Penn Jillette' Most Powerful Arguments Against Religion
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- Опубліковано 24 січ 2025
- In this eye-opening video, Penn Jillette, the outspoken magician and entertainer, shares his most compelling arguments against religion, challenging viewers to reconsider deeply held beliefs. With his trademark wit and candor, Penn delves into the contradictions and moral dilemmas often found in religious doctrines, inviting us to reflect on the importance of reason, evidence, and personal responsibility. Through thought-provoking anecdotes and sharp critiques, he empowers audiences to embrace skepticism and foster a world grounded in logic and compassion. Join us for a captivating discussion that encourages open dialogue and critical thinking about faith and belief!
#science #religion #atheism #atheist #podcast #debate
For me, the son of a baptist minister, it was the talking snake in Sunday school at 8 years old. I'm 80 now, never needed it, never missed it.
Same here, but my father was a minister in Christian Science and then Southern Baptism. It was a surreal and disturbing childhood, but it ended for me at age 15 when he died and I was able to escape all of it. I felt free to learn and grow and never looked back.
@@BluDynamo bravo
When you are 180, you will wish you had been born again! I hope you will not find that out too late!
So, it was the talking snake that your 8 year old mind rejected? If you think about it, your life direction has been decided by an 8 year old! Moreover, have you ever lied or stolen anything? If so, then your leader, your guide through life (i.e., you) is a lying thief. Is that the 'assurance' you want to take into eternity?
Yet, God creating a talking snake is totally logical. He also made a donkey talk. God can do that and it makes sense that He can do that. Yet, are you now an atheist? Do you believe that life 'emerged' from a primordial soup? Did life arise from rain falling on the rocks? If so, then you are a talking rock! Now, that is ridiculous. Life from non-life? Intelligence from non-intelligence? A rock learns to talk and becomes an atheist? How insane!
Instead of trusting the mind of an 8 year old, you can know Christ! If you claim that you can see, your blindness will remain. You can make a bad choice about buying a car or where to vacation, but do not mess up eternity! God will restore all things. Heaven will be great. Jesus said that, unless you are born again, you cannot enter but will wind up with the scum of the earth. Hell is total human depravity. Never a smile or a simple joy. Do not go there! Heaven holds no place for a lying thief.
Christ died on a Cross so that you may know Him. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
It wasn't the actual snake that was talking, it was the evil spirit speaking through the snake. The same one who the Bible refers to as the god of this world and the prince of the power of air, and that old serpent, Satan. Also Balaams Donkey wasn't actually talking, it was God speaking through the animal.
@johnroemeeks_apologetics Any instructional book for the ignorant should not contain nuance, or anything open to interpretation. Straight, plain language.
Religion is about power and control.
And money.
Not Christianity.
Power and money, Christian nationalists in US politics?
Just ask any young woman
@@timothycahill7535Haha… are you serious? Ok, what exactly am I supposed to be asking any young woman? This sounds like fun. What do a ask her, exactly? I wanna get this right.
My Sunday school teacher said we needed to be obedient, like dogs. She said that. That was 64 years ago and I was 5, and I never forgot. That started me on my critical thinking.
So you choose to be obedient to....... Satan?
@@LilChris228 Thats just you showing how radicalized you have become. ....one persons opinion should never have more credibility than another persons, its a free thinking world thankfully, however...lets not forget how many wars, conflicts and death have been fought in the name of religion, is that truly something you support ?
@@LilChris228 Did you read the post? I don't see the OP choosing to be obedient to anything.
@@LilChris228 Imagine a "God" so evil and uncaring he drowns all the earths babies, little kids, the disabled, pregnant women, the elderly, and all of earths animals. Imagine the horrible suffering... And THIS is the God you worship? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR HEART AND MIND?? That is not a God, that is an evil monster claiming to be a God. This "good God" of yours is so evil that he built a torture chamber of fire in his basement to torture angels and people that don't bow down to their master, kiss his feet, and worship him forever. And he threatens to send you to his torture chamber if don't obey his every word. That makes you his slave. In facts, THAT'S WHY you put your hands together when you pray, because it represents your hands being shackled together in slavery. Stop being a slave to an evil and imaginary monster.
If there's a real God in the universe then this monster is not it. Some Christians think Satan is evil. HOW?? Their God created Satan and keeps him around. Who is the real evil?
@@LilChris228 “If I could stop a person from raping a child, I would. That’s the difference between me and your God.”
Anybody else watching this on Christmas Day?
Well I’m watching the day after Christmas.
Me.
My respect for Penn is 1000% up after seeing how much common sense he has.
2 jan.
@ I like it. I get family day every Thursday at my job!
Penn, thank you so much for this. You have put my thoughts into words.
Your thoughts aren't very deep and don't go very far.
