Atheist here. I would like to respond to some of the points raised in this video. Firstly, your disagreement on the point that it's difficult to be an atheist. Allow me to respond to you by way of analogy: "I'm a black man in America, and I've heard all my life how I'm lazy and good for nothing. People look at me and think I'm a criminal. But you can choose to get upset about those things or you can just move on with your life. Therefore, it's not difficult to be black in America." Do you see how asinine that sounds? Secondly, concerning the Big Bang. I'm NOT a cosmologist, but I have read several books on the subject. Let me point out that we don't know if the big bang was the beginning of the universe or not--this is simply as far as our understanding of science and mathematics will allow us to go so far. Let's suppose it was the beginning--in which case, there was no BEFORE the universe, because time came into existence at the same time as space. Therefore, causation necessarily CANNOT have any role to play in the beginning of the universe. Or, time may stretch infinitely in both directions (forward and backward)--we just don't know. Your position of "god created the universe" commits several logical fallacies, the most obvious of which is Special Pleading (everything has to have a cause--except God, he's special) and God of the Gaps (asserting that because science doesn't yet have an answer, therefore God).Third, you seem to speak patronizing about evolution at one point, then later seem to admit that evolution is simply a matter of empirical fact. No real comment, just wanted to express my confusion on your position. Finally, let me move on to the "picking on Christians" narrative. A religion--any religion--is an ideology, a set of beliefs that dictate how we live in society. If you encounter an ideology that you believe is causing harm to your society (Racism, Nazism, etc) it is not only your right to speak out against it, but it is a moral duty. More to the quick, however, I think you actually missed the point Hement was making. He (mostly) talks about Christianity because he lives in America. But if he lived in Iran, he would be speaking about Islam, if he lived in India he'd be speaking about Hindu, and so on. Sorry for the long post, but by God (intended) that was a painful thing to watch.
You were doing well untill you came up with you said science is everything . Studying science has bugger all to do with being an atheist . It's a lack of belief in well which one of the thousands of doctrine led faiths
+gowd sake I don't believe I said that science is everything, and I agree that studying science isn't *necessary* for being an atheist. Plenty of atheists have profoundly unscientific and illogical views on a variety of subjects; being an atheist merely means you don't believe in any god or gods. Anything beyond that is a distinctly separate conversation. +LL Armstrong Weird question, but nope. :)
Ouch. As an atheist living in the Philippines I can attest to the fact that it is hard to say you don't believe in god. Maybe being an atheist there isn't hard, but l've lost friends over my beliefs. I respect religion, and what people believe in, but saying I'm going to burn in hell doesn't give me that much of a positive view in your faith.
@ Diego Acosta Hell is a place that is void of God's presence. It is for those who don't want to be with God. If you want to be with God you MUST have your sin stained and corrupted soul washed clean by believing (trusting) the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). You can't get to heaven by doing good works because those good works don't wash your soul clean of its sins only Jesus' blood atonement for our sins does that.
Diego Acosta im an atheist here in the Philippines. I agree with you. I tried to open to one of my friends that im an atheist and the reaction was obvious. Until now i never tried it again even to my family. Right now our president is attacking god, saying that he is not true and i think he is an atheist or agnostic.
@@danielblair4413 What's the logic of quoting a verse from a book we don't believe in? If a Muslim quoted some passages in the Qur'an, would that convince you and make you consider converting to Islam? If a Muslim quoting the Qur'an will not work on you, what makes you think that you quoting the Bible will work on us, especially since we probably know more about the Bible than you? Before we believe in your Jesus, be sure that you convince us first that he is real. Another thing, are you saying that billions of people who doesn't believe in your Jesus will go to hell or not go to heaven, assuming that it is real? How do you know that the belief that your parents brought you to believe in is real? I wonder if you ever thought what would happen to you if you were born in Saudi to a Muslim parents, or in India to a Hindu parent. Probably not.
yussuq madiq says: *What's the logic of quoting a verse from a book we don't believe in? If a Muslim quoted some passages in the Qur'an, would that convince you and make you consider converting to Islam?* I'm a Christian, but I'll believe the scripture of any religion that coincides with the truth, it doesn't have to just come from the bible itself. It's called using discernment. *If a Muslim quoting the Qur'an will not work on you, what makes you think that you quoting the Bible will work on us, especially since we probably know more about the Bible than you?* If you know the bible better than me then you would be a believer as well, so obviously you don't know the bible as well as you think that you do.
Eric Doan Well then you're an idiot because a true Christian would realize that the entire book isn't meant to be taken literally, you would know that it's mostly meant to be metaphorical.
WDW Junkie the problem is,which is which..you don’t get to cherry pick the Bible.There is a point in time where adam and eve story was taken literally(some still do)...I can show you Christians who take the whole bible literally,and to them-you are the idiot who doesn’t know the Bible...
WDW Junkie Oh, how very Christian of you. I beg to ask the emotional response you just gave me. What caused it? Maybe your attitude alone could make me walk away from such faith? I would hate to be associated with you. Just look at how you replied to a complete, random, internet stranger.
David Wheezy The bad advertising was in the bible itself. I mean, have you actually read every last word in the bible? Or any other tome of religion? They all start to sound like the other. I left Christianity for a mountain of other reasons as well. The main one I would have to say Christians themselves, I do not wish to be associated with them nor a genocidal God.
As an atheist, on the Big Bang- Truthfully, I don't know what, if anything, caused it. I'm not sure it makes sense to say it needs a cause, because cause and effect is something that requires time, and, as far as we know, time began at that initial moment of the Big Bang. I haven't ruled out that something outside the universe caused it, but at the moment, I don't think there's really any reason to believe that, or if you do, that it's some sort of god. Even if I did decide that the universe requires a cause, and that cause has to have done so purposefully with intelligence, that still ultimately wouldn't get me anywhere near Christianity. That would just make me a Deist who hasn't even ruled out polytheism. UPDATE: As far as coming from nothing/having no value, et cetera, it doesn't upset me, and why should it? I can still live a happy life, and there's something deeply moving to me about the fact that everything I am is matter like anything else in the universe. In a way, I'm connected to everything. Since the universe is all of space-time and all matter, I too, am part of the universe, and I'm lucky enough right now to be a part of the universe that can think and feel and experience life. When I die, my actions and memories of me will ripple on, and all the matter that composed me will go elsewhere and do other things. It's not sad, it just is.
Glad to see you're open and honestly throwing the ideas around. And you aren't alone, Stephen Hawkins even said that the universe doesn't make sense without a "deity" of some kind. I'm not here to try to convert people, just have civil conversation with people in a world where atheists and Christians are pitted against eachother :) . Thanks for your intelligent addition to the converstaion man.
Tattoed Theist, I am all for a civil discussion, which I why I want to ask you not to use quote mines. Like Drew LeBow my position is a simple 'I do not know', and I do not see evidence for anything like a deity.
Tattooed Theist The claim that Hawking said he believes in intelligent design was originally started by the "worldnewsdailyreport", which is not a real news outlet, and has a disclaimer about satireacle articles.
Tattooed Theist - Not sure who Stephen Hawkins is but I doubt Stephen Hawking said the Universe doesn't make sense without a deity of some kind. Not sure where you got that quote from. You could probably get me to agree that there MIGHT be a God but you'll have a much harder time convincing me that he had people write down what he thought. I like the Bible as literature and can quote it as much as any preacher but I don't believe it is divinely inspired or deserving of it's reverential status. It is a book. Some of it is good, I like Ecclesiastes, but most of it is anything but historical, scientific or even moral. Christians or any religious person should be allowed to believe what they want, I am only against passing laws based on people's faith or displaying religious symbols on public land. Otherwise, have at. Good channel, btw.
For the record, when you say that you "have a theory" for how the universe came into being, what you mean (I hope) is that you have a hypothesis. A theory is the very pinnacle of a scientific model, which is heavily supported by evidence. A hypothesis has the potential to become a theory (and is the scientific term for what you might colloquially call a theory), but it isn't one yet.
On the Big Bang, being an atheist only means you reject gods-based explanations. That's it - atheism is not the same as naturalism, it is not the same as skepticism, it is not the same as scientism. On post-death, it pains me that some people think their lives would be meaningless unless they were going to live forever. Things aren't meaningful because they last; they are meaningful because they DON'T. Other than that, I found this video to be eminently reasonable.
Everything is ultimantly is meaningless because not even the parties involved in what you would call meaningfull will be able to even percieve its meaningfullness after death, also i would argue that things can be simultaneously meaningful and infinetly last because the event would affect you down the line. Prove me wrong if youd like, i just have a hard time percieving meaning out of something ultimantly futile.
You know what? Let's keep it simple. Nobody knows if god(s) exist. Nobody knows how the universe got here. Some say, like their god(s), the universe was always around. So it all comes down to evidence. There is no evidence that ANY god(s) exist but is evidence that the universe exists. We can actually SEE parts of it. We are part of it. I've never met or spoken to a god at least nothing like that that spoke back. I interact with people & they are part of my life. But being raised in Christianity this god thing was like an absent father that I've never seen. I've tried to contact but it never replied. Just nonsense. I'll go w/what I KNOW & what is real to me period.
I agree with you, philosophically, until the end because then it became your personal experience and opinions which bare no weight on reality. Millions of people claim God has spoken to them, I'm NOT one of them. But do discount millions of people based on your experience doesn't mean much. Respectfully of course.
@Tattooed Theist And what about the millions that claim other kinds of gods exist, or that aliens exist, and so on. Wouldn't there be a point were respectability has to end before the claim forces gullibility? "If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing" -- Anatole France
Keith Lee...Oh but God does exists and even walked this earth. See...Jesus IS God and he came to die for yours and my sins and everyone elses. In Timothy 3:16b KJV it states: God was manifest n the flesh, Now we know who that was and that was Jesus, ( God came in the flesh) so Jesus is God. Now with that being said, Many historians in that day wrote about Jesus and that he caused mass gatherings. SO it IS physical evidence of a God...and the three are one (echad, which is a Hebrew word and it means unity as one, not a numeral, the numral word is Yachid) so when a person reads the bible they have to read it scripture for scripture and line upon line, precept upon precept. And we know in Genesis there is mention of three but yet all of them one because in Genesis 1:1 KJV the word God in Hebrew is "Elohim" and it has a meaning of being plural. Ans then in 1 John 5:7 KJV it says: For there are three that bears record in heaven, the Father, the Word (John 1:14) and the Holy Ghost and these three are one (echad). Not hard to understand...... Also....God is that powerful...He spoke the world and all into existence and the bible is God breathed (so it was NOT just wrote by men only, the Holy Ghost helped) as long as you read the correct one the King James Version which is from the Textus Receptus and IS truth! I would also like to ask a question.....if God doesn't exists, and Atheist do not believe there is a God, then why is it then when they get mad they say..."goddamn?" And please do not tell me that they are other gods....there HAS to be a designer!!!!
I'm guilty of saying "Christians are smart people too" but i didn't mean it in that way, i know all races and religions have smart people. I meant it in a way, that could appeal to them. Because to them, all that mattered was Studies.
Maybe just a rewording would be more effective. :) . You can always bring up the fact that the big bang theory was developed by a Christian... sooooooo haha
Tattooed Theist the fact that a hypothesis and subsequently a scientific theory were developed and worked on by thiests us a non sequitur as if you apply the scientific method to a question and follow where the evidence goes you will more thsn likely arrive at a correct answer your misunderstanding of scientific research, evidence, and methodology is hilariously underwhelming and your responses are neither new or enlightened and as is standard honesty and logical consistency are nonexistant in your comments sorry dude you are garden variety
+ Tattoed Theist: No, im not picking on theists, i'm responding to theists that almost every time tries to stop me to hear their ''good news''. Theists are being Proactive with their missioning, i'm being Reactive, i'm responding to their claims. That's not bullying. When Theists are threathening non-believers with hell, responding to that isn't bullying, that's responding. If the theists doing that feeling bullied, then stop doing what you're doing, because it's not working.
