+Xentric ...Nicely put. Goes well with Steve Weinberg's quote: “Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”
Waseem Haddad *"نعم أنا أردني و أفتخر"* انت مسيحي؟ و الاردن مسلم و معبا سلفيين و اخوان وين قتل الكفار ايلي بتحكي حضرتك عنو؟ *"لكن سام هاريس ينتقد معتقد و لا ينتقد أشخاص معينين"* اها ما شفتو ببرنامج بيل مار لما قال انو 20 % من المسلمين ارهابيين او ممولين الإرهاب؟ هيك هو ما بنتقد اشخاص؟ *"بل يقول كل ما يؤمن به المسلمون (حكم الردة و الجهاد و قتال الكفار و الجزية و الخ)"* حكم الردة؟ اسمعت بأية { لا إكراه في الدين } ؟ انا شخصيا ابن خالتي ملحد و بسمي حالو "كافر" و هيو عايش مع اهلو مع العلم انو احنا من عائلة متدينة، بس لحظة شو بالنسبة للمسيحيين ايلي عم بتقتلو لتركهم المسيحية؟ دور على وحدة اسمها بتول حداد اسلمت و بعد يومين انقتلت من قبل افراد من عيلتها! الجهاد ضد المحتل غلط؟ هيك امريكا بهدلت العراق عشان النفط ليش سام ما حكى؟ قتل كفار؟ الأردن ايلي انت منها و تفتخر مليانة كنايس، و ماخدين حقكم اكتر من المسلمين نفسهم. الجزية : اولا لا أعتقد انو بتتاخد هلئ و إزا عم تتاخد فهو مبلغ قليل لا يتعدي 5 دنانير كل شهر و في حال صار في حرب على الاردن مثلا كل رجال المسلمين بيروحو يحاربو و المسيحيين بضلو ببيوتهم امنين! *"هو لا يميز بين مسلم أو مسيحي أو يهودي أو ملحد"* ااااااه، لهيك ما جاب سيرت اسرائيل الا لما الناس بلشو يطلبو منو انو يحكي شي، انت عارف انو من خلفيتو يهودية، صح؟ *"فهو له كتب و مناظرات عديدة ينتقد فيها اليهودية و المسيحية و إسرائيل"* المسيحية اه، إسرائيل لأ، ازا هو خلا الصليبيين معهم حق انو اجتاحو ارض المسلمين، اي عدم تمييز بتحكي عنو؟؟
I live in Malaysia, I thing I discover all this years is Muslim always hear or see things they don't like as humiliation towards them, like a a house with a roof shaped like a cross, they will felt humiliated, or this street has too many non Muslim selling non halal food. or a song MTV with a too sexy Muslim gal. or a non Muslim in a Muslim local community walking on the street without wearing or cover up everything like them. all of this are humiliation, for me living in Malaysia for many years only have 1 conclusion, you better stay away from them, if they see something or hear something they don't like from you, they will be in anger but cause they felt humiliated.
@@daviddave7769 dude you'd think that giving a whole country to Muslims would somehow solve this problem, I live in Pakistan and trust me it does not. These people want laws that favor them over minorities and if I dare to point out how terrible our culture and laws are to minority somehow I am traitor who is ruining Pakistan's image. And some western people have audacity to speak on behalf on Pakistanis, and defend Muslims whenever they are offended by, say burning Quran or drawing prophet Muhammad. Dude these people would get offended by everything. Alright lets say you stop drawing cartoons, a Sri Lankan factor manager was lynched by mob for ripping a poster that had Muhammad's name on it. Lakhs of Pakistanis consider a blatant murderer Mumtaz Qadri a hero who mercilessly killed a minister for alleged blasphemy. All that minister's crime was to call blasphemy law a draconian law that needs amendments. There is mob lynching every second day, Mashal Khan was murdered for asking too many "blasphemous" questions which were only philosophical in nature. And you might get illusion that how come every second Pakistani supports it? Trust me, there's many people who don't, especially in educated circles, but they are too afraid to speak out. Dude if you speak out, and they accuse you of blasphemy, go hide in Pentagon or wherever you can, if there is a Muslim employee there is a chance they might kill you. And now some westerner fucktard might call me Islamophobe, and sympathize with Muslims. Those people can go fuck themselves, they are no different from these fundamentalists.
+MakerInMotion This was literally within a few years of the release of his first book. Harris wasn't as well known there, but had made quite name for himself among fellow scientists. That audience (which was larger before the Q&A) was primarily made up of academics.
People who feel humiliated choose to feel humiliated. In the case of Muslims, it's a technique that has worked as being offended calls on the other to make ammends, which western leaders have been doing from the Pope on down, without getting anything in return. It's all a political game designed to spread the faith. As for what to do: stop being so PC. It's all one way. Many non-white, non-westerners, see the west in the worst possible light, yet want the technology and science. They know nothing about western history or value system and arent particularly interested either. They just get a kick out of humiliating us.
+logical fruit age old trick, bamboozle the logical guy with a decent mix of the asinine and naïve until hes overwhelmed.........its kind of like the intellectual equivalent of asking a Kenyan marathon runner to jog backwards 15km's to the start line.
Bjarne Søegaard In the recent audio recording released by abu bakr al baghdadi, he says islam is not a religion of peace and has always been a religion of fighting/war, and that its mandatory for muslims to participate in constant warfare. finally someone who has read the quran and isnt mincing words about it :) its sad that so many liars like reza aslan go around making islam sound all rosy and liberals gobbling it up (and i am a liberal, but i dont gobble it up)
The question epitomizes the UK mindset since WW2 - "understanding" those with a grievance.Historians will look back on this and shake their heads, Every terrorist act and denunciation of the West is followed by new efforts to "get at the root of the problem". Muslims are treated as if they act like Anglicans, Hindus or atheists . I taught English to Muslims for years and none had terrorist sympathies, but ALL were fundamentalists in that they believed that Muhammad was God's prophet who wrote the inerrant Quran and that Islam was the only true religion that would one day rule the world. They lived a contradiction - belief in Islam without acknowledging its tenets.
***** OK, so that didn't work out so well, but don't give up! Have another go! Leave another comment, and this time, I'm sure it'll be somewhat coherent. I have faith in you! Eventually you'll get it :D
LeatherCladVegan Posters like Megadosi always deal in half-truths. He failed to mention that fundamentalism also includes belief in an inerrant Quran and the inevitability of an Islamic planet. Par for the course'
All we need to do is examine the initial claim of Islam before we discuss the subject any further. You don't even have to read the Qur'an or the Hadiths. The claim is: a murdering, raping, conquering warlord said he spent 23 years venturing into a cave where the Archangel Gabriel dictated the Qur'an to him. Then we have to ask, *what's more likely*? 1) Muhammad was lying about authorship. With the Bible in one hand, the Torah close by, and advisors to read them to him first and take notes later, he wrote the Qur'an himself to advance his own personal agenda because he figured out he could conquer his enemies' minds easier than he could conquer them all physically; or 2) Muhammad was schizophrenic and heard voices, which explains Gabriel. This means, again, he authored the Qur'an himself; or 3) Islam is absolutely true: an Archangel who for some reason spoke to only one human to get God's message out to all of humanity actually exists, although he didn't think it would be a good idea to prove his existence to anyone else over that 23 year period. Muhammad rode a horse-like creature to Heaven, bargained with a perfect god and won, then returned yet nobody saw him come or go. And of course, God's best representative on Earth is a raping, murdering conqueror who enjoyed sex with a 9-year old girl when he was over 50. And that's all we need to do to dismiss Islam. With the foundational claim gone, all the rest that's been built on top crumbles as well.
paggodiablo01 No, we don't believe that either. _The Holy Bible: Slavery for Dummies_ told us that, "...the Holy Ghost came upon Mary." Women don't get pregnant when you do that. They just get sticky and tend to complain about it.
