Indeed, Tim Ross wrote as much for the Telegraph (May 14, 2011 AD). Interestingly, the subheading reads:
Richard Dawkins has made his name as the scourge of organised religion who branded the Roman Catholic Church “evil” and once called the Pope “a leering old villain in a frock”.
Who knows if this was intelligently designed or not but it just so happens that on the very page where the article is displayed there is an image of Richard Dawkins and from a separate story, the Pope—it is as if he is waving at Dawkins, “Hi Richie!”
By now, Richard Dawkins’ shenanigans regarding debating and/or lack thereof are well known: he will but he won’t, he wont’ but he will and on it goes. Personally, I find it interesting that he runs away from William Lane Craig with tail betwixt legs—if, that is, evolution had not done away with a prehensile tail :o)—but overall, it is merely indicative of his various hypocrisies. However, it would not be the end all of such debates, which goes without saying.
Oh, and keep in mind that they already debated although Dawkins denies having debated the man whom he debated—see here—this video aptly illustrates why he would deny that such an undeniable event took place (a video by Birdieupon who just started a new blog The A-Atheism Blog):
Ross notes:
A war of words has broken out between the best selling author of The God Delusion, and his critics, who see his refusal to take on the American academic, William Lane Craig, as a “glaring” failure and a sign that he may be losing his nerve.
What nerve is he losing? His claim to infamy is not in taking on opponents in public forums (of which he has done a bit, even whilst claiming that he would not do so). Rather, his claim to fame is weaving Darwinian stories and preaching to the cult of personality hero worshiping choir.
Richard Dawkins stated,
I have no intention of assisting Craig in his relentless drive for self-promotion.
This is interesting coming from a person whose entire career consists of self-promotion. Then again, perhaps that is not quite accurate: he promotes himself, indeed, but also promotes Darwinism as being not merely a theory about biology but an atheism ingratiating worldview.
Moreover, Dawkins’ own choir is now singing the blues,
Some of Prof Dawkins’s contemporaries are not impressed. Dr Daniel Came, a philosophy lecturer and fellow atheist, from Worcester College, Oxford, wrote to him urging him to reconsider his refusal to debate the existence of God with Prof Craig. In a letter to Prof Dawkins, Dr Came said: “The absence of a debate with the foremost apologist for Christian theism is a glaring omission on your CV and is of course apt to be interpreted as cowardice on your part.
“I notice that, by contrast, you are happy to discuss theological matters with television and radio presenters and other intellectual heavyweights like Pastor Ted Haggard of the National Association of Evangelicals and Pastor Keenan Roberts of the Colorado Hell House.”
Indeed, Dawkins likened Ted Haggard’s church service to a Nazi rally—part of why I awarded him The Reductio ad Hitlerum Award.
To find out more about Richard Dawkins various gesticulations regarding debating see the following:
Does the Universe Have a Purpose? – on the Richard Dawkins, William Lane Craig, et al. debate
Richard Dawkins Elucidates, Yet Again, Why He Will Not Debate William Lane Craig
Richard Dawkins, the Cowardly Clown
Richard Dawkins’ Debate Delusion
Will William Lane Craig debate Richard Dawkins?
Yet Again, the Most Intelligent, Well Informed and Vociferous Atheist in the World Cower from Debate