Last year a British atheist organization placed signs on the sides of buses in London saying: "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
William Lane Craig, an American philosopher issued a challenge to debate that claim with one of the world's foremost atheists, Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, when he tours England this month, but Dawkins haughtily declined, saying that he only wanted to debate bishops and priests. On his website Dawkins called Craig a “ponderous buffoon” who uses logic to “bamboozle his faith-head audience,” but he has notably failed to respond to any of the "buffoon's" criticisms of The God Delusion.
His demurral elicited a letter from fellow atheist and Oxford don Dr. Daniel Came suggesting that Dawkins' refusal was "cowardly".
Meanwhile, two other prominent atheists backed out of their previous agreements to cross swords with Craig. The President of the British Humanist Association, Guardian columnist and prominent critic of religion, Polly Toynbee, pulled out of her agreement to debate Craig at London’s Westminster Central Hall. She had eagerly agreed to spar with Craig on the Existence of God and tickets had been sold for the event. She withdrew recently saying, “I hadn’t realized the nature of Mr Lane Craig’s debating style, and having now looked at his previous performances, this is not my kind of forum”.
I.e. She realizes that Craig would clean her clock, as it were, and she'd rather not suffer the humiliation.
Additionally, A.C.Grayling, who this year published a humanist ‘Bible’ called The Good Book, also refused to debate Craig about the basis of morality, stating that he would rather debate “the existence of fairies and water-nymphs”.
Perhaps this means that Grayling recognizes that on atheism morality has no more reality than fairies and water-nymphs, but he doesn't want to be put in the position of being pressed on the point publicly since that'd be a public relations disaster for atheism.
At any rate, Craig will still be giving a lecture at the Sheldonian Theater in Oxford on the evening he would have been debating Dawkins. There'll be an empty chair on the stage to highlight Dawkins' absence and, by implication, that he lacked the confidence to defend his book against someone who actually understands the issues rather than some parish clergyman who might have proved to be an easier foil.
Given that Dawkins is expected to be a no-show at the Sheldonian signs are being placed on the side of Oxford buses this week which say, "There’s Probably No Dawkins. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Oct 25th at the Sheldonian Theatre."
Pretty clever.
HT: Uncommon Descent