How to defeat the transcendental argument for the existence of God (TAG), if that’s what you wish to do

You can defeat the TAG[1] if you can show that there is a way to account for intelligible predication without presupposing the Christian worldview. Otherwise, the latter’s claim to account for it stands.

Go ahead. Make my day.

If Christ is πρό πάντων (pro pantōn), that is, before (“prior to”) all things (Colossians 1:17), then He is πρό φιλοσοφία (see Colossians 2:8), that is, before philosophy.

If awareness of Christ is the foreword or prologue to sound philosophizing (wisdom-seeking), if such cognizance is the beginning (תְּחִלַּ֣ת, tehillat) of wisdom (חָ֭כְמָה, hakmah); Proverbs 9:10), then believing that God exists (ὅτι ἔστιν, Hebrews 11:6) is not an afterthought, an inference from something created (e.g., a “theistic proof”).

If Christ is the ground of inference, then you cannot philosophize (analyze, synthesize) profitably without acknowledging the priority that πρό implies, that is, without acknowledging who Christ is. You’re just beating the air. Continue reading “How to defeat the transcendental argument for the existence of God (TAG), if that’s what you wish to do”

My Sidney Hook Collection

 

For my relationship to American philosopher Sidney Hook (1902-1989), see this 2018 post. For my effort to sell off my library, see this, this, this, and this.

I’d love to sell them as a set

Hook as Author

    • From Hegel to Marx (1971 [1936])
    • The Hero in History (1967 [1943])
    • Education for Modern Man (1946)
    • Marx and the Marxists: The Ambiguous Legacy (1955)
    • Common Sense and the Fifth Amendment (1957)
    • The Quest for Being (1961)
    • The Paradoxes of Freedom (1962)
    • The Fail-Safe Fallacy (1963)
    • Political Power and Personal Freedom (1965 [1959])
    • Academic Freedom and Academic Anarchy (1970)
    • Philosophy and Public Policy (1980)

Hook as Contributor and Editor

    • Determinism and Freedom in the Age of Modern Science (1958) (Blanshard, Munitz, et al.)
    • American Philosophers at Work: The Philosophic Scene in the United States (1956) Blanshard, Black, Carnap, Nagel, Sellars, Stace, et al.

On dogma and dogmatism

William F. Vallicella,Ph.D.

Bill Vallicella, a friend and philosophical sparring partner of two decades, recently discussed another thinker’s argument from design to God.[1] Since my interest lies in biblical rather than “classical” theism, I will not engage with the argument itself or his discussion of it. Instead, I want to examine the presuppositions of philosophical theology general and a thesis of Bill’s in particular.

The presupposition of philosophical theology is that it is licit for a human being to suspend his knowledge of יהוה (Yahweh)—the God of the Bible—in order to explore the limits of philosophical inquiry with respect to God’s existence. From time to time, Bill revisits his thesis that there are no rationally compelling (“knock-down”) arguments for or against any metaphysical position. He did so again in his recent post, providing an opportunity for me to restate my position.

I was reminded of an essay I reposted in 2023, which first appeared on my old site twenty years earlier. In it, I critique “Dogmatic Uncertainty” by the British libertarian classicist and novelist Sean Gabb.[2] Both Gabb and Bill implicitly rely on the contrast between δόξα (doxa) and ἐπιστήμη (epistēmē)—that is, between “mere” opinion and certain knowledge. I presume that Bill, an expert in argumentation, has not ruled out the possibility that we are within our rights to claim ἐπιστήμη about God without supporting argumentation. But if I make that claim, am I being necessarily “dogmatic” in the pejorative sense? Continue reading “On dogma and dogmatism”

Copleston’s “A History of Philosophy”

Yesterday I put my set of Durant’s The Story of Civilization up for offer. I said “you may expect more posts like this one in the near future.” The near future has arrived.

Here’s what Frederick Copleston‘s classic A History of Philosophy, a 15-volume paperback set, looks like on one of my library’s shelves. They’re clean and in great shape. Here’s the Wiki entry.

