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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Naturalism, Christian Molinism, And The Problem Of Evil, Caleb Blackman
Naturalism, Christian Molinism, And The Problem Of Evil, Caleb Blackman
Masters Theses
The purpose of this thesis is to create a Christian theodicy by forming an abductive argument showing that Christian Molinism can provide reasons for the existence of evil, and compared to naturalism, it provides the best explanation. This is accomplished by considering the naturalistic explanation of evil and building upon defenses and concepts such as the Free Will Defense and Molinism.
Identification And Treatment Of Kierkegaardian Despair: An Informal Indirect Apologetic Strategy, Licio Soares
Identification And Treatment Of Kierkegaardian Despair: An Informal Indirect Apologetic Strategy, Licio Soares
Masters Theses
The central question this paper aimed at addressing was: How to present the gospel to people that are resistant to its presentation? The Danish philosopher and theologian Soren Kierkegaard suggested that the best strategy in this scenario was indirect communication. In Kierkegaard’s pseudonymous writings many theological themes were indirectly presented as philosophical ones. The following Kierkegaardian themes were selected and arranged into a two-phase apologetic strategy that can be used in informal conversational settings: Anxiety, Despair, The Crowd, Single Individual, Revelation, and Faith. Indirect communication takes place in the first phase which is comprised of the first four themes. The …
A Two-Part Rebuttal Of Probability-Based Arguments Against Christian Theism, David Keith Wilson
A Two-Part Rebuttal Of Probability-Based Arguments Against Christian Theism, David Keith Wilson
Masters Theses
This thesis addresses probability-based arguments (PA) from atheism against theism. This popular form of atheistic argument, rather than arguing that there is no such being as God, instead argues that God’s existence is very improbable. This would imply that the theist is unjustified in their belief, and therefore epistemically obligated to forsake their belief. By pairing a cumulative warrant with Alvin Plantinga’s inside straight argument, it is shown that the theist is under no such obligation. As there are many things that are unlikely as well as true, it can be that theism is both unlikely and true. Therefore, the …
In The Wake Of Euthyphro's False Dilemma, Gregory S. Mckenzie
In The Wake Of Euthyphro's False Dilemma, Gregory S. Mckenzie
Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal
All moral apologists, at one time or another, engage with the Euthyphro dilemma and all theologians engage, at one point or another, the issue of continuity or discontinuity of the Mosaic Covenant and Torah in general. The general view among apologists is that correct theology can be determined by its logical consistency and explanatory power considering philosophical, existential, and scientific principles. This study examines how answering the Euthyphro dilemma as a false dilemma, which is a common position among apologists actually produces theological contradictions primarily in the realm of theology proper and specifically immutability, issues in hamartiology and an improper …
Morality And The Personhood Of God: A Moral Argument For The Existence Of A Personal God, Stephen Scott Jordan
Morality And The Personhood Of God: A Moral Argument For The Existence Of A Personal God, Stephen Scott Jordan
Doctoral Dissertations and Projects
The concept that God is personal is an important part of religious belief. If God were not personal, it would be odd to think of him as moral or loving; it would also seem counterintuitive to speak of him as One with whom humans can have a personal relationship, One who can be trusted, cares for the people he created, listens to their prayers, acts on their behalf, has their best interests at heart, and so on. In short, to talk of such matters in a sensible manner and to experience them in everyday life seemingly requires that God is …
A Critical Analysis Of Neural Buddhism's Explanation Of Moral Transformation, Jeffrey R. Dickson
A Critical Analysis Of Neural Buddhism's Explanation Of Moral Transformation, Jeffrey R. Dickson
Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal
As non-theistic arguments for morality become increasingly sophisticated and complex, they are harder to criticize without first admiring their skillful design and near-artistry. One such argument involves a relatively new innovation that is the child of naturalism and eastern philosophy—Neural Buddhism. Like two world-renowned designers collaborating on a new garment, Naturalism and Buddhism have come together in this distinct program to offer something inventive, especially in its explanation of moral transformation. However, this critical analysis will ultimately reveal that Neural Buddhism’s explanation of moral transformation is incapable of providing good answers to several compelling criticisms.
An Incongruent Amalgamation: John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism On Naturalism, Jeffrey M. Robinson
An Incongruent Amalgamation: John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism On Naturalism, Jeffrey M. Robinson
Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal
John Stuart Mill's utilitarian principle of the greatest happiness for the greatest number, often surfaces in cultural debates in the contemporary West over the extent and foundations of moral duties. Given the drift from its historical Judeo-Christian moorings, naturalism now provides much of the epistemic grounding in Western culture in relation to moral duties. The amalgamation of Mill’s utilitarianism and naturalism has resulted in a cultural and epistemic disconnect. Naturalism is hard-pressed to provide consistent epistemic support for Mill’s utilitarian principle. This essay provides a number of suggestions as to why Mill’s utilitarianism may be inconsistent on naturalism.
The Eternal Progression Argument Against Mormonism, Jonathan R. Pruitt
The Eternal Progression Argument Against Mormonism, Jonathan R. Pruitt
Eleutheria: John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Academic Journal
This paper argues that Mormon cosmology plus the Mormon view of the origin of human persons results in an undercutting defeater for Mormonism. The approach is modeled after Plantinga’s evolutionary argument against naturalism. The first step is to show that Mormon cosmology is relevantly like naturalism. The second step is to show that the origin of human persons ins relevantly similar to naturalistic evolution so that it faces the same kind of defeaters as the conjunction of naturalism and naturalistic evolution.
An Apologetic To Sun Hwan Pyun's Dialogue Theology As A Liberation Theology Of Religions, Youngchan Kim
An Apologetic To Sun Hwan Pyun's Dialogue Theology As A Liberation Theology Of Religions, Youngchan Kim
Masters Theses
Sun Hwan Pyun was a professor at Methodist Theological University. As a theologian, he grappled with two important theological questions: "Is Christianity an exclusive religion?" and "Is Christianity only a religion for the upper class?" Regarding the exclusivism of Christianity, Pyun searched for an answer in ecumenical-religious pluralism. As an answer for "is Christianity for the poor", he accepts Minjung liberation theology. Pyun wanted to combine these two theologies and, subsequently, referred to his dialogue theology as a liberation theology of religions. The purpose of this thesis is to search for the theological and biblical answers to these theological questions …