Category Archives: Philosophy

A Famous Debate

On January 28, 1948 Bertrand Russell, the famous Welsh logician and Fr. Frederick Copleston, a Jesuit priest-philosopher held a debate on the existence of God on BBC Radio. Apparently, the original debate was widely listened to in England and stirred up a considerable amount of excitement. I took a particular interest in this debate because I have great respect for Fr. Copleston, having read much of his History of Philosophy. I also have much respect for Bertrand Russell’s intellect and his important essay, “Why I am not a Christian.” Additionally, Ravi Zacharias is fond of quoting this debate because of the dramatic clash of worldviews it put on display long before many other philosophical fissures developed in our general Western society. Even if you don’t enjoy the meat of the debate, their accents are really worth hearing!

I put up the audio on Internet Archive myself today:
Audio: Debate on the Existence of God, Bertrand Russell and Fr. Frederick Copleston SJ

You can also get the text of the debate here.