A debate at Westminster Theological Seminary between Christopher Hitchens, renowned atheist, and Douglas Wilson, renowned Christian author. It was moderated by Dr. Scott Oliphint, and you can read his response to the debate at www.wts.edu
Tags: Christopher · Debate · Douglas · Hitchens · Part · Seminary · Theological · Westminster · Wilson25 Comments
Hitchens owns. Wilson was defeated by his own ridiculous claims and argument.
It’s a really surreal thing to watch a man in a suit sincerely talking about demons.
Wow, around six minutes in Wilson dropped any pretense of rationality and revealed that his beliefs have no logical basis. Maybe the debate’s venue made him confident or careless enough to admit the truth. Probably the worst move he could have made with Hitch sitting next to him, short of slamming a goat on the table and trying to sacrifice it.
i believe what i believe…..wow……imagine if science said that…this guy would do anything if it was written in the bible, and he believes in noahs ark, possibly the most ridiculous part of the bible… millions of species of insect & animal all on one boat! hilarious, did noah save all the separate races of human too? hitchens won the argument as soon as he opened his mouth.
@TonesH For Wilson say that other miracles are ‘counterfeit’ and his are not is to completely beg the question against Hitchens’ argument. I’m sure he picked up on it, but just didn’t choose to respond that way.
@aznmessenjah hitchens is good he just talks in such a way that it isnt as good in “lehmans terms” dawkins talks in such a way that he breaks down his points that almost anyone even the dumb super religious christians
(not all christians are dumb) would understand
I know this is just me, but who can’t see that these conversations are on completely different intellectual grounds? Hitchens is so lucid and persuasive and relevant that his words are simply intoxicating consciousness-raisers. Wilson speaks as if he was transported from the 1st Century and given a clean suit.
@basboll I liked Clarence Darrows retort “Do you ever think about the things you do think about?”
Wilson at 6:46: “The ones I believe in are the ones I believe in.” Reminds me of William Jennings Bryan in the Scopes Trial: “I do not think about things I do not think about.”
I’m surprised that Hitchens didn’t pick Wilson up on the following point. Hitchens was not arguing on an ontological level, about the being and not-being of certain miracles; instead, he was making an epistemological point that questioned how he could decide between the real and false. One can’t say to that, as Douglas did, that they ‘were real’, as this is ontological, and nor can he really appeal to eye-witnesses, as miracles of all faiths have eye-witnesses.
@aznmessenjah so what hes a journalist. jesus christ supposedly was a carpenter. doesnt matter the occupation what matters is the message and i have to say christopher is quite compelling, for a reason
@pajamaman88 He is a journalist looking to make a name for himself. Speaking with a British accent does not make you an intellectual.
@aznmessenjah hitchens is very intellectual u must be mistaken
Christopher Hitchens does not know how to make or sustain an argument. He is a phony. Richard Dawkins is on the other hand a genuine intellectual.
Wilson should put up his cap on his head and keep it…
@koabarra
Logic and reason? LIke what Dougy said about the holy trinity being both a circle and triangle at the same time, and can be demonstrable by simple drawing? It cannot be done. A circle and triangle cannot by definition be the same shape, at the same time. Dougy lost the argument right there, and Im dissapointed HItchens didnt pursuit this simple point.
I cant believe this grown up man actually believes in demons and monsters! I just cannot actually believe this. You theists hahahaha! Like children.
religious people r mentally disordered. its not an insult. its my observation and opinion.
I think HItchens has encountered too much of a sort of “christian relativism” instead of people who have accepted, as truth of the universe, Christianity.
@Joe41272 especially since you missed his point. he wasn’t saying that because he believes in it, those things are true. he’s stating that he judges the miracles he believes in a case by case basis based on the validity according to standards of logic and reason prescribed in the Bible.
the same way hitchens would judge them; although he would use a different standard of logic and reason (which is why he would deny all miracles).
@Joe41272 what is it with these Hitchens fans?
even Hitchens would take offense at the unfairness of this comment
When I started watching this thing I expected Hitchens to pretty much dominate the discussion, but after watching 6 parts of this thing he hasn’t said anything new or insightful against religion. It’s all pretty much shallow, out of context, old refutes.. I’m no logician or philosopher but I haven’t heard an argument from him yet that I couldn’t counter argue just on the basis of Bible. Although it is good to see a level tempered atheist who isn’t just motivated by resentment of christianity
The difference between actual historical events and the story of Jesus and his miracles is that there is plenty of written evidence from different and reliable sources. for actual historical events. There is no written evidence or indeed evidence of any kind for the stories of Jesus, except in scripture. Scripture, by it’s very nature, is not evidence based.
Hitchens: “How do u know your miracles are correct and all others aren’t”
Wilson: “Oh… The ones I believe in are the ones I believe in.”
yea good proof there guy. :-
@CertainUncertainty And this man teaches a logic course… where?