Following are highlights of the classic 1968 debate (shouting match) on the Long John Nebel Show with Christian minister Walter Martin debating the outspoken atheist activist Madalyn Murray O'Hair. Why do I post this? Simply because it is a clear exposition of two ideologies diametrically opposed to one another: Christianity and Atheism. God vs. anti-God.
Defining terms is vital in any debate and certainly in any court of law. This debate struggles to begin with Ms. O’Hair’s reluctance to accept a basis for any agreed upon common vocabulary which is stunning to witness to say the least.
She begins, “Nobody has proof of anything. You (Martin) can’t even prove you’re sitting here.” Martin responds, “You (O'Hair) can never depend on the meaning of a word. She has a total anarchy on language.” And so on. You have to listen to understand the context.
In 2022, things have not changed very much, only the vocabulary. This may not be your “thing”, but there remains much to be learned from both parties as this ideology is even more prevalent today. Take a listen, will you.
Madalyn Murray O'Hair was an American activist and Holocaust denier supporting atheism and separation of church and state. In 1963 she founded American Atheists and served as its president until 1986, after which her son Jon Garth Murray succeeded her. She created the first issues of American Atheist Magazine. She earned a law degree from the South Texas College of Law, but did not pass the bar exam.
Walter Ralston Martin, was an American Baptist Christian minister and author who founded the Christian Research Institute in 1960 as a parachurch ministry specializing as a clearing-house of information in both general Christian apologetics and in countercult apologetics. Dr. Martin held four earned degrees including a Master of Arts in Philosophy from New York University.