William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American analytical philosopher, theologian, and Christian apologist. Craig's philosophical work focuses primarily on philosophy of religion, but also on metaphysics and philosophy of time. His theological interests are in historical Jesus studies and philosophical theology. Craig established an online apologetics ministry, Reasonable Faith.Org, where he contributes and advocates his positions on the cosmological argument for God's existence, divine omniscience, theories of time and eternity, and the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus. His current research deals with divine aseity and the challenge posed by Platonist accounts of abstract objects. Craig is also an author of several books, including Reasonable Faith, which began as a set of lectures for his apologetics classes.
William Lane Craig And The Canaanite Genocide
Recently, an online debate flared up regarding the biblical conquest of the Canaanites, or what some have even called the Canaanite Genocide (according to the modern use of the word). The debate started when online atheist YouTuber, Alex O’Connor, interviewed Richard Dawkins. In that interview, O’Connor pressed Dawkins about why he doesn’t debate Christian apologists or philosophers, many of whom O’Connor seems friendly with. Dawkins, in typical pompous fashion, said that he doesn’t have time for such people, and, unprompted by O’Connor, brought up the highly regarded philosopher of religion, William Lane Craig. The reason Dawkins gave for not wanting to debate Craig was because of Craig’s views on the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, something I have recently written about here and here
(The Center That Holds 3/25/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Recently, an online debate flared up regarding the biblical conquest of the Canaanites, or what some have even called the Canaanite Genocide (according to the modern use of the word). The debate started when online atheist YouTuber, Alex O’Connor, interviewed Richard Dawkins. In that interview, O’Connor pressed Dawkins about why he doesn’t debate Christian apologists or philosophers, many of whom O’Connor seems friendly with. Dawkins, in typical pompous fashion, said that he doesn’t have time for such people, and, unprompted by O’Connor, brought up the highly regarded philosopher of religion, William Lane Craig. The reason Dawkins gave for not wanting to debate Craig was because of Craig’s views on the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites, something I have recently written about here and here
(The Center That Holds 3/25/24) READ MORE>>>>>
“Unfortunately, our churches have largely dropped the ball in this area. It’s insufficient for youth groups and Sunday school classes to focus on entertainment and simpering devotional thoughts. We’ve got to train our kids for war.” The world is at war with us. This is why we need the full armor of God."
---William Lane Craig on "apolegetics"
---William Lane Craig on "apolegetics"
Dec 30, 2021: Resurrecting Orthodoxy: William Lane Craig…and Homo heidelbergensis Adam? (Part 4: The Thrilling Conclusion to my Book Analysis of “In Quest for the Historical Adam”)
We now come to Part 4 of my book analysis series on William Lane Craig’s book, In Quest for the Historical Adam. We will finish off 2021 by looking at the second half of Craig’s book (chapters 8-13), in which he attempts to give a scientific answer to the question of the historical Adam.
Sept 21, 2021: Christianity Today: William Lane Craig Explores the Headwaters of the Human Race
As head of the ministry Reasonable Faith and a prolific writer on topics of philosophy and theology, William Lane Craig has spent decades staking out sophisticated positions on the toughest questions of Christian faith. But for a long time, his beliefs on one controversial topic—the place of Adam and Eve in biblical and biological history—have remained unsettled. Craig considers this matter at length in his latest book, In Quest of the Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration. Science and religion scholar Melissa Cain Travis spoke with Craig about his views on Genesis, human origins, and the historical Adam.
We now come to Part 4 of my book analysis series on William Lane Craig’s book, In Quest for the Historical Adam. We will finish off 2021 by looking at the second half of Craig’s book (chapters 8-13), in which he attempts to give a scientific answer to the question of the historical Adam.
Sept 21, 2021: Christianity Today: William Lane Craig Explores the Headwaters of the Human Race
As head of the ministry Reasonable Faith and a prolific writer on topics of philosophy and theology, William Lane Craig has spent decades staking out sophisticated positions on the toughest questions of Christian faith. But for a long time, his beliefs on one controversial topic—the place of Adam and Eve in biblical and biological history—have remained unsettled. Craig considers this matter at length in his latest book, In Quest of the Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration. Science and religion scholar Melissa Cain Travis spoke with Craig about his views on Genesis, human origins, and the historical Adam.
Sept 16, 2021: Christian Post: When did God create Adam and Eve?
