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  • When you said "LA" I was horrified... SO relieved to know that it was satirical =D

  • hey, i live in Romania and for some reason these videos cannot be viewed in my country. Does anyone know where i can find them?

  • penn you need to watch jesus camp they make the hell house people look really dosile

  • Parents took me to New Life Church in Co. Springs in high school(Ted Haggard has some popularity being the crazy pastor who got caught getting meth from a male hooker, I was there years before then). I was already kind if a closet fence sitter for being atheist/christian, too many questions I wasn't allowed to ask. Anyway, they took me to one of these productions one year and sitting in the audience I decided these people have it all wrong. They convinced me to be an atheist.

  • Both sides of this debate need to lighten up. Be religious or don't. Who cares. Get a good bone on with someone who loves you as therapy and live and let live.

  • not another private vid link : (

  • Hi Penn fans. Penn Says videos have been discontinued, so you won't be seeing any new content on here. You can check out our Profile on our Channel Page for more info. We'll still be checking in, so hope to keep chatting with you all! Thanks!

  • I'm a Christian, and I'll never tell you, "You're going to hell because so and so!" It's just ridiculous and makes people hate you, perpetuating the resentment that so many people have against a faith

  • I agree with you about half-assed atheists...

  • I see you still haven't corrected the incorrect spelling of libertarian in your keywords section. Lame.

  • i like you dude..but what's up with the close up...y even do this...$?

  • Hey Rob! So Penn doesn't believe in these people or their religion, but he volunteers to help them run and preach the things he doesn't believe in?

  • @korleonis no, it was supposed to be a sarcastic hell house.

  • k, thanks for clearing that up.

  • lol thats funny cuz i respect christianity but not the ones who call themselves christians

  • whoops, was i the snitch that told about showing your video in church? lol I really respect you, and meant everything i said in my other comment :)

    Student for Christ,

    And Your Fan

    Amber Jean

  • I like how penn respects every single religion but manages to keep it atheist, if atheists were more like that I wouldn't have such problems with them

  • Penn is on the record as NOT respecting religion.

    For example, one can hate Christianity, have no respect for it, and still respect Christians. Because they're people.

  • Hey, atheists have never killed people for not being athiests.... Christianity is built on it.

  • If so many christians would not try to force the government to spend money or make laws to follow ancient superstitions I would not have problems with them. -cough Ten commandments- cough. That being said, I think the argument over getting them removed was stupid. Don't build any more, but don't waste money fighting about it.

  • Response to Ochipchip---

    Christians believe hell is real and most believe that it is an act of love to do anything necessary to keep unbelievers from going there. I hear that you believe Christians are wrong about hell. Christians strongly believe hell is a truth. We believe that non-belivers are worth our effort to tell about the forgiveness and peace that comes from a realtionship with Jesus Christ...

    With respect...

    Bob

  • I almost posted this question, on a video of "Hell House" ( the haunted attraction) But, I thought different, because it would have fallen on deaf ears. . But, my question is, if there god is so loving, why do they feel the need to scare people into "loving" god? Love is a free and willing thing, you come willingly. . Yet these people, go and try to scare you, saying things are wrong and it's sickening. .So why do they try to scare people into it?

  • I was with you up until the false dichotomy toward the end. Being myself a polytheist, I may never understand your perspective, but to imply that there's something inherently wrong with a morality that eschews an all-or-nothing take on what to make fun of ignores that there are some things that are, in fact, better or worse on an objective basis. A group that uses fear to manipulate and control (such as Evangelists that do serious Hell Houses) *is* morally inferior to any other.

  • This inferiority is historically measurable -- control through fear has systematically retarded the progress of mankind over centuries. True, inferiorities such as a genuine natural impairment/disability are benign. To argue an all-or-nothing stance on such sacredness from humour ignores that there can be an arbitrary line drawn to set a moral or at least ethical standard. If we are then to assume that Evangelism is a destination on a path led out by a natural impairment...

  • ...then we may assume that many of the greatest minds of the modern & ancient worlds, suffered a lesser version of said impairment by being Theistic. And since it's only natural, then it's possible that free will may just be an illusion.

    I still must admit, I have to admire your compassion (on arbitrary moral lines on the ground), though I have to disagree on this 1 point. Had too much caffeine and have been watching your videos for the last 40mins.

    PS: My room-mate is your clone. i kid not.