I really enjoy these answering atheist videos and how you are still loving towards them even when you disagree. You should do one of these with Jaclyn Glenn, cuz she's one of the more outspoken atheist youtubers
XDranzer000 Darkmatter is actually one of the best ones out there. He has a simple well scripted video that can cause major damage to someone's belief in minutes. He has a second channel which is definitely all education.
@Hayden Cockrill Jaclyn tends to, to put it politely, "parrot" other atheist videos or ideas. See her version of Theoretical Bullshit's video for an extreme example. In other words, she does not have her own voice. If you want a women atheist that speaks her mind, see Peach or Bionic Dance. If you want a women that debunk's creationist "truths" see Wildwood Claire
I hope your channel grows a bit it's nice to have a reasonable theistic fellow on the site. I'm an atheist myself, but it's been draining for years to not have an prominent religious channels that argue something rational.
I am an atheist and former Christian. You seem like a cool guy. It is surprising that you said you were atheist and became Christian. Maybe one day I will learn why. Anyway, some of your responses are classic rebuttals to what we know and think. I won't discuss them here but keep up the good work.
Well I appreciate that, thank you for being civil about the disagreements rather than annoying - always refreshing. And yes, of course - at a certain point, from either side, there really isn't much more to say. Everything becomes repeat. Take care :)
ricoo 1 - Is that a serious question? You are convinced by Person A that the Bible is legitimately the story of God becoming a human in order to save us from our sins and grant us eternal life by dying and defeating death by rising again... and then you cease to be convinced that this book's stories are legitimate/accurate/true. It's pretty simple, really.
I think what he meant by "leaving your faith is difficult" is that most religious people rely on their church for all kinds of support, and often when you leave that, it all gets yanked away, especially if you're part of a religion or sect which practices shunning.
Ok, I know I'm a bit late to the party here but I just stumbled upon this channel. I am an atheist, and the way that I understand that the universe began is this: Space and time are connected, as stated by our best definition of physics, and so, before the universe existed, there was no time, and so, the universe has always existed, as existence requires a time frame. This is how I kinda wrap my head around everything, but honestly, I don't know. I am happy to admit that I will probably never know for certain anything other than that I exist.
I want to say that I appreciated your video and the overall approach that you have taken to this topic. I also thought as an atheist I would give my input. (Sorry for the essay.) The first disagreement you had was the idea that being an atheist is hard. While I appreciate your personal experience I don’t think you responded to the whole statement. The guy in the video you are responding to said it is not easy to be an atheist but continues on to say leaving ones faith to become an atheist is hard. I was a Christian for over 20 years. My family is all Christian, my in laws are Christian and my wife is Christian. I can honestly say leaving my faith was hard. Not simply because I am sensitive, but because faith and Christianity was and is the bulk of my family’s life. It’s not that I get offended when random people assume I am immoral simply because I am an atheist. It is hard knowing that my mother, for example, feels as though she has failed as a parent because I am an atheist. It is hard knowing that she prays for me daily to get through my “faith trial.” It is hard for me because it is hard on those I care about. It is hard when I know that people who care about me feel sorry for me, or condescend to me. You mention that science is everything to atheists. I find this a common yet odd assertion. Many atheists are naturalist, but not all. Lacking a belief in God does not hold someone to any other belief or system of beliefs. For me, I do believe in naturalism though would not claim to be any more scientifically literate then anyone else. What I mean by believing in naturalism is that I subscribe to epistemology. i.e. based on empirical or physical evidence. The next disagreement you had was the “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.” My issue with the statement is not the idea that a Christian is saying that they find it harder to believe what I do… its that to them faith is a virtue. Thus, it is just silly to me that a Christian would accuse me of having more of something that they claim is a virtue. As far as what caused the big bang… I don’t even pretend to know. So far as the Kalam Cosmological argument, I don’t buy it. If the big bang is when time started what can be meant by the statement “it began to exist.” To “begin” is a concept only understood if time exists. Not to mention, if you have a hard time understanding how a universe could be uncaused, why do you not struggle with the idea that God is uncaused. If anything can be uncaused, why not the universe itself? Being skeptical of virgin birth is not the same as being skeptical of the big bang. As a father I have witnessed births. There is a plethora of evidence and understanding concerning how humans procreate. A virgin birth in the year 1 does not seem plausible. The big bang is something that would have only occurred once of which there is limited understanding. It is more likely no one has sufficient understand to argue caused or uncaused simply from insufficient enough data. Further, I don’t mind someone’s skepticism for how the universe “began.” I am surprised by people’s wiliness to believe in a virgin birth. I think when you talk about how a naturalist feels about not existing is confusing. You go from that to atheists believe they don’t really have meaning. Does something have to exist permanently to have meaning? Is a childhood meaningless simply because being a child is temporary. Is this video meaningless if it stops existing? I guess I don’t see how having a temporary existence = meaninglessness. I don’t feel like I have to have cosmic significance to have meaning. I also don’t feel like I’m nothing. It pains me that people feel like they wouldn’t have meaning unless they are somehow cosmically important. I truly feel this is something that causes deep feelings of self-centeredness’. As I understand the Christian theology it requires a great deal of solipsism of which I simply don’t have. At this point I am only halfway through, I will finish the video later. Thanks again for posting and thanks for the open and sincere way in which you seem to approach the topic.
Woah, I really appreciate the time you took to type that. I'm going to be honest and say I can't read it all write now but I'm going to try to remember to come back, if I don't I really hope someone else does because you deserve to be responded to, given the time you took to lay out your input! Appreciate you being here and I'll really try to remember to come back!
You're a very reasonable man and you remind me of one of my best friends who's also a theist. I'm an atheist and so is my gf, and sometimes we get into debates on things around the subject of religion, but it's always very respectful. You're a cool dude. I'm sure you and TheFriendlyAtheist would have an interesting conversation in person.
I don't believe nothing caused the big bang. I don't know what caused it, I just lack the knowledge. I liked your video, you were honest, and respectful. I obviously disagree on basically everything, but I like the honesty
I love this guy. One of the only rational Christians I've seen on UA-cam. I'm a Christian myself, and I use this guy as inspiration for what I say when I'm debating with atheists. God bless man.
Bekfast Time not really. I'm an atheist and I've heard the same arguments from Christians. There's famous Christian apologetics that have been saying the same thing as this guy for decades. Like William Lane Craig. But I respect him for advising against disrespectful questions in the beginning. Other than that he's still pushing atheist stereotypes and lies and will not convince an atheist at all. Sorry.
Desiree Fowlks agreed. I lost a little respect for him when he made the evolution comment. He clearly has done zero research and is believing based on faith or what other Christians are telling him. Aside from that, I'm glad he's somewhat reasonable.
Though I don't share your views on religion, I can see that you present your faith in a respectable way, and are open to debate and criticism. You seem like someone genuinely trying to present and spread your views, and for that you have my respect. Many of the Christians making videos present their points in such an ignorant way, and it's refreshing to see it done in such an open and honest way. I wish more people could do it this well
Values are what makes us human. They are not synonymous with Christianity, and that is the kicker that gets the "therefore everyone else, by default, is immoral." If you need an authority outside of your own mind to guide you, you may as well say "I need a leash and a master to hold me back, I'm a rabid dog without one and fully intend on doing something wrong otherwise." Or you could just call it what it is that's the controlling factor, you and me. Nice video by the way. We need less anger and assumptions and more understanding.
That's not the arguement. I'm a christian but I try to look at all aspects of an arguement. And this point doesnt suggest that atheist are immoral or that there is no way to know morality without a god, it suggests that there is no way to justify an objective morality without a higher power to show objective moral truth
these are the kind of people we need to reprisent the thiest community. wanting to disscus subjects without falling into the same straw-maning, mislead arguement that most online thiests. instead being able to see that and avoid it. love to invite you to an open discution
Even as a relatively young atheist, I love watching your videos because of how insightful your thoughts are. Also I admire your respect towards an opposing viewpoint.👌
Appreciate you! and I can relate, I was an atheist all through my youth and teenage years. Thanks for being here and I hope to hear more from you in the future :)
@AGENTNINJA008: The "respect towards an oppposite viewpoint" part is what made me thumb-up this video as well. Although I'm an atheist. :) Tattooed seems to be an open-minded and chilled christian and that's a good thing imo. Often times you see one side gets frustrated or angry when confronted with different opinions - especially on the atheist-meets-religious topic. Respect and interesting calm talk is what the world needs. Peace.
Oh yeah, absolutely. Still living as one (an atheist) has made me very familiar with people freaking out, telling me to burn in hell, and other things like that when I tell them i'm not religious.
This was such a good video to watch as an atheist, its so refreshing to hear the other side of the argument from such a calm and honest perspective. I think if more people were able to talk with each other like this we would be a far more peaceful people.
New atheist sub here. Pretty happy to find a pretty open-minded theist UA-camr. Hopefully people like you become more profuse on the internet, I'd like to see some good civil discussion.
I don't think he's saying he's picking on anyone. What he's referring to is criticizing those people, which is sometimes referred to by Christians as "picking on" them, because they percieve it as specifically and maliciously targetted toward them.
A perfect god would have made a perfect book that everyone would understand perfectly! I don't know how universe began. Nether do you. Big bang and evolution are not the same. Saying god did it just brings up more questions.
God didn't make the book, imperfect people made it. I'm not a sola scriptura guy... No one said big bang and evolution were the same - although evolution as a theory is a result of the big bang theory, without it evolution cannot be true.
