The God vs. Science Smackdown: Two Top Experts Debate at Chapman on March 7

Noted British author, theologian and philosopher Keith Ward of Oxford University will take on scientist and skeptic Michael Shermer in a debate at Chapman University on the nature of reality, science and religion, and God’s existence.  The debate will address such questions as: Can science really explain the origin of the universe, life, consciousness and morality without recourse to God? Or does science in fact provide enough evidence to make belief in God rational?

This epic event, in which one of the world’s leading theists will debate one of the world’s leading atheists, takes place Monday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Chapman University’s Memorial Hall. Chapman chancellor and president-designate Daniele Struppa will moderate the proceedings.

Admission is free and open to the public. Visitor parking information may be found at www.chapman.edu/about/maps-directions. For more information, the public can call 714-997-6636.

This debate is co-sponsored by the Griset Lectureship in Christian Ethics; the Department of Religious Studies in Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the Fish Interfaith Center and the Office of the Chancellor at Chapman University.

About the Debaters:

Keith Ward, D.D. is Emeritus Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford and a fellow of the British Academy. A philosopher, theologian and priest in the Church of England, he is the author of numerous bestselling books, including Christ and the Cosmos; The Evidence for God; God, Chance and Necessity; Christianity: A Guide for the Perplexed; Pascal’s Fire: Scientific Faith and Religious Understanding; and Why There Almost Certainly Is a God—Doubting Dawkins. Dr. Ward is visiting Chapman University as the 2016 Griset Lecturer in Christian Ethics.
Michael Shermer, Ph.D. is Presidential Fellow at Chapman University, the publisher of Skeptic magazine, a monthly columnist for Scientific American, and the author of several bestselling books including: The Moral Arc, The Believing Brain, The Science of Good and Evil, Why Darwin Matters, and Why People Believe Weird Things. His two TED talks were voted in the top 100 of the more than 2000 TED talks.

About the Moderator:

Daniele Struppa, Ph.D. is chancellor of Chapman University, and will become its 13th president on September 1, 2016. He received his doctorate degree in mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park. He was a professor of mathematics at the University of Milano, at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, and at George Mason University in Virginia, where he served as director of the Center for the Applications of Mathematics, as chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, and finally as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of more than 200 papers and has edited or co-authored more than ten books.