  • So they have hell houses against homosexuality.

    K then. Anyone want to bet that those Christians ARE Satan? Little fucking pricks.

  • christians that do hell houses are not christians, christians dont do that shit, infact those cristians are gonna burn in hell for doing that crap, in the bible god doesnt say though shall buill a hell house and scare the crap out of homosexuals, and atheists, im christian, I know for a fact these christians are fucked in the head

  • Oh, yes, I agree - notice how I said "those" Christians.

  • I'm a Christian, and I DON'T like the idea of other Christians doing these "hell houses". They are so stupid! Halloween is supposed to be for kids dressing up and getting candy and having parties. I don't like it when a "Christian" tries to turn it into a witnessing opportunity. I'll bet you a million bucks that these churches don't like it when an atheist tries to make Xmas "multicultural" by getting people to say "Season's greetings" instead of "Merry Christmas".

  • Thumbs up, and I'm agnostic.

  • I don't know how it is in the USA but over here in the UK, it isn't Atheists who try to do this but politicians not wanting to hurt the minority groups feelings. The Three Little Pigs story is now banned in schools so it won't "offend" Muslims, Christmas lights are now called "Winter lights", it's sickening.

    Every Atheist I know, plus myself have always said "Merry Christmas!" and always will.

  • Interesting... Penn do you watch United States of Tara?

  • I think the fact that a religion has to resort to scare tactics to get people to buy their bullshit says a lot about the religion itself.

  • Penn! I can't believe you did Hell House!

    Why would you do such a thing?

    I know it's just a job, but why would you actually support the beliefs associated with Hell House by doing it?

    Hell House started in the bible belt back in the 90's and has been slowly spreading around the country. Horrible, completely horrible.

  • Uh...Did you listen to Penn at all? He explained his reasons. He did it as satire.

  • Fundamentalists of any stripe, Christian, Islamic, Jewish, are the bane of society, the cause of all wars and the basis of hate.

  • I agree with that ending statement.

  • I've always had a problem with people saying that they "know" anything. I find much more common ground with people who feel... but only when tempered with reason. For example, "I think I feel happy, but it could be just a temporary high." As it pertains to god, I have no evidence that god exists, which doesn't preclude him from existing. Therefore, I simply do not know. I find I get in a lot less intellectual trouble when I recognize my inability to know conclusively.

  • There are some things we can know. I know that 1 + 1 = 2. I cannot know that an invisible man behind the clouds hates fags. Unless the invisible man behinds the clouds comes forward and says "yeah, I don't wanna catch lung cancer" we can't know if he even exists, let alone that he hates fags. All the evidence suggests he doesn't exist, so I'm confident enough to say that God doesn't exist. Does God hate alcohol too?

  • Could not agree more Penn. Sam Harris points out that the worse religious frauds are the ones that find constant qualifications for the shortcomings of their delusions. Jesus would agree that the "lukewarm" believers were to be spit out! I am amazed at the lack of intellectual honesty of the pick and choose Christians. Give me a full blown atheist or Taliban style Christian any day and twice on Sunday. The rest are just intellectual, ethical and moral frauds.

  • So Mr.Penn, Isn't Atheism a Faith of sorts?

    You Believe What you believe and No One Can Change that but you, Someone who believes in god Can't Be swayed by anyone but them Selves , IT seem's to me Both are Faith's.

    One Has a God One Doesn't.

  • As an atheist myself, I'll ask simply. How the absence of beliefs is a belief, and what is a religion without beliefs? Now before you counter with anything, remember that the absence of an apple isn't an apple.

  • Beliefs are not just something reserved for God We all have them, always have, always will.

    You Believe There is no Higher power, Others Believe Their is one.

    You may Believe God, Yourself, human nature Or Joe Pesci As Carlin did (LOL) But it's still a Belief . We all Believe in something.

    You Believe There is no god But you probably Believe You'll Eat a Cheese Burger at some point in your life, You don't know you will, you Believe you will.

  • Just Like I Believe we are not alone in the universe , We have no way of knowing if we are alone or not but I Believe There is other life out there.

  • There is life outside this planet, but nobody has discovered it or seen it. So we can assume what it is, or wait and let this alien reveal itself.

    So how come you don't believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster and the Celestial Teapot?

  • I am trying to convert an Evangelical online, to athiesm. He seems to be open minded but it is going to be tough.

