Sam Harris on the Dangers of Religion
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"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful" - Seneca
Only after Cicero does this sentence make sense. You should really study history instead of cherry picking quotes from Google.
Just because you are wise does not mean you are susceptible to lies
*Any/all Religion.
President Sunday you should study a science book
@@PresidentSunday against cherry picking and quote mining. How hypocritical. Religion lives on cherry picking, misrepresentation and quote mining
Teaching people from birth to believe and accept things without question is pretty much the reason they do crazy violent things in the name of it
Lets use the people's *H* ardships *I* n order *T* o make them follow b *L* indly and *E* liminate undesi *R* ables!
@@Niemand-o_O we are worth nothing. In the eyes of everything beyond us. Don’t think that we are special
@@brumhelldah917 literally, if you haven’t already, you should watch this short video showing the size of the entire universe AND more, there’s so much and it makes us SO little. it makes me question life itself, what are we? and the fact that we’re given up to 70 and sometimes 100 years of life just to be forced to believe in a religion is so weird to me. why can’t we just do whatever we want to do?
What parents teach their kids is none of your business.
THIS is precisely why ANY kind of 'religious' indoctrination is child abuse (even if the law doesn't see it that way).
When one person suffers from delusions its insanity, but when many suffer from the same delusions its religion.
social contagion and the need to belong
some religions/sects even excommunicate their members, so the need to go along to not lose your family is ever greater
It's atheism*
@@seeker4trvth it's Christianity.
@@ashleyspurling5701 we have evidence for all the claims regarding Jesus' resurection, so no.
@@seeker4trvth and there have been plentiful of historical and scientific evidence proving otherwise, so yeah my original comment still stands.
Critical thinking is SO very important.
I never had critical thinking in public or christian scholl
That same critical thinking led me from agnosticism to Christianity
@@seeker4trvth your thinking but just backwards
@@ray_x6959 shush, it’s his first time.
@@seeker4trvthmoses had a conversation with a burning Bush? You might wanna test your water
non religious people are more intelligent and open minded then those who believe in an invisible man who lives in the clouds
It’s that religion makes them close minded.
Maybe more open minded, but not always more intelligent.
@@c-doga9579 generally more intelligent tho
No not necessarily. But most are.
Religion does not make you less open minded. Faith brings us together. You’ve met strict harsh Christians. However in my family we are Christians and believe in God but are open minded to new thing like to have fun. My gf is amazing she goes to a rich Christian high school that my family can’t afford. She’s very intelligent and beautiful I don’t understand how you can come so quick to a conclusion if anything that’s not open minded right there to assume just believe you have faith doesn’t make us as intelligent as those atheists who live with less purpose
Logic is what we need,
Not belief.
Facts too and evidence.
Facts and evidence can be faked too so best to just think for yourself
Facts and evidence are man made therefore most likely a lie
@@waltercagle1028 Dude, u had too much crime movies.😂😂😂 Have a break
I pity people who believe intelligence is the only way of life that there is such a thing as useless things. They have a sad look at life.
I want to say that religion is fine... That is until your religion effects other people.
And murders millions and destroys free will
@Breako Please elaborate
At best people stop asking questions, stop being critical and cause their families to stop thinking too.
Amen
Ethan French I completely agree
I love Sam Harris so much... Intelligence, knowledge, eloquence, all beyond genius.
"Crushing the heads of the infidels and splitting their skulls with sharp swords, we continually thrust and cut at the enemy. Blood gushed from their deep wounds as the battle wore them down. We conquered bearing the Prophet's fluttering war banner. Our cavalry was submerged in rising dust, and our spears quivered, but by us the Prophet gained victory." - Ishaq:578
Totally peaceful.
Bruh 😂
Religions are against humanity
I used to think that religion means following Jesus/God.
But now I know it's bondage.
There is no God.
My confirmation bias as a person who was raised in a religious family tells me otherwise. God DOES exist. JK.
