Pres. D'Souza to Debate Agnostic Religion Professor Bart Ehrman

Upper West Side, NEW YORK– President D'Souza will debate agnostic author and religious studies professor Dr. Bart Ehrman tonight at 7 pm at the New York Society for Ethical Culture (Two West 64th Street at Central Park West). Christian author Eric Metaxes and his Socrates in the City program is hosting the debate on the topic: Godforsaken? God, Suffering and Evil.

Tickets are free to students with their student IDs on a first come, first serve basis. Faculty, staff and other interested parties can purchase tickets for regular seating for $35 online or at the door and premium seating for $100 online or at the door, as available.

Ehrman has written or edited 25 books on early Christianity and the New Testament. His three New York Times bestsellers include: Misquoting Jesus, which describes discrepancies between surviving New Testament copies and scribes' manuscripts; God's Problem, his assessment of the Bible's account of suffering; Jesus Interrupted, an account of scholars' views on the New Testament; and Forged, in which Ehrman argues that some New Testament books are deliberate forgeries. He has taught religious studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill for 24 years, where he is currently the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor and has been both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies. Ehrman graduated from Wheaton College and received his Masters of Divinity and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary.

His newest book, Did Jesus Exist?, defends the historical claim that Jesus walked the earth, yet according to the book's description, "the Jesus you encounter here may not be the Jesus you had hoped to meet." Did Jesus Exist? will be released Mar. 20.

Pres. D'Souza's newest book, Godforsaken, was released Feb. 17 and addresses the questions: does God act like a tyrant?; is God really responsible for the evil in this world?; and why is there suffering in the world? According to the book's description, D'Souza has found that most people wrestle with the question of whether God is good or not more than whether or not he exists.

Pres. D'Souza has authored 14 books. His New York Times bestsellers include: The Roots of Obama's Rage, What's So Great About Christianity, The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and its Responsibility for 9/11 and What's So Great About America.

Both Pres. D'Souza and Ehrman will sign copies of their books after the debate.