Richard Dawkins is not the super-intellect that the media and his accent make him out to be.
Read this recent magnificent "self-pwnage" tweet and listen for the sound of Dawkins plummeting from the irony tree, hitting every branch on the way down:
One also has to praise Justin Brierley, of Premier Christian Radio's "Unbelievable" theist vs atheist dialogue show, for this response:
Justin has since invited Dawkins onto his show. No response yet, and don't hold your breath. Dawkins is probably busy trolling tweeting! ;-)
Richard Dawkins is to debate John Lennox on The Charlie Rose Show this August 2012, in New York. Brilliant news! Robust challenges to one's own and others' views are always to be encouraged.
But, I think many of us would like to know, therefore, does Dawkins no longer hold the view he expressed on his website last November? Is John Lennox no longer "serious enough" to be worth engaging? If so, why has Dawkins accepted? If not, will Dawkins publicly retract this statement and apologise (we all get a bit hot-headed blogging sometimes, don't we, so it's quite forgivable).
UPDATE: Michael Coren has quite a lot to say on this matter!:
However, it gets worse...
Whether he's aware of this or not, I don't know, but according to his own logic, Richard Dawkins will be debating an apologist for genocide (which was his 13th and final excuse for refusing William Lane Craig):
The following video also outlines this inconsistency:
And this one was produced the day after Dawkins wrote his comment last year:
I'm sure there must be a perfectly rational explanation... especially if we ask Dawkins...?
Many of you know already that I spent a large part of 2011 launching a series of youtube commentaries against Richard Dawkins, for refusing to debate William Lane Craig (and specifically, the inconsistent and disingenuous way he went about it). I have decided to archive them all on this page, so you can access them easily and grasp a greater sense of the narrative that ran through them. I loved creating them, though plenty of frustrations and upsets were entailed in the process!
In fact, this brings me to perhaps my most important point: though it may appear otherwise (drumroll...) this wasn't all I was doing with 2011! Granted, it took up a lot of it, but I must assure you 2011 must have been the most important year of my life, for all sorts of different reasons - not all of them to be found in the pages of youtube!
But it is this importance I've recently been needing to face. I came out of William Lane Craig's UK Reasonable Faith Tour as a Christian again. This time, to stay. For good! This May, I will be baptised, submerged in commitment to Christ, and will be giving my testimony to how this happened. The tricky part is writing the testimony, and making sense of what I was up to - thinking, feeling, doing - over these last four years. There is a lot to confront and a lot to untangle, and it'll take a bit of time to get a clear story out of it.
Why start, therefore, with a video archive? Is that not simply procrastinating? Well, it might be a little (it's definitely one of my vices), but I think what I'd like to do is throw these little youtube blighters onto this blog in all their glory, and see what story they tell first. Let's start with the story I spent an insane number of hours trying to tell through the medium of video, and that I heavily invested myself in over a number of months (maybe it contains clues and insights of its own)? Then, I promise, I'll step out further into the light once I've taken the time to figure out how to put pen to paper on the deeper stuff that was really going on (not that that has any cash value in getting Dawkins off the hook, mind). This will include some attempts to answer the question, "Pete, why were you so obsessive about this stuff"!?
I wanted to have done this already, but It's been a busy weekend: more editing (for a keystage two French-teaching DVD, not more Dawkins!) church life in the next city along, and looking after the neighbour's farm ducks and hens (bet you never knew there's a breed of chicken called "Buff Orpington", did you)?
So, 'til I find the time, God bless, and enjoy! :-)
1. "Richard Dawkins Says He Won't Debate William Lane Craig" Nov 2009
This has possibly been the biggest impact I've had on anything (unless you've been talking to those pesky chaos theorists... don't get me wrong, I love fractal geometry as much as the next guy, but...)!
