Is Christianity obsolete? Can an intelligent, educated person really believe the Bible? Has Christianity been disproven by science, debunked as a force for good, and discredited as a guide to morality? Do the atheists have it right?
Bestselling author Dinesh D'Souza looks at Christianity with a questioning eye, but treats atheists with equal skepticism; he challenges the assumptions of both believers and doubters, and affirms that there really is, indeed, something great about Christianity- Grace Cathedral
Bio
Dinesh D'Souza
A New York Times bestselling author, Dinesh D'Souza, the President of The King's College in NYC, has had a distinguished 25 year career as a writer, scholar and intellectual. A former policy analyst in the Reagan White House, D'Souza also served as an Olin Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute as well as a Rishwain Scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford. Called one of the "top young public-policy makers in the country" by Investor's Business Daily, he quickly became a major influence on public policy through his writings. In 2008 D'Souza released the book, What's So Great About Christianity, the comprehensive answer to a spate of atheist books denouncing theism in general and Christianity in particular. Consequently he has gone on to debate atheists such as Christopher Hitchens, Peter Singer, Daniel Dennett, and Michael Shermer.
Rev. Alan Jones
Alan Jones, Ph.D., has been dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco since 1985.
Jones was formerly the director of the Center for Christian Spirituality and Stephen F. Bayne Professor of Ascetical Theology at General Theological Seminary in New York City. Born and educated in England, Jones was also on the staff of Trinity Institute of Wall Street's Trinity Church. He became a citizen of the United States in 1975.
Jones is the author of several books, most notably, Soul Making, The Desert Way of Spirituality, Passion for Pilgrimage and most recently, The Soul's Journey: Exploring the Three Passages of the Spiritual Life with Dante as a Guide. He is widely known as a gifted preacher and travels throughout the world preaching, lecturing, and leading retreats.
Religion stemming from the teachings of Jesus in the 1st century AD. Its sacred scripture is the Bible, particularly the New Testament. Its principal tenets are that Jesus is the Son of God (the second person of the Holy Trinity), that God's love for the world is the essential component of his being, and that Jesus died to redeem humankind. Christianity was originally a movement of Jews who accepted Jesus as the messiah, but the movement quickly became predominantly Gentile. The early church was shaped by St. Paul and other Christian missionaries and theologians; it was persecuted under the Roman Empire but supported by Constantine I, the first Christian emperor. In medieval and early modern Europe, Christian thinkers such as St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Martin Luther contributed to the growth of Christian theology, and beginning in the 15th century missionaries spread the faith throughout much of the world. The major divisions of Christianity are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Nearly all Christian churches have an ordained clergy, members of which are typically though not universally male. Members of the clergy lead group worship services and are viewed as intermediaries between the laity and the divine in some churches. Most Christian churches administer two sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist. In the early 21st century there were more than two billion adherents of Christianity throughout the world, found on all continents.
That is an interesting comparison with Hitchens. A European talking about how bad Christianity is and an Indian saying that Hinduism was worse.
But what if God thinks they are both garbage? It is not like JC founded the Roman Catholic Church. Some people just decided to acquire and use his name.
I compliment and agree with Mr. D'Souza on his views. But I feel that he is painfully incorrect in his understanding of the Hindu Caste System. While the sacred texts, the Vedas,spoke of society as being made up of 4 labor groups, the way the various communities divided it out based on tribal affiliation and economic conditions. Somehow, even Christians have placed themselves into this social structure and have benefited from India's affirmative action plans. There are far greater reasons for D'Souza's ancestors' choice of Christianity.
Yes, the caste system is a terrible thing and other religions had some appeal probably mostly to the lower castes. That and in some cases a sword held to the throat. I think Buddhism was the best deal there. Not so divisive.
When D'Souza and Jones ask what evolutionary advantage does consciousness bring to human beings, they both mire the argument in the teleology of purpose-driven theology. Natural selection does not act directly on every modification or evolutionary outcome to a species. Modifications may be quite random and without any adaptive significance to nature's prime directive at all. They can just hitchhike along as it were, as a serendipitous new feature. Consciousness may be nothing more than that... a kind of lucky accident. Just because biological consciouness appears to be an engineered organic processor for centrally organizing human experience doesn't automatically make it some design off God's drafting table nor does it inherently weaken evolutionary dynamics either.
On another level, one might argue that human consciousness may have long ago exceeded its immediate brief and made homo sapiens uniquely successful at conceiving strategies to extend its DNA. No?
Once again, I am convinced that those who disrespectfully insult Mr. D'Souza and offer weak, deconstrustionist arguements against him did not listen to the discussion in its entirety. Do those of you who as-a-matter-of- factly dismiss his ideas or argue against things he did not say think you have the smarts to debate this gentleman? He is one of my favorite thinkers, not because I agree with everything he says, but because he lays out his aruguements clearly, respects those with whom he disagrees and is a fearless defender of religious and intellectual freedom.
I too enjoy debating atheists. They are frequently arrogant and condescending and lack intellectual horsepower. I simply do not understand the obsessive opposition to religion and what I see as irrational hatred for Christians.
Dinesh D'Souza is a loathesome troll. He was the token darkey in the administration of Ronald Reagan, another loathesome troll. The key word here is loathesome. Thank you.
Re Bapyou's post:
Thank you for your intelligent and helpful criticism. Can't wait to hear your next pronouncement. I am a non-Christian but can still respect what Dinesh has to say. Right or wrong, at least he does not simply attacking others personally, but instead aims at intelligent argument.
I agree - except your words on afterlife. Of course D'Souza is right in saying there is no proof there isn't an afterlife. This is not an argument against reason, it's the simple truth.
what's the truth, that there is no afterlife? please prove how your statement is fact.
I agree - except your words on afterlife. Of course D'Souza is right in saying there is no proof there isn't an afterlife. This is not an argument against reason, it's the simple truth.
member. 