William Lane Craig has been on a quest to discover the historical Adam. Craig is a winsome ambassador for the Christian faith. He demonstrates tremendous kindness and grace as he engages believers and skeptics alike in a wide range of philosophical and theological discussions.
Jan 15, 2021: CHVN Radio: Christian philosophers and apologists call on RZIM board to acknowledge its 'complicity' in scandal
Nov 7, 2016: Scripturalism: Systematic Theology from William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig is the most well-known Christian apologist in the world. He is most famous for his public debates with both popular and academic critics of Christianity and for his apologetic writings. Because Dr. Craig is not reformed nor presuppositional in his apologetic, he is often criticized by reformed people for having a weak theology, and for not caring to base his theology and philosophy on the Scriptures.
Aug 18, 2016: Alpha & Omega Ministries: Responding to William Lane Craig on Roman Catholicism Then Brief Discussion of Anti-Reformed Rhetoric
Spent nearly 90 minutes listening to the entire presentation by William Lane Craig on Roman Catholicism.
July 22, 2016: Chicago Tribune: From the community:William Lane Craig named TEDS Alumnus of the Year
The alumni office of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School has named William Lane Craig ('74 and '75) the 2016 Alumnus of the Year.
Apr 29, 2016: Secular Outpost: Naturalism, Theism, and Moral Ontology: A Reply to William Lane Craig
Abstract: This paper considers William Lane Craig’s metaethical argument for God’s existence.
Feb 14, 2016: Wintery Knight: William Lane Craig’s secret weapon is his amazing wife Jan
I want to draw your attention to a talk on “Vision in Life” given by Dr. William Lane Craig. Dr. Craig is the ablest defender of the Christian faith operating today. He has done formal academic debates with all of the best known atheists on major university campuses in front of thousands of university students.
Dec 2, 2015: BioLogos: William Lane Craig, Mouflon Sheep, and Heterozygosity (Part 2)
In the last post in this series, we examined Craig’s argument that the mouflon sheep study – a study that traces a population of sheep descended from a single breeding pair – lends scientific credence to his assertion that humans also descend uniquely from a pair (rather than from a population of about 10,000 individuals, which is the current scientific consensus). As we have seen, Craig failed to recognize that the effects of selection can maintain genetic diversity (in the form of heterozygosity) in a population – and that this is not a failure of population genetics models, but rather an expected consequence of selection.
Nov 4, 2015: Secular Outpost: Note to Dr. William Lane Craig
Thank you for reading my blog posts criticizing your case for the resurrection, and for your comments on those posts:
Oct 22, 2015: Youtube: William Lane Craig and the Epicurean Challenge
William Lane Craig has been on a quest to discover the historical Adam. Craig is a winsome ambassador for the Christian faith. He demonstrates tremendous kindness and grace as he engages believers and skeptics alike in a wide range of philosophical and theological discussions.
Jan 15, 2021: CHVN Radio: Christian philosophers and apologists call on RZIM board to acknowledge its 'complicity' in scandal
- William Lane Craig (President, Reasonable Faith; Professor of Philosophy, Houston Baptist University; Talbot School of Theology)
Nov 7, 2016: Scripturalism: Systematic Theology from William Lane Craig
William Lane Craig is the most well-known Christian apologist in the world. He is most famous for his public debates with both popular and academic critics of Christianity and for his apologetic writings. Because Dr. Craig is not reformed nor presuppositional in his apologetic, he is often criticized by reformed people for having a weak theology, and for not caring to base his theology and philosophy on the Scriptures.
Aug 18, 2016: Alpha & Omega Ministries: Responding to William Lane Craig on Roman Catholicism Then Brief Discussion of Anti-Reformed Rhetoric
Spent nearly 90 minutes listening to the entire presentation by William Lane Craig on Roman Catholicism.
July 22, 2016: Chicago Tribune: From the community:William Lane Craig named TEDS Alumnus of the Year
The alumni office of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School has named William Lane Craig ('74 and '75) the 2016 Alumnus of the Year.
Apr 29, 2016: Secular Outpost: Naturalism, Theism, and Moral Ontology: A Reply to William Lane Craig
Abstract: This paper considers William Lane Craig’s metaethical argument for God’s existence.