I had heard about Dawkins' refusals to debate William Lane Craig, and found it exceedingly odd. Why turn down the chance to debate the arguments and evidence, like the militant atheist Dawkins claimed to be? Back then I would have called myself an agnostic ("researching agnostic" if I were trying to be especially pretentious and guarded). I had time for Dawkins' arguments but I'd been made aware how a lot of them were far more fallacious than the popular market appeared to recognise. The arrogance of his refusal "it'll look good on your CV but not mine..." was a huge letdown (one would be forgiven to expect a follow-up along the lines of "Jeeves, fetch my elephant gun", with that attitude). There was no desire to see Dawkins get "pwned" but rather to have a genuinely educational experience from seeing these two minds engage.
The issue was becoming talked about more and more on the internet, but nothing had been heard from Dawkins' own lips...
...so, naturally, after many cigarettes and much scribbling into an all-too-small diary, on a windy Brighton beach... I'd sort of drafted a question which I might just possibly ask Dawkins, at the 2009 IQ2 debate "Atheism is the New Fundamentalism?" in Berkshire. Then, to cut a long story short, I almost didn't ask him... then I did! The break-through came when Lord Richard Harries (awesome Former bishop of Oxford) listed 4 key points of fundamentalism in his opening speech of the debate. Point number 2 was the characteristic of "always attacking the weakest arguments and avoiding the strongest".
That was all the permission I needed! At present, I think this isolated clip of that question stands at around 175,000 views (still not sure about that beard though).
NB this video clip was cut and uploaded by youtuber Christianjr4.
2. "Richard Dawkins is Too Emotional & Dishonest About William Lane Craig" Dec 2010
Now this was quite something! Completely unexpectedly, Dawkins and Craig would debate... except, not really. According to Dawkins himself, "I don't consider this to be a debate with [Craig]. The Mexicans invited me to participate and I accepted". This was a six-person panel event, where they would have a limited exchange (Dawkins' total time spent responding to Craig was just over 1 minute).
However, in this debate he committed an epic straw man which, strangely, Craig didn't seem to call Dawkins out on at the time (time constraints, presumably). I figured I may as well, therefore, do my bit to point it out! You may be able to guess that at this point I had far less sympathy for this particular New Atheist. It was also a surreal delight to have this featured during Unbelievble?'s episode opening the 2011 new year, in which Bill Craig was interviewed about his encounter with Dawkins (I'm told this video even found its way into his defenders class)!
3. "William Lane Craig, Richard Dawkins & The Empty Chair" Jun 2011
This was when the big guns came out! Justin Brierley (host of Unbelievable? on Premier Christian Radio - essential listening for any apologetics addict) asked if I'd like to do a promo for the Reasonable Faith Tour, to be screened at the first "Unbelievable Conference" in May. Let's just say I managed to mutate it into something with a far more aggressive agenda! With the news that Dr Craig would arrive in the UK that year (2011), and that Dawkins had not only refused him but had been accused of cowardice by a fellow Oxford Atheist in The Telegraph, I leapt on the chance to make as big a deal out of it on video as it was in my own head!
This video went what I guess you could describe as "viral" (well, some people have described it that way anyhow). A lot of blogs picked up on it, and at one point I counted around 14 mirrors of it on youtube! I've never felt so nervous uploading a video before!
4. "Oxford Atheist Calls Dawkins "Coward" For Not Debating Craig" Jul 2011
I took the "empty chair" video, but altered and shortened it a bit, in the hope it would travel better (putting Dr Came's Telegraph letter at the outset), as well as updating it with important news about the (then) recently confirmed opponent for Bill Craig's first debate: Polly Toynbee. I'd also discovered Dawkins' agreement to debate "the Banana Man's sidekick". Oh, and I actually got round to showing the empty chair this time (as well as bringing my favourite film score into it)! :-P
This video was slower to receive views, but it now appears to be surpassing views for the longer "Empty Chair" version... and it's really not popular among the online atheists (that Sith lightsabre ratings bar just grows and grows)!
5. "Richard Dawkins Gets Propositioned In An Elevator" Jul 2011
It had to be done! This was the time of the Elevatorgate scandal, when Dawkins was torched in an internet flame war ("Richard Dawkins Torn Limb From Limb, by Atheists!" proclaimed one news article). He'd responded to Rebecca Watson's plea, for strange men not to proposition women in closed spaces at 4am (sounds fair), by requesting that a fictional Muslim woman "stop whining" and that the incident couldn't have been any more offensive than gum-chewing!
