In math 0 always equals 0. You can’t get away from that. Stephen Hawkins has said, “there must always be a first cause, then the effect.” In order to have a universe of matter, and a beginning of space time, there had to be some power outside the finite, to start the engine. Infinite something above the finite. The question “so where did God come from,” is answered in the infinite. Something out of nothing, still leaves us with nothing starting everything.
@digital0707neo actually, you must not be up to date with hawkings work. "God is unnecessary" is the latest position. the universe can, according to hawking et al, who you are quoting, "create itself from nothing". again, the notion of "nothing" most people use is not what is meant by big bang physics, since time itself (and as a result causality) breaks down. but hawking's position does not support your quote
@romber58 He'd been answering that same question, that morality is derived from human preservation, consistently in the beginnings of his debate. The question was asked in a scriptural form, rather than layman's terms - anything he said would simply be reiterating what he'd been saying.
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Starting at about 7:00 mins in part 6,Hitchens is asked a good question to which he gives a very evasive answer and then quickly turns to his right to take the next question.I thought that was very cowardly
A person with even the smallest amount of reasoning power should be able to sort this out. The commandment, not to put other gods before the? God of Mosses, should tell you right there the whole thing is man made. Why would the one and only God tell you not to put other gods before him/her? This mean one of two things. There are other gods because GOD mentioned them or a human made the whole thing up. I am leaning toward the made up solution.
No, I beg to differ, we are talking about the "Word of God" here. It says to me man made them up not God, so many of the ten are just plain dumb. I can't see someone being punished for drawing a dog. That is what the second one says by forbiding the carving etc. of things form heaven or earth. How the hell would know what is in heaven if you are alive?
I guess you don't like the fact you can't draw muhammed either :)
I how found in general that if you believe in something it makes more sense, then when you don't.
that is not a argument for or against anything necessarily it is just a sign that theists and atheists need to flush there brains out every one and a while. On a side note I guess the second commandment only applies when you recieve divine attention anyway, that is the only rationlization I could give it
You know there was a time when I was starting to think there might be a God. I have a very good friend of many years that I respect greatly. He, with one point convinced me of my folly. Here is how it goes. God in all his glory, wisdom, loving, forgiving and power must only hate one group of people. That one group is amputees, because in all the claims of miracles not once has one ever been cured. It was the final straw for me, from that day forward I knew that the whole thing was a fraud.
Yeah, no one has quite been able to explain that quite well from the theistic perspective. Not something I would weigh my soul on, but I am starting to see that the arguements provided by most apologists at the level I'm am familiar with them (which has been enough to convince me) sucks. And I have the most famous ones to. Being of course from Josh McDowell,William Craig and Gary Habermas, and Lee Strobel. never read any of there book but enough lectures to get the idea, of what they are.
I would like some one to please answer me just one question. I can't seem to get a straight answer to a very simple query. If a small group of people lived on a small island and never knew there was a God, would they be allowed into heaven?
There is no heaven. Universe existed for 14 billion years without believers in a supreme, '''invisible''' creating being. After all those years - humans came along; suddenly there were 100's of religions! Over the centuries, each religion eventually died along with it's believers and when we are gone, so will the current beliefs of Islam, Christianity, etc., then-again the universe will go on for another 14 billion years (really much more) with no INVISIBLE/UNPROVABLE creator.
Think about it royme - in no way are any of the stories (christianity, islam, judaism, etc) believable or provable. None of the amazing things that happen in those 3 books can be repeated - healing the sick, walking on water! LOL
Hi royme55. I can only answer you from the things I was taught. I am an atheist now, but if I had asked this of my religious leaders, I would have been told that they would get a "chance", and have a sort of time limit. If they chose God's way they live forever, if they don't they are destroyed. Don't bash me for it, I don't believe it it's just what I was told lol
Agreed. There is no need for a debate partner in this case. It's always the same nonsense. I was happy just to hear him talk about his points uninterrupted by some blathering idiot.
This thing is so much improved by the absence of an debate partner... I thank goodness for that, because Hitchens really could make fun of the 3-4 questions always brought up by theists (and rightly so!).
Yes, Dawkins is a scientist and Hitchens is more of an author. Not to discredit the author but Dawkins has more technical knowledge and his scientific mind is far sharper. Hitchens is a great speaker/writer though. Although, he seems to still think there are and were WMDs in Iraq and that republicans like Rudy Guiliani should be president. He also supported Bush and supports Obama even after writing a book on Orwell. It's pretty incredible. He should know that politics follow religion.
I should have gone to this event, but the town hall here in Seattle is tiny. Too bad the event didn't take place in the Convention Center where there would be more room.
existence of God is not based on empirical evidence,science just like any tool, has limitations in its application.God isnt a bearded man sitting in the sky n pointing his finger at u.God is a personal experience.i used 2b atheist,i rejected God just like u did,but as life went on,i found God through my OWN experience.i dont follow any religion in particular.there r scientists who say God exists,while others say He doesnt,but i guess we'll find out in time.
As I was saying, no you will not know wether one [god] exists, unless an afterlife does exist. The existence of an afterlife in a semi-knowable matter.
And this last sentence is kind of a joke about the concept of semi-decidible.
science cannot explain it therefore god exists. That's called god of gaps. you cannot fill it in with theological explanation if science hasn't figured it out yet.
whether god exists or not is unfalsifiable. just like you can't deny the existing of a flying spaghetti monster either.
If you believe in something, please use logical reasons.
Exactly! This is what atheists simply don't understand. I mean, my socks went missing last week and I still can't find them today. Thus, god took them away because I don't know. It makes perfect sense.^^
Thank you Christopher for promoting a scientific view of the universe, Hopefully one day you promote a scientific view of moral, human behavior. We behave based on our evolutionary history, environmental history, and the current situation. We behave because of the contingencies of reinforcement. We evolved as animals that learned to behave in ways that foster health and adaption.
it will take only a glance at the comments of someone such as "cityuk" for one to, once and for all, discard the notion that islam is "a religion of peace".
