Below is a list of previous club meetings. You can see the date and topic for our next meeting, and sign up to join us for friendly and interesting discussion. Your donation helps make this club possible. Most meeting are by Zoom only but we have a few hybrid meetings (Zoom plus in-person) a year. Join us at the posted times by visiting www.watchman.org/Zoom.
September 2024: IN PERSON — Dr. Graham Oppy, a leading atheist philosopher and former Christian, was our guest author discussing his book, Conversations About: God and the Problem of Evil. Graham’s main area of research is the philosophy of religion. He currently holds the posts of Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of Research at Monash University. Watch Now!
August 2024: IN PERSON — Phil Bair was our guest author discussing his book, Machines Don’t Laugh: Confronting the Fallacies of Atheism . . . Again. Phil studied philosophy, technology, and earth sciences at the University of Iowa, University of Colorado, and the National Institute of Technology. He served as philosophy consultant and speaker for Rivendell, a cultural apologetics group. Watch Now!
July 2024: IN PERSON — “Godless Granny” Kelly Pearsall was our guest speaker discussing her YouTube channel, Godless Granny. Kelly, a former Christian now atheist, is a retired attorney. Watch Now!
June 2024: IN PERSON — Eric Hernandez was our guest author discussing his book, The Lazy Approach to Evangelism: A Simple Guide for Conversing with Nonbelievers. Eric is the Apologetics Lead and Millennial Specialist for Texas Baptists. Watch Now!
March 2024: IN PERSON — The “Faithiest Atheist,” Richard Suttles, was our guest author discussing the question, “Does Christianity Lead to Cultic Mind Control?” Richard, a former Baptist, has worked for the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). His special focus in the radicalization processes that can lead to violence and terrorism. Watch Now!
Jan. 2024: IN PERSON — Dr. Neil Shenvi (Ph.D in Theoretical Chemistry at U.C. Berkeley) was our guest author discussing his book, Why Believe? A Reasoned Approach to Christianity, and taking your questions. Watch Now!
Dec. 2023: IN PERSON — Atheist cosmologist, Dr. Lawrence Krauss, NY Times bestselling author was taking Q&A and discussing his latest book, The Edge of Knowledge: Unsolved Mysteries of the Cosmos. Watch Now!
Sept. 2023: IN PERSON — Dr. Timothy McGrew, chair of the philosophy department at Western Michigan University, was our guest author taking Q&A and discussing his wife, Dr. Lydia McGrew’s, latest book, Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels. This was both an in person and virtual club (Zoom), Watch Now!
Aug. 2023: IN PERSON — Guest author, Dr Gary Habermas, is a Distinguished Research Professor of Apologetics and Philosophy at Liberty University. He earned a Ph.D. from Michigan State University, an M.A. from the University of Detroit and a B.R.E. from William Tyndale College. We discussed his book, Risen Indeed: A Historical Investigation into the Resurrection of Jesus, Watch Now!
July 2023: IN PERSON — Guest author, David Fitzgerald, is a writer, public speaker, and an historical researcher. He currently holds the posts of Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of Research at Monash University. We discussed his book, Jesus: Mything in Action, Watch Now!
June 2023: IN PERSON — Guest author, Dr. Joshua Rasmussen, a philosopher whose main area of expertise is analytic metaphysics with a focus on basic categories of reality, such as objects, ideas, and necessary existence. He is an assistant professor of philosophy at Azusa Pacific University. We discussed his book, How Reason Can Lead to God, Watch Now!
MAY 2023: IN PERSON — Guest author, Dr. Graham Oppy, an Australian philosopher whose main area of research is the philosophy of religion. He currently holds the posts of Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of Research at Monash University. We discussed his 2018 book, Atheism: The Basics. Watch Now!
APRIL 2023: IN PERSON — Guest author, Dr. Luke Barnes, is a theoretical astrophysicist, cosmologist, and postdoctoral researcher at Western Sydney University. He received his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge in 2009. For this club we discussed his book, A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos, he coauthored with Dr. Geraint Lewis. Watch Now!
MARCH 2023: We discussed the documentary Transcendent Man, featuring inventor, computer scientist, futurist and transhumanist Ray Kurzweil. Named as one of the top 25 most influential living atheists by SuperScholar.com, Kurzweil is creator of the optical character scanner, computer speech recognition tech, the electronic keyboard synthesizer, and much more. Watch Now!
