Stephen Fry at the Intelligence Squared Debate

Posted by gyokusai on May 20, 2010 • Categorized as creed of reason

creed of reason

Today, I’m on the train from Düsseldorf to Hamburg, and back again tonight, to follow a party invite by Elbkind that I couldn’t refuse ;-) So I ’ll leave you with something to watch: The Intelligence Squared Debate with Archbishop Onaiyekan, Ann Widdecombe, Christopher Hitchens, and Stephen Fry on the motion “The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world.”

Regrettably, this version is edited down to about an hour, from a debate that actually went on for more than two hours. But so far, an unedited version hasn’t surfaced. Still, an hour is an hour, and of course you ain’t got all day! So if you have to pick & choose, at least watch the wonderful Stephen Fry, arguing against the motion. His speech starts around 2:50, but you might want to get in the mood first.

Part III

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PP6e5q6OtA

Intelligence Squared Debate, Part III

As a spoiler (or appetizer, it depends), here’s a quote, shortly before he closes his argument (around 8:20):

It’s the strange thing about this church: it is obsessed with sex, absolutely obsessed. […] The only people who are obsessed with food are anorexics and the morbidly obese. And that, in erotic terms, is the Catholic church in a nutshell.

And there’s another great quote, from the statements in Part V (around 3:30):

I suppose I’m slightly disappointed that, uh, nobody in particular, said, oh, I knew they’d bring up condoms, and child rape, and homosexuality. It’s a bit like a burglar in court, saying, “you would bring up that burglary, and that manslaughter, you never mention the fact I give my father a birthday present!” You know, its—yes, yes, are you getting the message—there is a reason we hammer home these issues: because they matter.

Enjoy!

Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XpGyHJZ9b0

Intelligence Squared Debate, Part I

Part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER83SF3-DoY

Intelligence Squared Debate, Part II

Part IV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeeRuJ6eBUw

Intelligence Squared Debate, Part IV

Part V

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYWl5Zw2kbU