Category: Publications
I Found A Reason To Live
I suffered from Manic Depression for three years of my life, during which I tried to commit suicide three times. I was reminded of this in the last week when talking to a friend who was struggling, so... Read MoreProof and the Transcendental Argument for God (Complete)
This is the full length version of the five part series examining the different concepts of proof and the transcendental concept of proof which can be found on my YouTube channel. The overall argument... Read More
Analytical Philosophy
This is the single video version broken into 5-parts + a postscript (6-parts!) on my YouTube channel. This introduces the broad designation “Analytical Philosophy” by contrasting it with o... Read MoreThe Problem of Evil, Free Will and Philosophical Determinism
This is the single video version of this talk, broken into 6-parts on my YouTube channel. This is a complex and multi-faceted issue, including some of the most forceful attacks against the Christian f... Read More
Why Study Philosophy?
In this video I want to give an answer to that question generally by sharing my personal journey into philosophy that culminated in doing a PhD in Philosophy. I then consider why Christians specifical... Read More
“Next Time, Do Not Miss” – Eliminating Trump
I have been wanting to comment on the two assassination attempts on President Trump for a while now, but finishing the manuscript for the book version of my PhD thesis has gobbled up all my time. In... Read More
Why America is Crying
Today I was listening to my friend tell a story about his Mother-in-law. She was a Columbian immigrant to the US who entered legally in the early 1970s. She had been abandoned with her two young c... Read More
Moral Calculus
Jeremey Bentham (b.1748, d.1832), an early proto-socialist and reformer, coined the term “moral calculus”. He, like many of his contemporary reformers, was born into great wealth and patronage b... Read More
Theonomy in Christian Ethics
Modern theonomy was primarily the work of two men, Rousas Rushdoony and Greg Bahnsen in applying Van Tillian thought to first the socio-political sphere and then more broadly.[1] Bahnsen was to refl... Read More
Jonathon Edwards and the Destruction of the Puritan Canopy in Early US History
As is well known to students of American history, the “Puritan Canopy” was a reflection of the New England Puritan’s desire to construct a society based on what they had found in the scriptures ... Read More
The Fundamentals and Fundamentalism
The terms “fundamentalist evangelical”, “conservative evangelical” or most recently just “fundamentalist” are often just used as imprecise pejoratives. More precisely, the term “The Fu... Read More
Skinner’s Utopia
(This was originally two chained footnotes I had to remove from my book to meet the word limit, the thesis with the notes in context, is found here.) Skinner presented his utopian vision in his novel ... Read More
The Lewis and Anscombe Debate
C S Lewis helped found the Socratic Society at Oxford which hosted some of the liveliest debates of the post-WWII era. Lewis was not just a popular author and public speaker, but was a distinguished... Read More
Evolutionary Theory and Probability Theory
(This was originally a footnote I had to remove from my book to meet the word limit, I added a little to it as a cross-reference) A major non-partisan (i.e., non-religious) mathematics colloquium, Mat... Read More
Kant, Rationalism, Empiricism, and the God Question
(This was originally a footnote I had to remove from my book to meet the word limit, I then added to it) After Descartes, modern Western philosophy divided at two major views – Continental Rationali... Read More
How President Biden Completely Missed the Point
Although it was a couple of weeks ago now, the US ‘State of the Union’ address on Thursday 7th Mar 2024 was, to me as a foreigner observing US politics very closely, a high watermark of partisan a... Read More
The British Primeminister Margaret Thatcher, Her Battle with the Left and Her Lasting Political Legacy
This article started life as a footnote to the larger article here: https://planetmacneil.org/blog/the-unmaking-of-the-west/ “No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he’d only had good i... Read More
The Unmaking of the West
It is undeniable that the world generally seems to be at an inflection point. In 2024, around 75% of nations will be having elections meaning that it is possible that politically the world could be ... Read More
HAMAS vs Israel – Understanding the Conflict
Contents 1 Introduction. 1 2 The Ethical Equation – a Comparison with Ukraine. 1 3 The Big Questions and Some Short Answers. 4 3.1 Is Modern Israel an adjunct of Amer... Read More