Feb 14, 2016: Wintery Knight: William Lane Craig’s secret weapon is his amazing wife Jan
I want to draw your attention to a talk on “Vision in Life” given by Dr. William Lane Craig. Dr. Craig is the ablest defender of the Christian faith operating today. He has done formal academic debates with all of the best known atheists on major university campuses in front of thousands of university students.
Dec 2, 2015: BioLogos: William Lane Craig, Mouflon Sheep, and Heterozygosity (Part 2)
In the last post in this series, we examined Craig’s argument that the mouflon sheep study – a study that traces a population of sheep descended from a single breeding pair – lends scientific credence to his assertion that humans also descend uniquely from a pair (rather than from a population of about 10,000 individuals, which is the current scientific consensus). As we have seen, Craig failed to recognize that the effects of selection can maintain genetic diversity (in the form of heterozygosity) in a population – and that this is not a failure of population genetics models, but rather an expected consequence of selection.
Nov 4, 2015: Secular Outpost: Note to Dr. William Lane Craig
Thank you for reading my blog posts criticizing your case for the resurrection, and for your comments on those posts:
Oct 22, 2015: Youtube: William Lane Craig and the Epicurean Challenge
Mar 3, 2015: Wintery Knight: William Lane Craig: find a wife who is interested in your field of study or ministry
Blake sent me this question and answer from Dr. William Lane Craig’s Reasonable Faith web site.
Blake sent me this question and answer from Dr. William Lane Craig’s Reasonable Faith web site.
2011
Oct 20, 2011: Richard Dawkins published an article about why he refuses to debate with William Lane Craig
Don't feel embarrassed if you've never heard of William Lane Craig. He parades himself as a philosopher, but none of the professors of philosophy whom I consulted had heard his name either. Perhaps he is a "theologian". For some years now, Craig has been increasingly importunate in his efforts to cajole, harass or defame me into a debate with him. I have consistently refused, in the spirit, if not the letter, of a famous retort by the then president of the Royal Society: "That would look great on your CV, not so good on mine".
Craig's latest stalking foray has taken the form of a string of increasingly hectoring challenges to confront him in Oxford this October. I took pleasure in refusing again, which threw him and his followers into a frenzy of blogging, tweeting and YouTubed accusations of cowardice. To this I would only say I that I turn down hundreds of more worthy invitations every year, I have publicly engaged an archbishop of York, two archbishops of Canterbury, many bishops and the chief rabbi, and I'm looking forward to my imminent, doubtless civilised encounter with the present archbishop of Canterbury.
In an epitome of bullying presumption, Craig now proposes to place an empty chair on a stage in Oxford next week to symbolise my absence. The idea of cashing in on another's name by conniving to share a stage with him is hardly new. But what are we to make of this attempt to turn my non-appearance into a self-promotion stunt? In the interests of transparency, I should point out that it isn't only Oxford that won't see me on the night Craig proposes to debate me in absentia: you can also see me not appear in Cambridge, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and, if time allows, Bristol.
But Craig is not just a figure of fun. He has a dark side, and that is putting it kindly. Most churchmen these days wisely disown the horrific genocides ordered by the God of the Old Testament. Anyone who criticises the divine bloodlust is loudly accused of unfairly ignoring the historical context, and of naive literalism towards what was never more than metaphor or myth. You would search far to find a modern preacher willing to defend God's commandment, in Deuteronomy 20: 13-15, to kill all the men in a conquered city and to seize the women, children and livestock as plunder. And verses 16 and 17 are even worse:
"But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: But thou shalt utterly destroy them"
You might say that such a call to genocide could never have come from a good and loving God. Any decent bishop, priest, vicar or rabbi would agree. But listen to Craig. He begins by arguing that the Canaanites were debauched and sinful and therefore deserved to be slaughtered. He then notices the plight of the Canaanite children.
"But why take the lives of innocent children? The terrible totality of the destruction was undoubtedly related to the prohibition of assimilation to pagan nations on Israel's part. In commanding complete destruction of the Canaanites, the Lord says, 'You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons, or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods' (Deut 7.3-4). […] God knew that if these Canaanite children were allowed to live, they would spell the undoing of Israel. […] Moreover, if we believe, as I do, that God's grace is extended to those who die in infancy or as small children, the death of these children was actually their salvation. We are so wedded to an earthly, naturalistic perspective that we forget that those who die are happy to quit this earth for heaven's incomparable joy. Therefore, God does these children no wrong in taking their lives."