The old man is an articulating masterpiece. Sam Harris is an amazingly straight forward and reasonable giver of answers. He knows when he's digressing or diverting away from the point, he makes sure his point is made, and made well.
venkat rao And what accomplishments of your own can you dazzle us with?... Or is it just a matter of intellectual envy with you as it is with most others who make unsupported, sour criticisms like yours.
Wanda Lee Wanda you blathering fool. You are a nutcase with all of the listed puppets of evil. I could demolish Harris and Dawkins and Hitchens if he wasn't in hell. You are loathsome , the lot of you Debate me and Ill expose you
Wanda Lee Oh I see so devil and his friend invited to another who wanna be a devil to the stage. I am sure they must have applaud him when he appeared on stage. So in your opinion that was a BIG deal? Wanda lee it is a beautiful name, please get real.......
venkat rao and strenginweaknes ... I wish I could understand your positions better but you are not being very clear. That you think Harris is the devil incarnate is clear, why you feel that way isn't, and I think you probably don't really know yourselves, you're just parroting what you've been told you should think about atheists. Really, what is so threatening about someone having a different point of view than your own? What is so scary about someone believing somthing different than you do? As long as what you and I believe shows respect for everyone else around us there shouldn't be any hassles.
The Importance of Context The word ‘context’ has two dictionary meanings: 1. The parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect. 2. The set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin - 109 per 10,000 people - as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed. In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech). Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US. Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies. Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK. With an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has the largest fleet of the aircraft outside of the US. Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined. On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups. Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees - ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland - and 12 percent hold advanced degrees. Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia to safety in Israel. When Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world's second elected female leader in modern times. When the U. S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day - and saved three victims from the rubble. Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship - and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 - in the world. Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity. Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free." According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. U. S. officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats. In 1991, during the Gulf War, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played a concert wearing gas masks as scud missiles fired by Saddam Hussein fell on Tel Aviv. Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books. Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because this was achieved in an area considered mainly desert. Israel has more museums per capita than any other country. Medicine... Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized,no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer. An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes. Israel's Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders. Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors. Technology... With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley). In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and agriculturalists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops. Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita. Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U. S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well. The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel. Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel. The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel. Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel. The AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis. A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device,produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct - all without damaging surroundings skin or tissue. An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's Mojave desert." All the above while engaged in regular wars with an implacable enemy that seeks its destruction, and an economy continuously under strain by having to spend more per capita on its own protection than any other country on earth. This from a country just 55 years young having started off life on a very frontiers-like basis, whose population had mostly just emerged from the devastating World War II years
the older the questioner the longer the question, and Sam's experienced enough to know that you just cannot hurry these old dears along, they'll simply stop and try to start over. Love how, when gabby grandpa finally winds down, Sam says that it's 'a good question, and very eloquently put' :)
I'll be honest, as annoying as long questions are, a much bigger pet peeve is people who call anyone they disagree with a fascist. That word means something. Please don't throw it around.
You type all that in one sentence and you accuse HIM of being long-winded? Nothing you've said even remotely resembles anything Eco or any other political scientist have defined as fascism. If you don't like the guy, fine. Nothing wrong with calling someone a dickweed. But there is something wrong with identifying a man with a political label that he doesn't fit.
If a third of Muslims the in the UK think that the West is decadent, why do they live there??? If they don't like it, they should move to the Middle East, or what ever non decadent country. But we know that is never going to happen, because they love everything that goes along with our Western culture.
I thought the west is the cradle of free-speech, but the very first time you think bad of the west you are asked to pack up your bags and leave. So much for freedom of speech and freedom of expressions, or is it only freedom when you happen to agree with whatever it is being expressed?
Mo Bass Freedom of expression.... Like murdering journalists for publishing a picture of a pedophilic, genocidal so call prophet of a made up God??? Strange how Mohammad always managed to get a revelation from his God when ever he wanted something, or needed to justify an action he wanted to take. Very handy. If I had enough idiots willing to believe anything I said because 'God told me to do it'. I could carve out a pretty good kingdom for myself. Oh wait... that's exactly what he did.
samuraineko3 No, you guys carved up the middle east all by yourselves during the first world war. Until you can grow up, as a people, and stop blaming everyone else for your own fuck ups, you will never move forward. Oh, and stop killing, raping, beheading, etc all because you 'feel' slighted because someone said something you didn't like. Come on..... Take a cement tablet and harden the fuck up already. As I watch Al Jazeera news all I see is muslims killing non muslims, muslims killing muslims. All because of that fucked up religion of yours. When you finally admit how evil your man made religion is, and get rid of it, then you will get peace in the middle east.
SameSameDifferent just ignore, and refuse to acknowledge any Muslim. The more of us that simply refuse to deal with or talk to these people, the louder our silence becomes. And the law can't touch you. Being ignored makes people feel very uncomfortable, and they need us to survive in this country.
samuraineko3 Not at all ! :-) I'm English not American. I couldn't give a shit, if the American government want to kill their own people and blame another "terrorist" , who am I to argue. I don't hate Muslims, My dog is named Mohammad, and she's a good little bitch.
Dear Samantha, You know what they say about people that AT&T cursing and get angry during a debate: they lost the debate and have nothing more to say! Not surprising!
Oh, I am really sorry. It's just that on UA-cam & the Internet in general, people are so often sarcastic & spiteful, that when somebody comes along who is actually being sincere, it's hard to tell. I hope you weren't offended by me, & I am flattered that you would think to ask me about this stuff. Thank you, & good for you for wanting to be informed!
answer to your question is plate tectonics and the movement of the earth's crust. When one plate goes under another, some part of the crust is pushed up in form of mountains. We can actually measure this movement. For example, Himalayas are moving up by about a few millimeters every year. They have slowed down over time, but still if you add up this rate for 1000 years, it becomes a few meters and in just 1 million years, it adds up to few thousand meters - i.e. the current height of himalayas.
"The term God-of-the-gaps fallacy can refer to a position that assumes an act of God as the explanation for an unknown phenomenon, which is a variant of an argument from ignorance fallacy.[9][10] Such an argument is sometimes reduced to the following form: There is a gap in understanding of some aspect of the natural world. Therefore the cause must be supernatural." en.wikipedia. o rg/wiki/God_of_the_gaps
I can sooooo imagine the world without the west. Just imagine how peaceful it'd be. Wow, I never thought about the possibilities, the inventions, the education, the innovation. It'd be something else! :)
Religion often lacks intellectual honesty and humility. The basic propensity of any specific religious belief is to be exclusive or superior in some way to all others in its perspective and/or approach. Any religion or ideology that cannot accommodate a more pluralistic and inclusive society goes against nature's tendency toward complexity (as it applies to our ever expanding social "organism") and will eventually fall to the wayside.
Scientists most often use the word "fact" to describe an observation. But scientists can also use fact to mean something that has been tested or observed so many times that there is no longer a compelling reason to keep testing or looking for examples. The occurrence of evolution in this sense is fact. Scientists no longer question whether descent with modification occurred because the evidence is so strong.[21]
I fear that there is a vicious circle of humiliation and religiosity. Religiosity leads to cultural inferiority. Feeling of inferiority lead to lack of self confidence and anger. Anger and lack of self confidence lead to religiosity.
