Does God Exist?

Debate between
William Lane Craig
and
Quentin Smith
March 22, 1996

On March 22, 1996 on the campus of Southern Methodist University, Dr. William Lane Craig and Professor Quentin Smith debated on the topic, "Does God Exist?" as part of the Easterwood Lecture series. The debate began with the theistic point of view, in which Dr. Craig, presented, A Defense of the Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God. Professor Smith's rebuttal followed, then Craig's re–rebuttal.

Quentin Smith defended the atheistic point of view offering a presentation entitled, Divine Causation of the Big Bang: Is it Logically Possible? A ten–minute rebuttal followed, then  a re–rebuttal from Smith.

William Lane Craig earned a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Birmingham, England, before taking a doctorate in theology from the Ludwig Maximiliens Universität–München, Germany, at which latter institution he was for two years a Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt–Stiftung. Having spent seven years at the Higher Institute of Philosophy of the Katholike Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, he is currently a Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology. He has authored over a dozen books, including those listed below, as well as nearly a hundred articles in professional journals of philosophy and theology, including The Journal of Philosophy, American Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophical Studies, Philosophy, and British Journal for the Philosophy of Science. He currently lives in Atlanta with his wife Jan and their two children Charity and John.

Quentin Smith earned a doctorate in philosophy from Boston College and has worked both as an independent philosopher and as a professor at Antioch College. He is currently Research Professor of Philosophy at the University of Western Michigan. A prolific writer, Dr. Smith is renowned for his work in philosophy of time and space, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, and phenomenology. His books include are listed below . He has published over one hundred articles in professional journals such as Philosophical Studies, Philosophy of Scienvce, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Mind, Synthese, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, and Philosophia. He and his wife Dawn live in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with their son Tristan.

The Debate

The Theistic Point-of-View

• Dr. Craig's Opening Arguments
• Professor Smith's Rebuttal
• Dr. Craig's Re–rebuttal

The Atheistic Point-of-View

• Professor Smith's Opening Arguments
• Dr. Craig's Rebuttal
• Professor Smith's Re–rebuttal

Questions

• Questions from the Floor

Works by William Lane Craig

Books

• The Kalam Cosmological Argument
• Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology (with Quentin Smith Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993).
• Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom (E J. Brill, 1990).
• Reasonable Faith (Crossway, 1984).
• Ordering Various Print, Audio and Video Resources

Selected Articles

• The Resurrection of Theism
• The Caused Beginning of the Universe: A Response to Quentin Smith
• The Indispensability of Theological Meta-Ethical Foundations for Morality
• Creation and Big Bang Cosmology
• Timelessness and Creation

Works by Quentin Smith

• The Felt Meanings of the World
• Language and Time
• Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology (with Wm. Lane Craig,
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993).
• Time, Change, and Freedom

Copyright (C) William Lane Craig. All Rights Reserved.

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