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Category Archives: Morality
Atheist Comments on the Moral Law
If God did not exist, what would be the impact on morality? For the answer, let’s look to those who say that the only things that exist are natural forces: Morality is a biological adaptation no less than our hands … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Morality
3 Comments
At What Level Should the Church Be Involved With Social Issues?
I was saved in an independent, non-denominational evangelical church. That particular church was very involved in social issues. They had a social issues committee that would try to influence culture and a letter writing committee that would meet to write … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Morality, Uncategorized
3 Comments
Can Animals Be Guilty of Hate Crimes?
A somewhat bizarre news story recently arose where a man tried to create a joke that backfired. His girlfriend had a too cute pug dog, and he taught the dog to do a Nazi salute upon the command “Do you … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Morality
2 Comments
Suicide: Where Are The Answers?
I do volunteer work with a college apologetics ministry, Ratio Christi (www.ratiochristi.org). We mentor college students to defend their faith against attacks and questions from atheists, agnostics, skeptics, and critics. The most rewarding part of the job is working with … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Morality
12 Comments
Does the Euthyphro Dilemma Disprove God? (Part 4, final)
This is the last in a series of posts about a moral question called the Euthyphro Dilemma, which is sometimes given as a challenge to God. See the first three parts for an explanation of the problem and the first … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Philosophy, Uncategorized
2 Comments
Does the Euthyphro Dilemma Disprove God? (Part 3)
This is the latest in a series of posts about a moral question called the Euthyphro Dilemma, which is sometimes given as a challenge to God. See the first two parts for an explanation of the problem and the first … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Philosophy
2 Comments
Does the Euthyphro Dilemma Disprove God? (Part 2)
This post is part of a series dealing with a moral question called the Euthyphro Dilemma. The questions were set up in Part 1. This continues the response. Second, the critic might say something like “Good” is a property that … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Philosophy
2 Comments
Does the Euthyphro Dilemma Disprove God? (Part 1)
Plato posed a moral question that is today known as the Euthyphro Dilemma. Skeptics have used this moral dilemma to try to draw conclusions about God. The general idea is that since this dilemma presents a moral problem for God, … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Philosophy
3 Comments
Does the Existence of Evil Prove or Disprove God?
Many have used the existence of evil in the world to try to argue that an all-powerful, all-good God does not exist. The line of reasoning usually goes something like this: 1. If there is an all-powerful and all-good God … Continue reading
Posted in Morality
3 Comments
What is the Origin of Our Sense of Moral Lapse?
In the book True Reason (Gilson and Weitnauer, eds.) Samuel Youngs asks “We are brutally aware of how often we come up short (what could be the evolutionary purpose for a sense of abiding discontentment with the world on moral grounds?). (p.176). … Continue reading
Posted in Apologetics, Evolution, Morality
2 Comments
Why Does God Not Stop All Evil?
One of modern atheists’ and skeptics’ criticisms of God is that He should stop evil. They are fond of quoting horrible circumstance X, and saying that if God existed and was good, He would certainly, at a minimum, stop X. … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Morality, Philosophy, Skepticism
5 Comments
Response to Sam Harris The Moral Landscape
Sam Harris published a book titled The Moral Landscape. In it he attempts to hold to objective moral truth with a goal of human well being as self-evident. But he also holds that this objective moral truth is due to … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Morality, Philosophy
3 Comments
Why Be Ethical?
I’ve been reading a book called The Geography of Good and Evil: Philosophical Investigations by Andreas Kinneging (ISI Books, 2009). This book is no small oddity, since it includes two things not commonly found in modern books on ethics and … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Morality
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Sam Harris’ Morality
Atheist writer Sam Harris book The Moral Landscape includes Harris’ argument for a morality ultimately based in human experience of natural physical forces. His book includes the following: Many people seem to think that because moral facts relate to our … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Morality, Philosophy, Uncategorized
4 Comments
I Feel Marriage is Redefined
The state of Utah has struck down portions of its marriage law and began opening the door for polygamy. This is no surprise, for Christians have been saying polygamy would be an inevitable outcome of the current worldview. What is … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Morality, Uncategorized
4 Comments
Was Hitler an Atheist, Christian, or True Scotsman?