Quran (4:104) - "And be not weak hearted in pursuit of the enemy; if you suffer pain, then surely they (too) suffer pain as you suffer pain..." Is pursuing an injured and retreating enemy really an act of self-defense?
Freedom of thought is a glorious thing and it is cause for celebration every time a human being becomes self aware :) The happiness and joy that will come to those who think life is worth living is a thing to congratulate :)
An academic study by Professor Robert Pape, an Associate Professor at Chicago University, published in his book ‘Dying to Win: The Logic of Suicide Terrorism’ [23], demonstrates that the advent of suicide bombing is not unique to Muslims but is rather a generic human issue driven by a number of political factors rather than theological beliefs.
~ Guinness world book of records: the longest, MOST WIDESPREADdelusion in world history: religion. I just woke up as a fully functioning thinking adult, with no bias and no delusion, and I cannot for the life of me wrap my head around any religions! Cheers, DAVEDJ ~
Quran (2:216) - "Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not." Not only does this verse establish that violence can be virtuous, but it also contradicts the myth that fighting is intended only in self-defense, since the audience was obviously not under attack at the time.
In case my previous example isn't clear enough, remember the atom was a scientific theory only because we could not actually see one until someone invented an electron microscope and now we an observe atoms. Prior to that atoms were considered to be facts because there were plenty of supporting facts to prove this!
I'm interested in what you've said here. Could you please list which dating methods are inaccurate, and provide the corroborating details as to why they're inaccurate? Thanks very much, and all the best.
I already apologised for my use of the word genocide in the comment you first replied to as I believed that genocide implied a huge percentage (>50%) of the population to be eradicated which would therefore make the conflict NOT a genocide. In my opinion, please feel free to correct me, if a conflict or war is directed at a specific group of people rather than anybody from the country then it fits into your (UN) definition of genocide. The Israel-Palestinian conflict therefore is not a genocide.
This is what a call a well formed articulated question, it took half the video for this lovely wise man to formulaste it, hence i feel the beauty and the dialogue he wants to engage wirh Sam, a réal intellectuel symphony.
Belief is a powerful thing and the power of belief is something science cant explain...my uncle got in a car accident long story short...doctors said that he would never walk again...my family took him to doctors in America and Singapore and went to the best doctors in the world said he had no chance of moving his legs ever again...my uncle today not only moves his legs but runs marathons...all he had was belief...something science cant explain Belief is a double edged sword
The last minute is really the only thing you have to watch. How can you argue against that? Beliefs do matter. Many groups of people with different ideologies have been occupied, but it really depends on what they think in terms of their theology if extreme violence and suicide bombings gets everyday news as a result of their doctrines. How is a statement like the oneHarris makes even controversial?!
From what I remember from the philosopher Karl Popper (and I'm paraphrasing): "if one perceives a situation to be real, then it is real in it's consequences", which is probably what Sam was getting at in his closing remarks.
But it is fact in scientific definition. From theNational Academy of Science (US):"Scientists most often use the word "fact" to describe an observation. But scientists can also use fact to mean something that has been tested or observed so many times that there is no longer a compelling reason to keep testing or looking for examples. The occurrence of evolution in this sense is fact. Scientists no longer question whether descent with modification occurred because the evidence is so strong."
One serious question and one criticism. First, the question. Where does a theist who is not a person of the book fit into this "respect" thing? For example, if I create my own monotheistic religion (which may or may not state that other monotheistic beliefs, including Islam, are incomplete) does it deserve the same respect as Islam?
Simulated Fart Counter: Loud and Clear Edition 1) 0:13 2) 0:29 3) 1:04 4) 1:54 5) 2:34 6) 3:22 7) 3:41 No wonder he's a windbag! But it could be that Sam Harris is going 'Hmm' as he's listening to the guy, hence the 'simulated' part haha. :)
I would love to see a debate where the muslim representative, preferably an Imam, was wired up to a LIE DETECTOR then ask the motherfucker questions. Lets see how that would go.
Lol there's like 5 people in the audience...The old guy who is asking the questions makes really good points, and he is very well spoken...hats off to him, whoever he is. Anyone know who that guy is? He said he wrote an article for The Guardian, so he must be an author.
The equanimity and good faith portrayed by the questioner, truly expedites and catalyses the ultimate goal of such discourses which among others is to converge on our understanding of nature of a certain phenomenon.
Can you give one example where we once had a scientific explanation but on further examination and the acquisition of further evidence we reverted to a supernatural explanation? There are literally countless examples of it going the other way, literally non of it swinging towards the supernatural.
This is a rational response , people usually view Harris as a total extremist towards islam but he actually makes a lot of sense. He isn't as educated as Hitchens on the subject but he explains the matter well in my opinion
"Evil is as evil does..." What does that mean? And what about it should be judged? And what criteria would you use to judge it? I wonder if you really are equipped to determine your own beliefs?
To quote Hamza: Fighting: A Human Reality There have been many anthropological studies on war and fighting, and the conclusions are very similar. Not only have humans been fighting and killing for millennia, the act of fighting and killing is a human reality. The reasons for fighting and war differ. Some of these reasons include land, fame, fortune, religion, independence and resources. Humans have also fought to defend themselves and others, or to attack their enemies.
"Political & religious dissent was quashed universally & brutally." Now we're making progress. Let's see if I can get you to drop the "no true Scotsman" argument and agree that there is a lot of violence and discrimination in Muslim history.
“Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things.” (Quran 2:256)
Joshua "I set before you this day Good and I set before you Evil.Choose you this day whom ye shall serve! As for Me and my house We shall follow the Lord!"
I think the problem here is that many people are still being educated with 1960's knowledge, and some of us get recent knowledge with recent discoveries told. Really USA has a huge problem in this department, where our education is horrible for a country that is so prosperous and supposedly powerful. We certainly won't remain at that spot for much longer if our education remains stuck 40 years behind.
No, the original Library of Alexandria was destroyed accidentally when Julius Caesar captured Alexandria. Other Alexandrian libraries weren't THE Library. Also, if you're talking about Sheikh Ghazali, he was known for being intolerant at times, but he also wrote Ahl al-Hadith, a book criticizing extremism & anti-rationalism in Islam. He once wrote, " ...learn to draw together instead of driving away, and to bring good tidings rather than to say things that repel people away from Islam."
As long as you aren't sticking to scientific definitions of terms (which means you aren't making a scientific argument), then sure. My post was strictly addressing whether evolution is a scientific fact. It is not. It is a theory (a very well supported theory, the best supported theory we have for the origin of the species).
Quran (4:74) - "Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward." This enforces martyrdom and describes a payment for the believers death.
He becomes a man in the religious sense on his 13th birthday when he becomes a Bar Mitzvah at which point he is considered responsible for observing the mitzvot. This is celebrated by his being called up to read his bar Mitzvah Portion from the Torah, normally on the sabbath relating to his Hebrew birthday. Why are you always wrong?
The study included the first complete database of every suicide attack around the world from 1980 to early 2004. The study found that: • The world leader in suicide attacks was the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka - a Marxist, secular group. • Two thirds of Muslim ‘suicide bombers’ have been from countries where US forces have or are still maintaining military forces.
