On 14 Mar 96 11:55:58 EST you wrote to Chuck Warman (Hello Chuck!):
[...]
>CW>I was also reminded of a taped debate between William Lane Craig
>and Frank Zindler in which Zindler cited as significant evidence
>against God's existence, the fact that God didn't strike him
>(Zindler) dead on the spot.
JB>Boy, that debate was sure a joke. Zindler was an embarrassment.
>At CBA, I talked to the guy from Willow Creek who set the thing up
>and noted my feelings. He sadly nodded his head, and said they too
>had pushed for someone else, but Zindler was tight with the local
>atheist who was representing the "nay" side. Poor Zindler looked
>hapless and helpless, and Craig just mopped the stage with him. Even
>so, there was still that crust of disbelief around Zindler's heart
>that the laser of reason could not break through.
Thanks for this explanation. I found it hard to believe that Zindler
was the best atheist debater in the world. If he was, I would hate to
see the worst! :-) But, Craig made a good point. How does atheism
prove its main tenet, namely "There is no God"? Zindler couldn't
do it - indeed he barely tried to do it. His main tactic was to try
to disprove Christianity, as though that somehow would automatically
prove atheism.
Perhaps some of our resident agnostic/atheists could take up Craig's
challenge on the Reflector? :-)
Is atheism just a negative parasitic belief that needs theism to
justify its existence? What would atheism call itself if there was no
theism? This to me (a former atheist) as a strong argument for
theism.
JB>But there were some "on the fence" for whom the debate was a
>turning point. That made it worthwhile.
Yes. At least 47 of those attending became Christians, while none as
far as is known became atheists. Here was the statistics at the end
of the video:
7778 attended
6168 filled out ballot paper.
97% voted that Christian case was the most compelling.
82% of 632 non-Christians voted for Christian case.
47 people became Christians.
0 Christians became atheists.
Clearly the Christians were in the majority 632/6168 = 89.8%
Christians. Therefore a majority voting for the Christian case was to
be expected. But the 97% is 7% higher than if voting was on "party
lines". The fact that 82% of non-Christians voted for the Christian
case is significant, as is even more so the 47 who became Christians
and the 0 who became atheists.
I urge Reflectorites (both atheists and theists) who haven't seen the
video "Atheism vs Christianity" to try to do so. Indeed, they might
read some of William Lane Craig's writings, eg. "Reasonable Faith:
Christian Truth and Apologetics", Crossway Books: Wheaton Illinois,
revised edition, 1994)
God bless.
Steve
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