Richard Chell, a 64-year-old patient at Fair Havens Hospice, has been receiving respite care since 2009, a year after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. He met Richard Dawkins and spoke to him at length about his beliefs about life after death.
Mr Chell said: “I wasn’t nervous at all, because I’m so strong in my faith, I knew the experience would have no adverse effect on me. I’ve always loved debating. In school I won a regional debating competition and then went on to run a debating society at the school I taught. I’ve also read some of Dawkins books and so was interested to meet him and discuss some of his views in comparison to mine.
“We may hold opposing views, but on a personal level, I found him to be a very thoughtful, kind man who made every effort to make me feel comfortable. Dawkins talked about his views on life after death and I talked about mine. Because I have a faith, the idea of dying doesn’t bother me at all – it’s just all part of a plan. We held very different conclusions but did hold some common ground too.”
The programme is available to view in the UK for free until 21 November 2012 on the Channel 4 website.
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