In this video I talk about why it’s good to talk about the downsides of atheism, despite it generally being more attractive to be positive rather than negative; to make the case for something and not to merely make the case against one of its alternatives. That reason is that people often take the “cheese pizza” approach. If they think that there’s a common denominator, they will pick that to avoid conflict. By talking about the problems with atheism, it can help people to realize that there is no plain cheese pizza; that there is no common denominator.
Category: Missing the Mark
Big Tech Censorship: A Conversation with Ron Coleman
Famous First Amendment & trademark lawyer Ron Coleman discusses big tech censorship and the law with me, as well as the morality of big tech censorship which the law would ideally capture. We talk about promissory estoppel, misrepresentation, contract law and terms of service, and the possibility of consumer protection laws.
Determinism, Free Will, and Predestination
In this video I answer a question about (atheistic, materialistic) determinism, free will, and Calvinism-style predestination.
That last part is important to point out because there is a Catholic doctrine of predestination, but it only means that God has a plan (being outside of time) and in no way contradicts human free will. I also talk about how Martin Luther denied free will as well as John Calvin, though I don’t go into great depth.
What To Do if the News Has Gotten You Down
In this video I answer a question about what to do if one read the news, or commentary on the news, or saw social media about the news, and it’s gotten you down.
Can Men and Women Be Best Friends
I answer a question from Blake about a Twitter exchange where one person characterized marriage as raising a beautiful family with your best friend and “Charles Mayne” quoted this saying that men and women can never be best friends, and that it’s a modern and degenerate idea that they can.
The Incoherence of Subjective Morality
In this video I take a look at subjective morality and how it is incoherent.
The Fake Simplicity of Atheism
In this video I look at the claim that atheism (or materialism, or naturalism) is simpler than theism is therefore to be preferred—and how it isn’t simpler, and how simpler things are not always to be preferred anyway.
Everything Has Been Refuted
In this video I look at how everything—including everything true—has been refuted by someone, somewhere, so it doesn’t mean anything to say, “that’s been refuted”.
Theistic Evolution & The Book of Genesis
In response to a question to go into the specifics of how theistic evolution works, I do that. It’s still a bit of an overview of the subject, but that’s because going into true detail would take quite a lot longer than the hour and fourteen minutes this video ended up being. Still, I hope that this helps to get people started, at least.
Taxonomy of Atheists
In this video I give my taxonomy of online atheists, and how, based upon this taxonomy, you can tailor the help you try to give them to their needs.
Why Unsustainable Things Are Seductive
In this video I talk about unsustainable things are intrinsically seductive because they suggest that they have more power/strength/ability/life/etc than they actually do.
Rhetorical Arguments and Straw Men
In this video I look at rhetorical arguments and accusations of straw men. I also take a look at what rhetoric is and when it is good.
Symbolism Isn’t About Secret Decoder Rings
In this video I look at what symbolism isn’t—a secret code for a simple message that could have just been said in a sentence or two—and what it is—the structure of reality presented in a simplified form to make it easier to grasp. Symbolism isn’t a code or a cipher, it’s not about hiding a simple message where clever people will find it. Symbolism is about what makes stories good—it’s about reflecting the structure of reality.
When To Do the Right Thing For the Wrong Reasons
In this video I take a look at when you should do the right thing for the wrong reasons.
A Dime Store Heaven: The Big Rock Candy Mountains
In this video I look at the song The Big Rock Candy Mountains and how it describes a dime-store heaven, and how you can see this same sort of thing in all sorts of bad political philosophies which don’t even take themselves seriously.
My Favorite Proof For the Existence of God
In this video I talk about my favorite proof for the existence of God — the argument from contingency and necessity — because of how much this proof for God tells us about God, such as that God is love, God created creation for the sake of creation, as an act of generosity, etc.
The Easiest Proof For the Existence of God
In this video I look at what I think is the easiest proof for the existence of God, Saint Thomas’s fifth way—the governance of the world.
Jonah & The Great Fish
In this video I look at the book of Jonah and examine the idea that Jonah died and was brought back to life on the third day and Brant Pitre argues in The Case for Jesus. I also look at the rest of the Book of Jonah for fun, because it’s awesome and fascinating. NOTE: I’m just a layman offering what I get from it. I am not teaching with authority.
