Each essay responds to the charges made by the new atheists, but this is by no means a polemical book. This interesting 68page ebook includes the following five chapters. Of special interest is antony flews admission that he is using the word atheism is a highly idiosyncratic manner. His bestselling book the god delusion has become the literary centerpiece of that movement. Craig says the typical atheist responds by saying a if atheism is true. William lane craig professor of philosophy at the talbot school of theology has set out in the latest edition of philosophy now his eight best arguments for the existence of god nonpaywall access here. Buy a cheap copy of god a debate between a christian and. God is the best explanation of the applicability of mathematics to the physical world. Just because this ebook is short approximately 60 pages does not mean that it is simplistic or not weighty. He has written or edited more than 30 books, his arguments for god and jesus are.
William lane craig on richard dawkins and the god delusion. In his view, it is not whether god is simple, but whether divine simplicity. Craig does not argue for the existence of the god of the bible, but rather gives the five. It is simply a lack of belief in any sort of god or gods. William lane craig joined bishop robert barron to discuss divine simplicity. On march 22, 1996 on the campus of southern methodist university, dr. Now two articulate spokesmenone a christian, the other an atheistduel over. Dawkins central argument in the god delusion is very bad. William lane craig takes the reader on a tour of the. In it dawkins aims to show that belief in god is a delusion, that is to say, a false belief or impression, or worse, a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence. The esv study bible the reason for god, by timothy keller genesis 14. God as an infinite and personal being has attributes such as aseity, eternality, omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, and holiness. He is speaking to the professors in attendance responding to the central arguments of author richard dawkins in his book the god delusion.
William lane craig does not attempt to refute atheism arguments, since atheism has no arguments. William lane craig on richard dawkins and the god delusion duration. Craig perhaps thinks that if the universe were eternal then, like his god, it would not need a prior cause convenient for him. The writeres set a high bar for reasonable, responsible discourse, and they live up to it. Sean carroll, craigs most recent debate opponent, summed up craigs reputation as a debater very well on his blog, stating william lane craig. Here is an exchange between a querent and christian philosopher william lane craig about the definition of atheism. Divine aseity and the challenge of platonism is a defense of gods aseity and unique status as the creator of all things apart from himself in the face of the challenge posed by mathematical platonism. Graham oppy, the moderator, is a wellknown atheist philosopher. Wake up, fellow atheists and see clearly what is happening here. Craig and meister have assembled careful, thoughtful, credible, wellcommunicated views, which can be used to support. William craigs does god exist takes you through a beginners tour of the traditional, rational arguments for god or at least, versions of them. If someone said scientists dont know what caused the big bang, therefore god did it, this would be a godofthegaps fallacy.
He is considered by many to be one of the best and most talented polemicists, perhaps in the world. William lane craig and professor quentin smith debated on the topic, does god exist. Craig asking for his recommended reading for apologetics. How good do you think william lane craig is for refuting. William lane craig has provided these illustrated teaching tools as a way to answer some of the profound questions the child in your life might ask. William lane craigs argument from mathematics for gods existence. His chapters handle the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, the moral argument, and the ontological argument. Richard dawkins was invited by the oxford student christian union to defend his book the god delusion in public debate with william lane craig. Craig seems anxious to prove that the universe began to exist and that time had a beginning, because he believes that everything that begins has a cause.
So long as you grant the premises, you have to accept the conclusion. His bestselling book the god delusion has become the literary centerpiece of. The invitation remained open until the last minute. When we talk about the bleakness of the world that is described solely by science, what one means is that this is a world which exists to no purpose, it will ultimately end in the heat death of the universe as the universe expands into a cold. Response to richard dawkins book, the god delusion. Craig will take questions from the audience before concluding. Craig replied with a bibliography of helpful resources. If we expect christians to be honest about anything, we as a group need to be honest as well, and honestly face the fact that craig is kicking our collective butt and were apparently too dumb as a group to even know it. The question of whether or not god exists is profoundly fascinating and important.
The question of free will is one that has been thoroughly debated for thousands of years. The god delusion is a 2006 book by english biologist richard dawkins, a professorial fellow at. William lane craig takes the reader on a tour of the arguments and does his best to debunk the notion that belief in god is intellectually indefensible. One really need to use aquinas 3rd way to get the fullblown theistic god the latest. William lane craig on sovereignty and free will explore. The arguments advanced in this book have been refuted so many times by so many thinkers, that it is incomprehensible that anyone.