sure some people like to make linking to it and evolution but evolution can exist without the big bang say the univerese was created by a random sphere(ignore the lack of science in that) evolution can still stand without it
My first disagreement with your answers was when you suggested that although atheists may have read the bible more than most christians that they don't understand it as well as Christians. Although that is the case with some (many a time I've wanted to reach through a screen and slap my fellow atheists for not knowing what certain verses mean given scriptural, historical, and theological context), it isn't the case for all. I happen to be one such atheist who understands the Bible. I attended Christian school for my last 3 years of high school, poured over the Bible for hours at a time while attending there, then went to Oral Roberts University for 4 years. During that time I examined my own faith, discussed the Bible in great detail with people far more versed in the Bible than I, and "grew" in my knowledge and understanding of Biblical teachings. By the time I left, though, I wasn't a believer anymore. This isn't because I didn't understand the text, but because I came to the realization that the deity described in the Bible did not line up with reality and couldn't exist even if it partially did line up due to paradoxical attributes/qualities. Historically, for instance, there was no genesis, no worldwide flood, no mass exodus out of Egypt, nor any of the other major events attributed to the deity of the OT. For the history of the NT, there is no concrete evidence for Jesus existing, for his virgin birth, for his death by crucifixion, for his resurrection, or for the events described in Acts (personal testimonies are not evidence, nor the writings of political figures a hundred or more years after Jesus' supposed death). There's such a mountain of evidence against the deity of the Bible that for me to continue believing would be ridiculous. If all those stories that build the foundation for the deity of the Bible were all meant to be taken figuratively, since you surely know better than to take them literally, then why believe in this deity in the first place? He technically did none of those absolutely important things that Judaism and Christianity rely upon. My next disagreement with you was when you first disagreed with the atheist in the video. He wasn't necessarily saying that being an atheist was or is difficult. From his wording, he seemed to be referring to the transition of having faith to no longer having faith. There are difficulties involved with that. The first difficulty is that those you called family and friends tend to treat you horribly afterward. They shun you, they tell you you're going to hell, they disown you, and become altogether terrible toward you. These were people you felt close to, people who you saw as brothers and sisters. The pain of their rejection and abuse is intense for some. The second struggle is that you now have to face mortality without the concept of an afterlife, to come to terms with it. This struggle takes time and some rational thought to reach a point where you both accept your inevitable death and are no longer afraid of it. I have reached that point, but for a short time I did fear the void of death to the point that I'd stay up late pondering it. A third common struggle is getting past the ingrained ideology of hell. Although many atheists reject the concept of the deity they might have once believed in, it is sometimes difficult to shed off the dogma based fear that accompanies it, especially one as nightmarish as the fear of eternal damnation for not believing. It takes time and more rational thought to finally shed the weight of that fear and become at peace with it. And there are more issues atheists face, but those are the more common ones I've witnessed multiple atheists deal with, including myself. My next disagreement with you is that you claim that scientific law states that nothing exists that wasn't caused by something. Yes, from what we're able to observe we have yet to discover something without a cause. Can we just make a huge logical leap from that observation to assuming that nothing that exists can have come into existence wirhout having been caused by something else? No, because we haven't seen or experienced everything that exists and even if we get to a point where we have, how would one go about proving that every single thing that exists was caused by something else? Now, for the beginning of the universe, you don't even describe the big bang correctly. The big bang theory (theory because there is substantial evidence to support the scientific model named such) does not state that the universe came from nothing. All it states is that the early universe was hot and dense and then a rapid expansion (not an explosion or boom) took place causing that energy to disperse which caused cooling, which allowed quarks to form electrons, protons, and neutrons (the high heat of the early universe would have made it impossible for the quarks to bond into these subatomic particles. Beyond that first millisecond or so, the laws of physics break down. Time and space as we know it didn't exist before that and there's no knowing what came before that (is there a before if time doesn't exist?), at least for now. But, we now come to an important point that needs to be made. There are these things called quantum fluctuations occurring all the time, even in the closest conditions we can get to "nothingness" in a lab. I would suggest you watch Lawrence Krauss' video on a universe from nothing for the leading views on the origins of the universe and why there's something and not nothing. He does a far better job at explaining this than I ever could and hopefully the video clears up some of your misconceptions on cosmology in general. For me, I don't have faith in something coming from nothing, but that nothingness being unstable makes it perfectly plausible that multiple somethings (energy would be my guess) can come into existence from nothing such that the sum of their parts (sum of their energy states) remains neutral and therefore doesn't violate the laws of thermodynamics. And, now we come to the concept of value/meaning. Whether we came from something or nothing and whether we shall return to something or nothing does not reflect or determine our value/meaning. We determine our own value/meaning to our own lives. To act like anything is necessary beyond that seems egotistical to me. Even if a deity existed and we somehow came from that deity, there's no added value just because of that. That deity valuing us wouldn't add to or detract from our worth, nor would the deity ascribing his/her own meaning to our lives mean that we have any more substantial of a meaning than when we give our own lives meaning. It is sad to me that anyone thinks they only have meaning if some cosmic being ascribes it to them. It's a self deprecating concept despite being egotistically driven. You use 2 different definitions for theory in the same sentence when you say "just like you have a theory, we have a theory." The first is the scientific definition of a theory, the second is the common vernacular definition which in scientific terms is actually more like a rudimentary hypothesis (not even based upon evidence, just a claim). No offense meant, but that is the case. Your "so what" in response to his answer about why he "picks on Christians" or argues against them makes you sound a bit ignorant of the reality faced in this country. We argue against christians because of the damage we witness on a daily basis at their hands. We argue against Christians because they have made it a goal to infiltrate our government and change our laws to discriminate against our citizens and push the immoral "moral code" found in the Bible on us. They (when I say they, keep in mind I'm not referring to all, but to the dangerous ones, the loud among your numbers who sway the silent in their favor) do not accept or understand that this country's government was founded to be and to remain secular, and would rather push for a purely ChristIan government. These are true issues in this country and to act like somehow fighting those things is immature or ridiculous only shows how disconnected you are from the state of the country you live in. And even to equate them to the WBC is a sad false equivalency. And this is getting way longer than I meant it to be. I'm not trying to hate on you, not trying to be rude, just pointing out where you seem to lack knowledge and understanding in your response. I do respect some of your answers, though you tend to throw your biases in at times (the morality response for example is overly biased), because some of them were well thought out and a nice refresher from what most Christians act like online.
A naturalistic world view is essentially atheist? What about all the pagans and agnostics and humanists do they not count towards the numbers that do exist and have a naturalistic world view? Atheism is simply a disbelief or lack of belief in a God or gods and you have lost sight of the others that oppose you in your theological world view. Can I ask you the question on how you think of your God in your Christian belief and not think of as been a slave master? You have to obey the rules for an eternity otherwise you get cast out to the other slave master. There seems to be a common theme to the belief.
@@sladechimera2837 god has reveal himself through creation. now i can look at a painting in i can say i dont believe a painter painted this or if there actually was a painter he would know what it would take to convince me that this painting has a painter. i could i be right or i could just being denying truth.
@@fcchannel6162 either way it wouldn't be your problem if the painter was too stupid to let you know which of the countless painters available they happen to be
This is the first video from you I have seen. I really enjoyed this video as an agnostic athiest. I think your judgement as a theist is fair and just. 95% of arguments I see from theists go down a long rabbit hole of expectations based on their personal life experience as well as often times making some pretty rediculous claims with no effort to explain or prove their reasoning. I think you have been very fair and aware of not stepping on people's toes, or offending anyone. I look forward to seeing more of your videos. Thanks for being a pleasant human being :)
i had to say this. but atheist dont pick on christians JUST because of that they belive difrently. they pick on them because that is what they live with and know most about. they also pick on christian because of christians like those on westboro. the christians that destroys lifes because of somthing that is said in a old meaningless book. and christian content is the easiest to find. and people like tj kirk formaly know as the amazing atheist and logiced do pick on other religions.
Great video. Honest question: your first disagreement was whether or not being an atheist is hard. It seems strange to me that you would completely disagree, but your only argument was "It wasn't hard for me." Are you saying that because it wasn't hard for you, you don't believe other atheists when they say that it was personally difficult for them? Thanks!
came across this video after a richard dawkins debate, as an atheist, i have to say, i like what you are doing. You arent slandering the views of people you dont share a belief in, instead you are simply giving your take on the statements made
you are hilarious. so easy to listen to. i watched this while i was driving earlier and people probably thought that i was crazy laughing by myself in my car. lmaooo. idc tho. great video, joe! and the shave looks nice btw!
What's your name? I always see you around but don't know your name because of your snappy username ;P hahaha. I'm glad this amused you, it amused me too. This stuff is too fun. And thank you! I've been too broke to get my hair cut until this week :P
Tattooed Theist hahahha, snappy? my name is noneyaaabizzzzzz. jk, it's mallory! i liked your page on fb recently too if you wanna find me. can't wait to see more sassy videos haha. the "broke" look looks good on you too!
Tattooed Theist and at 14:28 I think that it is simply a matter of it being close to home. I know a man in North Africa whose biggest problem is with Islam because that is the dominant faith. If you live in an area where you are liable to be disliked on ths basis of your non-belief, it is perfectly reasonable to dislike that belief. Others argue it hinders progress etc.
We have trouble understanding it because we don’t want to take the time to read a fake origin story, and also we know it’s false. God made the universe, end of story
It is hard being an atheist for some people. Most of my friends and family abandoned me. My depression and anxiety got worse. I understand you didn't have it as bad but for some, it's horrible.
Your response to the point at 7:07 I can't agree with. You argue that you have difficulties understanding popular atheistic world views, thus faith they are based on faith. But faith is a belief in something without - or a underwhelming amount of - evidence. But many "naturalistic" world views, which I assume to be referring to evolution or the big bang do have evidence, especially evolution. You also argue that the big bang requires faith because it claims that something came from nothing, but this is not what the big bang is at all. All the big bang states is that the universe sprung from a singularity, which just means the universe expanded; becoming larger. Additionally you point towards a prime mover (God) being needed, but who's to say the prime mover had to be God, or even going by the assumption that it was a God, who's to say it was not another God? Point is: No prime mover is more valid than another and to assume there is a prime mover, which the Big Bang does not, requires faith. No reasonable atheist believes that the universe came from nothing, they simply do not know, so do not make any assumption, in other words they do not hold faith. I encourage you to do genuine research into scientific papers and studies on evolution and the big bang. Just as a last point: You said that atheists have a theory and Christians have a theory on how the universe came to be, but the thing is the Big Bang is a theory and the Christian God is a hypothetical, so they are not the same. I think the sooner theists come to terms that their beliefs are based upon faith, not upon evidence, and adopt a live and let live attitude, the Atheist instantly has no way to combat that approach as they are: 1) Not harming anyone or pushing anything in their faith and 2) Are not arguing their belief can be proven. After all, the primary reason people have an issue with a dominant faith such as Christianity in the United States is because it does have an effect on people's lives. As you stated in the beginning of your video you were insulted in Catholic School for being an Atheist. Not only that but Atheists are expected to pay taxes to Christian religious institutions whilst those same institutions do not have to pay tax themselves, which not only shows a double standards to other religious institutions such as Muslim's Mosques but also infringes on the law that states that there will be a "separation between Church and state". What I'm saying is that many atheists have reasons to show anger towards theists and even then that anger is usually curved at people who want to shun, ridicule or mock atheists, not to the moderates. Atheists fight against those that say "God hates fags." and against the clear bias towards Christian religious institutions. I have never seen nor heard of an atheist being angry at moderate theists just because they are theists, but I have seen and heard of the reverse.
Chosen Rubric You're wrong from the start here. The redefinition of faith found on Google isn't the same as the biblical kimd which simply means trust and I'd gladly go over the Koine Greek of the passages mentioning the word.
Perhaps argue against *my* definition? There is no use going into pragmatics, so address my arguments as they are stated, or you are dismissing me without even considering my premise. But, I'll bite. Faith is commonly described as " _complete_ trust in something" Notice the word complete in italics? That's there for a reason, because it means scrutiny will not change said trust, which is much unlike the agnostic atheist world view. (Agnostic is a prefix to atheist/theist, by the by, not separate.)
I really appreciate your open thinking to this video. There are definitely some arguments to be had with your statements as evidenced by the comments. But at least you didn't hit him with scripture every time and tried to establish a common ground.
14:27 I have no words really. Did you look at the title of this video? In reality, they (we?) are not trying to pick on one group. We are trying to inform. You act like evangelism is good, while for some reason "spreading the word" of atheism is childlike, ignorant, and makes you no better than extremist homophobes. It just happens to be that Christianity is the dominant religion that seems to stand in the way of general acceptance of scientific *facts.*
And in the way of human rights and looking after the environment for a future as christians often think they can do what they want to endanger the future as their god will clean up after them (makes for a pathetic god in my opinion)
I can't say I agree with your worldview but I appreciate that you left your comments section open. I find that far too many religious channels close off the discussions. Thank you
3:02 Well I would argue most people leave Christianity simply because they aren't convinced,at least that's in my experience but maybe I'm a minority in atheism.
In my experience I just don't see very many people who are atheist and say "I stopped believing because god is such a meanie", it seems like I only hear about those encounters from Christians,though I am sure Atheists like that exist. Though I will say, a lot of people who become skeptical probably do start off with the moral implications of the god of the bible, but that only starts the journey most of the time.
Totally agree with you. Grew up in church & church school. When I was finally out on my own, I stopped going and could really question what I was taught. I find science so much more interesting because it is real. And whether there is a "bang" or a "puff" that started it all, does not affect my life.
Alpha Centauri Yeah I fully agree. It's so weird how so many Christians have this weird stereotype of us Atheists being chest beating,hurt souls who are like "Gods a big meanie !" or "Why did god let my mother die !" when in reality a lot of simply aren't convinced
Thank you for this video. The big bang is against the laws of physics. For every action you need an equal reaction. The big bang is the reaction where is the action.
7:00 What he is talking about, the difficulty of becoming atheist, it is losing the support of your circle of friends and possibly even your family. I used to volunteer in a soup kitchen, helping to feed the homeless. It was set up in a church and run by a minister and pretty much everyone who worked there belonged to that church. I never discussed my personal feelings on religion with them as I felt that such a discussion would be inappropriate, but I never behaved in a way that suggested I was a theist. I was totally open to having them find out I was atheist, it just never came up, until one time when the Minister invited me to come to his service on Sunday. When I told him I was atheist he asked me not to come around any more. That he didn't want my "influence" there. I have to assume he meant my spiritual influence, because I never talked about religion with anyone there.
