Christopher Hitchens Christianity Is Totalitarian

[gsh1971]

Brilliant.

[Quizerno]

Thanks for the video. As someone who is only now aware of Mr. Hitchen's life, this clip is a very interesting look into his mindset.

[scalar]

"the false promise of vicarious redemption". In other words, no-one or nothing is ever gonna step in and save you. So called "christians' are still being duped by an age old scheme, originally aimed at controlling the unruly masses of ancient early cultures.

[bulldovla1]

I'm a christian, so that means that I'm in totalitarianism and I love every second of it... JESUS IS THE LORD!!! :)

[LuisManuelLealDias]

It's against McGrath. Very good debate, well good in the sense of pwnage by hitchens.

[CheekyVimto08]

the older i get the more compelling this argument becomes

[CRISNCHIPS12398]

God = Santa Clause for adults.

[damchilljams]

if this was totalitarianism, then why is hitchens allowed to give this speech.

you see, its not. you are given a choice to believe.

[viridismonasteriense]

@damchilljams Hitchens is allowed to give his speech because there exists such a thing as freedom of speech and freedom of religion in any moral secular society.

In Xtianity there's no freedom of religion, no freedom of speech, no freedom of thought, no freedom to choose & you will be punished after death for a crime you did not commit but you still have to repent for. And if you don't believe in something you have no reason to believe is anything but nonsense, you'll go to hell!

[MrDubidubidubidu]

@damchilljams What Hitch means by totalitarism is that either you believe, or you ar punished for eternity, the dictator is god not anyone on earth.

[DcEatsItsYoung]

@damchilljams

You forgot to mention what happens if you choose not to believe.

In a free society...there are not (neccessarily) consequences for speaking freely.

In a totalitarian society...one is essentially free to say whatever they like....but there are consequences. One may criticize the dictator, but they will pay consequences.

And in this case, hitchens is allowed to give the speech, but religious doctrine tells us that the consequence is eternal torment.

[MegJ326]

i love this man

[neojoeytabornal]

Hell is a bullet and God's will is a gun loaded with that bullet. He holds that gun to your head and says,"I love you with everything that I am and with all my might, but if you don't think the way I think or believe the way I do, then when It comes your time, I will pull the trigger. But remember," 'Click! (Cocks the hammer back.) "it's completely your choice". Smiles. " I LOOOOVE you!" Giggles then smiles. "Oh, by the way, you have a time limit." Looks down at his watch.

[VesusSheist]

If the fundies actually listened to and considered what Hitchens has to say in these videos, rather than simply trolling the comment sections, the world would be a better place.

[ThayinJai]

It's true man. All you're basically saying is, "I'm not God, and that sucks"

[luwala23]

Please, no more commentary debates.

[pervertedmind]

Nobody notices the cross halo behind his head? Those christians put it there to help themselves when they speak.

[Acrimonator]

It's not a cross... I only see an horizontal frame...

[johnsammyanfal]

To launch a vicious satire on those people and allege that they are persecutors or even killers appears presumptuous. To try and make a personal fortune into the bargain indicates youre a bit of a scoundrel. But in your case Sir... you are just an asshole

[johnsammyanfal]

If organised religion was complete nonsense then there would be no need to attack it. The fact that many people choose to follow it (including some of the most scholarly published people in the world) suggests to me that for them at least, it is not arrant nonsense.

[johnsammyanfal]

A bloated narcissist capitalising on the new niche market: attack organised religion. The topic guarantees an audience for third rate satire; while at the same masquerading as a secular pseudo-martyr. Pompous, vacuous and disingenuous in equal measure.

[lauriesrank]

Everyone should attack organised religion as it is a total nonsense, and of course you are so well published that you are clearly not disingenuous or vacuous. How dare anyone use a belief in a zombie to kill. You sir, are a bigot.

[xephyr1000]

Bravo Chris!

[AIDINSWE]

He likes to be called by his name by the way, christopher

[marcN19]

homophobia has nothing to do with religion...

[MRoane41]

well I'm an atheist who has read the Bible and found a much different answer.

[BoingotheClown]

So you are saying that the passage in Deuteronomy that says homosexuals are an abomination, that they must be dragged to the gates of the city, then stoned to death, and that their blood should be upon them was just some sort of misprint?

