Gideon wrote:Rip wrote:but I am almost through watching their 2nd debate called "Has Science Buried God", and don't believe Lennox is coming out on top at all.
I do, for a number of reasons: Dawkins' demeanor was visibly agitated the entire way through (as a debater, I can tell you that is usually not the hallmark of a victor, or at least someone
confident of victory) whereas Lennox was completely calm and affable, Dawkins failed to properly articulate the point regarding agents and mechanisms (Lennox correctly pointed out that the existence of a mechanism in evolution-by-natural-selection does not preclude the existence of an agent), Dawkins conceded on the issue of the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth, etc.
All of the concessions or failures to properly articulate one's points were largely on Dawkins. As logicians, it was close, but Lennox carried the day. As rhetoricians, it
wasn't especially close here: Lennox was more articulate and more charismatic.
I disagree completely, and just finished watching it. I think you're perceiving what you want to see in Dawkins' agitation. If you're perceiving anything in his facial expressions, we all evidence a little agitation sometimes in conversation, especially if we feel we're having to repeat ourselves, have been asked a silly question, if the conversation takes an unexpected curve, or if we're being misunderstood, misquoted, etc. He also mentioned that he felt Lennox was jumping around from point to point a bit, but both Dawkins and Lennox were very calm and totally respectful of each other the whole time. I didn't get the sense that Dawkins was frustrated at all.
I think this is one reason anyone gives William Lane Craig a win in any of his debates -- he's a professional, extremely skilled debater... he's very sharp, hardly misses a step in his speech, never seems taken off guard, etc. It's all about style though - trust me, he isn't "winning" on the merits of his arguments, though he and his followers always claim victory afterwards, and he even goes so far as to insult some of his opponents intellectually. I seriously doubt the majority of the audience can even recall his points with any clarity. So being skilled in rhetoric has nothing to do with the validity of one's arguments. I do think Lennox was highly articulate and engaged Dawkins very well -- but there's just only so much you can do with a cork gun.
Remember one thing -- the burden of proof is on Christianity, because it's the one making the positive claim for something -- the existence of God is only the mere, mere beginning. The critical focus of all these debates is whether or not Christianity is true, and the opposition only states that there is no convincing reason to believe that it is. So far I have yet to see even
one single convincing proof for the validity of Christianity as a truth, and this is especially made true by the fact that Christianity cannot claim for itself anything that other religions haven't also claimed for themselves, and many times, before Christianity even existed. Virgin births, divine heritage, death/resurrection, promises of redemption and eternal life, miracles galore, and yes... radically changed lives. Christianity also has a ton of other things in common with the religions of the time and predating it (especially thanks to the insistence that the O.T. God is the same as the N.T. God)... human sacrifice, genocide, allowance of slavery, subjection of women, etc, etc, etc. So there's not just a lack of any convincing positive proof, but there is a huge wealth of circumstantial evidence to indicate it's not. There would have to be something more -- something truly divine, and there just isn't.
Dawkins does a great job of pointing out what I also have -- that if someone could wage a convincing argument for a deist God who created a universe, it doesn't even go the first step toward proving this being is a "personal" god that wants to be involved in our lives.