Jacoby-Shermer debate, 3/10
[This is part 1 of Dr Shermer's opening statement, refuting the existence of God.]
The debate between international Christian speaker Douglas Jacoby and agnostic and skeptic Michael Shermer took place Saturday June 23, the highlight of the 2007 International Apologetics Conference, sponsored by the Apologetics Research Society. The debate topic: Does God Exist?
Dr. Shermer is one of the three or four most famous atheist / agnostic scholars in the world, author of 12 books and President of the Skeptic Society. He has held dozens of debates, appeared on Oprah, 20/20, Dateline, Tom Snyder, Larry King Live and The History Channel. Dr. Jacoby, director of the Athens Institute of Ministry, has spoken in hundreds of cities in some 80 nations.
This exciting event was held before a packed house, with an overflow crowd watching close circuit monitors outside the venue. Kedron Jones (Board member of ARS) was moderator and affable host. Shermer and Jacoby both bring their best analytical skills to this debate. The interchange is lively, with both speakers willing to concede points made by their opponent. You will benefit greatly from weighing the arguments put forth. Douglas’ clear and incisive arguments for the existence of God are persuasive. He argues from cosmology (both its creation and its complexity). and the unmistakable fact that moral absolutes are part of reality. Shermer makes the case that religions are socially constructed, historically dependent, and that the faith you adhere to and the god you believe in depend largely on when in history and where in the world you were born.
The two-hour debate is lively, engaging and instructional. You can watch each speaker’s opening, rebuttal, rebuttal summary, and conclusion here at YouTube. For the entire debate in one DVD, however, including the 40+ minute Q&A session, please visit www.douglasjacoby.com. The Skeptics Society website is www.skeptic.com.
To post further comments, please visit Jacoby’s forum at www.jacobyblogs.com.
Duration : 0:7:17
Posted in docbates
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
sorta sad he …
sorta sad he doesn’t attribute the joke at the start to the writer of said joke who was Woody Allen.
the one about telling someone to “go forth and multiply, but not in those words”
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
He truly is a smart …
He truly is a smart man, he deffo won this debate.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
This is a good …
This is a good example of how Michael Shermer has strengthened my faith as a theist. He said that we shouldn’t hook our faith to current scientific gaps. He’s absolutely right. I haven’t done that since. If I ever meet Dr. Shermer, I will thank him.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
you need to take …
you need to take the outsider test for your belief. imagine you were a buddhist, or hindu etc. now listen to all the evidence and miracles in christianity. now answer the questions about plausibility. becuase you were brought up learning about miracles and jesus before you had a chance to know what is right and wrong, plausible and not. to someone brought up outside christianity, it is inherently implausible, to someone isnside it, it appears plausible.i know this, as i teach RE to younjg kids
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
moreover, a theist …
moreover, a theist would argue that god created the big bang.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Science is the …
Science is the study of God…think about it…
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
thankyou! i have …
thankyou! i have been trying to mak that point for years!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
First of all, I …
First of all, I agree with you that there is no proof for God’s existence and I do not believe in God, contrary to what you stated. The point I was trying to make with the Bertrund Russel argument (and Richard Dawkins talks about this quite eloquently) is to say that, although we can never say for certain that God doesn’t exist (just as we can’t say for certain there are no faeries at the bottom of the garden), we can point out the likelihood of such a diety existing is incredibly low.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
i see your point …
i see your point but i find it a little far fetched. i mean what proof is there of god existence? there is no proof for or against this they are just theories of how we came into existence, you belive in god i believe in the big bang!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
You’re as idiotic …
You’re as idiotic and ignorant as the christian apologist crowd. It just goes to show that stupid people can be found anywhere, regardless of their position on worldviews. To get to the point: you can’t prove God doesn’t exist. Science doesn’t have that power. All you can do is prove how unlikely such a possibility is as Bertrund Russel has done with his celestial teapot example, etc. Go read a book, learn english, and quit it with the hatred. Nuff said.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
god is a crok ov …
god is a crok ov im gona prove god dnt exist 1 day! so fck god!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
whats your point? …
whats your point? none? ok…
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Prove that DNA or …
Prove that DNA or weather is complex? Complex simply means made of many parts, both items are made of many parts thus they are complex. DNA and how it affects “what is going on” is very well understood. Evolution is more than an educated guess and evolution operates on and produces many parts therefore it is complex. Any other stupid comments?
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Why do proponents …
Why do proponents of Evolution and atheism insist on calling the complicated, complex?
DNA is complex
the weather is complex
Really?
Prove it.
DNA is just an organic compound.
It doesn’t even survive outside of its organic container.
What ever is actually going on, is far more robust than just DNA.
What is going on survived 5 mass extictnions.
Evolution by mutation is just an educated guess.
Evolution is complicated not complex.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Typical god of the …
Typical god of the gaps argument, typical, “the numbers are just too big for “random chance” so god did it” argument… “I cant possibly give a rational explanation for how this happened, therefor god did it” MEDIOCRE LAZY ANSWER AND ASSUMPTION!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
jacoby talked for …
jacoby talked for 14 minutes and all he said was ‘god did it’
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
that was a TOTAL …
that was a TOTAL woody allen ripoff! i said unto him…listen to woody allen “standup comic”….
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
“Having science …
“Having science explain a knowledge “gap” still does not discount the existence of God”
Of course not, you can’t prove a negative. It does however mean that god is not needed as an explanation.
“In fact, it only strengthens the existence of God.”
Now that’s just silly.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Having science …
Having science explain a knowledge “gap” still does not discount the existence of God - let alone proving that He doesnt exist. In fact, it only strengthens the existence of God. If one really studies this topic, one would find that science and Christianity work together to prove each other correct. Science is not in opposition with God.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Shermer does not …
Shermer does not seem to be prepared for this “debate”.
For example, when Jacoby tries to score points with his mention of Anthony Flew’s “conversion” Shermer does not seem to know how to respond to that point. Two suggestions come to mind:
1. so what? is Flew an expert on evolution or beginnings of life?
2. read Carrier on the “conversion” and how
Flew withdrew!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Shermer is a very …
Shermer is a very compelling speaker!
January 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Some interesting …
Some interesting points by Dr Shermer, when mentioning God and telling us that the problem with us is that we hook our faith in gaps in scientific knowledge was quite interesting especially as science comes the latin ’scienta’ meaning knowledge.
Science is knowledge, the word just evolved.