Our sister organization, the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign, had an immensely successful debate last night. Here is what they had to say. Please consider donating.

Last night more than 300 people came out to see Dan Waugh and Dan Barker debate the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign’s ad “You Can Be Good Without God”. Both respected men were in excellent form and exemplified civility. We at the Bus Campaign could not be more pleased with the debate.

One of our key goals in forming INABC was to promote discussion amongst people who normally do not talk to each other due to disagreement. We wanted to encourage critical thinking on the reasons behind faith or lack thereof. Both of these goals ultimately create more understanding between theists and nontheists in our community. Dan Waugh and Dan Barker not only fulfilled our goals but did so in a very respectful manner.

We want people to feel comfortable discussing sensitive, controversial topics like religion. Oftentimes people are fearful to express their opinions or do not want to offend someone else. However, as both Waugh and Barker showed us last night, we can break down these barriers in a way that is not inflammatory or disrespectful. We can discuss religion critically whether we believe or do not believe in God.

While audience members may not have agreed with the speakers, this debate gave people the opportunity to hear well thought out arguments that may have been contradictory to the ones they held when they walked in. Events like this should happen more often! With these debates we can enter an age where critical discussion of religion is met with no hesitation, no fear. With your help, we can make strides towards a world where any idea can enter into a fair and balanced discussion where neither side feels the need to hold back.

Our work is not done. There are so many cities that have not seen our message! So many more topics that have yet to be debated! Your gift is not just a donation; it is an investment into a society of free minds, good hearts, and loud voices. Make your online tax deductable gift today.

This lecture is sponsored by the IUB Department of Religious Studies. We are cancelling our normally scheduled movie night and encouraging everyone to attend this lecture in its stead. It will be at 7:30pm on Thursday (10/22) in Rawles 100.

Dr. John Haught, Distinguished Research Professor and Senior Fellow in Science and Religion at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, is an expert and frequent lecturer on Christian thought and evolution controversies such as intelligent design and creationism.

Professor Haught regards science and religion as two different and noncompeting levels of explanation for natural phenomena. He advocates a theistic form of evolution that avoids the twin pitfalls of excessive materialism or scientism that seeks to “disprove” religion, on the one hand, and religion that seeks to present itself as science, on the other (as with intelligent design). In his view, Darwin’s vision of life, instead of being hostile to religion, actually provides opportunity for mature reflection on ideas about God and cosmic meaning. He thus refers to Darwin’s theory as a “gift” to Christian theology. He also draws conclusions about ecological ethics—how humans should treat the natural world and nonhuman life—from his interpretation of theistic evolution.

John Haught has published numerous works dealing with religion and evolution, including Deeper Than Darwin: The Prospect for Religion in the Age of Evolution (2003), God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution (2000), and Responses to 101 Questions on God and Evolution (2001). In 2005 Haught testified as an expert witness for the plaintiffs in the famous Dover “intelligent design” trial, where he presented arguments that intelligent design is a form of religion, not science. Some of his more recent scholarship, such as God and the New Atheism (2008) presents a detailed rejoinder to the so-called neo-atheist criticisms of religion popularized by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris. Haught maintains that these anti-religion arguments contain little that could be considered “new,” and that they display logical inconsistencies and crude caricatures of religious belief.

Professor Haught’s lecture “Evolution and Faith: What Is at Stake?” will address the supposed conflict between religious faith and scientific theory in a way that will appeal to a wide audience.

This Saturday at 10:30pm, SAIU is visiting a Hell House run by The House of Prayer, located in Ellettsville.  A Hell House is a Christian version of a haunted house, intended to present scary scenes from a world of secularism and the Hellish consequences, so to speak.  Tickets are $5.

We will be meeting at the IMU circle at 9:30pm. If you need a ride, please email me at jhughto [at] indiana [dot] edu. You should also email me if you can provide rides.