Kinda. But it's fun when he tells theists not to use the man coming from ape argument because they just don't know what they are talking about but then asks a sarcastic question about how evolution works. Why not just find out? The information is out there, you just have to want to find it.
I would agree, but he subscribes to a Christian worldview. He can't be unbiased if he calls himself a Christian. Atheism is a default position that requires proof for belief; whereas Christianity uses things like faith to justify belief... so it has to be biased in order for it to survive.
As an atheist, I thank you for being one of the more agreeable Christian rebuttal videos. Every single other one of them I’ve seen is so unbelievably stupid, and mean and thoughtless. Thank you for being so understanding.
This guy was like offended if people asked " do you come from an ape" and how ignorant people are that say that. But before that he was like " you believe in a guy that was born from an virgin and he could walk on water.." in a sarcastic manner. So who is ignorant plus hypocritical?
When you say you were an atheist for 18 years do you mean 0-18? Curious how others here classify that. I was raised in church and while reflecting i say i was a christian for 14 years (10-24) because that was the age I thought I could honestly say I incorporated christianity into my own idenity. Thoughts?
Your tone and phrasing are respectful and I appreciate that. On multiple questions you noted that if a Christian abandoned their faith for reason x, then there faith wasn't that strong to begin with. My belief is that it is unwise to have an unshakable faith in anything or anyone given the fact that humans are fallible and thus our perceptions our fallible. Ie, how could a human be absolutely certain about anything?
From a message believer ( William branham) Christian I agree with what he agreed with because as u see people ask things without thinking of em and sometimes is like “ what do u mean “ sorta thing but great video much love 🙏🏽
Yes I have a reason for the big bang to happen without a beginning, as space and time are not separate entitys but connected as space time. So for there to be no space there was no time meaning there could not have been a before only an after. Also thank you for being so polite and respectful, I'm an atheist but we can all agree to being respectful and tollerent
I have that video planned for December. I celebrate Christmas, I do not celebrate it as Jesus' birthday because it wasn't. It's a great secular holiday in which people have a reason to be nice to each other and spend time with family (wish we didn't need a holiday for that.) Anyway, I hope that answered that- short version at least. Check back closer to Christmas for the full answer though! :)
Joe, did you ever live in the South? I was an atheist for my entire childhood, and I wouldn’t say my life was “hard” exactly, but there are parts of the country where saying you don’t believe in God is a big deal.
In response to big bang question, It's one of the only positions I hold as an 'atheistic belief.' I think this is the best way to argue Deism but I haven't met many people who argue for deism as a foundational belief.
I had a conversation with my Christian girlfriend about morally good. She studies psychology and animal behaviour, I studied zoology and animal behaviour. After a long conversation we came to the conclusion that religion is not needed for morals. If anything religious morals more probably derived from behavioural boundaries which allow us to coexist in a group. If these boundaries/morals are not followed it can harm the group thus a individual risks being punished or removed from the group if they are not, this is a disadvantage to that individual.
I like how you agreed with alot. As you said I think it is because you were atheist. You understand both sides. I really like how you handled it. Most Christians on UA-cam usually don't handle it well. When I was Christain I enjoyed your videos. When I was this because I'm still subscribed. I thought man now the guy I used to like is gonna get on my nerve, but you didn't. Great video from. From atheist ironically.
Hey athiest and physics student here. The big bang is just the earliest point we can measure to, its the singularity from which the our universe grew from but it doesn't mean it was the start of everything. Cosmology is a hard topic to explain via text because it needs thinking that our brains aren't designed to do, our brains are only really designed for the world around us. There are a few hypothersies as to what was before that (notice I didn't say theory because people use that word wrong especially when creeationists talk about evolution, gravity is still a theory for instances but i don't expect myself to suddenly start floating). One such idea is the "survival of the fittest" universe where blakc holes eventually eat up the universe into one singularity again and we have another big bang and this happens over and over again and our universe was just pretty lucky in surviving this long (this takes out the improbability arguement). We may never work out what was before, humanity may die out before we do or it may not even be possible to work it out. However just because I don't know, doesn't mean I need to add some thing in to fill the gap in knowledge and just assume it's true because I was brought up that way. I personaly just want to appreicate the world around me for what it is. Life doesn't have any meaning and that's the beauty of it, I'm not going to spend this life deicating my life to the tiny chance that I was born into the right religion out of thousands in history for an after life which may not be there. Live the life you've got an improve and live and die in that one, don't spend it looking out the window and waiting for some supernatrual power to make it better or to take you to some undescribed heavan. P.S all the fun people are going to hell, so I'm gunna buy me a ticket there.
Very interesting what you say about "I don't have enough faith to be an atheist" part. Since you seem to agree with the statement, does that imply that you think faith as a method of coming to knowledge is not a reliable way?
I was a Christian for about 8 years, I left due to a lot of things, wanna say your awesome with your objective videos, you seem like a pretty chill dude
Jacob Neaville you can always come back my dude! It’s a super fun religion and I love it! If you were hurt by someone who was Christian, just know they aren’t all like this. I hope that maybe you’ll seek out Jesus at some point 🤗
I honestly feel that I value my time here on Earth more as an atheist than I would as a Christian. If there is no afterlife, then this life is all we get so we should make the most of it. We should count ourselves lucky that we get the opportunity to experience being alive. I do not believe that life is meaningless without god, you simply get to make your own meaning and find your own purpose. As for unknowns such as what happened before the Big Bang, it's okay that we don't know yet. Thousands of people are looking for answers and I think it is amazing how far our curiosity has taken us in the search thus far. It's beautiful that we get to be curious and search for answers to all life's big questions. :)
@Tattooed Theist There's an atheist channel called Darkmatter2525. I don't know if you've ever heard of him, but I recommend you try watching him because he has some valid points. But just a warning he does curse a little bit.
If I was to have a kid I wouldnt tell them to be Atheist. I would say to them "You can believe what you wish but do your research and to be informed about religion and science".
How to debunk atheist in one verse?. ISAIAH 43:10 ESV god said: before me no god was FORMED, nor shall there be any after me. was FORMED?..of what manner?. by what process?. ( that verse is very inappopriate at the point in time it was written..only science has the notion of anything or something has to FORMED first in order to exist.) god obviously DENIED any other god that created him... which is a COMMON TRAIT of an ATHEIST. (existence without a creator )... so therefore, god deserved to be called an ATHEIST... god must be the paradigm and the one true ATHEIST... Have shame atheist wannabes... no one has the same mighty as god.
It was very hard for me to leave my faith because I was very religious and I wanted there to be an afterlife. But then I put logic over emotion and now I'm an atheist.
1:21 thumbs up for your honesty here. Sadly many evangelistic Christians do use this stupid comment. I would love to enter a church sometime and do like a media question time with the congregation to let people know what an atheist is. 1:50 still very impressed at this point whit your honesty and understanding. 2:50 Again another good answer, sadly for some (not all) Atheists this is the reason they leave their previous faith. When I encounter these Atheists I explain that there are bad people including Atheists and what ever happened to them could have happened regardless of their religion or lack of religion. Wow I am impressed and for the first time ever I am about to sub to a Christian and even recommend you to other evangelist Christians I encounter.
I am an atheist and on behalf of most atheist I do really apologise most atheist attack Christianity, and I must admit saying we attack Christians because we are around them is a bad excuse P.s I wish most Christians were like you have a wonderful day
Yes, the 80% plus of the U.S. population is being attacked by the tiny % of atheists. Um...right. It must be the huge influence atheists have in the government, media,society, etc right?. Yeah sure. Give me a break and give your head a shake.
You are likely the most open-minded christian I've seen on the internet. My only issue with this video was the stab at evolution, and only because you said you didn't know much about it. You'd do well to learn it inside and out before commenting on it, just so people don't get the idea that you're ignorant or mis-informed. You seem like a cool guy and I'm going to subscribe in hopes that I can show my Christian friends what an honest Christian looks like!
When I was Christian I found it easier to believe during times of great stress. It's when things were running smooth and I was bored that it was harder to believe and follow the rules. Idle hands and all that. Just found this channel. Interesting stuff. The worst thing people say to me is that since I'm an atheist now I was never a Christian. It's an awful thing to say because I put everything into my faith.
The point of the quote "From nothing I came, so to nothing I shall return" is not nihilistic in nature. My interpretation is that though we have no knowledge of existence prior to birth, we are here now and only for a certain amount of time, so we need to try to make the best of it. Doing any of the following counts; doing something to progress science or society, making the quality of your or anyone else's life the best you can, living your life happily or merrily, or living to the fullest experience you can. You only get the one shot, so do your best with it, because you don't remember not being alive, and you won't know it when you return to that place.
Good question. As an atheist I don't know how the big bang started. 'Something from nothing'. Who says there was once 'nothing'. How do you know there wasn't always 'something'. Also I believe nothing can still have principles as 'nothing' is used differently when it comes to the origins of the universe. Thats just 2 possible theorys. But ultimately I don't know. I'm willing to learn. Would be interested to see your take on that
Atheist here. I would like to respond to some of the points raised in this video.
Firstly, your disagreement on the point that it's difficult to be an atheist. Allow me to respond to you by way of analogy: "I'm a black man in America, and I've heard all my life how I'm lazy and good for nothing. People look at me and think I'm a criminal. But you can choose to get upset about those things or you can just move on with your life. Therefore, it's not difficult to be black in America." Do you see how asinine that sounds?
Secondly, concerning the Big Bang. I'm NOT a cosmologist, but I have read several books on the subject. Let me point out that we don't know if the big bang was the beginning of the universe or not--this is simply as far as our understanding of science and mathematics will allow us to go so far. Let's suppose it was the beginning--in which case, there was no BEFORE the universe, because time came into existence at the same time as space. Therefore, causation necessarily CANNOT have any role to play in the beginning of the universe. Or, time may stretch infinitely in both directions (forward and backward)--we just don't know. Your position of "god created the universe" commits several logical fallacies, the most obvious of which is Special Pleading (everything has to have a cause--except God, he's special) and God of the Gaps (asserting that because science doesn't yet have an answer, therefore God).Third, you seem to speak patronizing about evolution at one point, then later seem to admit that evolution is simply a matter of empirical fact. No real comment, just wanted to express my confusion on your position.
Finally, let me move on to the "picking on Christians" narrative. A religion--any religion--is an ideology, a set of beliefs that dictate how we live in society. If you encounter an ideology that you believe is causing harm to your society (Racism, Nazism, etc) it is not only your right to speak out against it, but it is a moral duty. More to the quick, however, I think you actually missed the point Hement was making. He (mostly) talks about Christianity because he lives in America. But if he lived in Iran, he would be speaking about Islam, if he lived in India he'd be speaking about Hindu, and so on.
Sorry for the long post, but by God (intended) that was a painful thing to watch.
AN EXCELLENT REPLY! :-)
You were doing well untill you came up with you said science is everything . Studying science has bugger all to do with being an atheist . It's a lack of belief in well which one of the thousands of doctrine led faiths
+gowd sake I don't believe I said that science is everything, and I agree that studying science isn't *necessary* for being an atheist. Plenty of atheists have profoundly unscientific and illogical views on a variety of subjects; being an atheist merely means you don't believe in any god or gods. Anything beyond that is a distinctly separate conversation.
+LL Armstrong Weird question, but nope. :)
Yeah same for me..
i couldnt agree more
Ouch. As an atheist living in the Philippines I can attest to the fact that it is hard to say you don't believe in god. Maybe being an atheist there isn't hard, but l've lost friends over my beliefs. I respect religion, and what people believe in, but saying I'm going to burn in hell doesn't give me that much of a positive view in your faith.
@ Diego Acosta
Hell is a place that is void of God's presence.
It is for those who don't want to be with God.
If you want to be with God you MUST have your sin stained and corrupted soul washed clean by believing (trusting) the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
You can't get to heaven by doing good works because those good works don't wash your soul clean of its sins only Jesus' blood atonement for our sins does that.
