5 Top Articles That Spoke 2014

“One day I will find the right words,” wrote Jack Kerouac, “and they will be simple.” These 5 articles captured the days which I found almost the right words to express my thoughts. Unlike Kerouac, my thoughts are nothing but simple. Whether you agreed with me or not, it is my hope that I awoke the hunger to explore these wonderful issues in theology, philosophy and ethics.

1. A Major Divergence: Is Genesis 1 Creatio Ex Nihilo? & A Minor Divergence: Is Genesis 1 Creatio Ex Nihilo? A thorough defense of Genesis 1 as teaching creation out of nothing is found in a co-authored work, Creation out of Nothing: A Biblical, Philosophical, And Scientific Exploration (2004), by Paul Copan and William Lane Craig. They, I will argue, also read this presupposition into Genesis 1. Copan and Craig presupposed that ancient Near East (ANE) also understood creation as defined by substance and properties, largely the material (and immaterial) properties. I think they are wrong. These two articles explained why they are wrong.

2. Naturalness of Theism: This article presented empirical data showing that implicit belief in supernaturalism is nature. Atheism, namely disbelief in supernaturalism, as Pascal Boyer summed up, “is generally the result of deliberate, effortful work against our natural cognitive dispositions — hardly the easiest ideology to propagate.” (Boyer 2008:1039)

3. What is Wrong with Abortion? Is it immoral to deliberately end the life of a fetus? This article tackles the ethics of abortion. Exploring three theories of what exactly makes it immoral to kill one of us on most occasions, three philosophical arguments are offered to show why abortion, on most occasions, is immoral.

4. Dissecting ‘One God Less’ Meme: Contrary to Daniel C. Dennett (2006, 210), the idea that atheists just go one god further is not “some sound advice” offered by Dawkins (Dawkins 2004, 150) but a mere wind-egg because it confuses the conceptions of God with the concept of God.

5. On Behalf of Demea: Hume’s Problem of Evil: Treating Demea’s solution to the problem of evil not as a theodicy but as a defense, this article attempted not to postulate the Deity’s reason to permit such instances of pain and suffering but an attempt to show that existence of evil is compatible with the existence of an omnicompetent and benevolent Deity.

Thank you for 2014. Thank you for being part of With All I Am.

A Major Divergence: Is Genesis 1 Creatio Ex Nihilo?

“This is a real creation,” wrote David Hume, “a production of something out of nothing; which implies a power so great that it may seem at first sight beyond the reach of any being less than infinite.”(Hume 1881:343-4) Hume captured our modern and classical material ontology understanding of creation.  Coming into being, in our modern understanding, means acquiring material (or immaterial) properties. We intuitively presuppose that an entity was created if prior to the moment of its creation was not there. It is, thus, not surprising that we read this presupposition into Genesis 1’s creation account.

In their co-authored work, Creation out of Nothing: A Biblical, Philosophical, And Scientific Exploration (2004), Paul Copan and William Lane Craig also read this presupposition into Genesis 1. They presupposed that ancient Near East (ANE) also understood creation as defined by substance and properties, largely the material (and immaterial) properties. I think Copan and Craig are wrong in their presupposition. So one of the things I have to do is to explain why they are wrong¹.

It is said that any fruitful criticism of any writer must generally begin by finding some common ground. Copan and Craig are correct that the Holy Writ explicitly conveys creatio ex nihilo (John 1:3 and Romans 4:17 cf. 2 Maccabees 7:28 and 2 Enoch 24:2). My criticism ought not, thus, be understood as  questioning whether creatio ex nihilo is true. It is true. Where I diverge from Copan and Craig  is on viewing Genesis 1 as also teaching such a doctrine.

A Minor Divergence: Is Genesis 1 Creatio Ex Nihilo?

Does Genesis 1 explicitly (or implicitly) convey the idea of creatio ex nihilo? Paul Copan and William Lane Craig, holding the traditional understanding, believe it does. This article examined carefully the case presented in their co-authored work Creation out of Nothing: A Biblical, Philosophical, And Scientific Exploration (2004). My aim is to test, by fairly balancing the considerations of the core arguments in their apologia, and judge whether that which is contended is true.

Creation out of Nothing is a book filled with nothing but beneficial information. Copan and Craig’s defense for creatio ex nihilo is not only persuasive but also sound when it comes to the areas of philosophy and science (2004:147-266). Their biblical defenses from all passages but Genesis 1 are both strong and cogent (ibid. 71-91). It is only in Genesis 1 where our ways part, like summer and winter. This difference ought not overshadow the large, if not almost all, parts of what I am in total agreement with Copan and Craig.