When anyone you know espouses this notion, insist they skim the Qur'an. The proof to the contrary is there. And when your friends who continue to defend this backward, barbaric and disgusting doctrine plead for you to be more tolerant, do not be surprised when they wail in terror as those they tried to defend stab them in the back.
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Good luck with your temporay pleasures, we all know the distiguisher of ALL pleasures is death...So aspire to taste it if you really think that is your end and that you will not be brought back to the one that created you.
its not for your little head or mine to know if God exists or not. just because u keep saying that He doesnt exist, doesnt make Him go away. btw, religion n spirituality r two totally different things.
no disrespect.even tho hitchens is atheist he approaches religions with respect.i had doubts of islam 2 till i actually read quran,cos u cant believe what corrupt media or separate individuals with special interests say about it til u research it.quran n bible have common postulates they dnt differ radically as most ppl assume.bunch of extremists who claim 2 be muslim dnt represent islam just like bunch of zionists dnt represent judaism,actually real muslims n real jews dislike those groups 2
Again, I don't agree. The extremists are actually adhering to the precepts of the Qu'ran. Further, ther moderates provide a shield for the extremists.
How does that change that these religions call for the killing of people that don't believe in your faith? Or the stoning of your disobedient children? Or hearing voices and then proceeding to burn your children?
And the moderates do not negate the extremists. If anything they shelter them and provide them with credibility, as hackenbollox has already added.
i get ur point but NOT all muslims r like that, thats what im saying, i condemn such practices as well, ppl exploit religion once they get their hands into it, whether christianity, islam or judaism.religion is man made, God is NOT man made, so most fail to draw the line. also, muslim arabs who practice such treatment as ur outlined compose only 10% of muslims around the world, so u cant charge the remaining 90% on this 10%.
"God" as i organized religion is most definitely man made. To pretend that either Koran or the Bible or any other "holy" book is somehow divinely inspired and contains God's dictates is delusion/hubris/arrogance/ignorance to the highest degree.
You obviously read what you want to. What hackenbollox and I already said, is that people like you, talking about the good of religion, seem to neglect the bad. When you DO something about the evil in YOUR religion then come and give us this rhetoric.
Just an analogy for your theist brain, if there was a medicine that took away your cold instantly, but the side effect was that you have a heart attack and die, would you still take it? That is essentially what your 90%-10% argument boils down to.
God is NOT man made? Do you have proof of that? Do animals pray to god? Who other than MAN prays to god? AFAIK, god is a completely man made concept and since no evidence exists to support him, your CLAIM is unsubstantiated. A 101 is scientific theory (or law for that matter), CLAIMANTS must prove their claims.
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And Allah guides whom he wills and leaves astray whom he wills.
Guidence come to all of us many times in our life, it is up to us to accept or reject. You obviously choose to reject, why tell the whole world? what do you think you will gain? wealth maybe? status? Carrying on boasting and bragging and mocking Islam...We will see who will have the last laugh of the day of judgment.
Well people like you bring judgement day to lots of poor people well ahead of time don't they my friend. London July 2007 springs to mind. Those suicide bombers thought like you and now lots of innocent (despite what you cunts think) peoples lives are ruined. and for what? A backwards belief in a fairy godfather. You disgust me. Take your religion and bigotry and fuck off away from civilisation.
I saw this video from the '06 Beyond Belief last night. Someone said that if you don't "believe" in science, and you don't think science is real, jump off a building and be introduced to gravity.
The same should be extrapolated to those that think religion and science can and should co-exist.
I have long held the idea that perhaps people who refute Science as useful, should perhaps be 'allowed' to live without any of it's benefits.
Surely life without Medicine,Genetics,Synthetic Chemicals, Optics,Electronics,Aviation and (hopefully) the Internet would be something of a stimulus to Evolution! Since they are so keen to deny us, let's not give anything away for free.
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The stories Allah narrates to us are of the past, present and future. of the rightious and wrongdoers. How to attain Paradise and how to attain Hellfire...so simply and so clear. Allah not only tells us history, but teachs us geography, science and math.
I suggest you read the Qur'an again with a open heart.
Your Allah is Rubbish. I have read the Quran it is nothing but one big boooring book. It goes from story to story and keep repeating the same bullshit over and over again. It has a very primitive content and just baabbles on. There is not chronology and is wearisom and boring....
you mean like god watching over us 24/7, judging those that engage in premarital sex or masterbation, as well as listening to our thoughts and commanding us not to cover our neighbours' wife etc?
of the 2 evils i'd go with the identi chips and round the clock monitoring by humans.
but that wont happen if we refrain from falling into some totaliarian system like religion, communism, nationalism etc and just live in relative peace with one another.
This is foolish. How does anyone know how they should behave. Morality is imaginary. It is a made up construct. It's simply choices we make. Causal effect situations. The "morality" of any causal action is imaginary. Any implication of morality is religious in nature weather it's from an atheist or a theist. Completely subjective views every human on earth lives their lives by. The subjective turtle upon who's back all societies ride.
Twicedbaked needs to know that morality is universal and is not religous. What is good and right and beneficial to life and society is the right and the good, and the opposite is the wrong and the evil. Murder and stealing are wrong in all societies almost without exception, regardless of religion. It is not subjective. Thats only your way of avoiding responsibility for your actions.
If I were everyone, but were as informed as I am, I would be suspicious of some of his views too. Though he may be a stooge unintentionally...However, I dont know, and like what he says for the time being.
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In someone who really seems not to care about what other people think, and can easily call someone an idiot, it's strange to see this obsession with being applauded, isn't it? I think it obnoxious.
I think you've gone askew with your philosophy of human nature. No matter how anyone thinks of others feelings, it still assures oneself to be in the common favor. I'm sure, at night, he sleeps well, whether people belittle his ideas or if they applaud them.
"the son is the reincarnation of the father", How can Hitch say something like this and don't stress the nonsense? No one can believe that. He's using the wrong word, someone please tell him.
when a religion becomes a mean for a theocratic dictatorship or a tool of imposing one's will in accordance to its dogma over the lives of its followers than expect violence,intellectual cowardice and slavery to creep in society under the slogan "god wants it" and abolish and/or catalogise human achivements as sinful rendering that state and people uneducated,angry,racist, pathetic and redefining there existence from free thinking beings to religious animals,i am talking about islam
Thanks for putting these videos up. Hitchens is simply brilliant - the English pit bull of reason - once he bites onto you he never lets go! I love his humour, respect his intellect and just have to marvel at his linguistic skills. I'd go for a pint with him any day!
