Christopher Hitchens on Americans and Religion..
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_"Atheism is what happens when you read the bible. Christianity is what happens when somebody else reads it for you."_ - Bertrand Russell, British philosopher, 1872-1970
Truer facts have never been spoken. Also. Religion is for people who are afraid of hell, spirituality is for people who have already been there 😂
@@eddiestorey9633 Good one 😀
@@eddiestorey9633 Oh, I know all about Hell... I was married for seven fucking years! lol
That's a quote, what's your point?
@@garmit61 The quote *_is_* the point...
Essentially, it means that if you believe the stories in the book, then someone must have embellished them for you because on its own, the text of the book is so glaringly unconnected to reality. But I'm sure you can look up better explanations online.
I will always be grateful To Christopher Hitchens for Hitchslapping the belief out of me. We lost a great man when he passed.
I was an atheist before watching Hitchens debates in the early 2000's. However, I did not know how to articulate it and I lacked depth. Hitchens lifted the lid and helped me see more clearly the absurdities of religious belief. I would now define myself as an atheist and anti-theist.
It was Richard Dawkins for me with the God Delusion but I agree, Hitch was brilliant and I would love to hear his thoughts on current affairs.
@AirstripOne-nd4du yes I know it, thanks. Dawkins's newer one "Outgrowing God" is great as well. And the one by Hitchens on Mother Teresa 👍🏻 oh I can't express how much of an impact these great thinkers had on me ❤️
@AirstripOne-nd4du no problem 🙂👍🏻 It's a great book in my opinion. It's written in an easier style than God Delusion (great as a present for both older children and adults!). The first part is about religion with the usual arguments, the second part about evolution. I love how his fascination for the beauty of science shines through on every page ❤️
@AirstripOne-nd4du oh and if you want to listen to his books in his voice - he narrared all of them himself! ❤️ (and so did Hitchens, I think!)
All religion is man made. Hitch is sadly missed. An articulate champion of common sense and especially, the calling out of religious fanatics.
Have only recently stumbled across the American comedian ,George Carlin, sadly now deceased.The man was extremely intelligent and also had the same mindset as Hitch regarding religion. Would recommend you take a look if not already aware of him.
@@clairejohnson6522 And both only addressed those who took the bible literally, which worldwide is merely a minority of christianity.
@@BlacksmithTWDWhich parts should be taken literally?
Talking snake? Global flood? Zombie Jesus? Turning people into salt? God sending female bears to murder children? Etc etc etc. it’s clearly nonsense but some people have a need to feel special and have a universe revolve around them with eternal happiness when they die. 🤷♂️
I prefer Santa Claus.
@BlacksmithTWD absolutely not. Christopher was debating religious folk of all persuasions for longer than you've probably been alive. There's hundreds of hours of his debates online you should be watching instead of wasting people's time telling lies in UA-cam comments. Most Christian debaters are not staunch literalists, obviously because that's harder to argue than arguing that everything is open to interpretation and basically being able to claim that terror of the bible is just a misunderstanding.
Now, anyone who likes Hitchens is instantly my friend.
Oh how I miss him, the decade since he'd passed had been such a mad and bizarre time, I often feel like I'd need to hear his take on things badly. :)
Hello friend!👋🏻
I once saw an EX Muslim woman being threatened by a "holy man" that she would suffer for eternity. He tried the old bit of scaring her into submission. Her response was classic...
"YOU CAN WORSHIP STONES IF YOU WANT. JUST DON'T THROW THEM AT ME".
The minute you find Christopher Hitchens it all makes sense, he made us think about the reasons why we were fearful of speaking out, and then could also add so much more context to it. I still miss him.
what makes sense, hitchens nonsense.
@@garyford3533 What bit? 😳
hes rant about religion, i bet hes never read the bible, why talk about things you do not understand, hitchens is an educated idiot@@robbieorourke5534
@@garyford3533 I don't know if the irony was intended, but your post makes absolutely no sense.
@@garyford3533which part is nonsense, perhaps I missed it?
I’m from the deep south, Alabama to be exact, and I’ve had a lifelong struggle here trying to show my family and friends-all Evangelicals-my point of view and why religion is not normal and very very dangerous. It’s so refreshing to see a reaction channel educating yourself on these very important topics. Enjoyed your reaction and commentary. I look forward to more of your content!
I feel that struggle, my family are all young earth creationists. I as an Atheïst always have to be careful what to say or risk my relationship I have with my family.
The worst part about religion for me is that often many different denominations lie or don't talk about what we know and teach these things in school.
I went to a very christian school who flat out lied and denied most of science, and when I went to college I had a huge gap in my knowledge cause all I had acces to was filtered by church or just religion. I don't think Religion is always bad but it angers me to this day I was lied to by both the church and school for most of my life.
well, we live in 21. century after all. In the past ppl needed god or any form of unnatural thing to describe events which they could not understand. These days most likely it is some sort of coping mechanism when your loved one dies. The truth is, religious ppl have tendency to believe all kind of nonsense and are more influenced by propaganda. Basically if you are religious does not mean you are stupid, but if you are stupid you are also most likely religious.
@Minifliek this is why I have issue with religious schools. I don't mind a religious school having classes on the subject, but I don't think they should be able to ignore standards of education.. I am not Christian, but I never could understand how God and science were exclusive to each other. Have a wonderful day!
