DBT01: Closing CommentsMatt and Andrés both told their side of the DBT01 judging fiasco here, so now I guess I have to tell mine. First, I’d like to explain why I believe I effectively won the debate, despite officially forfeiting out of frustration. A few weeks ago, Peter Hurford dropped the following comment:
… it is not true that if God exists, removing any instance of suffering must make everyone net worse off. Thus, I hereby recant all the essays I wrote in which I argued this position. …the Problem of Evil, as traditionally conceived, fails. (source, bold orig.)
That says it all. A debate aims to show who created the more persuasive arguments. Regardless of my concession that needless suffering existed per Peter’s definition, I was ultimately arguing that the POE was impotent, and Peter ultimately agreed. Plain and simple, his recanting should carry more weight than my concession.
What The Bible Really Says About The SoulThis is a response to Matt DeStefano’s post, “The Bible Says The Soul Is Not Immaterial.” The Bible does not say—anywhere—that the soul is not immaterial. Before we get too far into this, I want to say where I think DeStefano gets it right:
This view of the soul has ramifications when discussing the afterlife. Heaven becomes a physical resurrection by which our bodies are continually existing.