I've just demonstrated with my last 2 comments the dangers of alcohol mixed with making comments on youtube...just think of it as a holistic social experiment. God bless xxx
Hmm... I thought my previous comment was going to be a reply to the last post. Oh well.
In general, I agree with much of what Christopher Hitchens says about being concerned with atrocious behavior supported by religious reasons. I appreciate how he doesn't feel that religion should be done away with, as some other recently prominent speakers who hold religion in ill favor have espoused.
He doesn't explicitly say it (that religion should be done away with) but his comments are certainly to the effect that religion be protected and restrained by science, evidence and reason...which is very incendiary in a great many religious corners globally.
I thought it would be best if all comments were collected in one place. Folks like to comment/debate and having comments in one place facilitates that.
Obviously some people, like yourself, like to comment in line with the segment they are watching.
I can understand wanting all the comments in a central place. I've gone through them and it seems like there's been quite a discussion. It's hard to tell how serious some people are, but it's been excellent seeing a respectful, for the most part, conversation.
Seen every part - once again - this man is extremely clever in his approach to uncovering religion as the hoax and bull... that it is. And I don't want to hear any "clever philosofical" arguments in favor of religion - you have you book! this is where it all comes from - this book is utter useless and full of crap - hence, your philosofical spin-offs are utter useless and full of crap.
Well, that's my two cents... I think Hitch is right for the most part. The shame is what gets thrown out with the bathwater in these matters. Truth should be our goal, under whatever name. If consciousness studies can get us out of the religious jargon and closer to that objective, I'm all for it. Science bless!
For those of you that are dead set on the idea we believers must find a way to prove our expereince of the divine, I say to you it is rigid and dogmatic in the extreme. To get results certain protocals must be followed. Without a hope and a willingness to experiment on faith there can be no outcome.
What do you mean "dead set" - is it something negative to ask for an explanation? Would you belive me blindly and accept it without question if I were to tell you that i KNOW - I KNOW - that a monkey god created this planet fromm his own pooh and that humans were made from his pis? Surely you would want me to elaborate/prove these claims would you not? Well, other religions propose equally extreme myths..
With interest I have looked at some of the comments here, at the end of a weekend away, and there are just a few things I'd like to suggest before logging off and out of the discussion: In matters of transpersonal reality and hightened states of consiousness there is really no way to get at them except for through the mind disciplines suggested through the ages. My god this has been explicated by William James, Aldous Huxley, and the list goes on and on...
People criticize his stance over Iraq but I am sure that he is being totally consistant with his argument for military intervention in Iraq. He is not a fan of Bush in anyway and openly criticizes Bush for his religious/political fusion eg Suggesting that Putin was a good man because he wore a cross...I think that the war in Iraq is a consequence of the argumnents he describes...
No, Klarkster, I'm not, I've been a fan of christopher hitchins for long before he went to america, I AM playing the 'play all video' selection apart from the ones I've seen, I'm on pt4 at the mo' and will replay most of them and send on the playlist to others.
Its Like good music and makes up for all the crap
His balls will be cut off if he ever is in my presence, due to his ignorant stance about Iraq war. His penis will be spared due to his eloquence on religion.
Thomas Paine makes a great point (among 1000 others) in "The Age of Reason", that the events described in the Gospel of - particularly the 'many saints' who rose from the dead and walked in the cities, seen by many - are completely absent from the other three Gospels. That event would have filled a whole Book all by itself if it had really happened, instead of being tossed out in one sentence! The Bible is obviously fiction! Read Paine's "The Age of Reason" online for free! Don't be a slave!
Shoot. Sorry, that should have read "that the events described in the Gospel of *Matthew*". Here's the line: "'... the graves opened, that the bodies of many of the saints that slept arose and came out of their graves after the resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many.'" Ridiculous nonsense!
Just a minor correction for the sake of accuracy: In part 6 when the clock reads 8:10 Hitchens mentions the Council of Chalcedon as occurring in the year 524 when it accuracy took place in the year 451, from October 8 till November 1.
Hitchens is an idiot for saying 524 instead of 451 as you suggest........that totally makes Hitchens a fraud...he should be ashamed of himself and be made to stand in the corner and think about what he has done!
Taking your comments as sarcasm with the meaning that my correction is a trivial point, I agree that is rather trivial to his argument—almost too trivial to comment on. That being said I am very fond of Christopher Hitchens' writings and his astute vision and would not make any claim to him being a fraud—I am merely correcting what I take for an accidental mistake for anyone who might be interested, having some interest in accuracy and the passing on of false information.
Not only the year of his birth is debated but his actual existence is debated as well. The historical record conflicts with the biblical one. The nature of Jesus is also debateable with some saying he was likely the leader of one of many para-military, messianic organizations in the area at that time.
Evidence? See, there you go again. You girls never change.
Pseduo-intellectual points? Guilty as charged. I'll seek to say something of substance some another day. One thing about divine realizations though, it absolutely cannot be done by putting the evidentiary cart before the horse. That much has been explained in the spiritual literature over and over again.
Besides, we have evidence there is a god. In the oratory category he is obviously Chris Hitchens.
Christopher Hitchens although a good orator if you actually listen to the words he actually presents a very rational and concise argument and backs everything he says up with evidence and while those like jbrandonvalentine would argue the fact with essentially unsubstantiated beliefs of 'unconscious knowing' or 'subconscious dreaming'...I think would trust Mr Hitchens
Great upload Klarkster thankyou...this is Hitchens at his best, clear, articulate, rational and sober! I only wish there were more than 8 parts to it.
Well here, let me clue you. Religion is an approach to ultimate reality. The myth, the codes and the rituals contain software designed to eventuate in authentic realization...course that was when true religion prevailed. Now we just have roughshod and derelict vestiges. Get at it through science if you want. I don't care.
