Gary R. Habermas - Did the Resurrection Happen?: A Conversation with Gary Habermas and Antony Flew

J.P. M0REiAND, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, and coauthor of In Search of a Confident Faith

"As a reader of Did the Resurrection Happen? A Conversation with Gary Habermas and Antony Flew, I experienced the rare pleasure of eavesdropping on a rigorous discussion between close friends. While they persist in their strong disagreement over a variety of substantive issues, Habermas and Flew never fail to argue with charity and humor. This posture gives the book a warm and congenial flavor. It is a great read for anyone interested in philosophy, in the resurrection or in how best to engage in significant debate."

GREGORY E. GANSSLE, Rivendell Institute, department of philosophy, Yale University

"This book is a dialogue between the leading expert on Jesus' resurrection and the most influential atheist philosopher of the late twentieth century. No fluff. No insults. This is an intelligent and friendly exchange of ideas among two giants in their field who have arrived at radically different views of what happened to Jesus 2,000 years ago."

MICHAEL R. LicoNA, director of apologetics, North American Mission Board

"This book offers not only a lively exchange on Jesus' resurrection between Habermas and Flew. The section on Flew's pilgrimage to belief in God and the excellent analysis by Baggett help both round out the dialogue as well as provide much food for philosophical and theological thought. A superb resource on the resurrection!"

PAUL COPAN, professor and Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, Florida

"A lively conversation about the most important question in the history, and for the future, of the world. Habermas's compelling answers to Flew's questions awaken hope within me. The resurrection and vindication of Christ frees us from the fear of death, and for true life, now and forever. I wish this book for all of us, especially skeptics who are also thinkers."

KELLY MONROE KULLBERG, founder and director of project development, The Veritas Forum, author of Finding God Beyond Harvard: The Quest for Veritas, and editor of Finding God at Harvard: Spiritual Journeys of Thinking Christians

"David Baggett has skillfully edited an engaging and warm-hearted debate between Gary Habermas and Antony Flew, two of the world's foremost philosophers and thinkers, the former a Christian and apologist and the latter a well-known atheist who recently has embraced deism. Their debate centers on the very essence of Christian faith-the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is a great book. I recommend it enthusiastically."

CRAIG A. EVANS, Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College

"The conversation between Habermas and Flew has been a fascinating one at the highest levels of philosophical reflection. This book beautifully chronicles that dialogue in a way that is clear for those not versed in philosophy. The book will cause you to sit and ponder. That is a compliment enough, but more than that you will learn how two competing worldviews should interact with each other-and that is a real gift."

DARRELL BOCK, Dallas Theological Seminary

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Daniel Cho, Executive Director, The Veritas Forum

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THE VERITAS FORUM EXISTS TO CREATE discussions exploring life's hardest questions and the relevance of Jesus Christ to all of life. The conversation which forms the basis of this book is an inspiring example of just that-not a debate or a dialogue where one side seeks to triumph over another, but instead a joint exploration of one of the ultimate questions of humanity-the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When I first saw the video of this Veritas Forum event held at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 2003, it felt as if I were eavesdropping on a private chat between old friends. In Antony Flew and Gary Habermas we see two men driven not by ideologies or agendas but by a shared passion for truth and a common respect for the response the truth demands. It was our honor to host such a winsome, open, articulate encounter embodying what a search for truth looks like.

Moreover, although this dialogue about ultimate truth was in the university setting, their search for meaning is one that draws us together in every stage of life. Many students and other seekers of truth will find in Dr. Flew a brilliant and humble once-atheist scholar whose journey and outlook resonates with their own. His position is in stark contrast to the often hostile, alienating polemics of recent years which unfortunately all but monopolize the discussion. And those of us who are followers of Jesus should also remember that this one night's conversation emerged from an eighteen-year friendship.

That said, many envisioned and labored to create the occasion for this event, and we owe them our gratitude. In particular, Jamey Pappas, longtime advisor for The Veritas Forum at Cal Poly and director of SLOCrusade, led a team of students and staff in planning this and many other Veritas events. Mike Swanson was the student planning team director that year. And Ted and Ashley Callahan led the Veritas national movement that supported Jamey and other teams around the country from 2003-2005. And of course, special thanks to Dr. Flew and Dr. Habermas for allowing us to invite many more participants into their conversation in print.