Christopher Hitchens: religion "the utter arrogance of absolute power"

[megamus3]

all these christians and not one of them could come up with anything sensible,but they are good at sniggering like a bunch of hyenas.

[clrdr7]

"and no- no answer at all. noTHING. NOthing."

[mouthyweasel]

Christianity is a form of insanity. Delusional thinking. It should embarrass the hell out of you to believe those ridiculous things.

[CareFreeWherever]

i love how passionate he was in his speech about fritzl

[flassk7]

Dammit, why did this man had to die?

[clayton8m]

@flassk7 he smoked cigarettes :'(

[BiggerThinking1]

@flassk7 The depression of dealing with religious stupidity constantly - 24/7/365 - forced him to self-medicate with drink and smoke - i FULLY understand the feeling!

[Hirnlego999]

Dignity? We're asked, no forced to believe and to do certain things because if we do not then we'll be sent to hell.

"Everything about Christianity is contained in the pathetic image of 'the flock."

- Christopher Hitchens (Hitch-22: A Memoir)

[DJKloop]

hitches death can only prove one thing - there is no god. You think God would put up with Hitch for all eternity? didnt think so ;)

[Ebvardh]

The worst symptom of religion is attributing things to the magical.

All these people say that they would not be able to get by without religion, and it seems to me that they've simply invested themselves so much in it to get by that they forgot how to do it, that they forgot their religion is just what they dream it to be and that all the positive values that they attribute to it are found within themselves.

Yes, life is scary without your copping method, but you can learn to live it regardless.

[flatwoundtickler]

Long live The Hitch!

[calripken2632]

Goodbye, Hitch. We thank you.

[robfairs]

D you know what I like about Christopher Hitchens? Everything.

[brianMcc25]

Where can I find this discussion?

[Seeker64]

Years ago I said the same thing about the idea of God being a Father figure. I said My Father does not know everything I do, nor did he know before hand everything I would do, nor is he going to outlive me, in the natural state of things. Which means my Father has to actually trust me, and that is trust that I can earn. A being that is Omni-everything, precludes free will. It already knows everything that will happen, and does so because it set it in motion.

[Seeker64]

@Critic863 Asserting what exists? God or Free will. If free will exists there can be no God. If there is no free will then what I think exists or doesn't does not matter, because in that argument we have no choice in what we believe and the future of our actions and thoughts is already destined.

[sauceykat]

Very interesting. Would have loved to see the panel's response to that (and laughed at it).

[JoeLaTurkeyIII]

Nice to see Lane Craig keeping his big, bigoted mouth shut for once

[ilovewiki]

(con) Maybe people should look to better themselves, and not accept unwarranted guilt, and a life "born into sin"... I prefer Hitchens' view any day and time! Hopefully, one day, people will drop this Bronze Age, sheep herder story telling...and see it, for what it bloody is! Mythology.

[ilovewiki]

"Christianity has something to say for people who are not strong, who are not intelligent, who have fallen down. Christianity, gives people a reason for dignity, human dignity, we'll all created in god's image, it gives us the reason for dignity, because jesus took on our frailties and our sin." hahahahhahaha Wow, what a load of claptrap! Christianity, has something to say...for those who are weak, and for those who rejoice in that fact. It's a religion of sick herds and maggot men...

[doyoublush]

Hitchens is epic here. period.

[MrShysterme]

Hitch's righteous anger at the end is incredibly moving.

[MrShysterme]

The beginning speaker states that christianity is a philosophy for the weak and unintelligent. Well he just admitted to a mouthful there eh?

[doyoublush]

@MrShysterme I was thinking the same here! Glad I was not alone ;-)

[methanbreather]

check mate, christians. That was a very fine piece of work. No nitpicking about the bible. No ifs or maybes. Almost cruel. Love it.

[djwordnyc]

@koalajones88 - LOL@taking on "SCRIPTURE", NEWSFLASH: 71% of the world doesn't believe in Christian 'scripture'. But given the eloquent nature and conciseness of your response I think it's safe to say that research, reasoning and analysis are not your forte. Thank you though for your unlettered comment, it gave me a chuckle...

[scienceatheism]

Has anyone else notice that William Lane Craig doesnt talk as much if he doesnt have notes in front of him? I wonder why that is.

[JOHNINCOLUMBUS]

I love what the speaker said...Christianity is not for the intelligent...boy was he right...and full of shit at the same time...I think he's mentally ill.

[DurhamGooner]

From 5;21 to the conclusion. This should be played in every religious building, to everyone who professes a religious faith. Superb Christopher Hitchens. Atheism is free and nonjudgmental love. The REAL light.