RIP dear man!
Damagicus 1 month ago
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test123ok 3 months ago in playlist More videos from Klarkster
Of Course there is a god, he is called Christopher.
AxeHomeless 3 months ago
If I do not date women who are religious, am I a bad person? Narrow minded bigot?
redshark618 6 months ago
@redshark618 No. You're just saving yourself a headache as regards the religion stuff.
BuddhaBebop 6 months ago
@redshark618 If you do not date women who are Flat-Earthers, are you a bad person? Narrow minded and bigoted?
TomVodkaCollins 2 months ago
Thank you for posting this, Klarkster.
writersblock26 7 months ago 2
Nice cultural references, Hitchens, especially to Samuel Longhorne's 1884 book, "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
writersblock26 10 months ago
Dam it he is charming....
stonewickison 1 year ago
one makes his or her own reality.one say God lives the others says no. whatever the conclusion of one belief life goes on.
trex457 1 year ago
In math 0 always equals 0. You can’t get away from that. Stephen Hawkins has said, “there must always be a first cause, then the effect.” In order to have a universe of matter, and a beginning of space time, there had to be some power outside the finite, to start the engine. Infinite something above the finite. The question “so where did God come from,” is answered in the infinite. Something out of nothing, still leaves us with nothing starting everything.
digital0707neo 1 year ago
@digital0707neo actually, you must not be up to date with hawkings work. "God is unnecessary" is the latest position. the universe can, according to hawking et al, who you are quoting, "create itself from nothing". again, the notion of "nothing" most people use is not what is meant by big bang physics, since time itself (and as a result causality) breaks down. but hawking's position does not support your quote
Neeboopsh 1 year ago
@romber58 He'd been answering that same question, that morality is derived from human preservation, consistently in the beginnings of his debate. The question was asked in a scriptural form, rather than layman's terms - anything he said would simply be reiterating what he'd been saying.
CantankerousTrencher 2 years ago
where does the - joined the quire invisible, gone to meet its maker, hes an expresident - come from? its on one of the monty python episodes as well
abbasnake 2 years ago
It's from the famous 'Parrot Sketch'. Google it. Legendary.
AnonymousPsych 1 year ago
oh... I actually knew Monthy Python before Hitchens, but I thought that they, the Monty Pythons, got it from somewhere aswell
abbasnake 1 year ago
@abbasnake Parrot Sketch.
F33bs 1 year ago
royme55 what do you think of the "scholars" I mentioned out of curiousity
TheRebelofTheLight 2 years ago
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Starting at about 7:00 mins in part 6,Hitchens is asked a good question to which he gives a very evasive answer and then quickly turns to his right to take the next question.I thought that was very cowardly
romber58 2 years ago
A person with even the smallest amount of reasoning power should be able to sort this out. The commandment, not to put other gods before the? God of Mosses, should tell you right there the whole thing is man made. Why would the one and only God tell you not to put other gods before him/her? This mean one of two things. There are other gods because GOD mentioned them or a human made the whole thing up. I am leaning toward the made up solution.
royme55 2 years ago 4
its meant to prevent idolatry, which which the worship of self or something other than
TheRebelofTheLight 2 years ago
No, I beg to differ, we are talking about the "Word of God" here. It says to me man made them up not God, so many of the ten are just plain dumb. I can't see someone being punished for drawing a dog. That is what the second one says by forbiding the carving etc. of things form heaven or earth. How the hell would know what is in heaven if you are alive?
royme55 2 years ago 2
I guess you don't like the fact you can't draw muhammed either :)
I how found in general that if you believe in something it makes more sense, then when you don't.
that is not a argument for or against anything necessarily it is just a sign that theists and atheists need to flush there brains out every one and a while. On a side note I guess the second commandment only applies when you recieve divine attention anyway, that is the only rationlization I could give it
TheRebelofTheLight 2 years ago
You know there was a time when I was starting to think there might be a God. I have a very good friend of many years that I respect greatly. He, with one point convinced me of my folly. Here is how it goes. God in all his glory, wisdom, loving, forgiving and power must only hate one group of people. That one group is amputees, because in all the claims of miracles not once has one ever been cured. It was the final straw for me, from that day forward I knew that the whole thing was a fraud.
royme55 2 years ago
Yeah, no one has quite been able to explain that quite well from the theistic perspective. Not something I would weigh my soul on, but I am starting to see that the arguements provided by most apologists at the level I'm am familiar with them (which has been enough to convince me) sucks. And I have the most famous ones to. Being of course from Josh McDowell,William Craig and Gary Habermas, and Lee Strobel. never read any of there book but enough lectures to get the idea, of what they are.
TheRebelofTheLight 2 years ago
I would like some one to please answer me just one question. I can't seem to get a straight answer to a very simple query. If a small group of people lived on a small island and never knew there was a God, would they be allowed into heaven?
royme55 2 years ago
@royme55
There is no heaven. Universe existed for 14 billion years without believers in a supreme, '''invisible''' creating being. After all those years - humans came along; suddenly there were 100's of religions! Over the centuries, each religion eventually died along with it's believers and when we are gone, so will the current beliefs of Islam, Christianity, etc., then-again the universe will go on for another 14 billion years (really much more) with no INVISIBLE/UNPROVABLE creator.
RichieCarvaliho 2 years ago
Think about it royme - in no way are any of the stories (christianity, islam, judaism, etc) believable or provable. None of the amazing things that happen in those 3 books can be repeated - healing the sick, walking on water! LOL
RichieCarvaliho 2 years ago
Anyways royme - I apologise - you wanted a simple answer -
NO
RichieCarvaliho 2 years ago
depends on your denomination of christianity..
cant1be1original 2 years ago
Hi royme55. I can only answer you from the things I was taught. I am an atheist now, but if I had asked this of my religious leaders, I would have been told that they would get a "chance", and have a sort of time limit. If they chose God's way they live forever, if they don't they are destroyed. Don't bash me for it, I don't believe it it's just what I was told lol
zeldagoblin 2 years ago
'I do not want to live in a celestial North Korea'
Brilliant
richardsmith1990 2 years ago
well ...
it was worth watching and like a person before me said , a speech is less forced , the talker gould end his/her thought without interruption !