[marcN19]

I have always believed that their existed no mention of homosexuals in the Bible...?

[BoingotheClown]

I made a mistake and said Deuteronomy, when it is in fact Leviticus. Here is the passage:

Leviticus

18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.

[pupil8]

What? so the the fact that the bible condemns it and prescribes explicitly the punishment for it, plays no part in its prevalence?

[naybobdenod]

Hitchens would never make a good politician,for he spaeaks too many truths that make sense

[shashintokyo]

I'd vote for him for precisely those reasons...

[eugdog106]

he should read cs lewis, he would say that morality is objective and that accepting god means that i have transgressed the moral law and need to be forgiven, faith begins in dismay

[MRoane41]

he actually refers to lewis in several debates.. perhaps you should watch more before you critique. Vicarious Redemption is one of the most immoral teachings the church has preached.

[SpeciousGwa]

If you've ever read any of Hitchen's books, you'll see he quotes C.S Lewis quite often.

[mastershake99]

Yeah, I think that Hitchens is pretty familiar with Lewis' apologetic work.

[mikelheron20]

Hitchens quotes from the Problem of Pain and several other of Lewis' theological works. Lewis himself admitted that the problem of evil (theodicy) is unanswerable. Then he committed intellectual suicide by, in effect, saying that even though a belief in God is irrational he chooses to believe it anyway. He claimed to be a very reluctant and unhappy convert. He should have hung his head in shame for betraying his intellect and embracing superstitious rubbish.

[maryellen728]

Do you really believe for one moment that Hitchens has not read C. S. Lewis?

This is Christopher Hitchens, the writer.

You must be thinking of some other Christopher Hitchens because this one certainly has read C. S. Lewis.

This Hitchens is highly literate.

[eugdog106]

well i have NO doubt that he read cs lewis but if he did i have a feeling that he missed his point. He would argue that the first step to accepting faith is to realize that there is an objective morality floating through the universe and that it requires effort to follow it and that this morality is not arbitrary but something real and the first step is to realize that you have violated it and need to reconciled for your moral transgressions. faith begins in dismay.

[maryellen728]

@eugdog106 Who is the human being which will determine which moral code is "objective" and which moral code is arbitrary? A Catholic Pope? An Ayatollah? A Rabbi?

Who will decide for you? How will you impose that "objective morality" on everyone else? More witch burning? Lynching gays? Beheading rape survivors?

Endless wars?

Religion's track record speaks for itself. Even do unto others has limitations. Faith has nothing to do with morality. Faith is blind belief in the irrational.

[grisflyt]

But CS Lewis was a madman. He defended the witch hunt. His argument was that REAL witches, if they DID exist, deserved to be killed. And the people who killed the witches honestly believed they were witches.

Hitler believed he was doing the Lord's work. So if he honestly believed, who can hold 6 million dead Jews against him?

[GaiusIuliusTaberna]

@grisflyt I don't think Hitler thought he was doing the lords work, he was more of a new age pagan than a believing catholic although he did use established catholic antisemitism in his rhetoric.

The Holocaust was racially motivated. The witch hunts however are a purely religious affair.

[grisflyt]

Jew is not a race. The Holocaust was religious. Hitler followed the teachings of M.Luther.

"For the honor of God and Christ, make God see that we are true Christians. Break down, destroy their homes, deprive them of their prayer-books and Talmuds in which they teach such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy. Their rabbis must be forbidden to teach under threats of death. And whoever wishes to accept and honor venomous serpents, desperate enemies of the Lord..."

[GaiusIuliusTaberna]

Of course being Jewish isn't a race, but Hitler and his ilk think they are. They ascribed to a sort of Aryan Blood myth involving an ice moon, a super race, and a paranoid delusion about a global Jewish plot.

Many of his followers however, probably did have religious reasons for jew baiting.

It is faith based, I think we can agree on that much

[cas343]

Hey mp9yq9tx, I'm a Christian and this video has got me thinking. Is the whole debate available?

That's what I don't like. I am gonna be punished for eternity for things I didn't do, but I am still responsible for everything I do.

