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  1. C

    Is War EVER justified?

    If you mean, "Is there such a thing as a just war?" then I'd also have to say "sometimes" like others. Just reasons: 1. To protect yourself when attacked. 2. To protect your allies when attacked. Of course, there are probably more just reasons. A good follow-up question would be: "Is a...
  2. C

    Thoughts on Cultural Interpretation

    If the world around us were easy to explain then life would be really simple. We could label all liberals as "pinkos", all conservatives as "neo-Nazis", all business persons as "bourgeois", all poor as "lazy", and so it goes. Our tendency to take the intellectually easy way out is not merely out...
  3. C

    Introducing: A Philosopher Knight

    of religious philosophers -- Roman Catholic, liberal, and evangelical -- along with other brands. On the Anglican/Liberal side there's Ward and Milbank. On the evangelical side there's Alvin Plantinga @ Notre Dame and Kevin Vanhooser who was at Princeton for a time. (I think he's back @ TEDS...
  4. C

    Predestination

    The question is not whether we now could make the prediciton but whether the events themselves are definable as being by nature predictable. It's an ontological question of the greatest seriousness.
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    Predestination

    That's a matter seriously debated even outside of the question of faith. It's the competition between materialist determinism, that the universe runs like clockwork in a predictable manner vs. chaos theory and whether something truely random can really exist. Richard Dawkins, no small voice...
  6. C

    Predestination

    You've brought up a significant issue. It's extremely important and I've attempted to deal it out on philosophyforchristians.blogspot.com . The constructs of philosophy -- determinism and freedom -- are not really suitable for describing theological concepts. Hence we have a problem, not only...
  7. C

    Predestination

    Aren't you confusing predictability with certainty?
  8. C

    Predestination

    Before my comment, a little introduction: I recently found religious forums.com and had been looking for one where there could be genuine academic debate on substantive points. So I'll chime in on occasion and try to contribute helpful material. That said ... While no systematic is perfect...
  9. C

    Are equal rights for gays incompatible with religious liberty?

    Thanks for the edit. I won't delve into our various point disagreements as discussing the many minutae will not resolve our differing core world views. Yes, I think there is a secular solution so that "gay rights" don't have to infringe on relgious liberty. I do wish politicians were more...
  10. C

    Are equal rights for gays incompatible with religious liberty?

    ... about the responses. Yes, it does help. The threads do get confusing at time. Marriage has a long history that existed in every culture, was generally religious, often a part of common law, but not really a contract by today's western legal standards. If what is needed between two persons...
  11. C

    Are equal rights for gays incompatible with religious liberty?

    The "so what" is that it answered the previous question. So you don't consider the redefinition of a cultural institution at all redefining culture? But if you would, please be truthful. Don't act like the trolls. I'm willing to have dialogue with people who disagree with me and to do so in...
  12. C

    Are equal rights for gays incompatible with religious liberty?

    I understand what you're saying. I'll be a little clear on the question. Is it a necessary stopping point? That is, is there any reason why it must be a certain way? I realize that it's not so b&w. But I also realize that the matter of practical or secular are presented as b&w choices to be...
  13. C

    Are equal rights for gays incompatible with religious liberty?

    And what makes a 17-year-old in capable of consent? Or 16? Or 15? Other than the rulings of courts and legislators, nothing. It's a societal standard that defines the scope of consent, but not the essence of the term. That is, a child may give real consent but it's not currently legally...
  14. C

    Are equal rights for gays incompatible with religious liberty?

    Whoa, now. Not all inequalities are illegal. But that's the direction of your statement. Ever watch the US show House on Fox? (Fascinating show. Quite quirky.) In a recent episode the writers promoted the idea of sibiling sex being acceptable. Is that an inequality which should be made...
  15. C

    Are equal rights for gays incompatible with religious liberty?

    Marriage existed before the current contract status existed. It was both cultural and religious, often by common law. There are secular marriages. I've never denied that. But let's get back to where we started: The question was whether homosexual marriages would impinge on religious liberty...
  16. C

    Trends in Postmodern Theology

    Postmodernism ("late modernism" may be a better term) reflects, as is in your statement, the result of the current neo-Platonic state of philosophy. The result has been a relativism which has ended up with a nihilistic epistemology. From my reading of postmoderns (Ward and Milbank), that's...
  17. C

    Trends in Postmodern Theology

    The term "postmodern" is relatively new, coined sometimes in the 70s. Our era is best termed "late modern" because we are still in the midst of "progress". Postmoderns do tend to be ecclectic, but that's a result of their work rather than a motivator or driving characteristic. Radical...
  18. C

    Trends in Postmodern Theology

    Besides Radical Orthodoxy and the Emergent movement, what other trends are developing in the realm of postmodern theology? What is your view of postmodern theology and its relationship to traditional orthodoxy?
  19. C

    What Can Be Done To Stop the Sexualization Of Children?

    There are lots of ways and they're painfully obvious. The "how", the mechanism, isn't the difficult part. It's the self-discipline to do it that's (always) the hardest.
  20. C

    The Rapture Will Never Occur

    Perhaps I've missed something, then. Do you have an example of amill or postmill theology with a "rapture"? I'd enjoy the investigation. Thanks.
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