 "Photo: JOY WANG | STUDENT LIFE")
 "Photo: JOY WANG | STUDENT LIFE")
Washington University students trekked to the Grand neighborhood of St. Louis on Wednesday night to watch a debate of godly proportions.
The Fixed Point Foundation, a Christian think tank, hosted “God on Trial,” a debate on the existence of a higher being, at the St. Louis Powell Symphony Hall. The Foundation, which also serves as a teaching resource for churches and the religious community, intended the debate to examine the merits of belief in theism and Christianity.
Representing the atheist perspective was journalist, commentator, literary critic and prominent atheist Christopher Hitchens. Representing the Christian perspective was author, conservative commentator and public speaker Dinesh D’Souza.
Hitchens, who regularly writes columns for magazines like Vanity Fair, The Nation and The Atlantic, wrote the book “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” last year. The book was a nominee for the 2007 National Book Award.
D’Souza has also written several best-selling books, including “What’s So Great About Christianity.”
“I think the Fixed Point Foundation’s idea was that we have a lot of debates on issues but in some sense this is the underlying issue, the dividing line between belief and nonbelief, and a lot of other issues spin out of that,” D’Souza told Student Life. “There used to be this kind of debate in America 100 years ago, but somehow it went out of fashion. And so they’re trying to bring it back.”
Several student members of a new group on campus, The Forum, attended the debate. According to The Forum’s president, sophomore Stephen Murata, the group was organized to promote discussion among the student body about important issues while tolerating those of all backgrounds.
“Everybody is welcome to come as long as they’re ready and willing to look at their own beliefs from a critical perspective and are willing to expose their beliefs to the fire of fair criticism,” Murata said. “The sole purpose is not to get anyone to think a certain way, although that may happen. The ultimate goal is to get people to search for the reasons why [they] believe what they believe.”
The group is dividing its activities into three seasons, the first of which is called “Is Science at War with Religion?” According to Murata, the debate’s topic made for a perfect opening event.
D’Souza argued that Christianity explains certain things that a non-religious perspective cannot explain, including the creation of the universe and morality. D’Souza also argued for atheism’s responsibility for 20th century totalitarianism and brutality.
By contrast, Hitchens argued that a god is not necessary to explain the origins of the universe and humanity. He added that the Christian God and religion itself represents tyranny and exploitation.
Sophomore William Dahl, vice president of The Forum, felt that the group’s attendance at the debate was a success.
“I thought it was a great turnout. I will say that both participants made some very eloquent and very good points and they also made some very bad points,” Dahl said. “Both of them caused people to think about it, which was the goal of this debate.”
The event was almost hosted on campus in April, and group leaders had been involved in coordinating with the Fixed Point Foundation to plan the event. However, in the end the event fell through due to what Murata called “logistical reasons.”
Students found the debate to be entertaining and thought-provoking.
“I felt the debate was very eye-opening and I felt like each gentleman stated his beliefs eloquently and articulately,” sophomore Jennifer Karikari said.
Freshman Daniel Dutcher felt that Hitchens underperformed in the debate and that he was capable of doing much better.
“I’m a Hitchens fan, but I don’t think he did as well as he could have,” Dutcher said. “D’Souza seemed to be a lot more elegant and to the point, and Hitchens seemed more to sidestep around questions and not answer them as directly, even though I know that he can because I’ve read his stuff.”
“Hitchens didn’t really address all of the questions directly. He kind of meandered a little bit and kind of went around it in a convoluted way,” Karikari said.
D’Souza suggested that students reexamine Christianity because they are often brought up with a juvenile, underdeveloped understanding of it.
“Many people have been raised in Christianity, but they don’t realized that they’ve learned that Christianity at a very young age,” D’Souza said. “The purpose of having these debates, in a secular setting and in a secular language, at least from my point of view, is to look at Christianity with fresh eyes because too many people are jaded against it, but they’re jaded against a juvenile version of it.”
Hitchens, however, encouraged students to be wary of faith-based initiatives.
“At all costs, beware of the words ‘faith-based.’ Anything faith-based is to be very much distrusted,” Hitchens said in an interview after his appearance. “We have reason, we have doubt, we have skepticism, we have investigation, we have inquiry. These are the only means by which we have ever made any progress.”
