[1]NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–If God is good, then why does evil exist? Philosophers, theologians and leading intellectuals have struggled with the question for centuries.
Now collegians can speak to what seems to be an irresolvable question that yet demands an answer.
B&H Academic, a division of B&H Publishing Group of LifeWay Christian Resources, has launched www.GodorNot.com, a social networking site for college students to upload original videos answering the question, “Why do you believe God is good?”
All videos should be no longer than two minutes and must be uploaded by April 5. A $5,000 prize will be awarded to the video receiving the most votes among those submitted by collegians or seminarians carrying 12 or more semester hours.
“When students are challenged to defend their faith, they had better be ready to give a strong answer,” said Jim Baird, publisher for B&H Academic. “One of the greatest challenges students will face is their belief in the goodness of God.”
Baird, noting “a very zealous generation of students” for the cause of Christ, said, “We want to make sure the students know why they are zealous. We want to help equip them to articulate a solid apologetic. We are called to defend our faith when skeptics challenge us.”
[2]Baird said he hopes the uploaded videos on GodorNot.com also will offer testimonies to nonbelievers who question God’s existence and goodness.
“Many students can give an intellectual case for the goodness of God,” he said. “We simply want to show what that goodness looks like. We want them to show the evidence of His goodness.”
GodorNot.com launched in conjunction with B&H’s release of “The End of Christianity: Finding God in an Evil World” by William Dembski, research professor in philosophy at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, where he directs its Center for Cultural Engagement.
Dembski’s book addresses the problem of evil and attempts to resolve how a good God and an evil world can coexist, providing answers to so-called “New Atheists” like Richard Dawkins, author of “The God Delusion,” and Christopher Hitchens, author of “God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.”
A sample chapter of Dembski’s book can be downloaded at the www.GodorNot.com website.
“We wanted to provide an open forum to encourage a dialogue about the goodness of God,” said Dembski, founder of the Intelligent Design blog Uncommon Descent (www.uncommondescent.com) and a senior fellow with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. “It’s as simple as uploading a video, so log on to godornot.com today and enter the discourse.”
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Reported by the communications staff of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. “The End of Christianity: Finding God in an Evil World” is available at LifeWay Christian Stores.