Q&A: Debate Against "The Atheist Line"
Debate Against "The Atheist Line"
Question
Hello and blessings. First of all, I want to thank you for all the wisdom and knowledge made available to read on this wonderful site.
As for the matter itself, I don’t know whether you’re familiar with what’s going on, but there are several well-known atheists from the “Atheist Line” channel who have become TikTok stars and are educating the younger generation with no one really speaking up, aside from various “internet rabbis” who do far more harm than good.0
I think the Rabbi could make a circus out of them in a debate. Is that something you would consider?
Thank you very much.
Answer
They approached me years ago and I agreed to come. I don’t remember why it fell through in the end.
Discussion on Answer
Possible, if the format allows for a serious discussion. Otherwise it’s just entertainment.
So should I contact them and say there’s agreement in principle? I’ll ask for a detailed document of the debate terms and rules.
No need for documents. The question is whether the format is reasonable or not. Do they give serious time to speak, not interrupt, not record and then edit afterward, etc.?
TikTok is one-minute videos, so it’s not relevant at all.
Of course I’m not talking about a debate on TikTok…
They also have a YouTube channel where they’ve already done long debates, 4 hours long if I remember correctly…
I’ll talk to them and ask whether they’d agree to sign an agreement that they won’t touch the material, won’t edit, won’t cut, etc.
Forget the legal stuff. No need to sign agreements. Just clarify and agree on the facts.
I think I remembered what it fell through over. As far as I recall, they insisted that I call in to them like a listener coming on air. I said that was out of the question as far as I’m concerned. If they want to talk to me, they should call me. That’s also an indication of the way things are presented there—apparently not in a balanced and proper way. I think I’ll try listening again to a few of their videos, and then we’ll see whether it’s relevant.
Hello, I spoke with them and they’re interested. They’re asking for an email address in order to coordinate all the details with you and move things forward.
mikyab@gmail.com
Hello, they claim they contacted you at the above email address and still haven’t received a response.
I’m tired of this ping-pong. No one contacted me, and I get the feeling they’re playing manipulative games, as happened last time. That’s it. I’m not going to respond to this nonsense anymore.
Rabbi Michael—did you happen to check the spam folder?
Omer—maybe tell them to send an email to the Rabbi and put you in CC, so you can verify that it was indeed sent. Also, do you know the email address they sent it from, so the Rabbi can search for it in his mailbox?
They contacted me later on, after the discussion here, but they didn’t answer my reply. I said I agreed to an equal debate, not that I would call in to them like a listener. In any case, there will be a debate on the site “Head to Head,” because there it’s equal. Maybe that’s why they didn’t respond.
The debate took place this evening, with a representative of the Atheist Line, and will be uploaded soon to the “Head to Head” podcast. See also here:
https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%D7%93%D7%99%D7%91%D7%99%D7%99%D7%98
Is there any possibility of getting this moving again? I think it would make a big splash on the one hand, because they’re famous, and on the other hand the risk is negligible since they’re not really experts in the field… tough guys picking on weak opponents.