I hated hitchens when I was a believer.. Now that I have been lifted from the fog of that nonsense, I can say that I was not only wrong in my assessment of the man, but I respect him immensely..
emanuel e Atheism is not a religion. Atheism is a response to a single question: "Do you believe any gods exist?" If your answer is "no" then you are an atheist. There is no dogma, no tenets, no rituals, no meetings, no rules, no leaders, no prayers, no teachings. Simply a lack of belief in theistic claims. There are atheistic religions, such as Sikhism, some forms of Buddhism or even the Raelians. Is theism a religion? How about monotheism, or polytheism? These simply describe people's stances on the question of belief in gods. Christianity, for example, is a monotheistic religion. Theism in itself is not a religion, it is answering "Yes, I believe in one or more god(s)." Similarly, atheism is not a religion. But please, go on about how it's more logical to believe a book based on nothing but "faith", how it makes more sense to posit some all-powerful supreme creator being and draw all your conclusions based on that. Sure, that makes a whole lot more sense then dealing with reality on reality's terms. That makes more sense than learning to live in this world, rather than waiting to die and go to another you have no evidence for. Especially when the book promotes genocide, slavery, subjugation of women, bodily mutilation of infants, hate, bigotry, rape, incest, and all manner of other harmful things.
emanuel e Pro tip: when you make an assertion, it helps to make an argument for it. I told you exactly how atheism is not a religion using multiple points, and all you've said is "Is too! And you're stupid!"
emanuel e Atheism is not organized, it's not a collection of beliefs, has no cultural systems and no "world views". Atheism says nothing about the origins of man, Earth or the universe. However, since atheists don't have the "God did it" idea to fall back on, they tend to accept the current scientific consensus on the issue. But this is by no means a requirement to being an atheist. All that is required is to answer "no" to the question of believing in any gods. I'm not sure how much more clear I can be about that.
emanuel e Once again, you make assertions without anything to back it up. I told you exactly how atheism does NOT fit the description of a religion as described on the Wikipedia article you posted, and once again you simply assert "YES IT DOES" plus an ad hominem attack. Please, enlighten me about these myths and other unsubstantiated beliefs that make up atheism, as you see it.
Every now and then, I come back and watch this two-part video. Each time, I'm so impressed with the eloquence of Christopher Hitchens. Thanks to 43Alley for animating and posting, this is truly the best of UA-cam.
I agree. I've watched a lot of Hitchens videos, but this is the first one I've seen that's been visually something other than him standing behind a podium or sitting in a chair. As handsome as he was, this was far more enjoyable to watch. Thank you.
Freddy Lubin Christian myth is so intertwined in our culture and language, that these phrases almost come natural even without any religious background
I consider myself lucky that I sometimes run across Hitchen's work that Is new to me. There will be no more new works. Some of it though will be new to me. It's said that in human endeavors we advance only because we stand on the shoulders of giants and those giants on the shoulders of even older giants. Those that actually do contribute something more from that perch have had one hell of a climb. We owe it to them even if we fail to try and move that height even an inch higher if we are able.
avedic True Story! Long Live Christopher "The Hitch" Hitchens! RIP my good man. And your "Hitchslaps" will forvever be remembered by your endering fans and intellectuals everywhere!
10 years on from being posted and this is still probably the best thing I've seen on the internet. The original speech sums up religion perfectly, and the pictures added just seem to bring the whole thing to life.
Dear Mr. Hitchens, thank you for helping me emancipate myself from the chains of religious indoctrination. I have never felt so free in my life until people like you pointed out the logical and moral flaws of Christianity and other religions. You are one of my HEROS!!! You will be greatly missed by the intellectual community.... RIP Christopher Hitchens -December 16, 2011.
He packs a lot into every sentence and he refreshingly treats his audience with respect. Out of all the youtube videos of Hitchens spouting argument, this was the easiest to listen to, to absorb, to hear properly and clearly and I think it's because of the images. They not only staved off the distraction of watching someones face, but they aided parts of the speech too. Many thanks to the uploader.
@DaIronchef I'm sorry if I can be a bit snippy. I appreciate your respect and I'll try to be respectful in return. If I fail to that's my failing and I apologize.
I am taken aback. Thank you Stinkysdad for your thoughtful post in response to my comment. I am a bit confused by some of the content of your post but I applaud you putting your brain into your comment.
This video came up on autoplay in the background while I was working. Super interesting and thought provoking, but I honestly thought it was like a Ted talk by Sideshow Bob at first.
If Jesus wanted to saved the world from sin, he should have come much sooner, like after Adam and Eve was cast out of Eden. Because what would happen to those poor humans who lived before Jesus was born? They haven't received his gospel, they haven't read the bible, they don't even know there's a Yahweh (because his attention was spent making "his people" miserable). Was that what a reasonable, loving Savior like? Was that what Yahweh is? Create "Pre-Christ-was-born" humans then cast them into hell because they didn't hear about Jesus and his words? Do you really have that much faith on this hypocritical "savior"?
