"Atheists are wrong"

This is just a reminder about the forthcoming IQ2 debate in Sydney on 6 September. This one is worth getting a ticket for ... well, I hope it will be. If all goes well it will be quite a show.

Speakers

For:

• The Most Rev Peter Jensen is Archbishop of the Anglican Church, Diocese of Sydney and Metropolitan of the Province of New South Wales (since 2001). A former lecturer and Principal of Moore Theological College, he earned a D Phil from Oxford for his research on Elizabethan Protestantism. His book At the Heart of the Universe is used around the world as an introductory text on Christian Doctrine. His 2005 Boyer Lecture series for the ABC has been published as a book, The future of Jesus.
• Dr Tracey Rowland is the Dean of the John Paul II Institute, Melbourne and a Permanent Fellow in Political Philosophy and Continental Theology. She is also an Adjunct Professor of the Centre for Faith, Ethics and Society of the University of Notre Dame, Sydney. Dr Rowland holds a doctorate from the Divinity School of Cambridge University and has published widely including two books on the theology of Benedict XVI.
• Scott Stephens is the Religion & Ethics editor for ABC Online. Before joining the ABC he taught theology and theological ethics for many years. He has written extensively about the intersections among philosophy, theology and politics, the work of Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, the political theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and John Paul II, the moral problem of secularism and why atheism stems from the theological revolution of Christianity.

Against:

• Russell Blackford is a philosopher, literary critic and creative writer. His qualifications include separate PhDs in English literature and philosophy . He is Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Evolution and Technology and the author of many books, articles, essays and short stories. His books include 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists (2009) co-edited with Udo Schuklenk. His new book, Freedom of Religion and the Secular State, will be published shortly. Dr Blackford is a Conjoint Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle.
• Jane Caro runs her own communications consultancy and lectures in Advertising Creative at UWS. She is author of three books and is currently writing about atheism. Caro appears regularly in the media, is a panellist on the ABC’s top rating The Gruen Transfer and an occasional radio host.
• Dr Tamas Pataki is honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne (School of historical and philosophical studies) and honorary Fellow of Deakin University. He studied philosophy at the University of Melbourne and psychoanalysis at University College, London University. Dr Pataki has been a lecturer in philosophy at RMIT, University of Tasmania and University of Melbourne. He co-edited, with Michael Levine, Racism in Mind (Cornell 2004) and is the author of Against Religion (Scribe, 2007) as well as of articles and book chapters on the philosophy of mind and numerous popular pieces and reviews.

Chair:

Dr Simon Longstaff has a PhD in Philosophy from Cambridge. Prior to becoming the inaugural Executive Director of St James Ethics Centre in 1991, Dr Longstaff worked in the Northern Territory in the Safety Department of BHP subsidiary, GEMCO, lectured at Cambridge University and consulted to the Cambridge Commonwealth and Overseas Trusts. His book Hard Cases, Tough Choices was published in 1997. Dr Longstaff was inaugural President of the Australian Association for Professional & Applied Ethics and is a Fellow of the World Economic Forum. He is Chairman of Woolworths Limited Corporate Responsibility Panel and AMP Capital Socially Responsible Investment Advisory Committee and serves as Member on a number of Board Committees.