@@cannabotany Couldn't agree more with you, I talk alot about it with my brother who is still religious but not a science denier.
I don't deny the possibility of a God but I don't believe in the existence of one.
I think religious schools have the obligation to tell kids all we know and teach them about other religions and life outside of religion.
I think it's very harmful to the children to only hear a certain perspective.
@@Minifliek, So sorry u had to deal with this. My husband's family is just finding out my husband quit believing in the invisible man in the sky. I myself was NOT pressured by my husband. As a matter of fact he made sure to let me make my choices. We were only a yr apart. Lol...Anyway, he is also not looking forward to that discussion with them but is determined to tell them the facts. Sad that he and I wasted 59 yrs of our lives on fake things that were drilled into our heads from the time we were born. 😢 Anyway, stand up to your family and you WILL find out who truly loves u. Besides that, tell them that their bible and god expects them to not judge or be mean to you. Lol...Really though, live your life out loud. I have a very religious sister and she supported my decision and never turned against me or nagged me. THAT is what proves who is your true family or true friend, etc. Actually, it's a good way to weed out the true heart of folks in your life. Good luck.✌🏽 P.S. There is one thing: Why do you feel the need to add 666 to your name? 😔💙💛
Your laugh when Bill said "More loyalty to their cellphone provider" was priceless.
I hugely admire Hitchens and Dawkins. Not only do I love what they say but also HOW they say it. They speak such elegant English. I'm an english nerd, it's my second language and a huge hobby of mine and I've learned so so much from them, both with regards to science/religion and english.
YOU HAVE WASTED YOU TIME LEARNING FROM HITCHENS AND, DAWKINS, THEY ARE PRESENT DAY FOOLS WHO HAVE NOT READ THE BIBLE, ALL THEY DO IS CHERRYPICK WHAT SUITS THEM AND THEN MISS THE TRUTH.
they will teach you nothing.
@@garyford3533Why so?
Personally I don't like atheists
Well done Joel. You have freed your mind enough to think openly and freely without being bound by convention. Bravo. You really do need to move to Europe. You will fit right in!!
I think he should stay in the US and speak his mind on the subject. It might take time and lots of efforts but the world needs young people to stand up, inform and confront their own people’s biases. The US is as enlightened in 2023 as it was over 300 years ago when they burned witches in Salem. Kudos Joel !
It's nice seeing someone say this comment when it applies. Usually far-right goblins pay reactors to react to propaganda and groom them into supporting their views.
@@andre_p That is such nonsense in any area where the population is dense there are a majority of people who do not care about religion at all and the ones that do are not evangelical in any way.
@@jameshannagan4256 Well in a nation where, thanks to gerrymandering, rednecks in Okeyfenokey in the middle of nowhere can determine the outcome of presidential elections, the majority of the mostly non believing people in urban areas don't automatically count. So it's everything but nonsense ...
Excellent discussion JP, and I couldn't agree with you more, religion is a very powerful institution in America. As a gay man who grew up very Catholic, but now consider myself a secular humanist, it was easier to come out to people as gay than to come out as atheist.
Gone but not forgotten. Thank you Mr. Hitchens for being a voice of sanity in a time of delusional insanity.
Unlike Bill, who is not gone but forgotten.
Skip to 1:27:
ua-cam.com/video/dOtdqUs54ic/v-deo.htmlsi=c_TYRPCrEJw3J6HC
So glad you've posted this.
Will always miss Hitch.
In Canada if religion is brought up in politics we condemn it, we want separation between politics and religion . And of course we are far less religious than our American cousins . I watch the "The atheist experience " every Sunday and really enjoy it. I lived in Belfast during the troubles and I do realize I am completely biased and opposed to any religion after that horribleness in Ireland.
That is as good a reason as any.
Hmmmm… I’m not so certain that Canada has much resistance to extreme fundamentalist Christianity. I went through a brief phase in my late teens where some tried to draw me in but it was impossible for me to not look at the system without critically analyzing what they were telling me to accept.. It didn’t take.
The problem we have in the U.S. goes back about 45 years ago when the Republican Party leadership began openly pandering to Evangelical conservatives. Prior to that, the Christian right had shied away from politics, regarding it as corrupt. But now they regard their political party as an extension of their religion, and they've brought all the inflexibility of thought and ovine obedience to authoritarianism they've been indoctrinated with by their Faith® into their politics, and it's made them perfect tools of the oligarchy that manipulates them for its own means. Ironically, this has made American politics, especially in the Republican Party, more corrupt than ever.
The same goes for British politics. Politicians who proclaim their faith in public are usually viewed with scepticism
The way it should be as well@@lewis123417
Christopher Hitchens - so glad you found him ! So sorry we lost him too young 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
I met Hitch back in the early 2000 at ABC TV s, as a TV professional he is the only celebrity I ever broke rank with to grab a quick handshake with.
Understandable, it was The Hitch.
Christopher Hitchens was an absolute intellect, one of the great thinkers of the last century; a real thought provoker who didn't shy away from the taboo issues. His very well though-out & measured views & opinions, his knowledgeable insights and alternative conclusions are a real loss to our society. May he Rest In Peace. His brother Peter is just as smart, he just doesn't dispense it as calmly and as wisely ;)
Not sure how smart Peter really is, he seems to lose pretty badly in their debate.