  • Comment removed

  • So the belief in God is the same as a belief in a cheeseburger?

  • Not at all,Cheeseburgers actually exist...I've seen them and eaten them.

    Delicious and real,as opposed to what's his face...

  • "If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice"

    -Rush

    ha

  • Intelligent discourse absolutely can be succinct ... It also, depending on the circumstance, may require more than a condensed dialog limited by a time constraint. I think possibly you may find that the "gap" you mentioned may refine your opinion on this...still the fact is the subject and circumstance should be the deciding factor. T

  • Ya joemama when ur older you'll have plenty if time to listen to other old folks meander around the point of a story while watching the grass grow. At that point you'll cling to that "wisdom" because it'll be the only thing you have left. C-you there!

  • Religion is a thorn in the side of anyone with reason and even a bigger problem for those that have faith- how can they not come to the conclusion it's a pack of poorly written fairy tales designed to frighten the weak minded for their own benefit and to be used mainly as a marketing tool based on the fear that they may burn in agony for eternity.Fucking sad although it is funny at times until you think about the festering boil it has always been on the ass of humanity since it began- Thanx God

  • joemamalives...it's 6 min. long and entertaining your attention span is probably not as much a problem as the fact that you are missing the point. It's a forum to express his view on whatever topic he chooses in under 10 min. or so to spark debate,humor and possibly even enlighten the viewer..and this guy is a prof at all these things and more than likely doesn't need programing advise from someone with a 3 min attention span although some vlogers on YT really could-take your ridlin and learn .

  • wow i really struck a chord huh. im sensing a generation gap, am i right? i think im right.

  • i so want to hear what these shorts are about, but damn he takes forever to get to the point. seriously edit this video down to about HALF so my attention span can handle it. i promise ppl will appreciate it.

  • dude... you've got issues if you can't handle a 6 min video. take some ritalin and get over it.

  • i would like to try some ritalin. yet the truth remains TOO LONG! Intelligent discourse can be succinct, i promise.

  • the truth remains that you need to see a psychiatrist and get some damn ritalin.

  • *pulls out my wallet* Penn, you rock, and I'll trade you my smoking hot GF for your 486 laptop. Check her out.

  • Better to speak when you have something to say.

  • I can't wait for the day that we don't have religion any more! Then we can kill each other for more concrete reasons.

  • O that's peaceful.

  • "No faith is ok" is correct so long as you're talking about faith in the supernatural or in religion. I think I can have faith in the people I trust. Perhaps that's trust, not faith.

    Still, I think we can have faith in each other, faith (hope?) that we can overcome religion and superstition, while that belief remains grounded in logic.

    Anyway, it helps to separate religious faith (BS) from faith in people based on trust. Even if that person you trust might get hit by a bus and die tomorrow.

  • Man, I get pissed up when I get taken out of context - it happens all the time writing for and speaking in the media. I just don't get how people can chop up quotes just to suit their purposes.

    Still, I think it's really cool that you do theatre for free.

  • If you want to do a fun Halloween thing, come to our house. Every year, hubby and I run a free home haunt and last year we had over a thousand visitors to our small yard haunt in norther outskirts of Knoxville, TN.

    We don't charge, it's all for fun.We run a soft haunt for the little kids in the front yard (last year: Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown) and a hard core haunt for the adults in the back yard (last year: a nod to horror movie genres).

    The expense is a bit of a strain but it's worth it

  • ppl in church dress up, and pretend to have gay-sex?... in church? wtf? holy shit they r retarded. im watching this movie on netflix.

  • This begs the question: if someone is obsessed enough to VOLUNTEER to "simulate" having gay sex, what does this say about them, their cast members, and possibly their audience? Also let us (the wider YT community) know if there's any girl/girl. If so, I'm so watching. Girl/girl in an actual protestant church? That's like THE hottest possible context. (Nun/lez has been done ALMOST to death.)

  • Not all Deists believe in an afterlife. Deism isn't always based on faith either. I'm a Deist and I believe there is most likely a deity for rational reasons. You shouldn't portray all Deists as having faith.

  • No, you don't.  By definition you don't. Deities are unprovable. I can almost guarantee that you don't have actual proof, just absence of disproof and that's not an argument. There is not a rational argument for faith. They're -opposites-.

  • Doesnt it require faith to believe in a diety when there is no proof of one?