To repeat part of yesterday’s post, please “do your research about what this set is going for elsewhere and then, if interested, make inquiry. If we come to terms, I will lovingly wrap and package them, which are in very good condition (clean, no handwriting, no underlining, no highlighting) and [take] the box to the post office; you’ll have them in about a week. (Those of you who know that these are not idle words are free to leave testimonials to that effect below.)”

For background on this offer, please go here.

“The Story of Civilization”: Yours for a (yet undetermined) price.

One of this blog’s first posts was a tribute to Will Durant, the author (and beginning with Volume VII, co-author with wife Ariel) of The Story of Civilization.[1] I regret never having made the time to peruse every page of this series, unique in its high literary and esthetic quality, which more than compensates for the shortcomings that specialists have found reason to complain about. I no longer believe that the prospect of luxuriating in these volumes can compete with the urgent tasks that demand my attention.

I must part with these eleven tomes (1975 edition), pictured above, as I must with so many other books, asking something in return from visitors who have benefitted from what they’ve found on this site. Scholars who are still in their book-accumulation stage are my preferred customers for the contents of my library. So, do your research about what this set is going for elsewhere and then, if interested, make inquiry. If we come to terms, I will lovingly wrap and package them, which are in very good condition (clean, no handwriting, no underlining, no highlighting) and wheel the box to the post office; you’ll have them in about a week. (Those of you who know that these are not idle words are free to leave testimonials to that effect below.)

As I must accelerate the book-liquidation phase I’m in, you may expect more posts like this one in the near future.

Thank you for considering this offer. Whatever you think of it, at least have a(nother) look at that old post; it’s not half-bad.

Note

[1] “Will Durant: Fending off ‘the Reaper’ for almost a century,” November 20, 2028.

Trump’s Gaza proposal, if accepted, would be a humane response to, not an instance of, ethnic cleansing

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump hold a Gaza Strip crisis press conference, February 4, 2025

Ethnic cleansing is the explicit goal of Islamists regarding Palestine: they seek to make it judenrein in the clinical, Nazi sense of the term. To that end, Hamas—one faction of that demonic movement, composed largely of Palestinian Arabs—unleashed an orgy of sadistic, fiendish slaughter on October 7, 2023. That day, they murdered 1,200 Israelis—Jewish Palestinians living and celebrating near Gaza—without mercy, sparing neither women nor children, not even infants, whether in or ex utero. Another 250 they abducted, holding them as bargaining chips to secure the release of hundreds of Islamist fiends imprisoned in Israel so that they can resume their genocidal operations.

Israel responded to this enormity by purging Gaza of Hamas, in course of doing so rendering it virtually uninhabitable. In the aftermath of this devastation, President Trump has proposed a humane but temporary refuge for Gaza’s beleaguered civilians—an alternative to the ruin that defines the enclave. No one, least of all Trump, has advocated forcible expulsion or barring the return of those who accept the offer. The goal has never been to make Gaza araberrein (frei von Arabern), any more than it has ever been Israel’s aim so to render the Jewish state. Rather, Israel and the civilized world—against whom the Islamists have declared war—have insisted upon a Gaza that is terrorfrei (frei von Terror).

A Palestinian woman holds her daughter as she walks past the rubble of houses destroyed during the Israeli military offensive, Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, July 10, 2024. (Reuters Photo)

Trump’s proposal is a humanitarian response to the wreckage wrought by October 7—the Islamist attempt to render all of Palestine judenrein. If successful, he will not be making Israel safe again, but safe, period—or at least as safe as any nation can be this side of God’s manifest Kingdom.[1] For this, he deserves not calumny, but recognition as one of the Righteous Among the Nations (חסידי אומות העולם, Chasidei Umot HaOlam).

Note

[1]  That’s when Ezekiel’s prophecy (and so many other prophecies about ingathered and restored Israel) will be fulfilled: “After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell SAFELY all of them.” Ezekiel 38:8 (emphasis added). Dwelling safely has never characterized the life of Israelis since the founding of their secular state in 1948 (which fulfilled no biblical prophecy).

Half Shekel King Cyrus Donald Trump Jewish Temple Mount Israel Coin מחצית השקל. - Picture 1 of 12
King Cyrus/Donald Trump Jewish Temple Mount Half Shekel Israel Coin מחצית השקל (machatzit hashekel).

