Bill Pratt | January 30, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt More times than I can count we have skeptics comment on the blog who insist that science is the only means of attaining knowledge. If you don’t believe me, just read the comments underneath last week’s blog posts. I have covered this topic numerous times, but it seems to surface over [...]
Bill Pratt | January 26, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt As I’ve read comments on the blog over the years, I’ve often read a version of the following: “science disproves the existence of God.” Even prominent atheists like Richard Dawkins and Victor Stenger say something similar. Edgar Andrews, in his book Who Made God?, points out that this argument can be circular. [...]
Bill Pratt | January 24, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt This canard has been repeated so often that it is now part of 21st century folklore. Contrary to this popular myth, philosopher Edward Feser, in his book The Last Superstition, correctly points out that the “so-called ‘war between science and religion’ is really a war between two rival philosophical worldviews, and not [...]
Bill Pratt | January 19, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt A common theme we have revisited on this blog is that the decision to believe in God or not believe in God is more than an intellectual exercise – there are always psychological and emotional factors at play as well. This is contrary to the received wisdom of many atheists who argue that belief [...]
Bill Pratt | January 16, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt Let’s briefly cover some historical background. The Roman emperor Vespasian ruled from A.D. 69 -79; his reign ended with his death. Writing about Vespasian some 25 years later, the Roman historian Tacitus reported a famous incident where Vespasian is said to have miraculously healed two men – one blind and one lame. This miracle [...]
Bill Pratt | January 13, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt One of the most fascinating discoveries of modern science has been that the universe is finely tuned to support human life. Philosopher of science John Lennox, in his book God’s Undertaker, notes that “this perception on the part of scientists, that the universe has to be very precisely structured in order [...]
Bill Pratt | January 11, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt I don’t mean in the sense of displaying strong affection toward your spouse. I mean in the sense of the nineteenth century movement of Romanticism. I think the romantics still have something to say to us today, and I’m wondering how many of you can relate to their ideas. According to William [...]
Bill Pratt | January 9, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt In part 1 of this series, we learned that there are two versions of the multiverse hypothesis, level 1 and level 2. The level 1 multiverse is non-controversial as it is basically an extension of our current universe in space. The level 2 multiverse, however, makes much grander claims and is fraught with [...]
Bill Pratt | January 6, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt One of the most powerful arguments for God’s existence is the fine tuning argument. Rather than rehearse it here, please read Wintery Knight’s presentation of the argument. Many atheist scholars acknowledge the persuasiveness of this argument (e.g., philosopher Peter Millican did as much in his recent debate with William Lane Craig), [...]
Bill Pratt | January 4, 2012
Post Author: Bill Pratt In part 1 of this series, Walt Tucker gave an explanation of the two slit experiment and its relation to quantum mechanics. In part 2, Walt explains why this experiment does not violate the law of non-contradiction. Below are Walt’s words. The quick answer is: if a particle could actually be [...]
