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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without permission from the publisher, except in the case of
brief quotations.
All Scripture quotations are from The New King James Version of
the Bible, unless otherwise specified. Copyright © 1982, Thomas
Nelson, Inc.
Apologetics Press, Inc.
230 Landmark Drive
Montgomery, Alabama 36117
© Copyright 2010 2nd Printing (2013)
ISBN: 978-1-60063-032-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Kyle Butt (1976 - )
A Christian’s Guide to Refuting Modern Atheism
Includes bibliographic references
ISBN: 978-1-60063-032-3
1. Apologetics & polemics. 2. Religious ethics. 3. Creation. I. Title
212—dc22
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Generally speaking, the list of people that an author acknowl-
edges holds little value for the majority of people reading the book.
Many of the readers know very little about the author personally,
and they know much less about the people being acknowledged.
In reality, acknowledgments are little more than a list of names
without faces to most readers. Yet acknowledgements represent an
extremely important aspect of a work such as the one you are read-
ing. In the first place, they show the author’s reliance on the ideas
and resources of others, often much more qualified than himself.
In addition, they underscore the human element that is necessar-
ily involved in a book. Books are not lifeless ink on paper, they
are interactive ideas that originated from the energetic minds of
real people. Finally, acknowledgements help the reader to see that
books are labors that require patience, understanding, and effort
from a community, not just an individual. In that light, I would like
to acknowledge the following people. First and foremost, I express
my extreme gratitude to my Creator Whose existence was the fo-
cus of the debate, and Who has supplied humanity with copious
evidence of His reality. Next I would like to thank my delightful
wife Bethany Anne Butt who patiently listened for months to my
incessant recapping of the issues involved in the debate. To Thomas
Baxley, who repeatedly engaged me in “mock debates” to help me
prepare, I owe my gratitude. In addition, I would like to thank the
men from Apologetics Press who contributed their works to this
book: Dave Miller, Eric Lyons, and Caleb Colley. I would also like
to acknowledge Wayne Jackson who contributed to the book, and
whose trenchant thoughts have been invaluable to me through the
years. His Web site www.ChristianCourier.com contains a wealth
of outstanding apologetic material. To my parents, mother and fa-
ther-in-law, brothers and their families who all attended the debate,
thank you for the support. And to the group of men from Mont-
gomery, Alabama who discussed, prayed, and fasted with me, thank
you. And to all the others who have helped edit, design, print, and
distribute this work, may God bless you all.
ABOUT DAN BARKER
Dan Barker is a former denominational minister and evangelist
who became an atheist in 1983. Since that time, he has been one
of the most prolific and outspoken atheists in the world. He joined
the Freedom From Religion Foundation in 1987 and served as its
Public Relations Director until 2004, when he was elected co-pres-
ident of the Foundation. Currently, the FFRF has approximately
14,000 members and is one of the largest atheistic organizations in
existence. Dan has written several books including, Just Pretend: A
Freethought Book for Children, Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher
To Atheist, and Godless: How An Evangelical Preacher Became One
of America’s Leading Atheists. The foreword to Godless was written
by Richard Dawkins, arguably the most notable atheist of the last
two decades. Barker is recognized in the atheistic community as
one of its most able debaters. The “Year In Review” section of the
FFRF Web site noted that he participated in 13 debates in 2009.
Throughout his career, he has participated in approximately 75 de-
bates. In Godless, he claims that he has been involved in more timed,
moderated debates than any other atheist (2008, p. 68). Some of
those debates include:
“Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?” A debate with Michael Horner at
the University of Northern Iowa (1996)
“Does God Exist?” A debate with Richard Howe at the University
of Florida (1997)
“Does the Triune God Live?” A debate with Douglas Wilson at the
University of Delaware (1997)
“Does God Exist?” A debate with Rubel Shelly at the University of
Alabama in Birmingham (1998)
“Does God Exist?” A debate with Tom Rode at Ohio State Uni-
versity (1999)
“Does God Exist?” A debate with Phil Fernandes at Bellevue
Community College (2000)
“Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?” A debate with Mike Licona at the
University of Wisconsin (2003)
“Does Ethics Require God?” A debate with Peter Payne at the
University of Wisconsin (2005)
“Does God Exist?” A debate with Todd Friel at the University of
Minnesota (2006)
“Evolution and Intelligent Design—What are the Issues?” A de-
bate with John Rankin at the New Testament Church in Plym-
outh, Massachusetts (2006)
“Christianity versus Atheism,” A debate with Dinesh D’Souza at
Harvard University (2008)
“The Bible: Fact or Fiction?” A debate with Mark Chavalas at the
University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (2009)
“Can We Be Good Without God?” A debate with Dan Waugh at
Indiana University (2009)
“Can We Be Good Without God?” A debate with Dinesh D’Souza
at the University of Minnesota (2009)
“Can We Be Good Without God?” A debate with Kevin Cauley
Texas State University (2009)
“The Jesus Story is Cut from the Same Cloth as Other Ancient
Mythologies.” A debate with James White at the Newberg Chris-
tian Church in Newberg, Oregon (2009)
“Without God We are Nothing.” A debate with George Pell at
Macquarie University (2010)
“Is Christianity the One True Faith?” A debate with Greg Clarke
at the University of Wollongong (2010)
ABOUT KYLE BUTT
Kyle Butt is a Christian apologist who graduated from Freed-
Hardeman University with a B.A. in Bible and Communication
and an M.A. in New Testament Studies. He has authored or co-
authored more than 20 books, including Out With Doubt: A Look at
the Evidences for Christianity, Behold! The Word of God: Exploring the
Evidence for the Inspiration of the Bible, Truth Be Told: Exposing the
Myth of Evolution, and The Dinosaur Delusion: Dismantling Evolu-
tion’s Most Cherished Icon. For over nine years he has served as the
editor of Discovery magazine, a monthly periodical about Scripture
and science for third through sixth grade children. Kyle has worked
in the Bible department at Apologetics Press for more than a de-
cade. Apologetics Press is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization
dedicated to the defense of New Testament Christianity. This was
Kyle’s first formal debate.
ABOUT THE EVENT
The debate was held on the campus of the University of South
Carolina in Columbia on February 12, 2009. It was sponsored by
the atheistic student organization known as the Pastafarians. The
debate was a part of the Darwin Day events that were scheduled
to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Ori-
gin of the Species, and the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth. The
venue for the debate held approximately 550 people and was filled
to capacity. According to various reports from those who attended,
between 150-250 people were turned away due to fire code restric-
tions. The debate was streamed online via a live Internet feed, with
an estimated audience of 25,000. Shortly thereafter, it was made
available in DVD format, with several thousand distributed. The de-
bate was also posted on Internet video sites such as YouTube.com
and Housetohouse.com. At the time of the printing of this book,
an estimated 50,000 to 100,000 people have watched the debate.
Description:Kyle Butt is a Christian apologist who graduated from Freed-Hardeman University with a B.A. in Bible and Communication and an M.A. in New Testament Studies.