Any discussion on Qur’anic verses that refer to violence would be meaningless, without a study of the surrounding context. Before we study the verses in question, therefore, let us examine this issue in a wider perspective:
For somebody intent on ending the discussion, you sure have kept posting on it. Just tell yourself, "its only an Internet discussion, it's not that important".
Yes, dinosaurs are birds. Under phylogenetic taxonomy, dinosaurs are usually defined as the group consisting of Triceratops, Neornithes [modern birds], their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), and all descendants.
Oh. Here is the apostasy verse. Qur'an 4:89 [46] states that "They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing: But take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah (From what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them". So if someone should choose to change faiths, you are ordered to kill them? Please explain to me how that is peaceful.
Read "Islam: A Short History", by Karen Armstrong, who is neither Jewish nor Muslim, but a Protestant Christian. She's a historian, award-winning author, & public activist in Britain. Also, we don't know exactly what the Qurayza & the Quraysh said to eachother, but we do know that the Qurayza, a tribe of wealthy Jewish merchant families who disliked Muhammed, were planning to aid the Quraysh. Besides, as mentioned, some scholars believe the whole incident may have been exaggerated or invented.
My apologies when I say anything that contradicts the quran...I meant within Islam...if the hadith, sunnah or any sharia law contradict the quran it is false...and I wasnt making that claim in that particular instance...just saying within Islam ONLY...hope u understand
I said this can be attributed to psychological factors partly. However if you want to confine your conclusion to certain instances throughout history in which there was nothing in particular to provoke Muslim hatred then that's fine, it's really superficial though. There's also historical evidence to suggests that the situation gets even more polarized when people feel provoked. Either way, the situation calls for Socratic dialogue.
Al-Zamakhshari was a Mutazilite Islamic scholar who lived in the Khwarezmian Empire in Iran. The Khwarezmians were known for being very intolerant (Iran has a long history of violent, intolerant Islamic governments). Since the Muslim scholars & madrassahs were dependant upon their governments, they often expressed the opinions of those government rather than their own to pacify their rulers. In other writings, al-Zamakhshari is very interesting & logical, reflective of his Mutazilite beliefs.
I'm not Jewish, so my question is what is the intention of the Muslims in the 1947 war in Israel by the Arab Muslim countries had they defeated Israel? Could you elaborate in terms of the Muslim's resolve of that period? To what extent of damage would they have inflicted and how far? And could you please give a realistic reflection of that event and how it would've turned out, that is had Israel lost the war. Thank you.
Before the big bang: You dont know either, you're just asserting you do. At least one of us is honest enough to say "we dont know but lets find out" -_____-......
That worldview does not make sense to me. I won't elaborate, but that is just the way I feel, & I don't believe that my belief in a higher purpose will ever shaken by anyone or anything. Also, with all due respect, as I've mentioned already, I'd like to just quietly end these conversations we are having. Please respect that, & goodbye.
cultural divides between westerners and Muslims delineated and underscored. While mentioning 2 key pillars of western society - academia and the press, which has played a major role in drawing up these battle-lines in public consciousness to begin with. Battle lines and points of contention that include calls by the west for greater participation of women in society and greater acceptance of homosexuality? Are these the kinds of issues that lead to military occupations and economic embargoes to begin with?
I got the idea from several catholic priests running a catholic website trying to spread what they believe as the whole truth, when it comes to the 10 commandments. In other words, people who don't look at a scripture, take out only the good kind words and claim "That right there is religion, don't mind the rest of it, don't look at it! It's just these three lines here". If your going to be religious, follow it completely, or come to your senses and don't follow it at all. Simple.
I apologize for any comments I made six years ago about any religion. This was in shock after learning about the misdeeds of ISIS among other things. I've learnt a lot since then. I've come to understand that deep down inside, humans are fundamentally the same.
We, in the US, believe that connecting religion to government creates a quick path to legalism (that is, focusing on laws of behavior to the detriment of fruits of the spirit (such as love, hope, etc.)). We consider it harmful to both religion and government.
What the hell are you talking about? I was talking about apostasy and here you are incorrectly quoting me to saying that the quran is the same as the bible. Try again.
Lamartine - Histoire de la Turquie, Paris 1854, Vol II, pp. 276-77:"If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only.
"Thy duty is to make the message reach them; it is OUR PART to call them to account." [13:40] "Call thou (all mankind) unto thy Sustainer's path with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in MOST KINDLY MANNER..." [16:125] "Those who believe, then reject Faith, then believe (again) and again reject Faith, go on increasing in Unbelief--G'd will not forgive them nor guide them on the Way." [4:137]....hope this helps
Thank you. Your cogent and eloquent argument has added much to an otherwise boringly civil exchange of ideas. I'm sure that at the next meeting of your local chapter of theophobes one could expect more of the same. You may want to ask them though, before expressing your opinion, if they would find your current attitude helpful to their cause or perhaps they would rather that you remain silent the next time you have a think.
I believe in Evolution. Words like "theory" and "fact" have very specific meanings. A "fact" is "an observation that has been confirmed repeatedly and is accepted as true". For example, change in the fossil record is a fact. A "theory" is an explanation of why that fact exists. "the change in the fossil record exists due to evolution" is a theory. Regardless of how good the Evolutionary model is, it does not meet the definition of "fact".
My only question is why the hell are there only, like, 5 people in the audience? This is Sam fucking Harris.
Shut the fuck up with that shit. Nobody cares about Hillary.
When you believe in the absurd it's easier to perform the atrocious.
+Xentric Beautiful!
+Xentric ...Nicely put. Goes well with Steve Weinberg's quote:
“Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”
Xentric, ahem, where is Voltaire’s credit for his quote, “those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities”?
@@EmperorsNewWardrobe Sounded like Hitchens!
nicely put. Hence the state of Israel's continuing existence
If only half the Western world was as clear sighted as Sam Harris is, this guy is my hero
المصيبة انك اردني من بلدي، الله يكفينا شركم، حسبي الله ونعم الوكيل!
Waseem Haddad
*"نعم أنا أردني و أفتخر"* انت مسيحي؟ و الاردن مسلم و معبا سلفيين و اخوان وين قتل الكفار ايلي بتحكي حضرتك عنو؟
*"لكن سام هاريس ينتقد معتقد و لا ينتقد أشخاص معينين"*
اها ما شفتو ببرنامج بيل مار لما قال انو 20 % من المسلمين ارهابيين او ممولين الإرهاب؟ هيك هو ما بنتقد اشخاص؟
*"بل يقول كل ما يؤمن به المسلمون (حكم الردة و الجهاد و قتال الكفار و الجزية و الخ)"*
حكم الردة؟ اسمعت بأية { لا إكراه في الدين } ؟ انا شخصيا ابن خالتي ملحد و بسمي حالو "كافر" و هيو عايش مع اهلو مع العلم انو احنا من عائلة متدينة، بس لحظة شو بالنسبة للمسيحيين ايلي عم بتقتلو لتركهم المسيحية؟ دور على وحدة اسمها بتول حداد اسلمت و بعد يومين انقتلت من قبل افراد من عيلتها!
الجهاد ضد المحتل غلط؟ هيك امريكا بهدلت العراق عشان النفط ليش سام ما حكى؟
قتل كفار؟ الأردن ايلي انت منها و تفتخر مليانة كنايس، و ماخدين حقكم اكتر من المسلمين نفسهم.
الجزية : اولا لا أعتقد انو بتتاخد هلئ و إزا عم تتاخد فهو مبلغ قليل لا يتعدي 5 دنانير كل شهر و في حال صار في حرب على الاردن مثلا كل رجال المسلمين بيروحو يحاربو و المسيحيين بضلو ببيوتهم امنين!
*"هو لا يميز بين مسلم أو مسيحي أو يهودي أو ملحد"*
ااااااه، لهيك ما جاب سيرت اسرائيل الا لما الناس بلشو يطلبو منو انو يحكي شي، انت عارف انو من خلفيتو يهودية، صح؟
*"فهو له كتب و مناظرات عديدة ينتقد فيها اليهودية و المسيحية و إسرائيل"*
المسيحية اه، إسرائيل لأ، ازا هو خلا الصليبيين معهم حق انو اجتاحو ارض المسلمين، اي عدم تمييز بتحكي عنو؟؟
Samantha affleck you are an idiot go away you racist bigot
more Skids. Islam is a set of ideas - It is not a race or ethnic group.
more Skids. Racist? Do you even understand arabic? I didn't even say anything thing racist? So stupid!
Guinness world record for the longest question
A clear and cogent and eloquent question and answered brilliantly by Harris
I thought the question was very well put and the time it took to deliver is of no significance.
A. Yusuf 😂
You're right. He took far too long over it.
@@stuzazalittle significance *
Like the time it took me to make my reply.
Don't you wish all discussions on UA-cam were as thoughtful and considerate as these two?
I live in Malaysia, I thing I discover all this years is Muslim always hear or see things they don't like as humiliation towards them, like a a house with a roof shaped like a cross, they will felt humiliated, or this street has too many non Muslim selling non halal food. or a song MTV with a too sexy Muslim gal. or a non Muslim in a Muslim local community walking on the street without wearing or cover up everything like them. all of this are humiliation, for me living in Malaysia for many years only have 1 conclusion, you better stay away from them, if they see something or hear something they don't like from you, they will be in anger but cause they felt humiliated.
@@daviddave7769 dude you'd think that giving a whole country to Muslims would somehow solve this problem, I live in Pakistan and trust me it does not. These people want laws that favor them over minorities and if I dare to point out how terrible our culture and laws are to minority somehow I am traitor who is ruining Pakistan's image. And some western people have audacity to speak on behalf on Pakistanis, and defend Muslims whenever they are offended by, say burning Quran or drawing prophet Muhammad. Dude these people would get offended by everything. Alright lets say you stop drawing cartoons, a Sri Lankan factor manager was lynched by mob for ripping a poster that had Muhammad's name on it. Lakhs of Pakistanis consider a blatant murderer Mumtaz Qadri a hero who mercilessly killed a minister for alleged blasphemy. All that minister's crime was to call blasphemy law a draconian law that needs amendments. There is mob lynching every second day, Mashal Khan was murdered for asking too many "blasphemous" questions which were only philosophical in nature. And you might get illusion that how come every second Pakistani supports it? Trust me, there's many people who don't, especially in educated circles, but they are too afraid to speak out. Dude if you speak out, and they accuse you of blasphemy, go hide in Pentagon or wherever you can, if there is a Muslim employee there is a chance they might kill you. And now some westerner fucktard might call me Islamophobe, and sympathize with Muslims. Those people can go fuck themselves, they are no different from these fundamentalists.
That's fucked up there's only like 8 people in the audience for Sam Harris.
+MakerInMotion This was literally within a few years of the release of his first book. Harris wasn't as well known there, but had made quite name for himself among fellow scientists. That audience (which was larger before the Q&A) was primarily made up of academics.
it is only religion i know which is pround of not being reformed.
+Osiris Malu It's the only religion which Europe has adopted as a reform.
People who feel humiliated choose to feel humiliated. In the case of Muslims, it's a technique that has worked as being offended calls on the other to make ammends, which western leaders have been doing from the Pope on down, without getting anything in return.
It's all a political game designed to spread the faith. As for what to do: stop being so PC. It's all one way. Many non-white, non-westerners, see the west in the worst possible light, yet want the technology and science. They know nothing about western history or value system and arent particularly interested either. They just get a kick out of humiliating us.
That guy asked a 3minute + question FFS
+logical fruit age old trick, bamboozle the logical guy with a decent mix of the asinine and naïve until hes overwhelmed.........its kind of like the intellectual equivalent of asking a Kenyan marathon runner to jog backwards 15km's to the start line.
+logical fruit Although he had a point i thought he was going to keel over before he finished the question. What a wanker!
Agreed. Islam is not a peaceful religion and we need to push back. Sam Harris is clear sound and sharp. I am also a fan.
Bjarne Søegaard In the recent audio recording released by abu bakr al baghdadi, he says islam is not a religion of peace and has always been a religion of fighting/war, and that its mandatory for muslims to participate in constant warfare. finally someone who has read the quran and isnt mincing words about it :) its sad that so many liars like reza aslan go around making islam sound all rosy and liberals gobbling it up (and i am a liberal, but i dont gobble it up)
Neeboopsh I am a liberal and I don't gobble it up either. Islam is not a peaceful religion.
Neeboopsh Who is abu bakr al bagdadi and what recording are you refering to?
Bjarne Søegaard
Self proclaimed leader of ISIS/ISIL
Bjarne Søegaard
Self proclaimed leader of ISIS/ISIL
Good points about humiliation, both as a cultural reaction and as a personal one.
That's a wise thing to keep in mind.
The question epitomizes the UK mindset since WW2 - "understanding" those with a grievance.Historians will look back on this and shake their heads, Every terrorist act and denunciation of the West is followed by new efforts to "get at the root of the problem". Muslims are treated as if they act like Anglicans, Hindus or atheists .
I taught English to Muslims for years and none had terrorist sympathies, but ALL were fundamentalists in that they believed that Muhammad was God's prophet who wrote the inerrant Quran and that Islam was the only true religion that would one day rule the world. They lived a contradiction - belief in Islam without acknowledging its tenets.
***** OK, so that didn't work out so well, but don't give up! Have another go! Leave another comment, and this time, I'm sure it'll be somewhat coherent. I have faith in you! Eventually you'll get it :D
LeatherCladVegan Posters like Megadosi always deal in half-truths. He failed to mention that fundamentalism also includes belief in an inerrant Quran and the inevitability of an Islamic planet. Par for the course'
All we need to do is examine the initial claim of Islam before we discuss the subject any further. You don't even have to read the Qur'an or the Hadiths. The claim is: a murdering, raping, conquering warlord said he spent 23 years venturing into a cave where the Archangel Gabriel dictated the Qur'an to him. Then we have to ask, *what's more likely*?
1) Muhammad was lying about authorship. With the Bible in one hand, the Torah close by, and advisors to read them to him first and take notes later, he wrote the Qur'an himself to advance his own personal agenda because he figured out he could conquer his enemies' minds easier than he could conquer them all physically; or
2) Muhammad was schizophrenic and heard voices, which explains Gabriel. This means, again, he authored the Qur'an himself; or
3) Islam is absolutely true: an Archangel who for some reason spoke to only one human to get God's message out to all of humanity actually exists, although he didn't think it would be a good idea to prove his existence to anyone else over that 23 year period. Muhammad rode a horse-like creature to Heaven, bargained with a perfect god and won, then returned yet nobody saw him come or go. And of course, God's best representative on Earth is a raping, murdering conqueror who enjoyed sex with a 9-year old girl when he was over 50.
And that's all we need to do to dismiss Islam. With the foundational claim gone, all the rest that's been built on top crumbles as well.
+ChipArgyle What about the immaculate conception? Are we really believing that?