God doesn't exist. You're right. Even if he did exist, the Bible wouldn't be his word. That book is full of silly mythology. Why would any God write that?
nuoipter termer As a former Christian that escaped a cult of Pentecostalism, I've seen God! What I beliebe is God anyway. Meditation is key. Nirvana is possible.
nuoipter termer .. What if you get that wrong?
I love how you feel the need to put a smiley face after condemning someone to eternal torment. What a sad state of affairs.
nuoipter termer um.. have you seen Harry Styles? I’d worship him any day.
"Religion is tied to the deepest feelings people have.
The love that arises from that stewing pot is the sweetest and strongest,
but the hate is the hottest, and the anger is the most violent."
― Orson Scott Card, Children of the Mind
Lies did cavemen have religion when they felt anger?
@@rangopistacho6928 We could never know. They might've believed something caused this world to exist and attribute the happiness and folly of this world. So they might've had religion but not in a formal way. They probably never would've written it down or drew it.
@@rangopistacho6928 Also, how did you know that cave people's anger was "deep."
If god was truly a man of no sin then he would be selfless enough to not need the worship on millions of people. Relegion is the worst thing to happen to man. It tears people apart.
We need more people like you I agree completely it has murdered and hurt the lives of many more than Hitler and Stalin god in truth is more evil than the devil
Aether religion does not tear people apart, sin does, and so does people, atheists have done bad things too you know, we must accept everyone like how I accept you as an atheist, love everyone (except terrorists, alt rights, and Logan paul)
Rango pistacho you do realize hitler was anti Christian, Muslim,and Jewish, he stopped being Christian at age 18 even though he allowed them to practice their religion, but he was an atheist
@@jmartinez2005 You are invoking religious principles right after saying religion doesn't tear people apart. Thanks for proving his point, Mr. Oblivious.
He also wouldn't have had his only son tortured to death and wouldn't have given so many innocent children cancer, but he did so if he is real he makes hitler seem like a novice
religion can be harmful in a personal way, especially when it comes to relating to other people that do not share your views, because their religion forbids it.
How is this not the number one conversation in the world
Precisely because the vast, vast majority of people are in one way or another religious.
Because this and other absolutely MAD concepts are still being accepted, not questioned and put on a pedestal by society.
Can’t bash Religious people because I use to pray everyday but I hope they all wake up and do some research like I did.. The world is a big place with a ton of history 🤷🏻♂️
Ryan Antonio your prayers apparently don’t work. Cos there isn’t anyone listening
i know.
i'm an Atheist too, but a lot of atheists think that without religion there would be world peace.. that is idiotic to think that. Yes, the world would be better without religion, but not perfect.
Well religion caused 90% conflict in all our history...plus it closes peoples minds to just follow one book except do the thing we were naturally formed to do and that is question everything and find out and prove/disprove shit. Religion just closes people in a box and says this is how u live, dont question it and if u do and stop believing u go to hell and burn for eternity. The use of fear is what makes me not believe it's real because that is the most human thing to do.
Nobody said there would be world peace without religion, anyone with a braincell would know this. One can argue for less hostility and needless sectarianism, but never an outright utopia..far from it. It only equates to lesser problems to have to deal with.
My family hates it when i raise up the flaws in the bible absolutely hates it it is tearing my family apart
They are indoctrinated like the rest, it is often an exercise in futility to try and reason with people indoctrinated since childhood
You are a critical thinker, please never lose that you are a rarity and we need more and more of you
I believe organized religion is often necessary to teach moral ways. But once you "graduate" from religion, I think organized religion is really an obstacle to personal development. But to say God does not exist, in my opinion this is going too far.
Organized religion as 'training' wheels, that hopefully, as you grow and mature psychologically and mentally, you will no longer need. Or want.
Feels good knowing I'm not the only one who doesn't fall for this religious bullshit first out of my whole family.
the fact that this is under the radar speaks volumes
That 10 percent of people would downvote this is shocking.
“Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth; it should give birth to spirituality, and bring light and life to every soul. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it would be better to be without it... Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion.” ~ Baha'i Faith
Good luck with that when we have different languages, cultures and beliefs. And religion is just belief anyway... There is no proof that anything off it is real!! It is all just belief. You have to believe that some guy 2000 years ago walked on water, healed the sick etc... Well good.. But thousands of years earlier the Egyptian god Horus did exactly the same thing!! Who is copying who!!! Dumbass humanity!!!
@@Bone74838 An orchard full of fruit trees is a delight; so is a plantation planted with many species of shrubs. It is just the diversity and variety that constitutes its charm; each flower, each tree, each fruit, beside being beautiful in itself, brings out by contrast the qualities of the others, and shows to advantage the special loveliness of each and all." ~ Baha'i Faith (1853)
Thank you. I have watched ten of his videos now. He is very intelligent and logical. I wish more atheists were like him. Let me give you a little knowledge of psychology that I picked up while I was getting my degree. When you try to win an argument by becoming louder or aggressive or by ridicule, you only cause your opponent to become defensive and cling to his opinion even more passionately. That is, the louder you proclaim yourself, the less people will listen to you. (cont)
Look like Ben Stiller
One instance of a few well-educated suicide bombers doesn't impress me much and it certainly doesn't prove that lack of education and a low quality of life aren't contributing factors to acts of terrorism in the middle east. It's not the whole reason, but it's part of it.
Education and common sense don't necessarily go hand in hand. I know of some educated people with no common sense whatsoever.
I met a muslim who said 911 was an inside job of people who wanted to make islam look bad... he then threatened to beat me up about 5 minutes after that topic. xD xD
As I said, they both have contradictions, where they sometimes tell you to kill your enemies, and sometimes tell you to love them and convert them. Despite all contradictions, they do claim to worship the same God (Yahwe), but have different opinions on what said God wants them to do.
Nobody talks about the fact that the countries in Europe--Greece, Italy, Ire, Port, Spain--with the largest recent debt problems are also the most religious!
Atheists like Sam need to stop using the word "god" as a proper noun and just talk about "a god".. When we agree there are no "Gods" but then use the word "god" as a proper noun it kinda confuses the argument. Its making the christian god appear to own the title "god".
Well, given the context of a Christian-dominated culture he grew up in, then I would say, yes - he is addressing his more immediate audience first and foremost. It is the largest religion after all..at least for now. Sam still makes it clear that apart from monotheism, the idea of any god is silly.
It’s amazing of how clearly you see things when you stop pretending.
What the hell are you talking about lefties?!?
This channel is mostly based on rational thought rather than on political ideology... I don't see anyone being "left".
However if you believe that being peaceful and tolerant towards fellow human beings and promoting this kind of behaviour is "left-leaned" I think you should check your sources, as well as whether you dont suffer from the ideology that the common opinion (=>resulting from mostly rational thought) is always wrong
The problem is religion. Time to wake up!!! Study the history of religion. Then think again.
"Religion breeds violence. And essence of violence stems from duality."
- . . .
@A and how many wars have been started because of religion?
@A Feel free to expound.
@A I typed in a quote. Feel free to elaborate on your argument. I'm interested.
@A I just wanted to read it from your perspective. But nevermind.
@M bruh- religion has caused crusades, and jewish people being hunted down, so hush
the big 3 religions are about control. Get them to believe things that can't be validated, get them to focus on the past, get them to listen to others rather than their internal guide. Moral of the story? Listen to your internal guide, do good, learn the truth, focus on your future
The individual has been persecuted throughout time. Religious leaders would say that building yourself is evil, how can this be? How can loving and believing in oneself be a bad thing? What would happen if we had a society of kind, compassionate, and reasonable individuals. How can anything that is pleasurable be bad? If one knows themselves they will not lose themselves to hatred, perversion, ignorance, the group, and their own emotions.
I am an atheist but this is lowkey bashing Islam when the Quran doesn't say anything about allowing the act of commiting suicide or killing innocent people.