Diego Acosta im an atheist here in the Philippines. I agree with you. I tried to open to one of my friends that im an atheist and the reaction was obvious. Until now i never tried it again even to my family. Right now our president is attacking god, saying that he is not true and i think he is an atheist or agnostic.
I'm in the us and I know I'd get in trouble at work and around family if I said I was an atheist.
@@danielblair4413 What's the logic of quoting a verse from a book we don't believe in? If a Muslim quoted some passages in the Qur'an, would that convince you and make you consider converting to Islam?
If a Muslim quoting the Qur'an will not work on you, what makes you think that you quoting the Bible will work on us, especially since we probably know more about the Bible than you?
Before we believe in your Jesus, be sure that you convince us first that he is real. Another thing, are you saying that billions of people who doesn't believe in your Jesus will go to hell or not go to heaven, assuming that it is real? How do you know that the belief that your parents brought you to believe in is real? I wonder if you ever thought what would happen to you if you were born in Saudi to a Muslim parents, or in India to a Hindu parent. Probably not.
yussuq madiq says: *What's the logic of quoting a verse from a book we don't believe in? If a Muslim quoted some passages in the Qur'an, would that convince you and make you consider converting to Islam?*
I'm a Christian, but I'll believe the scripture of any religion that coincides with the truth, it doesn't have to just come from the bible itself.
It's called using discernment.
*If a Muslim quoting the Qur'an will not work on you, what makes you think that you quoting the Bible will work on us, especially since we probably know more about the Bible than you?*
If you know the bible better than me then you would be a believer as well, so obviously you don't know the bible as well as you think that you do.
I left Christianity because I read the bible front to back. And questions, these questions are frowned upon in the church. That and critical thinking.
Eric Doan Well then you're an idiot because a true Christian would realize that the entire book isn't meant to be taken literally, you would know that it's mostly meant to be metaphorical.
WDW Junkie the problem is,which is which..you don’t get to cherry pick the Bible.There is a point in time where adam and eve story was taken literally(some still do)...I can show you Christians who take the whole bible literally,and to them-you are the idiot who doesn’t know the Bible...
WDW Junkie Oh, how very Christian of you. I beg to ask the emotional response you just gave me. What caused it? Maybe your attitude alone could make me walk away from such faith? I would hate to be associated with you. Just look at how you replied to a complete, random, internet stranger.
David Wheezy The bad advertising was in the bible itself. I mean, have you actually read every last word in the bible? Or any other tome of religion? They all start to sound like the other. I left Christianity for a mountain of other reasons as well. The main one I would have to say Christians themselves, I do not wish to be associated with them nor a genocidal God.
Eric Doan I never said that bad advertising wouldn't happen. I am saying that I personally don't like it.
As an atheist, on the Big Bang- Truthfully, I don't know what, if anything, caused it. I'm not sure it makes sense to say it needs a cause, because cause and effect is something that requires time, and, as far as we know, time began at that initial moment of the Big Bang. I haven't ruled out that something outside the universe caused it, but at the moment, I don't think there's really any reason to believe that, or if you do, that it's some sort of god. Even if I did decide that the universe requires a cause, and that cause has to have done so purposefully with intelligence, that still ultimately wouldn't get me anywhere near Christianity. That would just make me a Deist who hasn't even ruled out polytheism.
UPDATE: As far as coming from nothing/having no value, et cetera, it doesn't upset me, and why should it? I can still live a happy life, and there's something deeply moving to me about the fact that everything I am is matter like anything else in the universe. In a way, I'm connected to everything. Since the universe is all of space-time and all matter, I too, am part of the universe, and I'm lucky enough right now to be a part of the universe that can think and feel and experience life. When I die, my actions and memories of me will ripple on, and all the matter that composed me will go elsewhere and do other things. It's not sad, it just is.
Glad to see you're open and honestly throwing the ideas around. And you aren't alone, Stephen Hawkins even said that the universe doesn't make sense without a "deity" of some kind. I'm not here to try to convert people, just have civil conversation with people in a world where atheists and Christians are pitted against eachother :) . Thanks for your intelligent addition to the converstaion man.
Hey, no problem. I really like to watch your videos. I'll check out your forum.
Tattoed Theist, I am all for a civil discussion, which I why I want to ask you not to use quote mines.
Like Drew LeBow my position is a simple 'I do not know', and I do not see evidence for anything like a deity.
Tattooed Theist
The claim that Hawking said he believes in intelligent design was originally started by the "worldnewsdailyreport", which is not a real news outlet, and has a disclaimer about satireacle articles.
Tattooed Theist - Not sure who Stephen Hawkins is but I doubt Stephen Hawking said the Universe doesn't make sense without a deity of some kind. Not sure where you got that quote from. You could probably get me to agree that there MIGHT be a God but you'll have a much harder time convincing me that he had people write down what he thought. I like the Bible as literature and can quote it as much as any preacher but I don't believe it is divinely inspired or deserving of it's reverential status. It is a book. Some of it is good, I like Ecclesiastes, but most of it is anything but historical, scientific or even moral.
Christians or any religious person should be allowed to believe what they want, I am only against passing laws based on people's faith or displaying religious symbols on public land. Otherwise, have at.
Good channel, btw.
For the record, when you say that you "have a theory" for how the universe came into being, what you mean (I hope) is that you have a hypothesis. A theory is the very pinnacle of a scientific model, which is heavily supported by evidence. A hypothesis has the potential to become a theory (and is the scientific term for what you might colloquially call a theory), but it isn't one yet.
On the Big Bang, being an atheist only means you reject gods-based explanations. That's it - atheism is not the same as naturalism, it is not the same as skepticism, it is not the same as scientism.
On post-death, it pains me that some people think their lives would be meaningless unless they were going to live forever. Things aren't meaningful because they last; they are meaningful because they DON'T.
Other than that, I found this video to be eminently reasonable.
JMUDoc while I dislike the use of the term scientism, I wholly applaud your insight and appreciation of the beauty of the temporary, and it's value.
Far more reasonable than most, non-scholarly videos on the subject. He seemed fairly objective, which is all I ever ask.
Everything is ultimantly is meaningless because not even the parties involved in what you would call meaningfull will be able to even percieve its meaningfullness after death, also i would argue that things can be simultaneously meaningful and infinetly last because the event would affect you down the line. Prove me wrong if youd like, i just have a hard time percieving meaning out of something ultimantly futile.
Ryan Sabot If you were garunteed tomorrow, why bother?
Eclipse Editor, what do you mean if i was garunteed tommorow
You know what? Let's keep it simple. Nobody knows if god(s) exist. Nobody knows how the universe got here. Some say, like their god(s), the universe was always around. So it all comes down to evidence. There is no evidence that ANY god(s) exist but is evidence that the universe exists. We can actually SEE parts of it. We are part of it. I've never met or spoken to a god at least nothing like that that spoke back. I interact with people & they are part of my life. But being raised in Christianity this god thing was like an absent father that I've never seen. I've tried to contact but it never replied. Just nonsense. I'll go w/what I KNOW & what is real to me period.
I agree with you, philosophically, until the end because then it became your personal experience and opinions which bare no weight on reality. Millions of people claim God has spoken to them, I'm NOT one of them. But do discount millions of people based on your experience doesn't mean much. Respectfully of course.
@Tattooed Theist
And what about the millions that claim other kinds of gods exist, or that aliens exist, and so on. Wouldn't there be a point were respectability has to end before the claim forces gullibility?
"If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing" -- Anatole France
Keith Lee...Oh but God does exists and even walked this earth.
See...Jesus IS God and he came to die for yours and my sins and everyone elses.
In Timothy 3:16b KJV it states:
God was manifest n the flesh,
Now we know who that was and that was Jesus, ( God came in the flesh) so Jesus is God. Now with that being said, Many historians in that day wrote about Jesus and that he caused mass gatherings. SO it IS physical evidence of a God...and the three are one (echad, which is a Hebrew word and it means unity as one, not a numeral, the numral word is Yachid) so when a person reads the bible they have to read it scripture for scripture and line upon line, precept upon precept.
And we know in Genesis there is mention of three but yet all of them one because in Genesis 1:1 KJV the word God in Hebrew is "Elohim" and it has a meaning of being plural. Ans then in 1 John 5:7 KJV it says: For there are three that bears record in heaven, the Father, the Word (John 1:14) and the Holy Ghost and these three are one (echad).
Not hard to understand......
Also....God is that powerful...He spoke the world and all into existence and the bible is God breathed (so it was NOT just wrote by men only, the Holy Ghost helped) as long as you read the correct one the King James Version which is from the Textus Receptus and IS truth!
I would also like to ask a question.....if God doesn't exists, and Atheist do not believe there is a God, then why is it then when they get mad they say..."goddamn?" And please do not tell me that they are other gods....there HAS to be a designer!!!!
Nice
@@TattooedTheist maybe they are talking to their ego. Or schizo..
I’m an atheist, but because of your calmness and ability to stay civil and compassionate I’m definitely checking your channel out. Thank you
I’m a Christian, but these questions that Christians have asked him are really ridiculous 😂
Agreed! hahaa
I'm guilty of saying "Christians are smart people too" but i didn't mean it in that way, i know all races and religions have smart people. I meant it in a way, that could appeal to them. Because to them, all that mattered was Studies.
Maybe just a rewording would be more effective. :) . You can always bring up the fact that the big bang theory was developed by a Christian... sooooooo haha
Tattooed Theist the fact that a hypothesis and subsequently a scientific theory were developed and worked on by thiests us a non sequitur as if you apply the scientific method to a question and follow where the evidence goes you will more thsn likely arrive at a correct answer your misunderstanding of scientific research, evidence, and methodology is hilariously underwhelming and your responses are neither new or enlightened and as is standard honesty and logical consistency are nonexistant in your comments sorry dude you are garden variety
As an atheist I can say that I've been asked all these questions on more than one occasion.
+ Tattoed Theist: No, im not picking on theists, i'm responding to theists that almost every time tries to stop me to hear their ''good news''. Theists are being Proactive with their missioning, i'm being Reactive, i'm responding to their claims. That's not bullying. When Theists are threathening non-believers with hell, responding to that isn't bullying, that's responding. If the theists doing that feeling bullied, then stop doing what you're doing, because it's not working.
How stoned are you right now?
J Segal 0
?
Not yet. You mean like bible stoned?! Aha
@@johnathancerda8976 Haha that kinda reminded me of Ralphie May's "Stoned like a biblical whore." act lol.
I have several criticisms of this video but it gets a thumbs up because you are being fair.
Of course, appreciate that you can assess something honestly regardless of disagreement!
I really enjoy these answering atheist videos and how you are still loving towards them even when you disagree. You should do one of these with Jaclyn Glenn, cuz she's one of the more outspoken atheist youtubers
hmmm, never heard of her. I'll look into her and do a response to her next for ya!
Hayden Cockrill Well, disagreement is no excuse to be mean.
O
XDranzer000 Darkmatter is actually one of the best ones out there. He has a simple well scripted video that can cause major damage to someone's belief in minutes.
He has a second channel which is definitely all education.
@Hayden Cockrill
Jaclyn tends to, to put it politely, "parrot" other atheist videos or ideas. See her version of Theoretical Bullshit's video for an extreme example. In other words, she does not have her own voice. If you want a women atheist that speaks her mind, see Peach or Bionic Dance. If you want a women that debunk's creationist "truths" see Wildwood Claire
I hope your channel grows a bit it's nice to have a reasonable theistic fellow on the site. I'm an atheist myself, but it's been draining for years to not have an prominent religious channels that argue something rational.
I am an atheist and former Christian. You seem like a cool guy. It is surprising that you said you were atheist and became Christian. Maybe one day I will learn why.
Anyway, some of your responses are classic rebuttals to what we know and think. I won't discuss them here but keep up the good work.
Well I appreciate that, thank you for being civil about the disagreements rather than annoying - always refreshing.
And yes, of course - at a certain point, from either side, there really isn't much more to say. Everything becomes repeat.