Epistemological Self Consciousness
After starting this journey by returning to study for a BD in 2006, MA in 2012 and then the PhD at the end of 2017, I finally graduated as Dr Macneil this week! My thesis is about what makes philosoph... Read More
Fake (but Peer-Reviewed) Academic Papers Published by Fake (but Famous) Journals
Professor Brown’s Confession I read an article this week which really got my attention. It was describing the “confession” of Patrick Brown, an academic who is a Co-Director of Breakthrough In... Read More
Fire and Fury – Maui: Climate Change, Arson, and Preparations for a 15-minute Smart City
This summer has not been the summer of love but the summer of wildfires, caused by “extreme weather conditions” which have then been blamed on “climate change” and by that we mean human-made c... Read More
Sexual Ideology, Child Trafficking and The Sound of Freedom
None of the ferocity of the attack, which I wrote about at length here on the ‘Sound of Freedom’ film by the mainstream media and entertainment publications has let up. In fact, the attacks have... Read More
The ‘Sound of Freedom’, QAnon, and the Protected Class of Minor Attracted Persons
“Sound of Freedom: the QAnon-adjacent thriller seducing America” thus spake not Zarathustra but Charles Bramesco, a film and television critic living in Brooklyn who writes for the Guardian, a UK,... Read More
Wittgenstein, The Tractatus and Logical Positivism
Appendix 2 – Wittgenstein, The Tractatus and Logical Positivism Wittgenstein was unique amongst 20th century philosophers in that he precipitated two revolutions of thought despite only have one pub... Read More
Van Til and Plantinga, Comparison and Contrast
Appendix 1 – Van Til and Plantinga, Comparison and Contrast Our book examined the work of Van Til and Plantinga as it specifically intersected the major epistemological questions of our book, but th... Read More
Richard Rorty’s Iconoclastic Deconstruction of Philosophy
One of my contentions in my PhD thesis (coming soon!) of modern philosophy as incoherent and arbitrary, lacking a reasonable defence, is not original. Indeed the essence of the postmodern critique w... Read More
Applying the Epistemological Self Consciousness Transcendental Critique to Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism
(This article cannot be considered an academic, comprehensive rebuttal of the claim but does highlight its problematic nature) We note that one of the unique features of reasoning regarding ultimate a... Read More
Why I Will Not Be Swearing an Oath of Allegiance to the King
After a long posting break owing to my preparation for submitting my PhD thesis and preparing for the viva (the oral exam that proves it is yours and you did not just buy it online – yes, that reall... Read More
KCM-US 2022 Election Broadcasts
KCM-US 2022 Election Broadcasts... Read More
Why We Should Enforce Legal Migration and Resist Illegal Migration
Let me be clear, we should always welcome with open arms those fleeing persecution (‘asylum seekers’) and to help facilitate legal migration of those seeking a better life (‘economic migrants’... Read More
What You Need To Know About The ‘Vaccine’ Before You Take It (Updated Sep 2022)
Please note, this is not intended as medical advice for you, I am not a doctor, but I am drawing your attention to the work of those who are doctors or certified and qualified medical professionals wh... Read More
The World-Changing Treaty No-One Talked About
World Level Government Is Taking A Major Step Forward – But Most People Knew Nothing About It Quite remarkably, a major change in world government is taking place but most citizens of the indivi... Read More
COVID as “Snake-Venom” – just another conspiracy theory?
Last week I watched an “Emergency News Broadcast” from Rodney Howard-Brown (RHB), which I thoroughly recommend to you as worthy of careful consideration and to which I will turn to specifically co... Read More
Ukraine – What We Do Not Hear About
As the COVID crisis “recedes” – at least in some parts of the world where ‘living with COVID’ is trying to wrestle its way into a brainwashed public consciousness (witnessed by the number of... Read More
The Offspring of Judas
I am not a Hebrew scholar and cannot say I have checked this claim, but biblical Hebrew apparently has no word for “coincidence”. It is now a well understood fact that an ethnic group... Read More
Jerking the wrap off….
News Update with Dr Rodney Howarde-Browne Just in case you have never seen this, it is the best news programme you are likely to see…. Highlights of this one are: 1:49 in – former assistan... Read More
Creation or Evolution?
