Ummm.....what the hell was wrong with Christopher Hitchens? Was he hung over? This was not the debater who flipped off the audience on the Bill Maher Show. This was not the debater who said of of the late Jerry Falwell, "Give the man an enema and you could bury him in a matchbox." The man who debated William Lane Craig tonight was a slow, stupid, timid blob with the presence of Richard Nixon during the Nixon/Kennedy debates.
Of the five arguments that Craig put forward, Hitchens only addressed three. Sort of. He responded to the cosmological argument by saying that scientists were unsure of something that Craig demonstrated they clearly were. Of the fine-tuning argument, Hitchens only made non-sequiters about things that he perceived to be examples of bad design in the universe, ignoring the scientifically supported examples that Craig put forward. Finally, Hitchens was incapable of even understanding the moral argument that Craig put forward. Hitchens seemed to be under the impression that Craig was arguing that Christianity automatically makes a person behave more morally, when Craig was really arguing that objective morality can only come from a God. Despite the many times that Craig explained this, Hitchens never really understood. This was all rounded out when Hitchens decided to waive his final rebuttal time, deliberatly leaving Craig with the last word.
I don't see how anyone, athiest or otherwise, could possibly think that Hitchens did not lose. As much as I hate to say it, I really don't think that is a good thing. An athiest watching will likely only get the impression from this debate that Hitchens is wrong, not necessarily that Craig is right. The desired victory here was one of the defeat of a powerful oppenent. This would truly show the strength of Christian Apologetics. As it turned out, however, the battle just seen was an incredibly unremarkable one. Hitchens was obviously not on his game, and the atheist can easily see that. This was not a challenge for William Lane Craig, and christian apologetics looks all the weaker for it. I dunno, maybe I'm just being pessimistic.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I wasn't at the debate, so I can only comment on the event through your observations. And yes, I agree, it doesn't sound like the win tonight was the most idealistic. A victory over someone who is quite incompetent is a pretty unimpressive accomplishment. But at the same time, I wouldn't necessarily say it was bad. Though the debate made it unclear as to whether or not atheism was correct, it sounds as though Craig certainly put forth a strong defense in favor of God. If nothing else, that will give all the atheists and skeptics something to chew on as they drive home.
ReplyDelete~Tim Higley