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Divinely Simple Apologetics
Many contemporary Protestant analytic philosophers of religion deny the doctrine of divine simplicity (DDS). While DDS was historically the predominant Christian view of God’s nature, it has in recent centuries become controversial among Protestant philosophers and theologians. The typical objections to DDS include things such as 1) the doctrine is unintelligible, 2) the doctrine removes…
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Peter Singer Forgets Boethius
What makes human beings so special? As Catholics, we often take for granted that humans beings have a special status in the world because we are made in the image of God. As such, human beings are fundamentally different kinds of things from other animals. In recent years however, this position has been critiqued by…
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Middle Knowledge and “The Good Place”
NBC’s The Good Place which aired for four seasons from 2016-2020 was one of the few televisions show on air in recent years that focused explicitly on moral philosophy. As such, the show offers a number of points on which Christians can engage with the philosophy and theology of the show to see its insights…
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The Fruits of Sola Scriptura: A Rebuttal to a Common Protestant Response
Catholics often point to the wide variety of Protestant churches as evidence that the Reformation principle of sola scriptura, by scripture alone, is an unworkable standard that leads to infinite fragmentation and division within the church. Protestants of course have responses to this objection. One prominent response which I will rebut here is that while…
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James White vs. Dale Tuggy Debate Review
Yesterday evening, James White debate Dale Tuggy on the topic “Is Jesus Yahweh?” at First Lutheran in Houston. White argued on the affirmative while Dale Tuggy, perhaps the most prominent American Unitarian, argued for the negative. While I am by no means an objective observer, in my view White won the day and Tuggy’s case…
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Universalism and Non Resistant Non Belief
Do non resistant non believers disprove God? Not if we take these things into account…
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One Possible Explanation for “Non-Resistant” Non Believers
The argument from divine hiddenness is perhaps the second most commonly used and most powerful argument against the existence of God. One form of the argument appeals so so called “non-resistant” non believers, i.e. people who lack a belief in God not due to self deception and often in spite of honest search. An example…
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Could Molinism Become a Catholic Dogma?
Molinism, that is the doctrine of middle knowledge (Lat. scientia media) has been a widely debated topic in Catholic and even Protestant theology for the past four and a half centuries. Despite Molina’s ideas being widely debated in the 16th and early 17th centuries, the Church under Pope Paul V chose not to pick a…
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Newman’s Via Media Between James White and Dale Tuggy on the Trinity
All Christians who profess belief in the doctrine of the Trinity believe that the doctrine of the Trinity is found in divine revelation. Where there is disagreement among Christians is the degree to which the doctrine of the Trinity, especially as it was later formalized, is clearly taught in Scripture and the earliest fathers. The…
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Nocturnal Emissions and The End of Sexual Faculties
Gunther Laird in his book The Unnecessary Science: A Critique of Natural Law Theory has offered a number of criticisms of Edward Feser’s natural law theory. I have responded to some of his poorer arguments on abortion and same sex marriage. One of Laird’s better arguments is his argument that male nocturnal emissions refute the…
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Natural Law Abortion? Another Response to Gunther Laird
Gunther Laird in his book The Unnecessary Science: A Critique of Natural Law Theory offers a number of arguments against Edward Feser’s account of natural law. Laird claims that on a number of issues, including abortion, Feser’s natural law theory fails to actually support Feser’s own position on abortion and can in fact be used…
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Aristotelian Gay Marriage? A Response to Gunther Laird
Gunther Laird recently authored the book The Unnecessary Science: A Critical Analysis of Natural Law Theory which is a critique of Edward Feser’s account of natural law. Throughout the book Laird attempts to show that even if one accepts Feser’s account of natural law, such an account is compatible with various positions which Feser himself…
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Errorstotle? Examining Aristotle’s View of Future Contingents
Aristotle is widely regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of all time. He is perhaps most highly regarded by Catholics because of the influence his ideas came to have in Medieval Christendom. Figures from Thomas Aquinas to William of Ockham referred to him as “the Philosopher”. Nevertheless, as widely regarded as Aristotle was, he…
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Bad Objections to Marian Apparitions
In their book The Cult of the Virgin: Catholic Mariology and the Apparitions of Mary, Elliot Miller and Kenneth Samples investigate the nature of Catholic devotion and in particular various Marian apparitions. The book is divided into two parts, the first looking at Catholic doctrine regarding Mary and the second looking at apparitions. In their…
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“Into His Own”: The Marian Implications of Faith in John’s Gospel
I was struck recently when reading the Greek of John’s Gospel by a verse in chapter 19 when Jesus is on the cross. After telling the beloved disciple John “Behold your Mother”, the Gospel states that “From that time on, the disciple took her into his home”. The Greek phrase for “into his home” is…