Dying For A Cause - The Atheist Experience 530

[BillKiernan]

What a cool caller.

[ornitorrinco01]

Good to hear Christopher Hitchen's voice right at the end of this video. The world has lost a great man but his ideas will never die.

[me25422]

little john is has little sense.

[Andy152R]

I can honestly say as a combat vet, a lot of people feel they need something to believe in. At the same time, I am an atheist and I did just fine without anything to pray to or look to for comfort. Lead and shrapnel donations to the enemy was how I got out alive every time, and I'm convinced that's the major factor, not religion. At the same time, I couldn't knock on the dudes that wanted to beleive in something. I think Matt is saying the same thing.

[TheBlueManChoo]

"I've watched your show before, I've watched Alex Jones' show before..." Holy shit, this man is a badass.

[dejesusluisx]

God is a spirit, an immaterial conscious being. All things in the universe consists of matter and/or energy, so if God isn't matter, is energy by definition. Energy is the capacity to do work, is eternal, omnipresent, wasn't created and can't be destroyed, can create matter, was the only thing present before the BB, and the energy required to make the universe must had been powerful. All these match Biblical descriptions of God. Therefore is plausible God exists.

[IKillBabyKittensLOL]

@dejesusluisx Energy is measurable. Therefore, you should be able to make an experiment proving him it to be real.

[dejesusluisx]

@IKillBabyKittensLOL Maybe we already detected God but we're unable to identify His conscious abilities, or maybe we don't have the capacity to detect Him, the same way we don't have the capacity to detect dark energy or the energy that makes the entanglement phenomena possible. The truth is even if we could ever develop that capacity, it would be up to God to allow for man to empirically know Him, and that would eliminate faith. So, the only way you can know God is through a personal relation

[cmdrkoenig67]

@dejesusluisx By your definition of God (a spirit, an immaterial conscious being), God can't be a he...God would have to be an "it".

[bogdan1231]

God i love how rational matt is

now, if only your abilities could be put to something more productive rather than being needed to make others think.

[whiteliketar]

the majority if not all of these guys are flaming homosexuals desperately wanting an excuse to practice their vile perversions . atheism and that lifestyle go hand in hand.

[markviman]

@whiteliketar What the hell are you talking about? This video had nothing at all to do with homosexuality. Neither of the hosts is gay; there's nothing perverted about homosexuality, and people don't need excuses to do that which is natural to them and does not seem immoral to them. By the way, how exactly did gay desires arise if someone created us? Oh... right.... the creator made them that way. *cue the talking point to make excuses now. Maybe a talking snake and some magic fruit?

[kingkong8974]

@whiteliketar If you were gay, that'd be okay. I mean cause, hey, we'd like you anyway. Because you see, if it were us, we would feel free to say that we were gay, but we're not gay.

[topperheartramada]

@whiteliketar unlike christianity where everyone is totally straight and definitely not gay, like ted haggard for instance.

[whiteliketar]

@topperheartramada - those parading as chrisitans and indulging in this behaviour are obeying Christ or disobeying? those that love atheism - you will find them applauding that lifestyle - would they not? That is the difference my atheist comrade - put that in your pipe and smoke it for a little while -

[topperheartramada]

@whiteliketar christ was the gayest of them all, hanging around with men and boys

[whiteliketar]

@topperheartramada - LOL - now that's funny.

[seanmonaghan1966]

well I personally know theres a God,but each to their own,its free will.I have to agree that religion is used to divide like us and them.

[topperheartramada]

@seanmonaghan1966 the good thing about religious 'knowledge' is that all you have to do is read a book and have it. sometimes you don't even need that, it's enough to read a few lines and kind of get the idea. scientific knowledge is tricky, it takes years of hard work, it requires reading od lots and lots of books, and so on. end actual scientific research, now that is a bitch. it takes time, money, and incredible effort.

[jcisbell]

@seanmonaghan1966 You believe there is a God, right? Okay, but you don't KNOW there is a God. Ask yourself what 'knowledge' is. After you've done that, ask yourself if you KNOW God exists. If you still say you know, then ask yourself what 'FAITH" is. I believe that it is "Believing without proof" or in other words, "believing without knowing". If you want to obey God, you should have faith, believing without knowing. So, do you "know" there is a God?

[seanmonaghan1966]

@jcisbell anh like I said I know theres a God,well lots of beings pretending to be gods,but onlyOne creator God

[jcisbell]

@seanmonaghan1966 How do you KNOW?

[kadene2]

Why do we have to "believe in" anything? All we need to do is to care for each other and alleviate pain and suffering.

[b3astieboi2]

One or my favorite callers to this show!

[MrWAZZAPDUDE]

lolololol

[valkyrie034]

I did not know matt was once a soldier. :O

[PyreOfFate]

WUT!. . . WUT! . . .YAYuh! . . . oKAY! 

[gekapat]

The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.

