Philosophy, Theology, History, Science, Big Questions
  • Homepage
    • Collections of Works By Great Thinkers
    • How To Become A Christian
    • Apologetics: Who Need's It
    • Ask ?'s
    • Introduce a New Topic to Discuss
    • Other Recommended Websites / Reading
    • 12 Pitfalls of the Foolish Apologist
    • Apologetics 101: The Basics
  • Phil. Theology
  • Phil. of Religion
    • Arguments for the Existence of God
    • Objections to the Arguments for the Existence of God
    • Defeaters of Divine Hiddenness
    • Defeaters of the Problem of Evil and Divine Silence
    • More Arguments Against Christian Theism
    • The Problem of Miracles
    • Incompatible Properties Argument
    • Reformed Epistemology
    • Molinism
    • Primary Sources On Big Topics In Phil. Of Religion
  • Phil. of Science/Time
    • The Metaphysics of Quantum Mechanics
    • Fine-Tuning is a Fact
    • Absolute Beginnings
    • God/Time/Cosmology
    • Scientific Realism
  • Biblical Studies
    • Substantial New Testament Puzzles (In Progress)
    • Substantial Old Testament Puzzles (In Progress)
    • Evolution and Christianity
    • Rethinking Biblical Inspiration (In Progress)
    • The Gospels: Guilty Until Proven Innocent?
    • The Historical Case for the Resurrection >
      • Objections to the Resurrection
  • Scholarly Naturalism
    • Paul Draper
    • J.L. Schellenberg
    • Gregory Dawes

Natural Born Believers?

11/21/2011

0 Comments

 
J.L. Schellenberg thinks that God should have equipped our faculties of reason such that we naturally form belief in God from the first moment that we are capable of entering into a relationship with God.  He readily admits that what he is talking about here is non-propositional evidence; something like Plantinga’s properly basic belief.  Well, there is mounting empirical evidence that children are natural born believers.  If this is true, then it seems to me that Schellenberg’s argument would be defeated, although a more nuanced reply would be required to spell out more carefully why this is so, but in short, God is not hidden if we are all natural born believers.  In fact, it appears that God has done this:

Justin Barrett: Why Would Anyone Believe in God?  / Natural Born Believers

http://media.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/WebMedia/FAR245%20Barrett.mov


Michael Brooks “Natural Born Believers” /Pascal Boyer & Deborah Kelemen “Are Children Intuitive Theists”/Paul Bloom
jaar-clark-barrett-reid_3.pdf
File Size: 250 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed