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A Debate Between W. L. Oliphant ... and Charles Smith ...: Held in the Church of Christ, Shawnee, Oklahoma, August 15 and 16, 1929

A review: W.L. Oliphant (born 1887) was minister of the Oak Cliff Church of Christ in Dallas Texas; Charles Smith (born 1900) was the President of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism, in New York City. This debate took place on August 15 and 16, 1929, and debated the propositions, "There is a Supreme Being (God, Creator)"; "Atheism is Beneficial to the Race, and is most conducive to Morality of any Theory Known to Man"; and "All Things exist as to the result of Evolution, Directed by no Intelligence." This book was published in 1952 by a Church of Christ publisher, and its Introduction obviously favors Oliphant (e.g., "It was a pleasure to see how skillfully Brother Oliphant followed Mr. Smith through every one of his speeches, and answered with force and clearness every argument and even every quibble of his opponent"; pg. v). Oliphant states, "Before a man can consistently deny the existence of God, he must make a god of himself. He must declare that he is infinite in knowledge---that he knows everything. No man can consistently say these things. Therefore, no man can consistently declare that God is not. The doctrine of atheism is preposterous and absurd." (P

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