Quote of the week - Immanuel Kant on morality

"Even if there never have been actions arising from such pure sources, what is at issue here is not whether this or that happened; that, instead, reason by itself and independently of all appearances commands what ought to happen; that, accordingly, actions of which the world has perhaps so far given no example, and whose very practicability might be very much doubted by one who bases everything on experience, are still inflexibly commanded by reason ... because ... duty ... lies, prior to all experience, in the idea of a reason determining the will by means of apriori grounds." 

-Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals, 1785

Panel debate on the existence of the Christian God and if it matters

This panel debate is on the existence of the God of the bible and if His existence matters to the world. This panel style conversation involves Christopher Hitchens, William Lane Craig, Lee Strobel, Douglas Wilson, and Jim Denison. I think this panel discussion is one of the best for any person who is new to arguments for and against theism because the listener is hearing the best of the best from both sides. The only negative point of this debate is that the moderator involves himself too heavily in this discussion, which is really, really, really, annoying.

Enjoy!

Quote of the week - Jean-Paul Sartre on existentialism

"Existentialism is nothing else but an attempt to draw the full conclusions from a consistently atheistic position. Its intention is not in the least that of plunging men into despair. And if by despair one means as the Christians do – any attitude of unbelief, the despair of the existentialists is something different. Existentialism is not atheist in the sense that it would exhaust itself in demonstrations of the non-existence of God. It declares, rather, that even if God existed that would make no difference from its point of view. Not that we believe God does exist, but we think that the real problem is not that of His existence; what man needs is to find himself again and to understand that nothing can save him from himself, not even a valid proof of the existence of God. In this sense existentialism is optimistic. It is a doctrine of action, and it is only by self-deception, by confining their own despair with ours that Christians can describe us as without hope"

- Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism Is a Humanism, lecture (1946)

Why the resurrection is a stumbling block

In this video Michael Horton discusses why the resurrection of Christ was a stumbling block to people in the ancient world and why it remains a stumbling block to people today.If for some reason the video doesn't work, you can watch it here too.

quote of the week - Paul Copan on polytheism vs monotheism

"Consider polytheism (many gods) versus monotheism (one God). We can ask: Why involve extra entities when just one will suffice? All things being equal, if one God (monotheism) is adequate for the task of creating and sustaining the universe, why bring in multiple deities? There is no reason to multiply additional entities beyond necessity — a principle known as “Ockham’s razor.” Extra gods can be plausibly eliminated on the basis of explanatory simplicity. One God will do just fine."

- Paul Copan, Is Naturalism a Simpler Explanation Than Theism?

Quote of the week - Allan Bloom on relativism

"History and the study of cultures do not teach or prove that values or cultures are relative. All to the contrary, that is a philosophical premise that we now bring to our study of them. This premise is unproven and dogmatically asserted for what are largely political reasons. History and culture are interpreted in the light of it, and then are said to prove the premise. Yet the fact that there have been different opinions about good and bad in different times and places in no way proves that none is true or superior to others. To say that it does so prove is as absurd as to say that the diversity of points of view expressed in a college bull session proves there is no truth. On the face of it, the difference of opinion would seem to raise the question as to which is true or right rather than to banish it. The natural reaction is to try to resolve the difference, to examine the claims and reasons for each opinion."

- Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind,  p. 39

Time off

Hey gang (is it cool if I call you, my audience, gang? I hope so. If Shaggy sounds cool saying it, then surely I do) it's been a while, the whole month of April to be exact. I unintentionally took some time off from blogging due to a large project at work, some extra studying at night for the Network+ exam, and more "stuff." I will return to blogging regularly with the philosophy quote of the week at least, which I will post today, but then get that back on its regular Monday schedule next week. 

Surprisingly, the month of April had more viewers than usual even though I didn't post one single in April. I understand not every visit is a read, but it's interesting anyway. 

Bye!