[harlon57]

@JOHNINCOLUMBUS the answer you seek is... "insert magic here."

[JOHNINCOLUMBUS]

Christianity claims that a "soul" exists, I am curious, where does this "soul" come from, what is it's origin, how does it come into being? I don't think Christianity addresses some very basic questions that need to be answered before it can make further claims. Another, how does Hell get it's "fire"? Is it natural gas or propane...these are absurd ideas, but beg the questions as to their origins...anyone?

[scienceatheism]

devils advocate here. they would say souls come into being when a being comes into existence.

[JOHNINCOLUMBUS]

@scienceatheism - what is that supposed to mean? The being comes into existence...the sperm and the egg already existed, when they come together nature takes care of the rest...there is no soul being created, only the division of cells that will eventually form a baby...religion loves to make shit up.

[Inclousid]

@scienceatheism " they would say souls come into being when a being comes into existence"

It's even crazier than that. Up in heaven, in god's mansion, there is a room called "the Guf". It contains all the souls that will ever exist, and when a human baby is born, a soul from the Guf will pop into the baby as it breathes its first gasp of air. But there's a finite number of souls in the Guf, and when the Guf empties, and the first souless baby is born, the world will end.

[JOHNINCOLUMBUS]

@ImprovingWithReason - Religion makes people ignorant.

[writersblock26]

Thank you for posting this, DoctorOfDisbelief.

[JOHNINCOLUMBUS]

Is the man asking the question, mentally challenged?

[SexyArcanine666]

@JOHNINCOLUMBUS

Well I did lose 10 IQ points by listening to him so he is probably is mentally challenged. Personally I think this debate is not fair. On one side we have Hitchens and the other side are just a bunch of mere christians.

[JOHNINCOLUMBUS]

@SexyArcanine666 - Tell me, why did we stop feeding Christians to the lions? I think there are many hungry lions out there that deserve a good meal, don't you? Let's start with a light Evangelical appetizer, then move to a Mega Church salad, with a Catholic Vinaigrette dressing! For desert we could have Muslim pie with Mormon whipped topping...sounds yummy to me!

[writersblock26]

@JOHNINCOLUMBUS No, he has a motor condition, most likely cerebral palsy. (I think you probably meant your comment as a rhetorical question, but in case you didn't, I figured I would go ahead and answer it.)

[JOHNINCOLUMBUS]

@writersblock26 - Thank you, because he sounds very docile, almost to the point of being mentally challenged. I can see your point now...thanks.

[writersblock26]

@JOHNINCOLUMBUS You're welcome.

[wealthmaster71]

Why do people even show up for a Hitchslap session is beyond me? I mean to argue with him.

[wealthmaster71]

Why do people even show up for a Hitchslap session is beyond me?

[yellowocean01]

Religion poisons everything. Christopher Hitchens & Richard Dawkins inspiring heroes in my view.

[edeneye808]

I find it very disturbing that the guy to the far right seems to be grinning even through the end of Hitchens' gloomy anecdote. When a person's beliefs are reduced to cinders they tend to either cry or grin and laugh mindlessly. This is because there's no rational retort to what he said.

[Freethinker12341]

william lane craig looks pissed lol. he's thinking "damn it, my superficial debating skills aren't showing"

[pjmr71]

If there was a god and he debated Christopher Hitchens, god would lose!

[sgpquek]

@pjmr71 If there is a god like the monotheist god and he debated a retard, even a retard will win.

[sirdelrio]

Some theists dont get that the atheists are not claiming to have all the answers to all the questions (that is something we all need to work on), but simply showing that the 'arguments' for god are inconsistent.

[nutrino99]

So by the first speakers rational then religion is for the weak, stupid and not connected.... sign me up!

[GeauxTiger]

Aside from the typical flair with which Hitch destroys his opponents, does anyone else find ti funny that you would NEVER EVER EVER see the reverse of this little charade of a debate? What are the chances William Lane Craig brings his ass to the AAI Convention and sits down to a "debate" with Hitch, Dawkins, Dennett and Harris moderated by someone like PZ Meyers?

Simply cowardice that prevents that type of show... Kudos to Hitch for entering the Lion's Den over and over and winning.

[TomFynn]

@GeauxTiger I think of it more like a sheep's pen but otherwise your point stands.

[wotg]

Such a powerfull argument from Mr. Hitchens. Bravo!

[death5ter]

Remember when you? could watch a video without? having to sitthrough a commercial?

