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Monotheism

Socrates of Athens, the famous ancient philosopher, teacher of Plato

Dialogue with the Maverick Philosopher: God is a being, not Being itself – part 4

Last time we ended with this argument by Bill. But if God is a necessary being, what is the ground of his necessity if it is not the divine simplicity? We agree that God cannot not exist. But I ask: why not? If in both God and Socrates there is a real distinction between essence and existence, and if in Socrates his contingency is rooted… Read More »Dialogue with the Maverick Philosopher: God is a being, not Being itself – part 4

Dialogue with the Maverick Philosopher: God is a being, not Being itself – part 3

Many thanks to my fellow bloggers Bill Vallicella and Aiden Kimel for their thoughtful posts on the discussion/debate between Bill and me on whether God is to be thought of as a unique and perfect being, or not a being, but rather “Being itself” or “Existence.” I was simply not able to keep up, due to travel and other immediate demands. For those following the… Read More »Dialogue with the Maverick Philosopher: God is a being, not Being itself – part 3

Kermit Zarley

podcast 86 – Kermit Zarley on distinguishing Jesus and God

Mr. Kermit Zarley is a retired professional golfer and Christian author, having written books on christology and eschatology. In this episode he describes being born again as a teen, his evangelical identity, and his discovery that in the New Testament, Jesus and God are two, namely the human Son of God (Jesus) and the one true God, Yahweh (aka the Father).

Dialogue with the Maverick Philosopher: God is a being, not Being itself – part 2

Continuing the discussion with the Maverick (Bill)… “Being itself,” I take it, is something like a universal property, an abstract and not a concrete object. (Or at least, it’s not supposed to be concrete; maybe he thinks that it is neither abstract nor concrete.)  I’m not sure if Bill would accept those characterizations, but if not, I invite him to say a little more about… Read More »Dialogue with the Maverick Philosopher: God is a being, not Being itself – part 2

michael scott - let's argue loudly!

Dialogue with the Maverick Philosopher: God is a being, not Being itself – part 1

Thanks to the Maverick Philosopher, Dr. William Vallicella, for an excellent, deep post following up on a recent face-to-face conversation we had (which was a follow-up to this). In this and follow-up posts, I want to interact with his discussion. I only get through part of it here. Yes, I affirm that God is a being. As a Christian, I hold that “God” is a… Read More »Dialogue with the Maverick Philosopher: God is a being, not Being itself – part 1

Tawhid or Trinity - the Qureshi-Ally debate

Qureshi vs. Ally – Trinity vs. Tawhid

This should be interesting. Mr. Qureshi (a PhD student in theology) is the author of the fascinating book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus (kindle). He’s a convert from Ahmadiyya Islam to evangelical Christianity. He is bold, smart, and clear. Dr. Ally is an erudite and well-spoken Islamic apologist and an experienced debater. In the press release for this live-streamed, April 8, 2015 debate, Mr. Qureshi says that My goal… Read More »Qureshi vs. Ally – Trinity vs. Tawhid

Jesus between Peter and Paul, 4th c.

podcast 75 – Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho – Part 2

When it came to christology, what did Justin Martyr consider essential, as in, you’re not a Christian unless you believe it? The answers may surprise you. In this episode we explore the christology of Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho.

Marcus Borg

Marcus Borg’s atheism

At Christianity Today, some Christian scholars fondly remember the recently deceased Dr. Marcus Borg, liberal Bible scholar. Dr. Ben Witherington praises him as a “Christian churchman.” I guess I have no objection to that description, so long as we supplement it with this observation: Dr. Borg was a longtime atheist, who had moved from monotheism to agnosticism to atheism, like so many. It’s just that… Read More »Marcus Borg’s atheism

Christian-Muslim debate/discussion, December 12 in Melbourne

Announced on Steve Katsaras’s blog. Both Mr. Katsaras and Mr. Naga did well last time, which was a 3-way discussion: And here’s a later debate between Mr. Naga and evangelical apologist Samuel Green, called Jesus: Mighty Prophet or God with us?

continuing the conversation with Robert Bowman – different selves, same being?

Thanks to Robert Bowman for his reply to my off-target criticisms. I thought I understood what he was doing, following in the steps of many a theologian, but evidently I was mistaken in my inferring that he holds to a one-self Trinity. In this post, I make a clarification, then ask two questions. He says that in trinitarian doctrine, the term [“person”] was and is… Read More »continuing the conversation with Robert Bowman – different selves, same being?

a reply to Robert Bowman on biblical monotheism, the Trinity, and the Shema

Thanks to Rob Bowman for his thoughtful reply to my previous post regarding the Shema and his argument with Sir Anthony Buzzard. While I sided with Mr. Bowman regarding the meaning of the Shema (as saying that YHWH is unique – who which only presupposes, but doesn’t assert that he is a god), I think Buzzard is correct that ancient Jews thought that YHWH was… Read More »a reply to Robert Bowman on biblical monotheism, the Trinity, and the Shema

Bowman vs. Buzzard on the Shema

Today’s letter is “B.” At Bowman’s blog, Bowman and Buzzard battle about the basic building block of Old Testament belief – that YHWH is but one. But who has the better of this bitter brawl? Will Bowman best Buzzard? Or will Buzzard beat Bowman? Bowman’s a bit burned, as he feels he’s been a bit abused. But I think it best to leave that issue… Read More »Bowman vs. Buzzard on the Shema