Thanks for posting !
Brgds
GSO
GermanStraight1 2 years ago
Good speach.
pornswordtobacco 2 years ago
thanks for posting this. i enjoy speeches far more than debates, the format is less forced and a point is able to be made.
nbs991 2 years ago
The Executive Director of the Seattle Town Hall... why does it seem like his last job was a DJ at a strip club?
illwrath 2 years ago
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WRFife 2 years ago
LOL, illwrath.
we need more hitchens to knock in some common sense and dignity to humanity. Stop the killings and the suffering in the name of fabrications
WRFife 2 years ago 2
Hallelujah and Amen.
hitch is mental enrichment in physical form.
illwrath 2 years ago
You should've allowed comments on the last video, not the first.
:-P
Scrapheap71 2 years ago 2
Hitchens puts into words, what most non religious people know in to be true down to their core and educates and entertains while doing it
bcmalloy 2 years ago 45
Hitchens is awesome...thanks for uploading.
HimmuraTube 2 years ago 10
Agreed. There is no need for a debate partner in this case. It's always the same nonsense. I was happy just to hear him talk about his points uninterrupted by some blathering idiot.
mmazur1o5 2 years ago 21
Well said and all they ever say anyway is "God works in mysterious ways".
redwardo22 2 years ago
This thing is so much improved by the absence of an debate partner... I thank goodness for that, because Hitchens really could make fun of the 3-4 questions always brought up by theists (and rightly so!).
hackfleischkannibale 2 years ago 7
Amazing set, thank you so much for uploading.
ByronC900 2 years ago 2
just watched the whole set, it was fucking awesome.
theREALshafan 2 years ago
He doesn't understand what materialism is. This aside, I wish this was the 'spokesperson' for the scientific world-view, rather than Dawkins.
UnpaidAcademic 3 years ago
I like how he trashes religion but Dawkins makes us look better and is more representative of what science stands for.
splendorfulguris 2 years ago 6
Yes, Dawkins is a scientist and Hitchens is more of an author. Not to discredit the author but Dawkins has more technical knowledge and his scientific mind is far sharper. Hitchens is a great speaker/writer though. Although, he seems to still think there are and were WMDs in Iraq and that republicans like Rudy Guiliani should be president. He also supported Bush and supports Obama even after writing a book on Orwell. It's pretty incredible. He should know that politics follow religion.
niginit 2 years ago 5
I should have gone to this event, but the town hall here in Seattle is tiny. Too bad the event didn't take place in the Convention Center where there would be more room.
mattcat83 3 years ago
existence of God is not based on empirical evidence,science just like any tool, has limitations in its application.God isnt a bearded man sitting in the sky n pointing his finger at u.God is a personal experience.i used 2b atheist,i rejected God just like u did,but as life went on,i found God through my OWN experience.i dont follow any religion in particular.there r scientists who say God exists,while others say He doesnt,but i guess we'll find out in time.
alia4eva 3 years ago
No, you won't find out... you'll just cease to be... duh...
uvauva2 3 years ago
use ur brains a little, thats what i meant, ill find out whether there is God or not once i die. DUH. u dont need to take everything literally.
alia4eva 3 years ago
As I was saying, no you will not know wether one [god] exists, unless an afterlife does exist. The existence of an afterlife in a semi-knowable matter.
And this last sentence is kind of a joke about the concept of semi-decidible.
uvauva2 3 years ago
So you are a relativist.
sniffysmooth 3 years ago
That was meant as a question.
sniffysmooth 3 years ago
science cannot explain it therefore god exists. That's called god of gaps. you cannot fill it in with theological explanation if science hasn't figured it out yet.
whether god exists or not is unfalsifiable. just like you can't deny the existing of a flying spaghetti monster either.
If you believe in something, please use logical reasons.
nathanliang 3 years ago 7
"science cannot explain it therefore god exists."
Exactly! This is what atheists simply don't understand. I mean, my socks went missing last week and I still can't find them today. Thus, god took them away because I don't know. It makes perfect sense.^^
HumanStrategy 2 years ago 5
Lol such a good analogy! Im going to use that one mate!!
martintod2006 2 years ago
FSM exist! and if u dont believe him you will go to hell
Nades129 2 years ago 5
Hell is OK if you don't mind getting STD's and drink stale beer. :-/
Scrapheap71 2 years ago
Thank you Christopher for promoting a scientific view of the universe, Hopefully one day you promote a scientific view of moral, human behavior. We behave based on our evolutionary history, environmental history, and the current situation. We behave because of the contingencies of reinforcement. We evolved as animals that learned to behave in ways that foster health and adaption.
i2v2s 3 years ago
er ist ausgezeichnet!!
omyxtom 3 years ago
Hitchens is brilliant!
Roaddogg666 3 years ago 5
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uMMm like O-M-G this is so stupid HAhahha
i need someone to likc my pussy zB
1509457 3 years ago
lol. debate and he with draws at the last minute.
quietAtheist20 3 years ago
Hitchens is brilliant!
Roaddogg666 3 years ago
I always laugh when Christians call N. Korea "atheistic"! Who says Christians don't have a sense a humour!
ThePissedOffAtheist 3 years ago 6
it will take only a glance at the comments of someone such as "cityuk" for one to, once and for all, discard the notion that islam is "a religion of peace".
When anyone you know espouses this notion, insist they skim the Qur'an. The proof to the contrary is there. And when your friends who continue to defend this backward, barbaric and disgusting doctrine plead for you to be more tolerant, do not be surprised when they wail in terror as those they tried to defend stab them in the back.
meiitbe 3 years ago 6
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Good luck with your temporay pleasures, we all know the distiguisher of ALL pleasures is death...So aspire to taste it if you really think that is your end and that you will not be brought back to the one that created you.
cityuk 3 years ago
created me? My mother?