@@Trentstone121 why would you say that to someone you have never met or known? So sad.
"Imaginary friends." Well stated!! Thank you for this video,right on!!!
For me, being Black and raised as a Baptist, not catching the "holy ghost". I was a good kid, didn't lie or curse and always tried to do the right thing. Yet, folks around me were getting the holy ghost. Why not me? Oh, I need to get baptized? Ok. I got baptized. Nope, nothing. That was the beginning of my critical thinking.
I used to think atheists were immoral. Until I became one. I see no immorality here… I see someone who cares about people, and is hostile to dogmas.
Yes!!!👏👏👏👏
It irritates me that so many Christians think morals come from the Bible or God and that everyone who doesn't believe in either of those doesn't care about right or wrong and is basically a psychopath.
Atheists are as immoral as an abirdwatcher. It's the religious people who are the outliers. In the modern world.
Ditto
“Hostile to Dogmas”….
That’s a neck tattoo!!
I got thrown out of catechism bc I “was disruptive”. My grandma was disappointed in me for it until she asked how I was being disruptive. Then it came out I was just asking questions about things being preached as a young curious child. Feeling like I let down my whole family really messed me up, specially bc I grew up with about 19 cousins of which all but me went thru catechism, and all bc I was just asking legitimate curious questions. As soon as I became a little more enlightened and summoned the courage… I left all of those beliefs behind. I am now writing this comment from a children’s hospital bc one of my kids has a respiratory infection. My kid will be out in about 1-3 days, but walking thru these hallways and seeing these kids that are “permanent residents” makes definite sense in that there is no god as far as it is defined in religious context. How can a “all loving, all caring” God let this happen?! These kids have done nothing to deserve this burden.
I am me, myself and I in my beliefs. I believe that my dog loves me unconditionally, which technically makes her more of a god by definition than any other religious figure head.
Ever since I was a child, my same thoughts included the fact that I could not understand how a supposedly loving God let such horrors occur in this world. Makes absolutely no logical sense, full stop.
I think you are right, how could a god who is all loving let children suffer with no fault of their own. Gods supposed son said suffer not the little children into me. You are a wonderful person
Think of God as a father who hires a hitman to go after his own children while they are going to school🎉
@@anitamcgrath906He meant let them walk up to me and hang out, or to speak to Him… meaning don’t scold them for doing so.
Jesus was among the people and the children wanted to talk to Him and be close… the adults stopped them for doing so… so He said “it’s all good, chill out, blood… let them little crackers come here and jive turkey w’Me… ain’t no thing but a chicken wing” but it was translated differently in the Bible. Jesus was a huge jive talker.
Pen is a prime example of an honest and thoughtful human being to say the very least, more people should follow his path. Love it!
I like how he had no problems with his weight but knew if he didn't lose weight then he would die earlier leaving his kids fatherless. So he lost weight.
That's true but don't follow people. Take your own path . Following is how religion starts
@@Maffy-hfollowing for no good reason and against all reason or suffer consequences is how religion starts. Following another's path in honesty and thoughtfulness is definitely not.
@aaronmatzkin7966 most religious people would say they follow in honesty and thoughtfulness if asked
@@Maffy-h just to add to the point, they are obviously wrong, also, when we say follow we don't mean worship and submission and blind faith/acceptance, I mean specifically be a good and better person, and Penn is an example of that.
Being a human with common sense who can see the stuff around it is not in any way religious nor related to religion, this is what I mean with "follow", like follow common sense, follow knowledge, follow the indications, not follow as in blind faith and submition, weird you didn't understand that
For me it was years spent in hospitals watching a ton of people praying for salvation and never receiving it.
This says a lot more about you misunderstanding religion
@ I know more about religion than 95% of supposedly religious people. Ive read all the good books. They were all nonsense and obvious Ponzi schemes each and every one of them. If your god is so great why isn’t he the god of the whole planet. Why is it if you live in other places your god is different? If your god can be determined by geography….its just a cult with fools waiting to be taken advantage of.
@@kozy15x why?
See I’m casually Catholic and I don’t believe God grants personal wishes
You don't know if they received salvation. You only know they weren't healed.
And as someone who has seen someone suffering, sometimes dying is a relief for everyone.
Unless you actually TRY it yourself, you will never know the truth.
Talking about it, or just going to church isn't religion. True faith is within each person and may look different each time.
Religion, the oldest magic trick that we all know how it works but people still fall for it.
How does it work?
@@Trentstone121 yes
Tritely cynical...
It was the CCTV of the time.
I've been thinking like this since I was 10 years old, I'm 53 now, so thank you. It is validating to others who have similar ideas/thinking✊️🤙🤘✌️🖖
I would agree that this is the product of a ten year old's thoughts.
