December 11, 2002

God is subject of Great Debate

Hundreds watch debate via satellite feed at local church
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

      Does God exist?
      A question that has spanned the millennia, sparking intense debate, research and questioning across cultures. Wrestling with the question in a formal debate Sunday night were Dr. Michael Newdow, who successfully sued to have the words "Under God" banned from the Pledge of Allegiance, and Cliffe Knechtle, a minister from Connecticut who travels the country speaking on Christianity.
      The two men faced off at the Rolling Hills Christian Church in Sacramento, Calif. The debate was sponsored by the Church Communication Network, which broadcast the event live via satellite to more than 250,000 viewers nationwide. Locally, the Bay Point Community Church sponsored the live broadcast, which was held Sunday evening at Central High School and drew 246 attendees.
      The debate was geared to all spiritual seekers, Christians, atheists, skeptics and agnostics. The audience, both locally and in the auditorium of the Rolling Hills Christian Church, listened respectfully to both sides during the 90-minute presentation and the question and answer period that followed.
      Knechtle led off the debate by presenting five arguments that to him proved God exists. He led off by outlining that the origin of the universe demonstrates that God orchestrated it. Even the Big Bang Theory can be reconciled with God because after that event, there were space, time, matter and energy.
      "The logic is that whatever begins to exist has a cause and the universe began to exist, therefore it has a cause," Knechtle said.
      Knechtle's other four arguments include the order and design of the cosmos, the existence of universal values, the innate drive to seek God and the extensive, historical evidence of Jesus' resurrection.
      Newdow, an emergency room physician who also has a law degree, countered in his opening argument that science cannot prove that God exists. He stated that he approaches this fundamental question by looking for evidence needed to determine if it is true. Newdow pointed to historical mythology and medical misconceptions throughout human history that undermine the idea of God.
      "UFOs, psychics, crop circles, ESP, most of us don't believe in those things because we don't have good data," Newdow said.
      Newdow believes that habit and training can account for much of people's religious beliefs. He also asserted that believers twist data to serve their hypothesis of a God, pointing to the declaration of "It was God's Will" for almost any occasion, good or bad.
      "You believe in God just like you believe in Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy; your parents believed it, relatives believe it and the church you attend believes, therefore you believe it," he said. "You have to look at the data, not make the data fit the hypothesis."
      Demanding that God manifest on stage, Newdow called on the audience members, most of whom said they believed in prayer, to pray for that. Newdow then asserted because God did not show Himself he did not exist.
      Knechtle countered that prayer is simply talking to God, not a way to manipulate God.
      "That is shear human arrogance to demand God appear, it behooves us to approach God humbly," he said.
      Anne Fielstra attended the debate with her husband, children and grandchildren. She believes that Knechtle proved the case that God exists hands down over Newdow.
      "I think that Cliffe did prove that there is evidence and I think that Mr. Newdow always came back to the same," she said. "Does God have to prove himself like he wants? He's already done that."
      Viewers were invited to vote on who won the debate following the program and e-mail the results to Sacramento. During the question-and-answer session, results were compiled and among the nationwide audience, with 229 churches responding, 92 percent voted for Knechtle. Locally, with 194 people voting, 87 percent felt that Knechtle won the debate.
      "Faith is not a leap, that is definitely not the case," said Karl Koelling, director of operations for the Bay Point Community Church. "We invited people here to look at the evidence and draw conclusions, we do that every day on all sorts of decisions."