Randal Rauser's Blog, page 110

Debriefing the Mormon vs. Christian Debate on Unbelievable

The November 25th show of “Unbelievable” featured a conversational debate between two former Mormons-turned-Christians (Lynn Wilder and Corey Miller) and current Mormon James Holt.

While Holt was an amiable bloke, I did not find that he had substantive criticisms to Wilder’s objections. For example, Wilder pointed out that Joseph Smith was an infamous polygamist who was notorious for marrying the wives of his male followers. Holt replied by noting that Mormons have explored responses to that problem. Unfortunately, he didn’t explain what any of those responses were!

Wilder also raised the problem of racism as the Book of Mormon regularly associates dark skin with sin. She notes, for example, that the Lamanites were cursed with dark skin because of their sin. All together she claims there are 26 Mormon scriptures that refer to dark skin as a curse. This is a serious problem if the Book of Mormon is, as Mormons claim, a “perfect” book. I found Holt’s response to these points unconvincing.

The description thus far would suggest that I found Wilder’s presentation to be more persuasive and that is true. But occasionally she opened herself up to objections that could readily have been exploited by a more skilled debater. For example, she contrasts the God of Mormonism — a finite physical being with limited knowledge and power — with the God of the Bible which, Wilder claims, is a spiritual being that is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.

However, this lofty description is far from obvious if the Bible is our only theological source. (To be sure, it isn’t, but Wilder’s description only references the Bible.) After all, the Bible regularly describes God as gaining new knowledge, changing his mind, having regrets, and so on. It also describes God as having a body, face, arm, finger, back, sitting on a throne and walking in the garden. To be sure, Wilder may choose to interpret those descriptions as instances of anthropopathism, anthropomorphism, and/or accommodation. Nonetheless, the point remains: it is far too simplistic to claim the Bible teaches that God is a non-physical being that is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.

Here’s a specific example of what I’m talking about. Wilder describes how in the Mormon Temple in which she served, God was described as needing to send people down to earth to discover what is happening. This is supposed to contrast with the omniscient God of the Bible. But in Genesis 18:21 God says he will go down to Sodom to see whether their sin is as great as he has heard. God then ultimately sends two angels to do the welfare check. Texts like this look far more like the Mormon description of God than Wilder’s tri-omni deity.

Wilder later returned to her point that the presence of racism and polygamy would not be an issue if it was simply a historical issue. But in Mormonism, she claims, it is “actually a scriptural issue” and therein lies the problem. Frankly, I’m not clear on the difference between historical and scriptural. Perhaps she is seeking to contrast that which is merely recorded with that which is taught.

Regardless, at the 25 minute mark into the program Wilder lays down the gauntlet with the following contrast:

“the God of Mormonism can change and does change and does change his mind and kind of updates with the culture. The God of the Bible got it right from the beginning, knew the end from the beginning, sees all things, is outside of time and space. And so you have an unchangeable God.”

But this is simply not true. The Bible includes many different pictures of God which reflect change — perhaps evolution? — over time. For example, compare the strikingly immanent-human descriptions of God in Genesis with the lofty descriptions in Deutero-Isaiah or Paul’s speech to the Athenians in Acts 17.

The Bible also reflects development in ethical understanding. Consider, for example, that the Psalmist exults in the Law of God as beautiful and perfect in Psalm 119. And yet, this law includes such mandates as pelting wayward children to death with rocks and amputating the hand of a woman who interferes in a fight between two men. And the Bible also assumes throughout the legitimacy of slavery as an institution. Then there are the passages which describe God commanding genocide and ethnic cleansing and the texts that appear to reflect patriarchal attitudes that are foreign to our worldview today, and the alleged anti-Judaic themes of the Gospel of John, and so on.

The bottom line is that upon closer examination Wilder’s vivid black and white dissolves into a sea of real-world grays. This is unfortunate because this type of contrast was wholly unnecessary to mount a powerful critique of Mormonism.

I haven’t said anything to this point about Corey Miller’s presentation. The reason is because I didn’t find it particularly helpful. He initially presented an unconvincing critique of Mormon epistemology (in particular, the fabled appeal to the burning in the bosom). But as Justin Brierley rightly pointed out, Christians argue in like manner by appealing to subjective experience as the prima facie ground under which they reasonably form justified beliefs about God.

My favorite example of this comes from Charles Darwin’s autobiography where he recalls a Mrs. Barlow who told his father that she knows sugar is sweet and she knows her redeemer lives.

This isn’t just lay piety. Alvin Plantinga (among other epistemologists) has presented a highly sophisticated defense of properly basic belief informed by the best of contemporary epistemology. Here’s the key point: Plantinga’s proper function account could inform Mormon belief as surely as Christian belief. If I were Miller I would have acknowledged that fact.

But that’s not the end of the story. Next, I would have pointed out that justification based on a subjective experience is only prima facie and can be undermined (i.e. undercut or rebutted) by defeaters. At that point, Miller could have presented those defeaters as a means to undermine the prima facie justification Mormons have from their subjective experience.

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There are some forms of stupidity that one must be highly intelligent and educated to commit

Eighteen years ago when I was doing my PhD in England I knew a Christian theologian who was pursuing a doctorate with a focus on Christian ethics. (Let’s call him Don.) One day when I was hanging out with Don, he showed me an ethics book he had stolen from a library in continental Europe.

Yes, stolen.

Don was ready with his justification. He smoothly explained that the book hadn’t been taken out from the library for years. (This was in the good old days when books would be stamped when they were borrowed, and this book hadn’t been stamped since the 1970s!) So chances are that the book wouldn’t be missed. Furthermore, the book had been out of print for years and Don needed that particular book in his doctoral research. And this was the first copy he had come across. Finally, he was returning to Britain shortly, so the only way to solve the problem was the five-finger-discount.

