Margaret Atwood on Religion Part 3/3

[stojadinovicdushan]

What has us 'liking' the story with the tiger or without the tiger got to do with the truth? We keep looking for proof of whether there was a tiger or not. Chances are that something that 'did' or 'does' exist will leave a trace of it's existence for us to find, and yes I do mean it's 'physical' existence (as per tiger in the Life of Pi, the real, actual, physically existing tiger); we simply keep looking. One thing we do not do is choose the story that we 'like' more and assume it to be true.

[MrAzdaz]

A brilliant mind.Plato reborn.A true philosopher.

[electrictigerr]

Actually chinese has lots of things that indicate time. All languages do. However not all of them use 'tense'. For instance, chinese will indicate an action in the past by marking it with a word like 'yesterday'. Words like yesterday indicate a strong notion of time. Their language lacks formal tense distinction but is very rich in aspect (look it up) which is related to time.

[Shirleyxia74]

amazing mind,

I have so much admiration for this woman

[simonleighdedman]

@heylookitsnana - smorgasbord - swedish buffet with a mish-mash of loads of different dishes.

[ElysianFields100]

She is wise.

[sebby00]

does anyone happen to know where this interview is from? i need to caite it for an essay on atwood. thanks

[Om0plata1]

@sebby00 lol Im doing the same thing.. good luck :)

[heylookitsnana]

What did she say about myths? "Because we've read the myths. And the myths lay out what on the human's smorshdfsdfsdsphere???" Around 2:45

[rabbitwho]

amazing

[vohshkab]

pure genius

[BloggerMusicMan]

As an amateur writer (who still has a lot to learn and a lot of practicing to do), I've always been impressed with Margaret Atwood's intelligence but even more so with how clearly she explains them and how well she organizes them in her book. It seems to come out in interviews too. Very brilliant authour.

[seamoremonster]

I love her and Bill Moyer. Thanks for posting this wonderful interview in its entirety.

[hivemindanarchist]

I love her goofy laugh.

[jetmoo]

She is well clever. It's interesting to hear what she has to say, because it's all so true. She is very intelligent.

[joejjohnston]

The main reason why people are religious is because our Adrenal glands are too big and our frontal lobes are too small.

[captain150]

@joejjohnston

That's only true of some people :)

[CaptainVideo890]

@captain150 As one captain to another, I'm curious as to which people you think this isn't true of, seeing as you're only friends with other atheists.

[mironowak]

This beautifully eloquent woman treats her overly religious interviewer with great emphathy & understanding.... the same way you would treat a child who still believes in Santa Claus.

This man does even try to maintain neutrality & objectivity - basic attributes of a good interviewer.

He gives me an impression of man with the mission of converting his interviewee to Christianity.

P.S.

One little observation:

Calling atheism a religion is a bit like calling non-stamp-collecting a hobby.

[Mitya1102]

If you listen carefully to Atwood's reasoning, then you'll find that your simile misrepresents her own assessment of atheism. Let's try this analogy instead. Atheism is to theism (i.e., religion) as iconoclasm is to art. Even the iconoclast has a particular aesthetic theory (belief, conviction), no? To borrow from your original analogy, calling atheism a religion is like calling stamp-destroying a hobby. And that seems rather fitting.

P.S. Moyers is a former minister. Atwood knows this.

[CaptainVideo890]

@mironowak Hmm, so the interviewee is automatically superior to her interviewer, based on your baseless assumption that he is a theist? And because he sides with noone insted of siding with you, he is an enemy trying to convert you? And to combat this, you quote from one of your holy books? If you're trying to convince anyone that Atheism isn't a religion, you're failing miserably.

[mironowak]

@CaptainVideo890

Dear Friend.

Thank you for your insightful comment which reflects on your ability of reasonable thinking.

I would love to engage in a constructive debate with you but I don't want to be late to my next "non-stamp-collectors"meeting.

P.S.

There is no need to use capital letters in "a-theism" , a-toothfairsm" or " a-unicornism".

