University to Host Final Philosophy Forum of Fall Semester Dec. 6

December 6, 2019

The final Philosophy Forum of the fall 2019 semester will be held Friday, Dec. 6, at 4 p.m., in the Tulsa Royalties Auditorium in Bailey Business Center. The forum will feature a mock debate on the question: “Does God Exist?” Graduating senior Leslie “Paige” Lehrmann, a double major in mathematics and apologetics, will defend the “affirmative” side of the question. Associate Professor of Philosophy Dr. Tawa Anderson will defend the “negative” side.

During the mock debate, Anderson will be supporting a position that he does not hold in real life, setting forth, as best he can, the arguments, evidence and objections that agnostics and atheists typically present as reasons to reject belief in God. The mock debate will give students an opportunity to experience how arguments and attacks against their Christian faith could be played out.

“I have seen three of Dr. Anderson’s mock debates and I am on to all of his dirty tricks and vacuous arguments,” Lehrmann said. The senior student is confident that her defense of theism will emerge victorious.

“I yearn for the year that a student wipes the floor with me in debate,” Anderson said, “as that would show that my students have gained the ability to confidently confront the strongest objections to faith in God that I can bring to the table. But I am a super competitive person, and so I am hoping to soundly thrash Paige, rhetorically speaking.”

The Philosophy Forum is always an intense crowd-pleaser. All OBU faculty, staff and students are invited to attend, as is the broader Shawnee community.