Skepticon II

The Skepticon events began in Fall of 2008 when PZ Myers and Richard Carrier came to the MSU campus. This Fall, Skepticon II will build on the success of the first. So far our lineup for the event is PZ Myers, Richard Carrier, Rebecca Watson, Joe Nickell, DJ Grothe, Victor Stenger, Robert M. Price, and Dan Barker, along with local presenters Dr. Mark Richter and JT Eberhard. The speakers will provide many of the reasons that belief in god is not only indefensible, but harmful to society as a whole. Our presenters will suggest ways to combat faith in government and in general. They will also rebut many of the common arguments in defense of belief in god. Here's the tentative schedule: This is, of course, subject to change. Friday, November 20 11:00-11:40 - Arrival, people getting stuffs. 11:40-Noon - Welcome, thanks yous, etc. Noon-1:30 - Panel Debate, Does God Exist? (students) 2-4 - Panel Debate, Does God Exist? Carrier, Stenger, Price vs. Dr. Bob Cook and others from the Assemblies of God. DJ Grothe moderator. 4-5:30 - Break 5:30-6:30 - JT Eberhard, Why do we criticize religion? 6:30-7:30 - Rachel Dawn-Craig (or PZ Myers #1) 7:30 - Whenevs, hang-out with speakers at a yet-undecided location. Saturday, November 21 10-10:15 - DJ Grothe 10:25-11:15 - Victor Stenger, The New Atheism: Taking a Stand for Science and Reason 11:25-12:30 - Robert Price, The Gospels and Thorough-going Skepticism 12:30-2 - LUNCH 2:00-3:20 - Joe Nickell, Investigating the Paranormal 3:30-4:50 - Dan Barker, A Book of (Bad) Numbers 5-7 Dinner break 7-8:15 - Richard Carrier, Where the Hell Is Jesus!? Weird Stuff from the Gospels to the Apostles 8:25 - 9:40 - PZ Myers 9:50 - 11:00 - Rebecca Watson