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Truth Value of Tensed Statements
I’ve heard certain philosophically inclined people suggest that the truth value of the statement: (1) I will party like a rock star on January 1, 2011, is dependent not only on whether or not I actually do party like a rock star on that date, but also on whether today (the day you are reading…
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Airport Philosophy and Sola Scriptura
“Life is not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” Steve Ray (a Romanist) responds to the above airport signage, with the follow: All of life is a profound journey but with very definite destinations: Heaven or Hell! If you’re on the travel through life ONLY for the thrill of the trip you’re in BIG…
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Jonathan Edwards – Birthday and Works
Jonathan Edwards was born 305 years ago today. Arguably, he is the greatest genius in American philosophy and theology to date. He was also a very instrumental preacher. Perhaps today he is most well known for his work on Freedom of the Will (in theology and philosophy) and his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of…
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Deflating Assumptions Regarding Free Will – A Response to Ben Witherington
Ben Witherington has written an interesting post on the freedom of God. It actually meshes somewhat with my ongoing discussing with Godismyjudge (Dan) in other posts, and so it is fitting that I respond to some of the issues Ben raises in his article (link to article). Ben writes: “I take it that the primary…
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Thoughts on the Will’s Freedom
I was listening to an interesting discussion on the will’s freedom, in which the compatibilist noted the following: 1) The standard contemporary definition for Libertarian Free Will is the ability to do otherwise, given all preceding causal factors. 2) Thus, to take an example, if we choose to pull a trigger – we could have…
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Do Dead Men Bleed?
Illustration – the “Dead” Man Recently, I heard a radio message in which the speaker provided an illustration: whether it is true or not, I do not know. It’s believable, which is all that matters for my purposes. This is the story. I young doctor is working for a large hospital, which includes a facility…
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Calvinistic Prayer and Combined Bets
I enjoy reading philosophical articles, and this one (link) about combining bets happened to crosspolinate with some thoughts I had been having regarding prayer. There are certainly differences, but there are some interesting similarities. You see, before something occurs, we – like David when his son was dying – may pray passionately for a particular…
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The Scriptural Epistemology of Dogmatism
The Scriptural Epistemology of Dogmatism A response to quasi-rationalism The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, and Proverbs 9:10). This simple, thrice-repeated truth is the foundation of Scriptural Dogmatism. Throughout Scripture we seem the same epistemology of dogmatism. You can find the phrase “Thus saith the Lord” in…
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Thoughts on the Operation of the Will
Someone (I believe that it was an Internet poster with the handle “FreeGrace”) recently asked me the question: Do you mean that the depraved heart CAN believe, or just doesn’t wantto? I respond: The impasse we are at may be due to what you mean by “CAN” and what I mean be “CAN.”Let me see…