On Friday I was listening to the latest episode of reasonable doubts, in which they referenced an incredible site: Common Sense Atheism.
On it, they have a list of over 400 debates organized with links to video, audio, and text when available. If you’re ever in the mood for a “debate,” this list is a great place to look.
I’ll warn you though, you should mix your theists up. I watched three debates with Dinesh D’Souza this weekend (vs. Christopher Hitchens, Dan Barker, and Dan Dennet) in reverse chronological order. I was shocked at two things:
- D’Souza’s arguments haven’t changed much, if at all.
- He used to be an angry debater. In his debate with Dan Dennet was very callous and “elitist.” Contrast with his more recent debate with Hitchens, where they both were much more cordial.
The same could be said about Hitchens. I used to despise him as a Christian, because he was so callous. If you watch his recent debates or discussions, he is a very reasonable person, and only becomes irritated when shown arrogance. I actually quite like Hitchens now, and I think that if I were a Christian still, his discussion would be much more appealing now than it was back a few years ago.
With that said, I’m most interested in finding video or audio of Bart Ehrman debating D’Souza over “God’s Problem.” It took place a week ago.
I admire Ehrman, and it’s fascinating to hear him think and refute arguments on his feet. I find myself not listening for the debate itself, but listening for the interesting counter-arguments or viewpoints I may not have considered before. Ehrman’s biblical knowledge is just simply astounding.
