William Craig is definitely a strong debater, no doubt about that, but he has met his match a time or two. In my opinion, Sam Harris thoroughly defeated him in their debate, and he did so by refusing to allow Craig to establish his bogus premise as a point of mutual acceptance. Craig typically begins every debate with ridiculous generalizations that he expects everyone to accept. Like, for example, "If there is no god then there can be no objective morality."
Too many debaters have fallen into the trap of accepting Craig's premise in some fashion or another and then trying to pick their way around that premise.
Sam Harris simply never gave credence to the premise or the generalizations and made his own argument. In some sense this is not unlike the argument that Dawkins is making that it is ridiculous to argue with believers, but I see Dawkins view as a contradiction of his motivations and pursuits. He has debated believers and is often in discussion/debate with believers all around the world.
Richard, there is nothing to be afraid of, buddy. Craig is a sound debater, to be sure, but he's also very predictable and argues from the weaker point of view. If you are even mildly prepared, you will hold your own. Know the focus of the debate, establish a sound and relevant point of view, and do not deviate from your debate plan. And don't allow applause for Craig to rattle you. They are applauding what they want to believe, not what they've been reasonably convinced of.
Too many debaters have fallen into the trap of accepting Craig's premise in some fashion or another and then trying to pick their way around that premise.
Sam Harris simply never gave credence to the premise or the generalizations and made his own argument. In some sense this is not unlike the argument that Dawkins is making that it is ridiculous to argue with believers, but I see Dawkins view as a contradiction of his motivations and pursuits. He has debated believers and is often in discussion/debate with believers all around the world.
Richard, there is nothing to be afraid of, buddy. Craig is a sound debater, to be sure, but he's also very predictable and argues from the weaker point of view. If you are even mildly prepared, you will hold your own. Know the focus of the debate, establish a sound and relevant point of view, and do not deviate from your debate plan. And don't allow applause for Craig to rattle you. They are applauding what they want to believe, not what they've been reasonably convinced of.
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