Nice to see you posting. I love your videos. You're one of the best atheists on YT. Thanks for the hard work and keep it up. I'm sure it's making a difference.
I love Hitchens, but he really undermines his argument starting about one minute in when he talks about the life of pre-agricultural people as brutal. Things like warfare, epidemics, misogyny, slavery and social stratification didn't exist until the agricultural revolution, and the average lifespans of pre-agriculutural people were longer and healthier than their "civilized" counterparts. The one-and-only advantage that agriculture-based civilizations had over pre-agrarian hunter gatherer bands was that they were able to maintain larger (albeit far less healthy) populations and better-armed (albeit far less just) societies. And, oh yeah, the beginning of ecclesiastic (non-shamanistic) religions coincided precisely with the beginning of agricultural civilization. No, it's not a coincidence that as soon as humans began to manipulate their environment that ruling classes began to use spirituality as a tool to manipulate their people. That's what Hitchens should have said instead. And to answer your next question: Yes! My university degree IS in sociocultural anthropology! :D
I think Hitch was saying that life was brutal in the sense that people starved, died in childbirth, had diseases, bad teeth, etc. and that God did nothing to help for 98K years. Even if warfare and slavery were not the most dominant parts of the equation, times were tough right? I don't think their inclusion undermines his argument that God was absent. He could have excluded them and the conclusion is the same. Sure, he could have said it more accurately, but no one could have said it better. :)
'He says he loves me completely but is always finding fault with everything I do. He watches and judges everything. He says I can choose whether or not to love him but if I don't, if I try to leave him, he will find me and hurt me horribly for a long time, meaning I can either never really leave him. He is all powerful, and vengeful. I love him. I must love him.' Between one person and a diety we call this religion. Between two people, we call this kind of relationship Domestic Violence.
You'll be missed, Hitch. Your eloquence, your dedication to truth and your unwavering want of justice for humankind will NEVER be forgotten. You touched many lives, helped many unbelievers, who were fearful of reprisal, intellectual or otherwise, find their voice. To say 'thank you' would be arbitrary, to say 'you were amazing' empty. It seems only sufficient to say that you were a hero to many and heroes tend towards immortality in the minds of those whom they touched.
To all concerned: Please understand I hold you in high respect as thinkers, as human beings. We all have beliefs and believe them very strongly and its admirable that there's a venue we can discuss them. I understand I've made some people angry and it was not my intention. By nature I'm a little sarcastic and I apologize if this flavored my dissertation. In the spirit of brotherhood, thank you for discussing with my and being honest in your statements.
The greatest orator of our time.lucidly articulate, blazingly passionate with an irresistible charm that even his enemies couldn't help but to be swept up by.
@43alley Thank you. I'm very sorry if I instigated any fights or was willfully mean. I really just want to have a conversation if I can because I rarely get the chance to. Thanks for your support!
And unenlightened. What have I ignored? When have I denied what I said? When did I use scorn? What are your instances of the same in retaliation of? And argument is not meant to win, its to learn, and to do that you need to investigate all likelihoods and paths logic leads.
Thanks. I get very tired of these "Christian America" people disregarding the rest of us, who love ans serve our country, and I did not feel the need for mercy. BTW, as soon as I figure out this new YT set up, I intend to put a link from my channel (only about 80 subs) to yours. Your content is excellent - thanks!
My son asked me what I was afraid of. I calmly answered NOTHING. I did not lie to the boy about my fears nor did I make up a friend for him. I think I made the right choice.
-'I am with you till the end of time.' 'Today you will be with me in paradise' -Free will. Mankind longs like you to be totally free of God. That's what we have; a world where we run things, where we live die and kill by our own rules and soak in our own selfish guilt. Admit it. The righteous indignation feels good sometimes. As for God appearing to everyone, why would that end religious intolerance?
Nature is not cruel, pitiless, indifferent. This is one of the hardest lessons for humans to learn. We cannot admit that things might be neither good nor evil, neither cruel nor kind, but simply callous -- indifferent to all suffering, lacking all purpose. -Richard Dawkins This illustrates nicely the problem with atheistic moralizing. See how he claims nature is NOT indifferent...then states plainly he believes that it is. You can't have both rational morality and moral ambiguity.
its like with your parents, you love them but you listen to them bc you dont want to be grounded or whatever, & they do it to show you the difference between right and wrong
@BigPiePublishing So...I tried to send you a PM, with a more detailed explanation, because I feel your objections merit a response. It will not go through, so I will leave it at this. This discourse is definitely hampered by the character count, if I come across as someone using "a thinly woven veil". I thank you for your questions, but I tire of squeezing my thoughts into 500 character quips. Your questions are worthy. I just can't answer them to my own satisfaction in this format.