“When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that... Read More
“Japan drops all vaxxine (vaccine) mandates, places myocarditis warning on label” – Fact Checked
AUDIO VERSION AVAILABLE My wife is Japanese and frequently gets news items sent on from her Japanese friends. One came which had the headline “Japan drops all vaxxine mandates, places myocarditi... Read More
The Sad Farce of Omicron
Well, it is Christmas time, and this is the first small window of downtime I have before the 29th when I have to get stuff ready for the new year switchover at work, so it is time for an overdue blog ... Read More
Medical Tyranny
I received this appeal email from AFLDS, which I feel is so clear that it speaks for itself. I particularly refer you to the words of Benjamin Rush at the end of the piece. They seem perfectly fulfill... Read More
You-Tube’s New Role as Censor
YouTube admits to removing over one million videos in the name of “keeping people safe” from COVID and over 10 million other videos in the first quarter of 2021. Hidden within the defence of this ... Read More
Censorship – The New Normal
As I have been around for over five decades on the planet now, I have had a lot of experiences such as marriage and divorce, children then no-children, friends committing suicide (me-trying, unsuccess... Read More
One Year On – Reflecting on America’s Frontline Doctors
The day was July 27, 2020, the setting was the steps of the Supreme Court building and there was gathered around 18 practicing physicians, some senior, some private practise and some ER room. This w... Read More
“Why it’s time to think differently about COVID” – the BBC
“Why it’s time to think differently about COVID” Thus spake the British Broadcasting Corporation (otherwise known as the world-famous BBC) in what can only be described as a complete reversa... Read MorePolitics, Church and State in the Post-Trump Era
My blog has been quiet this year because I have been working on what turned out to be a 45000 word study on Politics, Church and State caused by the “chaos” in the Christian world regardin... Read More
The Death of the Modern University in the COVID Era (but it has been going on for a while)
(The grammar and style might seem a little strange in this article as I have strained to avoid using the masculine and feminine pronouns to keep things as anonymous as possible) I have just had a supe... Read More
Systematic Fraud with Dominion Voting Machines in Michigan (for starters)
First off, imagine you are a political visionary and have worked for justice and equality and finally get into power through the democratic process after a popular uprising and the sheer force of the ... Read More
Why are there Scots (including the Irish) all over the world? – A Short History of Scotland in 805 words
Why are there Scots (including the Irish) all over the world? – A Short History of Scotland in 805 words Growing up, one of the most memorable conversations I had with my Dad was when he told me... Read More
The Case for Universal Basic Income in the COVID Era
“Recent Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang hinged his entire campaign on the idea of a true universal basic income where every American over the age of 18 would receive US$1,000 every... Read More
The Death of Amnesty International
Now I am not easily shocked these days, but something I read yesterday really did shock me. The CEO of Amnesty International Ireland, Colm O’Gorman has signed an open letter published in Gay Communi... Read More
Trump Is Not Trying To Commit A Coup But To Prevent One
Let me make this clear, I am not an American so I write this as an interested observer knowing that whatever happens in the States, good and bad, sooner or later, finds its way over here. Rather predi... Read More
Macneil’s Guide for the Spiritually Perplexed
How I unapologetically explained the Christian God to thoughtful, foreign, Muslim and Hindu student housemates when I was 21. A PDF version of this book is found here.... Read More
Are Science and Theology competing views of reality?
This was my second undergraduate thesis which I submitted in 2011 for my BD degree. I had previously studied for a BSc and an MSc in Electronic Engineering in 1989-1992, returing to study for a BD par... Read More
Dominion Theology – Its Origin, Development and Place in Christian Thinking
This was my Masters thesis for the degree of Master of Arts in Studies in Philosophy and Religion. This was marked at Distinction level and my supervisor recommended I publish it. This is primarily a ... Read MoreMy COVID-19 Thesis
The major purpose of this dissertation is to help you to be free of the fear of COVID, a fear that has been established and built by a worldwide assault by governments, transnational agencies like the... Read More
Monetising COVID-19
Estimated 7 minute read If you want to make money in 2020, the way to do it is to find some product connected with COVID-19, convince everyone that they need it and then sell it to them. Such would be... Read More
When Truth Does Not Matter – The “New Normal” according to COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus
“The government said evidence suggests that when used correctly, face coverings may reduce the chance of infecting others” Estimated 9 minute read Tomorrow is a significant day in the UK and in va... Read More
Is the Church a Vestigial Organ?
