ID/Evo Debate at Stanford.

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ID/Evo Debate at Stanford.

Postby SC-Pastafarian » Sun Jan 27, 2008 11:43 pm

Howdy! Man... its been ages since I've posted here (not for lack of faith though :wink: )

I wish I had thought of posting this sooner so others near Standford University would get a chance to attend but I realized today how much you folks would enjoy hearing about this debate. A co-worker of mine brought flyers to work a earler this week about a debate that would be occuring at Stanford University. As far as I know, this guy is pro-ID (and how you don't believe in evolution after getting a degree in biology is beyond me, but that's another topic). The rest of us are all highly evolved.

Anywho... about the debate. It is today (Sunday Jan 27). The topic is 'Atheism vs. Theism and the Scientific Evidence of Intelligent Design'. The debate is between Christopher Hitchens (author of God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything) and Jay W. Richards (I know nothing about this guy, but he is a Research Fellow and Director of Acton Media, The Acton Institune). The event will be hosted by the almighty Ben Stein as well as Mark Mittelberg (author of 'Becoming a Contagious Christian') and will be moderated by Michael Cromartie. If you happen to get the 'Church Communication Network' on TV, it will be broadcast live at 3:55 PST. If they show the audience... I'll be the one in my FSM shirt. :mrgreen:

Now... on to how biased this debate seems to be. Lets see... they seem to want to debate scientific evidence and yet.... they don't have one SCIENTIST debating. There is a PhD in philosophy and theology and a journalist who studied politics, philosophy and economics. How there will be any credibility in the portion that relates to science, I don't know. Then, they invite a hot-headed atheist with rather extreme views to debate a mellow theist. Which side do you think is poised to look like the a*hole? I'm sure this is all derived from who is sponsorin the event... 'IDEA' the Stanford Club that stands for 'Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness'. I'll report back after the debate.

If anyone in the area is still interested in going on such short notice, I'm not sure what the ticket situation is like, but they can be obtained by e-mailing: [email protected] (they're free).
In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupidity.
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Postby SC-Pastafarian » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:24 am

Yes, Christopher Hitchens did hold his own. And the creationist guy made sure to point out which podium all the name-calling was coming from.

I came away rather disappointed by the actual debate, but entertained nonetheless. It was very easy to see which way the cards were stacked. Both the host (Ben Stein) and the moderator (Michael Cromartie) had very clear opinions and their questions were pointed accordingly. They didn't ask any questions that the audience had written on 3x5 cards during the live broadcast... only questions people watching at their curch had e-mailed in so those were pointed accordingly as well. I don't think there was one question during the entire broadcast of the debate that was pointed against creationism. They did open up for about 15min. afterwards where the audience could ask questions (off the air).

And yes... Ben Stein is making a new movie called Expelled. According to him at the debate, its about students who were expelled for questioning evolution.

Oh... and the creationist guy said that Mt. Rushmore was in North Dakota... I got a kick out of that.
In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupidity.

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Postby PantyGnawer » Mon Jan 28, 2008 7:23 am

Don't worry, I'm sure Hitchens will hold his own, even if he does piss some people off in the process. If you're lucky he'll have downed a few johnny walkers before the show. Then he'll really stick it to them.

I was curious about Ben Stein being there, so I googled it and came up with this. Apparently he's making a movie for the ID camp.
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Postby Wawizzle » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:20 pm

Is any part of this debate on YouTube yet?

I really want to see Hitchens in action.
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Postby PantyGnawer » Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:46 am

Wawizzle wrote:Is any part of this debate on YouTube yet?

I really want to see Hitchens in action.


No videos yet but here is a good review. Funny that the thing was only broadcast through the Church Communication Network.

The whole thing does seem rigged. Just the title is bullshit. Atheism vs theism has really nothing to do with intelligent design (and they call intelligent design science in the title).

I knew that Hitchens wasn't equipped to battle it out on biological or scientific basis, and it looks like he tackled ID on more of a philisophical basis.
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