@CosmicGate1988 There isn't anything to be said if you... -Don't read the statement -Don't think logically -Refuse to answer the question I guess you'll be going to?
and with that last sentence, I mean me, personally, as an amateur/hobbyist. I don't have to go out and dig around in the dirt, because I'm human and can "stand on the shoulders of giants." That's how we got to where we are today. We have electricity because one guy took the works of another guy and improved upon it. Most of our inventions, theories, THINGS work like that. It's awesome.
Thank you Christopher Hitchens, if we only had a precious few more like you some day we might be able to pull our heads out of the Bible and Quran and make some positive steps as a intelligent spices.
Also, please, feel free to elaborate. If there's more you could ask for for every person, feel free to speak up. If there's something you believe all humans should have and need, or disagree with what I've listed insofar, then by all means, voice it.
Hey all, I'm only jumping in here briefly to say that bloodrunsclear has been halted (hopefully temporarily) from posting by UA-cam, NOT because of me, but probably because some a-hole marked several of his posts as Spam (which course they weren't). Please, everyone, don't do that crap. If you disagree with someone, fight them with logical responses, not childish false-flaggings and spam accusations.
So are we all intrinsically insane? So nice to meet a neuroscience major with a specialization in cognitive and psychological discipline! Hows the biz?
Wisdom - Understanding gained through time and experience Power - Hard to define, granted since English uses it to label about 10 different things. I'd define it in this instance as the ability to do, to create, or to end. Kindness - To care about and/or for something or someone else, and to reflect that through one's actions, and speech. Mercy - To forgive someone/thing, even when wrong has been done. Defined to your satisfaction?
I often wonder where Mankind would be right now if Religion didn't throw us into the Dark Ages. Over 500 years lost in Crusades and Inquisitions. Not to mention how it still gets in the way of human development to this very day.
@SirAlfredSourcock An inverse correlation between religiosity and intelligence has been found by 39 studies carried out between 1927 and 2002 (Bell, Paul. "Would you believe it?" Mensa Magazine, UK Edition, Feb. 2002, pp. 12-13. Analyzing 43 studies carried out since 1927, Bell found that all but four reported such a connection, and he concluded that "the higher one's intelligence or education level, the less one is likely to be religious or hold 'beliefs' of any kind.")
Wisdom- So a God that lived forever has that. Power - So he doesn't live up to an only somewhat defined concept? Kindness - So, say, allowing morons free will? Providing quiet guidance instead of hammering the message home? Mercy - Like, say, sending yourself down to live in the form of your creation? Not really, but even so it doesn't support your case.
Fortunately, there are a lot of scientists doing research out there for the whole world to benefit from. The good scientists get recognized because they document their work. You can read it in books and scientific journals, usually. If something bigger, better, and smarter comes along that explains things with more ease, then it replaces the other idea. This is the scientific method, and it works very well. Going out and doing the work with your "bare hands" isn't a necessity, but it is fun
Sure. Any of those have historical context? I love the FSM as much as the next guy, but can you send me the ancient accounts of people who encountered him which have historical validity? I just can't seem to find it. Its almost like people made up a lame strawman so they didn't have to think or something...
If you don't believe what you can't see, why do you believe in alternate dimensions, gravity, wind, energy, atoms? John 3:8 'The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound but you don't know where it came from or where it is going'
Slipped up a bit when he said "sinister", you'd have to believe in sin to use that, and you'd have to believe in God to believe in sin. But Hitchens has passed now, and now he knows the truth, what ever that truth is may he rest in peace.
@Superminyme So...you take the word of a select group of people who read signs and symbols in their rituals using natural elements and then interpret this yourself. Just observing.
Speaking of the vials of blood metaphor, I've yet to hear you provide a statement of what compelling evidence (if any) would make you a believer. Its a tad crucial seeing as you continue to demand it AND continue to attest that evidence might sway you because surely you harbor no crippling bias. What evidence I ask?
@resellworld I don't get the opportunity to discuss religion that often XD In my hometown its kind of a secret I'm Christian. I've been attacked for it before. I like discussing. I can get snarky, but I just want to understand.
@HockeyHockey13 - I'm only jumping in here briefly to sayvthat bloodrunsclear has been halted from posting by UA-cam, NOT because of me, but probably because some a-hole marked several of his posts as Spam (which course they weren't). Please, everyone, don't do that crap. If you disagree with someone, fight them with logical responses, not childish false-flaggings and spam accusations.
