I'm Headed to My Alma Mater to See Paul Copan
The last time I visited Lincoln Christian Seminary, in Lincoln, Illinois, was nearly 10 years ago to hear Dr. Craig give the James D. Strauss lecture series. This lecture series sprang out of a student apologetical group called the Chi Lambda Fellowship, of which I was the vice-President and founding editor (of the now defunct) student journal called A Journal For Christian Studies (first issue Mar 1982). It was at Lincoln that Dr. James Sennett and I were student/friends.
Dr. Paul Copan is doing the lectureship this week, and I'm specifically interested in his lectures titled: "The Perplexing Problem of Evil," and "Divine Hiddenness and the Problem of Hell." But I'm more interested in meeting him, since he asked if I could come. Paul is very interested in my upcoming debate with David Wood of Answering Infidels this weekend, and will probably write up some comments about it (although he said five books of his are coming out this year, so he's really busy).
Paul and I have a lot in common and we've struck up an internet friendship this year. He entered Trinity Evangelical Divinity School the Fall of the same year I graduated in June 1985. We both studied under Dr. Craig. We both studied at Marquette University. Paul graduated but I did not. I dropped out of Marquette primarily because my Dad had just learned he had cancer and I wanted to spend some time with him for his remaining days, so I took a church back home to be with him. I thought I'd finish school later....but I never did.
There are professors and administrators at Lincoln who know I'm an atheist. The present President was a good friend of mine while we were both students there. How will I be received? The strange thing is that I feel like the same person I was when I attended there. I just don't believe the same things anymore. To me it's like rooting for the Colts when everyone else is rooting for the Steelers, and that's it. No big deal. But to them, and to Christians on the internet, my beliefs threaten them and are dangerous. I miss these people. We're all good people. We'll see.
Dr. Paul Copan is doing the lectureship this week, and I'm specifically interested in his lectures titled: "The Perplexing Problem of Evil," and "Divine Hiddenness and the Problem of Hell." But I'm more interested in meeting him, since he asked if I could come. Paul is very interested in my upcoming debate with David Wood of Answering Infidels this weekend, and will probably write up some comments about it (although he said five books of his are coming out this year, so he's really busy).
Paul and I have a lot in common and we've struck up an internet friendship this year. He entered Trinity Evangelical Divinity School the Fall of the same year I graduated in June 1985. We both studied under Dr. Craig. We both studied at Marquette University. Paul graduated but I did not. I dropped out of Marquette primarily because my Dad had just learned he had cancer and I wanted to spend some time with him for his remaining days, so I took a church back home to be with him. I thought I'd finish school later....but I never did.
There are professors and administrators at Lincoln who know I'm an atheist. The present President was a good friend of mine while we were both students there. How will I be received? The strange thing is that I feel like the same person I was when I attended there. I just don't believe the same things anymore. To me it's like rooting for the Colts when everyone else is rooting for the Steelers, and that's it. No big deal. But to them, and to Christians on the internet, my beliefs threaten them and are dangerous. I miss these people. We're all good people. We'll see.