February 4, 2009

Boulder debate on religion, atheism draws 2,000

By Kevin J. Jones

BOULDER, Colo.— Writers Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchens debated religion and atheism at a Catholic-hosted debate the evening of Jan. 26 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. They spoke before an audience of 2,050 in the campus’ sold-out Macky Auditorium.

D’Souza, Catholic author of the book “What’s So Great about Christianity?” asserted that Christianity is the foundation for many common values such as scientific inquiry and respect for the individual. He further argued that Christianity proposes the best way to bridge the chasm between man and God.

Hitchens, prominent atheist author of the book “God is not Great,” argued that religion’s influence is largely harmful. He said religion makes otherwise good people do bad things, forestalls human thought, and limits human responsibility.

The debate, moderated by radio talk show host Dan Caplis, was sponsored by the St. Thomas Aquinas Center for Catholic Thought, an outreach program of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish.

Father Kevin Augustyn, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas, prefaced the debate: “As Catholics, we are not afraid of intellectual debate. Faith and reason are not opposed to each other.”

D’Souza opened his argument by stating he would debate on “the ground of reason alone.” He listed values he believed to be important to all people, including atheists: concern about the individual erson, scientific investigation, the equal dignity of women, the abolition of slavery, and compassion.

“Christianity brought these values into the world,” he argued.

Modern science, he said, was “faith-based” in that it is rooted in Christian assumptions such as the lawful and rational nature of the universe and the rationality of our own minds.

“It is no accident that modern science developed in Western culture,” he said.

D’Souza then argued that the universe was “finely tuned for life” since an infinitesimal change to one physical constant would make an inhabitable universe impossible.
He also proposed that despite natural constraints, “in some way, man is free from fixed laws.” Man is placed between two distinct domains of “the way we are” and “the way we ought to behave.”

“You might do well to consider living as if there is a God, because ultimately that will make you a better person,” he suggested.

Hitchens began his argument by ridiculing the popular idea that the absence of religion would cause moral chaos. If Jesus and Mary or any other religious figure were proved “entirely mythical,” he questioned, “would you really look at your neighbor differently? Would you then become a thief, a rapist?”

He then claimed that religion, by holding that a revelation from God has happened, suppresses important questions by stressing that it is necessary only to live up to religious doctrine. This makes personal responsibility meaningless and attacks mankind in “our deepest integrity” by saying we have no knowledge of good and evil.

This is also the “origin of totalitarianism,” Hitchens argued.

He accused Christianity’s God of “making us sick and commanding us to be well,” suggesting this view of God is “very incompetent, very vicious, or very cruel.” He questioned why God would redeem others’ suffering only by taking away sins, and not by going to jail or becoming sick for them.

D’Souza responded that without Christianity “we would be a very different civilization,” noting that only Western, Christian-influenced countries rush to help disaster victims across the world. He contrasted this habit with an Indian proverb from his youth: “the tears of strangers are only water.”

Hitchens argued that monotheism does not stop barbarism and pointed to China as a counterexample of a strong non-monotheistic civilization.

He then challenged D’Souza to explain why Christianity should be considered superior to other religions, such as Islam.

D’Souza replied by noting the disconnect between “the way things are” and “the way they ought to be.” This can be explained by supposing a chasm between human existence and the divine. In D’Souza’s view, Islam and Judaism hold that this chasm may be closed by mankind building a “ladder” to “climb” to God.

Christianity, however, teaches that this chasm “has to be closed from the other side” through God entering the world through Jesus Christ.

Other topics raised in the debate included the existence of natural rights, the historicity of the Gospels, the reliability of the first Christian witnesses and the nature of Catholic teaching on salvation outside the Church.

D’Souza also described how he first met Hitchens after Hitchens wrote an essay in the left-wing magazine The Nation supporting legal protections for the unborn.
Hitchens then explained that he finds it “extraordinarily objectionable” to exclude the “occupant of the womb” from the human family.

Commenting after the debate, Father Augustyn said both speakers did “very well” in defending their positions. In his view, D’Souza countered and “unmasked” some of Hitchens’ “unfair” and “selective” comparisons of religions.

Calling Hitchens a “formidable opponent,” who is “very witty, very sharp” and makes “good points,” he added: “I don’t think his arguments hold water, but I think he is a good debater.”

The Thomas Center scheduled three follow-up sessions to discuss the debate in campus classrooms, which Father Augustyn characterized as apologetics or “question and answer” events.

He reported that the debate had been streamed via live video to another building housing 300 viewers, bringing total attendance to more than 2,300.

“This is the largest event we’ve hosted in our history,” Father Augustyn said, appealing for more partners to assist the parish ministry’s campus evangelization.