Hey all;
I have found that lengthy discussion threads can get bogged down with the weight of replies and issues to deal with. Because of this I have been thinking and praying about a way to do actual debates between forum members, like they do on TheologyWeb. THe following is what I came up with, but I wanted suggestions and observations that would help iron out the specifics.
THis is not the challenge itself and should not be taken this way, to any evo or old-age person reading this. This debate applies for me and only me, unless and until such time as others wish to do debates as well.
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Debate Process:
Once debate opponents are chosen, each will begin preperation of a paper on the topic of why evolution/creation is the superior theory. Length, and time limits are explained below. Once the first paper is done, it is sent exclusively to the opponent (no posting on the board before debate is complete, violation of this results in automatic disqualification and the debate is ended), and a rebuttle is written. Once these rebuttles are completed, they too are swapped, and a concluding paper is written. Once all of this is over, the complete papers will be posted on the board together, either in one huge thread, or in seperate threads such as "[Insert names] Debate: Part One," which would contain the initial papers, "Part 2," which would include the first rebuttle papers, and "Part 3," which would contain the final, concluding papers.
The initial papers must be positive analysis of ones own theory, not a critical analysis of the other. The following two papers are for that purpose.
These debates are not to be a name-calling exercise, or mock-fest for skeptics or for creationists. They should be handled in a peacable, calm, and academic manner befiting intelligent and mature individuals. Evidence is necessary, not the obnoxious insult-mongering of skeptics and old-agers. Any author using volatile language will be asked to alter his sentence as to omit the offending verbiage.
Debate Participants:
I will be manning the YEC position. I am willing to debate any other position, be they evolutionist, theistic evolutionist, progressive creationist, Gap theorist, or any other variety of skeptic. There are no qualifications requirements (e.g. you dont need a degree to debate me and visa versa).
Each participant can have help from others in constructing his or her papers, though the actual opponent must do the writing him or herself. For example, you could get people to assist in reviewing the paper or helping with research, but the actual debator must be the one to construct the paper. Anyone assisting in the paper must be acknowledged as such either at the beginning or end of the paper, as such:
Special Thanks: (alternately "The author would like to thank the following...) and then list the names.
Length Requirements:
There is no minimum requirement for the papers, but they have a maximum limit of 12,000 words, roughly equivelent to 15-20 pages of text in Microsoft Word, Times New Roman, font size 11.
Writing Time Limits:
From the commencement of the debate, which will be signified by an email sent to my debate opponent, each debator will have a month to write each paper. If a debator completes his paper early, he may send the other debator an email saying as such. As soon as the other then completes his paper, the time for writing that paper is ended, even if only two weeks have passed. Then the papers are swapped and the process will begin again.
Admissible Topics:
There are four broad categories which can be discussed, the scientific, philosophical, historical, and Biblical. These can be discussed in any order, and debators have the right to address any of the four they wish. They could choose to discuss all four, or choose to limit themselves to a purely scientific debate (geology, astronomy, biology, etc), or Biblical interpretation debate, or historical ideas, such as the influence/non-influence of evolution in Nazism, Racism, etc, historical support/non-support for the Biblical history, and so on.
Extrabiblical religious discussion is completely excuded from the disscussion since that is a wide-ranging, indistinct, and highly complex discussion which has much of nothing to do with the issue of creation/evolution.
I have found that lengthy discussion threads can get bogged down with the weight of replies and issues to deal with. Because of this I have been thinking and praying about a way to do actual debates between forum members, like they do on TheologyWeb. THe following is what I came up with, but I wanted suggestions and observations that would help iron out the specifics.
THis is not the challenge itself and should not be taken this way, to any evo or old-age person reading this. This debate applies for me and only me, unless and until such time as others wish to do debates as well.
--------
Debate Process:
Once debate opponents are chosen, each will begin preperation of a paper on the topic of why evolution/creation is the superior theory. Length, and time limits are explained below. Once the first paper is done, it is sent exclusively to the opponent (no posting on the board before debate is complete, violation of this results in automatic disqualification and the debate is ended), and a rebuttle is written. Once these rebuttles are completed, they too are swapped, and a concluding paper is written. Once all of this is over, the complete papers will be posted on the board together, either in one huge thread, or in seperate threads such as "[Insert names] Debate: Part One," which would contain the initial papers, "Part 2," which would include the first rebuttle papers, and "Part 3," which would contain the final, concluding papers.
The initial papers must be positive analysis of ones own theory, not a critical analysis of the other. The following two papers are for that purpose.
These debates are not to be a name-calling exercise, or mock-fest for skeptics or for creationists. They should be handled in a peacable, calm, and academic manner befiting intelligent and mature individuals. Evidence is necessary, not the obnoxious insult-mongering of skeptics and old-agers. Any author using volatile language will be asked to alter his sentence as to omit the offending verbiage.
Debate Participants:
I will be manning the YEC position. I am willing to debate any other position, be they evolutionist, theistic evolutionist, progressive creationist, Gap theorist, or any other variety of skeptic. There are no qualifications requirements (e.g. you dont need a degree to debate me and visa versa).
Each participant can have help from others in constructing his or her papers, though the actual opponent must do the writing him or herself. For example, you could get people to assist in reviewing the paper or helping with research, but the actual debator must be the one to construct the paper. Anyone assisting in the paper must be acknowledged as such either at the beginning or end of the paper, as such:
Special Thanks: (alternately "The author would like to thank the following...) and then list the names.
Length Requirements:
There is no minimum requirement for the papers, but they have a maximum limit of 12,000 words, roughly equivelent to 15-20 pages of text in Microsoft Word, Times New Roman, font size 11.
Writing Time Limits:
From the commencement of the debate, which will be signified by an email sent to my debate opponent, each debator will have a month to write each paper. If a debator completes his paper early, he may send the other debator an email saying as such. As soon as the other then completes his paper, the time for writing that paper is ended, even if only two weeks have passed. Then the papers are swapped and the process will begin again.
Admissible Topics:
There are four broad categories which can be discussed, the scientific, philosophical, historical, and Biblical. These can be discussed in any order, and debators have the right to address any of the four they wish. They could choose to discuss all four, or choose to limit themselves to a purely scientific debate (geology, astronomy, biology, etc), or Biblical interpretation debate, or historical ideas, such as the influence/non-influence of evolution in Nazism, Racism, etc, historical support/non-support for the Biblical history, and so on.
Extrabiblical religious discussion is completely excuded from the disscussion since that is a wide-ranging, indistinct, and highly complex discussion which has much of nothing to do with the issue of creation/evolution.
