What do you think of William Lane Craig?

[athrock]

I didn't start the thread. Just offering my opinion and making observations.

Sorry matey, sly, passive aggressive insinuations made to poison the well before you even begin speaking in earnest aren't just gonna pass me by.

Of course you can, ExLax.

Always a good sign when you turn to name calling.  

That's why you're a tenured professor of philosophy,

First of all, you don't know me: you have literally no idea what my profession is. So it's quite interesting to see you make that leap; it seems that your first port of call is to always attempt to attack the person, rather than engage with their arguments at all.

Secondly, let's not beat around the bush: despite your fondness for lies of omission, I'll always be here to straighten things out. Craig is a tenured professor at Talbot school of theology, an evangelical christian seminary school that presupposes biblical inerrancy and hosts a statement of faith on their website pre-affirming an acceptance of biblical literalism regardless of any evidence that may come their way. You know, like all good educational organizations do. Nothing says education like a firm, pre-existing commitment to ignoring everything that disagrees with a position you hold in spite of evidence! Ah, learning!  

But before we even afford that dubious accomplishment any degree of respect, let's compare: Talbot's ridiculous presuppositions aside (and for entertainment value, there's even a threat of hell right there in the doctrinal statement, because all good philosophers know the best way to convince people is through threats, not argument or evidence    ) it's a very small school, hosting less than two thousand students. Now, my university, which has no statement of faith at all, nor gears its subject matter around presupposing a certain position, had over sixteen thousand students last year, international campuses, and regularly turns out notable politicians, academics, and so on. Talbot's notable alumni is little more than a cavalcade of pastors and christian speakers, with not a single person of note outside of theology graduating from there.

Oh, and by the way? I studied philosophy when I went to my real university, as a focus of my degree. So maybe don't make assumptions about what is and is not within my wheelhouse.

an author of so many books and peer-reviewed papers,

I am a published author. It's not hard, really. What, did you think this was some incredible achievement beyond the reach of anyone but the greatest of scholars? No, it's easy to write and sell literature, especially when your subject matter appeals to credulous believers desperate for some degree of intellectual rigor.

and traveling the world speaking on and debating about these subjects. And, of course, that's why WLC has refused to debate you...turned down all the challenges you've issued to him. Clearly, he knows you would expose him, and he's scared.

If I were to debate someone, it'd be one with something more substantial to say than Craig's entire line of argument. I do acknowledge, however, that you're apparently too scared to put any of Craig's arguments up to any form of test, even one that you've apparently concluded is a bad one. If you're so confident that Craig's argumentation is too much for me, pick one and we'll see. Don't just resort to mockery as though your uninformed opinion of what I'm capable of means a damn thing.

Cause you're JUST. THAT. GOOD.




Seriously...can you take LeBron one on one, too?

Mocking ad hominems are not a rebuttal, athrock.

I'm sorry, Ex...where did you earn your doctorate?  

And in an amazing example of the pot calling the kettle black, YOUR half-truth now is to concentrate on attacking Craig's current employer (which is a small institution focused on a very specific objective, btw) while omitting any...mention...whatsoever...of his own academic training and credentials.

I'm shocked at the duplicity. Not.

Craig got his first doctorate in philosophy from the University of Birmingham (England, not Alabama, in case you need a map or compass). THEY have 20,000 students (nanny nanny boo boo), and according to Wiki, "the university was ranked 15th in the UK and 76th in the world in the  for 2015-16." I'm not sure what all that means but I'm guessing that's pretty good.

His second doctorate was earned from Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich. Heard of them? Me, either, but Wikipedia says the one in Munich is one of Germany's oldest universities. Oh, and since size matters to you, they have 50,000 students. (How do you measure up now, shorty?)

Now, you have the stones to accuse ME of beginning with ad hominems (a charge I don't think you can actually prove by providing links to my posts, btw.) when you have just wasted the last 15 minutes of your life attempting to discredit a respected scholar with more credentials to his name than you will ever earn?

And exactly how does the current student enrollment of your publicly-funded university contribute to your own status in any way? Don't public universities usually accept just about any resident of that state? Oh, wait...are you saying that because 16,000 people got in, that makes your alma mater better than Talbot? Didn't you learn about the argumentum ad populum in philosopher's school? Or is this an appeal to your public school's authority? Which philosophy degree is worth more, Ex? Yours or his?

Wow. To think that you used to have some cachet around here. The hissing sound you hear is the air leaking out of that balloon.



Oh, and 

(I'm mocking you openly and often, now. Get used to it, you pathetic joke.)