A couple days ago Justin Schieber and I appeared on an episode of Unbelievable with Justin Brierley in which we debated the question of whether widespread religious (or theological) disagreement constitutes evidence that God does not exist. More on that in a moment.
This is my sixth appearance on Unbelievable. Over the years I have been on the show debating with Ralph Jones, John Loftus, Hemant Mehta, and Michael Ruse. I also recorded a show with Alom Shaha that was more of a dialogue than a debate. I’ve done dozens of radio and podcast interviews over the years, and Unbelievable is always at the top of my list due to the quality of the guests, the winsome host, and the show’s format. Host-wise, Brierley not only seeks to be a balanced moderator, but he also is informed on the issues. And as a result, he’s very skilled at asking probing questions, at pressing guests for clarification, and at leading the discussion. As for the format, ten or fifteen minute radio spots allow for little more than a handful of talking points, but on Unbelievable you’ve got time to develop your points and have some good old fashioned banter hashing out a topic.
Of all the shows I’ve done in the past, the Devil’s Advocate episode with Michael Ruse was my favorite for two reasons: first, on that show we swapped roles: I defended atheism and Ruse defended Christian theism (of a rather liberal sort); second, Ruse himself is a charismatic, affable, and intelligent interlocutor. The result, I think, was some engaging and worthwhile radio.
Note I said that the Ruse show was my favorite of past shows. From my perspective, the upcoming show with Schieber is every bit the equal of the Ruse exchange. This is a very, how shall I put it, productive exchange, one in which we manage to cover a range of issues pertinent to the topic with concision, clarity, and Unbelievable‘s trademark courtesy.
So check it out the episode this Saturday. And then buy the book!
