The Debate Dawkins would rather Forget

Rabbi Smuley Boteach (yes, Virginia that's his real name-- how appropriate for a teacher) is one of my favorite rabbis. He is engaged and engaging on a whole host of issues, one of which is the issue of atheism. He sends me his newsletter and postings several times a week. Here below is a sample of one. I'd encourage you to go to his website and listen. A good time will be had by all

Rabbi Shmuley was surprised to learn from a number of fans that his friend, Richard Dawkins, the world’s most famous atheist, posted a statement on his website attacking Rabbi Shmuley, and denying ever debating him. The statement on richarddawkins.net reads: “Boteach organized debates, with himself as chairman, and I sometimes took part in debates with the outside visitors that he imported, for example Robert Winston. Boteach was a surprisingly impartial chairman, but he was always just a chairman, never a debater in any of the debates that I attended.” This is, unfortunately, a particularly bold untruth. The debate, which took place at St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, on October 23, 1996, attracted hundreds of students and featured, on the atheist side, Professor Dawkins and Chemistry Professor Peter Atkins, and on the religion side, Rabbi Shmuley and Professor Keith Ward, the Oxford University Regius Professor of Divinity. The Oxford L’Chaim Society (the student organization Rabbi Shmuley founded and chaired) student president, Josh Wine, was in the moderator’s chair. Ironically, in a vote at the end of the debate to determine how many students had changed their minds upon hearing the arguments, the religious side prevailed and defeated Dawkin’s side, which might account for his selective memory. The full two-hour video of debate from 1996 at Oxford University, along with a written-response from Rabbi Shmuley is now available at Shmuley.com