Well, it prompted me to ask... who would Dawkins fear meeting in an elevator at 4am? ;-)
An alternate cut here spells out the connection more explicitly, with news article citations.
6. "British Humanists Run From William Lane Craig" Sept 2011
No longer was it just Dawkins... but a humanist trinity! Polly Toynbee pulled out after tickets were sold, Dawkins resorted to abusive remarks on his website... but most disturbing of all was AC Grayling's dismissive attitude to the question of God's existence. The man who has dared to charge £18,000 per year, for his supposedly elite leadership and tuition, couldn't even be bothered to engage on the biggest and oldest philosophical question known to man? You'll sense how the tone of the video changes when it comes to Grayling's turn. Dawkins' situation has redeeming qualities of comedy and absurdity to it, but Grayling? It really did feel bleak, truth be told. The London riots being on every screen in sight didn't help either.
Made this one while performing a play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! Talk about a loaded schedule! :-S
7. "The Reasonable Faith Tour Trailer" Sept 2011
Well, by this time I was fully onboard helping to promote the tour, while other aspects of my life were going seriously downhill and big changes would be afoot (more on that properly later, once I've figured out which bits can be told).
This video, for a change, was not my personal ranting, but an offical assignment for the purpose of advertising William Lane Craig's tour, endorsed by the committee (distributed to churches etc). The added responsibility made this probably the most difficult edit of them all, but also the most rewarding (my favourite compliment came from Justin Brierley: "congratulations, Pete, you've made the Kalam argument look sexy")!
8. BBC Oxford News: Oct 13th 2011
Peter May (Tour organiser) actually did it! He pulled the strings and actually bought the advertising space for the Oxford buses to carry my design for the banner: "there's probably no Dawkins, now stop worrying and enjoy Oct 25th at the Sheldonian Theatre"!
And guess who's wearing the "Where's Dawkins?"outfit? ;-D
...I'd just moved out of Brighton, staying close to Oxford, but had snuck time to find everything I needed, for the costume, in the Lanes (never disappoints)!
9. "Where's Dawkins? The Magic of Hypocrisy" Oct 14 2011
No business like show business! Dawkins had just started a tour of his own... self-promoting (Bill O'Reilly is more worthy of Dawkins' time, apparently)! Remember what Dawkins said in his Telegraph excuse? At this point I figured I may as well keep up the momentum with current events. It also gave a good opportunity to unveil some juicy footage of the buses I'd taken, which by now were swarming all over Oxford! I could really feel the imminence of the Tour!
10. "No Dawkins" Oxford Bus Campaign: Oct 15th 2011
This one explicitly spells out the satire behind the bus campaign.
11. "Andrew Copson Contradicts His Own Excuse on BBC Radio 4" - Oct 16th 2011
I cut this quick observation together early in the morning, on the day before the Tour (16th). Andrew Copson had been broadcast all over the radio, preceeding Craig's interviews, giving the most feeble and contrived excuses I could imagine (in fact I was shocked by him, I wouldn't have thought a Chief Exec of British Humanism would use the same arguments I've encountered by online, well, I believe the technical term is "trolls"). But, in his last breath, notice how he undermines his whole argument, essentially saying "there's not enough time for Dawkins, but plenty of time for everyone else"!
I also uploaded the regional BBC Radio interviews and complied them with the R4 interview into a youtube playlist. If you want to hear those interviews, you can follow this link: (Bill really cracked up the London host)! http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3B4385D5CF4042B6
12. "Almost Time..." Oct 19th 2011
Keeping the heat turned up (can't go wrong with Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen)! Made this one before running to catch the train to Cambridge.
13. "Please Show Up, Professor Dawkins" Oct 17th 2011
This one is actually not mine (though I did host a mirror when I discovered it). It was created by the youtuber gerinja, but I've included it here because it really caught the buzz and fury of the question so many people were asking! In fact one of the most fantastic things to see were other youtubers, cartoonists and bloggers bursting onto the scene with their own commentaries... electric! :-D
14. "12 Ways To Duck Debating: Response to Dawkins' Anti-Craig Guardian Article" Oct 24 2011
Now this was it! No prisoners. Dawkins had released his Guardian article against Craig, and I was having none of it (though I was extremely concerned about what Dawkins could achieve, given the emotive subject matter)! There was drama unfolding.