+ChipArgyle I have to go with alternative 2 keeping in mind what he did later.
+paggodiablo01 What about it? And no we do not.
paggodiablo01
No, we don't believe that either. _The Holy Bible: Slavery for Dummies_ told us that, "...the Holy Ghost came upon Mary." Women don't get pregnant when you do that. They just get sticky and tend to complain about it.
Krister Andersson
Definitely more probable than option 3.
Brilliant as usual.
The old man is an articulating masterpiece. Sam Harris is an amazingly straight forward and reasonable giver of answers. He knows when he's digressing or diverting away from the point, he makes sure his point is made, and made well.
so many empty seats, shame.
venkat rao And what accomplishments of your own can you dazzle us with?... Or is it just a matter of intellectual envy with you as it is with most others who make unsupported, sour criticisms like yours.
Wanda Lee Wanda you blathering fool. You are a nutcase with all of the listed puppets of evil. I could demolish Harris and Dawkins and Hitchens if he wasn't in hell. You are loathsome , the lot of you Debate me and Ill expose you
chasburf
Hey bro I don't believe in entertainment and in criticism, I just make true statements that's all.
Wanda Lee Oh I see so devil and his friend invited to another who wanna be a devil to the stage. I am sure they must have applaud him when he appeared on stage. So in your opinion that was a BIG deal? Wanda lee it is a beautiful name, please get real.......
venkat rao and strenginweaknes ... I wish I could understand your positions better but you are not being very clear. That you think Harris is the devil incarnate is clear, why you feel that way isn't, and I think you probably don't really know yourselves, you're just parroting what you've been told you should think about atheists. Really, what is so threatening about someone having a different point of view than your own? What is so scary about someone believing somthing different than you do? As long as what you and I believe shows respect for everyone else around us there shouldn't be any hassles.
how the fuck do you reply to comments in this stupid system? cause I can't seem to reply to comments written in the old system..
Man...that is the longest, most pompous, rambling question I've ever heard!! That old dude loves the sound of his own voice!!
African Tribesman You cared enough to comment
African Tribesman twice now....you must care a lot!
The Importance of Context The word ‘context’ has two dictionary meanings:
1. The parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect. 2. The set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin - 109 per 10,000 people - as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).
Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US.
Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.
Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.
With an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has the largest fleet of the aircraft outside of the US.
Israel's $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.
On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups.
Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees - ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland - and 12 percent hold advanced degrees.
Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia to safety in Israel.
When Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world's second elected female leader in modern times.
When the U. S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day - and saved three victims from the rubble.
Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship - and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 - in the world.
Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity.
Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free."
According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. U. S. officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.
In 1991, during the Gulf War, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played a concert wearing gas masks as scud missiles fired by Saddam Hussein fell on Tel Aviv.
Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books.
Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because this was achieved in an area considered mainly desert.
Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.
Medicine... Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized,no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.
An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper
administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
Israel's Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.
Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.
Technology... With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley).
In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and agriculturalists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops.
Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.
Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U. S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well.
The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.
Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel.
The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.
The AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.
A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device,produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct - all without damaging surroundings skin or tissue.
An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's Mojave desert."
All the above while engaged in regular wars with an implacable enemy that seeks its destruction, and an economy continuously under strain by having to spend more per capita on its own protection than any other country on earth. This from a country just 55 years young having started off life on a very frontiers-like basis, whose population had mostly just emerged from the devastating World War II years
Your question is TOO! FUCKING! LONG!
I hate it when people at speeches do that. Get to the point. You're question should be a minute at worst.
the older the questioner the longer the question, and Sam's experienced enough to know that you just cannot hurry these old dears along, they'll simply stop and try to start over. Love how, when gabby grandpa finally winds down, Sam says that it's 'a good question, and very eloquently put' :)
disagree, in this instance.
Valkyrie Ziege that the question was too long
I'll be honest, as annoying as long questions are, a much bigger pet peeve is people who call anyone they disagree with a fascist.
That word means something. Please don't throw it around.
You type all that in one sentence and you accuse HIM of being long-winded?
Nothing you've said even remotely resembles anything Eco or any other political scientist have defined as fascism. If you don't like the guy, fine. Nothing wrong with calling someone a dickweed. But there is something wrong with identifying a man with a political label that he doesn't fit.
If a third of Muslims the in the UK think that the West is decadent, why do they live there??? If they don't like it, they should move to the Middle East, or what ever non decadent country.
But we know that is never going to happen, because they love everything that goes along with our Western culture.
I thought the west is the cradle of free-speech, but the very first time you think bad of the west you are asked to pack up your bags and leave. So much for freedom of speech and freedom of expressions, or is it only freedom when you happen to agree with whatever it is being expressed?
Mo Bass Freedom of expression.... Like murdering journalists for publishing a picture of a pedophilic, genocidal so call prophet of a made up God??? Strange how Mohammad always managed to get a revelation from his God when ever he wanted something, or needed to justify an action he wanted to take. Very handy. If I had enough idiots willing to believe anything I said because 'God told me to do it'. I could carve out a pretty good kingdom for myself. Oh wait... that's exactly what he did.
samuraineko3 No, you guys carved up the middle east all by yourselves during the first world war. Until you can grow up, as a people, and stop blaming everyone else for your own fuck ups, you will never move forward. Oh, and stop killing, raping, beheading, etc all because you 'feel' slighted because someone said something you didn't like. Come on..... Take a cement tablet and harden the fuck up already.
As I watch Al Jazeera news all I see is muslims killing non muslims, muslims killing muslims. All because of that fucked up religion of yours. When you finally admit how evil your man made religion is, and get rid of it, then you will get peace in the middle east.
SameSameDifferent just ignore, and refuse to acknowledge any Muslim. The more of us that simply refuse to deal with or talk to these people, the louder our silence becomes. And the law can't touch you. Being ignored makes people feel very uncomfortable, and they need us to survive in this country.
samuraineko3 Not at all ! :-) I'm English not American. I couldn't give a shit, if the American government want to kill their own people and blame another "terrorist" , who am I to argue. I don't hate Muslims, My dog is named Mohammad, and she's a good little bitch.
Haha, I would have loved to hear Hitchens handle this question. He wouldn't let a "question" go on for four friggin minutes!
Thank you for this post, O Aptly-named FFree Thinker!
this is the kind of discussion I would love to see more of
The old dude proves that eloquence and intelligence are two different things.
Dear Samantha,
You know what they say about people that AT&T cursing and get angry during a debate: they lost the debate and have nothing more to say!
Not surprising!
The gentleman posing the questions to Harris makes some good points.
That last comment was in reply to your attack on my maturity by the way, It wouldn't let me reply it directly so I chucked it in here.
Oh, I am really sorry. It's just that on UA-cam & the Internet in general, people are so often sarcastic & spiteful, that when somebody comes along who is actually being sincere, it's hard to tell. I hope you weren't offended by me, & I am flattered that you would think to ask me about this stuff. Thank you, & good for you for wanting to be informed!
answer to your question is plate tectonics and the movement of the earth's crust. When one plate goes under another, some part of the crust is pushed up in form of mountains. We can actually measure this movement. For example, Himalayas are moving up by about a few millimeters every year. They have slowed down over time, but still if you add up this rate for 1000 years, it becomes a few meters and in just 1 million years, it adds up to few thousand meters - i.e. the current height of himalayas.
