Debated last night here in Oxford and it was a fantastic experience. We went in expecting to be the Christians fed to the lions, but if we had flipped just five votes we would have won (I hope that doesn’t sound too much like John Kerry trying to spin his loss). The proposition was “This House believes American religion undermines American values.” Which would seem to be a no-brainer for this crowd. A British friend who gave me some excellent advice the other day said at the end of our conversation, “You do know you’re going to lose don’t you?” Lose we did, but only narrowly, 116-107. I was part of a four-person team in opposition to the proposition, including my friends Eric Metaxas and Joe Loconte and a very bright student named David Powell. The other side was never able to coherently define “American religion,” and we piled on the evidence that Christianity is intimately intertwined with American values. It is a parliamentary-style debate, which means you can be interupted from the floor, giving the proceedings a pleasantly combative feel. The acoustics in the hall are awesome, practically demanding grand rhetorical gestures. It was so much fun I felt like Ernie Banks afterwards, “Let’s play two!” Derb and Stuttaford will be happy to know that the final debate this term will be on the merits of Marmite. My only disappointment with the whole experience was that no one invited me to tonight’s toga party.