Dear Friends,

University of British Columbia

February has been an action-packed month! From January 26 to February 3 I was in Canada for a university speaking trip. First up was the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where I had a full slate of talks plus an important debate with Dr. John Shook, a philosopher with the Center for Inquiry in New York, on the question "Does God Exist?" Over 1200 students packed both the auditorium and the overflow hall, and another 300 had to be turned away for lack of room! Vancouver is a very secular area, and this was one of the toughest crowds I’ve ever debated in front of. Click here to read a blow-by-blow account of this rollicking debate.

University of Saskatchewan

After a good night’s sleep, I flew over the prairies to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for a debate on God’s existence at the University of Saskatchewan with a local philosophy professor named George Williamson. The morning after my arrival we appeared together for an hour and a half on the John Gormley Show, a popular local radio program. Click here to listen to this entertaining call-in show. From our interaction that morning it was clear that we were going to have a substantive debate that evening.

The small convocation hall at the U of S quickly filled to its capacity of 290, and another 500-plus people packed the overflow room to watch the debate on the live video feed. I presented my usual five arguments for God’s existence, and Williamson countered with three arguments for atheism. As I look back on this debate, I can’t help but reflect that Williamson’s arguments were actually far more formidable than Shook’s, but the atmosphere was completely different. The Shook debate appeared to be closely contested only because of the interruptions of the raucous atheists, whereas poor Williamson seemed easily dispatched, when in fact quite the opposite was the case. Click here to read more about the debate and many other outreaches during my time at the U of S.

Veritas Forum at Georgia Tech

After a week of recuperation from this exhausting Canadian trip, I spoke the next week on the question, "Can We Be Good without God?" at a Veritas Forum held February 21 at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. After my talk I opened the floor for questions from the audience, and for the better part of an hour I had an engrossing and wonderful dialogue with students, especially with many unbelievers. It was a wonderful evening with open, honest questions and great dialogue with students. Click here to read more about it. One enthusiastic co-ed remarked to me after the close, "I’ve been at Georgia Tech for six years, and I’ve never been to an event like this!"

For Christ and His Kingdom,

Bill & Jan