Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Richard Dawkins On Why He Won't Debate William Lane Craig

Here's Richard Dawkins' unconvincing explanation for why he won't debate William Lane Craig. Keeping in mind that many of Dawkins' anti-theistic arguments are centered around the Bible, church history, and philosophy, see Craig's curriculum vitae here. And here are some examples of Craig's published work. Here's what the person who posted the YouTube clip wrote in the comments section of his page:

"It just amazes me how such a prominent atheist like Dawkins can be so profoundly ignorant of philosophy and Craig. I mean he has a whole chapter in his book addressing arguments for God's existence and yet totally missed the argument that is being more widely discussed among professional philosophers than any other: the Kalam Cosmological Argument. Dawkins missed it back then with his book and now almost 5 years later he still doesn't have a clue about Craig and his academic fame and impact....Actually I'm not even sure Dawkins accused Craig of being a creationist here. I think he was just speaking in general there about the type of people he wouldn't debate. To me, it sounded like Dawkins was saying he wouldn't debate Craig because he doesn't have any other claim to fame besides him being a really good debater. Of course that's patently false. Craig's academic credentials and fame far outstrip any of Dawkin's past debate opponents against theists....It's quite amusing, to say the least, that after 2 full years of hearing about him, Dr. Dawkins still doesn't have a clue about who Dr. Craig is. He doesn't know, for example, that Craig is a world renowned philosopher of Religion (indeed he's considered to be at the top of his field). He doesn't know that Craig is a 'leading philosopher of space and time' (Quentin Smith quote). He doesn't know that Craig's claim to fame is actually on the Kalam Cosmological Argument, not his debating."

For those who want to see the larger context of the question and Dawkins' response to it, go here. The question comes at about the 65:30 mark, and Dawkins' response is at about minute 67. I would note, too, that the man sitting next to Dawkins, the philosopher Anthony Grayling, clapped after Dawkins' misleading comments.

Creation Ministries International has asked me to add a note to this post letting readers know about an article they have on atheism here.

1 comment:

  1. Would prefer to see the Dawk make hay with our Stevie.

    So much straw to be dissembled...

    And I don't think Craig has as many tools.

    ReplyDelete