  • Deism specifically says that God doesn't interact with the world AT ALL. Therefore, by definition, a deist's beliefs are 100% faith based.

  • I don't even know what c6gunner is arguing about but from the 5 posts I can see from the front comments page he sounds like an asshole.

  • "No faith is o.k.". I think it simplify because... Well, in the meaning there it's mean no religious faith because it is fiction...Everybody have some belief in the truth of a person, an idea, or thing. Most modern sceptic person will believe in reality and in reason, so not in something made up... When I says made up, I mean something like little fairy or jack-in-the-green or... Geese, I really got kid's example today. Anyway, it's still a form of faith: it's believe in good question.

  • "Anyway, it's still a form of faith: it's believe in good question"

    No, it's a belief. There's a difference.

    If I believe that I'm sitting in a chair right now, that's an evidence-based belief. I have reasonable data to support that beliefs. If I believe that the universe was created by an invisible magic-man, that's a faith-based belief. There's no data to support such a belief.

    It's not belief that we're objecting to - it's belief without evidence, or in the face of contrary evidence.

  • Re-read my text: "Most modern sceptic person will believe in reality and in reason, so not in something made up...". ;)

  • "Re-read my text"

    I understood what you were saying, I'm just telling you that there's a difference between "belief" and "faith". That's why we can honestly say that "all faith is bad".

  • Depends what you mean by faith and belief, last time I check there is 7 definition of faith and 5 for belief. I think we could have faith in reality because it is very factual. But we should not have faith in "esoterism" explanation, or in absolute, or in fiction, or in mythologies.

  • Granted, there are multiple definitions. Maybe the distinction I'm making between the two words hinges solely on my personal bias. I think Penn was going off the same definition, but I could be wrong.

    If you wanted to be pedantic, you could make me say that not ALL types of faith are bad, since there are multiple definitions. Under those conditions, I would rephrase the statement to: "Any faith based on no evidence or poor evidence is bad".

    But I like the original phrasing better :)

  • 100% agree on that ;)

  • lol i just watched a video of a hell house. totally retarded.

  • I agree with most of what you said but there is a recurring theme in your videos that always bothers me and it's the support of the creator of something to control that thing. Who gives a flying f*ck if the people who wrote the script didn't want it done in a mocking way? They are fundamentalist morons and deserve to be ridiculed. I do not share your respect for intellectual property rights. If someone makes something ridiculous then you should mock it whether you have permission or not.

  • Penn talking about Hell House. "United States of Tara" episode recently had a hell house scene.  Penn & Teller's Bullshit is on Showtime. U.S. of Tara is on Showtime. Coincidence, or psychic phenomenon. You be the judge :).

  • Baby steps, Penn.

    The road to discovery could very reasonably begin with the rejection of the extremely outlandish claims and move on from there.

  • Penn, I admire your integrity and honesty. Refreshing.

  • I always get the impression that beneath the babble, this guy is sucking up to religious people.

  • ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

  • I had a dream about random crap and suddenly, penn and teller show up.

    Then teller talks to some black woman and suddenly he starts licking her pussy?!? WTF :D

  • Whoa whoa they would scare you with gay sex and abortion's? WTF.

  • Atheism is a faith because God, gods or space alien spirits can not be proven or disproved. There is no god-o-meter. Atheists have faith that God, a higher power or whatever doesn't exist.

  • an absence of faith is not a form of faith, its a naturalist perspective that only accepts ideas after they have been proven

  • not being convinced of something is not the same as having faith in its non-existence.

    faith is belief without rational reason.

    the fact that something can't be proved or disproved (and i think god could be proved if he was real) is a rational reason to not believe that it is real. because if you believe in one thing like that where do you stop?

  • You have no proof that a god doesn't exist and I have no proof that one does exist. Explain to me how my belief is a faith and yours is not.

    Faith- firm belief in something for which there is no proof.

  • except i don't BELIEVE that there is no god.

    i just don't believe that there is a god.

    not having something is not the same as having it's opposite.

    you probably don't have a zebra, but that doesn't mean you have an anti-zebra.

  • "...i don't BELIEVE that there is no god.

    i just don't believe that there is a god."

    Your saying the same thing twice.

    I didn't say you where anti-god I said that you have a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Which is the very definition of faith.

