The God Delusion: David Quinn & Richard Dawkins debate (Transcript Here)

Catholic Education Resource Center ^

[kindred]

[more disturbing than the numbers are the reasons behind them: that is, “one of the world’s fastest-growing AIDS epidemics . . . alcohol and drug abuse . . . [and] suicide”]
and
[What’s more, last year there were 100,000 more abortions than births in Russia. And many women who want children can’t have them: “[A]n estimated 10 million Russians of reproductive age are sterile because of botched abortions or poor health.”]

Heloooo, is there anyone out there? Remind me again, what are the advantages of secular humanism?

[bcsco]

See Richard Dawkin's explanation of HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY in light of Darwinian Evolution here :

Thanks. I read a little of it, but tired very quickly. Sorry, but this guy is not worth the time IMO.

[hosepipe]

[ Dawkins: Well the word delusion means a falsehood which is widely believed, and I think that is true of religion. ]

SO TRUE...
Thats why Jesus came to make ALL RELIGION OBSOLETE... and DiD..
Especially secular religion.. Like communism which is merely socialism.. You know.. the religion that the(most) Europeans worship..

Dawkins is fiddling around with a "truth" that he has only half of..

[Prodigal Son]

Doesn't matter to me if other people believe there's a god or not. Got no use at all for religion.

[Albertafriend]

Or Dawkins and Ravi Zacarias. Ravi is absolutely amazing!

[sageb1]

That was an amusing debate.

"It’s a vast question because we cannot be considered morally responsible beings unless we have free will."

And this quote pretty much sums up which one won the debate.

[John Lenin]

The real delusion is thinking man is the king of the universe and that mankind and life on earth is an accident.

[curiosity]

Excellent read. Thanks for posting!

[curiosity]

Excellent read. Thanks for posting!

[steve-b]

You can attemp to dervie a morality not based on God, but such attempts will fail.

Yeah, that explains why classical Confucian Chinese society was such a hotbed of theft, rape, and murder.

Oh, wait a minute....

[khnyny]

bump.

[khnyny]

[Doesn't matter to me if other people believe there's a god or not. Got no use at all for religion.]

LOL. The fact that your FR name is Prodigal Son, I find your statement amusing. On many levels.

[feedback doctor]

I am waiting for someone to stand up and say, "The proof that I have of there being a God, is that I was once a pompus ass until I encountered this God, now I even though I can still be an ass I actually think of others as more important as myself." When some one sees that in someone else it will open their heart much more than scientific or political debate points. Rome was not changed by Christians demanding their rights and trying to prove creationism, it was changed by Christians loving and forgiving others, even those who were far worse than we see today's humanists/athiests being. One of my favorite verses, "It's your kindness that leads us to repentance Lord."

[WashingtonSource]

Quinn did a good job of boxing in Dawkins and turning his arguments against him.

[khnyny]

Great article.

From another article:

[Alcoholism, coupled with poisoning by low-quality and bootleg liquor, remains one of post-Soviet Russia's most serious problems and contributes to a life expectancy for men of only 59 years.]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061028/wl_nm/russia_alcohol_dc

[benjaminjjones]

Thanks for that post - a good read.

thanks for posting this...

Excellent read. Thanks for posting!

What they said...and...
Cool!

[khnyny]

[In the secular account, "You are the descendant of a tiny cell of primordial protoplasm washed up on an empty beach 3 1/2 billion years ago. You are a mere grab bag of atomic particles, a conglomeration of genetic substance. You exist on a tiny planet in a minute solar system in an empty corner of a meaningless universe. You came from nothing and are going nowhere."]

Now that's a depressing worldview. There is no dignity or respect for life, especially human life, in the above interpretation of the universe.

No wonder the Russians drink.

[Popocatapetl]

Religion gains credence when first and foremost, it admits one thing: that many people who embrace religion do it for the wrong reasons.

Just as importantly, when religion admits that if you embrace religion for the wrong reasons, then you are close to being totally screwed up by any number of definitions.

Though it irks the ecumenical, then, the vast majority of the "founding fathers" of all kinds of religion were probably also dead wrong. And faith alone is insufficient to divine which are the "true religions", and which are the faiths based upon who-knows-what-all corruptions.

Now, this is mitigated by the good intentions and actions of the religious, in whatever religion, who do "the right thing", if for the wrong reasons. Most people would grant that a good person who does good things is "universally acceptable", if such a thing exists, and even if they were never exposed to religious "truth", then there is still hope for their redemption.

But all told, this puts religion on a good footing with honesty. Because while books may be mis-translated, myths and histories distorted, and misunderstanding and "cherry-picking" of sacred doctrines is rife, it still boils down to the individual, their life and their relationship with all things, including their creator.

And because that relationship is always unique, it cannot be "delusional", because it *is* how you relate to all things. It is your life, not an abstraction or illusion.

[Boiler Plate]

Dawkins is going is going to become the running joke Voltaire is or the Spirit of God will replace his heart of stone. Time will tell.

[jas3]

Dawkins is going is going to become the running joke Voltaire is...

How is Voltaire a running joke? He was a deist and one of the most respected men in his generation. Even today his works have resonance.

jas3