One can argue that maybe the creator talked to other people in different times and different places, and not only talked to the Israelite in the Middle East 2000 year ago , we don’t know, because we couldn’t find a historical record, but only because we don’t know does it mean its true
I know the previous statement will be misinterpreted, let me explain. By intolerant and close-minded I mean the original terms, not in any undue derogatory context. Atheism is defined by doggedly not believing in something. To somewhat believe in God or even entertain the possibility is to be agnostic. An atheist has decided to show no tolerance or thought to belief, dedicating themselves to teaching others not to believe. unfortunately this can bleed into intolerance of a more sinister kind.
@marshall8787 Forgive me. I meant to say nowhere does it say we as Christians (Christians didn't exist back in the Old Testament) should be encouraged to do such things. Besides, as any historian will tell you, things were so much different back then. Life was different in so many aspects including that verse. Again, that was a long time ago and social norms were drastically different, and I know you can agree with me on that.
I'll sum this up quickly, as we could argue on like this for eternity, but we'd never come to an answer. Philosophy, politics and religion lead us nowhere, as nothing about them can be proven to a point where every statement asked is satisfied (Considering most deal with Human nature, which we ourselves don't fully understand) Science can, for the most part, be proven to someone's satisfaction. It leads us to new discoveries which enhance our way of life. This is why I put faith in the latter.
I'm with you Hitch. You have done great in your talks to make the people realize, I think we have about 10 more years of this B.S. religion then we will be out of these fucked up ideals. We need more great minds like yours to get the truth out there. I am trying.
And as far as defining happy and full, that's up to personal interpretation, but I believe that as long as it doesn't infringe on other peoples' happiness, health, and freedom, then it's all good.
@ElectricJunta It's spooky in that people certainly like to interpret their old stories in ways that tickle their imagination or justify their beliefs, yes.
You follow a moral code because it is what works for the society you live in. When it stops working and new, better ideas come about, you replace the old ones. HEY! That's kind of like science! Amazing!
Anyway, just to give a sense of how little separates us, empirically: mammals have abilities merely determined by the surface area and connections in the neocortex, a rather unspectacular difference. Our abilities are very similar to animals and our ability to use symbols only stems from our additional "layers" of neurons, who detect features from the previous layers of neurons and their features. We are merely a few extra layers of feature-detection from animals.
You worship yourselves, its that easy. You are all knowing, all powerful beings who determine reality, right and wrong. The temples are laboratories and universities. The preists are people like Hitchens who preach the word and dispense the books. Prayers go like this 'Science gives us all things. Be thankful for science' People of faith use vehicles, but they don't worship them. Aren't they tools? Or do you observe science so faithful you don't acknowledge your worship?
I have limited word usage on comments and I want to say what I mean to without leaving any room of error. I just assumed (as I perhaps had no right to) you were bringing up your disagreement to prove you weren't shackled to Hitchens. I've read Hitchens, Dawkins, The Stranger, The Plauge, and all seminal works on atheism. After all I attended public school. What is this Jesus Wept thing? True it reminds me of The Crow (love that comic XD)
@WayOfTheMaster454 - "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26 Nice.
Why is it hurting me? Religion inspires me with hope for the human species, purpose in existence, devotion to a life of selfless service. What would science provide me? Arrogance? Toys?
I hated hitchens when I was a believer.. Now that I have been lifted from the fog of that nonsense, I can say that I was not only wrong in my assessment of the man, but I respect him immensely..
emanuel e What new religion?
emanuel e Atheism is not a religion. Atheism is a response to a single question: "Do you believe any gods exist?" If your answer is "no" then you are an atheist. There is no dogma, no tenets, no rituals, no meetings, no rules, no leaders, no prayers, no teachings. Simply a lack of belief in theistic claims.
There are atheistic religions, such as Sikhism, some forms of Buddhism or even the Raelians. Is theism a religion? How about monotheism, or polytheism? These simply describe people's stances on the question of belief in gods. Christianity, for example, is a monotheistic religion. Theism in itself is not a religion, it is answering "Yes, I believe in one or more god(s)." Similarly, atheism is not a religion.
But please, go on about how it's more logical to believe a book based on nothing but "faith", how it makes more sense to posit some all-powerful supreme creator being and draw all your conclusions based on that. Sure, that makes a whole lot more sense then dealing with reality on reality's terms. That makes more sense than learning to live in this world, rather than waiting to die and go to another you have no evidence for. Especially when the book promotes genocide, slavery, subjugation of women, bodily mutilation of infants, hate, bigotry, rape, incest, and all manner of other harmful things.
emanuel e Pro tip: when you make an assertion, it helps to make an argument for it. I told you exactly how atheism is not a religion using multiple points, and all you've said is "Is too! And you're stupid!"
emanuel e Atheism is not organized, it's not a collection of beliefs, has no cultural systems and no "world views".
