Thinking to Believe

I started my exploration of Thomas Aquinas' Five Ways, beginning with his First Way - the argument from motion. Aquinas argues that only God can explain why things change. Change can only be explained by a First, Unmoved Mover; i.e. a Being who is the ultimate source of all change, but is itself not changed by anything. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

The current legal situation regarding abortion law in Arizona has revealed a strategic divide among pro-lifers. All pro-lifers want to make abortion unthinkable in this country, but disagree as to the best way of achieving that end. Abolitionists take an all-or-nothing approach, while incrementalists attempt to end abortion in a series of multiple steps. I argue that the incremental approach is the correct one, and make a case for why we need to pass an abortion law at the federal level. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I offer four more arguments for God's existence from human equality, free will, miracles, and the resurrection. I argue that the notion of human equality has no place in a materialistic worldview, but can only be grounded by a transcendent source like God who. I argue that there can be no free will in a materialistic universe. Freedom of the will requires a human soul, and the best explanation for the human soul is God. I argue that miracles occur, and they point us to a supernatural cause whose identity can be revealed by the context of the miracle. Finally, I argue that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the best explanation of the historical evidence, and that Jesus' resurrection demonstrates that the Christian God is the true God and Christianity is the one true religion. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I offer three more arguments for God's existence: the origin of life, the argument from human rights, and the argument from human value. I argue that only a transcendent, intelligent mind like God could create the biological information and order required for living things. I argue that the notion of human rights can only be grounded in a transcendent source like God. Finally, I argue that humans can only have real value if we are made in the image of God. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I am continuing my series on the evidence for God's existence with a host of additional arguments. I will not go into the same depth for each argument that I have for the previous arguments. In this episode, I spend the bulk of the time explaining the ontological argument. This is an oft-neglected argument that should be discussed more often. It is a powerful argument that gives you a maximally great being like God. I also give an argument for God from human consciousness, the existence of the laws of logic, and the existence of numbers/mathematics. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

A 1-N-Done episode on the historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

In this final episode on the teleological argument, I look at a number of objections that have been raised against the argument and demonstrate why none of them successfully undermine it. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

Having previously established four levels of fine-tuning in the universe, I set out to explain the cause of that fine-tuning. I explore chance and physical necessity and conclude that both are inadequate. The only adequate explanation also happens to be the best explanation: design. Who or what is the source of that design? I conclude that it must be a personal agent and necessary being like God. Finally, I conclude with six tips for sharing the teleological argument with others. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I provide a number of examples for the last two levels of fine-tuning: the physical constants and our local solar system. Both exhibit jaw-dropping levels of fine-tuning that beg for an explanation. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I begin my mini-series on the teleological argument by defining what scientists mean when they describe a feature of our universe as "fine-tuned," give examples to show that most scientists affirm the reality of fine-tuning, and then explore two levels of fine tuning (the initial conditions of our universe, natural laws). Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

The teleological argument - or design argument - for God's existence hold that that there is evidence of design in the universe, and this design is best explained by theism. I summarize the argument and respond to a couple of common objections in this 1-N-Done episode. Next week, I'll begin a mini-series on the argument that goes into more detail. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I examine eight more objections to the moral argument and provide a response. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I offer five tactics for presenting the moral argument. Then, I respond to three objections against the moral argument: (1) One doesn’t have to believe in God to be moral (2) If you would still be good if God didn’t exist, then God is irrelevant to morality (3) Is something good because God wills it, or does God will it because it is good (Euthyphro Dilemma)? Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I provide six aspects of our moral experience that are best explained by a theistic God. This is the heart of the moral argument for God's existence. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I round out my critique of non-theistic explanations for morality, including the view that morality is a brute fact, the view that logic can ground morality, the view that science can explain morality, and the best of all non-theistic explanations: moral Platonism. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

Spent the entire episode offering 11 critiques against the most popular non-theistic account of morality: Evolutionary Ethics. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

Accounting for the existence of real morality (the grounding problem) is the biggest challenge facing any moral theory. I talk about this problem in some detail before beginning my critique of non-theistic explanations for morality, starting with the social constructionism and social contract theory. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

The moral argument argues from the reality of morality to the morality of God, so it's important that we establish the objectivity of morality. I provide a number of reasons to reject moral subjectivism in favor of moral objectivism/realism. Then, I describe the nature of our moral experience. This will provide the basis for future episodes where I explore competing hypotheses that purport to explain our moral experience. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

In episode 1 of my mini-series on the moral argument, I discuss the concept of moral arguments, provide the objective of the argument, and key concepts to understanding the argument. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve

I begin my fifth argument for God's existence: the moral argument. In this 1-N-Done episode, I explain why God is the only adequate explanation for our moral experience. I explore our moral experience, then compare theistic and non-theistic explanations and conclude that only Theism can explain our moral experience. I conclude with the two most common objections against the moral argument. Web: ThinkingtoBelieve.com Email: ThinkingToBelieve@gmail.com Facebook: facebook.com/thinkingtobelieve Twitter & Gettr: @thinking2believ Truth: @ThinkingToBelieve