Vox Day and Dominic Saltarelli recently finished part 2 of 3 in their debate over the existence of God (or gods). In round 1, Vox–making the case for Theism–established a pretty high standard. Dominic, while making a valiant effort to rebut Vox and make the case for Atheism, simply could not surmount the challenge.
This time, it was closer. At the end of Vox’s opening argument in round 1, he made reference to the argument from morality, which, while not a weak argument–every C.S. Lewis fan knows people who came to Christ after reading Mere Christianity, in which Lewis made exactly that argument–is definitely a lightning rod. It is a lightning rod for two reasons: (a) it is a strong argument, (b) it challenges the moral bankruptcy of atheists (and atheists HATE it when Christians do this), and (c) it invites a larger, potentially endless, discussion about standards of morality.
I’d have to cast my lot with CL: while my inclination is to give the round to Vox because he held his ground, round 2 was pretty much a draw.
My take on this: Vox is way ahead, largely because of the case he made in round 1. He made a VERY persuasive evidentiary case for a supernatural element. While Dominic has been quite the competitor–PZ would have been duck soup after the first round–he has what appears to be a very strong, possibly insurmountable, challenge.
Dominic hasn’t done badly, but he has run into a buzzsaw.