~George S. Patton

[thorsday121]

@gekapat That's my favorite quote ever, and the motto all militaries should live by

[Gnomefro]

@PipeManChuck "and they certainly set up all the frame work for America to be hated around the world."

They didn't create Islam, no. Seriously... when a religion is all about world domination and hating the unbelievers there will be conflicts with other nations, including the US. We can't do anything but oppose it violently until they get tired of it and the religion dies. Frankly, it's just ridiculous to think "hate" is enough to cause people to blow themselves up. You need the Jihadist aspect

[chairde]

That was an interesting call.

[JohnF30Music]

sorry, but dying for your country is just as stupid as dying for your god. it's USELESS and RETARDED.

[desconocidos27]

@JohnF30Music people died fighting for your freedom, how is that retarded?

[CambridgeHeights]

@JohnF30Music Dying for anything is stupid. If you die, you are not around to reap any benefits.

[weirddudeonice]

The like/dislike ratio for this video is 107:1. It seems to be like that for most pro-atheist videos, and almost always the exact opposite for pro-theist videos. not saying it's 1:107, but the majorities seem to be on the atheist side, whether that may be red or green. I'm sure that means something, but I'm not sure what.

[tornvideo]

@weirddudeonice What that would suggest to me is that, in a nation that claims to be 80% christian, a large portion of that 80% are people who are secretly rational and can see the reality of atheism but due to fear of losing social standing, the trust of friends and family, and being oppressed in the workplace choose to talk the talk. Within the anonimity of the internet these people are free to agree with what they think is right w/o falling prey to the pack mentality of a religious society.

[weirddudeonice]

@tornvideo Thanks for telling me what it means, I'd been trying to work it out for a while.

[Quintinohthree]

Having seen so many videos in which the guys and girls at AE can only disagree with the theist callers, it's refreshing to find a theist, a Christian nonetheless, that not only the AE hosts agree with, but I too.

This man listens, answers questions honestly, asks relevant questions... If only there were more people like him that listen and that you want to listen to.

[TawntheAtheist]

@Quintinohthree

I agree. I've never seen before a Christian accept an Atheists answer to "What is it you believe in?". Usually I guess because it isn't asked with such honesty.

[TwentyYearDenial]

1:17-- Old guy shits his pants.

[IrelandRaven]

I didnt know matt was a combat vet, respect.

[jerico641]

Russ makes a great point regarding our (I say "our" even though I didn't seem to have these feelings, but didn't mention it very often, as I was afraid of being attacked - verbally and physically) attitudes after 9/11. We drew together and closed up, loaded the guns and unfurled the flags. We started pointing fingers and began to heat up the stew of outright hatred again; race hatred, religious hatred, hatred in general. And made it patriotic again. 9/11 was a curse in more ways than one

[AJatheistgod]

The God that people formulate in their minds is not God. It is an illusion.

[bangNL94]

To me, a country is just a certain percentage of the earth. Why would I want to die for just a small part of the earth? I'd rather die for the good of all mankind! Actually, I'd rather live and do stuff then die.

[thatdoomguy666]

@bangNL94 Haha, last sentence is epic.

[bangNL94]

@thatdoomguy666 thanks :)

[qwer4o]

Great videos! It's a pity though you start every video with a musical intro. I have to skip 30 seconds every time :(

[KeniLeeBurgess]

Fasinating. I am a Buddhist. This is a non theistic religion, but you could believe in a higher power. I personally feel realizing the interdenpence of yourself with others and the rest of the world is key. We are not islands. Everything we know about ourselves comes thru our five senses. Basically we are like video cameras with the ability to descriminate using our minds. This is me, this is not me, but the truth is, it is all you. Thank you for sharing.

[myriadcorp]

Should have told the guy according to the bible we just popped out of the air on this rock.

[HybridD91]

Belief in the afterlife lowers the value of life and makes it purposeless. If everyone is a part of God's plan then your life is only as useful as he wants it.

[vicious3579]

It's too bad more people aren't like this caller.

[GermanChocolateCake]

This caller is painfully ignorant.

[LuigiPeach]

Did he say he watched the Alex Jones show?

wat

[JCLeSinge]

Unusual case of prejudice there; the caller cited entirely factual reasons for believing that the US govt was complicit in 9/11, but he was dismissed as a conspiracy nut. He didn't say the CIA planned it; he said that we installed the Taliban in Afghanistan in the first place, that it was Western foreign policy that created the situation where extremism could flourish. That's absolutely true; he's not an ill-informed old coot.

[village1diot]

@JCLeSinge No, he was not dismissed. Matt understood him and explained it just as you did. Russell's initial reaction was one of dismissal, but after Matt explained it, he listened to the caller. They did not dismiss him at all.

[JCLeSinge]

@village1diot: Maybe I was typing the comment at the moment Matt explained.

[YetAnotherAtheistVid]

@JCLeSinge Did you even watch the video? As village1diot explained, he wasn't dismissed entirely. It's not like they hung up on him immediately and called him names.

