Apologist William Lane Craig comes to Norway

At Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication we are committed to promoting free speech, respect for others and classical Christian faith. This includes a deep concern for truth and human dignity in the public discourse, whether this is seen in contributions from journalists, filmmakers, commentators or persuasive communicators.

Today’s public arenas are characterized by pluralism, with many competing perspectives on life’s key issues. It is essential to compare and contrast such competing perspectives. Every worldview has its own apologists, presenting arguments for the truth and relevance of a given position, over against the alternatives. We need to listen carefully and critically to the various apologists, as they seek to engage and persuade us.

This is the background for inviting William Lane Craig as one of the world’s leading Christian apologists to Scandinavia for ten days of lecturing and debating now in April. He is a well-known textbook author in Christian apologetics and an expert on (1) the cosmological kalaam argument, (2) the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus and (3) God, time and eternity.

It is my privilege to be the coordinator for the Norwegian part of that tour which contains a visit to Bergen on the 23rd and 24th April with guest lectures at NLA University College, University of Bergen and Danielsens skoler.

Craig is well known for his many engaging debates with apologists for various other worldviews. I would especially recommend the stimulating debate with atheist Peter Millican (October 2011) and the extraordinary debate that took place in Cambridge Union in October 2011.

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Norsk: På Mediehøgskolen Gimlekollen er vi særlig opptatt av å fremme ytringsfrihet, respekt for den andre og klassisk kristen tro. Dette betyr ikke minst at vi fokuserer på betydningen av en offentlig debatt som setter sannhet, vesentlighet og menneskeverd høyt.

Vi er opptatt av å fremme gjensidig åpenhet om grunnleggende perspektiver og ståsteder, samt innsikt i at alle har et livssyn. Alle livssyn har også sine apologeter med sentrale argumenter for sine ulike perspektiver om de sentrale livsspørsmålene. Inn i dette større bildet har også kvalifiserte kristne apologeter sin rettmessige plass på den offentlige arena.

Dette danner bakgrunnen for at jeg er faglig koordinator for den verdenskjente kristne apologeten William Lane Craigs besøk til Bergen 23-24/4, der han bl.a. skal ha offentlige gjesteforelesninger ved NLA og UiB.

(Se også mine tidligere publiserte blogginnlegg om Den tomme stolen og «Dawkins & Others Run From Craig».)