More than 1,200 people turned out to see the God is Great, God is Not Great debate held at Jones County Junior College Monday night.

The debate, hosted by The Charles Pickering Honors Institute and the Rho Sigma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, featured nationally-known debaters Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchens. D’Souza, a speaker and author known for his influence in the political and public policy realm, has chosen to focus on the topic of religion to combat the emerging and active movement of atheism. He is the author of What’s So Great About Christianity, in which he answers questions often asked by skeptics.

Hitchens, one of many well-known controversial writers and critics in the media and author of God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, considers himself a radical and a believer in secularism, humanism and reason. The author, journalist and speaker began to question the validity of religion at a young age in England, where religious study was required in school.

The New York Times best selling authors have engaged one another in debates on capitalism and socialism in the past. They have debated on religion with one another five times, and this was their first time to do so at a junior college or in the southern United States. The crowd included fans of both speakers, and applause could be heard for both their stances. Throughout the debate, Hitchens gave several comparisons of religion and God.

“(If God exists) we are governed by a celestial dictatorship that keeps us under permanent surveillance even after we are dead,” said Hitchens. “It would be worse than any tyranny...feudalism, fascism, hitlerism....”

D’Souza went head to head with Hitchens regarding statistics and scientific discussion, making comments such as, “We judge science by its latest successes, but we don’t give religion the same principle....Science has its roots in Christianity: Kepler, Boyle, Newton and Copernicus were all Christians...Nature is a description of reality as it is now. Morality is a description of how it should be.”

Dr. Mark Taylor, dean of the Honors Institute, wanted his students to have the opportunity to hear the free exchange of ideas and be challenged to think. He invited the religion and philosophy departments of several colleges and universities to the debate. Also in attendance were people who traveled from as far away as Florida and Ohio.

“It was a very successful night,” said Taylor. “I was very pleased with the crowd. There was a good cross section from the community including a number of church groups, from the entire south Mississippi region and beyond.

“These debaters were both very engaging men even though they are polar opposites in their belief of God,” he said. “I enjoyed their ability to be friendly with one another and disagree strongly. I wanted our students to see how well-read both these men are in history, science and philosophy. I think they feel that they are intellectual equals and have respect for one another.

“I also wanted our students to see that, for them to meet the challenges of life, it is helpful to appreciate the need to understand the rationalizations of those who hold opposing views. The National Forensic Journal shows that debate allows students to develop analytical, problem solving and critical thinking skills.”

After they debated, some members of the audience had the opportunity to ask the men questions. Due to time limits, not everyone with a question had a chance to address the speakers. Earlier in the day, students in the JCJC Honors Institute had the opportunity to meet the two as well as ask them questions. 

“Our honors students had an opportunity that other people didn’t get, which is one of the perks of being in our program,” said Taylor. “Our honors students get to personally speak with our guests, shake their hands, and get to pick their brains.”

Some members of the audience may have been surprised to see a debater defend God without using the Bible, but D’Souza explained his reasoning to the honors students.

“When people debate Jesus, you refer to the Bible, but that only works with Christians,” he said. Hitchens quickly replied under his breath, “If then.”  “Atheists want secular answers, so I must set aside the Bible and use the same tools they use - history, science - and fight on the same ground.”

Hitchens described the Christian belief as “unbelievably self-centered,” religion as “superstition” and the afterlife as “a theme park”. D’Souza said religion offers both “hope and answers”, and he feels a calling “to raise consciousness for Christianity.”

After the debate, the authors held a book signing. Jones honors student Lana Crawford of Pearl waited in line to have her copies of their books signed, books that were required reading in her honors class.

“We had a great turnout, and I think it’s awesome that word of this event got so far,” she said. “It’s wonderful that people from all over came to Ellisville to hear them. It shows that Jones offers top quality events.”

Dr. Ronald Bishop, philosophy instructor and newly appointed chair of the social science division, was the moderator for the night. He invited his students to attend the debate, and he was pleased to see some of his students ask the guests questions. He plans to use content from their books in the upcoming weeks in the religion section of his philosophy class.

“I really appreciate being invited to be a part of this event,” said Bishop. “It was a great honor to be the moderator. I was pleased to see how courteous our audience was and that there were several well-thought out questions. I think the debate was a good opportunity for the college and the community to have an honest and open discussion on an important issue.”

The Charles Pickering Honors Institute and the Rho Sigma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa host several guest lecturers on campus each year. For more information regarding either organization, call 477-4000. To view the debate, visit www.jcjc.tv