Peter Watts

Exactly, Hatsoff, you hit the nail on the head.
The kid's words were, "Well, I want to torture this guy."
He said nothing about wanting to find out the truth or see if this is all a big lie.
The kid's intent is to humiliate the speaker.

Here's a thought:
If he isn't interested in Christian theology, why not fund a nice taxpayer funded school? There isn't a shortage ...
This is what kills me about some — NOT ALL — but some atheists. It's not enough to disbelieve. They want to go the extra mile and question the sanity of those of us who do believe in God and take our faith seriously.
If the kid gets up and asks a bunch of questions with the intent of shutting down the speaker, he's only going to further alienate himself in the environment he's in. He's going to invite his peers at the school to witness to him. Is that what he wants?
And 99 percent of the people on this thread think it's so wise to get up and hee-haw, hee-haw to just to show the poor, ignorant fundamentalists how cute they can be ...

SkyDancer_0202

I don't know your story, but I would imagine that whatever reasons caused you to conclude for atheism would make excellent counterpoints for your speaker. They would be issues you've already carefully considered for yourself, kwim?

SkyDancer_0202

in other words, exactly what the people at the seminars at my local museum do ALL THE TIME.

And they aren't teenagers in a school setting who were specifically told to come up with questions, either.

RUmike

Ask if Jesus was crucified before or after the Passover meal. Synoptics say after, John says before.

hatsoff

The first portion of the story deals with very general events. It gives a basic chronology and sets the stage for the ensuing passages, which delve into the fall of man.

Peter Watts

It's a Christian school.
Why would they feel it necessary to have an atheist speak in order to provide balance at a Christian school?
This isn't a public forum or a formal debate we're talking about it, it's a private school inviting a speaker to talk to the student body.
This school has every right to host its speakers and have them treated with at least courtesy by the student body. That's life.
Would you tell an NAACP chapter that having a Klansman speak at their next meeting would make an "excellent counterpoint" to their civil rights goals? Somehow I doubt it.

fatpie42

My advice is check out some stuff on Josephus.

Obviously I can't know what is the best way to approach this particular biblical scholar, but in one of the conversations with such a character I once had I asked the following question towards the end.

Why don't Jewish historians around at the time of Jesus mention him when he was so well respected?

First of all he answered that Jesus was not well-respected and that is why he was crucified. (I did not think of this at the time, but wouldn't you say that being welcomed by hordes of people with palm leaves when you enter Jerusalem on a donkey would be a sign that he was respected?) Secondly he mentioned the name Josephus and then added quickly on the end that there are several other accounts too.

In my brief research into Josephus on the internet I was quickly able to discover that Josephus mentions huge amounts concerning John The Baptist. (Interestingly enough the time-scale between the various events in J the B's life seems rather different to the time-scale found in the gospels) However, at only one point does Josephus ever mention Jesus. Not only that, but most historians consider that particular part of Josephus' writings to be written in a different writing style, which would suggest that it was added at a much later date - probably by a Christian. (ooooh!)

I'm not sure if there are any other historians at the time who mention Jesus, but as far as I know Josephus is normally seen as the least biased and most prominent source of the time, so it is a bit of a blow for Christians to find out that the evidence in that quarter is dodgy.

David B

The two accounts give two basic chronologies, which are mutually inconsistent.

http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.co.../accounts.html

Hence - bible not inerrant.

Bed calls

David B

hatsoff

They both say after.

cjack

I would tend to agree that you shouldn't try to "torture" or "trap" the guy. Ask difficult questions? Absolutely, but you'll score more points by asking difficult questions politely.

Also keep in mind that there's a good chance he's done a bit of public speaking, and he might (at least in the minds of the audience) make YOU look foolish. I've seen a slick, well-prepared Christian debate a poorly prepared, inexperienced atheist and it wasn't pretty.