Tag Archives: Debates

Events

Has the world gone completely crazy? Are churches finally discovering apologetics?

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Well, I was floored by the Saddleback Church Apologetics conference speakers and topics. And I thought that the lectures from that conference were great.

But look!

Other churches are also having conferences!

Here is a conference in Alabama coming up in January 2010.

Speakers:

  • Ravi Zacharias
  • Prof. John Lennox
  • Alistair Begg ??? This guy is a PASTOR!!!
  • Larry Taunton
  • Stuart McAllister
  • Harry Reeder
  • Jay Smith
  • Bill Wortman

Alistair Begg??? Alistair Begg??? Pastors hate apologetics, except for Kreitsauce! This is unpossible! Unpossible, I say!

And here is another one in North Carolina in November 2009.

Speakers:

  • Michael Brown
  • William Lane Craig
  • Dinesh D’Souza (Catholic)
  • Gary R. Habermas
  • Christopher Hitchens (debating Dinesh D’souza) ??? Christians debate?
  • Johnny Hunt, President of Southern Baptist Convention ???
  • Greg Koukl
  • Peter Kreeft (Catholic)
  • Mike Licona
  • Frank Turek
  • Benjamin Wiker (Catholic)

Now I ask you. When did Christians suddenly start to value apologetics as part of the church experience? And DEBATES! In CHURCH! What is the world coming to when Christians let atheists debate Christian truth claims with reference to real facts and evidences, in the church? Churches are for singing and having fun! Right?

Even the Canadians are doing it!

Worser and worser

But it gets even WORSE. Look, 100 Huntley Street is hosting videos of William Lane Craig answering QUESTIONS! (H/T Apologetics 315)

Look:

• The Relationship Between Faith and Reason – Video / MP3
• The Best Argument for Belief in God – Video / MP3
• Can We Be Good Without God? – Video / MP3
• Is God a Logical Necessity – Video / MP3
• Can We Trust the Bible Written 2000 Years Ago – Video / MP3
• Why Is Richard Dawkins So Popular? – Video / MP3
• Who Designed the Designer? A Response to Dawkins – Video / MP3
• The Flying Spaghetti Monster & Evidence for God – Video / MP3
• Can We Trust Religious Experiences? – Video / MP3
• Can There Be Meaning Without God? – Video / MP3
• How Can Christianity Be the Only One True Religion? – Video / MP3

HE’S TALKING ABOUT THE BIG BANG! Appealing to the findings of mainstream science! That’s… blasphemy! Isn’t it?

(By the way, you should really listen to these, especially the ones in italics, where he is surprisingly snarky! These are just a few minutes long, each).

Disclaimer

Now whenever I am being silly, no one realizes it. So this is all just me being silly. I love Christian apologetics, and I am happy that churches are getting interested in training young people to think about their faith and then talk about it in public. Once in a while, I should be allowed to be silly.

Podcasts

MUST-LISTEN: William Lane Craig video and audio from Saddleback Church event

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New audio lectures and video from William Lane Craig:

Can We Be Good Without God? (National Faculty Leadership Conf. 2008)
Audio

Why Does Anything at All Exist? (National Faculty Leadership Conf. 2008)
Audio

Healthy Relationships (National Faculty Leadership Conf. 2008)
Audio

Who Does Jesus Think He Was? (National Faculty Leadership Conf. 2008)
Audio

Why Does Anything at All Exist? (Wake Forest University)
Video

Response to Richard Dawkins book, The God Delusion (University of Florida)
Audio

One Question: The top 3 questions Univ. of Florida students are asking God (University of Florida)
Audio

Effective, outwardly-focused ministry to transform the culture.

UPDATE: Brian Auten e-mails to notify me of more audio from the apologetics conference at Saddleback.

For your information, the audio and video for the Saddleback Apologetics Weekend is available now. This includes Geisler, D’Souza, Craig, Bock, Koukl, and Moreland.

And here are the lectures:

• How Can I Know God Exists? – Dinesh D’Souza – MP3
• How Did the Universe Begin – William Lane Craig – MP3
• If God Exists, Why is there Evil? – Norman Geisler – MP3
• Has Science Made Belief in God Obsolete? – J.P. Moreland – MP3
• What Do the Gospels Really Say About Jesus? – Darrell Bock – MP3
• How Can I Defend My Faith Without Sounding Defensive? – Greg Koukl – MP3

I have to give kudos to Rick Warren for hosting this conference. I don’t like him at all, but this was a BIG DEAL.

I didn’t like the Norman Geisler one as much, but the others are all good.

UPDATE: Links to ALL THE VIDEO AND AUDIO HERE.

Events

Reminder: Upcoming debate between William Lane Craig and Fracisco Ayala

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William Lane Craig is debating the evolutionary biologist Francisco Ayala in the November 5th, 2009, at Indiana University.

Here’s the skinny:

…the faculty ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, is organizing a debate in early November on the topic of “The Viability of Intelligent Design.”  It will be an evaluation, so to speak, regarding the criticisms against ID brought forth by the scientific community.  This is a cutting edge discussion.  The participants are evolutionary biologist, Dr. F.J. Ayala and Christian philosopher, Dr. William Lane Craig.

My thinking is that this is going to be a debate about philosophy of science. But wouldn’t it be amazing if Bill came out swinging on William Dembski’s explanatory filter, the origin of biological information, the Cambrian explosion, the fine-tuning and other evidential concerns? Wow!

Here’s a bit more about his opponent, Francisco Ayala:

His research focusses on population and evolutionary genetics, including the origin of species, genetic diversity of populations, the origin of malaria, the population structure of parasitic protozoa, and the molecular clock of evolution. He also writes about the interface between religion and science, and on philosophical issues concerning epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of biology.

He’s written 650 papers and 12 books. I think this is going to be a tough debate for Bill!