Happy Birthday, Wé Ani! (2025 Edition)

[I got the date right last year, but this year’s birthday tribute was two days late! She was born on the 23rd of January, 1999. I apologize for the error.—A.G.F., March 1, 2025]

In the late ‘70s, I overheard my social democrat Marxist roommate, while laying out[1] an issue of his new political journal, make it clear to a supporter who disagreed with an editorial decision: “This is my journal! Should I convert to Buddhism, this becomes a Buddhist journal!” I feel that way about this site.

My occasional posts about Wé Ani [way AH-nee], a wondrous musical performer, may seem out of place on this site, devoted as it is to theology, philosophy, and history. What her performances have meant to my soul[2], however, justifies my noticing her doings from time to time. Her 26th birthday is one of those times.

AnthonyGFlood.com will not become more of a Wé Ani fan platform than it currently is; it will serve as an outlet for the joy her music brings me. If I’ve lost some of you, I understand.

(In a hurry? Skip down to “Taste and See: Five Indispensable Wé Ani Performances.”)

Here are snippets of posts that capture my sentiments and may move you to read them in context. If they inspire you to check out her videos and ask, “Where has she been all my life?,” then they have served their purpose. Continue reading “Happy Birthday, Wé Ani! (2025 Edition)”

Trump’s dream: A merit-based and color-blind society

His courage and oratory are almost enough to explain how he came to lead the Civil Rights Movement (CRM). We must not, however, overlook his profession: he was the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, an academically trained preacher in the Baptist tradition. Such titles bestow an odor of sanctity. They didn’t deflect the assassin’s bullet—ultimately set into motion by whom, we may never know[1]—but they shouldn’t inhibit us from questioning his message.

Unfortunately, the latter was the Social(ist) Gospel (SG), not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the wolf of socialism in sheep’s clothing of biblical passages. King’s education was downstream to the theology of SG’s American fountainhead, Walter Rauschenbusch (1861–1918), who at Rochester Theological Seminary had studied under the orthodox Reformed Baptist theologian Augustus Hopkins Strong (1836–1921).[2]

The Rev. Howard Thurman

More immediately, King came under the influence of Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) and Howard Thurman (1899-1981).[3] Neither man held Jesus’ view of Scripture. The Bible may be profound, insightful, inspiring, they thought, even “inspired,” but not breathed-out by God, the status which it claims for itself, and all that follows from that status.[4] Through reading Thurman the young King discovered the maverick Hindu Mohandas Gandhi.[5]

“So what?,” you may ask. Here’s what: King denied Jesus’ divinity[6] and resurrection[7]. The Bible was not, for King, the inerrant word of God. Such an opinion is nonsense, the product of a naïve, bygone era. For him, it was quite errant. Continue reading “Trump’s dream: A merit-based and color-blind society”

Jimmy and Joe: Progressive bookends of a (soon-to-be-bygone?) era

When the truth is being obscured, one may make an exception to the nil nisi bonum rule.

Joe Biden sold his soul to the Progressives, but Jimmy Carter began his public life as one. The peanut farmer’s folksy demeanor masked his support for the Left’s agenda, arguably more scandalous than “Scranton Joe’s” scam because of Carter’s Christian credentials. Continue reading “Jimmy and Joe: Progressive bookends of a (soon-to-be-bygone?) era”

I really do have a lot of books in need of new custodians

In November of 2023, I spelled out my book problem. Since then a reminder has sat atop the right column of this site’s home page: “Books for Sale! Click and then scroll down to the list under the covers of the books I authored. If something interests you, ask me about it.”

The link will take you to a long but only partial listing of books available. Tell me your interests (philosophy, theology, history, politics, and so forth). You might be pleasantly surprised to see what this bookworm has lovingly curated over the past half-century. It can’t hurt to ask.

If you’re still in the book-treasuring stage of life, please use my contact page to tell me, generally or specifically, your areas of interest. If I have something you’re interested in, we can work out the terms and logistics.

It would be a shame for any of them to be trashed.

Your move.

Anthony G. Flood