Why you gotta bring her into this man, you dont hear me talkin about your mother. Your religion and beliefs however sir, are a joke.
horhey89 3 years ago 12
Allah doesn't exist and Mohammed was a moron. Live with it.
hackenbollox 3 years ago 5
its not for your little head or mine to know if God exists or not. just because u keep saying that He doesnt exist, doesnt make Him go away. btw, religion n spirituality r two totally different things.
alia4eva 3 years ago
My little head? I'm not the one with the ridiculous existence postulate.
Your last point I agree with.
hackenbollox 3 years ago
no disrespect.even tho hitchens is atheist he approaches religions with respect.i had doubts of islam 2 till i actually read quran,cos u cant believe what corrupt media or separate individuals with special interests say about it til u research it.quran n bible have common postulates they dnt differ radically as most ppl assume.bunch of extremists who claim 2 be muslim dnt represent islam just like bunch of zionists dnt represent judaism,actually real muslims n real jews dislike those groups 2
alia4eva 3 years ago
Again, I don't agree. The extremists are actually adhering to the precepts of the Qu'ran. Further, ther moderates provide a shield for the extremists.
I too have read the Qu'ran
hackenbollox 3 years ago
How does that change that these religions call for the killing of people that don't believe in your faith? Or the stoning of your disobedient children? Or hearing voices and then proceeding to burn your children?
And the moderates do not negate the extremists. If anything they shelter them and provide them with credibility, as hackenbollox has already added.
anirudhkalbag 3 years ago
i get ur point but NOT all muslims r like that, thats what im saying, i condemn such practices as well, ppl exploit religion once they get their hands into it, whether christianity, islam or judaism.religion is man made, God is NOT man made, so most fail to draw the line. also, muslim arabs who practice such treatment as ur outlined compose only 10% of muslims around the world, so u cant charge the remaining 90% on this 10%.
alia4eva 3 years ago
God as IS might not be man made,
but
"God" as i organized religion is most definitely man made. To pretend that either Koran or the Bible or any other "holy" book is somehow divinely inspired and contains God's dictates is delusion/hubris/arrogance/ignorance to the highest degree.
earthypig 3 years ago
You obviously read what you want to. What hackenbollox and I already said, is that people like you, talking about the good of religion, seem to neglect the bad. When you DO something about the evil in YOUR religion then come and give us this rhetoric.
Just an analogy for your theist brain, if there was a medicine that took away your cold instantly, but the side effect was that you have a heart attack and die, would you still take it? That is essentially what your 90%-10% argument boils down to.
anirudhkalbag 3 years ago
God is NOT man made? Do you have proof of that? Do animals pray to god? Who other than MAN prays to god? AFAIK, god is a completely man made concept and since no evidence exists to support him, your CLAIM is unsubstantiated. A 101 is scientific theory (or law for that matter), CLAIMANTS must prove their claims.
anirudhkalbag 3 years ago
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And Allah guides whom he wills and leaves astray whom he wills.
Guidence come to all of us many times in our life, it is up to us to accept or reject. You obviously choose to reject, why tell the whole world? what do you think you will gain? wealth maybe? status? Carrying on boasting and bragging and mocking Islam...We will see who will have the last laugh of the day of judgment.
cityuk 3 years ago
Well people like you bring judgement day to lots of poor people well ahead of time don't they my friend. London July 2007 springs to mind. Those suicide bombers thought like you and now lots of innocent (despite what you cunts think) peoples lives are ruined. and for what? A backwards belief in a fairy godfather. You disgust me. Take your religion and bigotry and fuck off away from civilisation.
PhilBurningSkies 3 years ago
I saw this video from the '06 Beyond Belief last night. Someone said that if you don't "believe" in science, and you don't think science is real, jump off a building and be introduced to gravity.
The same should be extrapolated to those that think religion and science can and should co-exist.
anirudhkalbag 3 years ago
I have long held the idea that perhaps people who refute Science as useful, should perhaps be 'allowed' to live without any of it's benefits.
Surely life without Medicine,Genetics,Synthetic Chemicals, Optics,Electronics,Aviation and (hopefully) the Internet would be something of a stimulus to Evolution! Since they are so keen to deny us, let's not give anything away for free.
MilesB1975 3 years ago 2
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The stories Allah narrates to us are of the past, present and future. of the rightious and wrongdoers. How to attain Paradise and how to attain Hellfire...so simply and so clear. Allah not only tells us history, but teachs us geography, science and math.
I suggest you read the Qur'an again with a open heart.
cityuk 3 years ago
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Hmmmmm...He talks a load of rubbish. May Allah guide him.
cityuk 3 years ago
Your Allah is Rubbish. I have read the Quran it is nothing but one big boooring book. It goes from story to story and keep repeating the same bullshit over and over again. It has a very primitive content and just baabbles on. There is not chronology and is wearisom and boring....
kurdatheist 3 years ago 40
you mean like god watching over us 24/7, judging those that engage in premarital sex or masterbation, as well as listening to our thoughts and commanding us not to cover our neighbours' wife etc?
of the 2 evils i'd go with the identi chips and round the clock monitoring by humans.
but that wont happen if we refrain from falling into some totaliarian system like religion, communism, nationalism etc and just live in relative peace with one another.
beebobox 3 years ago
This is foolish. How does anyone know how they should behave. Morality is imaginary. It is a made up construct. It's simply choices we make. Causal effect situations. The "morality" of any causal action is imaginary. Any implication of morality is religious in nature weather it's from an atheist or a theist. Completely subjective views every human on earth lives their lives by. The subjective turtle upon who's back all societies ride.
Twicebakedtaters 3 years ago
Twicedbaked needs to know that morality is universal and is not religous. What is good and right and beneficial to life and society is the right and the good, and the opposite is the wrong and the evil. Murder and stealing are wrong in all societies almost without exception, regardless of religion. It is not subjective. Thats only your way of avoiding responsibility for your actions.
johnnyk2112 3 years ago 3
every christian should see zeitgeist and realize they are worshipping the ZODIAC. hahaha
serveone211 3 years ago 2
that's not true... I'm against that stuff, as I'm sure many other "atheists" are.
FinnHawk 3 years ago
Only a third are hanging in for all 8 clips?
This is one of the best presentions of his book tour and I have viewed several.
OlderPete 4 years ago
Hitchens is a champion of the people
Jamesisshit 4 years ago 3
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He's getting fatter and hair grayer.