At first it was hard to figure out what to do (how do you grapple with an issue like the Canaanites in this situation)? But then it became clear why indeed this was a "smokescreen": Dawkins had made 11 other excuses, prior to this one! Quite a bit of pressure to produce this video mid-travel, mid-tour. You'll probably be able to tell by the music how I felt about the whole thing.
Also, I'd been Christian for 4 days when I made this video. More on that to come, promise...!
15. "Has Dawkins lost his Sense of Humour? Is Craig harassing him?" Oct 24th 2011
This quick video I added after the main response to his Guardian article. It seemed bizarre that Dawkins would play "victim" when it's even been explained clearly on national radio that Dr Craig had nothing to do with publicising the tour or even having any agenda of his own to debate Dawkins! I also found it odd how Dawkins seems to praise ridicule and satire as his favourite forms of persuasion... unless he's at the centre of the comical scrutiny!
16. "William Lane Craig, Richard Dawkins & The Full Sheldonian" Oct 30th 2011
And here we are! October 25th came, the Sheldonian was full and... well... see the rest for yourself! :-)
Post-Reasonable Faith Tour:
I continued to make video commentary after the Tour was over, as Dawkins persisted in saying the most extraordinarily spiteful and incoherent things (and it still mattered)...
Here, Dawkins is shown to be attacking John Lenox, on his website. A shame, given that on the promotional video for their debate (the one which apparently put Dawkins off doing them) host Larry Taunton described the men as having a "new-found respect for each other".
By this point I'd moved back to the southwest, but felt like spending a day out in Oxford again. Rounding off the year, perhaps.
It was very sad when Hitch passed away (he was my favourite atheist), yet the urge to comment was still there.
This one brings it full circle, and seems to be the one to end the Saga commentary. I thought it important to ask what it would be like if Rowan Williams treated Dawkins the way Dawkins treated Craig? It was nice to watch them have a civil discussion, ultimately, and joke about razors! Dawkins certainly struggled with a professional agnostic philosopher though.
Reason Rally:
And now we're onto something else: the largest atheistic rally in history. Watch this in light of all the other videos and events that have gone before, and ask yourself what monopoly this man can claim to "reason"?
Reason Rally Invites Westboro Baptists But Rejects Ratio Christi and William Lane Craig:
I never thought they'd do this. It honestly seems too cartoonish to be real. Yet, sure enough, they did! Released on the day of the Rally.
Comedy Videos!
The following videos were actually made prior to "The Empty Chair" saga, but I thought I'd chuck them in here. I made them purely for the fun and silliness of it!
Three Possibilities for What Sam Harris may have been doing on his Mac:
Two Really Unfortunate things to happen to Lawrence Krauss:
...and that's it!
So, what are we to make of all that? What else was going on, and why make them? The degree to which I gravitated into assisting the Tour, and pounded the Dawkins issue, must have had a role to play in returning to the faith (or maybe it was just an indicator of something else that was happening)? Maybe I was trying to hold back from actually becoming a Christian again for a long time, yet somehow still trying to reach back into it through some obscure route?
These are questions I need to think about, but right now I need sleep!
I promise to return and give the more personal story, which I appreciate is still somewhat hidden behind the screens. In the mean time, hope you've enjoyed! :-D
First I must say R.I.P. Christopher Hitchens. You were my favorite atheist, even when I no longer found you convincing. You also had far more integrity and courage than your fellow Horseman (now pony rider) Richard Dawkins:
Hitchens met Craig willingly at a panel...
...Dawkins met Craig unwillingly at a panel.
Hitchens referred to him as Dr Craig...
...Dawkins referred to him as Mr Craig.
Hitchens admitted atheist academics took Craig seriously...
...Dawkins ignored even Dennett and Grayling's engagements!
Hitchens acknowleged Craig as a scholar...