Science is collecting and organizing knowledge. Religion never did that. Religions have packages of teachings that are ultimately true in their world view. It's not about knowledge but about how much you believe this world view is right. Religion has never been anything close to science. It just tried to do, what science today does. And because what science tells us sounds a lot more possible than what religions tell us, we trust in science, today and not in religion so much.
He insulted me by saying that Christians ignore evidence and then in his apology (which he removed) he snidely hinted that Christians thought it was a virtue to ignore evidence. That was insulting. Also it is insulting to compare religion to fairy tales.
And here again, you're not providing evidence. Why do you expect me to provide evidence when you can't? How can Christians ignore evidence that Atheists don't provide?
I think it's a matter of fear and a easy out for most, that's the only reason one would buy in to such silly ideas.
Time + cult = religion
@MsOdaliske "religious people are not allowed to kill innocent people." I am truly dumbfounded. I can't believe that a 21st century person is actually making this claim. The most "holy" people in the Bible and Qur'an were given that status for mass murder in the name of Yahweh or Allah among other atrocities. Read one page out of the Old Testament then try to make such a claim ever again.
wow, this a very Left leaning channel, but one of the few times I have actually heard someone from the left actually call out Islam,
Good Job!!
I know, he picked on Christianity at the beginning but ALL lefties do that, VERY few call out the Quaran as a book of violence.
We pick on Christianity because it's the dominant religion here in the US. Muslims only make-up 1.1% of the US population while 70.6% of the US population are Christian. Our society is not influenced by Islam while Christianity does
I bet you're american..conflating politics with everything. This has nothing to do with leftism. Sounds bipolar to dichotomize everything between left wing and right wing
I was born into a culture influenced by Islam and my grandparents were Muslims. All the time I was relying on interpretations by Islamic authorities about this belief system, so I called myself a Muslim too, but it only took me only once to read the Qur'an to become an atheist. The Qur'an is a book that promotes hatred, murder, sexual discrimination and is full of contradictions. If a Muslim is a good, non-violent person, it's definitely not thanks to Islam.
Sam Harris on one video + lounge jazz on another video = logic and relaxation
I wasn't saying that people don't kill in the name of religion. I was saying that people kill for a wide variety of reasons and many of those reasons have nothing to do with religion. If you think the way to peace is by getting rid of religion, than you also have to get rid of money, natural resources, pride, all races and sexuality because these also cause violence. Humanity is violent, with or without religion.
It's has more to do with religious cults than anything else.
What's the difference either way people died because of them
Rango pistacho not all cults and religions are like that
Religion, cult. Same thing.
I fought from within to break free from men telling me I was wicked and the life from my womb is sinful. That I need to invite in a male spirit. I am a woman not a man. Why would I need a mans spirit in me? I only need this seed love and respect. That creates a happy family.
Did you read the second part of the comment? Whatever we obsess about becomes our "religion". If you obsess about being against religion, you have made a religion out of anti-religion.
There have been countless cases where people have died from a heart attack or something, and then later brought back to life by a defibrillator. And they reported seeing absolutely nothing, they weren't even aware that they were dead. I think that's enough proof we need.
good guy tells the truth
Study it proportionally. I don't know the statistics precisely but if 90% of the world is religious and 90% of the wars are religious, that does not mean that the 10% of the population that is non-religious is any more peaceful than the 90% who are religious.
There is a more fundamental issue at stake here than the shortcomings of extremists. Religion fosters this idea that we are all being watched over by an all seeing eye and there will be consequences for our actions, regardless of whether or not we get away with something. This systematic approach to remedying human behavior is without a doubt important. Unless you think we're all fundamentally good at our core. I wouldn't say that we're all evil at our core, but we are all selfish.