@@Trentstone121lmfao you’re such a 🤡
@@Trentstone121 at least we are past the 5 years old that believes in sky boogeyman.
Yes, it shouldn't be concerning at all that someone in their 50s thinks the same way they did when they were ten years of age.
@@ValiantGATE Lol, I agree. It is concerning that so many people that were indoctrinated into a religion at ten years old, are still indoctrinated at 50.
Also this is why he has been a hero of mine forever. So intelligent and well spoken. Never loses cool and when in debate, he debates the topic not the person. He knows his stuff and it amazes me every time I hear him speak. Cuz every time I learn something.
Everyone is born atheist.
Religion has to be taught.
Atheism doesn't have to be taught.
Then why is Penn Jillette pathologically ranting? Atheism is taught. Billions across the Earth are religious. Atheism is taught. Religion is intrinsic to what it means to be a human being,as Anthropology shows.
Everyone across the Earth, by the billions, are religious. Atheism is taught by pathological ranters, like Penn Jillette.
"Everyone is born an atheist."
This is nonsensical. Implicit atheism is incoherent. People don't "lack" belief in a proposition that they aren't aware of yet. I'll show you. I'm going to to make an assertion, and I want you to tell me if you believe my claim is true, believe my claim is untrue, or lack belief that my claim is true. You go first. Tell me what your position on my claim is before I tell you what I am claiming.
@@JustifiedNonetheless "Everyone is born an atheist." - is absolutely correct. People do not lack of belief-they have a strong trust in things PROVEN. If something is unproven, it is safe to ignore. And hey, EVERYBODY KNOWS gods do not exist-or how do you explain that anyone confronted with some concept of such magical being responds with: "NONSENSE!"
It all boils down to two simple lines:
Why don't you believe in my god?
_For the very same reason you don't believe in mine!_
@@JustifiedNonetheless No one talks about God more than the atheist.
Penn Jillette is a living legend. He spouts truth.
Doesn't.
@@Scotty-P Listen to the arguments. You need these videos to free yourself.
@@Lordidude There are no 'arguments', and you "atheists" need to be freed from your egos and materialism, post haste.
@@Scotty-P You are correct. There are no arguments for god
@@Lordidude God is evident in numerous ways and upon numerous levels. You know this. We all know this. What "atheism" seems like for so many of you indulging in it, is an extended adolescent tantrum. With no thought to anything higher or better. It is demonic in origin though, make no mistake about that.
I love this!
Oddly I have felt this way since I was about 6 yrs old. I just never got it!
Same here. I never was able to believe that there was a magical spirit floating around the universe. I always knew that it was all bullshit.
@@rottweilerfun9520 Same here. But I never dare outwardly express it and barely dared to openly think it. Not until I was in my early twenties.
I keep hearing this age...which was exactly when I knew that there was no big guy in heaven that knew every hair on my head
I'm right there with you. Even as a child it never made sense to me. And the funny thing is when you tell someone you don't believe in religion, they feel the need to convert you. I've never felt the need to convince someone who believes in religion that god does not exist. I get preached to at least 4-5 times a year until I have to literally ask whoever it is to just stop and save their breath. It's mind boggling to me.
@@jeremyjensen8953 I once had someone say to me, doesn't it take as much effort to not believe as it does to believe. All I could say was huh..............lol
I never was forced to go to church and i don't believe in god. When my wife died after a failed heart transplant, that solidified it for me. All the thoughts and prayers were just that and didn't change anything or offer me peace.
My biggest issue right now brother, is that millions of religious believers voted in an orange buffoon.
Thats exactly why religion is dangerous..all trump had to do to get the Christians to overlook trumps character was play the jesus card and they bought it..its a dangerous ideology
Hypocrites
@@moniqueengleman873
It seems clear to them “God” saved his life so he can save US. Can’t argue with belief.
l loved Christopher Hitchen's quote, " Good people do good things, bad people do bad things, but if you want good people to do bad things...........give them religion?.
@joaquinmisajr.1215 wow that sure sounds ignorant 🙄 😒
lts for I have been an atheist since I was 14. I have never been ashamed or embarrassed but it is nice to see someone else brave enough to say it out loud in the time of hyper religiousness
My respect for him has suddenly grown immensely!
I'm so glad I found you. Totally relate❤ Thank you
I grew up in a catholic family, went to church every Sunday, was altar boy, but never believed. What really has set me off over the years is what happened to kids like myself in the church, acts that were committed by those supposedly serving god. Then the church looking the other way or serving up more kids to them by moving them around. This has been found out to go all the way to Rome, where they knew. And now my 87 year old mother goes to those same churches every day hoping for salvation while having never helped others. Its money and power that those at the top want not salvation, or they would have protected those that were in their church.
