Mark Hansard continues his series on Faith and Reason, exploring a key twentieth- and twenty-first century philosopher. For the previous entries in the series, and other work by Mark, click here. In my last entry, I introduced Alvin Plantinga, listed some of his contributions to analytic philosophy, and described his view of Reformed Epistemology. In this entry, we will look briefly at his evolutionary argument against naturalism.[1] Several thinkers in the 20th Century, including C. S. Lewis, have described … [Read more...] about Faith and Reason Part 7: Plantinga, Continued
alvin plantinga
Faith and Reason Part 6: Plantinga
Mark Hansard continues his series on Faith and Reason, exploring a key twentieth- and twenty-first century philosopher. For the previous entries in the series, and other work by Mark, click here. Alvin Plantinga (1932- ), is a contemporary Christian philosopher who has had an enormous impact on modern philosophy of religion in the areas of metaphysics, epistemology, and arguments for God's existence. For many years he was the John A. O'Brien professor of philosophy at Notre Dame. He received his Ph.D. in … [Read more...] about Faith and Reason Part 6: Plantinga
Loving Your Atheist Neighbor, Part 1 (Urbana preview)
As preparation for Urbana, we'll be sharing encouragement from speakers who are giving seminars, and possibly others involved in Urbana as well. Today Rick Mattson, InterVarsity staff and author of How Faith Is Like Skydiving: And Other Memorable Images for Dialogue with Seekers and Skeptics (InterVarsity Press, 2014), kicks off with an excellent series. Because Urbana is a place to engage with our vocations as Christians and missional academics, we'll sometimes share these on Mondays, alternating with Scholar's Call. … [Read more...] about Loving Your Atheist Neighbor, Part 1 (Urbana preview)
Book Review: Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense
Why Christian Faith Makes Sense: A Response to Contemporary Challenges, C. Stephen Evans. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015. Summary: Against the contemporary challenges by the New Atheists, this book explores why the Christian faith makes sense, even though the existence of God may not be proven, through the consideration of both “natural signs” and the self-revelation of God. … [Read more...] about Book Review: Why Christian Faith Still Makes Sense
Book Review: Where the Conflict Really Lies
Most people think there is a basic antagonism between faith and science that has to be overcome if one is to be both a theist and a scientific practitioner. Alvin Plantinga [1] says, au contraire. It is in fact the naturalist who has the real problem. In Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism, Plantinga carefully works this out over 352 pages. He begins with the areas often thought to be in contradiction, in particular the questions of evolution and miracles, and demonstrates that in … [Read more...] about Book Review: Where the Conflict Really Lies