On Creationism

The fine-tuning argument (FTA) is a popular one for theists wanting to prove God. Craig is a frequent proponent. Here is the Discovery Institute on the FTA, and here is CMI's take: Neither really give a formal argument, so I will give one from here : The fine-tuning of the universe to support life is either due to law, chance or design It is not due to law or chance Therefore, the fine-tuning is due to design How Finely Tuned Exactly? The argument is based on the claim that changing the nature of the universe even slightly would prevent intelligent life appearing. So far that has not been established - we just do not know what the effects would, or under what conditions life could form. Maybe not life as we know it, but how can we rule out life in an unimaginable form? It also seems to be the case that not so many parameters need to be fine tuned as certain people would like you to think. That is not to say there is no fine tuning. It is a thing, and it does need e...

This is a reference for my own convenience that I will update as and when. Occasionally when debating with Christians they cite some obscure people, and I have to do some research to find out who they are, what their beliefs are, etc. I debate with Joe Hinman a lot, and he frequently cites various theologians, but as he is dyslexic, his spellings are erratic, so it is useful just to know the real spellings of these names. To save me repeating that effort, I will record the results here. If they have decent Wiki writes, there is little more than a link to that. So far all the scholars listed are Christians born before the end of WW2. David Hendrick van Daalen (1919-???) There is a quote popularised by WL Craig by van Daalen, from Real Resurrection: It is extremely difficult to object to the empty tomb on historical grounds; those who deny it do so on the basis of theological or philosophical assumptions Why is van Daalen quoted as such an authority? I struggled to find much ...

A common justification for the Biblical genocides is that God, as the creator of mankind, has the right to take life if he wants. William L Craig seems to be the most vocal proponent of this idea, for example here: http://www.reasonablefaith.org/slaughter-of-the-canaanites The command to kill all the Canaanite peoples is jarring precisely because it seems so at odds with the portrait of Yahweh, Israel’s God, which is painted in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Contrary to the vituperative rhetoric of someone like Richard Dawkins, the God of the Hebrew Bible is a God of justice, long-suffering, and compassion.  ... According to the version of divine command ethics which I’ve defended, our moral duties are constituted by the commands of a holy and loving God.  Since God doesn’t issue commands to Himself,  He has no moral duties to fulfill.  He is certainly not subject to the same moral obligations and prohibitions that we are.  For example, I have no right to t...

William Lane Craig is a Christian who seems to make a living by debating non-Christians about the existence of God. One of Craig's favourite topics is the Kalam cosmological argument. Here is Craig's formulation: 1. Whatever begins to exist has a cause. 2. The universe began to exist. 3. Therefore, the universe has a cause. Whatever begins to exist has a cause Number 1 is carefully formulated to exclude God; God did not begin to exist, so he did not have a cause. It is a bit of semantic trickery that builds in the conclusion Craig wants to reach. You might as well exclude the universe. Everything except the universe and God has a cause, and we have no particular reason to suppose the universe has a cause, do we? The claim of number 1 is based on inductive reasoning . All the things around us have a cause, therefore it is likely that some other thing also has a cause. Inductive reasoning is not certain, but it is what we do all the time, and is often the only way ...