thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
Hurricane Sandy has been in the news, as it left a trail of destruction and loss of life. The finger has sometimes been pointed at climate change as one of the causes, which it probably is, though no-one can know for sure. Yet the destruction could have been worse, and recovery far more difficult, if […]
It is a curious thing, and it seems inconsistent. Scientists tend to argue that we should only believe what can be established by the scientific method, or something like it. Since God’s existence cannot be established scientifically, belief in God cannot be justified. And yet sometimes they use very flimsy arguments that seem to have […]
I’ve been intending for a while starting a new section on Is there a God? about making a difference in the world. Finally, the baby’s born! The first topic is climate change. Don’t go away just yet. Even if you’re not all that interested, please check out the rest of this post to see why […]
If God exists, why is he so hard to see? Why is evidence so hard to find? If he wants us to believe in him, why doesn’t he show himself more? I’ve heard many atheists ask these questions, not so much because they want answers, I think, but as an argument against the existence of […]
Alvin Plantinga is an eminent philosopher, and a christian. He recently released a new book, Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism Thomas Nagel is an eminent philosopher, and an atheist. He recently reviewed Plantinga’s book. Judging by the behaviour on both sides of much discourse between atheists and christians, you might expect […]
Why do christians believe? There must be many reasons. Why do I believe? That’s a much easier question to answer. Here’s the briefest summary I can make.
I’ve been a christian discussing belief with atheists and agnostics on the internet for about 7 years now. Many times I’ve been asked why I believe, what possible evidence could I have? These discussions have led me to re-examine many things that I believe, and while I haven’t changed all that much, I have certainly […]
Michael Ruse is a philosopher specialising in the philosophy of science, especially biology and evolution. He is an atheist, but one with more respect for religious belief than many prominent atheists today. Ruse has some interesting things to say about science, belief in God and his more militant atheist colleagues.
I’ve been discussing with atheists and other non-believers on the internet for about 6 years now, and patterns start to emerge. One pattern relates to the evidence required to believe in God. Generally, atheists say that beliefs should be based on evidence, and nothing else. Yet I see approaches to evidence that don’t conform to […]
Atheists sometimes characterise christians as people who believe in myths and magic, based on faith, which is the opposite of reason. I think this can be shown to generally be a mis-characterisation (see Is faith the opposite of reason? and Science, faith and certainty). But what if the tables were turned? What if many atheists […]