If you’re in the greater Seattle area, you may want to attend an upcoming debate on the topic “Does God Exist?” The organizers recently had to find a new venue because the original 400-seat lecture hall would be too small, so it should be a lively evening.
The debate will use a two-on-two format, like that used by Intelligence Squared debates. Each of the speakers will make a 10-minute opening. Next, in the same order, a 3-minute rebuttal. There will be Q&A, with the moderator asking questions submitted in writing by the audience. And finally, two minutes each for closing remarks.
Oxford voting will be used, which means that votes (Agree, Disagree, or Undecided) will be taken before and after. The change in the tally will determine the winner. (To please the audience, I’ll have to be on my best behavior!)
Opponents
My partner on the negative side of the question will be psychologist Dr. Valerie Tarico. A former evangelical, she explores her own past and the way out in Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks at Old Beliefs in a New Light. Her excellent video series “God’s Emotions” puts God on the couch to see why God (or the marionette known as God) acts the way he does. Her knowledge of psychology, important to understanding so many aspects of Christianity, will be a great compliment my more argumentative style.
Our two opponents are from Seattle University, a Jesuit institution. Dr. Mark Markuly is the Dean of the School of Theology and Ministry, and Rev. Mike Raschko Ph.D is a professor of Catholic Systematic Theology.
Details
Date and Time: Wednesday, May 20 at 7:30pm
Location: Performing Arts Center (PAC) Concert Hall, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA (directions)
It will be recorded, and I’ll make a link available as soon as I get it.
[In theology,] expertise is demonstrated
not by mastering knowledge about the divine,
but mastering speculations that other people have made about the divine.
As ex-preacher Dan Barker likes to say,
“Theology is a subject without an object.
Theologians don’t study God;
they study what other theologians have said about God.”
— Jerry Coyne
Image credit: Wonderlane, flickr, CC