Last night I had the pleasure of chatting with Ben Watkins from Real Atheology and Tyler over on his YouTube channel The Freed Thinker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdBtlAlTCYo I have long admired Ben's work, and share his commitment to raising the level of discourse. And Tyler was a gracious and attentive host. I appreciate the opportunity, and look … Continue reading The Rebirth of Platonism in Philosophy of Religion: Debrief and some l’esprit d’escalier
Apologetics
War of Worldviews
The process of reasoning from premises to conclusions, or argumentation, can be performed for any number of reasons. Perhaps it is done to perform a sort of diagnostic and identify any flaws or weaknesses in a view that could be improved. Perhaps it is done instead to organize information. Maybe it is to exonerate a … Continue reading War of Worldviews
Hot Take Monday: Taking All Y’all to Task
I'd like to share a couple of hot takes with you, ya know, to spice your Monday up. The first is that polytheism is the fulfillment of a naturalist intuition. The second is that monotheism has built a fortress around a very fragile belief. Let's take each in turn. I. The Best of Both Worlds: … Continue reading Hot Take Monday: Taking All Y’all to Task
Does God Exist? Some Post-Debate Thoughts
This Saturday I really stepped out of my shell and went to Houston to see a debate: Justin Shieber vs. Eric Hernandez, on whether God exists (link here).There were a number of people I told myself I was going to meet, and many to whom I should have at least introduced myself, but, you know, … Continue reading Does God Exist? Some Post-Debate Thoughts
Return of the Gods: a revamped response to Palmqvist
Carl-Johan Palmqvist’s 2022 ‘The old gods as a live possibility: on the rational feasibility of non-doxastic paganism’ has opened the doors for today’s philosophers of religion to research and consider polytheism—the belief in many Gods or Goddesses. But the start of any conversation will be marked by distinctions, caution and refinement. In that vein, I … Continue reading Return of the Gods: a revamped response to Palmqvist
A Polytheist Response to Gel
I originally composed a longer paper version of this post and intended to submit it for publication, but I do not think that is a fruitful use of my time any longer—I honestly don't think it will be until I get letters next to my name. And I will! Eventually. Until then, I'll fight the … Continue reading A Polytheist Response to Gel
Under the Microscope Part 2: An Abductive Case Against Theism
In the last post, we took a look at the first part of a short abductive case against theism. As you can see in the image below, the first section concerns the prior probabilities of Naturalism and Theism. The idea is that we can have some understanding of how believable a proposition is prior to … Continue reading Under the Microscope Part 2: An Abductive Case Against Theism
Under the Microscope Part 1: An Abductive Case Against Theism
Occasionally, I see the screenshot below getting shared around on Twitter. I am not familiar with the author, but I think it's clear why the post enjoys popularity: on its surface, it is an unusually and admirably clear and condensed case. I think it is also aimed at typical representations of theism and atheism, which … Continue reading Under the Microscope Part 1: An Abductive Case Against Theism
Aquinas, Gods and Revelation
1. Introduction Those who have followed my work through the years know that Thomas Aquinas had a big impact on my thought. I considered myself a Thomist for some time and attempted to adapt his philosophy to a Pagan worldview – much as he did with Aristotle for his Christian worldview. I’ll enchant Aquinas, like … Continue reading Aquinas, Gods and Revelation
Some Thoughts on Religious Experience
For as long as we've been around, human beings have had experiences which cause them to believe that a God is doing something to them -- like consoling, watching over or guiding, etc. -- or that a God has some property -- like being loving, powerful or even great, etc. It has often been remarked … Continue reading Some Thoughts on Religious Experience
The Analytic Pagan 