Christopher Hitchens debate reply quoting the "scripture" of Star Wars :)

[squamish4244]

"I like surprises!"

[Yowzoe]

This is my single favorite clip from the Hitch. He is so eloquent here as he brings together agnosticism, dogma, burden of proof, imagination, humor, and humility.

[rcarass1]

Referring to Star Wars: "I can quote scripture too!".

I remember my initial response to hearing him saying this while I was watching this debate, "Just when I thought I couldn't love that man's mind any more...!"

[skdjhfkdhfa]

@warriorprince1010 The bible proves evolution. Clearly trying to get anything out of you proves an uphill battle that I'm not inclined to fight. Idiot.

[skdjhfkdhfa]

@warriorprince1010 Easy to throw out empty claims and just feel victorious isn't it?

Evolutionists have no data. Except transition fossils, layering, the conjoined chromosome lost from our ancestors. You're not even claiming anything loll.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@warriorprince1010 Wow, where do I even start? "Evolutionist" would apply to nearly every single biologist, doctor and any other type of scientist who deals with lifeforms of any kind. "Ideology" cannot even apply to evolution, so I have no idea what you're even trying to say. All branches of science are the study of evidence, not "gods" of any kind. I challenge you to debate me anytime regarding evolution. Let's hear your best "refutation of evolution" ?

[skdjhfkdhfa]

@YourBrainOnReligion I see someone has his try hard pants on :)

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@warriorprince1010 You're missing the point, and deliberately, or so it would seem. "Evolutionists" is not a word, either. "Biologists" is the term I believe you're looking for.

And just for shits and giggles, what's a claim that either biologists or the theory of evolution itself has made which have been refuted?

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@warriorprince1010 Of course I have no evidence of a negative - negatives cannot be proven. How would you prove, for example, that liquid water does not exist on the sun? I just explained to you that you need to analyze the base requirements of even the simplest form of consciousness. You're basically claiming that life can exist in an immaterial form. Hopefully wording it like that alone should clue you in as to how ridiculous even humoring such a notion is. Think.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@warriorprince1010 Sure you can. You analyze the requirements of consciousness. Is it really that complicated? You need the proper hardware (neurologically and chemically) and an energy source. Can either exist in some sort of a "soul" form? Of course not. Thus, an afterlife is scientifically impossible.

[TelecasterLPGTop]

Hitchens won't discuss the many other explanations for the afterlife, he sticks to the established religions because they are so easy to beat in a debate.

His arrogance is astounding. Does he question the developments in quantum physics that have discovered that the physical isn't solid, we just think it is, NO he doesn't he sticks to a very narrow field of reference. I just hope he doesn't wander around in a totally confused state, avoiding the light after he passes.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@TelecasterLPGTop Are you willfully insane? First and foremost, of COURSE he understands the basics of quantum physics you mention. The fact that you'd even question the intelligence of one of the foremost debaters in modern times speaks mountains about your own lack of humility. Secondly, what does our knowledge of atoms have to do with the afterlife... AT ALL? I do not know if you're deliberately obfuscating the issue or if you're simply and quite genuinely too ignorant of it altogether.

[1111aaa2222]

@TelecasterLPG- This is the best you got? Magical thinking and arguing a straw man? If you want to make a point then the first step is to add intelligence to any argument you attempt to make.

[jazzhawkus]

Suddenly the "Believers" become "Knowers" when it is convenient, then revert to just plain believers on Sundays. Ha!

[jessc1979]

I saw Hitchens yesterday in Houston accepting the Richard Dawkins Foundation. I also got his autograph. I was shocked to see him so frail. I thought from this video that he was getting better since he still has his weight and his hair was growing back.

But he was bald, much thinner and walked with a bit of a stoop.

Get well HItch!

[KamasutraButterfly]

May the Hitch be with you!

[Roper122]

May the Force be with You Hitch! 

[goreziad]

Hitchslap overload! what is the name of the intro music please?

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@goreziad Squirrel Nut Zippers - It Ain't You

Link: watch?v=tuE7XXEUAfA

[goreziad]

@YourBrainOnReligion thank you very much :)

[Gluumer]

Unlike most people on these boards, I actually liked the Jewish guys. They are pretty level headed unlike most religious nuts. They actually had a somewhat interesting and thought provoking conversation.

[caviper1]

Darth Hitchens...

[Hornadayfan]

Religions have no power over reason. That's a good thing.

[ComputerScience54]

A long time ago in a galaxy far... far away... the legend of The Hitch was born!

[supermot34]

SO GOOD

[CorndogMaker]

Maybe I'm nearding it up a little too much here but I think it was Luke Skywalker who said that to Han Solo.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@CorndogMaker heheh several people have said similar things... I'm not sure who is right. Was never into star wars myself.

