Not counting chat channel conversations and Paltalk dialogs, the following is a list of Dr. James White’s debates:
Formal Debates (see the AOMin bookstore for audio and video recordings of many of these)
1. Sola Scriptura, August, 1990 vs. Gerry Matatics, Long Beach, CA
2. Perseverance of the Saints, December, 1990 vs. Gerry Matatics, Phoenix, AZ
3. The Papacy, December, 1990 vs. Gerry Matatics, Tempe, AZ
4. Justification by Faith, January, 1991 vs. Fr. Mitch Pacwa, El Cajon, CA
5. The Mass, January, 1991 vs. Fr. Mitch Pacwa, El Cajon, CA
6. Justification by Faith, May, 1991 vs. Art Sippo, Toledo, OH
7. Sola Scriptura, November, 1992 vs. Gerry Matatics, Omaha, NB
8. The Mass, November, 1992 vs. Gerry Matatics, Omaha, NB
9. Justification by Faith, April, 1993, vs. Gerry Matatics, Boston College
10. The Apocrypha, April, 1993, vs. Gerry Matatics, Boston College
11. The Papacy: NT Evidence, July, 1993 vs. Gerry Matatics, Denver, CO
12. The Papacy: Early Church Evidence, July, 1993 vs. Gerry Matatics, Denver, CO
13. Sola Scriptura, September, 1993 vs. Patrick Madrid, San Diego, CA
14. Is the KJV the Best Translation, vs. D.A. Waite, 1994
15. Justification, July, 1994, vs. Dr. Fastiggi, Austin, TX
16. Indulgences, July, 1994, vs. Dr. Fastiggi, Austin, TX
17. Mary, July, 1994, vs. Dr. Fastiggi, Austin, TX
18. Papal Infallibility, July, 1994, vs. Dr. Fastiggi, Austin, TX
19. The Papacy, Summer 1995 James White, Robert Zins vs. Scott Butler and Robert Sungenis, Boston College, Boston, MA
20. Paedobaptism, June, 1995 with Geoff Volker against Robert Strimple and Gary Johnson, Tempe, AZ
21. Paedobaptism, October, 1995 with Geoff Volker, University of New Mexico
22. The Marian Dogmas, May, 1996 vs. Gerry Matatics, Long Island, NY
23. Man’s Will, Christ’s Atonement, May, 1997 vs. Jim Barker, Queens, NY
24. Sola Scriptura, May, 1997 vs. Gerry Matatics, Long Island, NY
25. Election and Predestination, May 1998, vs. Paul Barber, Queens, NY
26. The Papacy, May, 1998 vs. Fr. Mitch Pacwa, Long Island, NY
27. Sola Scriptura, July, 1998 vs. Tim Staples, Fullerton, CA
28. Does the NT Teach the Deity of Christ, May, 1999 vs. Hamza Abdul Malik, Syosset, NY
29. Is the Trinity Biblical?, May, 1999 vs. Robert Sabin, Patchoque, NY
30. The Mass, May, 1999 vs. Robert Sungenis, Long Island, NY
31. Is the KJV the Best, July, 1999 vs. Thomas Holland, Indianapolis, IN
32. Sola Scriptura, December 1999 vs. Mitch Pacwa, El Cajon, CA
33. Justification by Faith, April, 2000 vs. RCIA Instructor, Sale Lake City, UT
34. Justification, May, 2000 vs. Robert Sungenis, Long Island, NY
35. Papal Infallibility, July, 2000, vs. Tim Staples, Fullerton, CA
36. Papal Infallibility, November, 2000, vs. Robert Sungenis, Clearwater, FL
37. The Will of Man, March, 2001, vs. Richard Hopkins, Salt Lake City, UT
38. Is Homosexuality Consistent with Biblical Christianity, May, 2001, vs. Barry Lynn, Long Island, NY
39. Purgatory?, May, 2001, vs. Fr. Peter Stravinskas, Long Island, NY
40. Grace and Works, October, 2001 vs. Roger Keller, Salt Lake City, UT
41. Who Controls Salvation?, April, 2002 vs. George Bryson, Anaheim, CA
42. The Fall of Adam, April, 2002, vs. Gilbert Scharffs, Salt Lake City, UT
43. Veneration of Saints and Images, July, 2002, vs. Patrick Madrid, Long Island, NY
44. Can Men Become Gods?, October, 2002, vs. Martin Tanner, Salt Lake City, UT
45. Inclusivism, November, 2002, vs. John Sanders, Tampa, FL