When it comes to journalists who made sensible remarks about religion from an atheistic perspective, Pratchett trumps Hitch on all occasions.
YOU HAVE TO BE JOKING, HITCHENS WAS NEVER A GREAT INTELLECT, JUST ANOTHER FOOL.
To be as well spoken as Hitchins would be amazing, I share his beliefs so perhaps I'm prejudiced 😂 I often watch his debates and I'll watch the most religious people share my admiration for him. What a loss of a great man! 😢
I was raised a catholic, at 18 years old I just dumped the whole religion thing all together. The sex before marriage thing, I just find ridiculous, if they can tell you what to do in the bedroom, it’s like they completely own and control you.
That’s it precisely.
Especially seeing the priests have absolutely no experience with marriage and sexual matters. It is ridicules that the Catholic church will not allow there priests to marry and yet expect them to instruct people in how to be married. It is no wonder there are so many sexually frustrated priests in the catholic church that end up paedophiles!
Remember marriage is a contrived ritual not demanded by the religious theology and existed before any of the modern religions as a simple commitment for couples to stick together to look after their children. The Christian church just decided to bless marriages of rich powerful people for a fee and it happened to also give free membership to the club for the kids. Ever since it has claimed some sort of ownership of marriage.
The Catholic Church is one of the most controlling religions!
Any Country that denies people the right to abortions is disgusting!
I’m British. We have become gradually more and more irreligious for generations. I do think many Americans are gullible to believing in other nonsense once they have lost their religion.
The gullible ones haven't really "lost their religion". They'll insist that they are deeply religious even though they don't practice any of the precepts of their particular sect. It's more like the churches in the U.S. have become very superficial and instead of indoctrinating people into their religion it merely instills magical thinking that leaves them vulnerable to any sort of irrational nonsense that they are exposed to.
Generally when a religion is abandoned it get's replaced by an ideology or other religion. The difference between them is mainly in how long they last. Religions can last over 1000 years where ideologies already have trouble to last even 100 years.
I can tell you it's depressing being a science enthusiast while living in the Bible Belt of the southern US. It feels like being surrounded by superstitious primates every day. I don't know when I "lost" my religion (outgrew may be the better term) if indeed I ever had it to begin with, but I'm hard pressed to come up with what other nonsense I'm substituting, unless it's the wonder of science. Science is rarely nonsense.
@@wardka I do feel for you. I would find that very frustrating. I am not suggesting science is nonsense. I'm referring to gender theory, critical race theory and whatever other dogma nonsense people go for when they leave their religion but have a stunted brain through indoctrination and poor education. You absolutely do not fit into that category.
@@BlacksmithTWD and how does how long something lasts have any bearing on wether it's true or not.
Hitch was by far the most eloquent on the subject. He rarely become emotional, which is why on the odd occasion he did, it would devastate his opponent. Fry is also great, and when together, they were dynamite.
For anyone who's never seen it: ua-cam.com/video/JZRcYaAYWg4/v-deo.html
Great to see someone reacting to Hitchens.
I hope more people follow your lead.
Love HITCH! Miss him greatly. He was such an intelligent and common sense voice concerning the fallacy and insanity of all these belief structures where religion is concerned. Loved his HITCH SLAPS!
Mr Hitchens was an interesting man. He offered no solution to or adequate alternative to faith. A man who has no faith is worthless to anyone.
His Mother and Father were military service-people. He was educated at Oxford. He married in a Christian ceremony...and had 3 children (all of whom are baptised). The hypocrisy is staggering.
The wrong brother snuffed it. 😟
Guy on the right is Harry Shearer.. He was in the movie Spinal Tap, and voices Ned Flanders, Lenny, Principal Skinner, Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Kent Brockman, Otto, Reverend Lovejoy, and many more..
Hitch's books are absolutely FANTASTIC..💓
As an Englishman I would like to raise one small point, one of the American commentators said that the Australians got the convicts and America the Puritans. The reason that Australia got the convicts was after the American revolt, we British were not able to send them to our former colonies anymore, so sent them to our new colony instead.
The French were original explorers of the land that eventually became Canada,too, nobody ‘got’ the French.
Firstly , he didn't mention Canada . Secondly , the people transported to Australia were not " explorers " .
Well, he did mention Canada and said we “got the French”. What a stupid colonial attitude! The French also could be said to have got the English.But neither statement is true - we’re all Canadian whatever our background.
@@samuel56551who said they were explorers?
Australia got the unwanted dreggs of England, we just wish they would stop sending them here.
I'm a German and was a protestant. I always had the feeling that in Germany / Europe the protestants are more "relaxed" whilst the catholics are more strict. But the American protestants seem to be even more strict than the catholics here. That's so strange. The whole "no sex before marriage" thing is such a strange concept even to catholics here (at least the catholics I know)
Feli hat dazu gestern gerade ein gutes Video gemacht :
WHAT'S UP WITH AMERICANS AND NUDITY? | Feli from Germany
ua-cam.com/video/B5_1eiLzXDY/v-deo.html
aber ist schon erstaunlich wie der Einfluss religöser Eiferrer von for über 400 Jahren heute immer noch akut ist.