  • how about this: having a belief that there is a god is not the same as not having a belief regarding any gods.

    i don't have faith, faith is what i lost when i realized that prayer doesn't work, the bible was put together by a committee who voted on it (think about that. voting on absolute truth), and singing to an invisible man about how cool he is is ridiculous.

  • Ok, your not getting this. I've defined what faith is and for some reason your having trouble seeing how the word faith is used in more than one way. What you lost was the faith. Use the dictionary and look up faith read all the definitions of the word and then maybe, just maybe, you'll see what I talking about.

  • bloodironfire, here's where you are going wrong. You are trying to say that "belief" and "lack of belief" are the same thing. Faith is belief without evidence. If you believe something without evidence, this requires faith. Without faith, you are forced to only believe in things that have evidence.

    So it's not that we have faith that there is no God... we lack belief in God because of lack of evidence. This is the natural outcome without faith.

  • A lack of belief makes you an agnostic not an atheist. It leaves you open to the possibility of believing in a god because as you stated if evidence was produced you would believe in a god.

  • I would correct you on this, but Penn did a video on this too. You should look it up. He explains it better than I can.

  • Agnosticism (related to gnosis) is about knowledge, and atheism is about belief. That's it.

  • From my experience, agnostics believe in a higher power, sometimes even a god, but their beliefs are subject to change according to proof and they follow no dogma.

  • Now we're just arguing semantics, but... I think you're a little off. I believe an agnostic specifically says "it is unknowable if there is a God." An atheist simply lacks a belief in God, but does not necessarily say it is unknowable.

    Yes, I am an atheist, and am willing to believe in a God if evidence was produced just like any sane person. Unfortunetly, there is no real evidence. So it's not that I want to be an atheist.... reality forces me.

  • Your right I am arguing semantics, but my point is that people should know what they believe. The definition of an atheist is one that believes that there is no god. It is a statement of belief and there for is a faith because there's no proof either way. Use a standard outside your own understanding to define words, like a dictionary, and you'll see where I'm coming from.

  • Well, I could almost agree with you, except I disagree with how you're using the word "faith." Faith is believing in something without evidence. Therefore, believing in God without evidence is faith. A lack of belief in God because of no evidence is not faith.

    The way you're using the word "faith," a belief for which there isn't 100% proof, technically would make ALL beliefs "faith." Which makes the word is meaningless.

  • Well told.

  • I believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster, may his noodly appendage heal you.

  • Yeah, right. Does that mean I have faith that bigfoot doesn't exist? Faith that leprechauns don't exist? Faith that your comment is stupid? Faith is NOT a factor. What is most likely to be true, is.

  • That is one odd experience you had.

    As an atheist I'd feel kind of dirty (joke or not.)

  • Praise Jesus!

  • Wow I remember when Penn did this. All this time I thought he did the actual Hell House. I knew something wasn't right. Anyway yeah it's as bit weird that the other cast members were believers.

  • (fap)

  • couldn't agree with you more...great job

  • I've heard of Hell House... Horrible!

  • Hehe, yeah, it's not exactly the same thing, but I'm a gay anti-theist who pisses off quite a number of his friends by supporting the actions of Westboro Baptist. I couldn't disagree with them more, but their one saving grace is honesty. They really do believe in the bible. And I can't bring myself to hate them due to that sole saving grace with is, for me, so important: they're honest.

  • why is honesty important? as an atheist, surely you can see the numerous personal advantages to lieing. try to keep an open mind and stop judging liars.

  • You're right of course. I don't mean honesty quite like that though; I mean non-hypocrisy. I've no problem with the noble lie, but hypocrites like those who'll tell you you must obey the bible while discarding much of it really get my ire.

  • I used to think atheists didn't have to subscribe to any type of ethics, but the truth is, ethics are a personal set of beliefs that we adhere to, Just because a person doesn't believe in a biblical basis for ethics, doesn't mean they have to abandon all forms of ethics or subscribe a group mentality of what is ethical, does it? Why should that be?

  • if all non-christian believers didn't have ethics, how the fuck do you think the world would look like then?? Religion sucks, it only generates ignorance

  • im not saying that atheists dont have ethics, cause obviously most of them do. but their beliefs in ethics are irrational and based on their own self-serving feelings. so I think they are hypocrites. there is no rational basis for ethics.

  • Care to explain why it's irrational, or are you going to continue just spitting an apparently irrational opinion on the rationality of ethics? You're also leaving out other possible sources for ethical behaviour. It's not just one or the other.