46. Open Theism, November, 2002, vs. John Sanders, Orlando, FL
47. The Atonement of Christ, April, 2003, vs. Dennis Potter, Salt Lake City, UT
48. The Mass, April, 2003, vs. Robert Sungenis, Salt Lake City, UT
49. Is the Roman Catholic Priesthood Biblical?, May, 2003, vs. Fr. Mitch Pacwa, Long Island, NY
50. The Perpetual Virginity of Mary, October, 2003, vs. Gerry Matatics, Salt Lake City, UT
51. Jesus: God or a god?, December, 2003, vs. Gregory Stafford, Tampa, FL
52. Are Temples Consistent with NT Christianity?, April, 2004, vs. Richard Hopkins, Salt Lake City, UT
53. Is Gay Marriage Consistent with NT Christianity?, April, 2004 vs. Dee Bradshaw, Salt Lake City, UT
54. Is the Apocrypha Canonical?, May, 2004, vs. Gary Michuta, Long Island, NY
55. Are Roman Catholics Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ?, November, 2004, vs. Douglas Wilson, Los Angeles, CA
56. Regeneration and Faith, April, 2005, vs. Robert Wilkin, Oklahoma City, OK
57. Can Non-Christians Enter Heaven?, June, 2005, vs. William Rutland, Long Island, NY
58. Is the Bible True?, August, 2005, vs. John Dominic Crossan, Seattle, WA
59. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, August, 2005, vs. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan
(with James Renihan), Sun Princess (at sea)
60. Calvinism vs. Arminianism, April, 2006, vs. Dr. Jonathan Wright, Sedalia, MO
61. Is the New Testament We Possess Today Inspired? May, 2006, vs. Shabir Ally, Biola University
62. Baptism for Believers Only? October, 2006 vs. Pastor William Shishko, Long Island, NY
63. Is Homosexuality Consistent with Biblical Christianity? November, 2006, vs. Bishop John Shelby Spong, Orlando, FL
64. Did Jesus Offer Himself on the Cross as a Willing Sacrifice for the Sins of God’s People?, October, 2007, vs. Shabir Ally, Seattle, WA
65. Can We Trust What the New Testament Says about Jesus and the Gospel?, March 21, 2008, vs. Nadir Ahmed, Norfolk, VA
66. Does the Bible Teach Jesus is God?, April 12, 2008, vs. Jalal Abualrub, Fullerton, CA
67. The Freedom of God in Salvation, April 3-9, 2008, vs. Steve Gregg, Radio
68. Gay Marriage, April 22, 2008, vs. Dr. Michael K. Schutz, Hayward, CA
69. Did Jesus Claim to Be God?, September 21, 2008, vs. Farhan Qureshi, Bellflower, CA
70. Was Jesus Crucified or Substituted?, September 20, 2008, vs. Osama Abdullah, Bellflower, CA
71. Can We Trust the New Testament?, September 20, 2008, vs. Osama Abdullah, Bellflower, CA
72. Does Belief in the Trinity Necessitate Shirk?, November 11, 2008, vs. Adnan Rashid, London, England
73. Does Belief in the Trinity Necessitate Polytheism?, November 13, 2008, vs. Abdullah al-Andalusi, Radio
74. Jesus: Divine Son of God or Prophet of Allah?, November 13, 2008, vs. Sami Zaatari, London, England
75. Is Jesus Prophesied in the OT?, November 17, 2008, vs. Shabir Ally, London, England
76. Is Muhammad Prophesied in the Bible?, November 17, 2008, vs. Shabir Ally, London England
77. The Bible and the Qur’an: a Comparison, November 20, 2008, vs. Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Durham, NC
Now, suppose some says: “Dr. James White is afraid to debate me.” Is it more likely that the person is correct, or that the person has an inflated ego?
-Turretinfan
UPDATE:
Looks like I may have to update this with a list of Dr. White’s books and other written apologetics materials.
