Orange County Atheists

Damn, that day's already totally booked for me.

I'm planning on going to this. It is part of an apologetics conference, so it would be nice if we had an atheist presence there to support Dr. Shermer and show that not all OC residents are knuckle-draggers.

If anyone else is interested, hit me up. We can maybe get a drink afterwards and discuss.

I might be able to make it - it'd be good to see everyone and spread the word about OC Atheists.

So I went. The audience was overwhelmingly Christian, as expected, but Shermer managed to make a joke of this early on and engage the crowd.

Overall, I would have to say that the Christian guy won the debate. He had a very good presence and was the better debater (addressing points head on, having clearly defined positions, etc.). But this is almost to be expected, as Shermer's position has a lot more nuance, and thus doesn't lend itself to a soundbite-driven spectacle.

All in all, I'd have to say it was the standard 'Is There a God' debate, but pretty entertaining. Plus, Shermer was giving out free books and issues of Skeptic Magazine. Worth the price of admission right there.