______________________________So I'm really hoping we get at least one good opponent for Eddie set up. I'm really excited about this, and I'm going to need your help in spreading the word, putting out ads and flyers, and getting all the details squared away. As of this moment, details on whether it will be a lecture or a debate, what time of day it will be, where it will be held, etc., are still being worked out. However, you can spread the word that he will be here that day, and to keep your calendars clear. I'll keep you posted on developments as they arise.
Dear Staff and Officers of Campus Religious Organizations,
I'm nsfl, president of UF's student freethought group, AAFSA. The reason I'm writing you today is to ask you to co-host, co-sponsor, and/or participate in our campus-wide debate event on March 25 featuring atheist Eddie Tabash regarding the existence of God. I'm writing a lot of you, from all different denominations and faiths, for a good reason. I've also tried to reach some of you by phone.
If you are receiving this email, you are an officer or faculty advisor of one of the following organizations:
* Baptist Collegiate Ministries
* Campus Crusade For Christ
* Campus Unitarian Universalists
* Catholic Student Fellowship at the University Of Florida
* Chapel House
* Christian Campus House
* Gator Christian Life
* Islam On Campus
* Jewish Student Union
* Lambda Chi Alpha
* The Navigators
Too often debates on the existence of God are solely hosted by Protestant/Evangelical Christian groups. I would love for those groups to be involved now, but I would also love to see other faiths and denominations represented and participating. Due to the format of the debate, there will be an extensive Q&A session following, during which time the audience will ask either of the debate participants questions. That means your groups should be encouraged to attend and involve themselves, even if for no other reason than to ask questions afterwards.
Eddie has a debate opponent lined up in three venues in Florida during his trip to the state for debates, but not here at UF. Those of you in Campus Crusade for Christ may know that William Lane Craig has debated Eddie (also see here), as well as Richard Swinburne (reviews: link 1, link 2, link 3). I invite and ask you to please work with us to line up a debate opponent. If I get more than one offer, then great! We'll talk to those persons and figure out who might be best suited to represent each denomination. Perhaps we can have a debate involving multiple theistic positions, with Eddie as the atheist. Although that is atypical, it may be a more educational experience for our collegiate audience. That possibility could be considered. Most importantly, we need an experienced, qualified representative of your faith group who is capable of participating in defense of the existence of God.
There is not yet a time set for March 25. Because many of you do special things on Sunday, we are very flexible on the time, and we thought that perhaps an early afternoon time would work best for everyone -- perhaps 2 or 3 PM. We are also looking into reserving a room on-campus that afternoon -- perhaps Carleton Auditorium, or some other very large hall. If you have suggestions on either of these two considerations, please let us know.
If you are interested in co-sponsoring/co-hosting this event, and if you want to help line up an apologist for your faith to debate Eddie, please reply to this email, or call me at 352.870.4413. You can read more about Eddie at his website, or at the Secular Web:
* http://www.tabash.com/
* http://www.secweb.org/index.aspx?action=viewAuthor&i d=323
Please feel free to FW this message to anyone and everyone whom you think would be interested in attending, or in participating in this event. Thank you so much!
With warm regards,
nsfl
______________________________
(Please Digg this story (vote for it to spread the news), use the little grey button 8th from the left, below the email icon.)
________________
Technorati tags: God, Religion, Atheism, Philosophy