  • the reason is because you are assuming human life has some sort of value in an ethical system. that is irrational and biased. human life has no intrinsic value.

  • Why do you believe your life has no value?

  • because value is a subjective quality that cant be measured definitively

    working for a "better" future is subjective. from what i can see, all my anscestors struggles for a better future have led only to an increase in misery and suffering. they would have been better off jumping into a volcano

  • We have already established that the gods of Earth's religions are social constructs. So, if you think that that dooms us to a world where jumping into a volcano is better than living and struggling for a cause, then go ahead. Then look around at all the people who didn't and don't share that belief, and then tell me: who is the illogical one? Who is the irrational one? The billions that share an interest for the survival bettering of human kind, or you who thinks it's worthless?

  • This whole focus on subjectivity is misguided. Most of our morals are directly or at the least indirectly associated with instinctual practices. we apply self-awareness, cognition, etc. to those when widely accepted it becomes moral. It's developed from animals through sub-humans through early humans to us.. And the fact that these have been subjective (they are simply human awareness applied to biological dispositions). Read about animal societies and sub-human societies. It all becomes clear

  • mittROMNEY666, you said: "because value is a subjective quality that cant be measured definitively"

    Then you just proved yourself wrong. If it can't be measured, then you can't definitively say there is "no value." Because doing so means you must have measured it. If you want to be truly logical about it, you'd be forced to say that all values are equal, since all value judgments are subjective.

  • Maytag99 is right here. You can't assert a claim based on something you just denied. Take a logic 101 course at your local uni, mate.

  • ok, I agree because I do believe that if one does have ethics, its because the world of mankind has a few set of fundamental rules made up so the world is less chaotic. An agreement of less conflict of some sort

  • Actually, there is a rational basis for ethics, but the rationale comes from a biological social contract of cooperation to ensure survival of the species. If one considers it rational for a human being to want a better future for their children, then they must work towards that goal, and most of the time it is more successful if accomplished withing a group framework.

  • Hell House is a documentary movie made in 2001 directed by George Ratliff. It goes behind the scenes of a Hell House in Dallas, a multimedia performance designed to give its audiences a glimpse of what awaits those who stray from the path of a strict Christian life. The Hell House is put on by the youth members of a church around Halloween and the show draws thousands of visitors each year.

    Not the same thing that Penn was involved in.

  • faith does not provide the answers, it just prevents the questions.

  • are you quoting someone, or are you a fucking genius?

  • Hahah I wish I could take the credit here is the actual Quote:

    "Faith does not give you the answers, it just stops you asking the questions." - Frater Ravus.

    It is indeed a great quote.

  • Oh, thats good!!

  • When you say "No faith" is ok, do you mean no faith in rituals based on a story from an ancient book? I ask because you have some direction toward characteristics that one can say are good like telling the truth, having integrity, sharing with people with kindness and developing your own humor. I'm just wondering.

    When it comes to building community it seems much easier to have a communal focus on goodness as religion offers for the sake of all levels of intellect. Everyone watching films.

  • Similar situation.

    About 10 years ago I enrolled in a comparitive religion class.  I thought we would all be atheist studing extant religions. No, they were all curious Christians. Felt a bit out of place.

  • Your fellow actors involved enjoy their faith cafeteria style!

    Pick what you like and leave behind what you don't.

    Very common and so very weak, to the point of pointlessness.

  • "Faith cafeteria" wow that is an extremely good way of pointing out how id estimate 90% or more of the believers in the US to be. the way that puts how almost everyone beleives is unfathomable. it truly is sad to me how so many people will shit on everyone's lives just to make their lives a hare more barable but if they and everyone didnt pick and choose in faith the world would be sooo much better.

  • I understand what Penn says, but a theist audience that laughs at theist fundies is not that bad of a compromise.

  • I agree with you on this one. It is very hard for some people to understand someone who has no faith. By no faith I mean in that someone who does not have a fundamental belief in something based on a leap of faith. It's not that I believe in a god or don't believe in a god. I don't believe in either of those. I've just seen more evidence for the non-existence of a god than the existence of one. And please for my sake and everyone else's, please do not mention your holy book. It's not evidence.

  • ya they have so many of those in CO springs

  • Horrors of gay sex? I may be straight but there are a lot more horror in straight sex. Whips, chains, and even animals. Let's not forget that some people have a cutting fetish. As in, they like to be cut with knives while having sex! And these people are NOT emo.