The Problem With Ex-Hominem Arguments
In this video I talk about the problem of ex-hominem arguments, that is, arguments “from the man”. These are arguments in which the person making the argument uses himself (or, more often, some trait of his) as a premise in his argument. The classic example is “I did X as a kid and I turned out all right” but it’s surprisingly common once you watch out for it. It’s not invalid to do, but it does cause some problems when a person does it, namely, that an ad-hominem argument becomes a necessary and valid response. In the example above, if the guy didn’t actually turn out OK, then how he turned out is not proof that the X was fine to do as a kid.
Can Multiple Artistic Interpretations Be Valid?
In this video I look at what artistic interpretations are and how multiple artistic interpretations of the same piece of art can be valid without devolving into nonsense like saying that it’s all in the eye of the beholder or every interpretation is valid.
Frozen is a Shockingly Christian Movie
In this video I look at Disney’s movie Frozen and how it’s a shockingly Christian movie.
Why I Keep Going Even Though My YouTube Channel Is Small
I was asked by someone why I keep going with my YouTube channel even though it’s small. So, here’s my answer.
Sayings Examined: Is The Perfect the Enemy of The Good?
In this video I take a look at the saying, “the perfect is the enemy of the good” and look at in what ways it’s true and in what ways it’s not.
Despair vs. Hope: Against Annihilation
In this video I answer a question from a viewer about the torment of despair and whether anihilation would be better than despair for all eternity. To do that, I also look at the related question of whether annihilation is even possible, given the immortality of the soul.
How to Not Be Bored
In this video I talk about how to not get tired of things but to keep finding them interesting.
Snake Talk Episode 6: Aphrodite Update
In this episode I give an update on how she’s doing, including some lessons I’ve learned in keeping her, such as how I’ve trained her to recognize when it’s feeding time and how much she loves burrows in the substrate over hides above it.
The Problem of Evil: Depression
This video is a response to a question. Gadowscar asked, “[M]y question regarding the problem of evil would be triggered by my own personal experience and be fairly narrow, and be an inquiry into how God can allow for such rampant depression among society. I wholeheartedly believe God exists with my intellect, there’s no doubt in my mind that He exists. However, because I suffer with depression(to the point of being suicidal at times), I have difficulty on an emotional and spiritual level believing that God loves me. How would you answer this?”
Here’s my answer.
When a Contradiction is True
In this video I look at the times when an apparent contradiction is actually true, without it being a violation of the principle of non-contradiction (the key is in the word “apparent”). I take a look at two verses from the book of proverbs as an example that shows how this works (Proverbs 26:4 and Proverbs 26:5):
Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
My Superdwarf Retic Eating Like a Green Tree Python
In this video I describe something interesting about how my superdwarf eats like a green tree python and also show video of the whole thing (with background music!).
Money: What Is It & Why Is It?
Money is an often misunderstood subject, especially because there are so many accidental things which grow up around it that are common and often mistaken for its substance. In this video I look at the history of how money develops as a medium for intermediating barter between people where only one person has something the other wants and how that develops into the sorts of monetary systems we have now. This also leads to what properties are essential to money and which are merely accidental, as well as what conditions are necessary for money to work and what conditions destroy money’s utility.
How To Not Be Afraid of the Dark
In this video I discuss how to not be afraid of the dark. Granted, most people watching it will already know, at least in a practical sense, but this video may help to explain it to others.
The Assumption That Physics Explains Everything Physical
In this video I talk about the assumption that physics explains everything physical—basically the idea that biology is applied chemistry, and chemistry is applied physics. I do not argue that physics is incomplete, I just point out that we have no reason to believe that physics (that is, that branch of science which studies matter at the lowest level) in fact does explain everything, because we can only study physics at extremely high energy levels and almost all of the interesting stuff happens at (comparatively) very low energy levels. If you were to study human beings by throwing them against a wall at 600 miles per hour, you would miss out on all sorts of interesting things that they do.
Chris Lansdown 
You must be logged in to post a comment.