I'm okay with religion. The only time it starts to get toxic is when the other religions attack each other and then it gets very messy
The big question one must ask, and what many philosophers have been asking is “is there purpose, meaning, and value to life?” In an atheistic worldview there objectively isn’t. For humanity itself wasn’t created for a purpose, thus there isn’t any right or wrong way to live. Also what value is there to human life? We are all just cosmic accidents, truly no more valuable than a rock. Humanity will one day die out and whether you lived like Stalin or mother Teresa it won’t matter.
So is so called religion really that dangerous? No, but in denying God or a creator, atheists have destroyed foundations that humanity has built itself upon. If atheism is true, religious people are actually living it the right way, since there isn’t a wrong way to actually live your life.
but if atheism is true there is nothing objectively wrong with that. You shouldn't judge religions by it's abuse, but by its proper use. I am not denying people have done things and justified it in the name of God, but that has more to do with sinful people rather than what that religion actually teaches. At the end of the day if atheism is true and there is no objective purpose or meaning to life and humans don't have inherent value. What is objectively wrong with people living out whatever purpose they want? Hitler and Stalin lived out to what they thought to be their purpose and Ghandi and Mother Teresa chose their path. In the end it wouldn't matter, nobody did anything wrong or right. I have some videos you might like to watch or check out.
th-cam.com/video/ZqNTT0E_T70/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/NKGnXgH_CzE/w-d-xo.html
That says more about humans than religion. I could say the same things about people who aren't religous and that they needed it, such as Stalin or Mao. Again if there is no purpose in life there is no sense in calling religion bad, with no objective purpose everyone is allowed to create their own.. But to say it is a demonstrable evil also looks past great things people who are religous have done and great teachings, example Mother Teresas of the world.
I agree. There's a big difference between not participating in organized religion and denying that God exists. The first is okay, but the second is not okay.
No, purpose is conjured by us. We give ourselves meaning not fuckig god
@@c-doga9579 We can deny God exists and millions do. It's not ok with you but it's perfectly reasonable for the people who deny he exists.
There is no God.
No, this is not a claim, it is a conclusion that I came to after you failed to demonstrate to me that your God exists.
Yes it is a claim, it is called a negative claim. I reject the concept of a deity is the proper stance. you cannot falsify an unfalsifiable thesis
Telling religious people there is no God isn’t working, as they are inherently dogmatic. Their dogmatism comes from the fear of there not being a God. So we need to address their fears. That’s the tough one.
Unfortunately something I think a lot of Atheists don't seem to make a distinction between is giving up a certain religion and giving up god. Yes these are actually two different things.
Nobody said otherwise. Also, you can never lump all atheists as they are not the same. They literally only have one thing in common.
People will believe anything. The story of Joseph Smith is proof.
Ben Stiller is very wise ;-)
Thank you for posting this, bigthink.
As somebody that has experienced death for at least 15 miles with no recollection of time, I can assure you there is no afterlife.
I was a young child, an innocent young child at that time.
Yes, I was very disappointed.
I have lived by the taboo thing for years and I kept my mouth shut until now.
Sometimes respect is earned but too much innocent blood has been shed to give anybody respect.
I no longer like religion and I believe religion should be abolished
Maybe god is or isnt real, we dont know and i dont expect we will ever know
why don't all these religions have a God but no Goddess. There is a blatant classification of a God or Goddess.
My religion is based on help me help you help each other help everyone. The religion today cause division war and separation its puts a person psychological veiws on life in fear
No it doesn't, but no one has killed in it's name.
(cont) Whatever becomes our obsession is what we worship. Alcoholics worship alcohol. Environmentalists worship nature itself. Stalkers worship the people they stalk. Human beings cannot help but worship something. Just be careful who or what you worship. Don't be like the lady who chose to worship a tree and the next day cried "They cut down my god."
Just think: Hundreds of wars were started by religion in some way. How many were started by science?
Zero
I think science comes in to explain human behavior and nature. Religion FEEDS that human nature by amplifying the conviction to hate and go to war. We men really are wretched things just like what Achilles said.
