Michael Nugent Debates William Lane Craig

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Chairperson of Atheist Ireland, Michael Nugent debated Christian Theologian William Lane Craig on Tuesday. You can now see the debate it in full below by clicking on the image (YouTube):

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I’ve not been able to watch it yet, but plan to do so this weekend. From what I have read of Michael’s opening statements, it seems like he came incredibly well prepared.

I was fortunate enough to speak to Michael Nugent on my podcast back in April 2016. I have a huge amount of admiration for the clarity and compassion you will consistently find in his writing and speaking.

I have long been frustrated with the way in which people engage William Lane Craig’s arguments in debate. I don’t believe he has particularly good arguments, but rather he is able to employ them in a manner that is very effective in the eyes of an uninitiated audience.

I’ve noticed Craig leans heavily on ‘gish gallop’ and cherry picks quotes out of context in service of his claims. Sean Carroll did a fantastic job of exposing the latter technique in a debate from 2014:

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here, and support it by becoming a patron here.

One comment

  • Several times I’ve decided not to watch these debates any more. But I do, and each time learn some new perspective or understanding from the atheist side.

    Sadly the theist side seems just more of the same. This time’s doozer: the universe can be said to have been created at time t, if there is no earlier time t-prime at which space-time existed. Wasn’t aware of any current theories of physics in which time can exist independently of space, but I suppose you need that time before time to leave room for god as the creator.

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