My new book What's So Great About Christianity has just hit the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. It's currently number 21 on the amazon bestseller list which includes fiction and nonfiction books. Especially amusing is the fact that the book is the number one seller in the categories of both "religion" and "atheism." The success of the book has the atheist websites buzzing. So I cruised richarddawkins.net, the site of the renowned author of The God Delusion. Dawkins has posted on his site videos of my Oregon State debate with Michael Shermer, and my New York debate with Christopher Hitchens.
Oh, my.
The atheists were mighty upset with what many of them perceived as my triumph in the Shermer debate. Here are a sampling of comments. "I hate to admit this, but purely in terms of who came off better, the answer in my view has to be that D'Souza did." "It's too bad Shermer...was an inferior debater." "I think D'Souza was likely perceived to be the winner of this debate." "But take heart, Men of Reason. Several atheists consoled themselves after the Shermer debate this way. "The only consolation is that D'Souza mentioned he'll be debating Christopher Hitchens soon, and I predict that Hitch will eat this odious little squirt alive and spit out the bones." "The Hitchens one is gonna be way better, I'm sure of it." "Boy, I really want to see Hitch take no prisoners. This guy needs his head handed to him." "D'Souza is taking on Hitch next? Ha, ha, RIP in advance D'Souza."
Alas for the Apostles of Evidence, it was not to be. Here is a sampling of atheist comment after my debate with Hitchens. "A little disappointing that Hitchens didn't tear him in half, instead adopting a defensive-passive approach." "It is sad that Hitchens did not nail D'Souza." "Unfortunately the trashing we expected did not occur." "I don't want to see a liar like D'Souza beat another atheist again."
After some frustrated name-calling, combined with attempts to blame the ignorance of the audience, the atheists made some revealing admissions. "D'Souza is the most challenging debater we have thus far encountered. He is extremely intelligent and in possession of superior verbal abilities. He wins many arguments because he is able to assemble a vast array of factoids that...often have the effect of overwhelming his opponents." "As much as I dislike D'Souza, he is the most able debater I have seen go up against Hitchens or any of the others on our team yet." "Hitchens...is not used to debating with someone as articulate and finely-tuned as D'Souza. D'Souza is an entirely different animal than what Hitchens is used to debating on MSNBC or Fox News. Christopher's standard boiler-plate just does not win with a guy like this."
In The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins portrays the atheist position as rooted in reason and the theist position as rooted in blind faith. If this is true, Dawkins should easily be able to defeat me in a debate. I have written to invite him to debate me, and I don't mind doing it in a venue sympathetic to him, not a church setting but a liberal campus such as Berkeley or UCLA. Moreover, I am willing to have an unbeliever like Michael Shermer moderate the debate. A donor has offered to pay Dawkins' and my honorarium, and so we are ready to move ahead if Dawkins is willing.
It's time to find out whose position is truly based on reason and evidence and skepticism and science. How can atheists march behind these banners and then decline the opportunity to defend their positions in open discussion in an intellectual setting? I'm waiting to hear if Dawkins is up for the challenge.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 18)
31. 19. On the contrary Brian, I find Christians to be especially difficult to argue with, because they are persistent and basically speak a different language
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On the CONTRARY? You didn't read my post all the way through. I said it was IMPOSSIBLE to argue with them. Oh, it's easy to win the argument, but IMPOSSIBLE to get them to see that you've just won it. Without logic in their heads they can believe that they've won even when they've lost. Hence the "different language" you mentioned. It's called "illogical thinking." They do not live in reality. They are victims of a psychosis. That's what it means. No arguing with them, no saving them from themselves, no reaching them even. It's very sad.
Brian at 11:49AM on Oct 30th 2007
32. Yet, I say God Bless America and help us get back to those Founding Father principles, Amen.
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Yeah, like separation of church and state! Yay!
Awomen.