To a certain extent I agree with you? My German wife was brought up "Evangelisch" (Totally different to Evangelical in the USA, it must be said). By the time I met her, she was no longer superstitious and when she stopped paying "Church Tax", basically the threatening letters she recieved from the Protestant church were disgusting! I always thought NRW would be more enlightened than the South and South-East, even back then in the eighties?
I was brought up a Roman Ctholic in the uK. Born in the mid 50s. Back then one was brought up anyway, i think, in UK society and most places, to try to not have sex before marriage. times change and by the time I grew up, -the 70s.. that had changed permanently, for most people, i feel. Certainly today the UK isn't an overwhelmingly religious country in the sense of one religion followed by all and even those with christian religion in their background don;t automatically follow it. I know of people in my parents generation, Catholics, who exercised birth control to have one or two children - by choice. Perhaps they could not easily afford large families and the toll it takes on marriages sometimes and certainly on a stay at home Mother in many cases. They did not want the big Catholic families of their parents' generation. My parents were a mix of religions, RC and Salvation Army. My Mother told me when I was grown up that they never eve rwenated a large family - part economics. they knew they could only afford two. When they had me and then m brother they knew it was time to halt. Also my Mum wasn;t in robust health ever so two was enough. We didnt have a lot of money but we had enough.. more chilren and they were have struggled a lot more. I only went on one holiday other than to family and that was to a caravan when I was 16, with the family so there was not a lot of money floating around. Those people would have been born in the 20s and. 30s so were outside the RC Church teachings and exercising personal choice in the 60s. From what I hear in the media and read, Middle America is quite Christian Fundamentalist in places. No thank you. Each to their own.. only they feel it necessary, or so it seems, to denegrate anyone who does not follow on strictly so its do as I SAY. I find that too domineering an attitude and dangerous.. any group who overly seek to dominate others is dangerous.. my viewpoint anyway. I am 67 to put my thoughts into perspective.
@@johnp8131 What ? How exactly did she stopped paying church tax ? I left the church, since that is what you normally do to not pay, around 1984 in Niedersachsen, and all i had to do was going to an administrative building and fill out a form. And that was it. Nothing else .. just a thing of 3 minutes. Never payed chuech tax in all my life.
@@beldin2987 it stems way back to the British puritans that left England for the US back in the 1600s. In 1630, the Puritans set sail for America. Unlike the Pilgrims who had left 10 years earlier, the Puritans did not break with the Church of England, but instead sought to reform it back to its strict puritanical doctrine.
Well done. Totally impressed by your thinking and having an opinion!
I grew up in Fundamental Christianity in the South. Was told to be scared of the Gays. Then, at puberty, discovered that I was gay & that it wasn't a choice. It opened the door for me to question Everything. I put down the Good Book & went searching for the Truth.
and your still searcing, you had the truth being gay is wrong, there is a natrual order of things, for some gay people they may of felt attracted to the same sex from an early age, for most gay people its a life choice, this is why you get by- sexuals, pick up your bible again and read.
@@garyford3533 you are SO SO wrong. You don't speak for any Higher Power. And those closed minded that think they already know Truth, rarely do. If you are straight, then you couldn't be gay even with a gun to your head. That is BECAUSE choice is usually not part of the Equation. There are scientific studies that show this. If your Religion keeps you from Academic studies, then you prove my point.
it all ways a choice, no one is born gay
@@garyford3533 what is your source? Show me the Science because what I've researched & what I've experienced is the opposite. I've had people tell me that they've known since I was 3 (WAY before I knew myself)
AND when did youake the choice to have a sexual & emotional attraction to Women?
I would have given anything to be straight when I was younger
Don't worry, the bigots have to lie that it's a choice, because otherwise they'd infer their omnipotent deity was fallible by creating gay people, and as a projection of their own prejudice, cannot countenance queerness as being normal.
This is the problem with religion; the contradictions eventually catch up with it. P.S. Reported the bigot for hate speech.
Always a good day seeing Hitch
I rate how you truly feel coming forth in this reaction and in these crazy times, it's much needed eh...
@ItsJps big props to you! Keep it up! The Hitch has touched many and opened minds all over.
I am now an old man but until I was about your age, I was a devout Protestant and considered entering the Priesthood. Then I began a journey that took me to being a confirmed atheist, a journey initiated by Bertrand Russell, the Christopher Hitchens of my day: (ua-cam.com/video/NdDYvvevLZk/v-deo.html) Although I have subsequently many great kind people who were Christians, I came to realise that they would have been kind people anyway; it was not dependent on their religiosity. I also came to realise the corruption of the traditional Churches and they were merely institutions of social control. There especial evil was to place a taboo on considerations of sexuality. Many religious people continue to be a source of great human misery, ignorance and hypocrisy. Good fortune with your own journey
Yes! Religion is nothing more then a means of social control for the ignorant and illiterate masses who are unable to think critically. Plus it's a grifting (money making) scam for those in charge.
YOU LISTEN TO FOOLS, WHAT A SHAME, YOU SHOULD READ YOUR BIBLE AGAIN, AND FIND OUT FOR YOUR SELF INTSTED OF LISTENING TO FOOLS.
@@travisgrant5608🎬The Original Farting Preacher aka Pastor Gas (full version)✝️💸🥳
Religion should be banned.. without religion, there would be less wars and less hypocrisy.
