Sunday, 28 March 2010

"Without God we are nothing"

An interesting debate between Cardinal Pell and a fellow called Dan Barker, who was an evangelical preacher and is now an atheist activist.
I'm putting this up here, partly so that I can find it again myself ( my bookmarks are now so bloated that putting anything away in there is like tucking the needle into the haystack)
Here's the blurb:

"Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, and atheist Dan Barker debated the topic: Without God We Are Nothing, at Macquarie University. A vigorous and lively debate was had, with over 300 people in attendance. The debate was structured so that each speaker received ten minutes to present their case, then had a chance at rebuttal, and finishing off with a few minutes to directly cross examine the other. There was then time for questions from the audience.  Part 1 of this audio presents the main arguments and rebuttal, with part 2 presenting the (very lively) cross examination, and some hard hitting questions from the audience."

I found the opening introductions a little long winded, and  the topic of the debate was somewhat unclear which I think led the two opponents to argue to slightly different themes at times.
Nonetheless it was interesting. I tried really hard to suspend my own bias and give both men a fair hearing, but I came away feeling that Cardinal Pell had presented the stronger case, and presented it more clearly.
If you're interested you can download it here.

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