February 2023: IN PERSON — Guest author, Dr. Fazale “Fuz” Rana, is president and CEO at Reasons to Believe (RTB). Dr. Rana holds a PhD in chemistry (Ohio University) and worked as a senior R&D scientist for Procter & Gamble. For this club we discussed his book on transhumanism, Humans 2.0. Watch Now!
January 2023: IN PERSON — Guest author, Dr. Julian Baggini, is a well-known atheist philosopher and journalist who has written over 20 books about philosophy for a popular audience. For this month’s club, we discussed his book, Atheism: A Very Short Introduction. Watch Now!
December 2022: IN PERSON — Guest author, Mark Lanier, is a prominent trial attorney with The Lanier Law Firm and author of the book, Atheism on Trial. Mr. Lanier founded the Lanier Theological Library and the Christian Trial Lawyers Association. Watch Now!
August 2022: IN PERSON — Dr. Sarah Salviander is an astrophysicist and author of the chapter “God, Black Holes and the End of the Universe” in the book, The Story of the Cosmos. Dr. Salviander holds a Ph.D from the University of Texas at Austin where she also was a researcher in the Department of Astronomy for 16 years before entering full-time Christian ministry. Watch Now!
July 2022: IN PERSON — Dr. Dale Allison, author of The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus. Dr. Allison is Princeton Theological Seminary’s Professor of New Testament. He holds a MA and Ph.D from Duke University. He is an ordained elder in the PC (USA). Watch Now!
May 2022: IN PERSON — Dr. Justin Bass, author of The Bedrock of Christianity: The Unalterable Facts of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. Dr. Bass did his undergraduate work at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and earned a Masters of Theology and a Ph.D from Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) in New Testament Studies. This was club was held both in person at watchman.org/map and virtually via Zoom. Watch Now!
April 2022: IN PERSON — Dr. Robert Price, coeditor and coauthor of Varieties of Jesus Mythicism: Did He Even Exist?, holds two Ph.Ds from Drew University (Systematic Theology and New Testament) and is a former Baptist Pastor who is now atheist and leader in the controversial new field of Jesus Mythicism. This was a virtual club (Zoom). Watch Now!
March 2022: IN PERSON — Dr. Danny Faulkner, author of The Created Cosmos, holds an MS in Physics from Clemson University and an MA and PhD. in Astronomy from Indiana University and taught at the University of South Carolina Lancaster for over 26 years. He serves as editor of the Creation Research Society Quarterly. This was a virtual club (Zoom). Watch Now!
February 2022: IN PERSON — Dr. Alan Lightman, a physicist, novelist, poet, essayist and educator, was our guest author taking Q&A and discussing his recent book, Probable Impossibilities: Musings on Beginnings and Endings. Dr. Lightman currently serves as Professor of the Practice of the Humanities at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
November 2021: IN PERSON — Christian apologist Dr. Tim McGrew, chair of the philosophy department at Western Michigan University, was our guest author taking Q&A and responding to last month’s book club featuring New York Times bestseller Bart Ehrman, author of Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. This was both an in person and virtual club (Zoom). Watch Now!
October 2021: IN PERSON — Dr. Bart Ehrman, leading atheist critic of the text of the New Testament, was our guest author taking Q&A and discussing his New York Times bestseller, Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
September 2021: IN PERSON — Dr. Stehpen C. Meyer (PhD, Cambridge) was our guest author taking Q&A and discussing his bestseller, Return of the God Hypothesis. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
August 2021: IN PERSON — Atheist cosmologist, Lawrence Krauss, taking Q&A and discussing his New York Times bestseller, A Universe From Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
July 2021: IN PERSON — Christian philosopher, W. David Beck, talking about his new book, Does God Exist? A History of Answers to the Question. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
June 2021: Our book Dr. Richard Dawkin’s Outgrowing God: A Beginner’s Guide. The meeting included a special message from Richard Dawkins to the members of the Atheist & Christian Book Club. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
May 2021: IN PERSON — Atheist philosopher Dr. Graham Oppy and Christian philosopher Dr. Tim McGrew were our guest authors discussing their book, Four Views on Christianity and Philosophy. The authors joined the club live to interact with club members, take our questions and interact with each other. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
April 2021: IN PERSON — Christian philosopher Paul Copan and atheist philosopher Michael Ruse were our guest authors discussing their book, Three Views on Christianity and Science. The authors joined the club live to interact with club members, take our questions and interact with each other. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
February 2021: IN PERSON — Dr. Craig Keener author of the 2 volume book, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. Craig joined the club live via Zoom to discuss his three chapter interview in Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Miracles, and take our questions. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
January 2021: IN PERSON — John W. Loftus author of the book, The Case Against Miracles. John joined the club by video to discuss his book and take questions. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
December 2020: IN PERSON — Dr. Frank Turek of www.CrossExamined.org and coauthor of the book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. Frank joined the club by video to discuss his book and take questions. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
November 2020: IN PERSON — Seth Andrews of The Thinking Atheist and author of Confessions of a Former Fox News Christian (2020). Seth is a former conservative Christian and radio host who is now an atheist activist, writer and podcaster. He joined the club by video to discuss his new book. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
October 2020: The Enigma of Near Death Experiences (NDE) Dr. Gary Habermas, Christian philosopher and apologist at Liberty University, joined the club by video to discuss the topic of NDEs. This was a virtual club (Zoom) due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Watch Now!
