by

William Lane Craig at Saddleback Church

Source Link to Other Saddleback Audios

Have you ever met someone whose temerity exceeded their knowledge?  I imagine we all have.  Every now and then these people try their amateurish antics on the wrong person and end up getting an intellectual trip to the woodshed.  You can witness just such an interaction at William Lane Craig’s website and his most recent “Question of the Week.”  An atheist sends in a question/response to a previous answer which Craig had given.  His question quickly reveals the kind of atheism we see being bred by the New Atheists.  The rhetoric runs large while the evidence is vaporous (not to mention he can’t spell or doesn’t know how to do a spell check). I will give you just part of his “question” to Craig followed by part of Craig’s response.  You really should read it in its entirety.

Atheist: (Luke)

“The Earth shows no proof of creation, every single thing on this Earth has a natural explanation, simply becasue modern science has not yet solved every problem, does not mean it never will. I’d go in to detail, but no need to bore you with the science of it all.
So, I’ve given my proof and will give far more if you ask it of me, and any wel linformed athiest will be able to answer those questions in a flash and have the burden of proof back in your hands.
In regards to scholarly work, may I point out Charles Darwin’s “The Origins of Species”, the works of Gregor Mendel, father of Genetics, William “Strata” Smith, father of Geology, Alfred Wegener “The Origin of Continents and Oceans”, Issac Newton, Galileo, On and on I go, where I stop, nobody knows!”

William Lane Craig:

“Luke, your letter reminds me of those auditions for American Idol by contestants who are so cringingly bad but who actually imagine that they can sing. They are so arrogant that they cannot see how really poor their performance is. Your letter betrays that same deadly mix of ignorance and arrogance. Your cockiness blinds you to the poverty of your own argument.  So why do I take your question this week? Simply because yours is the sort of atheism that our readers will most likely encounter among students today. It is a display of overweening ignorance.

Now we come to your list of scholars. Where did this riposte come from? I guess it’s intended to be your response to my encouraging John to learn the names of some great Christian scholars to rebut those who say that all Christians are stupid. But why so defensive, Luke? I’ve never asserted that all atheists are stupid and illogical. Far from it! So what are you trying to rebut?

Worse—and here is where the cringing really starts—the scholars you list aren’t atheists! They’re theists, many of them Christian. Galileo was a believing Catholic. Isaac Newton, one of my heroes, was an ardent theist who blended science and theology. Darwin was a theist for most of his life, at least, certainly when he wrote the Origin. Mendel, for goodness sake, was a monk! I have no reason to think that William Smith (1769-1839), who was buried at St. Peter’s Church in Northampton, or Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) were unbelievers. All you’ve done is reinforce my point by listing in addition to my contemporary scholars some great theistic scientists of the past. Yes, Luke, do go on and on, please!”