Sexual perverts
Same here. When I was an altar boy, I used to listen to all of these “holier-than-thou” type people blather on and on about how we should all follow Christ’s example and live these virtuous lives and how we are all equal in the eyes of the lord…and in the same breath talk smack about what someone was wearing or how they weren’t as involved with the Church as themselves-you know, basic gossip-mongering. The level of hypocrisy that flowed from most of those people-my parents included-was astounding, and it didn’t take me long to figure out that everything came back around to money. Talk about having your eyes opened…
Just think a little deeper. Their god sees everything, so he watched that disgusting man abuse children. Does he get off on it? Sexual sadist watching ? And he's getting into heaven 'cos he confessed and they have to forgive sinners? Stupid as a chocolate teacup!
Thanks, Penn and JS. Happy Solstice! That's my way out... and it's real twice a year. More joy and gifts!
I love this man. Honest, smart, funny human.
Penn as usual you are straight talking. Thank you.
Not believing in God isn’t a terrible thing. What’s terrible are the atrocities committed by believers.
I would love the chance to sit and have a drink with this man. I have the same view as him and it would be so enthralling to be able to talk about any subject under the sun with an open mind without being bogged down by the dogmas which constrain so many members of society.
I, too, became an atheist by actually reading the bible. I had a minister father and I was placed in Seminary Education at a very young age. I was a voracious reader, in general, and had to read the scriptures front to back many times over. Simultaneously, I also read many books on philosophy and science which is where the issues came about. I had the wherewithal to recognize the massive number of contradictions, inconsistancies, and truly horrendous ideas being presented as the "word of God". They just didn't comport with reality and science. My personal bibles had many dogears, highlights, and bookmarks with notes on them to denote my many issues with these problematic statements and ideals. The more I spoke to my father about the issues I had found, the more angry and violent he became. He was not big on answers, but very big on "beating the devil out of you" instead. He had relinquished his critical thinking skills long before he had any children, so it was a pointless battle getting him realize how much garbage was in there. It was all true no matter what and you didn't dare question it, so I did my best to keep my mouth shut. It was a rough childhood, but he died when I was 15. I had been a secret atheist for some time already by then, so I was suddenly free to live my life without religion. It was SO much better and intellectually honest to me. I celebrate the people who have also been able to free their minds of it, as well. 🤘
You know who else had a Seminary Education.
Charles Darwin
I feel like everybody should be able to give their greetings. I reply with mine, and we both go about our day, knowing that somebody else is also enjoying themselves.
Science doesn’t have all the answers.
Religion has none.
Science has questions that may never be answered.
Religion has answers that must never be questioned.
Love this channel!
Thanks for the truth ❤
For me it was when I was about 8 or 9 years old and I had questions about religion. I went through the catholic school system and nobody, including my very religious mother, could answer my questions satisfactorily.
Thank god I'm an atheist !!!
Im a Canadian now living in US. The amount of religious belief within US society has been a real eye opener. I grew up in a family where religion just wasn't a thing. Where belief in Gods just wasn't a thing. In fact, we regarded religious people as being some sort of nuts. Anyway, i always wonder why people believe in Gods. Why not just believe in yourself instead?
Belief in god can be explained as fear of death.
Id add in greed..athiests dont expect a reward after life but christians want the whole candy store
Yes!! They want a fantasy that they have eternal life.
Death is natural.
Pretty much, yeah. Especially in these modern times. We know how the world works, so we don't need gods to explain lightning and thunder and earthquakes and eclipses and disease. The only excuse these days for believing in a god is fear of dying and the void. I try to tell people it's nothing to be afraid of. Like Mark Twain once said, "I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions of years before I was alive, and I was not inconvenienced in the slightest.""
I think it's more a fear of life. They're afraid of how horrible the world is so they lean on the belief that God has a plan for all of this or the bad shit is caused by Satan. Then when they die and make it through this shit they get to go to some magical land forevermore. Most people are fragile.
Being honest, I don’t fear my death. I fear the death of others.
Brilliantly put...
My Dude, PJ preachin facts! 💪✊️✌️💯
If a god exists, it needs no human to speak for it!
If a god exists, it does not need a book to explain itself!
And if a god exists, it does not need mortal money to do its work.
If gods exist it’s for damn sure they don’t want us to find them and they sure as heck want nothing to do with us. Absentee father knocked up mom and skipped out.
why not?
@@phillipzx3754 why not?
@@speedos Because it completely undermines the assertion that it is omnipotent. I thought the fact it needed a human to build him a boat already did that but there are still some seeking further clarification.
Dealing with hardcore Christians pushing their mythology is like listening to a flat earther. . . The level of ignorance is worse.
That's when "I ran" becomes really inviting.
Logic and facts these are the best arguments
For ?
