Randal Rauser

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  • The Problem of Village Atheism

    The Problem of Village Atheism

    What is particularly ironic about the proliferation of village atheism is the fact that the online atheist/skeptic community persistently tries to brand itself as being especially rational, critical, and objective. And yet, the widespread and vocal opinions of the village atheists directly contradict this aspirational branding.

  • Does the Systemic Sexual Abuse Among Catholic Clergy Undermine the Catholic Church Itself?

    Does the Systemic Sexual Abuse Among Catholic Clergy Undermine the Catholic Church Itself?

    All this prompts the question: how many people reject Christianity because the word 'God' makes them think of him?

  • Why Doesn't God Give Everyone a Miracle?

    Why Doesn't God Give Everyone a Miracle?

    Some years ago, a friend of mine told me how, after losing his wife to cancer, he encouraged his embittered young adult children to return to church. One kid asked, "Dad, if God answered all those prayers, why didn't he answer ours?"

  • Dementia: A Philosopher's Lament

    Dementia: A Philosopher's Lament

    Dementia in its various permutations impacts countless families and as it does, it raises a nest of extremely difficult questions about the nature of suffering and the goodness of God.

  • On Atheists Who Want Atheism to Be True

    On Atheists Who Want Atheism to Be True

    The existence of God is a topic that tends to elicit strong passions. People have their beliefs about whether God exists or not, but they also have their hopes. Many people hope God does exist, but some prominent voices express a hope quite to the contrary.

  • The Myth of the Free-Thought Parent

    The Myth of the Free-Thought Parent

    I informed my audience that I had taught the Apostles' Creed to my daughter. One of the students spoke for many when she insisted that children should be raised without "religious dogma". Instead, they should be free to "make up their own minds" about what to believe.

  • When Is an Apologetic Dialogue No Longer Worth Pursuing?

    When Is an Apologetic Dialogue No Longer Worth Pursuing?

    Is it worth debating people if you can't change their mind? Is a conversation only worthwhile if your interlocutor has an open mind?

  • Reckoning With the Peaceable Kingdom: A Review of Disarming the Church

    Reckoning With the Peaceable Kingdom: A Review of Disarming the Church

    In his new book Disarming the Church, biblical scholar Eric Seibert defends the second view: to follow the Prince of Peace, he insists, requires a radical and categorical rejection of violence.

  • If the Bible Is a Map for How to Get to Heaven, It Isn't a Very Good One

    If the Bible Is a Map for How to Get to Heaven, It Isn't a Very Good One

    Growing up, I was taught to think of the Bible as like God's hotel fire evacuation map for the human race. After spending the last fifteen years as a seminary professor, I can say without a doubt that the Bible is most certainly neither brief nor succinct.

  • Can We Make Sense of the Canaanite Genocide?

    Can We Make Sense of the Canaanite Genocide?

    Some people will be drawn to the book because they are troubled by the ethics of the genocide of the Canaanites. In the last fifteen years, the problem of biblical violence generally and the ethics of the Canaanite genocide, in particular, have exploded like a brush fire on a tinder-dry field.

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