Entropy56 4 years ago
it's called ageing, do you think your god will make an exception in your case
kat1989 4 years ago 3
No, so I shot him dead.
Entropy56 4 years ago
I thought we were supposed to be evolving.
GodForum 4 years ago
If I were everyone, but were as informed as I am, I would be suspicious of some of his views too. Though he may be a stooge unintentionally...However, I dont know, and like what he says for the time being.
phvalue323 4 years ago
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In someone who really seems not to care about what other people think, and can easily call someone an idiot, it's strange to see this obsession with being applauded, isn't it? I think it obnoxious.
marciodpsh 4 years ago
I think you've gone askew with your philosophy of human nature. No matter how anyone thinks of others feelings, it still assures oneself to be in the common favor. I'm sure, at night, he sleeps well, whether people belittle his ideas or if they applaud them.
D34dH053 4 years ago
"the son is the reincarnation of the father", How can Hitch say something like this and don't stress the nonsense? No one can believe that. He's using the wrong word, someone please tell him.
marciodpsh 4 years ago
when a religion becomes a mean for a theocratic dictatorship or a tool of imposing one's will in accordance to its dogma over the lives of its followers than expect violence,intellectual cowardice and slavery to creep in society under the slogan "god wants it" and abolish and/or catalogise human achivements as sinful rendering that state and people uneducated,angry,racist, pathetic and redefining there existence from free thinking beings to religious animals,i am talking about islam
LieutenantChaos 4 years ago
you give the dog food water love and affection
it thinks your god
you give the cat food water love affection
it thinks its god
i love his point of view!!!
mikeland 4 years ago
Thanks for putting these videos up. Hitchens is simply brilliant - the English pit bull of reason - once he bites onto you he never lets go! I love his humour, respect his intellect and just have to marvel at his linguistic skills. I'd go for a pint with him any day!
TopLass1 4 years ago 8
the silent and secular majority has been waiting for someone like this...thank you christopher hitchens!
pm05010 4 years ago 10
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hes fairly awesome but he needs to lay off the booze...
VertiasVishow 4 years ago
"es fairly awesome but he needs to lay off the booze..."
Are you judging his personal choices?
Twicebakedtaters 4 years ago 3
I would say he would be better off to lay off the booze and cigarettes, but only because i want him to live until he's 100. ;)
Einstein2119 3 years ago
Fantastic. Prefer dawkins though.
jameswp266 4 years ago 4
he did an amazing book on cyprus and the turkish-americabritish plans for partition of the island
CyprusHot 4 years ago 2
I might not agree with everything Hitchens says, but you have to admit... hes got style.
JSMan55 4 years ago 2
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Great Video! Check out my site at midwestatheist.blogspot(.com) for all of the best Atheist Videos on the web.
Enjoy!
unalunallena 4 years ago
I love Christopher
mosti1987 4 years ago
I've just demonstrated with my last 2 comments the dangers of alcohol mixed with making comments on youtube...just think of it as a holistic social experiment. God bless xxx
pompeyblues 4 years ago
it's probably merely urine from africa hookstra
pompeyblues 4 years ago
Do you think he has vodka in that bottle?
Hookstra 4 years ago
if it was vodka i would have committed suicide
pompeyblues 4 years ago
Hitchens is the man
ozatheist 4 years ago
Christopher Hitchens is a genius. Beleive it or not he is the reason for my "anti" war position(no not being sarcastic)
taxidriver2929 4 years ago
Hmm... I thought my previous comment was going to be a reply to the last post. Oh well.
In general, I agree with much of what Christopher Hitchens says about being concerned with atrocious behavior supported by religious reasons. I appreciate how he doesn't feel that religion should be done away with, as some other recently prominent speakers who hold religion in ill favor have espoused.
Thanks, Klarkster, for putting this up!
enderandpeter 4 years ago
He doesn't explicitly say it (that religion should be done away with) but his comments are certainly to the effect that religion be protected and restrained by science, evidence and reason...which is very incendiary in a great many religious corners globally.
pompeyblues 4 years ago
good
robaquarian 4 years ago
did you miss type god?
pompeyblues 4 years ago
no meant good
robaquarian 4 years ago
mean god?
pompeyblues 4 years ago
Why can we not post comments on any of the other parts? What's with that?
enderandpeter 4 years ago
I thought it would be best if all comments were collected in one place. Folks like to comment/debate and having comments in one place facilitates that.
Obviously some people, like yourself, like to comment in line with the segment they are watching.
Can't please everyone I guess? :o
Klarkster 4 years ago
I can understand wanting all the comments in a central place. I've gone through them and it seems like there's been quite a discussion. It's hard to tell how serious some people are, but it's been excellent seeing a respectful, for the most part, conversation.
enderandpeter 4 years ago
it wasn't monkeys and pooh it was turtles all the way down...get your facts right
pompeyblues 4 years ago
Seen every part - once again - this man is extremely clever in his approach to uncovering religion as the hoax and bull... that it is. And I don't want to hear any "clever philosofical" arguments in favor of religion - you have you book! this is where it all comes from - this book is utter useless and full of crap - hence, your philosofical spin-offs are utter useless and full of crap.
NoBullOnlyFacts 4 years ago
good talk, covered some different ground to what he usually does
wezza18625 4 years ago
likewise MacNutz,
Though the sex appeal blue eyes surfaced quite soon this time ;)
He sure knows how to bring it.
And i think it's a good idea to bring the comments to one section, i may vote for the last section though the first has something going for it too.
Aaaah Libra...
...... aaah astrology, lol i might need to go and see if there's some astrology believers as well ;)
Greets from amsterdam
mindwis3 4 years ago
Well, that's my two cents... I think Hitch is right for the most part. The shame is what gets thrown out with the bathwater in these matters. Truth should be our goal, under whatever name. If consciousness studies can get us out of the religious jargon and closer to that objective, I'm all for it. Science bless!
jbrandonvalentine 4 years ago
For those of you that are dead set on the idea we believers must find a way to prove our expereince of the divine, I say to you it is rigid and dogmatic in the extreme. To get results certain protocals must be followed. Without a hope and a willingness to experiment on faith there can be no outcome.
jbrandonvalentine 4 years ago
What do you mean "dead set" - is it something negative to ask for an explanation? Would you belive me blindly and accept it without question if I were to tell you that i KNOW - I KNOW - that a monkey god created this planet fromm his own pooh and that humans were made from his pis? Surely you would want me to elaborate/prove these claims would you not? Well, other religions propose equally extreme myths..