"The term God-of-the-gaps fallacy can refer to a position that assumes an act of God as the explanation for an unknown phenomenon, which is a variant of an argument from ignorance fallacy.[9][10] Such an argument is sometimes reduced to the following form:
There is a gap in understanding of some aspect of the natural world.
Therefore the cause must be supernatural."
en.wikipedia. o rg/wiki/God_of_the_gaps
"Can I send u an email....youtube has a word restriction and its so annoying???"
---No.
I can sooooo imagine the world without the west. Just imagine how peaceful it'd be. Wow, I never thought about the possibilities, the inventions, the education, the innovation. It'd be something else! :)
Thanks for your insight, I'll be thinking about that comment for days. Genuinely interesting stuff...
Religion often lacks intellectual honesty and humility. The basic propensity of any specific religious belief is to be exclusive or superior in some way to all others in its perspective and/or approach. Any religion or ideology that cannot accommodate a more pluralistic and inclusive society goes against nature's tendency toward complexity (as it applies to our ever expanding social "organism") and will eventually fall to the wayside.
Scientists most often use the word "fact" to describe an observation. But scientists can also use fact to mean something that has been tested or observed so many times that there is no longer a compelling reason to keep testing or looking for examples. The occurrence of evolution in this sense is fact. Scientists no longer question whether descent with modification occurred because the evidence is so strong.[21]
I fear that there is a vicious circle of humiliation and religiosity. Religiosity leads to cultural inferiority. Feeling of inferiority lead to lack of self confidence and anger. Anger and lack of self confidence lead to religiosity.
+Taxtro 100% in agreement with you here, well said. BTW I am a huge animal lover, have three cats and two doggies.
Quran (4:104) - "And be not weak hearted in pursuit of the enemy; if you suffer pain, then surely they (too) suffer pain as you suffer pain..." Is pursuing an injured and retreating enemy really an act of self-defense?
This is a thoughtful question and Harris gives a thoughtful reply. Would Ben Affleck still spew a charge of "bigotry" after watching this?
Freedom of thought is a glorious thing and it is cause for celebration every time a human being becomes self aware :) The happiness and joy that will come to those who think life is worth living is a thing to congratulate :)
An academic study by Professor Robert Pape, an Associate Professor at Chicago University, published in his book ‘Dying to Win: The Logic of Suicide Terrorism’ [23], demonstrates that the advent of suicide bombing is not unique to Muslims but is rather a generic human issue driven by a number of political factors rather than theological beliefs.
~ Guinness world book of records: the longest, MOST WIDESPREADdelusion in world history: religion.
I just woke up as a fully functioning thinking adult, with no bias and no delusion, and I cannot for the life of me wrap my head around any religions! Cheers, DAVEDJ ~
Quran (2:216) - "Fighting is prescribed for you, and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not."
Not only does this verse establish that violence can be virtuous, but it also contradicts the myth that fighting is intended only in self-defense, since the audience was obviously not under attack at the time.
Sam Harris must get bored beyond tears having to listen to these questions.
In case my previous example isn't clear enough, remember the atom was a scientific theory only because we could not actually see one until someone invented an electron microscope and now we an observe atoms. Prior to that atoms were considered to be facts because there were plenty of supporting facts to prove this!
I'm interested in what you've said here.
Could you please list which dating methods are inaccurate, and provide the corroborating details as to why they're inaccurate?
Thanks very much, and all the best.
I already apologised for my use of the word genocide in the comment you first replied to as I believed that genocide implied a huge percentage (>50%) of the population to be eradicated which would therefore make the conflict NOT a genocide. In my opinion, please feel free to correct me, if a conflict or war is directed at a specific group of people rather than anybody from the country then it fits into your (UN) definition of genocide. The Israel-Palestinian conflict therefore is not a genocide.
This is what a call a well formed articulated question, it took half the video for this lovely wise man to formulaste it, hence i feel the beauty and the dialogue he wants to engage wirh Sam, a réal intellectuel symphony.
Belief is a powerful thing and the power of belief is something science cant explain...my uncle got in a car accident long story short...doctors said that he would never walk again...my family took him to doctors in America and Singapore and went to the best doctors in the world said he had no chance of moving his legs ever again...my uncle today not only moves his legs but runs marathons...all he had was belief...something science cant explain Belief is a double edged sword
The last minute is really the only thing you have to watch. How can you argue against that? Beliefs do matter. Many groups of people with different ideologies have been occupied, but it really depends on what they think in terms of their theology if extreme violence and suicide bombings gets everyday news as a result of their doctrines. How is a statement like the oneHarris makes even controversial?!
From what I remember from the philosopher Karl Popper (and I'm paraphrasing): "if one perceives a situation to be real, then it is real in it's consequences", which is probably what Sam was getting at in his closing remarks.
That British old man is an such an amazing human being.
But it is fact in scientific definition. From theNational Academy of Science (US):"Scientists most often use the word "fact" to describe an observation. But scientists can also use fact to mean something that has been tested or observed so many times that there is no longer a compelling reason to keep testing or looking for examples. The occurrence of evolution in this sense is fact. Scientists no longer question whether descent with modification occurred because the evidence is so strong."
One serious question and one criticism. First, the question. Where does a theist who is not a person of the book fit into this "respect" thing? For example, if I create my own monotheistic religion (which may or may not state that other monotheistic beliefs, including Islam, are incomplete) does it deserve the same respect as Islam?
Simulated Fart Counter: Loud and Clear Edition
1) 0:13
2) 0:29
3) 1:04
4) 1:54
5) 2:34
6) 3:22
7) 3:41
No wonder he's a windbag! But it could be that Sam Harris is going 'Hmm' as he's listening to the guy, hence the 'simulated' part haha. :)
I would love to see a debate where the muslim representative, preferably an Imam, was wired up to a LIE DETECTOR then ask the motherfucker questions. Lets see how that would go.
Lol there's like 5 people in the audience...The old guy who is asking the questions makes really good points, and he is very well spoken...hats off to him, whoever he is. Anyone know who that guy is? He said he wrote an article for The Guardian, so he must be an author.
The equanimity and good faith portrayed by the questioner, truly expedites and catalyses the ultimate goal of such discourses which among others is to converge on our understanding of nature of a certain phenomenon.
Can you give one example where we once had a scientific explanation but on further examination and the acquisition of further evidence we reverted to a supernatural explanation? There are literally countless examples of it going the other way, literally non of it swinging towards the supernatural.
This is a rational response , people usually view Harris as a total extremist towards islam but he actually makes a lot of sense. He isn't as educated as Hitchens on the subject but he explains the matter well in my opinion
"Evil is as evil does..." What does that mean? And what about it should be judged? And what criteria would you use to judge it? I wonder if you really are equipped to determine your own beliefs?
To quote Hamza: Fighting: A Human Reality
There have been many anthropological studies on war and fighting, and the conclusions are very similar. Not only have humans been fighting and killing for millennia, the act of fighting and killing is a human reality. The reasons for fighting and war differ. Some of these reasons include land, fame, fortune, religion, independence and resources. Humans have also fought to defend themselves and others, or to attack their enemies.
You don't understand! The Event is going to take place sometime in the next few months! Maybe weeks!!!
"Political & religious dissent was quashed universally & brutally." Now we're making progress. Let's see if I can get you to drop the "no true Scotsman" argument and agree that there is a lot of violence and discrimination in Muslim history.
“Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error. Whoever rejects false worship and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things.” (Quran 2:256)
Joshua "I set before you this day Good and I set before you Evil.Choose you this day whom ye shall serve! As for Me and my house We shall follow the Lord!"
