The Language of Argument

4 5 6

C H A P T E R 2 1 ■ R e l i g i o u s R e a s o n i n g

SEVEN DEADLY OBJECTIONS TO BELIEF

IN THE CHRISTIAN GOD

by Edwin Curley

Contrary to the impression Dr. Craig’s talk may have given you, I am not

here tonight to argue for an unqualified atheism. People use the term “God”

with many different meanings. Some of them use it to refer to a being whose

existence I might be able to accept. If by “God” you mean what I think

Spinoza meant by that term—an impersonal system of eternal and immuta-

ble laws of nature, which explains everything that happens in the universe,

but does not itself require explanation—then I think it quite likely that there

is a God. What I’m here to argue against is just the God of Christianity.

I assume that by “God” Christians generally mean an eternal, personal,

first cause of the universe, who has infinite perfections—omnipotence, om-

niscience, perfect goodness, and so on—and who has revealed himself to

man in the Christian scriptures. The idea of God as an eternal, personal,

first cause of the universe, possessing all perfections, is common not only in

Christianity, but also in Judaism and Islam. I take it that the most important

thing which distinguishes Christian theism from these other forms of theism

is the acceptance of the Christian scriptures as the revealed word of God.*

And that’s what I shall be arguing against tonight. If the Christian scriptures

are supposed to be God’s revelation of himself to man, then he is not the

perfect being Christians claim he is....

If God is omniscient, if he knows everything, he must have foreknowl-

edge of his creatures’ fates. That suggests that there is a fact of the mat-

ter about what my fate will be, which is knowable with certainty well in

1. Reconstruct each of Craig’s five arguments in standard form.


2. For each of Craig’s arguments, what is the main objection that an opponent
   could raise? What is the best way for Craig to respond to that objection? Is
   his best response good enough? Why or why not?


3. Craig cites authorities at many points in his speech. Assess his appeals to
   authorities using the standards in Chapter 15.


4. Is there any strong reason to believe in God that Craig left out? If so, present
   that reason in argument form as forcefully as you can.

Discussion Questions

* I thought, when I accepted the challenge to debate Dr. Craig, that we had agreed to debate

only the existence of the Christian God. This limitation was central to my argumentative

strategy here, which relies on the tension between the perfections Christian philosophers and

theologians typically ascribe to God and the beliefs they might form about him as a consequence

of accepting the Christian scriptures as revealed truth.

Source: Seven Deadly Objections to Belief in the Christian God by Edwin Curley from The

Craig-Curley Debate: The Existence of the Christian God. Reprinted by permission.

97364_ch21_ptg01_449-464.indd 456 15/11/13 12:22 3M

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