[JCLeSinge]

@YetAnotherAtheistVid: Obviously I watched the video, or how else would I be aware of the exchange in order to criticize? Yes, Village has pointed out that my take was somewhat hasty. It's a valid point though, since Russel did initially dismiss the factual statements about 9/11 as if they were conspiracy theory.

[Bear5177]

Good response from Russell on this one. Great video.

[dilwich123]

Never judge a man - this guy was ready to jump on the War Vet bandwagon until Matt says he had done active service himself which cut this guy off instantly.

[airfalcon]

Matts a vet? He just gets more and more interesting!

[KachuaOnWoW]

Summarily, putting your life on the line for a cause is a good thing.

Killing yourself for a cause probably isn't.

[zodiakranch]

If only we could get all the fundies to go die for their beliefs without them getting the rest of us killed at the same time.

[4me2cclearly]

@zodiakranch

LMAO!!

I hear ya:o)

[Stuckherewithyou]

"Whatever be with you" Awesome.

[jdh501]

This caller is only 55 years old? He sounds 85. What is it about slow southern drawls that make people sound 30 years older than they really are? Funny stuff.

[VesusSheist]

Let's all go die for our beliefs! After all, we have a much better life after this one is over! *gag*

[village1diot]

@VesusSheist Yeah, your real life begins once you are dead.

Who the hell thought of that one? It's one thing to believe your loved one is going to a nice place after death, but these morons take it a step too far.

[GermanChocolateCake]

@village1diot It's a method of control. Work for us, toil for us, do as we say, we promise you'll be rewarded "after you're dead".

Leaders have been using that premise by way of religion for ages.

[village1diot]

@GermanChocolateCake Agreed. Maybe it's not so much a surprise that someone thought of it, as much as it's a surprise that people still believe it.

[GermanChocolateCake]

@village1diot As long as there are people seeking power, it will be used. As long as there are apathetic people willing to follow, they will.

[happyidiottalk]

@VesusSheist The sad thing is they'll never find out they were wrong.

[limpnail]

Please anyone tell me if I am wrong in my math. If this guy is 55yrs and a Nam vet, & this epesode was aired in 2007 wouldn't it make him 17 when the war ended?

[LargeSingingMoose]

@limpnail I think the war ended in 1975 so he'd be 23

[limpnail]

@LargeSingingMoose Thanks I did look it up & you're right. I should have know that since I was alive & kicking at that time. Also I noticed I spelled episode wrong. Damn rum.

[SkyDoginthetube]

@limpnail

If he was 55 in 2007 he should have been 23 in 1975 when america left nam.

So, yeah, the time line fits.

[TharosTheDragon]

This guy sounds like Dale from King of the Hill.

[MindAndMarzipan]

I'm really liking the little extras your putting in the vids. Great job!

[mythicalhell]

Hey, I HAVE AN IDEA! LET'S A;; GO OUT AND DIE FOR OUR COUNTRY!! LET'S BE TRUE PATRIOTS!! o.O

[Xxninja195xX]

@mythicalhell Na,thought about it, but decided not to.

[mythicalhell]

@Xxninja195xX You're right it's not worth it, and I didn't think about it!

[AGNOSTICEXTREME]

Very confusing

[MisterDoctorE]

Hey, look over there, this guy just got killed; Better start to believe in bs. We have a spare life; This life sucks tralalala Jeebu$ alalalala .

How nice

[YourBrainOnReligion]

village what's the quote at the end from?? No idea how I haven't seen that before!

[mestrini]

@YourBrainOnReligion

It's Christopher Hitchens. Perhaps in one of his debates or a video from Vanity Fair?

[village1diot]

@YourBrainOnReligion It's Christopher Hitchens, as mestrini said. It is from his book(audio book, in this case) "God Is Not Great"

[Blackerer]

@village1diot it almost sounds as leonard nimoy. furthermore this is something i would expect spock would say :P.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@village1diot Thank you village. I knew the words, I knew it was Hitchens' voice, but just had never heard them together like that. That's a must-download for sure :)

[village1diot]

@YourBrainOnReligion Yeah, I get a lot of audio books. This way I can do other things while listening, which usually works out better for me. It's hard to sit in one place and read for long periods of time, I just don't have the patience.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

HAHAHAAH me and russel both said it in uni-syn "Oh god....."

[Faergen]

I really really like that guy!

[Faergen]

@Faergen Mostly :0D

[Haywerth]

@Faergen

Agreed!

[YourBrainOnReligion]

Wow this took a weird turn quick...

[YourBrainOnReligion]

*crosses fingers* plz have karyn plz have karyn

NOOOOOOO another sausage party!! :(

:P

[TomMSTie]

@YourBrainOnReligion Playboy needs to do a GIRLS OF THE ACA issue. :-P

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@TomMSTie HERE HERE!!! Someone write Hugh!! :)

[TomMSTie]

@YourBrainOnReligion Yes! Have one of his many young girl friends wake him up from his afternoon nap and read it to him while he's having his pureed prunes.