I debated the head Chaplain from Dover Air Force Base (DAFB) on 21 September. The debate evolved from an idea I had watching and hearing Dan Barker's debates and from a Toastmasters International magazine. I am president of DAFB's Toastmasters club and I wanted to do something interesting to spur membership. And what could be more startling than a debate between an atheist and a theist on the existence of God?
My esteemed opponent, Chaplain (Major) Melvin Brinkley readily agreed to debate. The base supported the debate via flyers and the base newspaper even ran an ad.
The debate started out well enough. I spoke first and outlined how belief in God is unsupported and illogical. I went on to describe the "problem of evil" as a major component in my deconversion. The debate occurred one week after the shooting in Fort Worth, Texas, so I used that example.
I asked the question, "If ever there was a time to intervene and save people, would not praying children in a church signal the single most opportune time?" I showed a slide that had quotes from the Fort Worth newspaper; a little girl was said to have prayed, "please God don't let anyone be hurt." I mentioned that such a plea, were I God, would merit instant action. This of course led to my assertion that God cannot make a being more morally perfect than himself.
After ten minutes it was Chaplain Brinkley's turn. Instead of using a prepared speech, Brinkley spoke off-the-cuff. One observer later said to me, "Did anyone tell Chaplain Brinkley he was supposed to debate?" He began by conceding God did not exist, rather he "lived." He then went on to make an impassioned argument for faith, invoking military movies like "Saving Private Ryan" to flesh out his points.
Our rebuttals (two of them) centered on several topics. I stated that I did not care whether we were questioning whether God existed or lived--to me it was a semantic difference. Chaplain Brinkley at one point offered the age-old Darwin-Nietzsche-Hitler combo trying to prove Hitler was the product of atheism. Of course my facts from Mein Kampf and the well-known SS belt buckles ("God With Us") put that to rest. Everyone, in the end, agreed Hitler was a Christian.
Brinkley made some weak attempts to discredit evolution mentioning scattered pieces of a C-5 (an Air Force cargo jet) in a junk yard spontaneously combining after a hurricane, but that failed too. For every point he made, I recalled a similar point made by one of Dan's opponents. It's funny, but I thought, "What would Dan say here?" to myself. I jokingly later told my wife it was like those Bible Belt totems--"WWJD?"--except for me it was "What Would Dan Do?"
In my closing, I provided a better foundation for morality based on reason rather than superstition. I pointed to several immoral passages in the Bible as well as the fact that no two Christians can agree on any major moral issue of the day. Chaplain Brinkley, seemingly defeated, merely stuck to how good faith was and what wondrous feelings the faithful have everyday (tell that to those in Fort Worth!). An extended Q&A followed where I was peppered with questions on how I thought I could be moral.
Hopefully some people got it! I did ask if anyone's faith was increased as a result of the debate. Borrowing from Mr. Barker again, I then concluded to all that I had won--for if Chaplain Brinkley had done his job, everyone would require less faith in God. Thanks to reason, logic, and some great one-liners of Mr. Barker's, I am happy to announce far more walked away from our debate thinking for themselves than not.
Kyle Marsh is a Foundation member from Delaware.
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