Author: TheSire

Arminianism, Doctrine of God, Freewill, Metaphysics, Problem of EvilLeave a comment

Arminianism and Aseity

TheSire

I’ll be looking at another article from the Arminian perspectives website. Aseity is defined as, “existence originating from and having no source other than itself.” God, according to all branches of orthodox Christian theology, is the only Being who is self-existent. The issue at hand, briefly, is that if God has endowed His creations with a measure of free will, then the creatures’ own actions come from themselves (i.e. from their own self-determination) and hence the transcendent God’s knowledge of what they will do apparently is also rooted in that self-determination. Determinists such as Mr. Prussic contend that God’s knowledge … Continue reading Arminianism and Aseity

apologetics, Dr. James Anderson, PresuppositionalismLeave a comment

J. V. Fesko’s Deforming Apologetics

TheSire

Here’s a group of links compiled by Békefi Bálint on J. V. Fesko’s book: J. V. Fesko’s Reforming Apologetics has caused quite a stir in presuppositional circles. A number of good reviews have been written by Van Tilian scholars. I’ve collected most of them below: Sam Waldron https://founders.org/2019/07/02/j-v-feskos-reforming-apologetics-retrieving-the-classical-reformed-approach-to-defending-the-faith-a-critical-review/ Presuppositional Ponderings after Reading Thomas Aquinas Camden Bucey, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy https://reformedforum.org/ctc596/ Mike Warren http://christianciv.com/blog/index.php/2019/05/25/common-notion-confusion-part-1-of-a-review-of-j-v-feskos-reforming-apologetics/ http://christianciv.com/blog/index.php/2019/06/12/common-notion-confusion-part-2/ http://christianciv.com/blog/index.php/2019/07/14/common-notion-confusion-part-3/ Wes Bredenhof https://yinkahdinay.wordpress.com/2019/07/03/book-review-reforming-apologetics-1/ https://yinkahdinay.wordpress.com/2019/07/04/book-review-reforming-apologetics-2/ https://yinkahdinay.wordpress.com/2019/07/08/book-review-reforming-apologetics-3/ https://yinkahdinay.wordpress.com/2019/07/09/book-review-reformed-apologetics-4/ James Anderson https://www.proginosko.com/2019/06/reforming-apologetics-introduction/ https://www.proginosko.com/2019/06/reforming-apologetics-the-light-of-nature/ https://www.proginosko.com/2019/07/reforming-apologetics-common-notions/ https://www.proginosko.com/2019/07/reforming-apologetics-calvin/ https://www.proginosko.com/2019/08/reforming-apologetics-thomas-aquinas/ https://www.proginosko.com/2019/09/reforming-apologetics-worldview/ https://www.proginosko.com/2020/01/reforming-apologetics-transcendental-arguments/ https://www.proginosko.com/2020/11/reforming-apologetics-dualisms/ https://www.proginosko.com/2021/06/reforming-apologetics-the-book-of-nature-and-apologetics/ https://www.proginosko.com/2021/07/reforming-apologetics-wrap-up/ Continue reading J. V. Fesko’s Deforming Apologetics

Economics, politicsLeave a comment

Inequality of Argument

TheSire

So, I was sent an article to look over to show that income inequality is a bad thing. It made me chuckle because it appealed to the moral wisdom of Peter Singer. I’m sure the man that believes we are morally justified in killing people because they have very low IQ’s must have some wisdom about organizing society. Let’s see what the article says: One obvious reason for redistributing resources from the rich to the poor is simply that this is a way of making the poor better off. In his TED Talk on “effective altruism,” Peter Singer advances powerful … Continue reading Inequality of Argument

Abortion, EthicsLeave a comment

Memes to an End

TheSire

I was asked to comment on a pro-choice meme. I don’t think abortionist are intellectual heavy-weights so this will be interesting. i) This is sneaking in the idea that consent makes sexual interactions perfectly fine. But that just presupposes Christianity is false. Fornication, adultery, and other such things can be perfectly voluntary and consensual. But it is obvious that we wouldn’t consider them ethical practices. Furthermore, we have thought experiments that undermine that intuition: A mother voluntarily choosing to have sex with Nazi guards in a concentration camp to protect her attractive daughter. That’s consensual but seemingly immoral. ii) It … Continue reading Memes to an End

Freewill, MetaphysicsLeave a comment

Teleological Explanation

TheSire

Recently, I commented on an article about LFW being intuitive: http://spirited-tech.com/COG/2019/07/02/intuition-and-choices/ Later, John Cranman shared his thoughts about my response: TheSire, if you’re going to quote Taliaferro (and Goetz) on free will, you should probably quote him entirely. From the same piece you’re pulling from: “For example, in light of both our desire that we make clear that there are no good objections to the idea that we make uncaused choices and our belief that writing this essay would fulfill that desire, we chose to write it for the purpose that we make clear that there are no good objections … Continue reading Teleological Explanation

Arminianism, Calvinism, FreewillLeave a comment

Intuition and Choices

TheSire

I was asked to read and comment on an article. So, let’s take a look: https://arminianperspectives.wordpress.com/2009/04/01/the-reality-of-choice-and-the-testimony-of-scripture/ It begins by stating: It may seem strange to some that there even is a debate as to what constitutes free will. The average person believes that he has free will. Whenever he is confronted with a choice he believes that he can either choose this way or that, and that either choice is a real possibility. In fact, this is what we generally think of when using the word choice. We think of the power to choose between alternatives. But the simple concepts … Continue reading Intuition and Choices

Ancient Near East, Mormonism, Sentinel ApologeticsLeave a comment

A Mormon’s venture to the Planet Sentinel

TheSire

There was a recent conversation between Robert Rowe and Kwaku El. The conversation wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. The conversation kicks off with Robert saying he was wishing for Kwaku to refute Dr. James White. That came across as a bit petty on the part of Robert. Why not route for Dr. White to change Kwaku’s mind? Is it better to win a theological argument or that someone becomes a Christian? That doesn’t mean Dr. White is without fault or that his position is correct. Rowe simply comes across to someone as wishing for the wrong … Continue reading A Mormon’s venture to the Planet Sentinel

Abortion, FeminismLeave a comment

Fletcher’s Finale

TheSire

Shane Fletcher has responded to my article. I have to admit this is his finest responses yet. These arguments probably will stand the test of time: i) June 19th I mention the exceptions of IVF, etc https://t.co/AAG6nENfMOYou immediately respond pointing out that there are methods of impregnation that don't require sex.6 days later, I believe these exception are agreed by us, but apparently not. — Shane Fletcher (@Fletch_smf) June 25, 2019 Fletcher already knows about the counterexamples to his stated position. He hasn’t been able to reformulate his position in order to avoid the same counterexamples. So, it is his … Continue reading Fletcher’s Finale