William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American Evangelical Christian apologist, theologian, and analytic philosopher known for his contributions to the philosophy of religion, historical Jesus studies, and the philosophy of time. He is one of the most visible contemporary proponents of natural theology, often participating in debates on the existence of God. In 1979, Craig authored The Kalam Cosmological Argument, a modern defense of the kalam cosmological argument—which is today the most published-on contemporary argument for theism in the philosophy of religion.
He is currently a Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University.
Craig was born in Peoria, Illinois. Craig became a Christian at the age of sixteen, and his vocation and academic studies have reflected his commitment to Christian beliefs within the Evangelical tradition. Craig received a BA in communications from Wheaton College, Illinois in 1971 and two MA degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, in 1975 and 1976, in philosophy of religion and church history. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Birmingham, England in 1977 and Ph.D. in theology under Wolfhart Pannenberg at the University of Munich in 1984. From 1980 to 1986 he was an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He also briefly held the position of associate professor of Religious Studies at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California in 1986. Between 1987 and 1994 Craig pursued further research at the University of Leuven, Belgium. Since 1994 he has been a Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada, California. He is a fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, which is the hub of the intelligent design movement, and a fellow of the International Society for Complexity, Information and Design (ISCID).
Dr. Craig suffers from a neuromuscular disorder called Charcot—Marie—Tooth disease, a hereditary disorder that involves the slow disintegration of the myelin sheaths around the nerves in the forearms and legs, resulting in progressive muscular atrophy.
Craig is a Molinist who embraces a Plantingian epistemology and inclines towards progressive creationism. He has published widely on the topics of the historicity of the resurrection accounts of Jesus and the philosophy of time for which he advocates a tensed or A-Theory of time and a Neo-Lorentzian interpretation of the Theory of Relativity. In addition, he argues extensively for a finely tuned theistic universe , a personal cause of the universe, and a theistic objective morality.
His work in Christian apologetics includes critiques of evolution, new atheism, liberal theology, metaphysical naturalism, logical positivism, postmodernism, moral relativism, Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, Islam, homosexuality, and many of the ideas put forth by the Jesus Seminar.
Craig maintains an Atlanta-based ministry called Reasonable Faith, with more than a dozen local chapters. Its website of the same name offers a variety of resources in the field of Christian apologetics, including scholarly articles, newsletters, and transcripts of debates with prominent philosophers, scientists, and biblical scholars on the truth claims of Christianity.
Craig is a frequent public speaker who has been participating in professional debates concerning the existence of God for over two decades, some of which have been subsequently published as books. During his career, Craig has debated many notable atheists and scholars such as Bart D. Ehrman, Christopher Hitchens, Antony Flew, and Quentin Smith. Craig has also debated Muslims concerning the concept of God.
Time and Eternity: Exploring God's Relationship to Time. Wheaton: Crossway. 2001.
What Does God Know? Atlanta: RZIM. 2002.
Hard Questions, Real Answers. Wheaton: Crossway Books. 2003.
(co-authored with J.P. Moreland) Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 2003.
(ed. with Francis Beckwith and J. P. Moreland) To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview: Essays in Honor of Norman Geisler. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 2004.
(co-authored with Paul Copan) Creation out of Nothing: Its Biblical, Philosophical, and Scientific Exploration. Grand Rapids: Baker Bookhouse. 2004. ISBN 0801027330
(ed. with Paul Gould) The Two Tasks of the Christian Scholar: Redeeming the Soul, Redeeming the Mind. Wheaton: Crossway. 2007.
(ed. with Paul Copan) Passionate Conviction: Contemporary Discourses on Christian Apologetics. Nashville: Broadman & Holman. 2007.
(ed. with Chad Meister) God Is Great, God Is Good. Downers Grove: InterVarsity. 2009.
(ed. with Paul Copan) Contending with Christianity's Critics: Answering New Atheists & Other Objectors. Nashville: Broadman & Holman. 2009.
On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook. 2010.
Debate Books
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up? A Debate Between William Lane Craig and John Dominic Crossan (ed. Paul Copan). Grand Rapids: Baker Bookhouse. 1998.
Jesus' Resurrection: Fact or Figment? A Debate Between William Lane Craig and Gerd Ludemann (eds. Paul Copan and Ronald K. Tacelli). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 2000.
Five Views on Apologetics (ed. Steven B. Cowan). Grand Rapids: Zondervan. 2000.
Divine Foreknowledge: Four Views (eds. James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 2001.
God and Time: Four Views (ed. Gregory Ganssle). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 2001.
Who Was Jesus? A Jewish-Christian Dialogue. (eds. Paul Copan and Craig Evans). Louisville: Westminster-John Knox Press. 2001.
Does God Exist? The Craig-Flew Debate (ed. Stan W. Wallace). Aldershot: Ashgate. 2003.
(co-authored with Walter Sinnot-Armstrong)God?: A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist. New York: Oxford University Press. 2003.
Is Goodness Without God Good Enough? (eds. Robert Garcia and Nathan King). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. 2008.
What Does God Control? Four Views on Divine Providence (ed. Dennis W. Jowers). Grand Rapids: Zondervan. forthcoming.