[twooffour]

@YourBrainOnReligion

Well, it could've been as well the scenario Hitchens described, it wouldn't really have mattered. I'm sure he hasn't rewatched that movie 15 times anywhere in the recent past ;)

Although, now that I think about, in the movie, Luke just makes up on the spot that Leia would reward Solo for rescuing her, it's not something she promises herself - and Han says that phrase. So if anything, the accurate example would've been even more fitting ;)

[BeyondTheTreeline]

@CorndogMaker If you can't spell the word 'nerd' then I think it's unlikely that you're capable of 'nerding out'.

[scotttebben]

No He is correct in saying it was Leia.

[caviper1]

@scotttebben - Are you sure? The Scriptures, if I remember well, say Leah... I might be mistaken though.

[rleeermy]

@CorndogMaker It was actually Han saying saying it to Lea.

[PlanetBongoSan]

@CorndogMaker Wasn't it obi wan kenobi acting on behalf of princess leia?

[crommunication]

Crom.

[twooffour]

Hitch got the scripture canon wrong :D

[crush3r63]

5 people are avid star wars nerds...

[grizzzlyjoe]

Limbo? LIMBO! Here's your "limbo" (send this to the Vatican):

watch?v=9jkowBtwnHM

Peace,

-Grizz

BTW: There are only two possible results after I die. Reincarnation OR NOTHING. I don't want Angel Wings ... and I already live in Las Vegas, so a little heat won't bother me.

[wiccc1]

Copyright notice on your Youtube vid- which features other people. Shithead.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@wiccc1 Are you claiming you have filed a copyright notice? If so, you need to learn what DMCA is. Try reading the notice at the beginning of the video.

[benmols]

@wiccc1 tool.

[anananwar]

Bradley is surprisingly coherent. Wolpe useless. Sam strong as always. Christopher, RUTHLESS :)

[yamenhawit]

i love Hitchens and Star wars! LOL

[Hopeful71]

OK, I can't be the only geek who noticed he was quoting Luke and not Leia...I mean, come on, how STUPID can you be?

;)

[TheEviscerus]

@Hopeful71 I thought the same thing until the fourth or fifth time I watched it. He says her "envoy"  asks the question who in turn is quoting Leia....the Hitch is in the details LOL....

[Hopeful71]

@TheEviscerus

Damn....you're right. I finally thought I got one on Hitchens. :(

...although technically Luke was anything but her representative at this point. ObiWan perhaps, but not Luke.

[dnallred]

Where's the full debate?

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@dnallred See the underbar...

[warcloud463]

haha

[tireironman]

Nerd moment here... It was actually Luke Skywalker that said that to Han Solo, not Leia... Still love the video, Just sayin... we want the force on our side!

[xSolraccarloSx]

@tireironman Glad I'm not the only one who noticed

[davenielsen78]

@CambridgeHeights He's never denied that an afterlife was possible, just that there's no proof. As he says in this video. I don't think he's gone soft at all. I don't think he's ever quoted Star Wars before, but in pre-cancer days he quoted Family Guy. :-)

[davenielsen78]

@CambridgeHeights At least in this video he doesn't say or imply that. It's intents and purposes, btw.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@happyidiottalk Damn, 16 seconds is too long of an intro?

[happyidiottalk]

@YourBrainOnReligion No, I had an ulterior motive for doing that. I was going to post a link to your video somewhere else. I've seen on Reddit that you can post links to Youtube videos, and have them start midway through the video. I was experimenting to see how its done. I thought it might be by adding the time to a comment and then copying the link it makes. Result, negative.

[davenielsen78]

@YourBrainOnReligion Yes.

[amjan]

@YourBrainOnReligion Yes it is. An intro longer than 5sec on YouTube simply sucks donkey ass. YouTube is a fast, efficient medium. 16 seconds are an internity.

[Fabsun]

@amjan Patience, young Padawan!

[amjan]

@YourBrainOnReligion A 16sec intro in a 2:57 video, means it is over 10% of the actual video. That's like a Hollywood film with an 9min intro. Awful.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@amjan Clearly you failed at math in school. 3 minutes = 180 seconds, minus 3 seconds = 173 seconds. 16 seconds is not 10% nor does it matter if it were 10%, it's 16 fucking seconds.

[amjan]

@YourBrainOnReligion 180-3=173? Stop doing drugs, dude.

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@amjan HEY. I was DRUNK! (No really, I was...!)

I can't believe how wrong I am right there, Jesus H. Christ. My apologies. But, still.. shut up, it's 16 seconds.  You spent longer than that typing your comment. :)

*walks away, tail firmly between his legs*

[rogan71]

They knew they were walking into the lions den and did it with an almost masochistic submission....As usual Hitchens and Harris are on fire.....Theist never stand a chance with them and know it!

