God Delusion Debate to Pit Dawkins Against Christian Apologist
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.
by Nathan Black, Christian Today US Correspondent
Posted: Wednesday, September 19, 2007, 8:41 (BST)
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 October 3 debate, which takes place at the Alys Stephens Center in Birmingham, Alabama, will tackle one of the world's most critical and age-old questions - does God exist? - coupled with views expressed in Dawkins' latest book.
Dawkins, labelled by the BBC as "Darwin's Rottweiler", is a prominent spokesman for "New Atheism". The once silent and ignored atheist minority has emerged as a vocal, insistent bunch that does not 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 five million American adults claim to be atheists and staunchly reject the existence of God. When that is added to number of 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 much anticipated book, Lennox invites readers to re-examine the atheist's position that the nature of science points towards 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.
Copyright © 2009 Christian Today. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The comments below are readers' personal opinions and are in no way intended to reflect the editorial opinion of Christian Today.
Added: Saturday, October 13, 2007, 0:55 (BST)
While atheists try to puff out their chests saying we are getting rid of prayer, words etc that have to do with Christianity, they don't realize that they are only hurting themselves. Whenever they die, they will finally realize that there is God, and it will be too late. We can pray for them that they might change their minds before that, but we can't force them to change. They are making their own destiny, their own paths, and must remember that there are consequences at the end.
You can try to take away public prayer, Christian words, or anything else that has to do with God, but you can never take the Holy Spirit out of those who are believers. You can also never take away God, He was, is and will always be.
Its scary thinking about what the unbelievers will have to face during the tribulation and at their death. However, I am not scared for myself because God has a reserved place for me with Him. He gave me the gift of grace and I accepted 14 yrs ago.
Lorena, Yorkville, NY USA
Added: Thursday, October 4, 2007, 17:06 (BST)
I seriously doubt Richard Dawkins will convert to any religion. My mother-in-law is a Christian, I am an atheist... we've had discussions before, she lent me Case for a Creator which I read half of, I lent her Why I Am Not a Christian. She called and told me to listen to the debate, probably in hopes that I would get something good out of it. I felt almost embarrassed for Lennox. I am 20 and largely self-educated and I could have broke down his arguments. He was coherent and probably a lot of Christians think he did good, but his arguments were base and weak. If you're debating on behalf of a school of thought that is inherently crippled and that has had to make as many compromises as Christianity has, you can only do so good. Dawkins needed a more worthy opponent though, at least.
What I would've loved though was to see them quote selected scriptures for Lennox and Dawkins to debate on like they did excerpts from Dawkin's book.
Frank M., Cleveland, TN, USA
Added: Friday, September 28, 2007, 16:36 (BST)
Richard Dawkins makes sense. He is looking at the evidence of science, of what we know for sure, and judging on that basis. Of course, as an atheist i dont utterly reject the idea of a God, but i, as Dawkins does, simply looks at what we know and makes an informed judgement. What do you make your judgement on? Someone who stands on the front of a church and tells you what to think? or is it just a book written thousands of years ago by some people in israel? Think for yourselves! Or at the very very least look at the evidence from all sides. I urge you to read Dawkin's latest book The God Delusion. Just to get all the facts.
Tom Livingstone, Birmingham, UK
Added: Saturday, September 22, 2007, 7:21 (BST)
I also pray for this mans salvation. At the same time, these people that outright blaspheme God like this, will stand accountable one day. I can't even imagine what it must be like for these people that downright deny God's existence when they are actually standing before Him in judgment! I would definitely not want to be in their shoes!
DJ, US
Added: Wednesday, September 19, 2007, 17:41 (BST)
http://sciencetheoryreligion.angelcities.com/index.html
Dawkins is the one that has the delusion. His rage against God is misdirected.
Manning, usa
Added: Wednesday, September 19, 2007, 13:18 (BST)
I know a lot of people are quite angry with Mr. Dawkins and all he's done for the "atheist" movement. However, I seriously hope and pray that the Lord pulls a "Paul" on him. What wonderful sweet victory would it be for the Lord to directly reach out and convert Mr. Dawkins to Brother Richard!
We should be praying for this and not praying specifically against Mr. Dawkins.
Cheers,
Jeffrey
Jeffrey D. Shaffer, Japan