Atheism says nothing about the origins of man, Earth or the universe. However, since atheists don't have the "God did it" idea to fall back on, they tend to accept the current scientific consensus on the issue. But this is by no means a requirement to being an atheist. All that is required is to answer "no" to the question of believing in any gods. I'm not sure how much more clear I can be about that.
emanuel e Once again, you make assertions without anything to back it up. I told you exactly how atheism does NOT fit the description of a religion as described on the Wikipedia article you posted, and once again you simply assert "YES IT DOES" plus an ad hominem attack.
Please, enlighten me about these myths and other unsubstantiated beliefs that make up atheism, as you see it.
Every now and then, I come back and watch this two-part video. Each time, I'm so impressed with the eloquence of Christopher Hitchens. Thanks to 43Alley for animating and posting, this is truly the best of UA-cam.
I agree. I've watched a lot of Hitchens videos, but this is the first one I've seen that's been visually something other than him standing behind a podium or sitting in a chair. As handsome as he was, this was far more enjoyable to watch. Thank you.
Hitch is a legend among the great thinkers. He is missed.
Christopher Hitchens was one of the most articulate men of our times. His words will last long after his passing.
Amazing! Eloquent as always -- Truly one of a kind!
R.I.P. Christopher Hitchens; you're sorely missed down here!
Down here from where?
Freddy Lubin Christian myth is so intertwined in our culture and language, that these phrases almost come natural even without any religious background
I consider myself lucky that I sometimes run across Hitchen's work that Is new to me. There will be no more new works. Some of it though will be new to me. It's said that in human endeavors we advance only because we stand on the shoulders of giants and those giants on the shoulders of even older giants. Those that actually do contribute something more from that perch have had one hell of a climb. We owe it to them even if we fail to try and move that height even an inch higher if we are able.
You exactly captured my thoughts at seeing unseen videos of Chris; Happy I found it, but sad, knowing that is one less left for me to discover.
frndofbear Hitch _hated_ being called "Chris." FYI... ;)
avedic True Story! Long Live Christopher "The Hitch" Hitchens! RIP my good man. And your "Hitchslaps" will forvever be remembered by your endering fans and intellectuals everywhere!
Steamer, beautifully said and a very pertinent point. Thank you for sharing it.
10 years on from being posted and this is still probably the best thing I've seen on the internet. The original speech sums up religion perfectly, and the pictures added just seem to bring the whole thing to life.
U did a wonderful illustration job here 43alley. It helps to make hitchens lecture clear. I love it. Keep up the good work.
Dear Mr. Hitchens, thank you for helping me emancipate myself from the chains of religious indoctrination. I have never felt so free in my life until people like you pointed out the logical and moral flaws of Christianity and other religions. You are one of my HEROS!!! You will be greatly missed by the intellectual community.... RIP Christopher Hitchens -December 16, 2011.
My applause as well!!! Thank you!
He packs a lot into every sentence and he refreshingly treats his audience with respect.
Out of all the youtube videos of Hitchens spouting argument, this was the easiest to listen to, to absorb, to hear properly and clearly and I think it's because of the images. They not only staved off the distraction of watching someones face, but they aided parts of the speech too. Many thanks to the uploader.
@DaIronchef I'm sorry if I can be a bit snippy. I appreciate your respect and I'll try to be respectful in return. If I fail to that's my failing and I apologize.
Another gem.
Love this.. I revisit now and again to reload my ammunition in the fight against theocratic intolerance!
I am taken aback. Thank you Stinkysdad for your thoughtful post in response to my comment. I am a bit confused by some of the content of your post but I applaud you putting your brain into your comment.
This video came up on autoplay in the background while I was working. Super interesting and thought provoking, but I honestly thought it was like a Ted talk by Sideshow Bob at first.
If Jesus wanted to saved the world from sin, he should have come much sooner, like after Adam and Eve was cast out of Eden.
Because what would happen to those poor humans who lived before Jesus was born? They haven't received his gospel, they haven't read the bible, they don't even know there's a Yahweh (because his attention was spent making "his people" miserable).
Was that what a reasonable, loving Savior like?
Was that what Yahweh is? Create "Pre-Christ-was-born" humans then cast them into hell because they didn't hear about Jesus and his words?
Do you really have that much faith on this hypocritical "savior"?
Bad oral hygiene lead to tooth decay which would allow other infections to enter the body more easily.
Nice to see you posting. I love your videos. You're one of the best atheists on YT. Thanks for the hard work and keep it up. I'm sure it's making a difference.
Wonderful post, Pat!
I miss Hitch...
I love Hitchens, but he really undermines his argument starting about one minute in when he talks about the life of pre-agricultural people as brutal. Things like warfare, epidemics, misogyny, slavery and social stratification didn't exist until the agricultural revolution, and the average lifespans of pre-agriculutural people were longer and healthier than their "civilized" counterparts. The one-and-only advantage that agriculture-based civilizations had over pre-agrarian hunter gatherer bands was that they were able to maintain larger (albeit far less healthy) populations and better-armed (albeit far less just) societies.