Take care :)
READ MY POSTS! :-)
As an atheist, I appreciate your approach. Thank you for your videos. Glad we can have a place where we can respectfully disagree!
How can u be an atheist and a former Christian
ricoo 1 - Is that a serious question? You are convinced by Person A that the Bible is legitimately the story of God becoming a human in order to save us from our sins and grant us eternal life by dying and defeating death by rising again... and then you cease to be convinced that this book's stories are legitimate/accurate/true. It's pretty simple, really.
I think what he meant by "leaving your faith is difficult" is that most religious people rely on their church for all kinds of support, and often when you leave that, it all gets yanked away, especially if you're part of a religion or sect which practices shunning.
Ok, I know I'm a bit late to the party here but I just stumbled upon this channel. I am an atheist, and the way that I understand that the universe began is this: Space and time are connected, as stated by our best definition of physics, and so, before the universe existed, there was no time, and so, the universe has always existed, as existence requires a time frame. This is how I kinda wrap my head around everything, but honestly, I don't know. I am happy to admit that I will probably never know for certain anything other than that I exist.
A lovely refreshement to hear a civil and nice guy actually open for discussion.
I want to say that I appreciated your video and the overall approach that you have taken to this topic. I also thought as an atheist I would give my input. (Sorry for the essay.)
The first disagreement you had was the idea that being an atheist is hard. While I appreciate your personal experience I don’t think you responded to the whole statement. The guy in the video you are responding to said it is not easy to be an atheist but continues on to say leaving ones faith to become an atheist is hard.
I was a Christian for over 20 years. My family is all Christian, my in laws are Christian and my wife is Christian. I can honestly say leaving my faith was hard. Not simply because I am sensitive, but because faith and Christianity was and is the bulk of my family’s life. It’s not that I get offended when random people assume I am immoral simply because I am an atheist. It is hard knowing that my mother, for example, feels as though she has failed as a parent because I am an atheist. It is hard knowing that she prays for me daily to get through my “faith trial.” It is hard for me because it is hard on those I care about. It is hard when I know that people who care about me feel sorry for me, or condescend to me.
You mention that science is everything to atheists. I find this a common yet odd assertion. Many atheists are naturalist, but not all. Lacking a belief in God does not hold someone to any other belief or system of beliefs. For me, I do believe in naturalism though would not claim to be any more scientifically literate then anyone else. What I mean by believing in naturalism is that I subscribe to epistemology. i.e. based on empirical or physical evidence.
The next disagreement you had was the “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.” My issue with the statement is not the idea that a Christian is saying that they find it harder to believe what I do… its that to them faith is a virtue. Thus, it is just silly to me that a Christian would accuse me of having more of something that they claim is a virtue.
As far as what caused the big bang… I don’t even pretend to know. So far as the Kalam Cosmological argument, I don’t buy it. If the big bang is when time started what can be meant by the statement “it began to exist.” To “begin” is a concept only understood if time exists. Not to mention, if you have a hard time understanding how a universe could be uncaused, why do you not struggle with the idea that God is uncaused. If anything can be uncaused, why not the universe itself?
Being skeptical of virgin birth is not the same as being skeptical of the big bang. As a father I have witnessed births. There is a plethora of evidence and understanding concerning how humans procreate. A virgin birth in the year 1 does not seem plausible. The big bang is something that would have only occurred once of which there is limited understanding. It is more likely no one has sufficient understand to argue caused or uncaused simply from insufficient enough data. Further, I don’t mind someone’s skepticism for how the universe “began.” I am surprised by people’s wiliness to believe in a virgin birth.
I think when you talk about how a naturalist feels about not existing is confusing. You go from that to atheists believe they don’t really have meaning. Does something have to exist permanently to have meaning? Is a childhood meaningless simply because being a child is temporary. Is this video meaningless if it stops existing? I guess I don’t see how having a temporary existence = meaninglessness. I don’t feel like I have to have cosmic significance to have meaning. I also don’t feel like I’m nothing. It pains me that people feel like they wouldn’t have meaning unless they are somehow cosmically important. I truly feel this is something that causes deep feelings of self-centeredness’. As I understand the Christian theology it requires a great deal of solipsism of which I simply don’t have.
At this point I am only halfway through, I will finish the video later. Thanks again for posting and thanks for the open and sincere way in which you seem to approach the topic.
Woah, I really appreciate the time you took to type that. I'm going to be honest and say I can't read it all write now but I'm going to try to remember to come back, if I don't I really hope someone else does because you deserve to be responded to, given the time you took to lay out your input! Appreciate you being here and I'll really try to remember to come back!
@@TattooedTheist you forgot to come back but he had some great points
You're a very reasonable man and you remind me of one of my best friends who's also a theist. I'm an atheist and so is my gf, and sometimes we get into debates on things around the subject of religion, but it's always very respectful. You're a cool dude. I'm sure you and TheFriendlyAtheist would have an interesting conversation in person.
I don't believe nothing caused the big bang. I don't know what caused it, I just lack the knowledge. I liked your video, you were honest, and respectful. I obviously disagree on basically everything, but I like the honesty
So great to see no hate and a lot of agreement
I love this guy. One of the only rational Christians I've seen on UA-cam. I'm a Christian myself, and I use this guy as inspiration for what I say when I'm debating with atheists. God bless man.
Bekfast Time not really. I'm an atheist and I've heard the same arguments from Christians. There's famous Christian apologetics that have been saying the same thing as this guy for decades. Like William Lane Craig. But I respect him for advising against disrespectful questions in the beginning. Other than that he's still pushing atheist stereotypes and lies and will not convince an atheist at all. Sorry.
Desiree Fowlks agreed. I lost a little respect for him when he made the evolution comment. He clearly has done zero research and is believing based on faith or what other Christians are telling him. Aside from that, I'm glad he's somewhat reasonable.
Let's debate. Believing in God is ignorant and childish. Agree?
Dave Cirlclux disagree
Though I don't share your views on religion, I can see that you present your faith in a respectable way, and are open to debate and criticism. You seem like someone genuinely trying to present and spread your views, and for that you have my respect. Many of the Christians making videos present their points in such an ignorant way, and it's refreshing to see it done in such an open and honest way. I wish more people could do it this well
Values are what makes us human. They are not synonymous with Christianity, and that is the kicker that gets the "therefore everyone else, by default, is immoral." If you need an authority outside of your own mind to guide you, you may as well say "I need a leash and a master to hold me back, I'm a rabid dog without one and fully intend on doing something wrong otherwise." Or you could just call it what it is that's the controlling factor, you and me. Nice video by the way. We need less anger and assumptions and more understanding.
That's not the arguement. I'm a christian but I try to look at all aspects of an arguement. And this point doesnt suggest that atheist are immoral or that there is no way to know morality without a god, it suggests that there is no way to justify an objective morality without a higher power to show objective moral truth
@@travisprice7217 if a higher power is a mind then it's subjective to it's opinion, not objective
I (and most atheists) don't assert that the big bang was uncaused. I simply don't claim to know what caused it.
"Nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody's gonna die, come watch tv" Morty
these are the kind of people we need to reprisent the thiest community.
wanting to disscus subjects without falling into the same straw-maning, mislead arguement that most online thiests.
instead being able to see that and avoid it.
love to invite you to an open discution
Even as a relatively young atheist, I love watching your videos because of how insightful your thoughts are. Also I admire your respect towards an opposing viewpoint.👌
Appreciate you! and I can relate, I was an atheist all through my youth and teenage years. Thanks for being here and I hope to hear more from you in the future :)
Tattooed Theist No problem. And I subscribed as well so I'll be here more.
@AGENTNINJA008: The "respect towards an oppposite viewpoint" part is what made me thumb-up this video as well. Although I'm an atheist. :) Tattooed seems to be an open-minded and chilled christian and that's a good thing imo. Often times you see one side gets frustrated or angry when confronted with different opinions - especially on the atheist-meets-religious topic. Respect and interesting calm talk is what the world needs. Peace.
Oh yeah, absolutely. Still living as one (an atheist) has made me very familiar with people freaking out, telling me to burn in hell, and other things like that when I tell them i'm not religious.
This was such a good video to watch as an atheist, its so refreshing to hear the other side of the argument from such a calm and honest perspective. I think if more people were able to talk with each other like this we would be a far more peaceful people.
New atheist sub here. Pretty happy to find a pretty open-minded theist UA-camr. Hopefully people like you become more profuse on the internet, I'd like to see some good civil discussion.
I don't think he's saying he's picking on anyone. What he's referring to is criticizing those people, which is sometimes referred to by Christians as "picking on" them, because they percieve it as specifically and maliciously targetted toward them.
A perfect god would have made a perfect book that everyone would understand perfectly! I don't know how universe began. Nether do you. Big bang and evolution are not the same. Saying god did it just brings up more questions.
God didn't make the book, imperfect people made it. I'm not a sola scriptura guy...
No one said big bang and evolution were the same - although evolution as a theory is a result of the big bang theory, without it evolution cannot be true.
ummmmm no evolution can be true without the bigbang darwin proposed the theory of evolution in 1858 and the bigbang theory came out 1927
sure some people like to make linking to it and evolution but evolution can exist without the big bang say the univerese was created by a random sphere(ignore the lack of science in that) evolution can still stand without it
Travis James ooook
Then stop saying the bible is God's book
I like how you look to the corner of the frame as if you can see the picture in picture. LOL
My first disagreement with your answers was when you suggested that although atheists may have read the bible more than most christians that they don't understand it as well as Christians. Although that is the case with some (many a time I've wanted to reach through a screen and slap my fellow atheists for not knowing what certain verses mean given scriptural, historical, and theological context), it isn't the case for all. I happen to be one such atheist who understands the Bible. I attended Christian school for my last 3 years of high school, poured over the Bible for hours at a time while attending there, then went to Oral Roberts University for 4 years. During that time I examined my own faith, discussed the Bible in great detail with people far more versed in the Bible than I, and "grew" in my knowledge and understanding of Biblical teachings.
By the time I left, though, I wasn't a believer anymore. This isn't because I didn't understand the text, but because I came to the realization that the deity described in the Bible did not line up with reality and couldn't exist even if it partially did line up due to paradoxical attributes/qualities. Historically, for instance, there was no genesis, no worldwide flood, no mass exodus out of Egypt, nor any of the other major events attributed to the deity of the OT. For the history of the NT, there is no concrete evidence for Jesus existing, for his virgin birth, for his death by crucifixion, for his resurrection, or for the events described in Acts (personal testimonies are not evidence, nor the writings of political figures a hundred or more years after Jesus' supposed death). There's such a mountain of evidence against the deity of the Bible that for me to continue believing would be ridiculous. If all those stories that build the foundation for the deity of the Bible were all meant to be taken figuratively, since you surely know better than to take them literally, then why believe in this deity in the first place? He technically did none of those absolutely important things that Judaism and Christianity rely upon.
My next disagreement with you was when you first disagreed with the atheist in the video. He wasn't necessarily saying that being an atheist was or is difficult. From his wording, he seemed to be referring to the transition of having faith to no longer having faith. There are difficulties involved with that.
The first difficulty is that those you called family and friends tend to treat you horribly afterward. They shun you, they tell you you're going to hell, they disown you, and become altogether terrible toward you. These were people you felt close to, people who you saw as brothers and sisters. The pain of their rejection and abuse is intense for some.
The second struggle is that you now have to face mortality without the concept of an afterlife, to come to terms with it. This struggle takes time and some rational thought to reach a point where you both accept your inevitable death and are no longer afraid of it. I have reached that point, but for a short time I did fear the void of death to the point that I'd stay up late pondering it.
A third common struggle is getting past the ingrained ideology of hell. Although many atheists reject the concept of the deity they might have once believed in, it is sometimes difficult to shed off the dogma based fear that accompanies it, especially one as nightmarish as the fear of eternal damnation for not believing. It takes time and more rational thought to finally shed the weight of that fear and become at peace with it.
And there are more issues atheists face, but those are the more common ones I've witnessed multiple atheists deal with, including myself.
