What Is Pseudoscience? A Philosopher Tries to Figure It Out

astrology, Atheism, Christof Koch, creationism, David Chalmers, Evidence, fine-tuning, homeopathy, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Intelligent Design, Kåre Letrud, Massimo Pigliucci, Neuroscience & Mind, Nonsense on Stilts, parapsychology, philosophers, philosophical preference, Philosophy of Pseudoscience, pseudoscience, Skeptical Inquirer, UFOs
One is tempted to wonder whether “room for disagreement” is a polite term for Not Yet Cancelled. Source
Read More

Why the Best Explanation Can Be a Miracle

3. Are Miracles Possible?, 4. Is the NT True?, abductive reasoning, Al Serrato, Apologetics, Christianity, Cumulative Case, Evidence, forensics, historical apologetics, J. Warner Wallace, miracles, New Testament, theology
By Al Serrato We all intuitively seek the best explanation for a set of facts or circumstances. It’s called abductive reasoning. Detectives make use of this method of reasoning when endeavoring to solve a crime; they put the pieces together so that a picture of what occurred emerges in sufficient detail to have confidence that it is true. Parents do it when they notice that a freshly baked pie has a piece missing and little Johnny has crumbs on his fingers and fruit staining his lips. Perfect knowledge is not required to know with sufficient certainty what occurred. Abductive Reasoning in Christian Apologetics As it relates to apologetics, abductive reasoning is a formal way of supporting the case for the validity of Christian truth claims. Though there are dozens of…
Read More

Do Fungi Have Free-Will?

agency, automaton, biology, Chemistry, Complexity, consciousness, decision-making, Evidence, Evolution, free will, fungal mind, genetics, human behavior, hyphae, imago Dei, intelligence, Intelligent Design, Internet, Judeo-Christian tradition, learning, Life Sciences, materialism, memory, Miami University, mind, mycelium, mycology, Neuroscience & Mind, Nicholas P. Money, Ohio, physics, randomness, science writers, scientists, sensitivity
Whenever a new hypothesis like this is published and calmly debated in scientific journals without arousing any furor, your first instinct may be to scoff. Source
Read More

How Earth is Designed for Human Technology

agriculture, Andrew McDiarmid, biology, Brian Miller, Chemistry, cooking, earth, Earth’s surface, Evidence, fire, food, foresight, Geology, gold, hunting, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, iron, Life Sciences, likelihood ratio, multi-cellular beings, physicists, physics, Physics, Earth & Space, plate tectonics, soil, technological advancement, Technology, universe, water cycle
Is all this a coincidence? We think that’s a stretch. One or two fortunate parameters might be called a fluke. Source
Read More

Dismantling Doubt

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Christianity, Deanna Huff, Doubt, Evidence, faith, Gospel, John the Baptist, Matthew 11, miracles
Is God really there for me? God, do you see? Do you hear my prayer? Experiences such as job loss, broken relationships, mental illness, or any unyielding pain can stir up questions of doubt. Doubt is standing at your door desiring to chip away at your faith. During these seasons of sorrow and pain, many days can be filled with questions like: Why are you silent? Why didn’t you save them? Why won’t you show them they are wrong? Will you resolve the situation? When you feel as if there is no answer, doubt festers. Is what I believe true? Lest someone think that non-religious persons are different, C.S. Lewis’s personal comment is very instructive. “Now that I am a Christian, I do have moods in which the whole thing…
Read More

The Need for Cognitive Closure in Dealing with Doubts

Apologetics, Christianity, Epistemic Warrant, Evidence, faith, Gospel, Intellectual doubt, Jonathan McLatchie, probability, Proverbs 3:5-6, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Over the years in my work as a public apologist, I have spoken with many dozens of ex-Christians who have renounced their faith and become atheists, as well as numerous individuals who still consider themselves believers but nonetheless are struggling seriously with intellectual doubts concerning the veracity of the Christian faith. In addition, I have watched literally hundreds of YouTube videos wherein a testimony is given of one’s journey out of the Christian faith towards atheism. Through listening to countless people in this situation, I have come to realize how difficult it is for believers to express to members of their church or Christian community that they are struggling with doubts (presumably because to express that one struggles with doubt carries a negative stigma in many churches today). Struggling with…
Read More

In Darwin’s Bluff, Robert Shedinger Rightly Forgoes the Hagiographic Tradition 

agnostics, biologists, cosmologists, creationists, Darwin’s Bluff, empirical deficits, Evidence, Evolution, evolutionary mechanisms, Faith & Science, hagiography, linguists, Luther College, nature, Nature mysticism, religion, Robert Shedinger, S. I. Hayakawa, scientific evidence, The Mystery of Evolutionary Mechanisms
The present reader, in company with a host of agnostic biologists and cosmologists, simply finds in Darwin a complete dearth of convincing scientific evidence. Source
Read More