The president of American Atheists, Dr. Ed Buckner, the leading American atheist and secular activist will come to the UK in June to challenge Islam and religious thought. The debate series, organised by the independent platform The Big Debates, will discuss:
- “Islam or Atheism? You Decide” – REGISTER HERE
On the 19th June 2010, 6:15pm at Friends House, Euston Road, London.
With Dr. Ed Buckner and international lecturer and writer Hamza Andreas Tzortzis.
- “Is a Secular Society a Better Society?” – REGISTER HERE
On the 21st June 2010, 6:15pm at Friends House, Euston Road, London.
With Dr. Ed Buckner, director of the Clarity Institute Saleem Chagtai, Senior philosophy lecturer Stephen Law and international lecturer and historian Adnan Rashid.
- “A Tale of Two Histories: What Now for the Future?” – REGISTER HERE
On the 22nd June 2010, 6:15pm at Birmingham University.
With Dr Ed. Buckner and Adnan Rashid.
Is this going to be anything more than Theists and Anti-Theists both failing to engage with each others’ arguments? It looks interesting, I just think there should be a bit more to it than a vs. match between two sections of opposing philosophies.
The Tooth Fairy or Science?
@Nathan
…aye, perhaps some form of gladiatorial contest may be more appropriate. At least they’ll make some impression on each other that way…
Islam is not the only ‘faith’ that leads people to a fundamentalist perspective. It is not the only challenge to rationalism.
I would say that Christianity has a far bloodier history and that includes the recent past. If we accept that G.W Bush was at least in part motivated by his faith, we could say that the death toll is vastly weighted towards dead Muslims killed by Christians.
Sorry to be a downer, but I think that the constant focus on Islam is being used to justify the marginalisation of sections of society and the loss of civil liberties.
Anti – terrorist money and legislation is being used to install and pay for CCTV in majority Muslim areas in Britain.
Remind you of something? Maybe they should wear a crescent…
We don’t need to feed xenophobia – it is bad enough anyway.
Rob: I agree that it’s unfair to target one religion and all its adherents as ‘the wrong faith’, but on the other hand, I don’t think any religion should be precluded from scrutiny. People of all religions should be able to openly, calmly and rationally debate against atheists and tell us why they feel their way is the right one, or why they oppose the non-religious way of life. So don’t stop debating — just get some Jews, Christians, Hindus and any other faith that’s well-represented in the population to join in the debates!
great point, berber anna…i’d like to see some pagan & wiccan debaters…fat chance tho. :/
Rob,
From the “The Big Debates” website:
“The BIG Debates is an independent platform that seeks to build a bridge of understanding and discussion between Western and Islamic thinkers… We believe that outdated clichés, from both sides, need to be transcended with a nuanced discussion…, where the world’s thinkers can take a journey through the minds of Western and Islamic thought. We believe this is a much needed window of opportunity within a polarised post-modern world to facilitate the emergence of new voices of requisite reason.”
True, Islam is not the only faith that could be chosen, but your automatic focus on “fundamentalism” and “challenge to rationalism” (which are not mentioned in the press details) also imply a xenophobic leaning. Why not let it happen, then critique?
Berber Anna: I do entirely agree with you, especially regarding the value of open debate.
Got so much more to say, can’t fit it in.
Just be aware of the ‘subliminal’ influence that modern government and media are attempting to exert on us with their use of emotive language.
Don’t let the f@~#ers get into your head.
Seek the truth: not in a mad conspiracy theorist way, in a rationalist evidence-based way.
I, for one, am much more scared of large health insurance companies dismantling the NHS from the inside than of a British caliphate. The latter is a paranoid fantasy, the other is almost a fait accompli.
Only one of them eventualities would involve your gran dying of Diabetes for lack of money.
Well I hope it’s not just another display of a faith based religion getting chewed up and spat out by objective reasoning, because that’s just too easy, and has been proved to be over and over again by Hitchins, Harris and the like.
It would be nice to see a sharing of perspectives rather than the usual scenario described above, but judging by the embedded video on this page, with it’s overly dramatic music, I very much doubt it.
@zenpyramid I’d settle for a group hug and a picnic…
James Joyce – Love your writing, especially ‘Ulysses’. lol.
Seriously, though, I really welcome any debate. I am very wary of any process that leads to a fundamentalist perspective, but in the interest of a balanced debate, I will always counter such inflammatory statements as ‘Islam or Atheism – You Decide!’ with facts rather than rhetoric.
I am far from xenophobic.
The government and intelligence services are doing their best to convince us that we are all in mortal danger from Islam, in order to gain funding and approval for the unethical surveillance and monitoring of certain groups. I am quite scared that we will sleepwalk into serious racial unrest and intolerance.
The choice is not between Atheism and Islam. The choice is between tolerance and marginalisation.
Obviously that last statement sounded hyperbolically rhetorical. There is a choice between Atheism and Islam. I just thought that it was a slightly inflammatory title and possibly focused too narrowly on the religion that everyone seems to love to hate.
Why don’t we all focus on Judaism? ‘Judaism or Atheism – You Decide’
Oh, sorry, that could be seen as anti-Semitic, couldn’t it?
It is easy to criticise and analyse when your subject is the focus of a world-wide ‘war on terror’.
Check the MSN message boards for a populist view of Islam. Not pretty.
We MUST debate, but not feed the xenophobes.
Complex bloody minefield of opinion. Cor blimey guv.
Interesting trailer. seems like something out of the Terminator movies lol. Looks likes an interesting debate non the less. We need more of theses without a doubt.
Nathan – loving the ‘group hug and picnic’ idea. Where can I sign up? :^D#
“Islam or Atheism? You Decide”. *sigh* Can’t it just be both? Yes, I might sound like an idealist, but really…WHY can’t it just be both???
It seems to me that all religions are about the same thing; seeking the Divine. Even Atheism is about seeking the truth. We’re all heading in the same direction, we’ve just chosen to take a different path to it. Human beings are diverse – we all like and think different things – so does it make sense that our creator (or creators) would want us all to have identical lifestyles and beliefs? (Even though most religions have a lot of characteristics in common – Mary gave birth to a Divine Child (Jesus) Isis gave birth to a Divine Child (Horus) the Triple Goddess gave birth to a Divine Child (the Sun/Horned God) and don’t even get me started on…>
…how many Noah’s Ark type flood legends there are, in countless different cultures and religions. Christians worship one God, Muslims worship one God, they both have Divine Prophets who came to Earth, the list goes on!) Would a supreme and perfect god (which is how all religions describe their deities,) blame or even care if some tiny humans didn’t believe in It, because they had seen absolutely no evidence that It existed? My view is that there is no ‘true’ religion, all we have to do is find the path that has been set for us, and if you have a set of beliefs that make you feel happy and complete, then you’ve found it. Enough of this “Believe this or you will go to Hell!!!” and “Religion is the source of all evil!!!” crap!
P.s. Me too, roz.
I wonder who’s gonna win…
not.
still, will be interesting to watch.
The editing and audio of the trailer suggests to me this is actually a debate between the Terminators LOL.
But i do believe we need a nuanced discussion between the two.
Dear Dr. Ed, I notice you style yourself an agnostic. However, wouldn’t a 100% certainty, regarding the impossibility of proving the existence of a deity, require the possession of absolute knowledge? A faculty, if I ‘m not mistaken, exclusively confined to a deity. Consequently, to be infallibly correct in your assertion, would require that you were the deity whose existence you claim cannot be proven.
Booked my place. Looking forward to this one!