This is a collection of discussions and debates recorded over the last few years . These events have been very popular with large attendances of sceptics and Christians alike. We hope you find them interesting.

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The Sceptic in the Pub

A discussion between Stuart Ritchie and Dr Marc Surtees

This debate took place in the Newsroom Pub in Edinburgh to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of 'Origin of Species'

Part 1 Presentations

Part 2 Open discussion

 

 

 

 

The Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion,

University of Dundee

'A Matter of Gravity:
God, the Universe and Stephen Hawking'
Professor John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics, University of Oxford

Click here to watch the video

 

The Western Book of the Dead A sideways look at contemporary worldview

 

Is Faith in God a Delusion?

A debate on belief in God

A discussion between David Robertson, author of 'The Dawkins Letters' and Alistair McBay of the National Secular Society.

How could a good God allow evil to happen?

 

God and Evil

Suffering and the Origin of Evil: Is the God of the Bible Responsible?

 

 

The Gunnersby Debate

A debate sparked off by the campaign to put Humanist slogans on the side of buses between Peter Cave of the Open University and David Robertson the CEO of Solas Centre for Public Christianity

 

Should Schools Teach Creationism?

 

Debate organised by the Institute of Ideas and the Humanist Society Scotland . Held in the National Library of Scotland 11th February 2009.

To watch the Institute of Ideas' Debate Outline The debate over Creationism is one of the hottest flashpoints in the battle between secularism and religion. While the US has seen extended conflict over the theory of evolution, new challenges to Darwinism under the guise of intelligent design (ID) have arisen in the UK. Concerns centre on school science education, from Sir Peter Vardy's Emmanuel Schools Foundation to the controversial teaching packs distributed by the anti-evolution group Truth in Science. Although the Royal Society and much of the scientific establishment have denounced the teaching of Creationism, and the Royal Society's embattled director of education resigned last year after causing controversy by suggesting teachers should discuss Creationism in class, a recent MORI poll revealed that over 40% of the public believe that creationism or ID should be taught alongside evolution in school science classes.

While few seriously endorse the literal Biblical story of Creation, ID on the other hand claims to highlight Darwinism's shortcomings on scientific grounds. Evolution is 'just a theory' after all. Surely in the spirit of encouraging critical thinking we should 'teach the controversy'? As science is about questioning received truths rather than establishing certainties for all time, does this not permit a more flexible approach to science education, where debate is encouraged? Further, the sheer complexity of evolutionary theory leads ID advocates to claim it is best to cultivate a critical eye in pupils, rather than have them take as truth a misunderstood Darwinian theory.

Is science, or 'scientism', just as fundamentalist as religion, arrogantly claiming to know everything, or are doubts such as these a reflection of scientists' failure to make the case properly for what science does have to offer? Is this merely another case of the 'balance fallacy': the mistaken belief that even falsehoods should be given air time? Or should schools teach creationism in science lessons?

Speakers:

Due to health and safety issues we were not allowed to use tripods so we apologise for some shots which are a bit shakey!

Is the Human Eye Badly Designed?

Good Science and Bad Science

Creation or Evolution

Spring 2008: Resurrection Debate

The Resurrection: Historical Fact or Religious Invention?

A public discussion between Professor Gary Habermas and Kenneth Humphreys. Gary Habermas is Professor of Apologetics and Philosophy at Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia. Kenneth Humphreys is a member of the National Secular Society

Note this video is only available as a Vimeo file and is not down-loadable.
Click here for copyright information.

March 2007:

Darwin and humanity: Should we rid the mind of God?

A debate between Alister McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University, author of "Dawkins' God" and "The Dawkins Delusion" and Peter Atkins, Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, well-known atheist and supporter of Richard Dawkins. As seen on Channel 4's "The trouble with atheism".

We apologise for the poor sound quality on parts of this recording.

You may watch a streaming version of the video by clicking "play" (above), however we recommend downloading the full screen, high resolution version from Zudeo (click the large image below and following the instructions).

 

     
 

For further material discussing issues of Christian Faith then visit

http://www.bethinking.org/ and http://www.hgtaylor.net/.

This web site is run from a Christian viewpoint but the debates have not

been edited for content and are a fair representation of the events as they happened.