2012 Debate at WTAMU

Date: February 23rd, 2012 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

In order to further the vital public discussion of atheism, religion and the separation of church and state, there will be a public debate held at West Texas A&M University on February 23, 2012 at 7:00 PM. This debate, entitled "Should America be Under God?" is being co-sponsored by Freethought Oasis and WTAMU’s Willson Lecture Series.

The debate will be held in the Alumni Banquet Hall of the WTAMU campus and will be moderated by WTAMU's own Dr. James Hallmark. Debating will be performed by Matt Dillahunty, host of The Atheist Experience from Austin and Abdu Murray, author and co-founder of Aletheia International. There will be no charge for attendance.

There will be a free shuttle running continuously from the First United Bank Center on the east side of campus (the basketball arena) where free parking is plentiful, to the Alumni Banquet Hall. The shuttle will be running continuously from 6:00pm-9:00pm.

Matt Dillahunty is the president of the Atheist Community of Austin and host of their live, call-in, television program, "The Atheist Experience", seen on cable and streamed live to the world. A fundamentalist Christian for more than 25 years, his best efforts to become a minister backfired and gave birth to one of the most prolific voices on atheism of the past decade. In addition to hundreds of live television shows and thousands of informal debates on the show, he's also engaged in formal debates and traveled the United States speaking to local secular organizations and university groups as part of the Secular Student Alliance's Speakers Bureau. He's also the producer of the "Godless Bitches" podcast (with his wife, Beth Presswood) and producer and regular voice on "The Non-Prophets" podcast.

Abdu Murray is a co-founder and the President of Aletheia International, which is an apologetics-based ministry dedicated to offering the Truth of the Gospel to Muslims, Jews, cult members, and skeptics. For most of his life, Abdu was a proud Muslim, who studied the Qur'an and Islam. During the course of a years-long investigation into the historical and philosophical underpinnings of the major world religions, Abdu discovered that only the evidence for the historic Christian faith could withstand the toughest challenges. The results of Abdu’s intense search, coupled with the Lord’s drawing of his heart, led him to put his faith in Jesus as the one and only sufficient Savior. Since that time, Abdu has dedicated his ministry to reaching non-Christians with the Gospel and teaching Christians to do the same. Abdu has spoken in numerous venues both in the United States and internationally, including churches, convention centers, and college campuses. He has been a featured guest on radio talk shows across the United States and on numerous national and international television programs, including Newswatch, Stand to Reason with Greg Koukl, CrossExamined with Dr. Frank Turek, Jesus or Muhammad? on the Aramaic Broadcasting Network, The Bob Dutko Show, SRN News, Equipped for Life, and GOD321. Abdu hosts Embrace the Truth with Abdu Murray, a radio segment on WLQV in Detroit.