Cheers from Down Under

[CaptainVideo890]

@mironowak Ah, attacking my grammar like a true zealot, cornered and with nowhere to run. Sorry for trying to show some respect, I won't make that mistake again.

[mironowak]

@CaptainVideo890

Take it easy , mate,

I think your grammar is ok.

Please, do not magnify this matter out of proportion. Life is too short to be wasted on unproductive arguments.

Have a nice day, matey.

[CaptainVideo890]

@mironowak Says the patronizing bigot.

[barriehomeboy]

who?

[inityminiwur]

It would be very interesting to hear what Hitchens would comment about Atwood's take on religion. Like Hitch, she has an amazing depth of erudition. It would be nice to see her as the fifth horsewoman of the counter-apocalypse.

[barriehomeboy]

Maybe she's the only one who knows who made God.

[dancesportgirl21]

she's wonderful- so darn smart :)

[barriehomeboy]

you were the first. She'd be the second.

[barriehomeboy]

Maybe she's the third act of the Bible. Maybe she's the second coming of Christ.

[kingsman565]

I think she would be the first one to disagree with that.

[barriehomeboy]

Your God and Jesus people, show me some evidence. Like an ID

[barriehomeboy]

Or it all could be made up and there is no God or Jesus. Margaret Atwood I have seen, so I know she is real.

[SenorCyprian]

Skewed syntax I have used, so I know it is real.

[xerosisonek]

Following the Spirit is much more demanding and difficult than pretending to toe the line of the letter. The Law was given to show how impossible it was for us to obey it. The Spirit is given to nurture us and instill compassion for others while we struggle with persistent flaws in our own souls. "Not a principle, but a Prince; not a rule, but a Ruler; not a law, but a Lord."

[HellKainK66]

I <3 Margaret Atwood

[philosophicalpoetry]

Brilliant woman, refreshingly Canadian. I too was agnostic for many years until reason won over in my case. I suggest anyone interested to check out my playlist entitled: "Unlocking the Mystery of Life." Certainly we have a creator, and in one sense it's a figure of which cannot and will not be fully described, so perhaps agnostic principals will remain indefinitely.

[thegimprevolt]

"Certainly we have a creator..." - I thought you were agnostic?

[SenorCyprian]

4:40 The woman is a charlatan. Classical Hebrew and Arabic don't have tense (although, maybe they weren't SO important in religious development.) Chinese, although a minority language, doesn't have anything that approaches tense.

[pincololo1]

They may not have tenses, but her point about perception of time remains completely valid. Chinese: a minority language? very true, 1/6 of the world speaks Chinese.

[SenorCyprian]

I was being sarcastic about the Chinese thing. Do you think that if I were familiar enough with Chinese to be able to call her out with it, I wouldn't have at least a hazy idea of the language's massive population?

Her idea about the perception of time, independent from the fallacious linguistic assumption, is an idea. I'm not ready to say whether it's valid or not. But my point is, it's based on a fallacious assumption. It sounds fantastically stupid to anyone who knows anything about it.

[thegimprevolt]

And you are a harlot!

[SenorCyprian]

I'm also a man. Are there male-harlots? I thought my gender was pretty obvious from my screen name...(Senor)

[thegimprevolt]

I think you mean 'sex' - not 'gender'. Frankly, I don't give two shits what you consider yourself to be. Take care now!

[SenorCyprian]

Pretty sure I meant gender, but sex is also acceptable.

[tolmorris]

Thanks for posting the videos.

[simonv90]

Believing there is no god is making an assumption just as believing that there is - it's uncertain either way. Agnostic is not believing is the unprovable.

[ntnimara]

so Sokrates was an agnostic...

[Naturereal]

Thank you.

[speakingtruly]

Although I am a Muslima, I agree with some of the things Margaret Atwood had to say here. And the rest was very interesting to hear because of the way she expresses herself. It's the first time I liestened to her and I'm very impressed. Quite an amazing person! Thank you very much for sharing this interview.

