Another day, another live discussion between a Christian and a non-Christian. This live discussion features Graham Oppy and Ben Arbour. They will be discussing The Ontological Argument (OA). In few terms, the OA says that if it’s even possible God exists, then God must exist. Having both published on Ontological Arguments, they are arguably the top experts in their field (at least with respect to this argument). It’s going to be a great discussion!
The discussion goes live at 8pm Central (6pm Pacific/9pm Eastern) on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. Here’s the link to view live (and watch later):
Click Here to View the Live Event
Ben Arbour
Ben holds a Ph.D from the University of Bristol, and he is an adjunct professor at Weatherford College. His philosophical research focuses on the intersection of analytic metaphysics (especially systematics and the nature of time) and Christian theology, particularly as these relate to Anselmian understandings of the doctrine of God.
Interestingly, we’ve had the opportunity to film an interview with Ben in person–on this very subject! Feel free to check it out here.
Graham Oppy
Graham Oppy, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy, in the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies (SOPHIS) at Monash. His dissertation was on semantics for propositional attitude ascriptions (philosophy of language). Some of his early publications were in the areas of philosophy of language and aesthetics. Most of his recent publications have been in philosophy of religion (though he has also published in metaphysics and philosophy of science). See his publications here.
Ontological Arguments
The Ontological Argument is actually simpler than it sounds. It says basically that if it’s even possible that God exists, then God must exist. It might surprise you to learn that the step from possibility to actuality is relatively non-controversial. That’s because God is by definition a necessary being. That is to say, if God exists, then He exists in every possible world (including the actual one). The real question is whether it’s actually possible that God exists.
As mentioned above, we’ve already filmed an interview with Ben Arbour on Ontological Arguments. If you’re waiting for the live event to start, why not go ahead and watch the interview now! As someone that is somewhat skeptical of Ontological Arguments, I found it really interesting.
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