Posted on 04/12/2007 1:27:09 PM PDT by freedomdefender
Crusading pro-evolution scientist Richard Dawkins has had his anti-religious claims ridiculed during an Oxford debate with a theologian who once was an atheist like the evolutionist, who is devout in his public denunciations of religion. "Having been an atheist, I discovered religion was in fact an enormously powerful, transformative power for good," said Alister McGrath, Oxford University's professor of Historical Theology.
"The claim that the scientific explanation ends everything, ignores fundamental realities. There's a whole range of human experiences, often involving a longing for something beyond us which brings legitimacy to our core notions and philosophical ideas."
The 54-year-old Anglican priest was debating with Dawkins during Oxford 's Literary Festival in March. Dawkins' post as professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford is funded by Hungarian-born Microsoft millionaire Charles Simonyi. His attacks on religion are frequent, and he set up a foundation in December to send atheist books and DVDs to schools in Britain and the United States.
"Far from being enriching, religion is stultifying, impoverishing and limiting," said Dawkins, whose book, "The God Delusion", has sold a million copies since publication in 2006. "Science and religion both attempt to answer the same questions - the difference is that religion gets the answers wrong," the atheist campaigner asserted.
McGrath said, however, science was unable to provide a "guiding moral vision". He noted that non-believers such as the writer Iris Murdoch had agreed on the necessity of a transcendent basis for ethical decisions.
"Although I can't prove Christianity, as I can prove the structure of DNA is a double helix, it is a hypothesis which makes perfect sense, and which gives direction and animation to life," said McGrath, who became a Christian after studying chemistry and molecular biophysics. McGrath recently published "The Dawkins Delusion" as a riposte to the scientist's book.
"Belief in God creates an explanatory framework, which enables you to appreciate and value the sciences while also seeing beyond the beauty and glory of the world to something enriching and ennobling," contended McGrath.
Describing his book as a "consciousness-raising exercise", Dawkins belongs to the London-based National Secular Society, which has since the 19th century campaigned to make Britain atheist. In his speech Dawkins said he had "disposed one by one" of arguments for God's existence, and believed it was "a form of child abuse" to assume children inherited their parents' religion "without consent".
McGrath, however, rejected this, arguing Dawkins had ignored "the dialectic between proving and giving reasons for something," and had falsely assumed science eliminated "the conceptual space for God". "Religion has the capacity to go seriously wrong - it can be dogmatic, intolerant and aggressive, as can other worldviews," said McGrath. "But it can also provide a moral stimulus and raise our imaginative capacities to new heights. For every grand tragedy involving religion, there've been ten thousand acts of personal kindness and social good."
No, Omar is saying that there is nothing except the taste of the wine he is drinking. except maybe the intoxification that is a foretaste of final oblivion.
Atheism is, in it’s own way, as faith-based as any other religion - we simply don’t know enough right now about the Universe to rule out the possibility of some creative force or being. Boils down to a debate between two religious people, neither of whom has any real proof to back up their core belief.
LOL - no kisses please, just a cookie.
"Dawkins’ post as professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford is funded by Hungarian-born Microsoft millionaire Charles Simonyi. His attacks on religion are frequent, and he set up a foundation in December to send atheist books and DVDs to schools in Britain and the United States."
Simonyi is a scientist, a billionaire, an atheist and now a space traveler. I wonder if Hungarian Simonyi thanks himself for his good fortunes or Mother Russia.
Hungarian-born billionaire Simonyi sends greetings from orbit
Budapest, April 11 (MTI) - Hungarian-born Charles Simonyi greeted Hungarians from outer space early on Wednesday morning, four days after he took off on a 12-day space adventure aboard a Russian Soyuz.
In a video conference with MTI, Simonyi, a former Microsoft executive, said he was glad Hungarians were proud of his mission.
"I always feel proud when I hear of a Hungarian achievement. And now I am glad that Hungarians worldwide may feel proud of my trip," Simonyi told MTI.
Simonyi, 58, and the accompanying five professional astronauts are aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Simonyi is the fifth tourist to have blast off into space, a trip which is costing him 25 million U.S. dollars.
Hungarian News Agenecy MTI The Plain Facts
Woah! So many pithy comments!
Unfortunately, those with simply a lack of faith, such as I, aren't a very vocal bunch. It's hard atheists like Dawkins who do most of the talking. You have your similar extreme types in religion, and they also get most of the attention.
Life without belief in God is like a song without a tune.
I have long said there are few of the religious more self righteous than an atheist.
It’s the hard atheists who do all the killing as well.
The article explains that Dawkins has published a book, The God Delusion, attempting to debunk religion in the name of science. His opponent in the debate, Alistair McGrath, is a former atheist who is now a defender of religion and who has written The Dawkins Delusion debunking Dawkins' book.
To the nihilist, nothing is sweet.
I am amazed that Dawkins would say such a thing. Science and religion most definitely do not attempt to answer the same questions.
I have no problem with Dawkins. In fact I appreciate his willingness to debate a topic that is clearly important and obviously effects many lives. What I do have a problem with in the case of some atheists is the active undermining of religious faith against the wishes of the parents:
His (Dawkins) attacks on religion are frequent, and he set up a foundation in December to send atheist books and DVDs to schools in Britain and the United States.
Indoctrination in other words. I don't see what right any school has to teach my children atheist theory as religious fact. Teach them whatever science can prove or what they can't prove and then leave the religious schooling to me.
There is plenty of time down the line for them to make decisions on what they believe themselves, but I do believe it is my right as a Father to teach them what I believe without having it countermanded from another source outside the family.
Dawkins is one reason I really, really hope the folks making the Narnia movies don't touch a word of Puddleglum's speech to the Green Witch: it's a lovely distillation of the arguments against secularism that Lewis gave in full in his Abolition of Man.
Only if you read Omar very superficially.
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