likely to produce challenges to our faith for years to come. These authors have superb rhetorical skills and deploy the English language to great effect. Dawkins and Hitchens have particular appeal with their posh British accents and witty idioms. It is not that their polemics are novel, however, nor their arguments especially successful. And they have not gone unanswered. Yet it appears they have not...
The Golden Compass
"The Golden Compass," a film hitting theaters December 7th, dramatizes Philip Pullman's youth novel by the same name. It is the first book in His Dark Materials trilogy originally published in 1996. The subsequent books, "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass," continue the fantasy tale that became a bestseller around the world. Many see the fantasy tales as harmless children's stories. One NBC weatherman has made the book his fall selection for his "Al's Book Club for Kids." A number of organizations and websites are jumping on the official support bandwagon, including Random House children's books, Scholastic, Myspace.com, Sega, and even the World Wildlife Fund. On the other hand...
Separating Secular Humanism and the State
Secular Humanism is a well-articulated worldview. This is evident from the three Humanist Manifestos written in 1933 and revised in 1973 and again in 2000. According to their own pronouncements, Secular Humanists are atheists who believe that the scientific method is the primary way we can know about life and living, from understanding who we are as humans to questions of ethics, social issues, and politics. However, apart from the specifics of what Secular Humanists believe, the pressing issue is this: is Secular Humanism a religion?
Dawkins and Shear Luck
Richard Dawkins, Oxford professor and bestselling author, is out to convince the public that macro-evolution — the idea that all present forms of life have evolved from simpler forms — is the scientific gospel. And he makes this claim with the fervor of the most committed televangelist. In his latest book, "The God Delusion," Dawkins presents his case for why natural selection is the best answer for why we observe design in nature. But there is a fly in this naturalistic ointment that undermines Dawkins' premise and makes his conclusion untenable. Worldview analysis uncovers the problem...
Dawkins’ Impossible Mountain
In Richard Dawkins' best-selling book, "The God Delusion," he sets out to prove why there is "almost certainly no God." However, in analyzing the first three chapters in last month's Truth and Consequences, we found a flurry of unsubstantiated claims, straw man arguments, non sequiturs, and question begging. Not a very good start for a book that claims to have vanquished God to the dustbin of ignorance and superstition. But in Chapter 4 Dawkins enters his area of expertise, biology. And it is here that he makes his most vigorous argument for why God does not exist. Dawkins begins by examining the question: How can we account for...
Dawkins’ Delusional Arguments against God
British ethologist Richard Dawkins, professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, is a long-time popularizer of Darwinian evolution, ardent proponent of atheism, and prominent debunker of religion. In his latest book,"The God Delusion" (Houghton Mifflin, 2006), Dawkins' thesis is that belief in a supernatural creator qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. Over the past several months, Dawkins has received...
Science and Religion
Many people today have the impression that there is a war between modern science and religion, and that science has won the day. But is that really the case? Are scientific knowledge and religious ideas incompatible? Has science replaced religion as the means for understanding life and mankind's place in the universe? Dr. Ian Hutchinson, Professor at MIT, traces much of the blame for the current hostility between these two disciplines to...