And, oh yeah, the beginning of ecclesiastic (non-shamanistic) religions coincided precisely with the beginning of agricultural civilization. No, it's not a coincidence that as soon as humans began to manipulate their environment that ruling classes began to use spirituality as a tool to manipulate their people. That's what Hitchens should have said instead.
And to answer your next question: Yes! My university degree IS in sociocultural anthropology! :D
I think Hitch was saying that life was brutal in the sense that people starved, died in childbirth, had diseases, bad teeth, etc. and that God did nothing to help for 98K years. Even if warfare and slavery were not the most dominant parts of the equation, times were tough right? I don't think their inclusion undermines his argument that God was absent. He could have excluded them and the conclusion is the same. Sure, he could have said it more accurately, but no one could have said it better. :)
'He says he loves me completely but is always finding fault with everything I do. He watches and judges everything. He says I can choose whether or not to love him but if I don't, if I try to leave him, he will find me and hurt me horribly for a long time, meaning I can either never really leave him. He is all powerful, and vengeful. I love him. I must love him.'
Between one person and a diety we call this religion.
Between two people, we call this kind of relationship Domestic Violence.
You'll be missed, Hitch. Your eloquence, your dedication to truth and your unwavering want of justice for humankind will NEVER be forgotten. You touched many lives, helped many unbelievers, who were fearful of reprisal, intellectual or otherwise, find their voice. To say 'thank you' would be arbitrary, to say 'you were amazing' empty. It seems only sufficient to say that you were a hero to many and heroes tend towards immortality in the minds of those whom they touched.
good vids man (1&2)
Thank you for posting this, 43alley.
This is awesome ,thank you for posting
To all concerned:
Please understand I hold you in high respect as thinkers, as human beings. We all have beliefs and believe them very strongly and its admirable that there's a venue we can discuss them. I understand I've made some people angry and it was not my intention. By nature I'm a little sarcastic and I apologize if this flavored my dissertation. In the spirit of brotherhood, thank you for discussing with my and being honest in your statements.
Why isn't he spoken of in such terms as Newton or Einstein? He was absolutely amazing!
The greatest orator of our time.lucidly articulate, blazingly passionate with an irresistible charm that even his enemies couldn't help but to be swept up by.
@43alley
Thank you. I'm very sorry if I instigated any fights or was willfully mean.
I really just want to have a conversation if I can because I rarely get the chance to.
Thanks for your support!
And unenlightened.
What have I ignored? When have I denied what I said? When did I use scorn?
What are your instances of the same in retaliation of?
And argument is not meant to win, its to learn, and to do that you need to investigate all likelihoods and paths logic leads.
Bravo Mr Hitchens! Your message will resound for generations because you speak the truth.
Thanks. I get very tired of these "Christian America" people disregarding the rest of us, who love ans serve our country, and I did not feel the need for mercy. BTW, as soon as I figure out this new YT set up, I intend to put a link from my channel (only about 80 subs) to yours. Your content is excellent - thanks!
43alley Have you considered joining the videos together now that youtube allows for longer videos? Same with Izzard's Ark.
I admire your conviction.
@samusssbm85
I will think about it, even though I believe I disproved it without your further support.
Sorry we couldn't chat longer. Take care!
My son asked me what I was afraid of. I calmly answered NOTHING. I did not lie to the boy about my fears nor did I make up a friend for him. I think I made the right choice.
the part he said "BUT" i thought he goin to say "But, God loves you" LOL!
Just fighting fire with fire. I am sure we'll both get through this unscarred.
'I'm not insane...I'm not. I'm just ahead of the curve'
-Heath Ledger: The Dark Knight
Hitchens is an amazing man. Truly wonderful argument
Thanks for taking on the purveyors of religidiocy.
-'I am with you till the end of time.' 'Today you will be with me in paradise'
-Free will. Mankind longs like you to be totally free of God. That's what we have; a world where we run things, where we live die and kill by our own rules and soak in our own selfish guilt. Admit it. The righteous indignation feels good sometimes.
As for God appearing to everyone, why would that end religious intolerance?
Nature is not cruel, pitiless, indifferent. This is one of the hardest lessons for humans to learn. We cannot admit that things might be neither good nor evil, neither cruel nor kind, but simply callous -- indifferent to all suffering, lacking all purpose.
-Richard Dawkins
This illustrates nicely the problem with atheistic moralizing. See how he claims nature is NOT indifferent...then states plainly he believes that it is.
You can't have both rational morality and moral ambiguity.
its like with your parents, you love them but you listen to them bc you dont want to be grounded or whatever, & they do it to show you the difference between right and wrong
@BigPiePublishing So...I tried to send you a PM, with a more detailed explanation, because I feel your objections merit a response. It will not go through, so I will leave it at this. This discourse is definitely hampered by the character count, if I come across as someone using "a thinly woven veil".
