The internet has recently been abuzz with discussion and mocking of Clint Eastwood’s ‘empty chair debate‘ with an ‘invisible Barack Obama’ at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Although there has not been enough jokes concerning Gestalt psychology, a Twitter account — @invisibleobama; — has approximately 70,000 followers at the time of this post!
Popular Christian apologist William Lane Craig recently offered his own take on ‘Eastwooding’ by taking a jab at Richard Dawkins who has refused to debate William Lane Craig as detailed in a 2011 article in The Guardian. Within this article, Dawkins said he would rather leave an empty chair than have a platform with Craig.
Dawkins wrote, after arguing, among other things, that Craig is “an apologist for genocide,”
Would you shake hands with a man who could write stuff like that? Would you share a platform with him? I wouldn’t, and I won’t. Even if I were not engaged to be in London on the day in question, I would be proud to leave that chair in Oxford eloquently empty.
And if any of my colleagues find themselves browbeaten or inveigled into a debate with this deplorable apologist for genocide, my advice to them would be to stand up, read aloud Craig’s words as quoted above, then walk out and leave him talking not just to an empty chair but, one would hope, to a rapidly emptying hall as well.
Let the invisible chair debate commence!
Better yet, various atheists William Lane Craig has not yet debated would likely be more than happy to share a stage with Craig. One name that comes to mind is Dr. Peter Boghossian. My blogging colleague John Loftus is another candidate – and one Craig has refused to debate.
Rather than taunting Dawkins, Craig should reach out to these two who are more than qualified to debate.