Posted by Anthony on January 19, 2010
It is not so common in philosophical debates to arrive at points of contentions where there really, truly, is indisputable refutation or demonstration. Usually, it is a question of interpretation and the argument can continue on. On my blog I have documented over the years a few points where the argument against the atheist was incontrovertible. The result: silence.
I would like to give free-thinking objective and even handed and mentally superior atheistic friends an opportunity to exhibit integrity by highlighting the three examples (plus a bonus one) that come to mind and calling upon the atheists and their defenders to own up to these refutations. If I had to make a prediction, it would be that they will exhibit all that they renounce in ‘religious fundamentalism’ and do essentially as Dan Rather did in Rathergate, standing by the story after the facts supporting it have been withdrawn.
1. Richard Dawkins. Not long after Dawkins released his Delusion, I tracked down a quote that he employed to further his argument that Christianity was against knowledge and stifled curiosity. The quote was from Augustine’s Confessions but the 45ish word quote was actually spliced selectively out of a longer section 750ish words in length. See my evidence. Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on June 11, 2009
This is the second and hopefully last installment in a rebuttal of Dan Barker. Barker’s Easter Challenge was taken up by Pastor Stephen Kingsley, and Barker issued forth a 70 page answer. Here is my review of Kingsley’s ‘Answer.’ Here is my first reply to Barker’s rebuttal. You are reading my second. Barker has not, to my knowledge, publicly released his rebuttal. If he ever does, I will link to it.
Barker’s response could have easily been slimmed down to 5 to 10 pages, easily. It is filled with inaccuracies, diversions, and tangents. The main objection is not easy to pick out against all of the background, but we can sum it up I think this way:
Pastor Kingsley achieves his harmonization by breaking up Matthew 28:1-8 in a way that is unsustainable given Matthew’s use of time. On this basis we can see that Matthew 28:1-8 “is a discrete, unbreakable element of Matthew’s story.”
There is an obvious flaw in this objection. Namely, Barker is asking for a plausible harmonization, which by definition requires a blending of the four Gospels, but setting himself up as the judge, jury, and executioner, as far as how and when a portion from one book can be spliced between the passages of another book. Barker consistently says that one can indeed do such splicing and just as consistently rejects any and every attempt. Why should we accept that Matthew 28:1-8 is a ‘discrete, unbreakable element’? Because Barker says so, that’s why. Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on May 28, 2009
Not too long ago I posted a review of Stephen Kingsley’s The Easter Answer (Amazon
- www.easteranswer.com) and at that time Barker had not yet issued his response. And no wonder: not to be outdone in any respect, Barker issued forth a 69 page answer to a book that was only 82 pages in the first place. I am glad for Barker’s exhaustive treatment as it exposes a whole heap of flaws in Barker’s ‘Challenge’ and most importantly gives us explicit insight into how Barker analyzes potential answers.
Probably the fundamental issue exposed by Barker’s reply is that Barker has set himself up as judge, jury, and executioner as far as deciding whether or not his challenge has been met. Personally, I believe in the future, Mr. Kingsley or any other would-be answerer should insist that an impartial panel be the judge. You’ll get an idea why by the end of this post…
1. Barker’s Challenge explicitly says: “…without omitting a single detail…write a simple, chronological narrative of the events between the resurrection and the ascension… [it] does not have to pretend to present a perfect picture- it only needs to give at least one plausible account of all of the facts. … The important condition to the challenge, however, is that not one single biblical detail be omitted.”
Who among us is surprised to hear that by ‘plausible’ Barker basically means ‘naturalistic explanations’? Even I, I mean, even I, was shocked to hear Barker dismiss the plausibility of Kingsley’s chronology because, well, one must adopt a naturalistic perspective of what counts as ‘plausible’! Unbelievable! Consider this exchange leading into Part 2: Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on May 18, 2009
My first exposure to Dan Barker was his so called ‘Easter Challenge.’ I had already emerged from my own crisis of faith and had already determined some principles for sorting out alleged Biblical contradictions. The more I read Barker’s writings, the less impressed I was. I put the Challenge to good use, though, having my New Testament courses take up the ‘challenge’ for their spring project.
It never crossed my mind to try to actually correspond with Barker. I assumed the whole thing was just some sort of cheap shot. Having read Kingsley’s book I see that was a mistake. He documents how Barker and other hyper-skeptics really thought they had something here and took the alleged silence of Christians as telling.
I am glad, therefore, to see that Pastor Stephen Kingsley has taken up the ‘challenge.’ According to Kingsley, he has contacted Barker with the ‘answer’ but Barker has demurred and hasn’t yet responded.
Has Kingsley done it? Has Kingsley really and definitively reconciled and harmonized the Easter accounts? Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on April 21, 2009
I have three books sent to me due for reading and reviewing. It is going to be a week or possibly longer to get to one or all of them so I wanted to throw up a little blurb to each in the meantime.
[If you want your book reviewed on sntjohnny.com use the contact form elsewhere on this page and submit your request.]
If you are aware of Dan Barker’s ‘Easter Challenge’ you will enjoy this concerted effort to answer it. Pastor Stephen Kingsley’s The Easter Answer: What happened during the forty days between Easter and the Ascension is available at http://www.easteranswer.com/
Also on the agenda, Phillip Ross’s Arsy Varsy: Reclaiming the Gospel in First Corinthians. The book is dedicated to President Obama. Should be interesting. 
Get it and learn more here.
I am about half way through Elizabeth Bettina’s It Happened in Italy or “Untold Stories of How the People of Italy Defied the Horrors of the Holocaust.” I believe they are quite right to label them as ‘untold stories.’ As much as I’ve read about the time period, I had never heard that Jews in Italy fared better than other places in Europe. You can Buy it on Amazon.
It will be officially available on April 24th.
The book has a trailer which can be viewed on Youtube.
Finally, Athanatos Publishing Group (an extension of the ministry of this site) released yesterday a book also related to the Holocaust: Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Bible: A Scriptural Analysis of Anti-Semitism, National Socialism, and the Churches. My review of this book is available here.
If you want the truth about Hitler and Christianity this book is a great addition to your library. Consider it especially useful if you are a pastor or Christian apologist.
