Tonight I went out to The Factory (an Anglican church whose name puts in mind a certain scene from Pink Floyd The Wall) to see the Easter debate between sceptics and Christians.

I had low expectations. I expected two people who were talking past each other. The topic was “The resurrection: long on faith, short on evidence”, and the only question that came to my mind upon hearing it was, “Where’s the debate?”

But I was pleasantly surprised. The Anglican pastor, Sandy Grant, approached the topic intellectually and honestly, and was fairly compelling to listen to.

On the other hand, the sceptic, whose position I’m more sympathetic to, was scattered, awkward, and quite boring, frankly. His opening argument, running 15 excruciating minutes, seemed to bounce around the general topics of scepticism and how badly atheists are often mischaracterised without actually addressing the topic of debate. This was Martin Hadley, the President of the NSW Branch of Australian Skeptics and a barrister, no less.

Overall, the night felt like a great opportunity squandered. I had a better time socialising after the actual event.

So despite my low expectations, I still managed to be disappointed.