They have made available some short videos of an interview with Professor Alvin Plantinga, a leading American philosopher, from the University of Notre Dame, where he is something of an institution having been there since 1982. He is especially well-known for his work in the philosophy of religion. Plantinga is one of the key reasons why we are experiencing a renaissance of interest in a philosophical defense of Christianity. His argument, made in the 1970s, that established that there is no ‘logical’ inconsistency in believing in an all-powerful loving God despite the reality of suffering, was something of a turning point in Philosophy.
In this interview at Notre Dame, Simon Smart talks to Plantinga about God, Richard Dawkins and personal faith. Plantinga provides a summary of his evolutionary argument against Naturalism, as well as giving a personal reflection on the highs and lows of a life of faith.
Part I: Reasons for God: Plantinga explains why he believes there is a God, and gives us a summary of his argument that says naturalism cannot be rationally believed.
Part II: Where Richard Dawkins goes wrong: Plantinga suggests that Richard Dawkins is not only weak in argumentation, but that his conception of human nature is unlovely and dispiriting.
Part III: Sure Faith Without Proof: Why faith makes sense even though we can't 'prove' its worth and truth.
Part IV: Is God Good? In the final part of the interview, Plantinga responds to the criticism that the God of Old Testament is a moral monster. He also goes on to describe the hardest aspects of being a believer and the ways he has experienced God in his life.