Dr. Atkins’ Opening Statement
Are Science and Atheism Compatible?Does Science Really Lead To Atheism? This is the main topic of this debate – among many other issues of course that may help understand this crucial topic. The debate is presented by two main players in the field as follows:
Representing the Muslim perspective was Adam Deen:
Adam is a former Islam channel presenter and intellectual activist who has been working in the field of Muslim apologetics for almost a decade.
He has contributed to debates on issues ranging from ethics, to religious philosophy and theology.
He is a member of the Muslim Da`wah Initiative which is formed of members from the Muslim community with experience in public speaking, apologetics, polemics, research and community work. He is currently completing a degree in Philosophy at Birkbeck University.
While, representing the Atheist side was Dr. Peter William Atkins:
Dr. Atkins is an English chemist and a fellow and professor of chemistry at Lincoln College at the University of Oxford.
He is a prolific writer of popular chemistry textbooks, including Physical Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Molecular Quantum Mechanics, three of the world’s most popular chemistry textbooks.
Atkins’ Physical Chemistry which he now co-writes with Julio de Paula of Haverford College, is in its 8th edition. In addition, Atkins’ Molecular Quantum Mechanics is in its 4th.
Atkins is also the author of a number of popular science works, including Atkins’ Molecules and Galileo’s Finger: The Ten Great Ideas of Science.
The debate was held at the School of Management, Surrey University, Guildford, UK, 6 pm, Friday 12th, November 2010.
In this part, we will see Dr. Atkin’s opening statement as you are invited to watch this exciting debate and see for yourself using your own mind.