Read the Debate So Far...

I wrote my last post in response to a debate I'm having over at the Young Australian Skeptics blog (after stumbling across their article on a martial arts forum). Anyway, I thought my readers might like to read the debate that promoted the posts so here's a link to the original article and the latest comments. Please feel free to go back and read the earlier comments too to get everything in context.

http://www.youngausskeptics.com/2009/11/the-catholic-church-itd-be-good-for-a-laugh-if-it-wasnt-so-serious/

EDIT - OK - it looks like the debate is over now - they look like they have closed it (edit edit - actually they haven't so I got in a goodbye, but it's fairly clear they'd like to close it). Over the course of it I argued against abortion and contraception in my first instance and had a mind to challenge anti-Catholicism along the way as and when it emerged, which it was always likely to given the initial subject matter. That said, I tried to keep the debate on track and limit it to the abortion issue to start with. As time went on though, I felt that the abortion and contraception argument had been won and so let the debate move on to the question of the proof of the existence of G_d. My main angle here was to argue through the logic of the arguments and to try to present logic along with philosophy, theology and religion as worthwhile mental pursuits and indeed other avenues for finding truth. As the debate neared its end, I tried to point out that science also requires faith, that faith is not such a bad thing anyway, that people shouldn't jump to conclusions, that people should avoid prejudice, that religion is not just a force for evil and that atheism can be... hopefully the readership of the blog will have been given some food for thought, even if just one point goes in - they might become freer thinkers for it, instead of turning into jeering atheist thugs. There is a dangerous trend in our current popular cult of secularism to recruit and cultivate a kind of "Hitler Youth" that do their best to raise up the modern atheist fuhrers and drown out any opposition by clashing cymbals and blowing whistles.

I think it's "funny" how the atheists so often start gibbering meaninglessly and calling on pagan gods when they want to shut out your words, seemingly losing all ability to spell or say anything other than random chaos at the time - a reason I'm also wary of xenoglossia. "DISEMSOCKETED" is a new word on me - I can't even make out what it's meant to be.

EDIT Mk II
Actually they kept it open after all - it seems to be fizzling out though, and in reasonably good spirits (though they still haven't answered my main argument).