March 2020: God Is Not Great by the late Christopher Hitchens, an English-American author, columnist, essayist, orator, journalist, and social critic. Hitchens was a bestselling author, outspoken atheist and “anti-theist.” He helped popularize atheism in Western culture and was known as one of the “four horsemen” of the New Atheism. Watch Now!
February 2020: Atheist Overreach — What Atheism Can’t Deliver by Christian Smith, Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Smith joined the club by video conferencing to take our questions. Watch Now!
January 2020: IN PERSON — Steve McRae, host of The Non Sequitur Show, discussing “Agnostic Epistemology — How Do We Know What We Don’t Know?” and taking questions. Watch Now!
December 2019: The Truth Behind ‘The Secret’ by James Walker and Bob Waldrep. IN PERSON — James Walker, cofounder of the book club, discussing his book and taking questions. Watch Now!
November 2019: Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. In advance, we interviewed Carl Sagan’s daughter, Sasha Sagan, by video to take questions from the club. Watch Now!
October 2019: The Story of the Cosmos: How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God by Daniel Ray, Allen Hainline, Paul Gould, et. al. Two of the authors, Daniel Ray and Allen Hainline, were in person. Watch Now!
September 2019: The Christian Delusion by John Loftus and Stand Firm by Travis Dickinson (these books are revisited with both authors in person). Watch Now!
August 2019: Behind the Green Curtain by Jim Hall (in person). Watch Now!
July 2019: No Club
JUNE 2019: Stand Firm by Travis Dickinson (in person). Watch Now!
MAY 2019: The Christian Delusion by John W. Loftus. Watch Now!
MARCH/APRIL 2019: Stealing from God by Frank Turek (in person). Watch Now!
MARCH 2019: Beyond Born Again by Robert M. Price. Watch Now!
FEBRUARY 2019: Science and the Mind of the Maker by Melissa Cain Travis. Watch Now!
JANUARY 2019: Why Evolution is True by Jerry A. Coyne. Watch Now!
DECEMBER 2018: The Devil’s Delusion by David Berlinski
NOVEMBER 2018: Why I Am Not a Christian by Richard Carrier (in person)
OCTOBER 2018: Cold-Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace
SEPTEMBER 2018: Why I Believed by Kenneth W. Daniels (in person)
AUGUST 2018: Not God’s Type by Holly Ordway
JULY 2018: How Jesus Became God by Bart Ehrman
JUNE 2018: How God Became Jesus by Michael Bird, Craig Evans and others
MAY 2018: Ten Tough Problems in Christian Thought and Belief by David Madison
APRIL 2018: The Language of God by Francis S. Collins
MARCH 2018: Special meeting with author Dr. Tim McGrew (in person). Watch Now!
MARCH 2018: Free Will by Sam Harris
FEBRUARY 2018: There Is a God by Antony Flew
JANUARY 2018: Jesus, Interrupted by Bart Ehrman
DECEMBER 2017: Unbelievable? by Justin Brierley
NOVEMBER 2017: The Resurrection of Christ debate between Bart Ehrman and William Lane Craig
OCTOBER 2017: Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All by David Fitzgerald
SEPTEMBER 2017: Open topics and informal discussion
AUGUST 2017: Is God Just a Human Invention? by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow
JULY 2017: Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism by Aron Ra (in person)
JUNE 2017: The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
MAY 2017: A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss
APRIL 2017: Improbable Planet by Hugh Ross