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  • Spiritual Songs and Biblical Wisdom
  • Dr. Natasha Duquette, PhD
  • The poetry penned by Christ-shaped men and women, from George Herbert to Anna Barbauld, does not necessarily oppose the glimpses of truth conveyed through the argumentative prose of classical Greek philosophy or continental natural theology, but appeals more strongly to the heart as well as to the mind. More>>
  • Christianity Not a Source of Violence
  • Dr. James S. Spiegel, PhD
  • In the wake of the recent killings in Oslo, Norway, there has been a flurry of debate over whether the accused mass-murderer, Anders Breivik, is in fact a Christian. In this statement, influencers in the Evangelical Philosophical Society respond to claims that Christianity caused Breivik to commit heinous acts of violence. More>>
  • Further Benefits of Sports
  • Dr. James S. Spiegel, PhD
  • In addition to the potential of sports to help build virtue in athletes, there are many other benefits as well. In this piece Spiegel discuss some of these, which are social, aesthetic, and even theological in nature. And he notes how these benefits extend beyond athletes to spectators. More>>
  • Football, Baseball, and the Culture of Violence
  • Dr. Douglas Groothuis, PhD
  • Groothuis argues that football is morally objectionable because it is intrinsically violent and thus is conducive to vice in both its players and its fans. By way of contrast, he argues that baseball is only contingently violent, that it is not based on violence, and that it is, as such, a morally superior sport. More>>
  • Virtue, Vice, and Violence
  • Dr. Matthew Roberts, PhD
  • Matthew Roberts argues that football possesses certain intrinsic bads which are both perpetuated by its extrinsic goods and perpetuate vice in some of its participants. As a means to the inculcation of virtue, football, like most sports, provides ample opportunity. But, other non heavy-contact sports are to be preferred over football when considered as a means to the inculcation of virtue. More>>
  • Atheists Against Darwinism
  • Mr. Peter Stephen Williams
  • Intelligent design theory claims that 1) empirical evidence warrants 2) a scientific design inference using 3) reliable design detection criteria. Philosophia Christi published my paper "The Design Inference from Specified Complexity Defended by Scholars Outside the Intelligent Design Movement: A Critical Review" (Philosophia Christi, Vol 9, Number 2), which defended the third of these claims by reviewing the work atheists and theistic evolutionists. This paper defends the second of these claims, likewise by reviewing work by agnostics and atheists. More>>
  • Yahweh Wars and the Canaanites
  • Dr. Paul Copan, PhD
  • Of the various Old Testament (OT) ethical issues, Yahweh's command that Israel kill the Canaanites strikes us as the weightiest. In this issue of Philosophia Christi, Wes Morriston and Randal Rauser highlight this theme in reply to my earlier essay, "Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?"  I am grateful for their comments and for the opportunity to respond to the key questions they raise. Since their objections overlap somewhat, I shall simply list and respond to the major concerns as I see them. In doing so, I shall touch on the contributions made by comrades-in-arms, Clay Jones and Joseph Buijs, whose supportive essays also appear in this issue. More>>
  • Ridiculous Religulous
  • Dr. Craig J. Hazen, PhD
  • The new film Religulous by Bill Maher and Larry Charles attracts those who are already fans of Bill Maher and his open hostility to all things religious. But Religulous is nothing more than filthy, nudie, druggie, and obtusey. There is little to laugh at and nothing to learn. More>>
  • A Rough Guide to Creation & Evolution
  • Mr. Peter Stephen Williams
  • Whether or not there is an objective purpose to life obviously depends upon whether or not life was created for a purpose. You can't get purpose without a purposer. It's impossible to entertain the question of whether life might be created for a purpose without raising the question of how a belief in creation relates to scientific attempts to understand origins - and especially how a belief in creation relates to the theory of evolution. More>>
  • The Big Bad Wolf, Theism and the Foundations of Intelligent Design
  • Mr. Peter Stephen Williams
  • As both an "educated" Christian and an ID theorist I find plenty with which to take issue in The God Delusion; primarily because this rhetorical tour de force relies upon setting up and knocking down straw men. Dawkins' review of natural theology is anything but "thorough" in either breadth or depth and the book delivers a feast of fallacies, including assertion making, wishful thinking, equivocation, data picking, and  ridiculing anything Dawkins cannot understand. More>>
  • Is Yahweh a Moral Monster?
  • Dr. Paul Copan, PhD
  • The new atheists (Dawkins, Dennett, Harris, Hitchens) level arguments against Old Testament morality as primitive and barbaric, presumably undercutting belief in the biblical God (Yahweh). Yet the Old Testament presents creational moral ideals in Genesis 1-2. Because of Israel's embeddedness in the ancient Near East's harsh, morally-problematic social milieu, Old Testament legislation is in places still morally inferior, though offering dramatic, incrementalimprovements upon such conditions. Mosaic Law attempts to regulate and limit tolerated structures (warfare, polygamy, patriarchalism, slavery), permitting various social structures because of human hardheartedness. Though falling short of the divine ideal, Mosaic laws often point to it. More>>
  • My Pilgrimage from Atheism to Theism
  • Dr. Gary R. Habermas, PhD
  • Prof. Antony Flew, 81 years old, is a legendary British philosopher and atheist and has been an icon and champion for unbelievers for decades. His change of mind is significant news, not only about his personal journey, but also about the persuasive power of the arguments modern theists have been using to challenge atheistic naturalism. More>>
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