They haven't been the same since they got sold to Arizona.

The host is a moron. The cardinal was making the simple point that ancient Egyptians, as a civilization, were more advanced than the Jews, as a civilization, of the time. Then the host is all "HURF BLUR DURR JESUS WAS A JEW YOU JUST CALLED YOUR GOD DUMB".

And the crowd clapped and encouraged the stupid. Atheism is supposed to encourage free-thinking, not the blind transfer of allegiance from one branch of idiocy to another.

The host gave the cardinal an opportunity to change his wording and he did - to "Intellectual Development". The host then made his point.

Later in the "debate" cardinal Pell imparted these words of wisdom.
Host: Do you believe homosexuality’s part of God’s natural order?
Pell: Creation is messy. Oriental carpet makers always leave a little flaw in their carpet.

Pell also supports Pope Benedict XVI's claim that condoms worsen the spread of HIV and AIDS, wants to repeal no fault divorce, supports Pope John Paul II's view that the ordination of women is impossible, and is basically an all round piece of dogshit with unfortunate public prominence.

I thought the usual argument that Yahweh was an idiot deity (or rather, didn't exist) was that he led his "chosen people" to one of the few places in the middle east without any oil underneath it.

And it wouldn't have hurt Jesus' argument for divinity if he'd said something about germ theory, building a rudimentary steam engine, hinting at atomic structure, etc. that later generations couldn't attribute to anything but divine abilities. Of course, it would have been even more "miraculous" if the gospels all told even remotely the same story, but that's fanfic for you.

Look, you don't have to choose which is a moron, the host or the Cardinal. Clearly both of them are.

Cardinal: It's funny that god would make such a stupid race his chosen people.

Host: Are you saying Jews are stupid?

Cardinal: Yes. Look at how much smarter their neighbors were.

Host: Ah ha! But you're saying that the Jews are stupid even though you believe that they're chosen by god to be special!

Cardinal: Yes, isn't it funny that god would make such a stupid race his chosen people?

@Mister Yuck: So asking an idiot to clarify their position, so they can demonstrate how stupid they are, makes you stupid as well?

That doesn't bode well for anyone who asked George W. Bush a question.