Next week it will be my pleasure to have my third discussion on the Unbelievable radio show with host Justin Brierley. My partner in conversation will be Stephen Law, who teaches philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London.

Although the only public comments I have made about Stephen at this blog have been for the sake of disagreeing with him, the fact is that I like reading what he has to say – however mistaken I might think he is. Yes he has creativity and style, something lacked by plenty of  academics, but unlike other vocal critics of religion like P Z Meyers, Richard Dawkins or Sam Harris, Stephen Law usually knows what he’s talking about as far as philosophy goes (I say usually because it does seem to me that philosophy of religion is not his strength, and this is the subject area of his “Evil-God Challenge.”). Law’s “Evil-God Challenge” should be read by anyone who wants to philosophically defend the Christian faith. That being said, the central point of the article, that theistic arguments are just as compatible with a malevolent deity as they are with the God of Christianity, is false. I think first year students in philosophy of religion who want to defend the Christian faith should – before being allowed to progress to the second year – be able to explain why the evil God challenge fails. If they’re not sure how they would do it, they should make sure they listen to the discussion on Unbelievable!

Glenn Peoples

This week I’m in Auckland taking part in a couple of speaking events as part of Jesus Week at the University of Auckland. On Wednesday the 4th of August I really enjoyed taking part in a panel discussion with Matt and Madeleine Flannagan, called “A Godless Public Square”? The broad subject area was the legitimate role of religious convictions in public life, law and politics – certainly a topical area of discussion today. Pat Brittenden did a great job as moderator/ facilitator of discussion, providing a relaxed and really open forum for conversation.
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Well, the podcast has roared back into life with the episode on Divine Command Ethics. Although time is a pretty scarce resource, as I mentioned in episode 39 there are a couple more episodes in the making already. Episode 40 will be in the area of epistemology and philosophy of religion, looking at the question of what faith is (when that word is used in the couplet of “faith and reason”). The episode after that, episode 41, will step away from philosophy and into the world of historic and systematic theology, looking at the doctrine of the descent into hell as mentioned in the Apostles’ Creed.

I’m working on several articles for publication as time allows as well. The first is a fairly popular level exposition of the place of religious convictions in politics and law, aimed at a New Zealand audience. Another is a piece on whether or not a thoroughly secular (in the sense of godless) outlook can give a plausible account of the type of doctrine of equality required by the liberal democracy. The other two pieces are actually being prepared as papers to be delivered at conferences, but after they have been delivered and hopefully subjected to critical feedback I plan to submit them for publication. The first of these is called “The Non-moral Goodness of God” and will be presented at the APRA conference at the University of Auckland this coming July. It’ll be interesting to see how the talk is received by Eric Weilenberg, as it offers some criticism of his comments in his work Value and Virtue in a Godless Universe. The second piece is “The Epistemological Objection to Divine Command Ethics” which responds to the concern that if Divine Command Ethics is true, then people who don’t believe in God have no hope of acquiring moral knowledge – a concern that is most recently raised by Wes Morriston, and which I argue is mistaken. I’ve submitted this paper for presentation at the annual conference of the Evangelical Philosophical Society in San Francisco this November, and I’m hopeful that it will be accepted. If all these projects succeed that’ll be four decent academic achievements this year, which might not be a lot for a full time academic, but for someone in my position it’s not too shabby!

What follows is a bit of somewhat more personal information for those who are interested.

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For someone in my position when it comes to academic and professional interests, geographical isolation is one of the biggest barriers between me and a large number of opportunities: Conferences, speaking opportunities and job opportunities, virtually all of which lie outside of New Zealand.

I’d like to think that there are enough people who have listened to the podcast and appreciated what they’ve heard that the barrier works the other way around. Perhaps you’d have otherwise been interested in having me pop by for a guest lecture or seminar, but you’re in Texas (or Sydney or London) and I’m in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Thanks to internet technology, the world has shrunk vastly and is still doing so. More and more often I’m seeing examples of people who are delivering one-off lectures or facilitating discussion as a visitor without actually being physically present. In particular, the quality of Skype has improved considerably over the last few years to the point where a guest lecture delivered via Skype (assisted with a data projector and decent speakers), if done well, is absolutely viable and not at all a second rate option.

In the past I’ve given public talks on: Philosophy of religion, the place of faith in public, abortion, ethical theory, philosophy of mind / human nature (from a philosophical as well as a theological and biblical point of view), church history, political philosophy, epistemology, justice and human rights, reasons to believe, death and the afterlife (from a theological and biblical viewpoint), as well as the parables of Jesus.

You can also check out the podcast for subject matter that I’ve spoken on before. Click the “Subscribe via iTunes” button over on the right if you have iTunes installed, and you’ll be able to see all the podcast episodes in the iTunes store, or peruse the “podcast” category here at the blog. And of course, I’m always open to suggestions.

