God Delusion Debate Pits 'New Atheist' Against Christian Apologist (Lennox/Dawkins, Birmingham Ala)

Christian Post ^ | 18 Sep 07 | Nathan Black

[xzins]

God Delusion Debate Pits 'New Atheist' Against Christian Apologist By Nathan Black Christian Post Reporter Tue, Sep. 18 2007 04:14 PM ET

Staunch atheist Richard Dawkins of The New York Times bestseller The God Delusion will square off in a debate with popular Christian apologist John Lennox next month.

The Oct. 3 debate, which takes place at the Alys Stephens Center in Birmingham, Ala., will tackle one of the world’s most critical and age-old questions – Does God exist? – and views expressed in Dawkins' latest book.

Dawkins, labeled by BBC as "Darwin's Rottweiler," is a prominent spokesman for the "New Atheism." The once silent and ignored atheist minority has emerged as a vocal, insistent bunch that doesn’t just want to deny the existence of God, but wipe religion off the map, as prominent evangelical Chuck Colson put it.

In the past two years, five books touting atheism have hit bestseller lists. Dawkins' The God Delusion is just days away from hitting one year on The New York Times bestseller list this week. And membership at Atheist Alliance International (AAI) has doubled in the past year to 5,200.

"People who were ashamed to say there is no God now say, 'Wow, there are others out there who think like me," said AAI president Margaret Downey, according to The Washington Post.

According to The Barna Group, about 5 million American adults claim to be atheists and staunchly reject the existence of God. If adding the agnostics and other Americans who have doubts of God's existence but do not outright reject a Supreme Being, roughly 20 million people in the nation belong to the "no faith" group.

Dawkins rates himself on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is certitude that God exists and 7 is certitude that God does not exist, as 6, arguing that any scientist would leave open the possibility that God exists.

For Dawkins, however, "God is very improbable" and he lives his life "on the assumption that [God] is not there."

The upcoming debate will take place as Christian apologist Lennox releases his forthcoming book God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?. In the anticipated book, Lennox invites readers to re-examine the atheist's position that the nature of science points toward the non-existence of God.

Former atheist Lee Strobel, now a noted Christian apologist, released a documentary last year using science to prove the existence of God.

"Today, science is pointing more powerfully to a creator than any other time," said Strobel in "The Case for a Creator." "The most logical and rational step is to put my faith in the Creator that science tells me exists."

The God Delusion Debate is being sponsored by Fixed Point Foundation, a Christian think tank. Dawkins is a fellow of the Royal Society and Charles Simonyi chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. Lennox is a fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at the Green College of the University of Oxford. Both have dedicated their careers to science but arrived at very different conclusions. The upcoming event will also be one of the few debates in which Dawkins has ever participated.

[xzins]

Wednesday night debates.

Wonder if they'll televise this; wish they would.

If nothing else, it might be instructive about what a debate really is that a so-called presidental debate is not.

[xzins]

Ping to article

[MHGinTN]

Appreciate the ping ...

There use to be a website which featured interviews with prominent scientists and mathematicians discussing aspects of faith. Can't remember the link but it was a most enjoyable video feature ... I went through the vids to quickly they were so interesting! I wouldn't give Dawkins even a short listen. His arrogant condescension makes him a 'donkey'.

[xzins]

I’ve heard so much about his arrogance that I want to see it in action.

I truly hope this gets televised. I wonder if C-Span or PTL or someone like that would be interested?

[Lee N. Field]

I'd never heard of John Lennox, but he appears to be associated with Ravi Zacharias in some way.

"Dr. John Lennox is Fellow in Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science, and Pastoral Advisor at Green College, Oxford. He is also Visiting Fellow at the Mathematical Institute, Oxford University, and lectures on Faith and Science for the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. He has lectured in many universities around the world, including Austria and in the former Soviet Union. Dr Lennox is interested in the interface of Science, Philosophy and Theology and has lectured and written many articles on Christian apologetics, particularly on the Science-Religion debate."

[Tax-chick]

I used to have a set of Ravi Zacharias tapes on a “basic apologetics” theme. I think it was a debate, or half a debate, in a university setting.

I gave them to a neighbor’s daughter who was leaving for college.

Hitchens is a real piece of work; I hope the opposing speaker is on the ball!

[xzins]

Sounds like Lennox keeps good company.

It’s not likely I’ll drive to Birmingham. Sure hope it gets broadcast somehow.

[MHGinTN]

Any recording ought to be profession, at least. I would bet that UAB (if that’s who is hosting this, the medical college perhaps, or B’ham Southern, or Samford) will have a team recording this. Why else have such a name as Dawkins on the card? I would drive down to be there if I thought I could get in.

[MHGinTN]

Where/what is Alys Stephens Center? Is it associated to one of the universities?

[Tax-chick]

YouTube.com, most likely :-). Or maybe audiotapes will come out.