One guy has claimed: “Sorry to disappoint you, Your Eminence, and to wreck your prophetic prowess, but I just ain’t interested anymore in dealing with fools and intellectual cowards who consistently refuse to defend their positions when challenged in writing again and again. “
It would be funny if the guy himself did not make such an idiotic statement with a straight face.
Update: Updated in December 2008, with additional debates through December 2008.
8 responses to “Afraid to Debate?”
IMHO, debates resolve next to nothing. If the debaters are near equals in terms of debating skills, the debate ends up being little more than a ‘wash’, with each ‘side’ coming away thinking their man won. The Stafford debate (#51 on your list) is a good example of this. If the debaters are not equals in debating skills the end result ultimately ‘proves’ but one thing: one of the participants is a better debater, not that his position is truly the correct one.On any given subject, I will take a good book over a debate hands-down. Yet with that said, I suppose it could be argued that debates can be entertaining, and may offer some benefit to the “choir” and those who do not like to read.Grace and peace,David
David,Obviously, your comment is a bit off-topic.Nevertheless, let me respond:DW: “IMHO, debates resolve next to nothing.”They can help to make the issues clearer to the audience. That’s one reason that they have such a long lineage, even in such subject matters as election of public officials.DW: “If the debaters are near equals in terms of debating skills, the debate ends up being little more than a ‘wash’, with each ‘side’ coming away thinking their man won. The Stafford debate (#51 on your list) is a good example of this.”This seems to approach debate from the standpoint of only the W/L. In other words, a clever debater may be able to eke out a victory from a tenuous position, and a blundering fool may be able to botch a very strong position.It also seems to assume that the positions are about equal to begin with. That assumption is sometimes true, sometimes false.But there is a better way to approach debate: namely as an exposition of the weaknesses both of one own’s side, and the other side. That is to say, debate provides light on the subject, even if that light is generated as sparks with lots of heat from the friction of the two sides.A well-balanced debate with skilled debaters can be a real learning experience, for people on both sides of any important fence.DW: “If the debaters are not equals in debating skills the end result ultimately ‘proves’ but one thing: one of the participants is a better debater, not that his position is truly the correct one.”Again, this seems to suffer from the same defect above. Furthermore, of course, the solution here is to have a number of debates, not just one – and a number of debaters, not just two.On the other hand, a vastly unbalanced debate is simply a bad idea. When one side doesn’t bother to prepare, the circles that the prepared side runs around the other side are meaningless.DW: “On any given subject, I will take a good book over a debate hands-down.”Books are great. I have encouraged reading good books here before. But a book is generally one-sided. There are certainly exceptions, but that’s typically the case. A book can be like a really long one-sided debate.DW: “Yet with that said, I suppose it could be argued that debates can be entertaining, and may offer some benefit to the “choir” and those who do not like to read.”Those are benefits, but side benefits.-Turretinfan
Here again, I think I will stick with being one of His dumb sheep!Did you want to debate it?:)
Dear Michael,:)-Turretinfan
Well, judging by the number of debates, I’d say James White isn’t afraid to debate in general. But, depending on who you quoted, and I suspect I know who, if that person is not on that list as an opponent, then there might be some substance to the claim. At the very least, a long list of debates with other people doesn’t rule it out.
Hidden One,Not even a person’s name appearing on the list 20 times could guarantee that Dr. White is not afraid now of debating that person.But his record of debating knowledgeable opponents on a variety of topics makes claims by people that Dr. White is afraid to debate them seem (at best) farfetched.It also can tend to make such a person look like he has a rather inflated opinion of himself, depending on the topic and on the person.Joe Youtuber claiming that Dr. White is afraid to debate him is one thing, a leading scholar on some subject not on the list above, making a similar claim would be quite another.-Turretinfan
“Joe Youtuber claiming that Dr. White is afraid to debate him is one thing, a leading scholar on some subject not on the list above, making a similar claim would be quite another.”So then the question is, is it Joe Youtuber or a scholar or someone else who is making the claim you ridicule?
Hidden One,a) I don’t know any serious scholars who have made that claim. I know a number of Youtubers and e-pologists that have.b) This is observation is not ridicule. When I ridicule, I use a lot more sarcasm.-Turretinfan