[Satanos777]

Hitchens is a bad-ass.

[melowar78]

Poor dumb theists...they never stood a chance.

[christo930]

I watched almost the whole thing at the Jewish tv network website and the whole thing can be described very well by Dan Dennett's "murky" concept. These 2 rabbi's are the worst type of murkys in that they use the same language that everyone else uses and means one thing, to mean something different. This way they get to say ridiculous things but then distance themselves with "nuance". BAD MURKY, BAD MURKY.

[dalejr88]

Im going next month to see him debate here in Colorado. Should be fun

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@dalejr88 thoroughly jealous! any idea who he is debating?

[nightscape94]

@YourBrainOnReligion His website says Dinesh D'Souza.

[bowlsallbroken]

Excellent point regarding Limbo. How could it be any more clear that these religious organizations are just making shit up as they go along?

[Koss42]

Hitchowned.

[VoodooSixxx]

debating one or the other of Harris and Hitchens is trouble enough... but put both on stage and someone is gettin a beatin.

[dioseolo]

Brilliant.

[TruthSurge]

Man, the Jewish guys got Harritch-slapped. HAHAHA just watched much of it and it's amazing how a human can deceive themselves so deeply and tapdance and ignore pts made my Hitch.  Just wow. And hitch was right. They smile and give these fake concessions but only because now our modern morality won't allow them to kill unbelievers as they did in the past. I'm going to cry when Hitch passes away. Who will step into his shoes?

[YourBrainOnReligion]

@TruthSurge Totally! I must say they were quite good sports about it though. It was one of the most enjoyable debates I'd ever watched. I might have to upload that part where Sam stops the younger Jewish guy in his tracks and was like "No, that's one move you can't use..." that was the intellectual pimp slapping moment of 2011 so far right there!!

[TruthSurge]

@YourBrainOnReligion i know. I saw that part. Harris was like, wtf? Religion doesn't say that? Oh NOOOO, mutha f*****! Not on my watch, biotch! hahahhahaha he just stopped him and said MOST religious sectors believe in an afterlife WITH a resurrection and all the stuff those Jewish guys didn't want to admit. hehehhehe man, that's how it has to be. Telling it like it is and not letting them lie to everyone like they do to their constituents. God wouldn't bugger with Job to make a pt.

[skaloon]

@TruthSurge

np. hitch is not the first and not the last. many people made same arguments over the years. for example, even me. i found nothing new in Hitchens books on religion, cause i already made same exact conclusions myself over the years contemplating on this subject. there are thousands of people in this world with same thoughts. Hitchens do not stand out cause his ideas are new (on the contrary - they were recycled over and over again), he stands out as one of the best presenters

[TruthSurge]

@skaloon You are right.  He is a great presenter. Great deliveries and never seems unsure or stumbling for an answer.

[Kougeki1000]

@TruthSurge We will still have Sam Harris.

[TruthSurge]

@Kougeki1000 yep

[twooffour]

@TruthSurge

Ok, you're somewhat of a douche.

Yes, when religion has "the power", it tends to make short process with blasphemers, but come on - Hitchens wasn't referring to these two pleasant individuals when he was saying that, and neither should you. On what ground are YOU claiming that David Wolpe would wish to gut Hitchens, but is "forced" to smile and be polite because of modern restrictions?

How cynical and douchey is that?? Did you know that Wolpe stirred up some members of his...

[TruthSurge]

@twooffour take a reading comprehension class - please.

[twooffour]

@TruthSurge

Ah.

[twooffour]

@TruthSurge

... religion by saying that the Exodus wasn't a historical event?

I don't know the history of liberal, skeptical Judaists - but these are certainly not the kinda guys that would go around killing people for resisting their beliefs, at any point.

The two Jews had some excellent, self-deprecating lines in this debate, btw - Jewish humour is the best! (after Hitch's, obviously) :D

[TheBadcop69]

very good video. thank you for the upload sir.

[THEHARMONIKZ]

Quote Star Wars - you win by default. Fact.

[buktomsin]

And two more get, "Hitchslapped"!

[buktomsin]

Great upload, but the whole debate was this destructive:D

[mconn2112]

Thanks for the link. Wow, Hitchens look has changed since I saw him on the tele last. Its been a while. lol

Quoting Star Wars....classic.

[AEVautomatic]

wow he is dying

[apocalypseap]

@AEVautomatic we're all dying! :)

[TruthSurge]

the Hitchmeister. hahahaha always calling it like it is. 

[Jesse2K12]

Thanks for the debate