So how about it? If you’d be interested in having me speak in your classroom or other gathering (and aren’t in the “buying Glenn an airline ticket” mood), drop me a line. The world is a small place.

Glenn Peoples

As you may know, while I was in the UK recently I visited Justin at Premiere Radio who hosts the Unbelievable? Radio show. We recorded two episodes, and the first one aired on the 4th of September (my birthday – how appropriate!) and is now available in the show’s podcast. You can subscribe to the show over at the iTunes store, or you can head on over to the Unbelievable website and find the episode there.

The first show was a discussion with John Haldane of St Andrews University on the mind-body problem from a Christian point of view. It was a real pleasure to chat with John, he’s a scholar and a gentleman, and the conversation was most cordial and enjoyable. Enjoy!

We recorded two episodes on that day. The second was a discussion between me and Arif Ahmed, an atheist from the University of Cambridge on morality and God. That episode will air three weeks after this one. Apparently the Pope is visiting the UK and that’s more important in terms of radio coverage. Sheesh, priorities!

On Monday the 6th of September I spoke at the University of Auckland on The New Atheists, Science and Morality. The talk is like a live presentation version of a podcast on Sam Harris and morality that I did a while back, with some updates and variations.

Jachin over at the Explaining the Bible website took some really good video footage of the talk, so whether you were there or not, you get to watch it in high quality:

The new atheism, science & morality with Glenn Peoples 6 September 2010 from E†B: ExplainingTheBible.com on Vimeo.

There are just four more sleeps until I fly out for the UK to take part in the annual conference of the European Society for the Philosophy of Religion at the University of Oxford. I’m excited!

Adding to the excitement, another appointment has come up. Some of you may be familiar with the Unbelievable? radio show, which is also a very popular London-based podcast, hosted by Justin Brierly. The show features on Premiere Radio. I’ve been talking with Justin and he’s keen to get me into the studio to record not one but two shows with me. The first show will be on Christian physicialism: Those who (like me) profess a fairly conservative Christian faith, and yet reject dualistic portraits of human nature. As is the norm on the show, there will be another guest on the show who holds an alternative view. AT the moment Justin is looking at getting Keith Ward onto the show, who’s a keen defender of Christian dualism.

The second show – only a possibility at this stage, but we’re both keen to see it happen – will be related to the moral argument, and will look at the question of whether or not moral facts could exist if God did not exist. Justin’s looking for another guest to join us on the show at the moment, but the names of Stephen law and Julian Baggini have been suggested as possibilities – but we’ll see what works out!

This will be fun. I’ve never done a radio show before, and Unbelievable? has a large listening audience. Come to think of it, if you don’t subscribe to the Podcast via the iTunes store already, I highly recommend it.

Public Lecture: The New Atheism, Science and Morality

As you know (and a number of you have very kindly supported me in the endeavour), shortly I’ll be flying off to Oxford for a conference at which I’ll be speaking (more on that another time). When I get back I have a couple of speaking engagements lined up in Auckland before returning home to Dunedin. Here’s one of them.

The New Atheists, that outspoken motley crew full of passion and godlessness (a description I rather suspect they’d appreciate and endorse), have little time for the view that the existence of moral truths is correctly explained with reference to God as the moral lawgiver. That view, says Sam Harris, is downright dangerous in our day and age. Instead, we should think of moral facts as being scientific facts, facts revealed to us by neuroscience as it describes the human brain and its ability to produce the experience of either happiness or suffering. With this argument in hand, many might think that the New Atheists have latched on to a way of preserving genuine moral truths in a world without God.

But have they? In this public lecture I’ll explain how Dr Harris presents his view, and I will also explain the fundamental moral issues that his account overlooks altogether. Far from being an explanation of morality that makes God redundant, what the New Atheists really have in Harris’s account is a model of morality that lacks foundations unless God is re-introduced as the lawgiver who decides which states of affairs we ought to be trying to bring about in the first place.

Date: Monday the 6th of September 2010, 7pm

Place: University of Auckland, Library Basement 15

EDIT: HERE is the Facebook page for this event.

When I was at the University of Canterbury in July I gave two talks. Episode 29 was one of those talks, on abortion. This talk was actually based on the same material that served as the basis for episode 3, so there will be obvious similarities.

Think of this as a consolation prize while I (very slowly) finish the next episode in the series In Search of the Soul. Hey, if you want me to get these things done faster, then hire me.

Glenn Peoples

Episode 030: Religion in the Public Square. Is it Justified? [ 43:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This episode is a recording of a talk I gave last week at the University of Canterbury on abortion.

As promised in the episode, here’s a summary of some questions and answers that followed.
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Episode 029: Is abortion immoral and should it be illegal? [ 50:33 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download