Why Did Randal Rauser Recommend "God and Horrendous Suffering"?

Inquiring Minds Want to Know!

As a Christian apologist, I can say that there is no intellectual objection to Christianity more daunting than the problem of horrendous suffering. In this important new book, John Loftus has gathered a diverse collection of voices that seek to build a comprehensive, multi-pronged critique of Christianity based on this most difficult problem. No Christian apologist can afford to ignore it.

-- Dr. Randal Rauser, Professor of Historical Theology, Taylor Seminary, and co-author of God or Godless. Source.

You can get this book from the Global Center for Religious Research. To read a nice summary introduction of the problem of horrendous suffering read this.

It should be noted that despite his high recommendation of my work, Rauser is on a mission to discredit it, pejoratively calling me a "New Atheist" and a "Fundamentalist". He did a video about this where the only comment under it after 13 hours is, "This is stupid", by WCB. Hardy har har har!

God Gets a Big Fat F

God’s Inexcusable Negligence/Incompetence

It’s as if he isn’t all-powerful—or doesn’t exist

“…seven-year-old Adrian Jones was tortured repeatedly with some of the most inhumane practices, including being left standing overnight neck-deep in the family’s filthy swimming pool and being forced to exercise for hours without rest. In the end, he was confined to a shower stall where he was starved to death as he screamed through a vent, ‘I’m going to die.’ His torturers fed his corpse to pigs.”   

 

This is one of several cases mentioned by Darren Slade in his essay, “Failed to Death: Misotheism and Childhood Torture,” in the John Loftus anthology, God and Horrendous Suffering. Slade explains that “failed to death” (FTD) “…originated from a 2012 investigative series by The Denver Post and 9News that examined the murder of 175 children in Colorado who were beaten, starved, suffocated, frozen, or burned to death.”  (page 123)

Jesus Will Do Away With Democracy!

Perhaps in the comments someone can document what Fred Kohn wrote on Facebook. It needs some extended elaboration into other important areas, like theocracy and punishment.

Christianity is inherently theocratic, just like we find with the Hebrew religion in the Old Testament. It's wrapped in the language and culture of its day, which includes theocracy. The same language in Revelation says Jesus is expected to reign in a kingdom over people on earth, and later in heaven.

A reign over people assumes a theocracy. That was the political philosophy adopted in the Ancient Near Eastern world. The biblical god and his son are tied to a form of government that is rejected by modern, educated, civilized people. One cannot have a kingdom without doing away with democracy. So Jesus will do away with democracy! Christians still talk of a kingdom and a reigning Jesus. Heil Jesus! We also see this includes ancient forms of punishment that a king will inflict upon the disobedient. What could be problematic about this?

A Pop Quiz for Christians

There would be a lot of Cs, Ds & Fs 

There are, of course, so many different kinds of Christians: from snake-handling cults in Appalachia (see Mark 16:17-18) to High-Church Anglicans who hold on to the resurrection as a metaphor—and thousands of varieties in between. James B. Twitchell put a humorous twist on it: “A Baptist is a Christian who learned how to wash; a Methodist is a Baptist who had learned to read; a Presbyterian is a Methodist who has gone to college; and an Episcopalian is a Presbyterian whose investments have turned out well.” (p. 31, Shopping for God: How Christianity Went from In Your Heart to In Your Face, 2007) Based on my own experience as a pastor, I know Christians exist on a scale, from lukewarm occasional churchgoers to those who are committed enthusiasts—they mean it when they tell us they “belong to Jesus."

The Case Against Miracles

 

I thought I knew a lot on these topics—inasmuch as I was once a born-again Christian myself and made these arguments, then became a born-again Skeptic debating believers—but I learned more from reading this one book than all other works combined. The Case against Miracles belongs in every library and personal bookcase of both believers and skeptics. LINK

--From the Foreword by Michael Shermer, publisher of Skeptic magazine.

Let's Debate The Real Issues!

I am being asked to a debate, so I offered two possible debate questions:

Is it reasonable to believe in miracles based solely on 2nd 3rd 4th handed testimony?

Is it reasonable to believe in a good god given horrendous suffering?

