Yesterday we looked at how the Myth Hypothesis implies the emergence of some kind of authoritative revelation, either oral or written, as the optimum way to claim divine authority while avoiding accountability when you’re wrong. But once you have “divine revelation,” what then? What do the Myth Hypothesis and the Gospel Hypothesis imply with respect …
Monthly Archive: December 2012
Dec 18 2012
Gospel Hypothesis 3: on the origin of Scriptures
According to the Myth Hypothesis, gods do not exist, and all religions that promote belief in gods do so through the political and psychosocial processes of ordinary superstition and myth-making. This implies a number of things, the most fundamental and obvious of which is that none of these religions is going to have any actual …
Dec 17 2012
Gospel Hypothesis 2: the voice of God
In Gospel Hypothesis 1, we looked at the most obvious consequence that would result from the existence of an almighty, all-loving, all-wise God: He would be here with us, tangibly, visibly, and audibly interacting with us because He loves us and wants to build the kind of deep, personal relationship with us that will produce …
Dec 16 2012
Enter the zingers
Over at Evangelical Realism we continue our review of Pastor Stephen Feinstein’s attempt to debate Russell Glasser on the topic of presuppositionalism. This week Pastor Feinstein delivers what he thinks are some devastating arguments against atheism, but maybe you have to be sitting in a church pew to understand what the zing is supposed to …
Dec 14 2012
Gospel Hypothesis 1: The nature of revelation
[This is the first post in a series comparing the Gospel Hypothesis with the Myth Hypothesis in the light of Occam's Razor.] One of the reasons apologetics does so well with a lot of people is because skeptics try to prove that religion is wrong. In other words, the issue focuses on a binary question …
Dec 13 2012
Worldviews in the balance
The observation is often made (and often by religious people) that each of us has our own worldview, by which we understand and interpret things in the world around us. When this observation is made during a debate over religion and/or science, it is often claimed that your conclusions owe as much to your worldview …
Dec 12 2012
Ockham and Twain
One of the things that used to bother me about Ockham’s Razor was the almost coincidental way it “just so happens” that the simplest solution is most likely to be correct. Oh really? How convenient for us simple-minded investigators! Are you sure there isn’t some kind of scam going on here? As it turns out, …
Dec 11 2012
Defining superstition
One of the problems we frequently encounter when discussing religion (especially in the context of science) is that a lot of people have a hazy understanding of what superstition is. They think superstition means “silly things other people believe,” and if we describe any of their beliefs as superstition, they think we’re merely insulting their …
Dec 10 2012
Jesus and Santa
Christmas is all about traditions, which means doing the same thing year after year. And so, in the true spirit of Christmas, I am posting my annual list of the Top Ten Reasons why Santa is Better than Jesus. 10. Santa does not endorse any political candidates or parties. 9. If you’re bad, Santa gives …
Dec 09 2012
Back to the script
Over at Evangelical Realism we’re up to the third installment of Pastor Stephen Feinstein’s debate with Russell Glasser and it looks like Pastor Feinstein is getting back to the script. Is there really a philosophy there? Or is presuppositionalism just ordinary superstition dressed in a philosopher’s toga?
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