Partly reflects my own tastes in christian apologetics. Is there historical evidence for the resurrection of jesus. He received a bachelor of arts in communications from the evangelical protestant wheaton college in wheaton, illinois, a summa cum laude master of divinity from trinity evangelical divinity school in deerfield, illinois, a ph. Assessing the new testament evidence for the historicity of the resurrection of jesus 1989. Gods knowledge of what every possible free creature would do under any possible set of circumstances and, hence, knowledge of those possible worlds which god can make actual. Craig on the possibility of eternal damnation religious. So middle knowledge is not based in any way upon foreseeing what people will do. Middle knowledge, truthmakers, and the grounding objection. He has been research professor of philosophy at talbot school of theology for the past ten years. William lane craig is research professor of philosophy at talbot school of theology and professor of philosophy at houston baptist university.
William lane craig is fascinating to watch clearly very intelligent, or rather wily his arguments are merely more educated and eloquently argued versions of any creationist you care to mention. William lane craig vs paul helm molinism vs calvinism a. Christian truth and apologetics, revised edition, crossway books, 1994. He directs his attention here to the prob lem of gods plenary inspiration of the scriptures. William lane craig is one of the most wellknown christian philosophers and christian apologists. Both copan and craig are excellent scholars, and this book just further proves that point. William lane craig inspiration and the freewill defense revisited. He states he does not understand how it would work. William lane craig born august 23, 1949 is an american analytic philosopher and christian theologian, historian, and apologist.
It covers the doctrine of divine foreknowledge, the compatibility of divine foreknowledge and human freedom, and the basis for divine foreknowledge. William lane craig is a molinist and paul helm a calvinist. This view depends upon not only the kind of knowledge god has, but also upon when he has it. This article surveys the essay provided by william lane craig defending his position called the middle knowledge view, also known as molinism. William lane craig, a staunch defender of molinism, says that gods knowledge of potential actions of people in different situations is not essential to god. As developed by craig, the molinist theodicy rests on the problematic assumption that all informed persons who would freely reject christ are culpable. Foreknowledge and free will stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Divine foreknowledge and human freedom the coherence of. Mar 31, 2003 in philosophical foundations for a christian worldview j.
Middle knowledge is the philosophical cornerstone supporting the theology of molinism. Novel philosophical theories of causation, knowledge, and morality also bear on the arguments for and against the existence of god. Oct 14, 2017 middle knowledge is gods knowledge of what people would do freely in any set of circumstances, and those people may never exist. Mar 01, 2010 william lane craig is research professor of philosophy at talbot school of theology and professor of philosophy at houston baptist university. William lane craig vs paul helm molinism vs calvinism. William lane craig explains middle knowledge youtube. This lecture has a special meaning for me because when i was just learning about apologetics, this was one of the first lectures i ordered. William lane craig points out that without middle knowledge, god would find himself, so to speak, with knowledge of the future but without any logical prior planning of the future. He studied at the catholic university of louvain for seven years. As previously noted, middle knowledge is so named because it comes between natural and free knowledge in gods deliberations regarding the creative process. But then he characterizes this by saying that, dr craig says that gods middle knowledge is not essential to god. William lane craig is currently associate professor of philosophy and religious studies, westmont college, santa barbara, california. Helms biggest problem with molinism appears to be how god could know future free actions.
In this multiview book, five philosophical theologians discuss and defend different solutions to this ancient problem. Jan 28, 2014 william lane craig misrepresents wesley salmon. Hunt, middle knowledge and the soteriological problem of evil, religious studies 27 1991. Essays in favor of open theism gregory boyd, simple foreknowledge david hunt, middle knowledge or molinism william lane craig, and the augustiniancalvinist view paul helm, with responses by each author to the other essays. Throughout the book, they provide a holistic defense of the classic doctrine of creatio ex nihilo creation out of nothing, the claim that the universe began to exist some finite time in the past without involving preexisting material. Middle knowledge is a theological concept developed by luis molina and espoused by modern christian philosophers such as william lane craig and alvin plantinga.
William lane craig inspiration and the freewill defense. Todays highestprofile defenders of molinism are william lane craig and alvin plantinga. View william lane craig research papers on academia. To date, he has authored or edited over thirty books and more than a hundred scholarly articles.
I do think that it is essential to god to have middle knowledge, but it is the content of the middle knowledge which is not essential to god. The problem of evil has produced many responses and elicited vigorous debate. A middle knowledge perspective on the exclusivity of salvation through christ, faith and philosophy, vi april, 1989, 172 8. William lane craig, keith derose, tom flint, daniel fogal, john hawthorne, david hunt, sam newlands, calvin normore, alex pruss, mike rea, and jason turner. William lane craig of talbot school of theology argues for middle knowledge, or molinism, and gregory a. In this way he hopes to uphold gods perfect omniscience. Boyd of bethel college presents the opentheism view, david hunt of whittier college weighs in on the simpleforeknowledge view, william lane craig of talbot school of theology takes the. According to the theory, middle knowledge is like natural knowledge in that it is prevolitional, or prior to gods choice to create. Brian auten at apologetics 315 posted a lecture by william lane craig on the historical jesus. William lane craig expertly addresses issues concerning fatalism, free will and predestination, and how the model of gods omniscience furnished by molinism reconciles free will and full blown divine sovereignty. Four views 9780830826520 by william lane craig, paul helm, gregory a.
