Sam Harris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnMYL8sF7bQ

Hitchens actually looks bored debating this pompous imbecile.
It can not be a good sign for the good Rabbi that even the moderator thought he was a whining, annoying fool.

Sander - 15 February 2008 06:36 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnMYL8sF7bQ

Hitchens actually looks bored debating this pompous imbecile.
It can not be a good sign for the good Rabbi that even the moderator thought he was a whining, annoying fool.

The moderator was a crack up for sure! He had to bring Boteach back to earth several times. At one point Hitchens correctly identified the rabbi’s ranting “white noise”. I think that Hitchens enjoys exposing his victims for the idiots they are. “Left for dead” as he would say.
Boteach reminded me of D’Sousa with Dennett. As Dennett calmly turns up the the heat, referring to D’Sousa’s ideas about evolution and physics as “cartoon caricatures”, D’Sousa raises the volume and rants, and preaches actually. All the righteous indignation of the true believer comes out.

What do you guys think?  As I was listening to Boteach, I started thinking that here is a guy that Hitchens should not be debating.  He is obviously quite a nut and providing a forum for him to express his silly views may not be such a good idea.

On the other hand, I do think that Hitchens is on to something when he says that when confronted with views such as those espoused by Boteach, the only thing that needs to be done is to underline them.

waltercat - 15 February 2008 08:17 PM

On the other hand, I do think that Hitchens is on to something when he says that when confronted with views such as those espoused by Boteach, the only thing that needs to be done is to underline them.

Yeah pretty much.

It is like those Phelps people who protest at the funerals of gay soldiers.
We should have these fuckers on TV every day.

Sander - 15 February 2008 08:38 PM

It is like those Phelps people who protest at the funerals of gay soldiers.
We should have these fuckers on TV every day.

I heartily agree - to anyone with half a brain, these people are complete nut jobs.  It’s so frustrating to me, though, that the power of denial and rationalization is huge with the average theist.  How many embarrassing news reports, debates, books, speeches, etc, will it take for a theist to finally take the imbecility of it all seriously? 

I do adore Hitchens.    That comment about white noise was classic.  It’s admirable that he’s able to continue through these debates with intelligence and patience.  He demonstrates a strong commitment to the advancement of humanity.  What a great man!

Holy Crap..lololol…

Thank you so much for posting this… i just finished watching the entire debate..

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… Hitchens is truly a Genius of debating…

Now, yes, Boteach, was a fanatic…. but at the same time, he was more interesting to hear than some of the other Rabbi’s I’ve watched in debates…... 

I would love to see these two go at it again… Hell, 93 Minutes!!!... it should have been 3 hours.. I would have watched the entirety…

Again, thank you for posting the link.. .

Although Boteach was obviously outclassed by Hitch’s intellect, wit and unrivalled ability to debate on the fly - I always have a nagging doubt about how constructive these public debates are. There is always the risk that the debate gets dragged down to the Bart Simpson level by a claim like Boteach’s that Stephen J. Gould didn’t believe in evolution.

As Stephen J. Gould observed, even gracing these people with a platform with which to debate gives them publicity they dont deserve. I can’t help thinking that for someone sitting on the fence, maybe watching an episode of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” or listening to a lecture by Neil deGrasse Tyson might be time better spent.

P.S. why is it that people like Boteach can only think in one dimension? when reflecting on the evolution of the Universe they can either talk quantities or they can talk time - never both at the same time when it comes to debating the likelihood of life arising by chance alone, they never see that it is the mind boggling quantities of stars/galaxies COUPLED with the immense passages of time that makes life statistically almost inevitable - I would say absolutely inevitable, but so far we only have ourselves as a perfect example of what can happen in an isotropic, homogeneous Universe - so I dont quite want to stick my neck out!

That was fantastic!!!