My next disagreement with you is that you claim that scientific law states that nothing exists that wasn't caused by something. Yes, from what we're able to observe we have yet to discover something without a cause. Can we just make a huge logical leap from that observation to assuming that nothing that exists can have come into existence wirhout having been caused by something else? No, because we haven't seen or experienced everything that exists and even if we get to a point where we have, how would one go about proving that every single thing that exists was caused by something else?
Now, for the beginning of the universe, you don't even describe the big bang correctly. The big bang theory (theory because there is substantial evidence to support the scientific model named such) does not state that the universe came from nothing. All it states is that the early universe was hot and dense and then a rapid expansion (not an explosion or boom) took place causing that energy to disperse which caused cooling, which allowed quarks to form electrons, protons, and neutrons (the high heat of the early universe would have made it impossible for the quarks to bond into these subatomic particles.
Beyond that first millisecond or so, the laws of physics break down. Time and space as we know it didn't exist before that and there's no knowing what came before that (is there a before if time doesn't exist?), at least for now. But, we now come to an important point that needs to be made. There are these things called quantum fluctuations occurring all the time, even in the closest conditions we can get to "nothingness" in a lab. I would suggest you watch Lawrence Krauss' video on a universe from nothing for the leading views on the origins of the universe and why there's something and not nothing. He does a far better job at explaining this than I ever could and hopefully the video clears up some of your misconceptions on cosmology in general. For me, I don't have faith in something coming from nothing, but that nothingness being unstable makes it perfectly plausible that multiple somethings (energy would be my guess) can come into existence from nothing such that the sum of their parts (sum of their energy states) remains neutral and therefore doesn't violate the laws of thermodynamics.
And, now we come to the concept of value/meaning. Whether we came from something or nothing and whether we shall return to something or nothing does not reflect or determine our value/meaning. We determine our own value/meaning to our own lives. To act like anything is necessary beyond that seems egotistical to me. Even if a deity existed and we somehow came from that deity, there's no added value just because of that. That deity valuing us wouldn't add to or detract from our worth, nor would the deity ascribing his/her own meaning to our lives mean that we have any more substantial of a meaning than when we give our own lives meaning. It is sad to me that anyone thinks they only have meaning if some cosmic being ascribes it to them. It's a self deprecating concept despite being egotistically driven.
You use 2 different definitions for theory in the same sentence when you say "just like you have a theory, we have a theory." The first is the scientific definition of a theory, the second is the common vernacular definition which in scientific terms is actually more like a rudimentary hypothesis (not even based upon evidence, just a claim). No offense meant, but that is the case.
Your "so what" in response to his answer about why he "picks on Christians" or argues against them makes you sound a bit ignorant of the reality faced in this country. We argue against christians because of the damage we witness on a daily basis at their hands. We argue against Christians because they have made it a goal to infiltrate our government and change our laws to discriminate against our citizens and push the immoral "moral code" found in the Bible on us. They (when I say they, keep in mind I'm not referring to all, but to the dangerous ones, the loud among your numbers who sway the silent in their favor) do not accept or understand that this country's government was founded to be and to remain secular, and would rather push for a purely ChristIan government. These are true issues in this country and to act like somehow fighting those things is immature or ridiculous only shows how disconnected you are from the state of the country you live in. And even to equate them to the WBC is a sad false equivalency.
And this is getting way longer than I meant it to be. I'm not trying to hate on you, not trying to be rude, just pointing out where you seem to lack knowledge and understanding in your response. I do respect some of your answers, though you tend to throw your biases in at times (the morality response for example is overly biased), because some of them were well thought out and a nice refresher from what most Christians act like online.
Nice break down. 👍
A naturalistic world view is essentially atheist? What about all the pagans and agnostics and humanists do they not count towards the numbers that do exist and have a naturalistic world view? Atheism is simply a disbelief or lack of belief in a God or gods and you have lost sight of the others that oppose you in your theological world view.
Can I ask you the question on how you think of your God in your Christian belief and not think of as been a slave master? You have to obey the rules for an eternity otherwise you get cast out to the other slave master. There seems to be a common theme to the belief.
Well agnostics are a belief system.
Pagans aren't naturalists.
Honestly, if we were under the rule of a God, I would feel my life had no meaning, and we would become meaningless.
James CyberLink
Why?
I agree, we'd just be the play things of someone else who isn't even polite enough to show themselves to us before deciding to keep or discard us.
@@sladechimera2837 god has reveal himself through creation. now i can look at a painting in i can say i dont believe a painter painted this or if there actually was a painter he would know what it would take to convince me that this painting has a painter. i could i be right or i could just being denying truth.
@@fcchannel6162 either way it wouldn't be your problem if the painter was too stupid to let you know which of the countless painters available they happen to be
This is the first video from you I have seen. I really enjoyed this video as an agnostic athiest. I think your judgement as a theist is fair and just. 95% of arguments I see from theists go down a long rabbit hole of expectations based on their personal life experience as well as often times making some pretty rediculous claims with no effort to explain or prove their reasoning.
I think you have been very fair and aware of not stepping on people's toes, or offending anyone. I look forward to seeing more of your videos.
Thanks for being a pleasant human being :)
i had to say this. but atheist dont pick on christians JUST because of that they belive difrently. they pick on them because that is what they live with and know most about. they also pick on christian because of christians like those on westboro. the christians that destroys lifes because of somthing that is said in a old meaningless book. and christian content is the easiest to find. and people like tj kirk formaly know as the amazing atheist and logiced do pick on other religions.
@MadLuv
One might argue that this supposed god does a poor job of illustrating love
Great video. Honest question: your first disagreement was whether or not being an atheist is hard. It seems strange to me that you would completely disagree, but your only argument was "It wasn't hard for me." Are you saying that because it wasn't hard for you, you don't believe other atheists when they say that it was personally difficult for them? Thanks!
I am an avowed atheist ,but I can respect your videos bro!
Appreciate you bro! :)
He hasben cutted the video to prove his side, but no it is actually supports things
came across this video after a richard dawkins debate, as an atheist, i have to say, i like what you are doing. You arent slandering the views of people you dont share a belief in, instead you are simply giving your take on the statements made
you are hilarious. so easy to listen to. i watched this while i was driving earlier and people probably thought that i was crazy laughing by myself in my car. lmaooo. idc tho. great video, joe! and the shave looks nice btw!
What's your name? I always see you around but don't know your name because of your snappy username ;P hahaha. I'm glad this amused you, it amused me too. This stuff is too fun. And thank you! I've been too broke to get my hair cut until this week :P
Tattooed Theist hahahha, snappy? my name is noneyaaabizzzzzz. jk, it's mallory! i liked your page on fb recently too if you wanna find me. can't wait to see more sassy videos haha. the "broke" look looks good on you too!
none ya Nah, no one thinks you’re crazy. Listening to podcasts is a normal thing!
Tattooed Theist and at 14:28 I think that it is simply a matter of it being close to home. I know a man in North Africa whose biggest problem is with Islam because that is the dominant faith. If you live in an area where you are liable to be disliked on ths basis of your non-belief, it is perfectly reasonable to dislike that belief. Others argue it hinders progress etc.
Caleb Griffin I think this the wrong thread :P
I like how you are looking up at the little pop-up box of Hemant as if it's really there in real life :) Good awareness of your edits.
I think you might be having some trouble understanding the big bang theory, evolution and the atheistic position.
There is nothing to understand, both are false .
@@patrick7775 nice argument 👌🔥
We have trouble understanding it because we don’t want to take the time to read a fake origin story, and also we know it’s false. God made the universe, end of story
@@z.a.f3844 Prove it
@@z.a.f3844 What close minded individual you are. Concluding the investigation before even beginning.
I'm an atheist, and I have to say, this is the MOST honest and open-minded response to an Atheist video I've ever seen. Great job Joe!!!!
How many bong hits did you take before you began recording this?
It is hard being an atheist for some people. Most of my friends and family abandoned me. My depression and anxiety got worse. I understand you didn't have it as bad but for some, it's horrible.
Your response to the point at 7:07 I can't agree with. You argue that you have difficulties understanding popular atheistic world views, thus faith they are based on faith. But faith is a belief in something without - or a underwhelming amount of - evidence. But many "naturalistic" world views, which I assume to be referring to evolution or the big bang do have evidence, especially evolution. You also argue that the big bang requires faith because it claims that something came from nothing, but this is not what the big bang is at all. All the big bang states is that the universe sprung from a singularity, which just means the universe expanded; becoming larger. Additionally you point towards a prime mover (God) being needed, but who's to say the prime mover had to be God, or even going by the assumption that it was a God, who's to say it was not another God? Point is: No prime mover is more valid than another and to assume there is a prime mover, which the Big Bang does not, requires faith. No reasonable atheist believes that the universe came from nothing, they simply do not know, so do not make any assumption, in other words they do not hold faith. I encourage you to do genuine research into scientific papers and studies on evolution and the big bang.
Just as a last point: You said that atheists have a theory and Christians have a theory on how the universe came to be, but the thing is the Big Bang is a theory and the Christian God is a hypothetical, so they are not the same. I think the sooner theists come to terms that their beliefs are based upon faith, not upon evidence, and adopt a live and let live attitude, the Atheist instantly has no way to combat that approach as they are: 1) Not harming anyone or pushing anything in their faith and 2) Are not arguing their belief can be proven. After all, the primary reason people have an issue with a dominant faith such as Christianity in the United States is because it does have an effect on people's lives. As you stated in the beginning of your video you were insulted in Catholic School for being an Atheist. Not only that but Atheists are expected to pay taxes to Christian religious institutions whilst those same institutions do not have to pay tax themselves, which not only shows a double standards to other religious institutions such as Muslim's Mosques but also infringes on the law that states that there will be a "separation between Church and state". What I'm saying is that many atheists have reasons to show anger towards theists and even then that anger is usually curved at people who want to shun, ridicule or mock atheists, not to the moderates. Atheists fight against those that say "God hates fags." and against the clear bias towards Christian religious institutions. I have never seen nor heard of an atheist being angry at moderate theists just because they are theists, but I have seen and heard of the reverse.
Chosen Rubric You're wrong from the start here. The redefinition of faith found on Google isn't the same as the biblical kimd which simply means trust and I'd gladly go over the Koine Greek of the passages mentioning the word.
Perhaps argue against *my* definition? There is no use going into pragmatics, so address my arguments as they are stated, or you are dismissing me without even considering my premise.
But, I'll bite. Faith is commonly described as " _complete_ trust in something" Notice the word complete in italics? That's there for a reason, because it means scrutiny will not change said trust, which is much unlike the agnostic atheist world view. (Agnostic is a prefix to atheist/theist, by the by, not separate.)
I really appreciate your open thinking to this video. There are definitely some arguments to be had with your statements as evidenced by the comments. But at least you didn't hit him with scripture every time and tried to establish a common ground.
14:27 I have no words really. Did you look at the title of this video?
In reality, they (we?) are not trying to pick on one group. We are trying to inform. You act like evangelism is good, while for some reason "spreading the word" of atheism is childlike, ignorant, and makes you no better than extremist homophobes. It just happens to be that Christianity is the dominant religion that seems to stand in the way of general acceptance of scientific *facts.*
And in the way of human rights and looking after the environment for a future as christians often think they can do what they want to endanger the future as their god will clean up after them (makes for a pathetic god in my opinion)
I can't say I agree with your worldview but I appreciate that you left your comments section open. I find that far too many religious channels close off the discussions. Thank you
3:02 Well I would argue most people leave Christianity simply because they aren't convinced,at least that's in my experience but maybe I'm a minority in atheism.
In my experience I just don't see very many people who are atheist and say "I stopped believing because god is such a meanie", it seems like I only hear about those encounters from Christians,though I am sure Atheists like that exist. Though I will say, a lot of people who become skeptical probably do start off with the moral implications of the god of the bible, but that only starts the journey most of the time.
MOST LEAVE DUE TO THE TOTAL LACK OF EVIDENCE,
Totally agree with you. Grew up in church & church school. When I was finally out on my own, I stopped going and could really question what I was taught. I find science so much more interesting because it is real. And whether there is a "bang" or a "puff" that started it all, does not affect my life.
