Brian Lynchehaun | Crommunist

36 Hate the belief, not the believer

January 30, 2012
by Crommunist
· blog · Brian Lynchehaun · philosophy · theology

There’s a post that I come back to on this site again and again. It’s something that I frequently link to when having discussions with believers and non-believers alike whenever they start getting their back up and feel that they are under attack when I’m pressing on their beliefs: we are not our ideas.

However, I’ve not always been comfortable with it in it’s entirety. I mean… ‘Hate the sin, not the sinner’ is clearly crap, but is there a significant difference between that and Crommunist’s ‘hate the belief, not the believer’? (my paraphrasing)

If I were confronted by a believer on this point, the apparent double-standard, could I respond effectively? … Continue Reading

13 Economists and Ethics

January 23, 2012
by Crommunist
· blog · Brian Lynchehaun · crapitalism · critical thinking · ethics · philosophy

It’s something of an inevitability that when the various heinous acts of corporations are brought to light, the Economists march out in lock-step to explain to the dissenters A) how emotional and irrational the dissenters are acting and B) sure, isn’t this the best possible thing that could be happening for ‘those people’?

This line of thinking was most recently articulated by Paul Krugman in The Slate. I want to focus on the two main points of this article: 1) the lie being presented that this is the best possible choice we could make given “the alternative”, and 2) the objection to this is being made on purely emotional grounds (i.e. there are no rational grounds to this objection) … Continue Reading

9 Why people don’t like to answer theistic questions…

January 16, 2012
by Crommunist
· blog · Brian Lynchehaun · critical thinking · philosophy · religion · theology

To readers who prefer short posts, I’d like to apologise in advance: this is not a short post. Unforunately, the nature of this extended argument is such that there’s no easy way to break it into 2 or 3 posts without killing the flow.

In a discussion I’ve been having recently with one particular believer, some ideas have repeatedly surfaced. This is not, however, the first time I’ve come across these particular notions. I want to take some time to fully address these ideas and the problems that are imbedded in the ideas. First I’ll simply quote the statements as written, as a group, break down the problematic/vague parts, then address them individually.

“Can one expect human logic to understand the supernatural realm as easily as it does the natural realm?”
“Are you saying that you reject the existence of the supernatural because people around you can’t agree on the exact nature of God, or of the Creative miracles?”
“My fear, for those who choose that route, is that due to the acceptance of methodological naturalism as the defining limitation to science (defining only what can be proven from within nature itself), those that limit themselves in this way and trust that nature itself is “all there is”, will never have the chance to find out if the supernatural actually exists.”
“Does methodological naturalism include or exclude God?”

2 Welcoming a new contributor: Brian Lynchehaun

I am extremely excited and proud to welcome a new contributor to the Crommunist Manifesto: my friend, Brian Lynchehaun. Brian has been with the blog almost since its inception. In fact he was instrumental in my very first high-traffic post, a video review of a debate that he did with Hugh Ross. Since then, Brian and I have become good friends and I have come to greatly respect and value his insight, particularly in questions of philosophy. He presented a fairly comprehensive argument for atheistic morality that I still use to this day:

Brian will be contributing his occasional thoughts on a variety of matters, in his own inimitable style. I hope you will give him a warm welcome. I, frankly, can’t believe it took me this long to think to invite him. Please note that his posts will carry his own byline.

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