...Dawkins calls Craig anything but a scholar.
Hitchens received letters of advice from fans...
...Dawkins received letters of advice from "I'm-an-atheist-but"-ers.
Hitchens was grateful for the civility shown to him by students and staff...
...Dawkins was ashamed of the civility shown to Craig by students and staff.
Hitchens joked about low-balling their debate...
...Dawkins was serious about low-balling their non-debate.
Hitchens lost his life...
...Dawkins lost his balls.
RIP Hitch...
...ROFL Dick.
And, secondly, a little extra Christmas treat:
That's correct! They were only contracted to be displayed for a few weeks... but they will remain fitted until a new purchase is made on the advert space (which, given the time of year and current economic climate, could be for a while)?
So, 2011 has been a bit of a humbug year for the increasingly Scrooge-like Dawkins...
You'd think that if William Lane Craig were not such a big deal, then Dawkins really wouldn't have much to say about him. While Dawkins certainly would like us to think his arguments are of no significance, the fact is that when it comes to Craig personally, Dawkins just doesn't know when to keep his big mouth shut!
Yes, the greatest no-show on Earth has now seen the video of Craig's lecture response to The God Delusion and has been posting his own response not to Craig, not to academic journals... But on PZ Myers' blog!
That's right, the leader of the "Brights" has taken refuge as a troll:
"Craig is not a skilled debater. His style is tediously to drag out pompous syllogisms, which his opponents ignore because they are irrelevant, and which his disciples cannot understand: the combination of incomprehension plus his loud voice makes them think he has ‘won’ the debate, and this impression is reinforced by the fact that he always declares that he has ‘won’ whether he has or not. If anybody does succumb to his incessant badgering for debate (he seems to have nothing else to do with his time), the best technique would probably be to agree to debate him on the question of biblical morality, and then quote his own words at him, on the subject of the genocide of the Canaanites:" (Richard Dawkins, Pharyngula; comment 17)
So, no response to the arguments. Still the same tantrums, whining and insults from the sidelines that he's resorted to in the past. Dawkins evidently suffers from "Basil Fawlty" syndrome: a complete failure to self-reflect on one's own psychology and actions. How can he not realize such comments merely imply that he's compensating, for feeling too dumb to handle Craig's rebuttal of his "unrebuttable" book?
Furthermore, Dawkins proves himself hopelessly inconsistent yet again: he's just claimed that "Craig is not a skilled debater", yet when I asked him in 2009 to explain why he won't debate, Dawkins' 5th excuse (out of at least 12, spanning 4 years) was because Craig is a "professional debater"! *
But wait, you ain't seen nothing yet:
"I’ve just listened to the last part of the recording of Craig’s Sheldonian speech. Incredibly, he not only repeats his outrageous defence of genocide almost word for word, but is actually applauded for doing so, If the applauders were Oxford students, I am ashamed of my university. A show of hands at the end showed that almost a hundred percent of the audience were religious, so they were not a typical student audience. I’m still ashamed of them. I’m also ashamed of the chairman, Millican, who let him repeat those disgusting words without a murmur of protest."
(Richard Dawkins, Pharyngula; comment 119)
There you go. Not only is atheist Peter Millican ex-communicated (who, incidentally, has written far more of substance in disagreement with these Old Testament narratives and actually has a proper Oxford professorship... oh, and he actually had the courage to debate Craig) but apparently, the entire institution of Oxford University is also completely unworthy of almighty Dawkins! He's also gone so far as to attack John Lennox for "masquerading as a scientist while believing Jesus turned water into wine" (something which never stopped Dawkins debating him thrice before, and so much for the "new-found respect" Larry Taunton thought they shared) as well as hinting that Dr Daniel Came is one of those treacherous "'I'm-an-atheist-but' fellow travellers".
Simply astounding. Clearly, nobody is safe from the wrath of Dawkins' personal attacks. However, if you're looking to find shelter, evidentally the best place to dwell is within an academic learning environment. You won't catch Dawkins lowering himself from his high chair to mix with such a shameful crowd (though, while he's up there, can someone please wipe his mouth and change his nappy)?
