Richard Dawkins on The Sunday Edition2. Comment #13332 by PositiveAtheist on December 17, 2006 at 5:56 am
What a ridiculous final comment made by Tony Benn just because, as the Americans say, he got owned. Lol I'm surprised Richard managed to get a word in with him around.3. Comment #13335 by Logicel on December 17, 2006 at 6:00 am
4. Comment #13336 by ImagineAZ on December 17, 2006 at 6:00 am
It sounded to me like Richard just converted his opponent to agnostic.5. Comment #13337 by RascoHeldall on December 17, 2006 at 6:05 am
I've never seen Benn make such simplistic, childish arguments - disappointing - still, Dawkins did seem to expose Benn's inherent lack of belief and thereby expose the pointless unhelpfulness of religious moderation.6. Comment #13339 by chbg21808 on December 17, 2006 at 6:08 am
I watched this on the television this morning.7. Comment #13342 by Jack Rawlinson on December 17, 2006 at 6:22 am
8. Comment #13343 by PositiveAtheist on December 17, 2006 at 6:27 am
Yes and the worrying thing is that Richard comes across as not a nice chap, and is seen as the devil. Which is so very wrong.9. Comment #13344 by Jared on December 17, 2006 at 6:34 am
10. Comment #13347 by GregPreston on December 17, 2006 at 6:53 am
11. Comment #13349 by Roy_H on December 17, 2006 at 7:09 am
12. Comment #13352 by BillySands on December 17, 2006 at 7:19 am
13. Comment #13355 by briancoughlanworldcitizen on December 17, 2006 at 7:55 am
14. Comment #13356 by anon on December 17, 2006 at 7:59 am
15. Comment #13359 by Laurence Boyce on December 17, 2006 at 8:44 am
16. Comment #13361 by Ole on December 17, 2006 at 8:58 am
17. Comment #13362 by Yorker on December 17, 2006 at 9:01 am
Tony Benn is not the man he once was; couple that with an attempt to defend religion, and you have a sad case. However, Benn is still one of the few politicians I have ever thought much of.18. Comment #13364 by matt2112 on December 17, 2006 at 9:35 am
Had Tony Benn been on the piss or what? He seemed to think that if he repeated his excuse for an argument enough times it would make it correct.19. Comment #13371 by mikejswalker on December 17, 2006 at 10:04 am
Shit what a graceless interview. Dawkins got interrupted at every turn. Ask a question. Let me answer. Don't run scared all over my words. I'm strong enough to let you finish what you want to say. That is all we ask. tony seemed self absorbed. Very disappointing.20. Comment #13373 by godisanidiot on December 17, 2006 at 10:15 am
What an ignorant and rude host that was, continually disrupting RD.21. Comment #13375 by Seti on December 17, 2006 at 10:19 am
22. Comment #13378 by briancoughlanworldcitizen on December 17, 2006 at 10:34 am
23. Comment #13382 by seals on December 17, 2006 at 10:43 am
24. Comment #13389 by Diplo on December 17, 2006 at 11:28 am
25. Comment #13394 by petermun on December 17, 2006 at 11:48 am
Tony Benn has been a hero of mine for years. A debate with Richard, how wonderful I thought.26. Comment #13406 by Vardu on December 17, 2006 at 1:21 pm
Yes, a real dish of ointment,27. Comment #13413 by jbannon on December 17, 2006 at 2:31 pm
I saw the conversation this morning on TV. As a socialist myself (in the French revolutionary rather than Marxist tradition) I found Tony Benn surprisingly very disappointing as he is usually a sharp debater and was one of the left's better politicians. The argument from morality, which almost the entire conversation consisted of, is just so dumb. Mind you, that goes for most apologetic arguments. Tony Benn kept banging on about how science doesn't tell us what we ought to use technology for. Well of course it doesn't, that's not its job! Don't get me wrong, I don't buy this "science is value-free" nonsense, but the job of science is to tell us how the world works, not what we ought to do about it; that's up to us humans to decide.28. Comment #13414 by TearTheRoofOffTheSucker on December 17, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Comment 1335529. Comment #13415 by Martha on December 17, 2006 at 2:39 pm
