[ref001] The Skeptical Review (Volume One, Number One) [ref002] [ref003]The Skeptical Revi

[ref001]
The Skeptical Review (Volume One, Number One)
[ref002]




[ref003]The Skeptical Review: 1990: Number One: The 
Unfinished Debate

   On May 10, 1988, James H. Laws, Jr., a Church-of-Christ preacher and a 
professor of apologetics at Tennessee Bible College, challenged Farrell Till to 
a written debate on the inerrancy issue. His letter proposed the following 
propositions:

	
   RESOLVED: I know that the Bible is the plenarily inspired word of 
   God to man.

   RESOLVED: I know that the Bible is not the plenarily inspired word 
   of God.
	

He concluded the letter with a solemn pledge that he would not assume this 
responsibility in a "light hearted way."  "I will put
everything I have into such a discussion (knowledge, ability, sincerity),
" he promised.  After preliminary discussions in which Till
questioned the phrasing of the propositions, objecting especially to
presumptuous implications in the word "know," an agreement was
signed to use Mr. Laws' propositions essentially as he had submitted
them.  The only change was the substitution of _verbally_ for
_plenarily_.

   The debate began with Mr. Laws defending his proposition. Three
manuscript exchanges were made, and then there was a three-month silence on Mr. 
Laws' end.  After two letters of inquiry were directed to him, Laws wrote on 
May 17, 1989, just one year and one week after he had issued his challenge, 
to say that he was quitting the debate and would communicate with Till no 
further about the matter.  Laws refused to accept a letter that Till mailed him 
on May 20th in response to the unilateral withdrawal.

   Why would Mr. Laws quit a debate that he himself had proposed?
Ostensibly, he withdrew because of increased responsibilities that came
with his acceptance of a new position as minister of the Getwell Church
of Christ in Memphis, but we suspect a different reason.  By the end of
Till's third rebuttal, the central argument on which Laws had based the
defense of his proposition had been so demolished that he had nowhere to
turn, so he chose to withdraw.

    We urge readers who might be inclined to accuse us of biased judgment 
to let the debate speak for itself.  Despite almost frantic efforts by Mr. Laws 
to block their publication, Skepticism, Inc., will publish the three exchanges 
that were made. Printed in the two-column format you are now reading, this 
fifty-page volume will be available February 1st for $3.00, a cost that will 
barely cover publishing and mailing.  Orders should be addressed to P. O. 
Box 617, Canton, IL 61520.



Other Inerrancy Debates
   
   Farrell Till now has written debates in progress with Jerry Moffitt and 
Bill Jackson, both prominent ministers in the Church of Christ.  An oral 
debate between Till and Moffitt will be held on August 13, 14, 16, and 17, at 
the 39th Street Church of Christ, 15331 East 39th Street, Independence, 
Missouri. Propositions in all the debates are essentially the same.  Moffitt's 
and Jackson's position is  that the Bible is verbally inspired of God and 
therefore completely inerrant; Till contends that contradictions and other 
errors in the Bible disprove its claim to divine inspiration.  We encourage all 
readers who can to attend the oral debate.  The written debates will be 
published when finished.



FREE SUBSCRIPTION: A free one-year subscription to _The_Skeptical_
Review_ can be obtained by emailing [ref004]Jftill@aol.com or by writing to P.O. Box 
717, Canton, IL 61520-0717.

File contributed by [ref005]Farrell Till; page
maintained by the [ref006]Internet Infidels.

[ref007]Email: 
[ref008]infidel@freethought.tamu.edu
[ref009]JL

[ref010]Copyright © 1995 [ref011]Internet Infidels.
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