How to face Dawkins and win... and then lose

This is the (in)famous encounter between Richard Dawkins and Pastor Ted Haggard [wikipedia entry], then mega-church pastor and head of the American Evangelical Union.

Ted Haggard's subsequent fall from grace and dismissal from his church and para-church leadership have lead to this encounter being mercilessly spoofed.

I award one point each way to Dawkins and Haggard in this encounter and call a tie.

Dawkins baits Haggard, barely hiding his outraged sensibilities as he makes observations comparing the church service to a "Nuremburg rally".

Haggard responds well, maintaining an air of humor. He is used to speaking in public, playing to the camera / audience, and controlling the external display of his emotions.

Remember, in public debate it's about winning the audience, not defeating your opponent. When you win the audience you defeat your opponent. On the other hand, if you defeat your opponent but lose the audience, you lose the debate.

Haggard plays the same game to Dawkins, baiting him in response. The two men, both powerful thought leaders who seek to occupy the same social position - that of setting the value system for society at large, circle each other with their teeth, in Haggard's case literally, bared. The tension is palpable in the room throughout the interaction, and you can almost hear the sparks crackling.

Haggard plays an epistemology gambit. Epistemology [wikipedia entry] refers to "the nature of knowledge and knowing". Haggard challenges Dawkins on the ability of the scientific method to provide conclusive knowledge.

First of all, and this is important to note, he states that he "fully embraces the scientific method". In this way he seeks to envelop Dawkins position. It's the good ol' "embrace and extend" - "Yes, I fully accept your position, and I also contribute this beyond it..."

This is a good angle to come from. He is wrapping Dawkins' position in a metanarrative, which is essentially Dawkins' own strategy.

He then comes up with a knock-out punch. After baiting Dawkins' into an overly emotional response, Haggards chastises him in a powerful monologue to "not be so arrogant". Haggard makes use of his ability to deliver a powerful flow of authoritative, improvised speech, honed through his experience as a communicator in his role as the pastor of a church. Al Khattab also tried this, but with less expertise and impact.

The particular angle that Haggard has chosen for this blow is well chosen. The Richard Dawkins Rap - Beware the Believers video on YouTube demonstrates that many people are threatened by Richard Dawkins' intellectually superior positioning, which is necessary for the delivery of his metanarrative:

Dick to the Dawk to the Ph.D - he's smarter than you, he's got a science degree
Dick to the Dawk to the Ph.D - he's still smarter than you, he studied biology.

Haggard constructs his metanarrative and delivers his blow by assuming a superior position on the basis of personal qualities, chiefly personal humility. This relates to his epistemology, which rests on acknowledging human limitations and the need to hear from the Supreme Authority through scripture.

The weakness of his stance is the appearance of arrogance on his part. Intellectually he has it, but in his own character he is missing something vital to pull this off 100% successfully. The later revelation of the lack of integrity in his personal life unfortunately bears out this impression.

Having delivered a successful on camera knock out punch, Haggard then reverses his own victory. He loses control of his temper and pursues Dawkins and his camera team, threatening them and yelling at them.

If he had control of his mind and senses then his gambit would have been so much more effective. The character of the preacher is as much the preaching as the words he says. The medium is the message.

Acar (action) and pracar (preaching) must be integral and aligned.

For Krishna conscious preachers it means that while we cultivate knowledge we must also work on refining our personal character. Humility is important. It was through a lesson in humility that Haggard knocked Dawkins down. It was through a lack of personal humility that he fell down himself.

Key Points

• Remember: it's about winning the audience over to your point of view
• Control your emotions and keep it good humored
• "Embrace and extend" made Bill Gates the most successful man in the software business - put it to work for you
• Your battle doesn't begin when the camera starts rolling, it begins every day when you wake up. Your personal character is one of your chief weapons, and it's a product of your daily activities
• Don't rely on your own strength - remember that your strength comes from relying on the person who is source of all strength, power, and intelligence