I thank you for your questions, but I tire of squeezing my thoughts into 500 character quips. Your questions are worthy. I just can't answer them to my own satisfaction in this format.
I don't know if anyone is going to be able to fill the late, great, Hitchens. I miss him.
@CosmicGate1988
There isn't anything to be said if you...
-Don't read the statement
-Don't think logically
-Refuse to answer the question
I guess you'll be going to?
@CosmicGate1988
Take care.
Sorry I couldn't explain things to your satisfaction and that the conversation devolved so fiercely :/
and with that last sentence, I mean me, personally, as an amateur/hobbyist. I don't have to go out and dig around in the dirt, because I'm human and can "stand on the shoulders of giants." That's how we got to where we are today. We have electricity because one guy took the works of another guy and improved upon it. Most of our inventions, theories, THINGS work like that. It's awesome.
@MrGstq - The speaker or the video's creator? I go with the latter.
Asking a question is not testing.
Thank you Christopher Hitchens, if we only had a precious few more like you some day we might be able to pull our heads out of the Bible and Quran and make some positive steps as a intelligent spices.
Also, please, feel free to elaborate. If there's more you could ask for for every person, feel free to speak up. If there's something you believe all humans should have and need, or disagree with what I've listed insofar, then by all means, voice it.
Hey all, I'm only jumping in here briefly to say that bloodrunsclear has been halted (hopefully temporarily) from posting by UA-cam, NOT because of me, but probably because some a-hole marked several of his posts as Spam (which course they weren't).
Please, everyone, don't do that crap. If you disagree with someone, fight them with logical responses, not childish false-flaggings and spam accusations.
So are we all intrinsically insane?
So nice to meet a neuroscience major with a specialization in cognitive and psychological discipline! Hows the biz?
Wisdom - Understanding gained through time and experience
Power - Hard to define, granted since English uses it to label about 10 different things. I'd define it in this instance as the ability to do, to create, or to end.
Kindness - To care about and/or for something or someone else, and to reflect that through one's actions, and speech.
Mercy - To forgive someone/thing, even when wrong has been done.
Defined to your satisfaction?
Brilliant Mr. Hitchens. As always
@WayOfTheMaster454 Do you listen to yourself when you talk or do you just drift in and out?
@shieldsff
Your comments are a hilarious complement to the video. Spot on satire. You come off as a legitimate funding. Well done.
FIVE STARS AS USUAL !!!
I often wonder where Mankind would be right now if Religion didn't throw us into the Dark Ages. Over 500 years lost in Crusades and Inquisitions. Not to mention how it still gets in the way of human development to this very day.
Didn't send me anywhere O_o
What revelations did this video hold?
@SirAlfredSourcock
An inverse correlation between religiosity and intelligence has been found by 39 studies carried out between 1927 and 2002 (Bell, Paul. "Would you believe it?" Mensa Magazine, UK Edition, Feb. 2002, pp. 12-13. Analyzing 43 studies carried out since 1927, Bell found that all but four reported such a connection, and he concluded that "the higher one's intelligence or education level, the less one is likely to be religious or hold 'beliefs' of any kind.")
Wisdom- So a God that lived forever has that.
Power - So he doesn't live up to an only somewhat defined concept?
Kindness - So, say, allowing morons free will? Providing quiet guidance instead of hammering the message home?
Mercy - Like, say, sending yourself down to live in the form of your creation?
Not really, but even so it doesn't support your case.
Fortunately, there are a lot of scientists doing research out there for the whole world to benefit from. The good scientists get recognized because they document their work. You can read it in books and scientific journals, usually. If something bigger, better, and smarter comes along that explains things with more ease, then it replaces the other idea. This is the scientific method, and it works very well.
Going out and doing the work with your "bare hands" isn't a necessity, but it is fun
Sure. Any of those have historical context?
I love the FSM as much as the next guy, but can you send me the ancient accounts of people who encountered him which have historical validity? I just can't seem to find it.
Its almost like people made up a lame strawman so they didn't have to think or something...
Do you do debates?
thank you
Giants who were just as self indulgent, arrogant, and flippant.
Ah, what a mighty company :)
@CosmicGate1988
Its called addressing the issue.
Some consider it more intelligent then sniping.
@teltri How do you disagree? I don't really understand your post?
If you don't believe what you can't see, why do you believe in alternate dimensions, gravity, wind, energy, atoms?
John 3:8 'The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound but you don't know where it came from or where it is going'
Slipped up a bit when he said "sinister", you'd have to believe in sin to use that, and you'd have to believe in God to believe in sin. But Hitchens has passed now, and now he knows the truth, what ever that truth is may he rest in peace.