How are you going to ban religion?
Well People then just take on the next best thing to believe in. Not all people can get their life on track without a bigger purpose. So Religion can be benefitial for a lot of People, the downside are extremists. I mean if you think about it the "lgbtq" movement has it points, but the extremists ruins it for everyone and split the society , so thats kind of a modern religion people fall into
That would be an illiberal thing to do. We should all have the right to believe in whatever we want. However, people should be required to provide evidence for their beliefs if they wish to base laws on them, religious or otherwise.
Creationist organisations, like the Discovery Institute and Answers in Genesis, are currently more dangerous than religion itself. We're only now beginning to see the results of their wedge strategy. If you don't know what I'm talking about look up the Wedge document from the Discovery Institute. It leaked online years ago. It's an extremely well funded decades long Christian right attempt to spread as much disinformation as possible about science that contradicts scripture. They're trying to push creationism into schools, they want a theocratic Christian America in all levels of government.
Every single thing that these organisations say about science is completely wrong and they're lying about a great deal of it.
It's produced science denial on a huge scale in such a small amount of time, just look at how many young and flat earth idiots are around right now.
I know what you're trying to say. Unfortunately it won't happen, even in more secular countries like France and the UK? There will always be superstitious people everywhere?
Wow. My UA-cam feed suggests me your videos since a while, but I didn’t expect you to comment a video with Christopher Hitchens in it. He is one of my favorite thinker of all time. His debates are alway epic, and his book « Religion is not great » subtitled « how religion poisons everything » is one of my favorite reading ever. Cheers from France.
As allways very insightful. Thank you. Keep going!!
I remember reading my favourite book series at the time and a character in that says "its easier for religious people to focus on sex and shame others for it because then they dont have to think or look to hard at their own behaviour
Now that's a brilliant comment and so.. True
One nation "under god". Don''t all Americans grow up with that mantra, and is it therefore any wonder so many of them fail to question the existence of a deity? The pledge of allegiance looks completely weird to many of us here in the UK. I would hate to have had my children pressurised to spout that sort of god's on our side jingoistic nonsense every day at school.
It's worth noting that the "under god" part was only added in the 1950s, during McCarthyism and the Red Scare. That is when Christianity swept in as a huge political force in the United States, as part of the fight against "godless commies".
"Under god" was added in 1954, and 'In god we trust' was added to currency etc in the 50's as well.
@@Skiddins Was added to bills. Pretty sure it was on coins way before that.
The pledge of allegiance looks completely weird to everyone on this planet. Except the US. It's seems to me (as an Austrian) that this american dream/idea of "freedom" is their own religion.
I thought it outrageous that my grandson who is British but who attended school in the USA for a few years was made to pledge allegiance to the American flag.
I found you I guess because of the German content (Been watching a lot of Americans in Germany for some reason in last months), and have to say I'm delighted you have this whole other side I didn't know about. Always thought you were perceptive, but when I saw you had a video with Hitch content I gave the screen that meme nod and wink. Keep it up, enjoy your content!
Thanks for saying this. Hope you are always offered welcome whenever and wherever you are in UK
It’s simply staggering that such a huge proportion of Americans believe in primitive ideas.
The US is very similar to Iran in terms of religious belief and religious extremism.
@@odonnelly46 I’m sure you’re correct and also the apparent conspiracy theorists and government mistrust seems way above other countries.
I'll be 55 in January. I'm one of a small percentage of people who have never believed in a God. I was raised by Southern Baptists in Central Georgia, and I realized early that they were super hypocritical and church to me was a boring fashion show. I was 8 when I heard the Noah's ark story and instantly knew it was ridiculous. I associated with the scientific side of the family. I'm glad I never had to play the game.
Your such an insightful commentator. I always enjoy your comments.
I always find it strange how serious American people practice religion and even cults, i think you need to follow the money with religion in America there are to many preachers wanting high donations, when in the UK we have religion but it's not forced upon us or dictated to us, we decide if we want to go to church and how to live our life, and what to donate, and most churches do food banks, homes for the homeless, and charity work they give money out not take it from people 🤔
The reason religion has such a hold on many people is not necessarily because they believe it implicitly , but because they live in a social milieu where everyone else claims to believe and they fear the social consequences of being a dissenting voice . People are very often sheep . Multiply this many times over for more traditional , conservative cultures where non belief can have serious ramifications . But in the West , especially for example Britain , people are increasingly not even bothering to pay lip service to it , anymore .
Well religiosity from my p.o.v. is based on the way our brains work. To a great extend they are problem solving bio machines. One important strategy to solve problems is to avoid or prevent them in the first place. This is done by predicting or anticipating the future as good as possible. Now at the same time our brains work a lot with cause and effect for this is what we actually see in the world surrounding us. Thirdly we tend to ask questions and investigate and research the world around us. And that's where the problem starts. The latter quite often disturbs the first, especially when it doesn't obey the second. Since our knowledge increases evolves we can ask questions we cannot answer by searching for cause and effect, cause they became too abstract over time. E.g. what was "before" the big bang (surely this started much earlier but I think it's a very powerful example)?
This is where religion stepped in. An invented placeholder for "we don't know" (yet).
