CADRE Comments

Recently, in response to criticism of Denver Bronco Quarterback Tim Tebow's outspoken belief in God, I authored a blog entry entitled Bill Maher's Twitter and the Fear of God in which I supported Tebow's practice of kneeling on the field in thankful prayer to God. One of my favorite commenters, Alejandro, wrote: "As a former Christian, I have to point out Matthew 6:6, which seems missing in the discussion." Being one who doesn't like to leave an issue unanswered, I did want to comment on why I don't believe that Tebowing violates Matthew 6:6. Matthew 6:6 is part of a broader story. Here's the entire account with Matthew 6:6 in bold: Giving to the Needy 1. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be ...

Here's a brain-teaser for the day: The capital's leading lobby of atheists and humanists is complaining because they have been excluded from an ecumenical prayer service on Sunday morning that will launch inaugural festivities ahead of Mayor-elect Vincent Gray's swearing-in. I have to admit, I find humanists amusing. As the article from which the above quote is taken reports ( Atheists Demand Equal Time at New D.C. Mayor's Prayer Service ), on the one hand, they say that there is no God and on the other hand they want to be included in a prayer service. One has to ask what an atheist could offer at a prayer service. After all, isn't a prayer service about ... well, prayer to God? And if there is no God to whom to pray (at the atheists so often tell us), what could an atheist have to do or say at a prayer service? Well, after intoning the usual objection to a prayer service at all ("'We would prefer that a government function such as an inauguration not be e...

With this argument I hurl down the gauntlet to John Loftus for formal debate. Overview: Decision Making Paradigm: “the logic of the lamp post" At the heart of all religious belief and all organized religions is experience and the sense of the numinous. This is the foundation of religious belief. If we are going to argue for God it would behoove us to examine the nature of this sense of the numinous. The logic of the lamp post is this: we can't find our keys in the dark. We look under lamp post even if we did not drop them there because that is where we will find them. We can't find God in sense data, because God is not given in sense data. So we look in the place where we will find him, personal experience. Since this is the basis of religious belief it makes sense to look there. Co-determinate: The co-determinate is like the Derridian trace, or like a fingerprint. It's the accompanying sign that is always found with the thing itself. In other words, it’s like trailin...

Introductory note from Jason Pratt: see here for the previous entry; and see here for the first entry of the series. (It explains what I'm doing, and how, and contains the Johannine prologue.) This entry is the second part of what would be one of the longest chapters in a book. The Greater Condemnations (Part 2 of 2) -- 2 days until the end Now as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives (probably later that night while they were camping in the groves), the disciples Peter and James and John and Andrew privately came to Him, saying, "Tell us... when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your arrival [on the throne], and of the finishing of all things of the age?" And Jesus began to say to them in answer: "Be sure that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Anointed King', and 'The time is at hand!'--and will mislead many. "And you will be hearing of wars, and rumors of wars--be sure that you are not frig...

I tend to find prayer studies interesting, but not necessarily because they prove or disprove the effectiveness of prayer. First, such tests generally attempt to study the effects of prayer rather than necessarily of God. Second, to gauge whether God answers prayers is an attempt to study the actions of an intelligent actor, aware of the study, who may have His own reasons for affecting the results of the study. In any event, the latest study was done by Arizona State University and was published in the reputable journal, Research on Social Work Practice : A Systematic Review of the Empirical Literature on Intercessory Prayer , David R. Hodge. From the abstract : Perhaps surprisingly, many social workers appear to use intercessory prayer in direct practice settings. To help inform practitioners' use of this intervention, this article evaluates the empirical literature on the topic using the following three methods: (a) an individual assessment of each study, (b) an evaluation ...