I just spoke with Dr. Shah and we are having to “take a different approach” you might say to our future interaction. Not only could he not find any Christian churches that were willing to support the debate, but he ran into a good bit of opposition in his own community as well. Let’s face it, we live in post-modern times, and the idea of believing something so strongly that you would be willing to defend it in debate, and even more so, actually believe it is important for others to believe it, too, is becoming more and more rare. One church wanted us to simply talk about our “commonalities.” I can’t imagine what the Apostle Paul would have said in days like this. Then again, I think I can.
In any case, we are having to put off the Milwaukee engagement. I’m very sorry if anyone had already made plans. Dr. Shah is going to pursue another possibility that would be excellent in another venue at a later time. The key is being able to record the discussions for later distribution. Pray that his idea will come to fruition, as it would be an excellent opportunity!
So that means my focus is now completely on the Champaign-Urbana debate at the University of Illinois on Thursday evening, April 30th. I have asked my contact there to rush me the information on the room and specific time so that we can post the information. I am thankful for the funding that has already come in to make this debate possible. You can help with the debate in defense of the thesis, “The Triune God of Scripture Lives,” here.
Alpha and Omega Ministries is a Christian apologetics organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. James White, director, is a professor, having taught Greek, Systematic Theology, and various topics in the field of apologetics for numerous schools.