The Biological Basis For Religion?

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, Douglas Groothuis’ Christian Apologetics has many strong points.  One part I appreciated was his section on neurotheology, which is the study of the biological basis for religious beliefs.  Some scientists today believe that religious beliefs (e.g. belief in God) can be explained “on the basis of certain functions …

Christianity: Intellectual Suicide? (Groothuis)

          “Some [people] refuse to give Christianity the time of day because they deem it anti-intellectual - a religion that values ignorance and credulity far above critical intelligence.  In his satirical book, “The Devil’s Dictionary” (1911), Ambrose Bierce defined faith as, ‘Belief without evidence in what is told by one who …

Television, Vigilance, Truth

 Douglas Groothuis calls television an agent of truth decay in today’s (post-)postmodern world.  Os Guinness, in Fit Bodies, Fat Minds, from a slightly different angle, comes to a similar conclusion.  So this post and the one quoting Groothuis should be read together. [[Before I quote Guinness, I do want to note that I’m not saying …

The Christian Faith and Scientific Inquiry

Douglas Groothuis, in his excellent book Christian Apologetics, spends quite a bit of time discussing Christianity and science.  I found many of his discussions helpful and refreshing.  Here’s one section where Groothuis gives ten ways “in which Christian belief creates a hospitable environment for scientific inquiry.”  These ten ways, Groothuis noted, are found in more …

TV’s Assault on Truth (Groothuis)

The appendix of Truth Decay by Douglas Groothuis is a short essay that describes how television is a “potent agent of truth decay” in today’s postmodern (or post-postmodern) world.  I found the essay to be helpful, so I’ll summarize Groothuis’ five ways television has contributed (and does contribute) to the decay of truth in our …