@@pepehorhae religions are technically un natural to the world we created them as a means of controlling the population, but then wars began because people believed in other things, fun fact a majority of Christian and catholic priests only joined because they got to do pedophilic stuff without going to prison still happens today, religions should just fade away they have caused more terrible things than satan has, we need to move on and innovate a better future together not bound by the rules of a false god
I wish more of the world was atheist or agnostic.
Keep dreaming
break the taboo and critisize religions! not the people, but the things they believe in!
The two are often conflated, the dogma is so entrenched that the belief becomes their identity..so its difficult to separate criticism of the faith with the person holding it. That's the trick..
The first crusade was a defensive conflict the pope sanctioned only after the desperate christian rulers of middle eastern lands had sent him letters asking for help. The Islamic empire was formed through a series of brutal conquests of formerly christian and jewish lands. The history of christian/muslim conflict didn't begin with the crusades. Also, it should be borne in mind that while the sacking of Jerusalem was a terrible atrocity, it was nothing unusual for the time.
As you may have guessed I am not Religious, but I certainly have morals. I am kind to people I meet, even if I don't know them and of course I love my family; I can't say I LOVE my neighbours but I certainly like them, they're nice people, and also non religious... And to think that you only abide by your moral code so you can win your place in Heaven... Are you saying that the only reason you don't steal, rape and murder is because you are worried of the consequences in the next life??
Thou shalt not kill. ...
Thou shalt not commit adultery. ...
Thou shalt not steal
Three of the 10 commandments.
If you don’t let your children decide their own religion, then you shouldn’t have children. You can tell the story but don’t tell it like facts and certainly don’t let kids live a life of fear for hell.
One issue i have is i personally i see it that if you are well-educated, you don't follow faith. Ergo not religion. If I can outsmart you/make a point you believe in false easily+quickly, shows you weren't well educated.
Mate, there's plenty of violent crap in the Bible too. I do admit, muslims seem to be more prone to violence, but christians do messed up stuff as well. Oh yeah and Christ followed the laws of the Old Testament, so any crazy stuff written in that book applies to christianity in general. Deuteronomy, Exodus, Leviticus. :P
We should have listened to him...
Now it's too late!
The only God. But you have a point. "Who is God" is a far more important question than "Is there a god". Definitions are crucial to science. I could not prove that dinosaurs still exist if I defined dinosaur as certain kinds of lizards but I could prove dinosaurs exist if I expand my definition of dinosaur to include birds.
Defining God is more difficult though. I could write hundreds of books about what I know about God and still fail to define him. I don't have all the answers.
what you have to consider, is that when the bible tells a story involving incest, it doesn't mean its saying to go do it. its telling the story either because its has historical relevance, importance, or there is a lesson there. not because everyone should do it. a story that comes to mind is is Abrahams calling his wife his sister so they wouldn't kill him for her, and they say you shouldn't have done that, what if we would have raped her not knowing... none of that is God saying to do that,
Some "gods" are more rational than others. The guy who buys an expensive sports car but doesn't drive it, turns that car into his god (idol) by placing it in a "shrine" where he performs acts of worship by constantly polishing a car he never drives. All kinds of things can be turned into idols or gods. People worship football, celebrities, and political parties. When we are afraid, we give a form of worship to what we fear. Racists worship racism. Atheists worship the god of anti-religion.(cont)
He does not fit the criteria for extremist. You can not draw any comparisons from Sam Harris to extremist religious people. Sam Harris and athiests for that matter have no involvement in terrorism or anything causing fear to other human beings.
It has always felt emtpy. Speaking in tongues never meant anything to me, perhaps because I spoke German, Spanish, and Sign Language decades before I ever "spoke in tongues". So seriously, I wasn't impressed by speaking in tongues. Much of the deconversion crisis he described, I went through when I was thirteen. I had to know the truth regardless of how it made me feel or whether I liked the truth or not. (cont)
@74BobLilly It's not a sudden admiration. I've always liked a well-turned vicious phrase. If it makes you pay attention, as it seems to have done, all the better.