The End of Christianity

“No collection better demonstrates how taking Christianity seriously reveals its all too human origin. This superb, often witty, and exceedingly well-researched collection explains how early Christianity is only a pale resemblance of any of the diverse Christian sects today. As well, the authors reveal how vastly improbable Christian dogmas are, such as the notion that a god designed the universe; that life replete with personal identity continues after death; that hell represents divine justice; and the claim that morality is exclusively Christian. Overall, very sobering for Christians, and so wonderfully delightful for the rest of us.”

—Malcolm Murray, PhD, associate professor of philosophy, University of Prince Edward Island; author of The Atheist’s Primer. LINK

The Christian Delusion: Why Faith Fails

"John Loftus and his distinguished colleagues have certainly produced one of the best and arguably the best critique of the Christian faith the world has ever known. Using sociological, biblical, scientific, historical, philosophical, theological and ethical criticisms, this book completely destroys Christianity. All but the most fanatical believers who read it should be moved to have profound doubts."

--Dr. Michael Martin, author of The Case Against Christianity and Atheism: A Philosophical Justification. LINK.

Jonathan McLatchie Exposed for Being Disengenuous

Albrecht is a Catholic apologist.

 

Dr. Jonathan McLatchie is dismissing my chapter on apologetics in "The Case against Miracles" saying it "grossly misrepresented" apologetics, even though I quoted directly from apologists and have studied under some of the leading ones. One might ask McLatchie why apologist Gary Habermas invited me to talk with his PhD class on apologetics.

One might also ask why Gary Habermas recommends my book on miracles, if I "grossly misrepresented" apologetics. See his blurb!

Why would Gary do that?

Or, is McLatchie disingenuous, uncharitable, and not to be trusted on these matters?

Watch him double down folks. He could never apologize or change his mind. Sad. But that's usually what it takes to be an apologist. See my book on that.

 

The Endless Invention of Excuses for God

But there is such a thing as going too far 

It’s a good guess that the apostle Paul is partly to blame for the common belief that nature itself is proof of God. He wrote this in his letter to the Romans (1:20): “Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.” So just look around you to see God’s stunning handiwork. One modern theologian, Barry Whitney, illustrates how theists can get swept up in this sentimental view of nature:

My Magnum Opus!

I give this book two thumbs way up. In addition to courageously sharing his personal story, Loftus applies his considerable training and expertise into developing a cumulative case against Christianity and for atheism. I cannot think of another book like it on the market. Loftus is clearly familiar with the work of evangelical apologists like Copan, Craig, Geisler, and Moreland, as his book is filled with references to their work and objections to their arguments. In fact, his book might best be described as a “counter-apologetics” textbook.

--Jeffery Jay Lowder. LINK.

What Would the Word of God Look Like?

Sound But Not Convincing?

A sound argument is a valid one in which all premises are true and the conclusion follows from them. What reasons are there to remain unconvinced of an acknowledged sound argument? Let's say as a believer you think there is a sound argument from the problem of horrendous suffering that a good, all-powerful god doesn't exist. Then what are your reasonable options?

The Absence of a Human Jesus

Untangling the mess of Christian origins

Once upon a time—way back when the overwhelming majority of people were illiterate—God decided that the best way to tell people about himself was to write a book. That is, so the theologians assure us, he inspired humans to write it for him. Dropping a book in an illiterate world? This doesn’t strike us as a good plan, and it went downhill. Once the book was finally finished, God neglected to find a way to prevent mistakes as the manuscripts were copied by hand for centuries: thousands of errors were made. Scholars still haven’t been able to figure out for sure the wording of the original manuscripts. And, for centuries, God couldn’t find a way to make the book available to the masses. Even after the printing press had been invented, religious leaders resisted having the Bible translated into the languages of the people. Even now, with billions of copies available, this holy book is a dud, by which I mean that most of the faithful don’t like to read it. Actually read it, take to heart the idea that God’s word is there for the taking. If they really believed that, we wouldn’t be able to stop them from reading it.

My Critiques of the Christian Faith are Evidence Based

My critiques of the Christian faith focus on the lack of objective evidence for its claims, summed up in five powerful reasons you can read here. My critiques won't change no matter which philosophical theology is fashionable.