If we look at the evolution of our knowledge we find astonishing parallels in the evolution of religions. We started with animism, then our knowledge ruined that (everything natural, for example fire, was a God). We learned to control fire so it couldn't be a God anymore. Therfore we invented the God OF fire and other Godsthat replaced all other natural phenomena that once were Gods. Polytheism was born. Our knowledge increased and a reduction to one God for all was necessary to keep the basic idea of an external somehow conscious force in control alive. This was the worst step, the change to monotheism, because as the gaps of knowledge closed the Gods had to become more and more abstract (but still with an anthropocentric paint job).
Worst step because as I think from the very beginning on there were individuals who understood that they could gain power over others, if they used their superstition and the fear of the unknown within it. Voilà!
Just my hypothesis ...
@@JoeWolsing This may well explain why or how religion came into being , but my point was not really involved with the whys and wherefores of religion as a whole , but rather with the individual's choice to pay lip service to a religion , regardless of their own personal beliefs about it ( and which they may very well consider personally to be nonsense ) , in order to maintain the status quo . Which is what I think happens very often . People who are raised in religious families or communities weigh up whether , if you have doubts , it's better to voice those doubts and rock the boat , or just keep your mouth shut , play along and live a quiet life .
Joel, you're wise beyond your years, keep it up ❤
I'm german (for those who didn't get that from my name ;) Germany has no separation of church and state in it's constitution. Which seems to be a constant source for complaints and diminishment of the German Basic Law to US citizens.
Despite of that, there is not a single one current member of german parliament who ran his election campaign based on religious claims or was elected because of them. He/she might have mentioned his affiliation with some religion, and, especially in southern Germany, this might have appealed to some hundred voters. But in no way is this a vote winning topic. Most candidates for public office will never state their religious affiliation. There definitely are atheist in the current parliaments, maybe even a significant number. Nobody known exactly, 'cause nobody cares. Go or don't go to any church you want, but don't make it part of your politics. Religion just isn't a topic in politics (well, maybe on a very local level. eg, "should the local mosque be placed directly next toto the catholic church building" ).
In US politics, there is not a single one politician, who did not state his religious affiliation. There is not a single one representative openly atheistic in any of the US government institutions. So yeah, let's talk about the value of a constitutional separation of religion and politics.
It's not about religion.Europe is religious. It's about religious influence on politics. In that sense, the US seems to be just a theocracy like many of those middle-east nations. Just some different magic guy in the sky.
nice take
In Germany the number of nonbelievers is so high, that tgey outnumber every single religious group, only the combination of the different religions make a higher number. And a lot of those belonging to a religion (the vast majority Christians of the two branches) are only religious by name (Taufscheinchristen). B.th.w. I'm from the South of Germany 😊
I think in some academic circles it is held that one reason ameriKa is still so bound to religion is that there has never been an outright knives to throat religious war there as was throughout Europe several times which quasi squeezed religous fanaticism out of their systems. In any case it is interesting to think about.
It might be just around the corner...
I dont remember, if it was Hitchens, who said it, or some1 else, but "religions are just cults with better PR" always sounded about right for me.
Thanks JP. Been waiting ages on another Christopher Hitchens or even Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss.
Aye. Hitchens was very special.
Sadly, Dawkins has started talking nonsense about trans people, and Krauss was forced to retire in disgrace.
I met them both before these came to light, and am bitterly disappointed they've tarnished their earlier work.
@@colinmorrison5119 Where did you meet Hitchens?
@@mickohara7268 I didn't, he was dead by then. It was the other two I met.
@@colinmorrison5119 Ah, sorry just read that again. My mistake.
Hitch said he started speaking up on this topic as a response to 9/11. He saw religions as an existential threat
I miss Christopher so much.
For most people, religion is the answer when intelligence fails. That's the problem.
People in the Bible Belt find a spouse at their family reunion.
KOOL ~!!!! Went on a Hitchens UA-cam binge a number or years ago. Pity the fools who debated him. Bought a few of his books too. BRILLIANT !!!!
your commentary was insightful
I don't believe in any god ... and I'm German - didn't choose this! Just was born here. ... and I'm GAY - So judge me! 🏳🌈
You collect stamps haha.
Sorry, only joking. That was me judging you.
👍😂
@stamplcollector74. I don’t know why anyone needs to judge you for that. I judge people on their actions not their sexuality or skin colour.
@@concordep2504 thx honey ♥
@@speciesspeciate6429 Yes I do. And this is the least naughty I do. :P
Great insightful video JPs one of your best, it’s unbelievable how obvious the damage of Christian zealously on communities can’t be seen by those practising it.
Thank you for this video! I have been pulling myself up on prejudices I have held against Americans/evangelical white christians and supposedly espousing "christian" values from the interactions I've had with americans.
Thank you for educating me with your respectful dialogue. I look forward to continuing on my relearning.
