Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson Debate at Westminster Theological Seminary, Part 6 of 12

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 http://www.wts.edu/stayinformed/view.html?id=296.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Christopher Hitchens
• Douglas Wilson
• Hitchens-Wilson debate
• atheist
• apologetics
• Scott Oliphint

[Nickodemusodurn]

@theocratickingdom30

Hitchens probably knows more about religion (overall) than 99.99% of people.

[simpsonmark]

It's strange to me how Wilson sees the nonsense in other religions (Whitchcraft Shamenism etc) but does not do this for his own religious belief.

[absba9]

Douglas wilson is brilliant!!!

[SuperAhmed1337]

0:53 the other fella just blinked.

Ha ha.

[mrabdrum]

@andreasdrg Yea that's true, now lets try to convince the religious that its unlikely lol... I wonder how can anyone believe that the resurrection is a historical fact without any evidence?

[andreasdrg]

@mrabdrum You're right there, but all I was doing in my original post, really, was comparing probabilities. We have to assign a very low probability indeed for the proposition that Jesus bounced back to life. I know Hitchens has said something along the lines of: What's more likely, that the laws of nature have actually been suspended or that someone somewhere concocted a lie (to his own advantage) that propagated throughout the centuries with the help of like-minded people?

[mrabdrum]

@andreasdrg It would be unreasonable to say that the resurrection is impossible. But it would be reasonable to say that its very unlikely given the scientific knowledge we have... but yea extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and no sadly no Christian has ever presented evidence that even comes close to extraordinary.

[andreasdrg]

@bayreuth79 (...continued) No one would accept my claim that I've seen a pig grow wings and fly up and eat the planet Jupiter, even if I defended it by saying "well, in my world view, the world is a giant computer simulation where everything is subject to the whims of the programmers, so aaanything is possible".

[andreasdrg]

@bayreuth79 Well ok then. In Wilsons world view, the resurrection of what he believes is the son of a guy who can literally do anything is just as possible as a group of men crossing a river in a couple of boats. However, I don't accept that type of defense of the idea that Jesus came back from the dead. (continued..)

[Nickodemusodurn]

@bayreuth79

Im not sure how you can say that. Its very clearly not true, or he wouldnt have stomped so many in debates. I dont think he has ever turned down a debate either. I think his perspective is a lot more human - he looks at the facts of religion, what it has done, how its system controls people.

[bayreuth79]

@andreasdrg I am not sure I believe in the resurrection of Jesus; but you claim that the resurrection of Jesus is a physically impossible event. This is true if meant in one way but not another. If the universe is a metaphysically closed system, them of course it is impossible for Jesus to rise from the dead; but if God exists, which is not impossible, then there is no a priori reason why God couldn't raise Jesus. The question therefore is about worldview; your's doesn't allow for it.

[bayreuth79]

@Nickodemusodurn C Hitchens is religiously illiterate. I have spent several years of my life studying religion at an undergrad and postgrad level at Cambridge and the Sorbonne (Paris) and if Hitchen's knows something about religion then all my professors and all the books I read were wrong and Hitchens (mysteriously) right. He is not a religious scholar- he hasn't produced a single respectable book on religion, just polemical rants. Look at Chris Hedges on Hitchens, for instance.