Modesty is one of my great virtues, and that is why I am always worried when people praise me too much. I'm starting to become concerned I'll end up like that atheist megalomaniac Nietzsche, whose autobiography Ecce Homo contains such chapter titles as "Why I Am So Wise" and "Why I Write Such Good Books."
This past weekend I debated atheist Christopher Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great, at the FreedomFest conference in Las Vegas. Hitchens is probably America's leading atheist and is widely regarded as unbelief's best debater. Richard Dawkins raves about Hitchens' oratorical prowess. Entering the debate, the odds seemed stacked against me: the organizers warned me that the vast majority of the 1,000 libertarians in the audience would be in Hitchens' camp.
Yet when the debate was finished the moderator called for a vote on "who won the debate." By a show of hands, I did! In order to be magnanimous, I said that what really mattered was how many people were on each side prior to the debate. But Hitchens burst in to say that he would have lost anyway! Later several atheists came up to me and said that although they were rooting for Hitchens, they had voted for me because they felt I had prevailed decisively.
I also spoke at a special luncheon event at FreedomFest. My talk was introduced by atheist Michael Shermer, the eidtor of Skeptic magazine and author of Why Darwin Matters. Shermer commented that with the passing of William F. Buckley, I am one of the leading defenders of conservatism and freedom in America. He also added, "Whatever your beliefs, you should read Dinesh's book What's So Great About Christianity. It is the best defense of Christianity that has ever been published."
In addition to dealing with atheist accolades, I also have to contend with the same from fellow conservatives and Christians. The July-August issue of the American Spectator contains a review of my book written by Matthew Kenefick. With the title, "C.S. Lewis, Move Over," the reivew begins this way: "In his new book What's So Great About Christianity Dinesh D'Souza stakes his claim as one of the great Christian apologists." The review ends thus: "In any case, D'Souza has written a book that both G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis would have appreciated and that perhaps even Billy Graham and Pope Benedict XVI could agree is a masterpiece of modern apologetical writing destined to set the standard for years to come."
With comments like this, I am in serious danger of getting a big head and losing my reputation for self-effacing modesty. I suppose I should take consolation from the fact that I have some vitriolic detractors on this blog. But what credibility do these poor fools have with their unimaginative insults and wishful "Hitchens owned you!" declarations? Then an audience biased in favor of Hitchens votes me the winner and Hitchens himself admits that he lost the debate!
Atheists like to think of themselves as akin to champions of the round earth, confronted by religious ignoramuses who keep insisting that the earth is flat. But is it even conceivable that a round-earth advocate should lose a debate to a flat-earth advocate? To put the question differently, if atheists are truly the party of reason, and believers like me are truly the party of "blind faith," how come reason keeps getting its butt kicked?
Reader Comments ( Page 6 of 22)
76. Hitchens is probably America's leading atheist and is widely regarded as unbelief's best debater.
By who?
Let me make this clear, non belief has no leaders. Non belief does not follow the same heirarctical system that belief does. I know it is difficult to see that others think differently than you. I mean have you ever mnet anyone more paranoid of being ripped off than a thief? I am as guilty of this at times as anyone. You need a leader to tell you whats what so I must also, right? Nope.
I do not believe in the Christian God because I was raised a Christian. It wasn't unhappy, nothing bad happened to me, it's just along the way certain things started to sound like bullshit, and the more I thought about it and the more I looked into it the more it started to not make sense. I came to this conclusion decades before I had even heard of Hitchens or Dawkins.
If evolution and Darwin were shown to be complete nonsense tommorow it wouldn't change a thing either. I don't need an alternate theory to recognize the bible as an occasionaly useful but often harmful work of fiction.
tmo at 1:41AM on Jul 15th 2008
77.
Sparrow
Functional Urban Caucasion Knowledge
Youthful Organization Unity.
Tyrants Outing Ostriches
tmo at 1:45AM on Jul 15th 2008
78. tmo, ha ha ha...
sparrow at 1:50AM on Jul 15th 2008
79. I am grateful that there can be found a clear linear path, a historical and common directive, to include all and serve, in the name of God, with a spiritual consistency, in Christianity.
-----------------------------
Sine it's not real, you're grateful for being provided with a false sense of simplicity and order. Being dumbed down feels good, you know. Ignorance is, after all, bliss. I didn't just make that up, you know.
But yeah, go team! Good guys against the bad, and you with no real idea which side you're really on, since you can't take the trouble to learn about stuff. Faith good, knowledge bad, after all.
Godless Heathen Brian at 1:51AM on Jul 15th 2008
80. D'Souza is the very model of a modern modest imbecile. For pietistic bullshit he's a truly unconvincing shill.. About the bible he has views that most of us find risible. He's starry-eyed about a god who s invisible.