This, of course, also means that the content of middle. Phillip cary on the classic view, william lane craig on molinism, william hasker on open theism, thomas jay oord on essential kenosis, and stephen wykstra on skeptical theism. Middle knowledge internet encyclopedia of philosophy. The remark of mulligan, simons, and smith, truthmakers, p. William hasker 1989, 1995, 1997, 2000 has offered a series of objections and replies to william craig, who defends middle knowledge 1994, 1998. A middle knowledge perspective on the exclusivity of salvation through christ 1989 and middle knowledge. Moreland and william lane craig offer a comprehensive introduction to philosophy from a christian perspective. For anyone wanting a better grasp of molinism this book is a must have. Molinism holds that gods knowledge consists of three logical moments.
William lane craig misrepresents wesley salmon youtube. A middle knowledge perspective on perseverance and apostolic warnings william lane craig 1 international journal for philosophy of religion volume 29, pages 65 74 1991 cite this article. This needs to be borne in mind when we read, for example, that middle knowledge provides the reconciliation of divine sovereignty and human freedom william lane craig, p. William lane craig, divine foreknowledge and human freedom.
Dr william lane craig explains gods middle knowledge. God may decide not to create a world in which those people are real. William lane craig author william lane craig phd, university of birmingham, england. Middle knowledge and christian exclusivism springerlink. Other objections have been proposed by walls 1990 and gaskin 1993. He has recently debated the existence of god with richard dawkins. The molinist notion of middle knowledgeand especially its main objects, so. Ongoing psychological research and the quest for the histori.
He lives in atlanta, georgia, with his wife jan and their two teenage children charity and john. Ebook william lane craig libro electronico descargar pdf serie. Dr william lane craig explains gods middle knowledge molinism. Alvin plantinga, the nature of necessity, clarendon library of logic and philosophy oxford. The view affirms a strong notion of gods control of events in the world, alongside an equally firm view of human freedom. In two recent papers, one a critique of two papers of mine, william lane craig has sought to put the free will defence in the service of the traditional doctrine of hell. This lecture has a special meaning for me because when i was just learning about apologetics, this was one. Jan 05, 2014 william lane craig is a molinist and paul helm a calvinist. Craigs sunday school class on christian doctrine and apologetics.
To learn more about apologetics canada and to purchase the full dvd. In his post, brian doesnt really say much about where or when the lecture was recorded. In short, middle knowledge is gods omniscient awareness of what would happen if certain. Four views provides a venue for wellknown proponents of four distinct views of divine foreknowledge to present their cases.
A middle knowledge perspective on the exclusivity of salvation through christ, faith and philosophy 6 1989. Four views four theologians discuss gods sovereignty and human responsibility. Reasonable faith reasonable faith one of the finest christian philosophers of our day is william lane craig. William lane craig explains middle knowledge duration. And the answers we give to these kinds of questions serve as the the foundation stones for consrtucting any kind of worldview. Boyd of bethel college presents the opentheism view, david hunt of whittier college weighs in on the simpleforeknowledge view, william lane craig of talbot school of theology takes the middle knowledge view, and paul helm of regent college, vancouver, presents the augustiniancalvinist view. Philosophical foundations for a christian worldview j. A debate between a christian and an atheist william lane craig walter sinnottarmstrong oxford university press. At the age of sixteen as a junior in high school, he first heard the message of the christian gospel and yielded his life to christ. Using molinas concept of middle knowledge, william lane craig develops a solution to this problem which he considers a theodicy.
This is an extract from his account of why he became a christian. David hunt of whittier college contends for a simple foreknowledge view. William lane craig would like to thank craig parker, who is a campus minister with the navigators at dartmouth college, voces clamantium, which is a dartmouth student group that explores in. For example, william lane craig avoids the criticism that gods decisions are dependent on mans decisions by holding that gods middle knowledge is not derived from his knowledge of the world. Although hes become very well known for his debates with atheists and skeptics, hes also a prolific writer. William lane craig has a doctorate in philosophy from the university of birmingham and a doctorate in theology from the university of munich. William lane craig, born in 1949 in peoria, illinois, is an american christian apologist, philosopher, and theologian. There are a number of other objections to middle knowledge in the literature, as well as replies by its defenders. How might peoples experiences help them decide that something. William lane craig lectures on radical skepticism and the. Omniscience, brills studies in intellectual history 19 leiden. Jan 02, 2020 todays highestprofile defenders of molinism are william lane craig and alvin plantinga. He has written numerous books on this subject, and this book, which is written with the purpose of explaining the important elements of the relationship between god and time to people who have not spent their lives studying this issues, is a great. The primary distinctive of molinism is the affirmation that god has middle knowledge scientia media.
Reasons for believing dr william lane craig is a respected philosopher and christian speaker. Four views, edited by gregory ganssle downers grove, il. Faith and reason implications of atheism theistic arguments faith efc, fall07 4 text and prerequisites william lane craig, reasonable faith. Defenders is dr william lane craig s weekly sunday school class on christian doctrine and apologetic. He holds faculty positions at talbot school of theology biola university and houston baptist university. Ultimately he always has to slip in an assertion of gods existence in order to prove gods existence, which is circular reasoning. It also includes a defense of divine middle knowledge as a basis of gods knowledge of the future.