The Third Degree

We should all be deeply grateful to Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harrris and now Christopher Hitchens for putting the existence of God at the centre of public debate.

According to the Guardian, Hitchens’s new book, God is not great sold 4,000 hardback copies in its first week, while Dawkins’s The God delusion sold 300,000 copies in the UK. Hitchens’s sales director is quoted as saying, ‘People find it increasingly hard to marry organised religion with their own view of the world and want a more intellectual, contemporary take on the subject.’

UCCF has now produced four powerful new tools to help the church engage with this modern, militant atheism. The DVDs of the debates earlier this year, where William Lane Craig demonstrated his masterly skills, are now available via UCCF’s apologetics website, www.bethinking.org. Richard Dawkins had refused to debate with him, saying, ‘That would look great on your CV, not so good on mine’, and adding that he didn’t know who William Craig was.

So the first debate in London was with Prof. Lewis Wolpert and chaired by BBC’s John Humphrys. Over 2,000 people packed Central Hall Westminster and many were turned away. This is easily the most accessible debate, not least because of the ‘studio’ style discussion chaired by Humphrys, following the formal debate. All the main arguments were revisited with enormous effect.

Resurrection

The debate on the evidence for the bodily resurrection of Christ runs a close second for accessibility. The resurrection is a specialist subject for Dr. Craig, who gave a masterly overview of the issues in his debate with Dr. James Crossley, from Sheffield University’s Department of Biblical Studies. Craig’s main points and supporting arguments were all highlighted on PowerPoint slides. His initial 20-minute presentation is stunning in its clarity and force.

All the debates had capacity audiences. In Bristol, the Chairman, a professor of sociology, said that in all his years at the university, he had never seen the Great Hall so full — and that in itself was a sociological phenomenon!

In Liverpool, Craig debated with scientist Mike Begon and in Bristol he debated with philosopher Andrew Pyle.

All these debates have menus allowing each stage of the debate to be easily located and the question times have each question identified for easy access and replay.

More please

At the European Leadership Forum in Hungary recently, the international audience of 350 people groaned with disappointment as the extract they were shown was brought to an end. Sales quickly followed. Church house groups are reporting that members are sitting captivated throughout the 1 hour 45 minute presentations. The groups then erupt in animated conversation. In my own group, everyone was talking at once and they immediately wanted to buy their own copies! In my son’s group, they now want a separate session to go through the arguments Craig presented in order to get a firm grasp of them.

Both sides

Because they are debates, where both sides of the argument are given equal space, it is very easy to invite unbelievers to watch them, either on their own or as a group activity, such as a Christian Union meeting or an Agnostics Anonymous group. As the overwhelming numbers of unbelievers are agnostics rather than atheists, many will have a particular interest in hearing the arguments, while being uncommitted to either side.

All four DVDs can now be ordered through http://www.bethinking.org. They each cost £9.99 (inc. p&p). There is a reduction to £6.49 for students who have a UCCF Student Card. Two further aids for study are available. A booklet by Craig entitled God, are you there? unpacks Craig’s arguments more fully than the debate format allows. These excellent booklets are available for just £2.50. As one unbelieving student reported at the Southampton CU Mission, it was the most compelling case for Christianity he had ever read. For those who want more depth, Craig’s classic handbook on apologetics, Reasonable Faith, is currently available only from UCCF via bethinking.org for £12.00 (inc. p&p).

Dr. Peter May

© Evangelicals Now - August 2007
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