Alpha Centauri Yeah I fully agree. It's so weird how so many Christians have this weird stereotype of us Atheists being chest beating,hurt souls who are like "Gods a big meanie !" or "Why did god let my mother die !" when in reality a lot of simply aren't convinced
You're simply not being honest with yourself.
Thank you for this video. The big bang is against the laws of physics. For every action you need an equal reaction. The big bang is the reaction where is the action.
Precisely.
Great video as always
Thanks bro :)
Tattooed Theist welcome
hello good sir
7:00 What he is talking about, the difficulty of becoming atheist, it is losing the support of your circle of friends and possibly even your family.
I used to volunteer in a soup kitchen, helping to feed the homeless. It was set up in a church and run by a minister and pretty much everyone who worked there belonged to that church. I never discussed my personal feelings on religion with them as I felt that such a discussion would be inappropriate, but I never behaved in a way that suggested I was a theist. I was totally open to having them find out I was atheist, it just never came up, until one time when the Minister invited me to come to his service on Sunday. When I told him I was atheist he asked me not to come around any more. That he didn't want my "influence" there.
I have to assume he meant my spiritual influence, because I never talked about religion with anyone there.
i like this guy he has a unbiased view
I try! Appreciate you.
Kinda. But it's fun when he tells theists not to use the man coming from ape argument because they just don't know what they are talking about but then asks a sarcastic question about how evolution works. Why not just find out? The information is out there, you just have to want to find it.
I would agree, but he subscribes to a Christian worldview. He can't be unbiased if he calls himself a Christian. Atheism is a default position that requires proof for belief; whereas Christianity uses things like faith to justify belief... so it has to be biased in order for it to survive.
God's Revolver it has to be biased in order to survive....... Ok............ Don't we all have bias in our own ways
Do you know what unbiased means?
As an atheist, I thank you for being one of the more agreeable Christian rebuttal videos. Every single other one of them I’ve seen is so unbelievably stupid, and mean and thoughtless. Thank you for being so understanding.
This guy was like offended if people asked " do you come from an ape" and how ignorant people are that say that. But before that he was like " you believe in a guy that was born from an virgin and he could walk on water.." in a sarcastic manner. So who is ignorant plus hypocritical?
We wasn't offended. We don't come FROM apes, we share a common ancestor. His wasn't offended, he was baffled by stupidity.
It seems like "I don't know" is a real struggle for you to visualise someone else truly being ok with.
Also you sound hammered dude!
great video
Thanks Luke :)
When you say you were an atheist for 18 years do you mean 0-18? Curious how others here classify that. I was raised in church and while reflecting i say i was a christian for 14 years (10-24) because that was the age I thought I could honestly say I incorporated christianity into my own idenity. Thoughts?
Also, finding out that your faith is wrong and losing it is really, really, really hard. It was the worst trauma I've ever experienced.
Your tone and phrasing are respectful and I appreciate that. On multiple questions you noted that if a Christian abandoned their faith for reason x, then there faith wasn't that strong to begin with. My belief is that it is unwise to have an unshakable faith in anything or anyone given the fact that humans are fallible and thus our perceptions our fallible. Ie, how could a human be absolutely certain about anything?
From a message believer ( William branham) Christian I agree with what he agreed with because as u see people ask things without thinking of em and sometimes is like “ what do u mean “ sorta thing but great video much love 🙏🏽
You did a great job with this video
Yes I have a reason for the big bang to happen without a beginning, as space and time are not separate entitys but connected as space time. So for there to be no space there was no time meaning there could not have been a before only an after. Also thank you for being so polite and respectful, I'm an atheist but we can all agree to being respectful and tollerent
My husband and I are having a conversation about whether or not to celebrating christmas as Christians ... What can you tell us?
I have that video planned for December.
I celebrate Christmas, I do not celebrate it as Jesus' birthday because it wasn't.
It's a great secular holiday in which people have a reason to be nice to each other and spend time with family (wish we didn't need a holiday for that.)
Anyway, I hope that answered that- short version at least. Check back closer to Christmas for the full answer though! :)
Joe, did you ever live in the South? I was an atheist for my entire childhood, and I wouldn’t say my life was “hard” exactly, but there are parts of the country where saying you don’t believe in God is a big deal.
The solution really starts when we all just respect each other and our own journeys!
In response to big bang question, It's one of the only positions I hold as an 'atheistic belief.' I think this is the best way to argue Deism but I haven't met many people who argue for deism as a foundational belief.
I had a conversation with my Christian girlfriend about morally good. She studies psychology and animal behaviour, I studied zoology and animal behaviour. After a long conversation we came to the conclusion that religion is not needed for morals. If anything religious morals more probably derived from behavioural boundaries which allow us to coexist in a group. If these boundaries/morals are not followed it can harm the group thus a individual risks being punished or removed from the group if they are not, this is a disadvantage to that individual.
What do you say about people clinically 'dying' and having no memory vs people who saw Heaven or Hell?
As a Bright, I can honestly say I really appreciate your way of approaching this.
Tattoed christian: christians, promise me you dont attack evolution anymore
Christians: im gonna pretend i didnt saw that
I like how you agreed with alot. As you said I think it is because you were atheist. You understand both sides. I really like how you handled it. Most Christians on UA-cam usually don't handle it well. When I was Christain I enjoyed your videos. When I was this because I'm still subscribed. I thought man now the guy I used to like is gonna get on my nerve, but you didn't. Great video from. From atheist ironically.
Hey athiest and physics student here. The big bang is just the earliest point we can measure to, its the singularity from which the our universe grew from but it doesn't mean it was the start of everything. Cosmology is a hard topic to explain via text because it needs thinking that our brains aren't designed to do, our brains are only really designed for the world around us. There are a few hypothersies as to what was before that (notice I didn't say theory because people use that word wrong especially when creeationists talk about evolution, gravity is still a theory for instances but i don't expect myself to suddenly start floating). One such idea is the "survival of the fittest" universe where blakc holes eventually eat up the universe into one singularity again and we have another big bang and this happens over and over again and our universe was just pretty lucky in surviving this long (this takes out the improbability arguement). We may never work out what was before, humanity may die out before we do or it may not even be possible to work it out. However just because I don't know, doesn't mean I need to add some thing in to fill the gap in knowledge and just assume it's true because I was brought up that way.
I personaly just want to appreicate the world around me for what it is. Life doesn't have any meaning and that's the beauty of it, I'm not going to spend this life deicating my life to the tiny chance that I was born into the right religion out of thousands in history for an after life which may not be there. Live the life you've got an improve and live and die in that one, don't spend it looking out the window and waiting for some supernatrual power to make it better or to take you to some undescribed heavan.
P.S all the fun people are going to hell, so I'm gunna buy me a ticket there.
Very interesting what you say about "I don't have enough faith to be an atheist" part.
Since you seem to agree with the statement, does that imply that you think faith as a method of coming to knowledge is not a reliable way?
“You must not put tattoo marking upon yourselves.”
I had a Christian tell me a science book was wrong because it says he earth is flat. I. Had. No. Words.
I was a Christian for about 8 years, I left due to a lot of things, wanna say your awesome with your objective videos, you seem like a pretty chill dude
Jacob Neaville you can always come back my dude! It’s a super fun religion and I love it! If you were hurt by someone who was Christian, just know they aren’t all like this. I hope that maybe you’ll seek out Jesus at some point 🤗
I honestly feel that I value my time here on Earth more as an atheist than I would as a Christian. If there is no afterlife, then this life is all we get so we should make the most of it. We should count ourselves lucky that we get the opportunity to experience being alive. I do not believe that life is meaningless without god, you simply get to make your own meaning and find your own purpose. As for unknowns such as what happened before the Big Bang, it's okay that we don't know yet. Thousands of people are looking for answers and I think it is amazing how far our curiosity has taken us in the search thus far. It's beautiful that we get to be curious and search for answers to all life's big questions. :)
I’m pleased we can have convos like this. We can get along, maybe we even should.
@Tattooed Theist There's an atheist channel called Darkmatter2525. I don't know if you've ever heard of him, but I recommend you try watching him because he has some valid points. But just a warning he does curse a little bit.
I actually like how intellect this guy has
My friends tell me that Catholics are not Christian. References to praying to Mary, saints, etc. Any opinion on that?
If I was to have a kid I wouldnt tell them to be Atheist. I would say to them "You can believe what you wish but do your research and to be informed about religion and science".
Right now i’m living and i’m trying to make the best of it
Okay so yes, gravity is a theory. And you said don’t use theories as a argument but didn’t you use the big bang in a argument which is also a theory?
Love the background music, sounds like someone is taking a bong hit every 5 seconds...or less.
How to debunk atheist in one verse?.
ISAIAH 43:10 ESV
god said: before me no god was FORMED, nor shall there be any after me.
was FORMED?..of what manner?. by what process?.
( that verse is very inappopriate at the point in time it was written..only science has the notion of anything or something has to FORMED first in order to exist.)
god obviously DENIED any other god that created him... which is a COMMON TRAIT of an ATHEIST. (existence without a creator )... so therefore, god deserved to be called an ATHEIST... god must be the paradigm and the one true ATHEIST...
Have shame atheist wannabes... no one has the same mighty as god.
It was very hard for me to leave my faith because I was very religious and I wanted there to be an afterlife. But then I put logic over emotion and now I'm an atheist.
1:21 thumbs up for your honesty here. Sadly many evangelistic Christians do use this stupid comment. I would love to enter a church sometime and do like a media question time with the congregation to let people know what an atheist is.
1:50 still very impressed at this point whit your honesty and understanding.
2:50 Again another good answer, sadly for some (not all) Atheists this is the reason they leave their previous faith. When I encounter these Atheists I explain that there are bad people including Atheists and what ever happened to them could have happened regardless of their religion or lack of religion.
Wow I am impressed and for the first time ever I am about to sub to a Christian and even recommend you to other evangelist Christians I encounter.
I am an atheist and on behalf of most atheist I do really apologise most atheist attack Christianity, and I must admit saying we attack Christians because we are around them is a bad excuse
P.s I wish most Christians were like you have a wonderful day
Yes, the 80% plus of the U.S. population is being attacked by the tiny % of atheists. Um...right.
It must be the huge influence atheists have in the government, media,society, etc right?. Yeah sure. Give me a break and give your head a shake.
Okay but I have been ask about the wind!! Like "oh well where does the wind come from then?" Or something of that sort
You are likely the most open-minded christian I've seen on the internet. My only issue with this video was the stab at evolution, and only because you said you didn't know much about it. You'd do well to learn it inside and out before commenting on it, just so people don't get the idea that you're ignorant or mis-informed. You seem like a cool guy and I'm going to subscribe in hopes that I can show my Christian friends what an honest Christian looks like!
When I was Christian I found it easier to believe during times of great stress. It's when things were running smooth and I was bored that it was harder to believe and follow the rules. Idle hands and all that. Just found this channel. Interesting stuff. The worst thing people say to me is that since I'm an atheist now I was never a Christian. It's an awful thing to say because I put everything into my faith.
The point of the quote "From nothing I came, so to nothing I shall return" is not nihilistic in nature. My interpretation is that though we have no knowledge of existence prior to birth, we are here now and only for a certain amount of time, so we need to try to make the best of it. Doing any of the following counts; doing something to progress science or society, making the quality of your or anyone else's life the best you can, living your life happily or merrily, or living to the fullest experience you can. You only get the one shot, so do your best with it, because you don't remember not being alive, and you won't know it when you return to that place.
i wish i knew more christians like you, you’re cool. i’ll even watch your ads my dude ✌🏼
Good question. As an atheist I don't know how the big bang started. 'Something from nothing'. Who says there was once 'nothing'. How do you know there wasn't always 'something'. Also I believe nothing can still have principles as 'nothing' is used differently when it comes to the origins of the universe. Thats just 2 possible theorys. But ultimately I don't know. I'm willing to learn. Would be interested to see your take on that