Atheism is not a THING to find appealing. It's a non-belief. It's not a dogma or doctrine or creed. It's merely non-belief in gods. So if you find some arguments more appealing, fine.
I don't care who appeals to you as long as you give up your hate-filled dogma and use the intellect you possess for the good of the world.
Christianity is about love and forgiveness
vocally no. youre claiming that no one has ever killed because of a disbelief in all the other religions. nobody says in the name of atheism I shall slay you! but to say no one has ever killed anyone else based on disagreeing with religion is a heavy claim. I myself don't know if anyone has or hasn't but id be willing to bet its happened.
I did not say ALL Atheists. I said most.
Also, I would like to hear what you think about faith. I'm not speaking for others but I won't be offended by what you think about faith.
As you said, people are willing to die for thwir belifes, as I am willing to. Though know that I DO NOT belive in violence. But belive what you believe. You are entitled to your beliefs.
@74BobLilly You're the only one then. Hitchens is rabidly and vocally anti-theist and Harris is quietly and calmly atheist. Hitchens has called the religious leaders vicious and nasty names while Harris restricts himself to attacking doctrine and practice. Hitchens uses strong, vicious language whereas Harris barely calls a spade a spade. Hitchens openly admits he wishes to offend and Harris begins by saying he only wishes to discuss.
BTW, theist change themselves. Not writers.
A link to the news articles/events you are discussing in the video would be helpful as time passes and no one knows what you are referencing.
This is not true. I love talking to believers - it is really interesting hw anybody can believe in something like this. Thing is I dont care about believs of other people until it influence my life. And fact that most people believe in god do influence me..When I hear some1 who is believer and talks about god I feel bad, because I feel I will insult him if I tell him what I think about faith. Is it fair?I have to hear about god all the time but I cant say anything. Faith in god separates people
Guy is far too aggressive and mean to be a good spokesman for atheism. Hitchens is far better at being what atheism needs to be taken seriously.
just because you're an atheist doesn't make you peacefull and a good person.
You are absolutely right. You don't have to believe in Jesus to be loving, forgiving or moral.. I mean that. I know many good people who are not believers.. Would you say that your behavior towards others falls under the category of loving, forgiving or moral? From the things I have read, I would say that you don't possess any of these qualities. In fact, I find you to be the exact opposite of the intellectual dynamo you think you were.
Legalize it! Cause really smart people toke up daily!
Controversy in the context of religion does not necessarily mean that it is to blame or that God does not exist. You cannot hold true to logic and fail to consider the believer and the belief as separate issues. What the believer does is not always a true reflection of the belief. Controversy may show that something is true about religion.
"...a certain style of Muslim infatuation.."
Oh the kind which actually adheres and lives by the Quran, you mean?
You seem to be confusing zealotry with religion. If you wish to debase religion, please look at all of the good and holy people that have walked the path of religion (Mother Theresa?). The fact that some people take a warped view on the message of religion does not make religion inherently dangerous. Your mind frame is far to narrow.
To John; I love my girlfriend and my family and my friends, and I've never met God. I don't know him. He has never addressed me in any formal manor.
To Eugene; Teaching love and mercy does anything but hinder "survival of the fittest". It increases the survival. But why need someone else to tell you to love?
At the same time, I do see a few flaws that must be addressed. First, his former Christianity was based on emotion. Repeatedly he said, "I felt like God was real" or "It no longer had the same feeling that it had before". People often confuse the spiritual with the emotional. Therefore, I don't think that he was genuinely a Christian specifically because he had an emotional experience. He said that speaking in tongues used to feel meaningful but now felt empty. I've spoken in tongues.(cont)
So, Mr. Harris, are you implying that the world would better without religion.
A belief in a monotheistic god is called self-dishonesty. There is only virtue in honesty. To lay the foundation of self-dishonesty is to align oneself with vice.
All theisms are deranged, but monotheism - at least I would argue similarly to Neil DeGrasse that there's a charm to animism or spiritualism of sorts, and that monotheism is more troublesome in its premise and application.