There are no facts for jesus
@@gowdsake7103 i know,but i can admit that a good man,maybe named Jesus or whatever other name,lived around these times and became a samaritain public figure who enraged those pulling the strings of society.... 2000 years later plus ca change,plus cest la meme chose.
But yes there will never be any facts about him or any of us being sons of some gods.We are a product of evolution and so far we have not really grasp what was our real purpose in the big circus of life.And if some scriptures proves to be true it would only proof we were a by-product from another race and not gods.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, but how can you have 'logic' without God? For example, suppose my argument for God was, 'a brown cow dances on the moon.' Is that a good argument? Is there some universal law of logic that I 'should' subscribe to? You cannot have logic without God lest every person creates their own rules!
Yet, sadly, in the same way, atheists are amoral, as they each person creates their own rules. How, then, can you complain that hell is full of torturers? Like you, they make their own rules. That is why hell is torment. It lasts forever. If you have lied and stolen, you will wind up in hell as a lying thief. Yet, Christ died on a Cross so that you may know Him. Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
@@kenshiloh easy there turbo. Looks like you have been given a lot of terrible information to work with.
Logic - believe things when there is good evidence for it. Don't believe in things when there is no (or bad) evidence for it. If your claim is there's a brown cow on the moon, we better be able to see said cow on said moon. Otherwise, don't make the claim. You say there's a god? Bring me a jar of god to the lab and we'll have a look. Until then you're just wasting everyone's time.
Implying there 'is no logic without god' is...... a baffling starting position to take.
Morality - who the flip says "atheists have no morals????" Sounds like a strawman at best, malicious ignorance at worst. Empirically speaking, atheists are better off than theist. Better educated. Better parents. Lower crime rates. Not by a lot, but data supports it.
We're still humans. With thoughts and feelings. It's shocking I have to tell you people that, but here we are. We're simply good for goodness sake.
If you need the promise of a reward - or threat of punishment - to be good, you are by definition not a good person. You're a monster on a leash.
I don't want to be tortured. I don't want others to be tortured. I don't know anyone who wants to be tortured. I cant think of any reason anyone would be better off by being tortured. Therfore adopting a no-torture policy is in my and everyone's best interest.
See how easy that was? No invisible sky daddy from the bronze age required.
@@kenshiloh You can't have logic with a magic sky daddy. Only in a rational natural universe can logic exist. As far as laws of logic you can check out this summary: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_thought
You cannot be moral and worship the Abrahamic god. It demands people reject morality and instead embrace obedience to authoritarianism. The one thing forbidden in the Garden of Eden was the Knowledge of good and Evil, aka morality. Your imaginary god tested Abraham to see if he was worthy. In the test he had to choose obedience (murdering his child) over morality (telling god to fook off).
You yourself are so devoted to obedience and immorality that you cannot see the sickness of human sacrifice as payment for a supposed crime.
20th century, rather than 19th century. Apart from minor detail, I am in total agreement with this piece.
Well.. yet again, USA only talks of USA. The Crusades did happen you know. "Christian Nation" etc.. A good few centuries before your George Bush restarted the whole thing...
Having been raised Catholic, it’s no small wonder that I ended up an atheist.
When I First Heard The Fable of Adam and Eve ? I Fell Outa My Chair ! With Astonished Laughter ! That Anybody Would Beleave That Rediculous Explanitory Concoction ! Nobody Was Literate, Or Not Even Around , To Actually Wittnes Any of Those Fantastical Happenings ! , Like So Much of The Old Jewish Morality Mystical, Non-Witnessed , Philosophys !
It's wonderful to see all the lights, city decor, bakery specials, music, and family shopping at Christmas time. every year, I just stroll, admiring what people can do in a whimsical winter season. Just focusing on bright holiday scenery is what helps me say to myself, "this year was worth it all, and I'll keep improving into the next." We work hard, and yet the restful holidays is where we all come together- a peace on earth truly.
Are you talking about religion or a cultural holiday season?
I agree, I love the razzle-dazzle, but always aware of those who can't enjoy the season due to starvation, sickness, horrible grieving/ death of a child.
It's not wonderful for everyone.
I live in the southern hemisphere. December is the height of summer for us. Yet, we suffer all the nonsense tinsel and winter themed bs. It's the most annoying time of year for me.
@MarkoVukovic0 Australia here. For me it's Mary kiss my arse
@@MarkoVukovic0 lol, I’ve always wondered how people in the southern hemisphere handled that aspect of the holiday.
SPOT ON!!
At age 5 a comment by a priest made me realize that religion is just another cult system
What comment?
Dude don’t just put that out there with out some context or explanation. Hook a brother up. What was the comment?