[cas343]

I been a Christian my whole life thinking: "its not fair. Its not fair. Its not fair." Job getting pwnt for... being too good!?! Israelites going out and killing and taking land, but if I were to steal a shirt from a store I'd go to jail? God wanting a father to sacrafice his son on a mountain? That's the outcome of following God's plan? Abel sacrafices a sheep and Cain sacrafices wheat, God says "good Abel, bad Cain". And when Cain snaps and kills him God says "oh and murders bad now btw".

[mp9yq9tx]

hiya cas343, this debate is available here on utube. just type in search Hitchens vs. Alister McGrath.

Hell is not punishment. Punishment is a smack or grounding your child for bad behaviour. Its used to teach your child so they will not repeat their wrongdoing.

Hell is eternal is it is not meant to teach anyone right from wrong. Hell is nothing less then sadistic torture. No matter what my children do I could never lock them in the dark and torture them with fire.

[cas343]

Thanks. I need to answer some questions before I choose my career.

[beefMERCIFUL]

perhaps jesus meant that if we do not open our hearts to our fellow man then we will suffer because we are tortured by our separation and loneliness, by our own hatred and vice. btw, this is coming from not a christian, but someone who believes that jesus and other prophets speak of the same thing, and that they all thought it important to use metaphor to most effectively reach the masses.

[philster61]

Am surprised that your still a christian.

[cas343]

lol me too. But honestly I can't simply disregard the fact that if I believe what I am told, then there is no real reason to be alive on this planet and I can't live that way.

[philster61]

But look at it from the view that the fact that in spite of the odds against us being here,here we are.We dont need to pay homage to the idea that we were especially created by God. Why is it that we "need" a reason to be here? And then why do we only think that belief in a "God" is the only answer? Why even bother with such a line if thinking in the first place.I really hope that you look at it through a different set of eyes. And I for one would be very glad to learn if and when you do?

[philster61]

Douglas Adams once said. "Can I not look at a beautiful garden without believing that theres fairies in it"

Very wise words from a very missed writer.He wrote "Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy". Whenever I look at Christian fundamentalists and Catholics trying to drive home their point about God etc.I think of what Adams said. Can I not enjoy being on this planet for my assigned time length without being fed fairy stories? i might get to enjoy it more. Good luck in your search cas343.

[cas343]

Thank you, I appreciate it. I'll drop you a line sometime. :)

[memorynuke123]

It's rare to find people who are open minded as you are.

Awesome.

[cas343]

Well I wasn't always. Its just that at some point you have to get serious and say "wtf is actually going on?" cause once I'm out of school its just me and what I think.

I have seen arguments with neither side acknowledging each others perfectly valid points. It seems that a lot of this has become a contest of "discrediting the opposition" and not so much the pursuit of truth. Chris Hitchens is an exception as he doesn't use personal attacks very much, so I respect him.

[kusalaviro]

Stop looking for reasons and just LIVE!! You don't need any particular reason to go for a walk in the park do you...

[redfeather09]

cas343 you should read some Joseph Campbell. There is room for a sense of spirituality without buying into dogmatic fundamentalist religious ideas.

[patrickledford420]

@cas343 if you are serious about being christian and it making you think then you my friend are fucking awesome and are better then the biblical god. also, dont fear the truth, the one thing the bible was right about was that the truth WILL set you free

[maryellen728]

@patrickledford420

Hitchens cured my Christianity. Fear, guilt, shame, lies, pie in the sky when you die...the hypocrisy.

When Hitchens said that no thinking person could believe, he was right.

When Dawkins said it was a delusion, he was right.

There's a price I've paid, but freedom from superstition is worth it.

[Funaru]

This is Hitchens vs. Alister McGrath.

[JLongTom]

Thanks for the upload. Which debate is this taken from?

[mp9yq9tx]

Not sure which debate is was. I cut this from a clip a while ago. From memory this debate was held in a mosque.

[tcrb2]

It's Hitchens vs McGrath, which is all online if not on youtube then at Fora TV.

[JLongTom]

Cheers. Glad to see only Hitchens then, given how infuriating McGrath is with his 'you've raised some very INteresting QUEStions' which he repeats after every reply as if he's heard it all before. *Pulls hair out*

[tcrb2]

Yeah it's blatently stalling for thought

[mp9yq9tx]

Hitchens v Wolpe was the debate held in a mosque. my mistake.