On the role of churches during the COVID-19 crisis. A quaint relic of a bygone age Estimated 11 minute read In evolutionary theory a “vestigial organ” is said to be a vestige, an artefact, a relic... Read More
What Google and Apple are cooking up (and it is not dessert) – rebaked version
I decided to add substantially to this piece as there were significant developments during the week and to respond to some of the criticism. Steve Jobs is now turning in his grave Estimated 12 minute ... Read More
COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus: God’s Blessing or Satan’s Curse?
Satan Smiting Job with Sore Boils — William Blake c.1826 Estimated 6 minute read One of the biggest questions we can ever ask as Christians is who is behind a catastrophic world event like COVID-19,... Read More
Is COVID-19 a sign of Jesus’s imminent return and the Rapture of the Church?
This is a reprint (with a small prologue and addendum) of an article I wrote for a previous publication which I feel is particularly appropriate as a response to some of the speculation in the Christi... Read More
Just because I do not agree with you does not mean I hate you
This was a personal reflection on gender fluidity growing up in the “sexual revolution” in the Left during the 1980s and 1990s and how the “tolerance” once experienced in the &... Read More
Corona COVID-19 “Hoax” – Much More Than Meets The Eye
This was my first article looking at the COVID Era written in March 2020 (it is now December 2020) when I began to suspect something was seriously amiss with the way it was being managed, and marketed... Read More
Should I Obey my Government – Civil Disobedience in the COVID-Era
The question I pose is a question that needs to be asked particularly when “obedience” or “submission” to the will of the government is being presented as a moral and civic duty – both perso... Read More
Object lesson for the politician — do not forget to remember those who voted you in, they will always matter
Arrogant British politicians and their fellow-travelers finally get a smack in the mouth from their electorate. Yesterday was General Election day in the United Kingdom, our third major election in 5 ... Read More
Am I That Illiberal?
You know, I can understand that my own opinions might appear reactionary and that people may wish to ferociously argue with me — perhaps even during the course of the argument slip in the odd “big... Read MoreFeeling Good About Truth
Culturally in the West since the 1960s, popular culture might be summarised with the words “your truth but certainly not mine and so you certainly cannot tell me what to do, my view is equally a... Read More
Another Truth about Late-Term Abortion
This was an answer on Medium to the well known feminist writer Jessica Valenti who had written a piece, “the truth about late-term abortion“. In my view, and I believe in the view of any s... Read More
Vive La France — death rolls of the socialist paradise which is the EU
“Death Rolls of the EU” – I originally wrote this as a development of a provocative answer in response to the question commented on here which I thought was an excellent answer to a ... Read More
Why Be Civil – in Modern Political Discourse?
Originally entitled, “Why Be Civil? A lesson for the Midterms — from a Scotsman” A reflection on the rejection of civility by one-time presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the A... Read More
The Right Way
Previously I wrote a lengthy piece where I mentioned that “living together” was a train-wreck waiting to happen, sometimes around the first bend, sometimes 15 years later. Abandoned and shredded p... Read More
What Kavanaugh Showed A Brit
This was a view from the British side of the Atlantic into the hearings into Judge Kavanaugh’s fitness to be a US Supreme Court judge. It is an exposition of the principle established in 1215 in... Read More
It Is Not Just About Abortion
This, without doubt, proved to be the most controversial article I had written and caused considerable unintended hurt and upset, which I truly wish had been avoided by being more careful to anonymise... Read More
Why the medical termination of Charlie Gard and Alfie Evans against their parent’s wishes are the inevitable outcomes of European culture – a British citizen’s view
The case of baby Alfie Evans was in the news yesterday (Friday 20th April 2018) with the judgment from the British Supreme court to support the hospital’s refusal to release Alfie to his parent’s ... Read More
Abraham Kuyper, Culture and Art
Abraham Kuyper [1] (b.1837, d.1920) was described in a recent publication ‘as one of those rare intellectuals who actually led a popular movement. He thought it not enough just to articulate a wor... Read More
Scripture and the Post-Darwinian Controversy
Has the importance of the concepts of biblical inerrancy and infallibility changed for evangelical Christians today when compared to the end of the 19th Century? If so, why? At the end of the 19th cen... Read More
Augstine and Plantinga on the Problem of Evil