Remember When Music Videos Were uploaded by users not VEVO

Remember When all the info was to the right of the video?

Remember you could rate a video1-5 stars?

Remember The famous yellow? subscribe? button?

Remember when the users controlled the site not corcorations?

WE MISS THE OLD YOUTUBE!

Post this in every video and? let`s start a youtube revolution !!!!!!!

[djwordnyc]

In under 7 minutes Mr. Hitchen's exhibited utter annihilation the Christian belief with such precision, clarity and intent. There is NO biblical retort, there is no biblical fact (oxymoron) that one could rebut Mr. Hitchen's position...

[farje1]

@djwordnyc Well said!

[skepticnyc]

Jesus Christ, this guilt trip is...ugh.

Anyway, antitheism is not a competing religion period.  any thoughts?

[un4g1v3n1]

Neither the believers of a Biblical God, nor the non-believers can ever offer valid, rock solid proof of their claims....So, why don't they all just shut the F up about it already and help each other out instead.

[DoctorOfDisbelief]

@un4g1v3n1 Non-believers have no claims that require "rock solid proof." We do know that there are natural explanations for everything we see. We may not have the final answer for all questions, but science is the only way to determine reality that continually adjusts because of the new information made available by scientists. Religion hasn't taught us anything (and most of what it taught was wrong) in almost 2000 years. Supernatural claims are no longer required.

[un4g1v3n1]

@DoctorOfDisbelief Science itself has, and continues to prove itself untrustworthy of defining reality, the deeper we delve into the quantum levels of the multiverses. The quantum physicists all seem to be speaking in ways that were reserved for mystics, shaman, and philosophers...

I never trust a man who thinks he can figure out the riddle of life, or the mysteries of existence. You don't have to label something supernatural, just because your mind is incapable of conceiving of it's nature

[DoctorOfDisbelief]

@un4g1v3n1 "the deeper we delve into the quantum levels of the multiverse?" We don't even know if there is a multiverse much less delve deep into it. They aren't making any claims, they are hypothesizing. You really have no clue what about that which you are writing. No one says they have figured out the "riddle of life." Words have meaning. Anything that is outside of nature, until it is known to be a part of nature, is supernatural. You are confused and guessing.

[un4g1v3n1]

@DoctorOfDisbelief

I am confused and guessing? And you are? Please do tell? Do let your ultimate definition of life, reality, and the DOD complete overview of existence! You do have it all figured out, right? If not, then you have no idea if I am confused, and guessing, or assured and knowing...Now, do you?

[DoctorOfDisbelief]

@un4g1v3n1 I never made a claim to truth, only that your writing is incoherent. Sorry.

[un4g1v3n1]

@DoctorOfDisbelief No worries. Never been blamed for being incoherent....Maybe cryptic, but not incomprehensible...

[Snarkathon]

@DoctorOfDisbelief Can you give an example of 'outside of nature'? Historical or current. Unexplained does not equal supernatural.

[DoctorOfDisbelief]

@Snarkathon Reread what I wrote. I never made a claim that I believe anything is outside nature. Only that people pre-science believed in such. That said, even today, people claim god cannot be disproved because it is outside the boundaries of our time and space. That is by definition "super-natural."

[theDuctapeUnion]

@un4g1v3n1 Wow! What an absolutely moronic comment. I seem to remember you leaving another comment that I had to remark upon about a year or possibly longer ago. You appear interested in these sort of debates by your mere presence on this page. Maybe it's you that should find something more productive to do with yourself other than forcing that which you detest upon yourself. Hmmmmm?

[un4g1v3n1]

@theDuctapeUnion What's a flaming troll like yourself doing on a thread like this?

[theDuctapeUnion]

@un4g1v3n1 That's right.........LOLOLOL You're the same idiot that visits all the Apollo Mission videos and claims it was a hoax . LOLOLOL A "truther" right? Wow. So, we meet again. -LOLOL- Up to the same shenanigans I see. Well......The Apollo missions were genuine......Our beloved Mr. Hitchens here is quite right about the role of religion in the world and ...........I'm certain if I go to a conspiracy video next you will be there giving your 2cents worth. What's your niche? 911?

[MrShysterme]

@un4g1v3n1 Because by definition non-believers are not making a claim.

[jonnyclueless]

Great now everyone is going to want a resurrection body...

[MrShysterme]

@jonnyclueless Yep, the christian version of 10 minute abs. Get your resurrection body in 5 short minutes a day ladies!

[MultiUniv3rsal]

No hope is better than false hope at all.