3/10/2007 01:32:00 AM The Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum this year featured Daniel Dennett, and atheists and University Professor and Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. He has recently published a book promoting the use of memetics to evaluate religion called Breaking the Spell. Alister McGrath is a researcher, Christian theologian, and Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University. His has written a number of books on the relationship between science and religion and is highly critical of Dawkins and the use of memes in discussing religion.

Dennett offered an inductive study of how religions evolve, and made it analogous to how genes evolve. McGrath went on the offensive critiquing Dennett’s analysis on the multiple points including the relationship of science and religion, the scientific basis of Dennett’s argument, and the concept of the meme which Dennett’s arguments are based on

This paper will summarize both positions, then analyze McGrath’s arguments in light of Dennett’s presentation, and will build on McGrath’s arguments and memes.