Dr. Norman L. Geisler (author, educator, and Dean of Southern
Evangelical Seminary, Charlotte, NC) and Mr. Farrell Till (editor
of The
Skeptical Review and
English teacher at Spoon River College, Canton, IL) met for public
debate March 29, 1994, at the Columbus College Fine Arts Hall
(Columbus, GA). The proposition was "Jesus of Nazareth died
and rose bodily from the grave," which Geisler affirmed and
Till denied. The format was two 20 minute speeches followed by
two 10 minute rebuttals. There was then a 30-minute period of
questions from the audience and finally, the closing speeches
of two minutes each. Geisler won the toss and, thus, spoke first.
NOTE: This transcript is not the official record of the debate
although it has been reviewed and approved by Farrell Till. While
complete accuracy was attempted, errors no doubt persist. Square
brackets ([]) were used for explanatory insertions and to indicate
that it was impossible to determine from the tape what was said.
Ellipses (...) were used to show that the speaker did not complete
his thought (they do not imply that words were left out of the
manuscript).