I have a question for all of you believers... When I was young, almost every week at church, the priest would ask the congregation to pray for a member that was sick or injured. When the person got better, we would be thanked for our prayers, and when the person didn't get better, crickets.
I have lived my whole life, 70+ years, in agriculture country. Almost every year, we would hear of a farm accident where someone loses a finger, hand, limb, etc. Instead of asking for prayer for healing, why didn't the priest pray for and ask for prayers to have the lost appendage grow back? Isn't god up to the task?
My day of realization was when my dad admitted there is no Santa Claus. I was not even 4 years old. Then I started looking around and listening to all the lies adults tell me and others.
Santa Claus myth is basically Christianity Lite for children
Amen, God is a book character. Thoughts and prayers y'all.
The Bible is a great book, but it's fiction
As an ex Irish Catholic i had to denounce the devil when i was about eight and embrace god as my saviour,had no idea what it was all about but i said yes,age 14 hit and i said what is this bullshit and never looked back.religion and fashion are the two greatest scams ever.
Religion. Just. Never. Stuck.
For me, it was working my first homicide. It was a 23 yr old woman who was working as a religious school teacher. She was brutally sexually assaulted and killed. Did I know that these terrible things happened? Sure, but for whatever reason, this woman's autopsy exposed the lie that God is love. Either God is not love or there is no God. I went with the more logical answer.
Out of interest, how do you rationalise the atrocities you have seen, worked on?
I grew up in a Christian household and I always admired those famous wise pastors and evangelists who talk abouth faith, love, compassion, The Holy Spirit, the power of the Gospel, holiness. Then i saw them imposing hands on trump and got me thinking either the devil got em blind or christianity is a lie.
"Morality is more important than God"
=Penn Jillette❤
Snappy but untrue by definition...
@@johnheaton5058
How is this untrue?
@@johnheaton5058absolutely true.
The philosopher Epicurus said
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"
A video here on UA-cam featured Bill O'Reilly expressing his belief that a god created us. His thesis was that life could not have developed without divine help, never addressing how his God managed to exist before the universe. The rhetorical question is whether life or God is the implausible dilemma.
People refuse to reject religion because they fear "retribution." What kind of "loving God" would have that sort of attitude?!
One of my neighbors is a recovered alcoholic/drug user who attributes his current life to "finding the Lord." He doesn't realize that, like so many of us atheists, he actually found himself when he was lost. The religion is a crutch.
Furthermore how exactly did a god get created?.if there is a god surely it would ponder how it came to be..and if it doesn't believe it had a creator then its an atheist
The only thing about atheists that i don't understand is they expect Christians to have ALL the answers about God when you guys don't have ALL the answers about the universe either. Ultimately nobody truly knows and to each his own🤷🏾♀️
@@kimberly-vi2ru christians claim to have all the answers what you talking about..most athiests say they dont know anything about god
@richardlawson6787 not all Christians claim that..I've actually never heard a Christian claim that. Maybe American Christians idk (I think American Baptist churches *think*/ act like they know everything but that's just an opinion lol). It'd be wrong for any Christian to claim that cause then they'd ultimately be making themselves God, as in "all-knowing". (1 John 3:20).
@@richardlawson6787 not all Christians claim that....I've actually never heard any Christian claim that. Maybe in American churches idk...the Baptists seem to act that way but that's just an opinion lol...but anyway it'd be wrong for a Christian to claim that because then they'd ultimately be making themselves God, as in "all-knowing". (1 John 3:20)
This is brilliant.
Thank you Penn. I don’t feel alienated as a non believer in Texas, however I cringe any time someone preaches to me. I view them as cultists but if they get strength to live from it, so be it. Just stop em blazing the the fenders of police cars with “In God We Trust”. Honor and respect separation of church and state as you drape yourself in the American flag.
At 5, I started asking questions they couldn't answer. In Sunday School, they'd say "You just have to believe." Well, everything else in life seemed to be based on logic, except for this. So I decided (at 5) not to "Just believe." Dad and I decided to keep our money, and spend it going to the lake on Sundays instead. Mom went too. Although always raised religious, she was smart, and knew it was bogus. We bought a boat and lived happily ever after. (Well, at least for many years after.)
Can Penn be President please?
Can almost anyone else be President next year please
God, yes please!!!!🎉
No, he’s too honest 😟
It’s so good to hear these points of view. When I was a child, I always thought the Moses parting the Red Sea and Noah’s ark stories were pure fantasy
A group of us kids, who all lived in the same street decided we wanted to go to Sunday school, my person experience after attending twice was profound, I never went back, at the age of 8 I figured out it was a waste of time, as an adult I grew to realise it was a load of shite.
I love to be in the company of such great men like Penn Jillete, and Maher, Tyson, Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris, Dennett. It's not just that they are wise great thinkers but that they are also brave men. We know the history of religious persecution and yet these men speak with such compassion, I am in awe of them.