So yeah, he stole it.

Don wasn’t a utilitarian, but this was a fine piece of utilitarian reasoning. And if you are inclined to interpret that as a dig at utilitarianism, rest assured, it isn’t. Utilitarianism is a serious ethical position, and if followed consistently it imposes rigorous strictures on personal conduct.

But that’s the point. Don was no utilitarian, and yet he was educated enough to know he could appeal to that particular ethical framework when it served his purposes. This whole defense, so it seemed to me, was a lamentable exercise in motivated reasoning. To put it bluntly, the case illustrated that sometimes ethics provides a good way to be bad.

In his essay “Escape from Nihilism,” Christian philosopher J. Budziszewski recalls how, as a young atheistic philosopher, he had committed his formidable intellectual acumen to defending nihilism. He writes:

“When I fled from God … my way of fleeing was to get stupid. Though it always comes as a surprise to intellectuals, there are some forms of stupidity that one must be highly intelligent and educated to commit.”

This is why education can be so very dangerous. Like a motorboat that acquires a powerful new engine whilst lacking a rudder, the individual that acquires education without character formation may gain nothing more than increased speed as they drive their boat onto the rocky shoals of stupidity.

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Liars for Atheism? If only…

Today I came across a website called “RationalWiki” which includes a short entry on yours truly. The anonymous writer(s) sound like John Loftus clones. He/she/they say I am similar to Ray Comfort or Pat Robertson (!) and that I support Ken Ham’s Ark theme park! (The article they link to in order to support this claim is clearly labeled “satire” which gives you a sense of the utter illiteracy of the author.) The summary, according to this article, is that I am an “expert at Lying for Jesus.”

I would return the favor by accusing the writer(s) of being a liar for atheism, but frankly, I don’t think this individual knows if they are afoot or horseback. How tragic, however, that she/she/they would write under the pretense of rationality.

You can read this reprehensible hack job here: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Randal_Rauser

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Natural Evil and Young Earth Creationism

In this short discussion (short being a relative term: it’s under ten minutes) I explain why young earth creationists have a problem of natural evil that they need to explain.

http://randalrauser.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Natural-Evil-and-Young-Earth-Creationism.mp3

Music Credit:

Apero Hour Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

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Hellrazed? The Book!

Five years have passed since Kevin Miller’s provocative documentary Hellbound? was released. The film explores concepts of the afterlife (in particular, the doctrine of eternal conscious torment), and how they shape the life and belief of the church here and now. I met Kevin at that time as I had the privilege of hosting the film’s screening here in Edmonton. (You can read my review here.)

In recognition of that five year anniversary, Kevin has edited a book titled Hellrazed? which consists of a collection of short essays by an impressive list of contributors to and supporters of the film including Frank Schaeffer, Robin Parry, Brian Zahnd, Derek Flood, Brad Jersak, Michael Hardin, and Eric Reitan.

Oh, and I even got a pithy essay included!

The book is now available to purchase on Amazon.com. Within a month, it will also be available on Amazon.ca, Chapters/Indigo, Barnes & Noble, Ingram, etc. Also, keep in mind that Kevin Miller is offering a special deal on his websites (link below) where folks can purchase the book and DVD together for a discount. And just in time for Christmas!

Amazon.com (United States)

Canada: https://www.kevinmillerxi.com/store2.html

United States and the rest of the World: http://hellbound.storenvy.com/

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The Church as Tabasco Sauce

A couple years ago I compared the Church to Tabasco sauce. In this short video I return to that spicy analogy:

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Reflections on Astrophysics and Young Earth Creationism

Last week astrophysicist Aksel Hallin spoke at Taylor Seminary. Dr. Hallin is the Professor and Canada Research Chair for Astroparticle Physics at the University of Alberta.

In this audio, I offer my layperson summary of Professor Hallin’s talk as well as some concluding reflections.

http://randalrauser.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/The-Physicist-meets-the-Young-Earth-Creationist.mp3

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100. Evolution and Christian Faith: A Conversation with Denis Lamoureux

It’s hard to believe but it has been four 1/2 years since The Tentative Apologist Podcast was launched in May 2013. Since then a lot of water has flowed under that bridge. Now for this, our 100th episode, I invite my first guest, Dr. Denis Lamoureux, back to continue our conversation on evolution, the Bible, and Christian faith. (You can listen to that first episode, dubious production values and all, right here.)

Dr. Lamoureux is Associate Professor of Science and Religion at St. Joseph’s College, at the University of Alberta. He is the author of many academic journal articles as well as several books including Evolutionary Creation: A Christian Approach to Evolution, and I Love Jesus and I Accept Evolution. In this episode, our conversation is guided by Dr. Lamoureux’ latest book, Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes!

And here’s the really good news. In celebration of our 100th episode, Dr. Lamoureux has kindly donated three autographed copies of his new book. If you live in North America, you are eligible to win a copy. All you need to do is email me (you can contact me through my website) or tweet me (@RandalRauser) by November 30th. We will have a drawing to identify the three winners on December 1st.

And while we can’t give everyone a free book, we do have something just as good: a free course. You see, Dr. Lamoureux is currently offering a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) through the University of Alberta. “Science & Religion 101” is free and open to all who are interested, so follow the link and register for the course.

And now without further ado, let’s turn to our conversation.

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The Ten Minute What’s So Confusing About Grace? Interview

I always enjoy doing the Wednesday Bookmark interviews on CHRI 99.1 FM in Ottawa. Why? Simple: it’s quick and to the punch. All the fat is trimmed and everything is boiled down to the essentials. This time out we discuss my most recent book, What’s So Confusing About Grace?

http://randalrauser.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/int_nov_2217_am.mp3

 

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In Search of Salvation video

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