(This post is largely taken from a presentation by John Ferrer. No doubt his statements were much better than my summary, so I attribute any successes to him and any failures to me.) Adolph Hitler is often presented as an … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Morality
10 Comments
Nietzsche vs. Modern Atheists
The writer Friedrich Nietzsche (d.1900), when commenting about religious matters, was by no means a friend of Christianity. Living in Christian-influenced Europe, he taught that those who do not conform to society’s norms, including the moral norms, were the ones … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Morality, Philosophy
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Is Evolution A Sufficient Explanation for Morality?
A recent comment brought my attention to a blog post about morality, which you can find here. The author is atheist and makes the argument that morals have evolved. I am responding here because it seems this view is accepted … Continue reading
Posted in Morality
26 Comments
Relativism is Self-Refuting
People who hold to relativism in the area of goodness, evil, or morality hold that the standard of goodness can change from group to group. Relativists hold that each society can determine its own morality. Atheist Carl Sagan, for example, … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Philosophy
13 Comments
Was God Racist When He Commanded The Destruction of Canaan?
The accusation has been made that God was racist when He commanded Israel to destroy the people of Canaan in The Old Testament The problem is that it is rather hard to be racist when both Israel and Canaan were … Continue reading
Posted in Atheism, Morality
11 Comments
Did God Speak to People of Canaan?
Regarding the issue of God commanding Israel to destroy everyone in Canaan, the position of the critic and atheist seems to be that God gave an excessive punishment on an entire people group with no warning. Such a statement shows … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Morality, Uncategorized
50 Comments
God and Canaan: Another Perspective
Author Paul Copan has published a some articles on God and the Canaanites, which gives some interesting perspectives. You can find them at these links: How Could God Command Killing the Canaanites? Divinely Mandated Genocide or Corporate Capital Punishment? The New … Continue reading
What is Good?
How do we define what is good? Is it good because I desire it? Or because I say it is good? Or because we vote and most of us say it is good? Thomas Aquinas gives us an answer in … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Philosophy
6 Comments
Atheist and Christian Dialog About Morals
A dialog between Christian and Atheist about morals. A: I do not believe God exists, and everything is explained via chemistry and physics. . . there is no need for the supernatural. C: I’ve heard you say this. A: You say that God … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Uncategorized
3 Comments
What if Good Were to Exist Independently of God?
One view of the grounds for morality says that good can exist independently of God, and tries to put the burden of proof on the theist to prove that God is necessary for morality. The atheist might say that if … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Uncategorized
1 Comment
Why Should We Follow God’s Moral Commands?
The question of morals and why we should follow moral guidelines is always a question in philosophy and theology. One of the common questions that often arises is Divine Command Theory, which deals with God giving commands that we should follow, usually … Continue reading
Posted in Morality, Uncategorized
6 Comments
Why Ought We Be Moral?
The king of the skeptics, David Hume, wrote the following in his A Treatise on Human Nature: I have always remarked, that the author proceeds for some time in the ordinary way of reasoning, and establishes the being of a … Continue reading
Posted in Morality
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Roe v. Wade, Considered
The anniversary of legalized voluntary child killing brings a rather profound irony. Our culture knows many times more about the development of a human than it did in 1973, so we can no longer say an unborn child is a … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Morality
4 Comments
You Should Listen to Ravi Z.
Ravi Zacharias has a radio program called “Let My People Think” which airs on many stations. You can listen to the programs online at this link: http://www.rzim.org/let-my-people-think-broadcasts/ The most recent three programs have been very insightful and interesting. If you … Continue reading
Posted in Apologetics, Culture, Morality
2 Comments
Does The Mere Existence of Morality Demonstrate God Exists?
A nice video from philosopher and theist Peter Kreeft. For more on this topic, see here, and here, and here. Oh, and here, and here, and here.
Posted in Morality, Philosophy
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Thomistic Bent 