NoBullOnlyFacts 4 years ago
Take God as true - it's all downhill from here. Noone can deny your experiences, but He can only be impotent or evil.
marchog 3 years ago
With interest I have looked at some of the comments here, at the end of a weekend away, and there are just a few things I'd like to suggest before logging off and out of the discussion: In matters of transpersonal reality and hightened states of consiousness there is really no way to get at them except for through the mind disciplines suggested through the ages. My god this has been explicated by William James, Aldous Huxley, and the list goes on and on...
jbrandonvalentine 4 years ago
great stuff, I can listen to this guy for hours even though I've heard a lot of it before.
macnutz 4 years ago
All 8 parts duly watched, and noted. Hitchens at his very best.
surfdude000 4 years ago
People criticize his stance over Iraq but I am sure that he is being totally consistant with his argument for military intervention in Iraq. He is not a fan of Bush in anyway and openly criticizes Bush for his religious/political fusion eg Suggesting that Putin was a good man because he wore a cross...I think that the war in Iraq is a consequence of the argumnents he describes...
pompeyblues 4 years ago
Whoopee its in lots of parts!!
narcoleptus 4 years ago
I'm guessing you're being sarcastic? Well if you are you can always "play all videos" (hitchens in seattle)from the playlists section on the right.
Klarkster 4 years ago
No, Klarkster, I'm not, I've been a fan of christopher hitchins for long before he went to america, I AM playing the 'play all video' selection apart from the ones I've seen, I'm on pt4 at the mo' and will replay most of them and send on the playlist to others.
Its Like good music and makes up for all the crap
Thankyou for your effort and work.
narcoleptus 4 years ago
Thanks for the video.
indoknowsbest 4 years ago
His balls will be cut off if he ever is in my presence, due to his ignorant stance about Iraq war. His penis will be spared due to his eloquence on religion.
SatwaDude 4 years ago
Thanks for posting -- :D
nyomythus 4 years ago
Thomas Paine makes a great point (among 1000 others) in "The Age of Reason", that the events described in the Gospel of - particularly the 'many saints' who rose from the dead and walked in the cities, seen by many - are completely absent from the other three Gospels. That event would have filled a whole Book all by itself if it had really happened, instead of being tossed out in one sentence! The Bible is obviously fiction! Read Paine's "The Age of Reason" online for free! Don't be a slave!
johnclavis 4 years ago
Shoot. Sorry, that should have read "that the events described in the Gospel of *Matthew*". Here's the line: "'... the graves opened, that the bodies of many of the saints that slept arose and came out of their graves after the resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many.'" Ridiculous nonsense!
johnclavis 4 years ago
Just a minor correction for the sake of accuracy: In part 6 when the clock reads 8:10 Hitchens mentions the Council of Chalcedon as occurring in the year 524 when it accuracy took place in the year 451, from October 8 till November 1.
cje1111 4 years ago
Hitchens is an idiot for saying 524 instead of 451 as you suggest........that totally makes Hitchens a fraud...he should be ashamed of himself and be made to stand in the corner and think about what he has done!
pompeyblues 4 years ago
Taking your comments as sarcasm with the meaning that my correction is a trivial point, I agree that is rather trivial to his argument—almost too trivial to comment on. That being said I am very fond of Christopher Hitchens' writings and his astute vision and would not make any claim to him being a fraud—I am merely correcting what I take for an accidental mistake for anyone who might be interested, having some interest in accuracy and the passing on of false information.
cje1111 4 years ago
As a journalist I believe Hitchens would make the same correction.
cje1111 4 years ago
lol, Well done sir,you win first prize for sarcastic bastard of the month
radiohead1001 4 years ago
cool username by the way.
pompeyblues 4 years ago
is the year of the birth of the messiah argued?............when was the official birth of jesus christ...any suggestions?
pompeyblues 4 years ago
Not only the year of his birth is debated but his actual existence is debated as well. The historical record conflicts with the biblical one. The nature of Jesus is also debateable with some saying he was likely the leader of one of many para-military, messianic organizations in the area at that time.
cje1111 4 years ago
Great upload. Thanks Klarkster.
dstpfw 4 years ago
Evidence? See, there you go again. You girls never change.
Pseduo-intellectual points? Guilty as charged. I'll seek to say something of substance some another day. One thing about divine realizations though, it absolutely cannot be done by putting the evidentiary cart before the horse. That much has been explained in the spiritual literature over and over again.
Besides, we have evidence there is a god. In the oratory category he is obviously Chris Hitchens.
jbrandonvalentine 4 years ago
Christopher Hitchens although a good orator if you actually listen to the words he actually presents a very rational and concise argument and backs everything he says up with evidence and while those like jbrandonvalentine would argue the fact with essentially unsubstantiated beliefs of 'unconscious knowing' or 'subconscious dreaming'...I think would trust Mr Hitchens
pompeyblues 4 years ago
Again, you've offered no arguments.
PhillyDickinson 4 years ago
Great upload Klarkster thankyou...this is Hitchens at his best, clear, articulate, rational and sober! I only wish there were more than 8 parts to it.
pompeyblues 4 years ago
Bravo he is great at making speeches interesting.
nospacesallowed 4 years ago
Well here, let me clue you. Religion is an approach to ultimate reality. The myth, the codes and the rituals contain software designed to eventuate in authentic realization...course that was when true religion prevailed. Now we just have roughshod and derelict vestiges. Get at it through science if you want. I don't care.
jbrandonvalentine 4 years ago
Ah ok..... Evidence? also god uses computers?
nospacesallowed 4 years ago
Could you offer some proper points instead of this pseduo-intellectual nonsense, please?
PhillyDickinson 4 years ago