"Does Anything Supernatural Exist?" (Debate & Group Discussion)

This event is sponsored by the
Portland State University
Freethinker's Club.
.........................

Title: Which worldview is superior: supernatural or natural? Date: Wed. April 9, 2014 Time: 7:30-9 pm (free parking after 7 pm) Venue: Portland State University (PSU) Smith Memorial Student Union, room 296/298. Parking: Parking is free after 7 pm. Parking structure 1: SW 6th & Harrison, Portland, OR. Parking structure 3: 1631 SW 12th Ave, Portland, OR. All PSU free parking spaces are listed here: http://www.pdx.edu/transportation/hourly-visitor-parking. Questions about parking? Call PSU Parking Services here: 503-725-3442. (See the parking map below; Parking Structure 1 is preferred as it has a bridge on the second floor of the parking structure connected to the Smith Memorial Student Union.)

ABSTRACT:
Most Americans are religious, and they believe in the supernatural. A University of California (U.C. Berkeley) paper states this opinion about a religious poll taken in 2012: "Atheism is barely growing; one percent of Americans positively did not believe in God in 1965, two percent in 1991, and three percent in 2012."[1] This strongly implies that the vast majority of the population believes in at least the possibility of the supernatural.

If one were to step back, and survey all the facts of the known world, which worldview makes more sense: a supernatural worldview or a natural worldview? Do gods, demons, spirits, angels, reincarnation, heaven, hell, or any other such entities or processes described in the world's religions exist, or are they all imaginary? The supernaturalist will defend the reality of at least one of these entities, while the naturalist will deny the reality of them all.

PARTICIPANTS:
The panel will consist of two people representing each worldview. Bernie Dehler (President of the group called "The Center for Philosophical Naturalism") will argue for a naturalistic worldview. Phil Smith (a philosophy professor at George Fox University) will argue for a supernatural worldview, by representing a Christian perspective.

Our moderator is Marko Balogh from the PSU Freethinker's group. The moderator's role is to make sure both sides have equal time.

(Note: Parent guidance is suggested for children, as Bible stories may be discussed which have very graphic narratives of sex and violence.)

FORMAT (total time is 1.5 hrs.):

1. (6 min.) College students explain their position
   -- Addie Lass: Why naturalism makes better sense (3 min.). Addie is a member of the PSU Freethinker's student group.
   -- TBD: Why supernaturalism makes sense (3 min.)

2. (6 min.) Audience volunteers to testify why they left religion (supernatural thinking) to be atheist, and vice-versa
   -- Former religious believer (3 min.)
   -- Former atheist, now supernatural believer (3 min.)

3. (20 min.) Presentations "How do you define your worldview, and why is it the best of all alternatives?" (Exact order to be randomly determined later)
   -- Phil Smith (10 min.)
   -- Bernie Dehler (10 min.)

4. (20 min.) Bernie/Phil cross examination
   -- Cross examination 1 (10 min.)
   -- Cross examination 2 (10 min.)

5. Audience Q&A (35 min.; 5 min. each gives time for at least 7 questions)
   -- Open mic, each questioner gets 5 min. max, mostly interactive on questioner's terms.

Bernie has debated many Christians in the Portland area. Some of the Christians he has debated include: national evangelist Eric Hovind, George Fox University Philosophy Prof. Phil Smith, Pastor Nathan Lewis, Pastor Ron Kincaid, author Dennis Marcellino, Christian radio host Rick Livingston, Prof. David McCorkle, Christian radio host and author Steve Gregg, Dr. Bart Rask, and young earth creationist Brandon Church. These debates can be freely viewed at this YouTube channel: http://tinyurl.com/pa6gsz5 .

Phil is a philosophy professor at George Fox University. Phil recently published a book called "Why Faith Is a Virtue." It can be found at Amazon.com here: http://tinyurl.com/n2nubr8 .

Notes:
[1] "More Americans Have No Religious Preference: Key Finding from the 2012 General Social Survey"
http://tinyurl.com/dxrz7t9 (http://issi.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/shared/docs/Hout%20et%20al_No%20Relig%20Pref%202012_Release%20Mar%202013.pdf)

Parking Map:
(Modified from here: http://tinyurl.com/o3mylc9 )

http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/2/9/b/a/600_342670682.jpeg