I like that! I think I will get a T-shirt with that printed on it and then go to a islamic festival!
I think the problem here is that many people are still being educated with 1960's knowledge, and some of us get recent knowledge with recent discoveries told. Really USA has a huge problem in this department, where our education is horrible for a country that is so prosperous and supposedly powerful. We certainly won't remain at that spot for much longer if our education remains stuck 40 years behind.
No, the original Library of Alexandria was destroyed accidentally when Julius Caesar captured Alexandria. Other Alexandrian libraries weren't THE Library. Also, if you're talking about Sheikh Ghazali, he was known for being intolerant at times, but he also wrote Ahl al-Hadith, a book criticizing extremism & anti-rationalism in Islam. He once wrote, " ...learn to draw together instead of driving away, and to bring good tidings rather than to say things that repel people away from Islam."
As long as you aren't sticking to scientific definitions of terms (which means you aren't making a scientific argument), then sure. My post was strictly addressing whether evolution is a scientific fact. It is not. It is a theory (a very well supported theory, the best supported theory we have for the origin of the species).
Quran (4:74) - "Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him We shall bestow a vast reward."
This enforces martyrdom and describes a payment for the believers death.
He becomes a man in the religious sense on his 13th birthday when he becomes a Bar Mitzvah at which point he is considered responsible for observing the mitzvot. This is celebrated by his being called up to read his bar Mitzvah Portion from the Torah, normally on the sabbath relating to his Hebrew birthday.
Why are you always wrong?
The study included the first complete database of every suicide attack around the world from 1980 to early 2004. The study found that:
• The world leader in suicide attacks was the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka - a Marxist, secular group.
• Two thirds of Muslim ‘suicide bombers’ have been from countries where US forces have or are still maintaining military forces.
Any discussion on Qur’anic verses that refer to violence would be meaningless, without a study of the surrounding context. Before we study the verses in question, therefore, let us examine this issue in a wider perspective:
For somebody intent on ending the discussion, you sure have kept posting on it. Just tell yourself, "its only an Internet discussion, it's not that important".
Yes, dinosaurs are birds. Under phylogenetic taxonomy, dinosaurs are usually defined as the group consisting of Triceratops, Neornithes [modern birds], their most recent common ancestor (MRCA), and all descendants.
"..Take not life, which God hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus does He command you, that ye may learn wisdom." (al-An'am 6:151)
Oh.
Here is the apostasy verse.
Qur'an 4:89 [46] states that "They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing: But take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah (From what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them".
So if someone should choose to change faiths, you are ordered to kill them?
Please explain to me how that is peaceful.
Read "Islam: A Short History", by Karen Armstrong, who is neither Jewish nor Muslim, but a Protestant Christian. She's a historian, award-winning author, & public activist in Britain.
Also, we don't know exactly what the Qurayza & the Quraysh said to eachother, but we do know that the Qurayza, a tribe of wealthy Jewish merchant families who disliked Muhammed, were planning to aid the Quraysh. Besides, as mentioned, some scholars believe the whole incident may have been exaggerated or invented.
The part about the buddhists is interesting in light of the recent violence in Burma.
Because denial is a very powerful force. Its much more comforting to just not think about these things and blindly follow what your told.
My apologies when I say anything that contradicts the quran...I meant within Islam...if the hadith, sunnah or any sharia law contradict the quran it is false...and I wasnt making that claim in that particular instance...just saying within Islam ONLY...hope u understand
A total of 12 people showed up
I said this can be attributed to psychological factors partly. However if you want to confine your conclusion to certain instances throughout history in which there was nothing in particular to provoke Muslim hatred then that's fine, it's really superficial though. There's also historical evidence to suggests that the situation gets even more polarized when people feel provoked. Either way, the situation calls for Socratic dialogue.
Al-Zamakhshari was a Mutazilite Islamic scholar who lived in the Khwarezmian Empire in Iran. The Khwarezmians were known for being very intolerant (Iran has a long history of violent, intolerant Islamic governments). Since the Muslim scholars & madrassahs were dependant upon their governments, they often expressed the opinions of those government rather than their own to pacify their rulers. In other writings, al-Zamakhshari is very interesting & logical, reflective of his Mutazilite beliefs.
I'm not Jewish, so my question is what is the intention of the Muslims in the 1947 war in Israel by the Arab Muslim countries had they defeated Israel? Could you elaborate in terms of the Muslim's resolve of that period? To what extent of damage would they have inflicted and how far? And could you please give a realistic reflection of that event and how it would've turned out, that is had Israel lost the war. Thank you.
Before the big bang: You dont know either, you're just asserting you do. At least one of us is honest enough to say "we dont know but lets find out" -_____-......
That worldview does not make sense to me. I won't elaborate, but that is just the way I feel, & I don't believe that my belief in a higher purpose will ever shaken by anyone or anything. Also, with all due respect, as I've mentioned already, I'd like to just quietly end these conversations we are having. Please respect that, & goodbye.
why is that place empty?
cultural divides between westerners and Muslims delineated and underscored. While mentioning 2 key pillars of western society - academia and the press, which has played a major role in drawing up these battle-lines in public consciousness to begin with. Battle lines and points of contention that include calls by the west for greater participation of women in society and greater acceptance of homosexuality? Are these the kinds of issues that lead to military occupations and economic embargoes to begin with?
I got the idea from several catholic priests running a catholic website trying to spread what they believe as the whole truth, when it comes to the 10 commandments. In other words, people who don't look at a scripture, take out only the good kind words and claim "That right there is religion, don't mind the rest of it, don't look at it! It's just these three lines here". If your going to be religious, follow it completely, or come to your senses and don't follow it at all. Simple.
I apologize for any comments I made six years ago about any religion. This was in shock after learning about the misdeeds of ISIS among other things. I've learnt a lot since then. I've come to understand that deep down inside, humans are fundamentally the same.
Did you come from atheist to theist?
We, in the US, believe that connecting religion to government creates a quick path to legalism (that is, focusing on laws of behavior to the detriment of fruits of the spirit (such as love, hope, etc.)). We consider it harmful to both religion and government.
What the hell are you talking about?
I was talking about apostasy and here you are incorrectly quoting me to saying that the quran is the same as the bible.
Try again.
Be a good little boy and read up on plate tectonics; especially on convergent boundaries and orogenic uplift.
Lamartine - Histoire de la Turquie, Paris 1854, Vol II, pp. 276-77:"If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only.
"Thy duty is to make the message reach them; it is OUR PART to call them to account." [13:40] "Call thou (all mankind) unto thy Sustainer's path with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in MOST KINDLY MANNER..." [16:125] "Those who believe, then reject Faith, then believe (again) and again reject Faith, go on increasing in Unbelief--G'd will not forgive them nor guide them on the Way." [4:137]....hope this helps
Thank you. Your cogent and eloquent argument has added much to an otherwise boringly civil exchange of ideas. I'm sure that at the next meeting of your local chapter of theophobes one could expect more of the same. You may want to ask them though, before expressing your opinion, if they would find your current attitude helpful to their cause or perhaps they would rather that you remain silent the next time you have a think.
I believe in Evolution. Words like "theory" and "fact" have very specific meanings. A "fact" is "an observation that has been confirmed repeatedly and is accepted as true". For example, change in the fossil record is a fact. A "theory" is an explanation of why that fact exists. "the change in the fossil record exists due to evolution" is a theory. Regardless of how good the Evolutionary model is, it does not meet the definition of "fact".