@Superminyme
So...you take the word of a select group of people who read signs and symbols in their rituals using natural elements and then interpret this yourself.
Just observing.
@YrNhanioArnaYMor took the words right out of my mouth:)
Speaking of the vials of blood metaphor, I've yet to hear you provide a statement of what compelling evidence (if any) would make you a believer. Its a tad crucial seeing as you continue to demand it AND continue to attest that evidence might sway you because surely you harbor no crippling bias.
What evidence I ask?
Gravely missed! Thanks 43alley.
@GahdeMalprigi1488x Thank you for the link. I've learned a lot. Peace.
@resellworld
I don't get the opportunity to discuss religion that often XD
In my hometown its kind of a secret I'm Christian. I've been attacked for it before.
I like discussing. I can get snarky, but I just want to understand.
@HockeyHockey13 - I'm only jumping in here briefly to sayvthat bloodrunsclear has been halted from posting by UA-cam, NOT because of me, but probably because some a-hole marked several of his posts as Spam (which course they weren't).
Please, everyone, don't do that crap. If you disagree with someone, fight them with logical responses, not childish false-flaggings and spam accusations.
One can argue that maybe the creator talked to other people in different times and different places, and not only talked to the Israelite in the Middle East 2000 year ago , we don’t know, because we couldn’t find a historical record, but only because we don’t know does it mean its true
I know the previous statement will be misinterpreted, let me explain.
By intolerant and close-minded I mean the original terms, not in any undue derogatory context. Atheism is defined by doggedly not believing in something. To somewhat believe in God or even entertain the possibility is to be agnostic. An atheist has decided to show no tolerance or thought to belief, dedicating themselves to teaching others not to believe.
unfortunately this can bleed into intolerance of a more sinister kind.
@marshall8787 Forgive me. I meant to say nowhere does it say we as Christians (Christians didn't exist back in the Old Testament) should be encouraged to do such things. Besides, as any historian will tell you, things were so much different back then. Life was different in so many aspects including that verse. Again, that was a long time ago and social norms were drastically different, and I know you can agree with me on that.
The voice of reason incarnate.
I'll sum this up quickly, as we could argue on like this for eternity, but we'd never come to an answer.
Philosophy, politics and religion lead us nowhere, as nothing about them can be proven to a point where every statement asked is satisfied (Considering most deal with Human nature, which we ourselves don't fully understand)
Science can, for the most part, be proven to someone's satisfaction. It leads us to new discoveries which enhance our way of life. This is why I put faith in the latter.
I'm with you Hitch. You have done great in your talks to make the people realize, I think we have about 10 more years of this B.S. religion then we will be out of these fucked up ideals. We need more great minds like yours to get the truth out there. I am trying.
all religions will end by 2032
Yes yes!! Hitchens at his best. Thank you Christopher. Your words and the antidote to the poison that is religion.
And as far as defining happy and full, that's up to personal interpretation, but I believe that as long as it doesn't infringe on other peoples' happiness, health, and freedom, then it's all good.
@ElectricJunta It's spooky in that people certainly like to interpret their old stories in ways that tickle their imagination or justify their beliefs, yes.
I want to see the story of Emily and Hell again. Where is it? What happened to it? I have questions.
You follow a moral code because it is what works for the society you live in. When it stops working and new, better ideas come about, you replace the old ones. HEY! That's kind of like science! Amazing!
@lotrrocks0 What are you referring to?
Anyway, just to give a sense of how little separates us, empirically: mammals have abilities merely determined by the surface area and connections in the neocortex, a rather unspectacular difference. Our abilities are very similar to animals and our ability to use symbols only stems from our additional "layers" of neurons, who detect features from the previous layers of neurons and their features. We are merely a few extra layers of feature-detection from animals.
"RIP Christopher Hitchens. I'm going to miss you."
You worship yourselves, its that easy. You are all knowing, all powerful beings who determine reality, right and wrong. The temples are laboratories and universities. The preists are people like Hitchens who preach the word and dispense the books.
Prayers go like this 'Science gives us all things. Be thankful for science'
People of faith use vehicles, but they don't worship them. Aren't they tools?
Or do you observe science so faithful you don't acknowledge your worship?
I have limited word usage on comments and I want to say what I mean to without leaving any room of error.
I just assumed (as I perhaps had no right to) you were bringing up your disagreement to prove you weren't shackled to Hitchens.
I've read Hitchens, Dawkins, The Stranger, The Plauge, and all seminal works on atheism. After all I attended public school.
What is this Jesus Wept thing? True it reminds me of The Crow (love that comic XD)
@WayOfTheMaster454 - "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26
Nice.
Why is it hurting me?
Religion inspires me with hope for the human species, purpose in existence, devotion to a life of selfless service.
What would science provide me? Arrogance? Toys?