The christian delusion, the outsider test for faith, christianity is not great. It would be unacceptable to resign ourselves to mystery or to heresy. The point was supposed to be that the world mediated to us by modern science is not bleak. Here is the video and summary of a debate between christian theist william lane craig and austin dacey at purdue university in 2004 about the existence of god. That is to say, if the 3 premises are true, then the conclusion is unavoidable. Dawkins fails to represent and refute traditional arguments for gods existence. While the universes existence would be necessary if it had no cause, no known law of physics would allow it to exist eternally, which makes this idea more plausibly false than true. The anthropic principle or the associated anthropic coincidences have been used by philosophers such as john leslie 1989, william lane craig 1988 and richard swinburne 1990 to support the thesis that god exists. Lane craig points out the fallacy in the argument nobody comes to christ. This weeks question and answer on william lane craigs reasonable faith website answered an email to dr. This collection of some of his best philosophical and apologetic works covers the subjects for which he is most wellknown. I have a much higher opinion of him than most evangelical apologists people like ray comfort and sye ten bruggencate, who are youngearth creationist spindoctors. Philosophers and scientists have puzzled over what physicist eugene wigner called the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics. William lane craig quotes author of reasonable faith.
William lane craig refutes richard dawkins is god a. God is the best explanation of the origin of the universe. A linguistic, literary, and theological commentary, by c. This book presents the most recent debates by leading contemporary philosophers of enduring themes and issues concerning the question of gods existence.
William lane craig is an astounding debater and an extremely intelligent individual. William lane craig refutes richard dawkins pseudologic mrzazoomy. These and other attributes are discussed at length in. William lane craigs eight specialpleading arguments for. William lane craig provides a possible christological model. Dawkins delusion popular writings reasonable faith. William lane craig has made quite a name for himself as a christian apologist. Some of the most powerful evidence that proves jesus to be whom he claimed to be is found in the historical fulfillment of the prophsies he foretold in the destruction of jerusalem in 70 a. Not to say craig doesnt also employ some sophistry, but he. This second installment, featuring writings from eighteen respected apologists such as gary habermas and ben witherington, addresses challenges from noted new atheists like richard dawkins the god delusion and other contemporary critics of. William lane craig gives atheists five reasons why god. William lane craig as he teaches on the doctrine of god.
In it dawkins aims to show that belief in god is a delusion, that is to say, a false belief or impression, or worse. The core of this book contains the edited transcript of that debate. The beginning according to genesis and science, by john lennox the bible, rocks and time, by davis young and ralph stearley pollution and the death of man, by francis schaeffer for the beauty of the earth. Does william lane craig have an orthodox christology. William lane craig and richard dawkins have finally ended up in a debate on the topic does the universe have a purpose. It means that the life we have is without ultimate significance, value, or purpose. After providing the biblical, theological, and philosophical basis for the traditional doctrine of divine aseity, william lane craig explains the challenge presented to that. If there is no god, then man and the universe are doomed. His objections to aquinas five ways are equally as awful, as terry eagleton, among others, took him to task for. William lane craig debates atheist lawrence krauss. However, dawkins refused the challenge and his chair remained empty.
Which makes it an invaluable resource for refuting christian apologetics generally. Who will win a debate between dawkins and william lane craig. How good do you think william lane craig is for refuting atheism arguments. William lane craig including an interview by gary habermas with noted convert to theism antony flew, and a direct critical response to richard dawkinss god delusion by alvin plantinga, god is great, god is good offers convincing and compelling reassurance that though the world has changed, god has not.
His work on this issue seems to be driven by the agenda to provide orthodoxy with good answers to these questions. William lane craig is research professor of philosophy at talbot school of. The anthropic coincidences, evil and the disconfirmation of theism 1992 by quentin smith. Society of evangelical arminians william lane craig on.
God has chosen for himself a people, a corporate entity, and it is up to us by our response of faith whether or not we choose to be members of that corporate group destined. William lane craig is a philosopher, author, and founder of, a webbased ministry whose purpose is to provide an intelligent and articulate perspective about the existence of god in the public arena. Craig is one of the worlds leading philosophers of religion and holds the position of research professor of philosophy at talbot school of theology, biola university. William craig and antony flew met on the 50th anniversary of the famous coplestonrussell debate to discuss the question of gods existence in a public debate. Dawkins objections largely seem to be arguments from moral outrage and fu. He has many excellent arguments with regard to many things.
What is false about this objection is that it is a clear case of the genetic fallacy. It doesnt matter if you have other objections to gods existence. Contending with christianitys critics is book two in a series on modern christian apologetics that began with the popular passionate conviction. William lane craig signed my copy of dawkins the god. Debate between william lane craig and quentin smith march 22, 1996. Election, then, is first and foremost a corporate notion. William lane craigs argument from mathematics for gods.
William lane craig offers 5 arguments against divine. Like prisoners condemned to death, we await our unavoidable execution. He parades himself as a philosopher, but none of the professors of philosophy whom i consulted had heard his name either. William lane craig refutes richard dawkins is god a simple entity.