Penn, as a lifelong atheist I say keep on speaking the truth. I have converted many religious nuts to atheism and am darn proud of it. They look back and say to me "what the hell was I thinking" by being a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, etc.
*deconverted
Jesus is the truth !
Jesus is God .
God has proven himself billions of times .
Every time a baby is born , it is the gift of life given to us by God .
Jesus is the truth and he is alive today .
Darwin was a lying con man and the son of the devil , and he and his pseudo science lies are dead .
@@RobertStambaugh-l5r "jesus died for our sins". Except he didn't actually stay dead. So what did he sacrifice? His weekend? jesus
gave up his weekend for your sins.
@@RobertStambaugh-l5r and every time those babies die from horrible diseases it's god losing to the devil? ..just forget about god and jesus.. you will live a much happier life ;p
CHEERS from AUSTRALIA
I am the son of a Jehovah Witness minister. When my mom remarried we moves across the street from the Methodist church. By the time I was 18 I realized there's no god. It's only self serving people.
I left religion about 4 years ago (I was Mormon), and since then I have felt like this side of the table is so much more accepting and understanding of everyone. When you are Christian you say that you love everyone and that God loves everyone, but you also have to carry the belief that non-Christians are wrong and that your eternal reward will be better than their reward. Athiests don't carry that load, that cognitive dissonance. An Athiest can be just as bad as another person, but at least they aren't looking at people and thinking they might burn in hell forever.
How many people have died over the centuries for a concept that can never be proven. Faith is a good thing. Faith is in each other, a faith that is tested every day. Not to a God who will send you to the depths of despair for not falling to your knees. Or destroy you for not bending to its will. That is called control.
Yup.. Religion, Control, Conformity, Cult.. All synonyms ..
Sadly, human beings are, at times, territorial or tribal and feel the need to keep out those who they see as being "different". Mr. Jillette makes very strong and good arguments - we need more like him. Can you be more like him? Can I? We need to try. As an aside, if AI is being used to generate the sub-titles, a human being can do it more accurately, removing the errors. (Liked and Subscribed.)
Lets reclaim the December 25th festival and celebrate it as the return of light. symbolizing knowledge and enlightenment.
I vote for the return of the Saturnalia. Because I believe in traditional ceremonies.
Spot on. I agree.
Gradual realization in around 9 years old that the flood could not be true and how did humanity arise from two people. And then why would a perfect being need to be worshipped? Dad was a devout Catholic was not pleased. I do Chrismas but It's an excuse to drink, eat and have fun. Nothing to do with religion. I'm 64
He believes in LOVE. That is good enough for me 💪❤️👍
If the world was completely flooded...where did the water go?
My buddy said it best, “Religion is like the Easter Bunny for adults!” 😂
I became an atheist by watching how Christians acted towards others. They rarely helped the less fortunate, and they judged others daily.
Religion was important at one time. However nowadays we have empirical, scientific data to answer our questions.
1:00 the more I think about and read what’s in the Bible, the more I lose respect for the people who believe even most of it.
Well said, Penn. Makes me miss Christopher Hitchens and George Carlin all the more, but glad that folks like Penn, Stephen Fry, Richard Dawkins, and Ricky Gervais are still around to throw wrenches into the nonsense cog.
Penn is one of the few real adults in the world... he's a grown up who doesn't play make believe 💙
I went to Sunday school when I was nine because the kids at school were talking about it and I felt like I was left out. I get there and they're talking about Noah's ark. All I could think of was "You people actually believe that?" I was that young and saw the nonsense.
The best thing that Human Beings invented was the written word........The worst thing was religion..........
And how the church fought to stop the average person having access to the written word. T
The issue is religious individuals aren't going to click on and watch this video with an open mind, their mind was instructed to close a long time ago... and it's what they forever fell.
When I get asked," Are you a God fearing person?" I straight up tell them," No! I don't fear loved ones. If he loves me then why should I be afraid of him? I have respect for him, but I will not fear him."
There are 3 options regarding the possible existence of God: 1) There is an all powerful God who chooses to allow unimaginable suffering to be inflicted on good and decent people. 2) There is a kind and loving God, but despite what we have been told he's not really all that powerful and therefore kind of useless. 3) There is no God. I am very confident in my choice of option 3. I would love for someone to explain to me that there are any other options.
Theists have no good explanation for human suffering. People suffer at random as if there was no supreme commander in the sky directing our every move. They bring up the creation of the universe and the creation of life, both of which have rational counter-arguments from science.
The counter-counter-argument is that science hasn’t PROVEN those arguments yet. So they insist on absolute hard evidence for the abiogenesis, while offering nothing substantial for proof of a divine being.