He likes to say that atheists are totally pediculous when all the while it's obvious he's totally ridiculous, He spouts and spouts, he's never still. He is the very model of a modern modest imbecile
cynicalismo at 2:03AM on Jul 15th 2008
81. 32. "The biggest egomaniacs always see themselves as being modest, along with every other good thing. It's inconceivable to them that they're really shallow and self-centered. That's why they are."
Godless Heathen Brian at 7:39PM on Jul 14th 2008
It takes one to know one.
JMP at 2:04AM on Jul 15th 2008
82. "the harshness and anger is truly counterproductive."
Good point GHB. Although I am a Christian, I have often found myself aligned with the atheist in some of their criticisms of Christianity. I have been around enough "Christians" in my life to know how terribly off putting we can be, especially the fundamentalist varities.
What I find most amusing is how similar many of the atheist and Christians are in their tone and disposition. Many atheist, including the likes of Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, sound just like the arrogant, strident and narrow minded religionist that they so ardently deplore.
I guess there is something to the old adage that warns us to be carefull who we hate, lest we end up just like them.
randy at 2:06AM on Jul 15th 2008
83. 79. "Sine it's not real, you're grateful for being provided with a false sense of simplicity and order. Being dumbed down feels good, you know. Ignorance is, after all, bliss. I didn't just make that up, you know."
Godless Heathen Brian at 1:51AM on Jul 15th 2008
Arrogant and presumptuous.
But yeah, go team! Good guys against the bad, and you with no real idea which side you're really on, since you can't take the trouble to learn about stuff. Faith good, knowledge bad, after all.
Godless Heathen Brian at 1:51AM on Jul 15th 2008
Hypocrite and arrogant. A fraud!
JMP at 2:16AM on Jul 15th 2008
84. But the hypochrists jump on it and try to make the connection between apples and orangutans.
xx
the very concept of 'design/designer' is the anthropomorphism I was referring to.
Everything designed (not built - they don't talk about intelligent construction) that I know about is designed by a human being.
We 'see' design in what we look at if we want to, like jesuses in grilled cheese sandwiches and we call other things designs like bowerbird nests, but we don't mean the same thing by 'design' there.
It's also what we're looking for. I imagine more people see jesus in grilled cheese sandwiches and pancakes than they see grilled cheese sandwiches in pancakes or vice versa or for that matter either in jesuses - just depends on what you want to see.
I doubt we'd be looking for images of cockroaches or cats puking up hairballs in the sour cream and chives on our baked potato or the puddles of jus on the yorkshire pudding either.
That's the kind of anthropomorphism I mean.
Clif Kuplen at 2:29AM on Jul 15th 2008
85. Filed Under Christianity, Keates
Earthly Vessels, Eternally Radiating Youth
Lifelong Achievments Set Trends
Only Now Elucidated;
Over Frustration
Yearning Our Understanding.
ex-christian at 2:32AM on Jul 15th 2008
86. Well Gee is someone rubbing his own belly or is it me. I find it funny that people like you don't like Questions. Your religion has you beleive unconditionally and with no proof. Sounds like a bunch of sheeple to me.
lucy at 2:48AM on Jul 15th 2008
87. Hypocrite and arrogant. A fraud!
JMP at 2:16AM on Jul 15th 2008
While he certainly doesn't need help from the likes of me How exactly did in any of of his post did GHB say one hting yet do the opposite (hypocrite). How did he misrepresent or try and fool and con anyone(fraud).
Look I agree the dude most of the time and I could do a better job calling him names.
As for arrogant, at least in my opinion he is no more arrogant sounding than anyone else. Go ahead and explain to me how one presents an argument that they think to be correct without sounding like they think they are correct.
tmo at 2:49AM on Jul 15th 2008
88. 'thing' I meant thing
tmo at 2:53AM on Jul 15th 2008
89. To quote Sam Harris,
"There is, in fact, no worldview more reprehensible in its arrogance than that of a religious believer: the creator of the universe takes an interest in me, approves of me, loves me, and will reward me after death; my current beliefs, drawn from scripture, will remain the best statement of the truth until the end of the world; everyone who disagrees with me will spend eternity in hell... An average Christian, in an average church, listening to an average Sunday sermon has achieved a level of arrogance simply unimaginable in scientific discourse-- and there have been some extraordinarily arrogant scientists."
Zak at 11:35AM on Jul 15th 2008
90. Go ahead and explain to me how one presents an argument that they think to be correct without sounding like they think they are correct.
tmo at 2:49AM on Jul 15th 2008
xx
con artists practice that in front of the mirror. One of the oldest card cons in the world is to make it look like you're trying to hustle a mark using a trick he knows, he takes the bet and finds you knew one thing he didn't'.
Clif Kuplen at 3:23AM on Jul 15th 2008