Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Conversation with William Lane Craig

Bishop Robert Barron

January 13, 2018

Share

(If you can’t hear the video above, click the “unmute” button at the bottom right of the video)

On January 13, 2018, Bishop Barron joined Dr. William Lane Craig, the esteemed Protestant apologist and evangelist, for an evening of dialogue at Claremont McKenna College. The event was hosted by the Claremont Center for Reason, Religion, and Public Affairs and was moderated by Dr. Edward Feser and Dr. Stephen Davis. Bishop Barron and Dr. Craig discussed faith, science, secularism, evangelization and more.

(Scroll down for a full list of the topics discussed during this dialogue.)

Earlier that afternoon, before the evening dialogue, the two men participated in an academic symposium along with around twenty other scholars. During the first half of the symposium, Bishop Barron delivered a paper on the divine simplicity, to which Dr. Craig responded followed by group discussion. In the second half of the symposium, Dr. Craig presented on the atonement, followed by Bishop Barron’s reflections and then more group discussion.

Listen to both parts of the symposium below:

EVENING DIALOGUE – TOPICS DISCUSSED

3:09 – Introductions

Part I – Questions from the Moderators

10:47 – What advice do you have for evangelists today?
18:10 – What are the origins of our culture of “self-definition” and how should Christians respond to it?
20:04 – How does evangelization hinge on the story of Jesus Christ?
22:46 – How can beauty draw people into the Church?
24:22 – Do you have any last thoughts on how to evangelize the culture today?
29:12 – Where are the origins of “scientism” (the reduction of all knowledge to scientific knowledge)?
35:16 – Should apologetics and theology involve science?
39:39 – How should Christians think about the science of human origins and the origins of science itself?
47:09 – Would scientific proof of the emergence of life be a problem for Christians?
48:41 – How should Christians deal with an increasingly secular world?
56:15 – What role should apologetics play in evangelization?

Part II – Questions from the Audience

1:01:11 – Will battling secularism bring Catholics and Protestants closer together?
1:02:28 – What is your favorite argument for God’s existence?
1:04:31 – Who else is effectively doing the work of evangelization?
1:06:24 – Which thinkers or theologians have most influenced you?
1:08:44 – What is the number one thing Christians should study today to be prepared for the future?
1:11:11 – Do we need more Christians studying science at the university level?
1:12:49 – What do you consider the best argument against Christianity and how would you respond to it?
1:15:39 – How would you respond to someone facing great suffering who asks: “Why me?”
1:19:14 – What would you consider the best objection to your favorite argument for God’s existence?
1:22:50 – Should Christians still spend time on Catholic-Protestant debates?
1:25:12 – How can we keep young people from leaving the Christian faith?
1:28:18 – What book has most changed your life (other than the Bible)?

Part III – Questions for Each Other

1:31:20 – Bishop Barron: In your debates with the new athiests, did they ever strike you with a legitimate point?
1:35:10 – Dr. Craig: How can beauty, in practice, present the Gospel and bring people to faith?
1:40:20 – Bishop Barron: What do you find most attractive—and most concerning—about Catholicism?
1:44:56 – Dr. Craig: What are Catholics doing to train people in apologetics?
1:47:11 – Dr. Craig: What is the future of Catholicism in the United States?
1:50:35 – Bishop Barron and Dr. Craig: What does your prayer life look like?

1:54:13 – Closing remarks