30. Comment #13427 by Nazgul on December 17, 2006 at 3:45 pm
Dribble... on Tony's part.31. Comment #13428 by jefferson on December 17, 2006 at 3:49 pm
"Why is he[Richard] wrong?"32. Comment #13430 by solas on December 17, 2006 at 4:39 pm
Like many other posters, I have great admiration for Tony Benn and I was hugely disappointed by his performance on this programme. Unlike other posters I don't think the problem is that Benn is getting old or soft. I think that the political left has a big problem with Richard Dawkins, one which they cannot admit to.33. Comment #13437 by Dog Boots on December 17, 2006 at 5:02 pm
Boy, that was frustrating. Neither Tony Benn nor any of the hosts understood any of Richard's perfectly clear points. They were simply not following, stuck in a debate at a floor or two below the discussion Richard was trying to have, which would've been interesting.34. Comment #13451 by k1mgy on December 17, 2006 at 7:38 pm
35. Comment #13458 by Zaphod on December 17, 2006 at 9:30 pm
36. Comment #13487 by BushYakker on December 18, 2006 at 1:57 am
37. Comment #13491 by Kevin Ronayne on December 18, 2006 at 2:22 am
38. Comment #13494 by BushYakker on December 18, 2006 at 2:32 am
39. Comment #13508 by Logicel on December 18, 2006 at 3:42 am
40. Comment #13511 by Logicel on December 18, 2006 at 3:46 am
41. Comment #13514 by J. on December 18, 2006 at 3:58 am
My word. What a buffoon Tony Benn seems to have become.42. Comment #13562 by Highgate_Mark on December 18, 2006 at 11:40 am
I think R.D. needs to be much more selective about the TV programmes he appears on. Benn has for many years been arrogant and pompous, and condescending Andrew Rawnsley is no better. I am surprised Been did not get on to his favourite hobby horse of how he gallantly struggled through World War Two and now he knows it all and anybody who does not play along with his chirpy style is just too immature to understand. Been clearly does not understand.43. Comment #13582 by Mr Blue Sky on December 18, 2006 at 3:03 pm
44. Comment #13615 by blaine on December 18, 2006 at 8:02 pm
Don't they have a person on the set who can tell people when their hair looks funny?45. Comment #14539 by Vegetableman on December 23, 2006 at 4:00 am
46. Comment #15405 by Jukey on December 31, 2006 at 3:02 am
Ha Ha! Tony Ben is just lost at sea!! Go Richard!!!47. Comment #16569 by MaxII on January 7, 2007 at 11:48 am
Benn seems like a sweet old man who is the victim a syndrome Michael Shermer has identified. "Smart people are very good at rationalizing beliefs they came to for unsmart reasons." Benn believes in the efficacy of religious teaching because of his early childhood indoctrination, but as an adult with considerable emotional attachment to such things he's in a quandry. Hence all the kinds of things he said in the show. Dawkins, as a debater, seems to only be as mean as his opponent. Benn was engaging and cordial, and Dawkins engaged him on that level.48. Comment #22920 by the great teapot on February 24, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I used to like Anthony Wedgewood-Benn.49. Comment #24559 by deeznuts on March 7, 2007 at 8:45 am
50. Comment #37792 by cmacblue42 on May 5, 2007 at 5:47 pm
i kept yelling at the monitor to tell the preist to shut up
1. Comment #13331 by Maff on December 17, 2006 at 5:54 am
That was disappointing. I've rather enjoyed listening to Benn in the past, but his counter arguments were weak in the extreme. Given that Benn is so anti-Bush, it's a pity that Richard chose not to point out that it's the Presidents unquestioning religious support that has enabled him to carry out the very policies that Benn opposes.Other Comments by Maff