Why only white Christians. 🤔
Great video. Watching the US from here in the UK the "in your face" high profile place religion has in your society seems just nuts- people quoting the Bible and professing their love for god- if ordinary people in the UK did they most folks would fall about laughing at them and think they were off their heads. The politicians who quote the Bible in the US appear so phoney and drip with insincerity to us Brits. Religion is just not such a big deal here in the UK. We see those Bible Belt phoney pastors ripping off their congregations for tens of thousands of dollars. We saw the crazies that thought they were bathed in Jesus blood and wouldn't catch covid. We also see the holier than thought religious types who support Trump- which is the height of hipocrsy. The wackiest is of course the gun toting god fearing' 'Americans. PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE AMMUNIITON BETSY. You mention the Southern States. Of course the majority of those folks have British heritage- specifically Scots and Irish ancestry - Irish and Scots Protestants. They were instrumental in the SLAVE TRADE. This is most often conveniently side stepped. The KKK was founded by men of Scots heritage. It's a dark stain on the joint history of our two nations,
Not a big deal in Canada either. Churches are largely empty. Politicians don't end every speech with god bless, blah, blah, blah. Some of the COVID preachers said god would protect them and their flock and carried on with church services. They ended up dead. When a tornado hits they say "God saved us". What about the poor suckers next door? Half of those preachers get diplomas from a Cracker Jack box.
Interestingly, in the US it almost works against you (if you are known) when you say you are not religious, while in the Netherlands it is exactly the other way around. People who openly tell they are religious are looked at somewhat with a pity and suspicion.
😂
Nobody noticed that you wiped your nose on your tee shirt, lol. 😲🤣😁
Good video Joel.
Hitchens released 1000s from any belief system. Oh how we miss him. A genuine original & rare brilliant mind. At least we can listen to his podcasts.
Yes Joel please I would be very interested in hearing about your experiences on this subject in the US. Richard Dawkins is one of my favourite people to talk on this subject as well as Christopher hitchens and Steven fry.
My absolute favourites along Sam Harris and Ricky Gervais!
So, so glad to see you reacting to more of the late, great Hitch - the man's an absolute legend. Enough said. :D
I'd very much like to see you react to some of his debates - I've never seen anything like it, before I discovered Hitch or since. :)
"They have more loyalty to their cell phone provider" omg that got me 😅🤣
I'm from the UK, when I was born my mum & dad had a massive fight, he's catholic & wanted me to be too, she was dead set against me being forced into any religion but wanted me to make my own mind up. She won... Phew... A few years ago a catholic aunt told me I wasn't brought up right because I wouldn't go up to the priest to be blessed during holy communion at a funeral, I was bloody fuming!!! So many religious 'pious' people are so two faced!! Respect is a two way thing
I like to learn about different religions & identify as agnostic
Welcome to the club! Religion belongs to the childhood of our species. It's high time we all move away from burning bushes and sky daddies.
When you’ve quite finished sacrificing a lamb … 😂
Great job tackling a difficult topic
Happy to see you dude, get this everywhere, organized religion has to end.
Religion, holy books, the way the world was made, these are all a man made things. Peoples idea of what religion stands for and how deep they get involved with it in my eyes shows that we as humans want to be so much alike and yet so different. I still think religion has got a lot to answer for, not just for intolerance of other religions, sexuality, people wanting to live there lives the way they want, but hiding its own failings and stupid ideas that it pushes onto its followers.
I sometimes think of religion as a type of legalised racism, they can say something but because its a religion/faith/belief we are not allowed to disagree with it. Christopher Hitchens, Prof Richard Dawkins, George Carlin's videos about religion all opened my eyes about this. I have always thought of myself as a Christian, but after being introduced to the gents videos by a friend then my curiosity was woken into this. As I watched more videos I became an athiest, if there was a god why did he make to the human species, if he/she/it was all knowing then why did he put us in a planet where he/she/it knew we were going to slowly kill off other species, destroy the environment, and each other.
I just cant seem to get my head around these facts. No wonder religion is called blind faith, because that is exactly what it is.
Great video Joel, you reaction was great. You were respectful, insightful, and I have learnt something from you about religion in America and the bible belt. Have a great day and take good care of yourself.
When are we going to get an update on how your running at college is doing?
👍🏼👍🏼
You are dead right. God may or may not exist- not provable either way, but all religions are man made. Historically they are mergers of previous beliefs that clashed and increasingly required more complex explanations to make those merged beliefs make sense and be consistent with each other or justify rejection of competing beliefs or former versions. These can be traced back to the point where the 'gods' were just round rocks and natural events and experiences of madness emanating from accidental poisonings by plants and fungis and fermentation of bad food had to be explained away by shamans. Its not unusual for people in a brain trauma to 'feel' they are not alone and this probably triggered the concept of a spiritual entity.
Paganism is getting more popular in the UK as some other religions aren’t as popular anymore.
His dad was a naval officer like mine and also had the same first name.
Such a powerful intellect
I encourage you to watch everything Hitchens ever said. It makes you smart =) I wonder if humanity will ever give up their imaginary friends? One can dream.
Believe in being a good person. You don't need to scared of a deity or an "after-life" to be a good person
Correct.👍
You sound like an atheist. I am too. I’m so glad you approached this in an intelligent way. Hitchens was a great philosopher and intellect and he’s sorely missed. I hope you use this to build your intellectual armoury so that one day you too can make the kind of difference that Christopher did.
Enjoy your trip to Europe. Especially enjoy York again. I love that city.
Perhaps one day you’ll make it to my new home (I’m U.K. born and subsequently retired in South Africa). There’s a wonderful world to explore!
