On Feb 24, 2007, at 11:55 AM, curtisdeltablues wrote:
Yes that is where I have seen him the most. Just his existence as a conservative, gay Cathlic is a mindbender. I agree that his is a mixed bag, smart but not the most logical guy. Sam's very dry wit does come through in his Letter to a Christian Nation. He is just not good in a personal debate format. I saw him debating the guy who wrote "No God But God" a Muslim and he just couldn't play to the audience very well. He was also so stiff on John Stewart. He is a serious guy.
And for good reason: what he's debating concerns, quite literally, the future of life on this planet. He's also stuck in the rather difficult position of not condescending or making fun of people who hold (really) truly absurd beliefs and ideas. If you let out one hint that you find their arguments funny, laughable or even primitive, you lose an entire chunk of your listening audience who, despite their religiosity, might be able to make a big jump if they are not put on the defensive. Put them on the defensive and you loose them.
It's a very tricky balance to maintain in debate, so therefore it may be best to maintain a sober affect. Of course this only feeds the 'heartless-humanist-Mr. Spock' persona religionists routinely project as the very nature of soulless, "Godless" atheists.