Brian at 11:55AM on Oct 30th 2007
33. 27. The Bible does not say there are no other Gods, Brian. Your argument, in and of itself, asks a greater question which I know ask you. Which God lied to us and why?
Paul at 11:40AM on Oct 30th 2007
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I was clearly referring to whichever god you christians think was responsible for your bible. Can you at least read? Your question makes no SENSE. It was clear. Perhaps YOU are foggy?
If you ask me, YOU lied to YOURSELVES, or at least believed other people's lies, UTTERLY. Swallowed them right down, GULP. I was making a point about the illogic of this biblical literate christian way of thinking, NOT ABOUT THE OTHER GODS. That's just a transparent evasion. Try again.
Brian at 11:55AM on Oct 30th 2007
34. 31. 27. The Bible does not say there are no other Gods, Brian.
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And actually, I think that it does. At least, no other REAL gods. That's why it's called a monotheistic religion. Can you at least read YOUR book, if not any of mine?
Brian at 11:59AM on Oct 30th 2007
35. So, who's pimping whose books, DD or Dawkins? Sounds like a dual deal here. You two sharing the profits?
web jones at 12:01PM on Oct 30th 2007
36. BRIAN!!!! DUDE, have you EVER heard of sarcasm????
I cannot stand DD and his smug, truth-twisting, facts-omitting, shameless and pathetic self-promotion, any more than you can.
OOFAH!!!
(jerk)
stuart joshua at 12:06PM on Oct 30th 2007
37. Again, GOD has said, love the sinner, not the sin.-Rita
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Can you, Rita? Let's see how much of a REAL follower of Jesus you are.
Can you love the islamic terrorist suicide bomber and hate the blast and his misapprehension of his religion? Can you see God in him? It's there... I can see it, not your god of course, but divinity and grace, sure, it's there, all stifled. Can you see it, and love him for it? In spite of the horrible things that they've done, including 9-11? Do you keep it in mind as you judge them?
I can. I'm sure that your Jesus could have, if he was anything like what's in the bible. But I am sadly aware of the fact that few of the people that call themselves christians today can do this thing, nor would they want to. Same with gays, atheists, everyone. It's the christrian way, or the highway.
Brian at 12:10PM on Oct 30th 2007
38. I compare aetheists to homosexuals and lesbians. Who cares about your religious or sexual preferences?
mike hogan at 12:16PM on Oct 30th 2007
39. Oh crap, Stuart. You were too subtle for me. I shoud have known... It's just that they make claims that are so outrageous that they sound like sarcasm from a sane person, too. Get's confusing. And obviously I retract the jerk part. As it turned out, I was the jerk. Oops.
Brian at 12:18PM on Oct 30th 2007
40. Who cares about your religious or sexual preferences?
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Well, christians care. They're obsessed with them.
Brian at 12:21PM on Oct 30th 2007
41. Sarcasm is a verbal thing. It doesn't translate well to print. Satire is as close as you can get to it and satire is a lot more tricky to pull off.
But I digress.
Ahem...
AHHHHH! OH NO! NOOOOOOO! DINESH TOLD ME HE WON TWO DEBATES! AHHHHHHHHHH! MY ATHEISM IS A LIE! MY PLOTS ARE UNCOVERED! I AM NAKED AND WRONG! I AM NAKKED AND WRONGED! SAVE ME OH CHRIST MAN FOR YOUR HOLIEST OF HOLY PROFITS DINESH HAS SHOWN ME THE NOTHINGNESS OF MY BELIEF OF NOTHING! I IS SORRY! YOU IS ALL! SAVE ME FOR I IS PANICKING FOR THE MOST HOLYIEST PROFIT DINESH HAS SAID I AM! OH WOE ISH ME! OH WOE ISH ME!
::Turns off her caps lock and shoots it.::
That's enough of that.
