Christianity On Trial
Is Belief in God a Delusional Road-Block to Progress?
Date:
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Time:
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Location:
260 – 098 Owen G Glenn Building, 12 Grafton Road, The University of Auckland
Today, many best-selling atheists argue that belief in God is delusional and a roadblock to political, moral, and scientific progress.
In this public Q and A event, several of New Zealand’s top Christian thinkers come together to consider popular arguments against Christianity and whether belief in God is merely a consequence of superstition and credulity.
Speakers:
Jeff Tallon (PhD) is Distinguished Scientist at Industrial Research Ltd and a former Professor of Physics at Victoria University. He is internationally known for his research in high-temperature superconductors, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand and in 2002 was awarded the Rutherford Medal, New Zealand’s highest science award.
Matthew Flannagan (PhD) lectures in the History of Philosophy at Laidlaw College and specialises in applied ethics and the interface between philosophy and theology. He is currently relief teaching philosophy, ethics and religious studies for St Peters College. He is a prominent New Zealand Christian thinker, debater and blogger at http://www.mandm.org.nz.
Michael Drake (DipTeach) is the principal of Carey College in Panmure and a pastor of the Tamaki Reformed Baptist Church. He has been involved in advocacy for Christian schools and in raising issues about race, education, and Christianity before Parliament. He is also a Tertiary Student Christian Fellowship Associate Chaplain at the Manukau Institute of Technology.
Joe Fleener (MDiv) lectures in Old Testament, Church History, Christian Worldview, Apologetics, and Christian Ethics at The Shepherd’s Bible College.
Sponsored by the Tertiary Student Christian Fellowship.
I have been praying, reading, thinking & preparing for tomorrow night’s Q&A at The University of Auckland.
My prayer has been the following:
That the men on the panel, would all speak with clarity, humility, and with one voice. That true believers would be encouraged and strengthened in their faith, those with genuine questions would see that God’s Word is sufficient and authoritative, those who believe they are real atheists would be confronted with the inadequacy of their worldview. That above all Christ would be magnified, God glorified, and we would be found faithful.
In my preparation two of the most helpful resources I have reviewed are:
Who Made God? Searching for a Theory of Everything by Edgar Andrews
You can learn more on the book’s website as well.
(I will affirm what I said a couple of months ago. This book is without question one of the best books I have read on this subject ever, and one of the most important books published in 2009/10.)
The Dawkins Letters: Challenging Atheist Myths
by David Robertson
You can read this book in its entirety online, here.