I thought Ravi Zacharias was very persuasive, and I would have found him persuasive when I was a college student who’d been suckered by secularism in public high school. Students react poorly to arrogant proclamation of opinion as Gospel ... and especially when the proclaimer won’t engage the opposition.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[MHGinTN]

Found this ... it's part of U.A.B. campus:

The Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center (ASC) is a state-of-the-art performing arts facility located on the campus of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). It hosts over 250,000 people for more than 300 diverse events annually. The ASC is the center for entertainment and arts education in Birmingham and Central Alabama. The facility houses 4 performance venues including the 1,330-seat Jemison Concert Hall, the 350-seat Sirote Theatre, the intimate 170-seat Reynolds-Kirschbaum Recital Hall, and the flexible black-box Odess Theatre.

The ASC hosts a wide variety of events each year, in every field of artistic endeavor, from Classical music, to Jazz, to Theatre Arts and Visual Arts. Jazz fans enjoy to a wide diversity of programing offered by the ASC, from Diane Schuur or Branford Marsalis, to the Count Basie Orchestra or Ellis Marsalis with the SuperJazz Big Band. Classical afficianados can hear concerts by world-class performers such as Itzak Perlman or major European orchestras. Also, the ASC is the official home of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. The ASC often collaborates with other local arts organizations, such as the Birmingham Music Club and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame to present concerts and educational programs.

The Alys Stephens Center has also become a popular venue in the Southeast for live recordings. Two examples of notable live recordings done at the ASC are "Gospel Goes Classical," produced by UAB music professor Henry Panion, and "UAB SuperJazz, featuring Ellis Marsalis," co-produced by Henry Panion and former UAB Director of Jazz Ensembles, Ray Reach.

[MHGinTN]

Also found this:<p>

The God Delusion Debate

at The Alys Stephens Center

Remaining true to our goal of engaging secular culture on critical issues in a thoughtful, respectful manner, Fixed Point Foundation will sponsor a debate on what is arguably the most critical question of our time: the existence of God. The decision one makes regarding this question has implications that reverberate throughout eternity to be sure, but it also affects temporal existence from government policy to the individual. Historically, man's belief in the transcendent has served as a restraint on his conduct and provided hope for his future. Now, it is argued, "God is dead", and man can do very well without him.

The debate will feature Professor Richard Dawkins, Fellow of the Royal Society and Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University and Dr. John Lennox (MA, MA, Ph.D., D.Phil., D.Sc.), Reader in Mathematics and Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science, Green College, University of Oxford.

Dawkins, voted by Europe's Prospect Magazine as one of the world's most important intellectuals, is regarded by many as the spokesman for the "New Atheism." BBC has labeled him "Darwin's Rottweiler." He has written numerous best-sellers, most notable among them, his recent book, The God Delusion. TGD has been on The New York Times List of Best-Sellers for over thirty weeks. It is a no-holds-barred assault on religious faith generally, and Christianity specifically. According to Dawkins, one can deduce atheism from scientific study; indeed, he argues that it is the only viable choice.

Lennox, a popular Christian apologist and scientist, travels widely speaking on the interface between science and religion. Like Dawkins, he has dedicated his career to science, but he has arrived at very different conclusions. "It is the very nature of science that leads me to belief in God," he says. Lennox possesses doctorates from Oxford, Cambridge, and the University of Wales. He has written a response to the notion that Science has exposed the Bible as obscurantist in a book titled God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?
(http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Undertaker-John-Lennox/dp/0745953034) The book will be published this fall.

The debate will center on Dawkins' views as expressed in his best-seller, The God Delusion and their validity over and against the Christian faith. This will be the first significant discussion on this issue in the "Bible Belt." Consequently, we believe that it will focus much public attention on this important issue.

Tickets will be availiable through either the Fixed Point Foundation at
http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?organ_val=2706
or the Alys Stephens Center box office on Wednesday, August 1st.
http://main.uab.edu/sites/ASC/buytickets/

[xzins]

Thanks, MH. I sure hope someone broadcasts or records this for sale. I’m truly interested in hearing it. Birmingham is just too far from me, though.

[HarleyD]

For Dawkins, however, "God is very improbable" and he lives his life "on the assumption that [God] is not there."

Hmmmm...seems like someone might not be all that sure.

[HarleyD]

For Dawkins, however, "God is very improbable" and he lives his life "on the assumption that [God] is not there."

Hmmmm...seems like someone might not be all that sure.

[HarleyD]

Sorry for the double post. It rarely happens but a system fluke caused it this time. God must have so ordained it. ;O)

[xzins]

Double posts are the spice of life.

[wmfights]

God's Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? (http://www.amazon.com/Gods-Undertaker-John-Lennox/dp/0745953034) The book will be published this fall.

I know what I want for Christmas. :-)

[tyke]

Hmmmm...seems like someone might not be all that sure.

Not really. Most atheists accept that there is a greater than zero chance that some sort of supernatural deity exists, since there is no way to rule it out completely.

In the same way, you can't rule out the possibility that one day you will be hit and killed by a meteorite falling out of the sky, even though it is extremely unlikely to happen. Since you don't spend your life constantly looking to the sky just in case a meteorite is coming, one could say that you live your life on the assumption that it won't happen to you.

In the same way, even though atheists can't be 100% sure, they believe that the existence of god, especially as defined by the world's great religions, is so improbable that its not worth worrying about in their daily lives.