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21 June 2020

Some books have been highly influential in the debate around apologetics:

• Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell
• The End of Faith by Sam Harris
• The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
• Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume

13th Aug 2018

The case for the non-existence of God:

• Argument from nonbelief: if God existed, we would expect him to communicate directly
• God of the shrinking gaps: things that were previously attributed to God have since been explained by naturalism
• Argument from inconsistent revelations: if God existed, we would expect general agreement on religion
• Observations fit abiogenesis better than a designer God: abiogenesis requires a vast universe, God does not.
• The problem of evil: why does God allow bad things to happen?

9th July 2016

• The argument from ignorance, which claims that a proposition is true because it has not been shown to be false, is perhaps the most common logical fallacy in religious apologetics.
• A circular argument is where a premise relies of the conclusion of the argument being true. This is common in presuppositional apologetics.
• Apologists often assume a questionable premise or a standard of evidence that is so low that, if applied consistently, would point to many contradictory conclusions. This is called a broken compass argument.

21st Feb 2016

• The problem of evil is an argument against the existence of God that was expressed since at least ancient Greece.
• Mormonism and Islam both feature prophets that claim to have received holy scripture from an angel which promised to restore religion to its true form.
• Muslim apologists claim that no one could write a chapter like those in the Qur'an, which they say indicates the Qur'an is divine.

8th Apr 2015

• Christians routinely cherry pick which laws to follow and which to ignore. This includes one of the ten commandments: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. The Sabbath is not on Sunday!
• Muhammad is regarded by Muslims as the greatest and last of a succession of prophets sent by Allah (God). Muhammad's teachings gave rise to the religion of Islam.
• Liar, Lunatic or Lord is an argument that claims Jesus was either deceptive, crazy or God. Unfortunately, there are several other possibilities which are not addressed, making this a false dichotomy.

11th Aug 2014

• Presuppositional apologetics is a family of arguments for the existence of God. It mainly relies on unsupported assumptions and often involves the apologist attempting to undermine an atheist's "knowledge" and world view.
• Sharia law is the religious law expressed by the Qur'an and followed by many Muslims. It may have been typical for the 7th century CE but now hardly fit for purpose.
• How can finite phenomena prove an infinite God? is a philosophical challenge to apologists that points out that no amount of finite phenomena could possibly establish their conclusion of an infinite God.

2nd Jun 2014

• The argument from justice claims that an afterlife must exist since there must be consequences for good and bad actions. This is a case of wishful thinking.
• Albert Einstein's views on religion are often misunderstood. He did not believe in a personal God.
• A question for apologists and skeptics: What would it take to change your mind?
• Does cause and effect end finally in a terminating first cause? or go on forever in an infinite regress?

21st Apr 2014

• Here is a conundrum for religious believers: what if Satan wrote the Bible? How can you rule out the possibility that God has been impersonated by another deity?
• Of Miracles is a classic argument against miracle testimony but arguably not David Hume's best work.
• Are earthquakes and hurricanes caused by an attention seeking God?
• Many people think the Big Bang came from an infinitely dense singularity, but really we just don't know.

9th Apr 2014

• Ray Comfort is a Christian apologist and creationist, known for his imaginative arguments that are of questionable validity.
• The Ultimate 747 gambit is an argument against "God" an explanation for "improbable" occurrences, such as the current universe occurring by chance. The argument is often misunderstood and misquoted by supporters and critics.
• It is common for apologists, commentators and politicians to claim that "America is a Christian nation". This article analyses the basis for that claim.
• Following from the recent Noah movie, Noah's ark is an appealing if improbable story.

2007-2014

• Recently, there was a group project to respond to the email titled "50 reasons to believe in god." The point of the exercise was to revise and expand any relevant articles so that each one provides a coherent rebuttal to a clearly stated theistic argument.
• The Way of the Master — apologist TV series featuring Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron.
  • "The Beauty of a Broken Spirit—Atheism" — a Way of the Master episode on atheism.
  • "Evolution" — a Way of the Master episode on evolution.
• Chick tracts — comic-book style series of evangelical pamphlets by Jack Chick.
  • "Big Daddy?" — a Chick tract focusing on evolution.