Professor DAWKINS vs Cardinal PELL: ABC’s Q&A last night… (9 April 2012)

Who watched it? What do you make of the 24% ‘yes’ vs.76% ‘no’ to the question ‘Has religion made the world a better place?’ (20,000 respondents)?

Cardinal Pell suggested yes, there’d be atheists in heaven; and at some point in the evolutionary process we have the first creature with a ‘human soul’…

He also (3 times) cited references including page numbers (that’s what you can do with the help of a bevy of research assistants)…

The audience reacted with hoots before he completed the sentence when he recalled ‘preparing boys for…’ [first communion]…

Professor Dawkins twice got peeved when some in the audience laughed at something he said (‘What’s funny about that?’). And he was accused by Pell of choosing the term ‘atheist’ to describe his belief-system when he was really an agnostic (‘because the word “atheist” is more aggressive/ gets people’s attention’ – my paraphrase)…

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From the ABC website:

Audience: ALP 31%, Coalition 47%, Greens 13%

Discuss the Questions

Here are the questions our panel faced this week. Tell us what your answer would be or what you think our panellists need to say.

VALUES OF ATHEISM AND FAITH

NAOMI ROSETH asked: At Easter Australia’s religious leaders invoke the power of God to preach peace, love, political integrity, and moral fortitude – all positive, worthwhile values. In what way are all these values dependent on the existence of a god? Is it not possible for an atheist to be peace loving and socially responsible?

What do you think?

IS RELIGION A FORCE FOR GOOD

CLARE BONNER asked: Religion is often blamed for being the root of war and conflict But what about all the good it has done for our society? God-centred religion has also been the birthplace of schools, universities, hospitals, AND countless developments in science.

Richard, if you believe the human drive to seek the Truth and constantly improve ourselves is merely a mechanism for survival, then what’s the point and why should I bother?

What do you think?

VALUES OF “SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST”?

REBEKAH RAY asked: Without religion, where is the basis of our values or in time, will we revert back to Darwin’s evolutionary ideas of survival of the fittest?

What do you think?

DAWKINS – ATHEIST OR AGNOSTIC?

PAUL HANRAHAN asked: You are on the record as admitting that you can’t prove that God doesn’t exist and in fact that you are agnostic rather than atheistic. Why then do you accept offers from around the world to appear as “the champion of atheism” and why are you so “evangelical” in the prosecution of your cause?

What do you think?

BIG BANG FROM NOTHING

ANDREW WATSON in Blackburn, VIC asked via video: The big bangers believe that once there was nothing then suddenly, POOF, the Universe was created from a big bang. If I have nothing in the palm of my hand, close my fingers, speak the word “BANG” then open my fingers again, still I find there is nothing there. I ask you to explain to us in layman’s terms how it is that something as enormous as the Universes came from nothing?

What do you think?

EVOLUTION AND THE CHURCH

JO BLADES asked: As a young Catholic scientist, I’d like to ask his Eminence the Cardinal to clarify the Roman Catholic church’s position on evolution, and comment on whether the dichotomy between science and religion is in fact real.

What do you think?

CLIMATE SCIENCE AND PROOF

KIERAN DUNCAN in Ferntree, VIC asked via video: Hi there fans of democracy, my question is for George Pell. George: As a climate change sceptic, you a demand a high standard of evidence to support the hypothesis that global warming has an anthropogenic cause. My question is, why then do you not demand the same standard of evidence for the existence of God?

What do you think?

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?

MATTHEW THOMPSON in Toowong, QLD asked via video: I’m an atheist. What do you think will happen when I die and how do you know?

What do you think?

CHILDREN AND “NO GOD”

MICHAEL MATTY asked: Is it okay to tell a child there is no God?

What do you think?

SUFFERING

MICK WALSH in Nyngan, NSW asked via video: How can there be a compassionate God, who is all-powerful and has created us, yet we suffer? Why create such a world in the first place?

What do you think?

GAY EQUALITY

ANITA WU asked: Cardinal Pell: Jesus preached ‘love thy neighbour as thyself.’ How can you not give our gay neighbours marriage rights, as equality and respect are the fundamental foundations of love? What do you think?

GOD IS GOOD FOR US

KATHERINE SHEN asked: As an atheist, do you believe that people should believe in God for emotional support, even if temporarily? After all, research has proven that people who believe in God has a better chance of surviving serious illnesses such as cancer and those that attend Church live longer. Couldn’t believing in God be beneficial for our physical well-being, even if God is an illusion?

What do you think?

More (including transcript) - http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/