Does God exist? ( Dr. DiCarlo's Opening Statements - 2 of 4 )

Does God exist?

What evidence supports the existence of God?

Why are we here?

What is life all about?

These questions are as old as the human race.

So how are we to answer them? Can they be answered at all? Might God be part of the answer?

Representing the Muslim perspective was Dr. Shabir Ally: Dr. Shabir is president of the Islamic Information & Dawah Centre International in Toronto, Canada.

He is a Muslim activist, academic, scholar and public speaker on Islam and comparative religion.

He is viewed as the leading Muslim debater in the world on Islam and Christianity, having engaged in public debates around the world with noted theologians, Christian apologists and renowned philosophers. Dr. Shabir Ally holds an M.A. and PhD in Islamic studies from the University of Toronto, and a BA in religious studies from Laurentian University with a specialization in Biblical Literature.

He is the author of numerous booklets on Islam and Christianity.

Representing the Atheist side was Dr. Christopher diCarlo; Dr. diCarlo is a Philosopher of Science and Ethics whose interests in cognitive evolution have taken him into the natural and social sciences. His personal research focuses on how and why humans reason, think, and act the way they do.

He is interested in how and why the human brain has evolved to its current state and what cross-cultural and cross-species behaviour can provide insight into universally common modes of reasoning. He is also interested in the application of neuroscience (specifically fMRI work), in an effort to better understand psychoneuroendocrine feedback looping in problem solving.

Dr. diCarlo is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology where he teaches Critical Thinking, Bioethics, and other courses. His most recent book (just released by McGraw-Hill Ryerson) is entitled: How to Become a Really Good Pain in the Ass: A Practical Guide to Thinking Critically.

He is also a past Visiting Research Scholar at Harvard University in the Department of Anthropology and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology where he conducted research for two books he is currently writing called: The Comparative Brain: The Evolution of Human Reasoning and The Evolution of Religion: Why Many Need to Believe in Deities, Demons, and the Unseen.

The Topic of Debate: Does God exist?

Dr. Shabir Ally (www.Shabirally.com)

vs.

Dr. Christopher diCarlo (www.cdicarlo.com)

(University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada March 2003)