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From: Gordon Simons
I did not see the debate because there was a blackout in our area. I
too
would like to pose a related question:
Suppose I were able to get a tape of the debate and were to show it to a
well educated audience consisting of Christians who are largely
uninformed
about the issues, and the players in the debate. Would they benefit
from
the experience? If so, how? I should add that I am not particularly
concerned with the issue of winning and losing, but would be concerned
with whether it would be educational and edifying to Christians who
might
not be opposed to evolution.
Gordie
In general, I think your intended audience would come away with an
unfortunate misperception that the "Christian" perspective on the
"creationist" side of the debate is peculiarly defensive and dogmatic.
This would be unfortunate since there are so many Christians who are
more even handed in their efforts to reconcile faith and reason.
On the other hand, your audience would be exposed to a fairly
representative statement of how "evolutionists" see the issue. The
debaters for the "evolution" side emphasized that evolutionary theory,
contrary to what Dawkins thinks, does not refute theism. Rather, it can
be interpreted as yet another insight into a divinely guided process of
creation.
Jim Hofmann
Cal State Fullerton