There could be many Gods, and none of them are "all-powerful," but I tend to agree with you that it's option 3.
I believe the "God" premise was invented by marketing geniuses to create stability in unstable times, to give people hope in hopeless times and to make those people who created this marketing scheme very wealthy and powerful.
There is a god but he is not all powerful and at the same time not all good.
@@BenjaminGawitt-mn2xb So in other words option #2 - he's useless.
Those are the three conclusions that made me feel #3 was the logical explanation.
I am 74 now and have been an atheist for 58 years and I have been happy with that. Religion takes away free will but if people want to belive in God and it gives them comfort so be it.
Every theist posting here comes across as if it were written by a five year old.
When I was a kid, I was at that age where I no longer believed in Father Christmas, The Easter Bunny or The Tooth Fairy, yet Adults still believed in God. And my Childhood logic thought it was plain silly. I'm still an Atheist, I have no need for religion.
My punishment for dying in sin is eternal conscious torment. If Jesus took upon himself my punishment, then why is he not now in eternal conscious torment?
Because it's the 21st century and we are no longer ignorant
Yeah, God sent a piece of himself as Jesus, and thus "sacrificed" himself, to himself. Hell, he didn't even sacrifice anything, he spent a weekend sleeping in a cave.
I had issues with the "trinity" when I was a young teen. Growing up Catholic was horrible. JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SIN!!! looking up at that man on the cross in terror and horror! I just wouldn't buy the trinity, and was told believe or go to hell. Happy atheist now😊
Please watch and share with others my five brief videos in which I present examples of scientific facts contained in the Bible, facts that the writers thousands of years ago could not have been aware of without divine knowledge given to them by Jesus Christ / The God of the Bible. And today's scientists agree with those facts!
@@thetruthaboutscienceandgod6921 In as few words as possible, just give us one scientific fact contained in the Bible that the writers could not have been aware of without divine knowledge.
Christmas isn't really about Christ, we know Christ wasn't born in December and the church moved the date to occupy a pagan celebration.
Ummm we don't even know christ existed
Christams was created for $$$$.During the winter time nobody would go out and buy stuff and the store owner needed a reason to sell lame stuff all year long,so they come up with funny dates through the year so that people would feel obligated to BUY MORE STUFF.
@@gowdsake7103well I mean he is a historical figure so he probably did but can we absolutely prove it? Nah but that’s a lot of history
@@JKennedy442actually thats an erroneous statement sir..ceasar..davinci.. Shakespeare.. Galileo were historical people because there is tons of evidence they existed..jesus?.not a shred of evidence outside a few challenges in an odd book
Nice try but no. There are atheist scholars who know Christmas landing in 12/25 is due to it being 9 months after Passover (March 25). It was believed that important Jewish figures were conceived and died around Passover. Solstice was a very happy coincidence.
Never experienced any particular event that made me atheist. I think I always have been. Being made to go to Sunday school and catechism classes, I just couldn’t connect with what was being taught.. It all just sounded bonkers to me!
Christopher Hitchens…… You’re truly missed Sir
I don't care that much about Christmas. For me it's the Feast of Yule. Merry Holliday everyone!
I don’t have the stats to prove this, but looking at the USA from Europe (I’m Dutch) I certainly don’t get the feeling that the group of atheists in the US is growing. On the contrary. When I see what happens at this moment in the USA with the election and what an unbelievable non ethical bully like Trump can do to create an image, despite his low standards in basically everything, of being Christ on earth who will ‘help’ the people of the USA (very specific, don’t you think?) and how many people are willing to even accept him as the saviour. I mean, we don’t know the outcome yet, but when you look at the electorate and the polls that say how close of a battle this will be, only because he presents himself as someone he’s clearly not, a devoted Christian, backed up mainly by so called Christians…. I’m afraid atheists still have an extremely long road to go. 😞
Theists just "yell" the loudest.
I suspect that Penn is speaking from statistics, which confirms the rise in the number of Atheists.
I’m 68 years old living my whole life in the United States. With the internet the growth of non believers and spiritual not religious has been substantial. If you are making your assessments based of the political news you are getting an incomplete picture reason being that the one thing the Christian right is very proficient at is making extremely loud obnoxious victim noises.
That's why we rely on statistical data and not on random guys under UA-cam comment sections...
I'm sure Penn was referring to statistical data when he said that atheism is growing.
@@castleanthrax1833 1 minute fact-check can tell that atheism is on the rise, decades in Europe, and years in the USA. Some people just ignoramus.
I'm 40, been atheist since I was 8. We never were a religious family. I believed in God much like Santa because I just thought you were supposed to. When I was exposed to the concept of multiple religions I just thought about it, and thought it didn't make any sense to me. I have no qualms with the religious. If it's for you then I support that.