Do not plead that I have taken these revolting words out of context. What context could possibly justify them?
Don't feel embarrassed if you've never heard of William Lane Craig. He parades himself as a philosopher, but none of the professors of philosophy whom I consulted had heard his name either. Perhaps he is a "theologian". For some years now, Craig has been increasingly importunate in his efforts to cajole, harass or defame me into a debate with him. I have consistently refused, in the spirit, if not the letter, of a famous retort by the then president of the Royal Society: "That would look great on your CV, not so good on mine".
Craig's latest stalking foray has taken the form of a string of increasingly hectoring challenges to confront him in Oxford this October. I took pleasure in refusing again, which threw him and his followers into a frenzy of blogging, tweeting and YouTubed accusations of cowardice. To this I would only say I that I turn down hundreds of more worthy invitations every year, I have publicly engaged an archbishop of York, two archbishops of Canterbury, many bishops and the chief rabbi, and I'm looking forward to my imminent, doubtless civilised encounter with the present archbishop of Canterbury.
In an epitome of bullying presumption, Craig now proposes to place an empty chair on a stage in Oxford next week to symbolise my absence. The idea of cashing in on another's name by conniving to share a stage with him is hardly new. But what are we to make of this attempt to turn my non-appearance into a self-promotion stunt? In the interests of transparency, I should point out that it isn't only Oxford that won't see me on the night Craig proposes to debate me in absentia: you can also see me not appear in Cambridge, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and, if time allows, Bristol.
But Craig is not just a figure of fun. He has a dark side, and that is putting it kindly. Most churchmen these days wisely disown the horrific genocides ordered by the God of the Old Testament. Anyone who criticises the divine bloodlust is loudly accused of unfairly ignoring the historical context, and of naive literalism towards what was never more than metaphor or myth. You would search far to find a modern preacher willing to defend God's commandment, in Deuteronomy 20: 13-15, to kill all the men in a conquered city and to seize the women, children and livestock as plunder. And verses 16 and 17 are even worse:
"But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: But thou shalt utterly destroy them"
You might say that such a call to genocide could never have come from a good and loving God. Any decent bishop, priest, vicar or rabbi would agree. But listen to Craig. He begins by arguing that the Canaanites were debauched and sinful and therefore deserved to be slaughtered. He then notices the plight of the Canaanite children.
"But why take the lives of innocent children? The terrible totality of the destruction was undoubtedly related to the prohibition of assimilation to pagan nations on Israel's part. In commanding complete destruction of the Canaanites, the Lord says, 'You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons, or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods' (Deut 7.3-4). […] God knew that if these Canaanite children were allowed to live, they would spell the undoing of Israel. […] Moreover, if we believe, as I do, that God's grace is extended to those who die in infancy or as small children, the death of these children was actually their salvation. We are so wedded to an earthly, naturalistic perspective that we forget that those who die are happy to quit this earth for heaven's incomparable joy. Therefore, God does these children no wrong in taking their lives."
Do not plead that I have taken these revolting words out of context. What context could possibly justify them?
A New Day for Apologetics
Despite all the recent attacks on faith or, perhaps, because of them these are definitely the best of times for Christian apologists such as Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, Ben Witherington III, Darrell Bock, and J. P. Moreland. They are making documentaries, writing books, giving media interviews, attending debates and conferences, and presenting the public with what they say is a growing mountain of scientific and archaeological evidence documenting the truth of Christianity. “There has been a resurgence in Christian apologetics as a direct result of the challenges Christianity has faced in the form of militant atheism in college classrooms, on the Internet, and in TV documentaries and best-selling books,” says Strobel, former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune and most recently the author of The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ. (Movie Guide 8/30/24) READMORE>>>>>
Despite all the recent attacks on faith or, perhaps, because of them these are definitely the best of times for Christian apologists such as Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, Ben Witherington III, Darrell Bock, and J. P. Moreland. They are making documentaries, writing books, giving media interviews, attending debates and conferences, and presenting the public with what they say is a growing mountain of scientific and archaeological evidence documenting the truth of Christianity. “There has been a resurgence in Christian apologetics as a direct result of the challenges Christianity has faced in the form of militant atheism in college classrooms, on the Internet, and in TV documentaries and best-selling books,” says Strobel, former legal editor of the Chicago Tribune and most recently the author of The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ. (Movie Guide 8/30/24) READMORE>>>>>