[CadenceBlue]

This woman is brilliant, and a true lady. Thanx so much for sharing this with us :)

[bohochic8]

Margaret Atwood is so intelligent. I wud hav love to have spoken to her. She knows alot about anthropology and psychology, I learnt alot from this interview, thanks 4 posting this gem.

[lovedovelight]

People prefer the story without death in it, versus the story with death in it. Religions play upon people's fears of death. Without belief in supernatural magic, there is nothing but a universe full of predators and fear. Some people wear an amulet around their necks, others wear a cross, some use positive thinking. But ultimately it's all methods of feeling safe while drifting elliptically in an empty and meaningless spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy.

[AirkaOoona]

And what is so meaningless about a spiralling arm in the Milky Way galaxy?

[seanpdineen]

Attwood is a great mind, a good woman, but my faith isn't dependent on anything but my own understanding. If you suffered what I have, you would have a belief, maybe not mine, but you would believe in an ultimate purpose for this world

[ISUhandmaidstale]

ah yes, but religion is based on this human need for an ultimate purpose, that does not prove the presence of god. i agree with what tesa0t said, no belief can be wrong.

[seanpdineen]

You have a point, the only argument I was making is that our own experiences bring us to the need for ultimate purpose or not

[mitchizhere]

You go Margaret Atwood! Brilliant woman.

[sumt1mes]

interesting that she has become such an authority on well, everything. i think a lot of what shes saying is logical but when she strayed to supposition re:why jesus didnt pen memoirs, she sounded foolish.

i read about 50 pages of pi, couldnt finish it b/c i found it uninteresting. there are a few writers that can illustrate the mundane and lifes idiosyncrasies far better then any bs. theres metaphor as poetry, which was the argument itself.

[morelikewar]

I think what keeps her from sounding like a fool is that she doesn't claim to be an expert. She states and explains her opinions, which is exactly what you're supposed to do in an interview. She even prefaces her statements about why Jesus didn't write anything down by saying "I believe," which means she's not trying to state a fact.

[sumt1mes]

prefacing w/ i believe doesnt exempt one from taking a stance, one could say i believe 2+2=5 and they would be wrong.

[tesa0t]

it's not about being exempt. it is silly to say that would be wrong. if you relaly believed 2+2=5 then it does equal 5 to you. a personal belief can't be wrong, i can disagree with you, i can tell you factually 2+2=4 but IF your BELIEF is different, that doesn't make you wrong.

[morph628]

Paging Doctor Orwell!

[ISUhandmaidstale]

though their math skills are a little off, their belief is not. as far as they know, they would not be wrong. perhaps YOU know they are wrong, but they do not.

[magickalchilde]

not true, i think what she says makes a lot of sense. oral tradition being fluid means that the message can change and adapt with the times, unlike old testament where many of the written down rules may not apply to anything going on today.

[sumt1mes]

i agree w/ much of what she says re:atheism, but her point was supposition as to y jesus was opposed to personally sharing his message...(theres only so much perceptive reasoning/deduction can do/ sounds a little contrived/self learned) but since u brought it up, much of the old testament id pertinent today re:commandments, u just have to sift thru all theBS

[FA8T]

I think what she says is a very good explaanation of why people believe in God but it isn't a validation of God existing. I think we can still have stories with tigers without God. That is more a testament to the human imagiantion than to a deity.

[jesuschrustpizza]

Jesus was illiterate. That's why he never wrote anything. It's true. God told me and God knows everything and God never lies.

GOD BLESS RELIGION.

[daverbecks]

I wish I agreed with her last sentiment... it's painful to see such an intelligent woman giving in to wish thinking... even for a little poetic effect. I think humans should care passionately about what is actually true. We should learn to identify bare facts before before giving in to convenient beliefs..

[SethVincent]

A wise woman indeed ........ very good three parts here thanks !

[Cuffsmaster]

I like the story of MY tiger better than your tiger. My tiger is the one true tiger and yours is false. You need to believe in My tiger and let your tiger go away. If you don't believe in My tiger I'll pray that my tiger will eats you or better yet grant me permission to kill you for him. The story with MY tiger as the main charactor is much better. Bless my tiger

[morph628]

Right on!