I am not panicing. I was an atheist before his "grand victory" and I will be an atheist long after he is gone. When I saw palistinian children killed in 2002 I realized "If christians are right then that five year old boy is going to burn in hell for ever and ever, and if they're right then it's because God wants him to burn." So sorry. The monstrousness of that truth is so absolute and overwhelming that I can never accept it. Ever. And while I could cobble together some kind of theism, the truth is that I simply don't see evidence of the divine in the universe. I see beauty, but it is a humanistic beauty. I see horrors, but they are humanistic horrors. And my lover is a christian. She sees God all over the place. She sees a rainbow and believes that god arranged the light and the weather just to cheer up humanity a little. Personally I'd be much more cheery if God made plutonium disappear, but that's just me. But I don't. And I probably never will.
But incidently Michelle, It's good to see another believer say the same thing my love did. It's very... reaffirming.
Somber at 12:28PM on Oct 30th 2007
42. 17. Of all the religions in the world, which one is the correct one?
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No one can say. I'm betting that none are. But there are many that are nicer than christianity.
Buddhism and the Baha'i Faith spring immediately to mind. Even Judaeism treats it's faithful and others in general better. Vedanta is a good one too. Oh, and the last of the Christian Gnostics are being persecuted to death as we speak in Iraq, since they WILL NOT TAKE UP ARMS. See, they seem to have this idea that, since Jesus was completely nonviolent, that they should be too! Whoa, radical thinking there! The church killed off the rest of the gnostics hundreds of years ago, of course. Because since it made MORE SENSE to look within for god than to look to a church for salvation, as the gnostics believed, they were too lethal a competitor forthe church's popularity, and hence its power. So I'd say that Christian Gnosticism is another good one, soon to be gone forever thanks to George W. Bush, christian...
Brian at 12:33PM on Oct 30th 2007
43. Brian, You seem intellegent. Why do you feel that you have to lash out at Christians like you do? If you don't believe in God, that is on you. I am not calling you any names, nor am I attacking you for choosing to be an atheist. You have no right to call me names, or imply that I have no intelligence, just because I happen to believe in God. I do agree with you only so far as that Mr. D'Souza should choose another topic of discussion. I am tired of his self-promotion.
Lisa S at 12:33PM on Oct 30th 2007
44. If you Christians don't believe in science and evolution, then you obviously don't believe in scientific and medical developments from these same "crazy" scientists. So when your liitle child gets cancer calmly explain that we won't go to a doctor to get a cure, we'll just pray to God. But that is the kicker, you will use science for yourself, but not to prove the bible is BULLSHIT.
Doug Black at 11:20AM on Nov 5th 2007
45. Lisa, this is an attack blog by DD against atheists. Therefore I am taking it personally, since I qualify. I am the offended party here. For you, since you seem more sensible than most, I will say that I am not a hateful person by nature, but I do get angry when attacked unfairly. Imagine if you will that the title of this thread was "Panic in the Christian Camp" and it's premise reversed, with DD taking a side against christianity, saying that christians are unintelligent and that "We're finally beating them, and they're running scared now" or other such drivel. Wouldn't you then perhaps be a bit tart in your posts to this thread, as a christian that has already been offended? Remember, in this blog atheists are being ATTACKED directly, and we feel that it is an unfair attack with many lies and distortions of our positions, and other christians chime in on the attack, singing hosannas to DD and attacking us in turn, or even worse, pitying us, and say "We'll pray for you!" and other self-serving egotistical things. We are the offended, already attacked, so please preface your thoughts about my anger at christians with that.
Walk a mile in my shoes before you ask such things. If you can, it will be a skill that as far as I can see, the vast majority of christians lack. Empathy for those not LIKE YOU.
Truth to tell, and I don't often say this here, but I can and do like many Christians (Note my caps). I just can't stand christians. Get it? If you REALLY follow the words and spirit of Jesus as in the bible, you're no enemy of mine. Heck, I love people like that! But these are not who I am addressing on a blog like this. If all christians were Christians and really followed Christ, they would actually be doing good in the world, and not ruining it all the while feeling good and right and holy for it.
Brian at 12:49PM on Oct 30th 2007