  • ugh, huh? hail satin! cotton rules!

  • It was awesome that Penn did that new Futurama film.

  • I played a small part in a local, amateur production of 1776, (the musical) and had a similar experience. I am a libertarian, and believe in tolerance, free markets, and small, limited government, just like the founders portrayed in 1776, the musical.

    But the other amateur (most of whom were really good!) actors were big-government liberals. They did not believe in the message of limited government or low taxes, even as they lead a tax-revolt on stage!

    I was there to popularize liberty.

  • I agree with you Penn,

    Having delusions about a magical being endorsing you opinions are never okay.

    Neither is believing something without evidence,

  • Hell houses are okay.

    Telling kids they represent reality isn't.

  • The horrors of gay sex? That's... really stupid. Abortion is somewhat understandable but still...

  • "The horrors of gay sex? That's... really stupid. Abortion is somewhat understandable but still... "

    You really downplay the true HORRORS of gay sex...cuz it's like...y'know...yucky and stuff.

  • most religious people nowadays believe in order to get rewards in the afterlife. fear was a big motivator in the past but now thats only true for fundamentalists. as a former christian i cant even remember hell being mentioned at all in my church. now that im an atheist, i feel like there is no point to life at all and i am miserable, so i can understand why most people need some form of religious belief. as long as they arent persecuting people their irrational beliefs are more or less harmless

  • is beliving something without evidince really harmless. And i have to say just because theres no god dosn't mean theres no point to life. Go help somebody do something nice for somebody for no reason at all make the wourld a better place just because you can thats what being an athiest is all about.

  • well i guess it makes you gullible and prone to manipulation, but i think that tolerant brands of christianity or faith are for the most part harmless. also, since atheism has no moral code or set of rules at all, you cant really say its about anything. you are referring to humanism, which is different. personally, i dont see why saying that the world is totally fucked up and the best thing to do would be to nuke it to oblivion isnt a perfectly rational conclusion.

  • Because I could not enjoy potato skins in the nuclear apocolypse. What rational conclusion could possibly rule out potato skins?

  • LOL

    if life was just eating potato skins u would be right

    the rationale goes like this:

    suffering is a bad thing

    bad things should be destroyed

    all life causes and results in suffering

    therefore all life should be destroyed, as quickly and painlessly as possible.

  • Are you familiar with the 4 Noble Truths?

  • only superficially

    buddism seems to have some things in common w atheism though.

  • Buddhism also has lot in common with an inordinate number of of moderate to liberal Christians who are effectively nothing but followers of Zoroastrism with belief in a human version of God.

  • Atheism doesn't need a moral code; atheists don't base their morality on the lack of belief of gods fabricated by desert tribes. Religious people (falsely) attribute their morality to mythology, when in reality its source has ALWAYS been humans. Tolerant religious people are fine, but preferably the world should value religion only in as far as its a tradition. That is all its good for. It's not moral to be religious, it degrades intellect, and as far as the divine connection: ALL made up

  • well i agree. my point is that atheism is frequently portrayed as humanistic when in reality it is totally amoral. furthermore, in the absence of god, there cant a definative set of morals since it is impossible to arrive at one using only rational means. it will just be up to each individual to make up his own morality, whether that be hedonism, nihilism, anarchism, humanism, satanism, or indiscriminate killing. those are all valid choices for an atheist, right?

  • morality is just another name for ethics, and ethics involve interaction between two or more entities, thus ethics and morality are above God, the bible, buddha and any other deity.

  • yes, but ethics don't flow logically from atheism. either u get your ethics from a higher power, which atheists reject, or you get them from your own personal feelings, which is of course totally irrational and goes against everything that atheists claim to stand for.

  • wow, bullshit

  • I always thought atheism only claimed to stand on one thing, that there was no proof for a God existing so therefore there was no need to believe in one. Since when did atheism stand for anything else or need to?

  • Ethics flow from being a human, not from the non-belief in God. Again you're talking about false attribution. Nobody on earth gets, or has ever gotten, their ethics from a higher power. Societies described ethics and morality, and (falsely) attributed them to God. Then succeeding generations taught this morality and continued to attribute it to God. ALL morality on Earth has ALWAYS derived from humans, rooted in our animal ancestors and the sub-humans from whom we evolved.