Augustine, otherwise known as St Augustine, is said to have returned “again and again, over a period of nearly half a century” to the “problem of evil” and is credited with clearly definin... Read More
The Problem of Evil
The Logical Problem of Evil if God is Good, Omnipotent and Omniscient – How Can He Allow Evil? John Polkinghorne in developing the scientifically responsible apologetic that he has spent his pos... Read MoreEvaluating rival epistemological conceptions of Religion and State as templates of reform
The purpose of this essay is to review and evaluate why we are where we are with the categories of Religion and State within the Humanities. It contends they are vague and arbitrary because of natur... Read MoreWittgenstein and Religious Language
Discuss the relationship between Wittgenstein’s rejection of the anti-metaphysical stance of logical positivism and his account of religious language in his later philosophy Wittgenstein’s tho... Read More
Descartes showed there was no need for God in philosophy
With reference to Descartes’ key philosophical ideas and with particular reference to Descartes’ Discourse on the Method and related metaphysical works, discuss and critically assess this ... Read More
Orality and the Welsh Revival 1904-1906
“Orality” is defined as “interaction with the world by means of the spoken word” and contrasts with “conceptuality” which is defined as “interacting with the world by means of ideas and ... Read More
Fundamentalism as a modernism
Fundamentalism is often conceived of as a reaction against modern, secular society. This essay argued the opposite – it is a form of modernism but a modernism distinct from secular modernism.... Read More
If we cannot prove the claims of religious belief, is it nevertheless reasonable to believe these claims?
This is an introduction to the Reformed Epistemology (RE) movement that was particularly associated with the philospher Alvin Plantinga. Plantinga was interested in establishing the grounds on which a... Read More
For C.G Jung, the process of individuation is a spiritual journey or pilgrimage
I had the privilege of being taught by Professor Lucy Huskinson who is one of the top Jungian scholars. Her Psychology of Religion course was one of the most challenging (as she provided masses of r... Read More
The Doctrine of God
This was a 2300 word essay on one of the toughest subjects in philosophy and theology – the doctrine of God. Michael Palmer, author of the exceptional undergraduate philosophy textbook, “... Read More
Four thousand words on theological ethics
These were actually revision notes for these pre-released exam questions for my Theological Ethics examination in 2008: Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of (1) Deontology and (2) Consequentialism... Read More
‘Thou Shalt Not Kill.’ Is this true in every case?
This was a short, 1500 word coursework essay examining the interpretation of this commandment in a Judeo-Christian, ethical context. It packs in Exodus and Leviticus, War and Peace, Abortion and Eut... Read More
The Rise of Christian Anti-Semitism
This essay examines the period of the High Middle Ages (1100-1500CE) that is generally accepted to have been particularly influential in the development of Christian anti-Semitism. It examines how the... Read More
Does religion hinder or enable psychological health?
This was an undergraduate essay for a Psychology of Religion module. I “wandered off the script” in writing this essay which was primarily supposed to be contrasting Freud’s and Ju... Read More
Anti-Semitism and the Gospel of John
One of the commonest criticisms levelled at the gospel of John is that it is “anti-Semitic”. This view derives from John’s repeated use of the denominator “The Jews” th... Read More
The Justice of God and the Story of Job
Job is one of the most ancient pieces of literature known to humanity and is an outstanding example of what is known as the “wisdom literature” of the ancient world, to which the books of ... Read More
The Ethical Teaching of the Prophet Isaiah
It is a remarkable historical fact that in 800BC the prophet Isaiah had developed a keen sense of ethics directed at the lay, political and religious life of his contemporaries in the nation of Israel... Read MoreThe Hour of Glorification
How and why does John depict the death of Jesus as “His hour of Glorification”? The Gospel of John offers a radically mature presentation of Jesus when compared to the dramatic and often e... Read More
John G Lake – A Man of Dominion
John G Lake is one of the pioneers of the message of the early Pentecostal Church – the gift of tongues, healing, deliverance, miracles, raising the dead; that is, the full range of spiritual ... Read More
The 4th Century CE as the breakdown of Jewish-Christian Relations
The fourth century is important in Christian history because it is considered by many Church historians as the period in which the Church finally came of age. It was a period, in the wake of the Edict... Read More