[AttemptingReason]

I like the story where I bathe in a swimming pool filled with money while being serenaded by beautiful fairies. That doesn't mean I'd believe it. The difference between God and the tiger is that God is allegedly still around and still doing things. Knowledge about God is only impossible when He doesn't exist.

[TKmundo]

great post

[RyeItGrrl]

Why are creationists spamming this video? Apparently they can't stand any form of intelligent and objective thought.

Remember kids, just because you don't understand evolution doesn't mean that it isn't a legitimate theory. "God did it." is usually not the best way to answer a question.

[Jasonstarwalker]

I think that the story with the tiger is beautiful, and the story without the tiger is beautiful, too. I have felt and enjoyed both, but I find the story without the tiger better.

[elliotcheely]

i agree with you completely. humans may like comprehension, but we also have an affinity for mystery as well.

[av1611truth]

The code for each protein is contained IN the DNA/RNA system. However, proteins are REQUIRED in order to manufacture DNA. So which came first: proteins or DNA?

[YadaYadaguy]

what came first chicken or the egg.The anwser is simply;the egg the egg is used by many species far older then the chicken.But to answer the question you have to let go of the confines of the"chicken and egg".

[RyeItGrrl]

Look Av1611truth, from your name I can tell that you are a creationist spammer and this account probably doesn't even exist anymore. Just because you don't understand evolution doesn't mean that it isn't a legitimate theory. Why don't you take the few hours to find an answer to your own damn question, an answer other than "God did it."

[ahamagi]

phuckin' brilliant, 4 sho!

[RhondaH]

I like the story without the tiger MUCH better and find it MUCH more interesting and beautiful.

[knots1975]

brilliant.thanks for posting

[sciencedoggy]

What makes people so arrogant to believe that we get/deserve a reason for the universe to exists?

[ahamagi]

we don't! get/deserve a reason that is, but what are we without the power to create our own reason for being? and where is literature and art without us contemplating this reason? hope against hope is the poetry of the courage in daring to hope where there is none! that's who WE ARE! and that "in" and "of" itself is our power and the power of anything that we might intimately call god!

[sciencedoggy]

We don't know, does not mean "Goddidit".

[ZenSunniGesserit]

Cat's Eye

[falcostrife]

she's amazing

[teiladnam]

Well, I don't need to read Life of Pi now.

[aluckypunk]

Oh, sure you do, it's a wonderful book.

[capelipl]

im surprised she didnt jump at thedesigner human she might bdesign question, she had one designed in orex and crake to replace the people murdered with avirus,

thetraits of that creature was meant to avoid to follys of man

[rmeddy1]

this woman is brilliant thanks for for posting

[lauracfc]

Wow! Very interesting thoughts; many, in which, I have contemplated before. Thanks for the post.

[Euripides27]

She needs to study her philosophy a bit more carefully. Her claims about atheism and agnosticism are shallow. If she dug a little deeper, she would know that atheism is not like religion and most true atheists do not make doctrinaire (absolute) statements about God/gods. One could easily insinuate that agnosticism (literally without knowledge) is nihilistic. Further more, nothing she says here is what anyone with a good college education does not already know or has considered before.

[OrchidMaroon]

I don't think the purpose of the interview is to reveal information she has that nobody else has. She's just sharing her thoughts.

[BCVChannel1]

She is a very lovely lady. Wonderful storyteller.

[MissLLB2B]

Her brilliance is captivating. She speaks of so much that I have thought about, yet have not had the words to communicate.

[isaishkai]

WOW! she is so real, an effortless intelgence beyond mosts people's comprehension or attention. I think we need more people like her in the world.

[CozyPaddedCell]

That lady is fantastic.

[SoulGlowww]

sweet post

[moondog9]

Thank you for posting this. It's been very helpful to me, particularly when studying Milton in my degree.

[stormguy110]

Very interesting.

[amanakaLee]

Atwood is awesome. Thanks for posting.

[GEZAS]

Great story

[cierrablue]

Thanks for posting this.