We have proof Dawkins has seen the video yet not responded to the arguments. The "why" question indeed appears silly at this point. Dawkins' behaviour betrays a fear and maybe even an inability to respond intellectually (though I'm still holding out hope that he can).
Especially, it may be worth pressing him to respond to his contradictory handling of the moral argument, as criticised by Craig. Not only does Dawkins commit the same fallacy every time he blusters on with his diversionary "Canaanites" tactic, it's also the simplest to grasp... If he needs to work his way up in baby steps, that is.
Thank God for atheists like Millican, Came, Law and quite a number of others who don't have as much media attention, yet make up for it with integrity.
(wish this one were mine too, but it's Emerson's!)
* one desperate Dawkins fan, on the very youtube page of Dawkins' 2009 excuses, even had the following to say:
"Dawkins called Craig a "Professional Debater". So to claim Dawkins said Craig is 'not a good debater' is an outright lie." - Enyulan
So much for attention to evidence, but it's handy to know that logically, therefore, even some atheists agree we can justifiably accuse Dawkins of lying (or just plain losing his grip)!
I directed the youtuber to Dawkins' own blog comments:
It has been truly extraordinary watching the reverse-evolution of Richard Dawkins - from self-promoting and self-professed leader of the "Brights" - to a ranting, toy-throwing infant, with literally nothing more than incoherent ad hominem left. One wonders whether he still believes his arguments are "unrebuttable".
Many are familiar with his desperate attempts to undermine William Lane Craig, so to avoid manning up and debating him during his recent UK Tour. He's given at least 12 excuses over the past 4 years, the most recent of which was a smokescreen that even fellow atheists saw through: "I really don't like how 'dr' Craig interprets a particular old testament narrative, therefore I don't need to engage with his arguments for theism or criticisms of my multi-million-selling, non-peer-reviewed book".
But who could predict that Dawkins would lose all sense of coherence and discernment while throwing his latest tantrum? In a recent forum post on his "clear-thinking oasis" website (Pretentiousness Police! Pull over!) Dawkins actually attacked Prof John Lennox, for being just as unworthy of engaging with as Dr Craig! His reason? That Lennox "masquerades as a scientist while believing Jesus turned water into wine"!
As the video above shows, this excuse did not stop Dawkins debating Lennox three times in the past! Indeed, John Lennox gave an actual argument as to why such a belief is not incompatible with science (briefly: 1. if God exists then he can feed new events into the system he's already created, 2. turning water into wine is such a new event, 3. therefore if God exists then he could do it)!
Dawkins' response? The fallacy of personal incredulity.
And now, behold the abject desperation and emotionalism! Evidently, while still fuming at Dr Craig being endorsed even by fellow Oxford atheists, as worthy of civilised discussion and debate, Dawkins feels the need to lash out even less discriminately than ever before. The important thing to remember is, apparently, that if you're not an atheist.... YOU'RE NOT WORTHY!
Given the sheer inconsistency of Dawkins' "sick notes" (love that expression, Tim Stanley) which includes contradicting himself over whether he was aware of Craig's "Cannanite article" and when, and the reports that Dawkins felt wounded in his pride by Prof Lennox's debate performance, I cannot help but conclude that baby Dawkins has thrown his toys out of the pram: all this could have been settled agreeably, ages ago, by a straight-forward, honest, even debate.
Instead? Dawkins is left scraping the barrel of empty New Atheist polemic. He has no arguments to offer, merely abusive comments which make his elderly, retired self indistinguishable from the pubescent teenager frantically seeking an anger-outlet for the frustration of attempting to burst his pimples.
Footage of Dr Craig's response to Dawkins' The God Delusion is imminently due to hit youtube.
In the meantime, however, I'll leave you with this report. It's a personal testimony too, and will explain the recent change to the sub-heading of this blog.
Indeed, while I've no fear of voicing my comments on Dawkins' pathetic and hypocritcal behaviour, I still mean what I said, in this video - such is the (irreducible?) complexity of life:
If you're still a follower of Dawkins, after all he's done and all I've demonstrated on this page...