Hi - I thought I'd mention - There is an episode of Question Time - A popular BBC Political 'topical news' panel show - that includes Christopher Hitchens, his brother and right wing commentator Peter, and among others, Boris Johnson, the soon to be Mayor of London and eventually British Prime Minister from 21st June 2007 - If you can find a decent copy of that, it might be interesting to note what you think! 👍
His brother, Peter and Christopher 'fell out' several times - it seems!🤓
Chris is one of my heroes too. Another person I admire is Australian Philip Adams. Check him out if you have a chance. His book “Adams vs God” was hugely impactful to my teenage self in the late 80s when I was given it by my father. He re-booted it in 2007. He is still a newspaper columnist, radio presenter and writer. I think you’d like him.
He didn't like people calling him "Chris", even his close friends.
Be glad Christopher was here to hear you insult him with "cris".
you need better heroes.
@@garyford3533 why?
Maybe role models instead of heroes would be a good philosophical evolution 😂😂😂
Hitchens was a realy controversial person. we had hot discussions in school about him. ( and that was in english class we hateted it to discuss the own opinions in a other language^^ but he was a topic to make us rage so it motivated us^^ - germany here^^)
i like your opinions in this video (so much more interesting than the eternal germany videos)
Thank you
Comedian Dave Allan pointed out that Mary and the father of Jesus were in fact NOT married, i think that makes him a bast#rd.
Never was anyone person named Jesus. Made up name (not even a Jewish name) as was the individual.
I loved this video and topic, i find it fascinating in regards to trying to understand people. What a waste religion is, regardless of which faith, it's managed to capture billions of followers over the thousands of years and could have been a real force for good. There are aspects of religion which are good, bringing people together, guiding people for morality ( no exclusive to religion ). As much as it's brought millions together it's also divided as many and been the cause of a lot of blood shed and wars. Wouldn't it be fascinating to know how humanity would have evolved and looked today without any religion having existed.
Hmm. With just as much misguided inhumanity, cruelty, stupidity..& 'evil', i fear. .. Imagine a kind of omnipresent entity that could arrange for us not to believe in any kind of 'superior being(s)' During_Any_Stage of our evolution... i would worship it! ..
Whether they do/don't know it, it seems as though most pushers of any mysterious code to live by, are using their preachings to an end that will benefit some, but not all of humanity. (
'Science adjusts its views based on what's observed, faith is the denial of observation so that belief can be preserved.'
Enjoy your channel JPS, your generation gives me hope for the future. I'm a boomer, but not like the majority :-}
Christopher is sadly missed
Christopher Hitchens RIP
Thanks
I live in the Uk, I dont know a single person that bothers to go to church. And those that do attend church appear to be posh middleclass people.
Not sure what that signifies. You can be a believer and not go to church. I think in the modern age people think they know what their religion is and don't feel they need a priest to tell them or interpret written texts for them or to read the bible for them. The idea you go also for holy communion seems to have been forgotten or taken to just be a theoretical ritual that is no longer important. They might call themselves a Christian by label or belief but without a priest and communion they probably in fact are drifting into following their own confused and inconsistent version of religion without having read a bible since childhood and without paying any duty to that belief to the point where it is forgotten
I would like to know. Which God Wrote which religion ???????? God, religion ,is a man invention.
Totally!!!!! 👍
Oscar Wilde once said: if there were no Devil man would surely invent him.
Anyone who tried to debate Hitch was toast 😅
There was one debate during which a guy from the audience started protesting about something. The hosts wanted him to be quiet and sit down, and Hitch told them to let him speak, but cautioned the guy that "as soon as you're finished, it's over". Utter ledge.
@@KeplersDream I remember hearing Richard Dawkins talking about him & he said he sometimes used to feel sorry for people on the other end of a debate with Hitch. Before it even started lol
@@matthewjamison - Hitch could wither people with a sentence. Sometimes he was a bit too abrasive and could turn people against Atheism. Dawkins was more gentle. Of course some people do need a cudgel over the head to get the message. Religion is trouble. My god is better than your god. Sounds like a schoolyard mentality.
It's amazing how many athiests atribute thier deconvertion from religion to Hitchins. And rightly so.
One of the good things about the Internet is it exposes us to people/ideas that we may not otherwise have seen - our stereotypes about people/places are challenged - as a Brit - seeing people like yourself & Eclectic Beard on here gives me a broader view of 'Muricans! - and im sure the same has been the same in reverse for you!. There are a lot of dodgy things online but this at least is one of the better aspects of the Internet Age
Joel really does love a good Hitchslap, doesn’t he?
Don't we all ? its hard to resist!
Religion was such an easy win for any intelligent mind. His stance on the Iraq war was far less convincing, despite being articulately debated. And history shows he was very wrong.
Hitchens and Stephen Fry … love watching them taking on religion and zealots
Two of his vids are must-sees...his appearance at the 'Festival of Dangerous Ideas' & his iconic, "Free speech"
Not every religion is false. I am a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster God and the new Pastafarian Testament says: "We need never doubt our Divine Carbohydrate, for even our DNA is shaped like a noodle so we know that pasta is holy" (Book One: The Holy Book of Lasagna). Do not doubt for He simmers. R'amen!
Is that church registered for tax purposes?
🎬The Original Farting Preacher aka Pastor Gas (full version)💨💸🥳