I've just watched a very small portion of this debate between Christopher Hitchens and William Dembski at Prestonwood Christian Academy, and I'm not entirely sure when I'll be able to finish it.
In the meantime, I'm simply encouraged that a Christian school operated by a Southern Baptist megachurch grasps the reality that 7th graders are able to comprehend the material and significance of this debate.
5 comments:
I don’t like the idea of a father who never goes away, a king who cannot be deposed, a judge who does not allow a lawyer, jury or appeal. No Thanks.
I don't have to accept or even believe in the superstitions of a bunch of bronze age goat herders, living on their flat world with their imaginary "friend"
I'm not convinced that faith can move mountains, but I've seen what it can do to skyscrapers.
"Come unto me as children". I would not let a child anywhere near ANY of them.
A journalist, author, critic and debater, Hitchens is one of those distinctly British intellectuals who seems to have read everything and forgotten nothing.
In his columns, essays and books, in his speeches and impromptu public appearances, he is incapable of uttering or writing a boring sentence.
Reading and listening to Christopher Hitchens has helped me emancipate myself from a geographically inherited virus of the mind, known more widely as Christianity.
His stand for free expression is courageous and exemplary. He put his life at risk to shelter Sir Salman Rushdie against Islamist death threats. And his famously pugilistic debating style co-exists with a personal graciousness that his enemies rarely acknowledge and never reciprocate.
I've never heard anyone speak so clearly about the falsehoods and dangers of religion. It amazes me that what he says goes right over the heads of believers.
See him debate his brother Peter on youtube "Hitchens vs Hitchens(5of 14)"
Thankyou so so much Christopher Hitchens. Your book, god is not Great, was the closest thing I've had to being "born again". And none of that imaginary stuff. It opened my eyes, ears, heart and mind. I'm now living a better life, and making the most of it - fear, shame and guilt free. So again, to someone I feel I've come to know and like, thankyou.
A side benefit, incidentally, of freeing myself from religious indoctrination was the unexpected pleasure of finding my mind to be a private place. I had not realised until then, how much I resented the intrusion of a heavenly 'peeping Tom'. A permanent farther/dictator who never goes away, who you are ordered to Love and Fear.
What a Horrible concept to impose on your Children.
I don't wish for a world without god, because thats what I already live in. A world without religion will suffice . . .
I'd be interested for you to elaborate on why you think this is a positive thing. It seems like most of the Scripture passages I can think of on this subject would actually suggest a Christian organization should not sponsor someone like Hitchens, especially in a forum with those who are relatively young in the faith.
I'll admit that I'm perhaps a bit inconsistent, in that I'm willing to listen to debates like this when I stumble across recordings online. I just wonder if we can justify bringing skeptics into our churches or schools and giving them a platform, considering the warnings in the NT about unbelief and drifting from the faith.
Michael,
First, I'm assuming there's guided discussion of this debate outside the classroom. That alone doesn't mitigate your concerns (which I'm not dismissing), but . . .
Second, it seems to me that the NT warnings against false teachers address people who come under the guise of "true" teaching. That's not the case hear.
Finally, I'm not entirely convinced that this forum itself is a great idea, for various reasons. I do think it's a very good thing that the dumbing down trend of evangelical youth ministry may be reversing, and this may be one example. That's what I mean when I'm glad these folks believe kids can grasp the material and significance of the debate.
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