Questions of God’s Existence Heat Up New Debate Between Atheist, Christian Philosopher
The debate over God’s existence heats up as leading physicist and atheist Sean Carroll is pitted against William Lane Craig, a top theologian and philosopher, to discuss their views about philosophy, cosmology and the role of God and the cosmos. Each has selected two commentators to round out the discussion—philosophers Tim Maudlin and Alex Rosenberg on Carroll’s tag team and philosopher Robin Collins and physicist James Sinclair on Craig’s.
The debate, entitled “God and Cosmology: The Existence of God in Light of Modern Cosmology,” will be held at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary as part of a Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum in Faith and Culture Weekend Conference, on Feb. 21 at 7 p.m., followed by a book signing. The event is open to the public for $20.
Craig is a philosopher, professor, author and founder of ReasonableFaith.org, a Web-based ministry whose purpose is to provide, in the public arena, an intelligent and articulate perspective about the existence of God.
Craig has debated some of the most notable atheists, including Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and, most recently, Lawrence Krauss. Some 250,000 people have watched the Craig-Krauss dialogues since they took place last August in Australia.
Over the years, Craig has developed his “Eight Reasons for God.” These form his case for theism, showing that God is the best explanation for why anything exists at all; the origin of the universe; the application of mathematics to the physical world; the fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life; intentional states of consciousness in the world; objective moral values and duties in the world; the historical facts concerning Jesus’ resurrection; and personal experience of God.
Carroll is a physicist at the California Institute of Technology. His research focuses on theoretical physics and cosmology, especially the origin and constituents of the universe. He has contributed to models of interaction between dark matter, dark energy and ordinary matter; alternative theories of gravity; and violations of fundamental symmetries.
Carroll has appeared on TV shows including the Colbert Report and Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, and frequently serves as a science consultant for film and television. He is the author of several books, including the upcoming The Particle at the End of the Universe.
The debate will be streamed live at tacticalfaith.com/live-
