Do You Believe In Magic?

[hilofhel]

love the ending lolz

[omagosVII]

Read Eugene Burger Magic and meaning.

Oh, by the way... there is no universe.

[kalshann]

"When I was a child I spoke as a child I understood as a child and thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things."

I'm not an atheist or christian - but wisdom like yours should be appreciated, thank you for sharing.

[AtheistAaron]

Yes, that's my favourite Bible passage. =) Thank you very much for your kind words.

[64bitgamer]

You have a good point about self education. The world would be a much nicer place if everyone stopped believing in what was hand fed to them.

[AtheistAaron]

Thanks, Clifford. If you don't mind me prying, what are your metaphysics (if you have any?) - you strike me as a very cool, open-minded person. The vast majority of my friends are not atheists, but intelligent people are found in every culture and of every belief system. Except Scientology. =0

[64bitgamer]

I'm a Christian, non denominational. Also, I'm a mac user, because light research will show that we are, in fact, a small religion. Since you mentioned physics once or twice, I also subscribe to string theory, however this is mostly due to the fact that I've only heard one or two alternatives, like universal gravitation. Interesting fact: The largest church of scientology is two blocks away from my dorm. Before the year is up, I'm gonna burn that bitch.

[AtheistAaron]

LOL, give me a call before you do, I'll make the trip out just to watch it burn. ;)

I'm a recent convert to the church of Steve Jobs, so I can relate to the Mac user thing.

[RabbitDance]

YOu made me cry. My story is the same as yours...magic...Pen&Teller...

but I don't want to lose Jesus! It is so hard.

[AtheistAaron]

I'm not trying to change anyone's beliefs. I'm just here to tell people they are not alone if they should have doubts or questions. If you should decide that you simply can not believe anymore, remember that you are exactly the same person you were before. Religion doesn't make people good or bad - people make themselves good or bad. Peace to you!

[RobertlewisIR]

I just watched this again, and it reminded me of a conversation I had some months ago, when I was telling a friend about a new magic trick I was working on (quarter into sealed soda can). He poo-pooed it and said "there's no real magic." Like he needed to tell me! And I said, "yeah, the trick is just a trick. But if I can bring a smile to someone's face, THAT is real magic."

[AtheistAaron]

Right, magic for me is about psychology. I think, unfortunately, our society as a whole has become jaded towards magic. It may be due to people like David Copperfield referring to his tricks as "miracles". I prefer people like P&T or Randi, who acknowledge that they are tricksters, or at least people like Jay Sankey, who just present something and let you think about it.

[RobertlewisIR]

I agree. Although while I may disagree with Copperfield's word choices, I don't think he's REALLY claiming to have real powers like some people are *cough*Uri Geller*cough*.

You're the first person I've met outside of a magic community who actually knows who Jay Sankey is.

[AtheistAaron]

Sankey is probably my favourite magician... his sense of humour is so out there, I love him.

And yeah, David Copperfield is just having a little fun. =0

[magicadam5]

wow u r good at story tellin and at the begin that was prety cool that trick .....gd job

[TheKidFrom13thStreet]

Great video...you really know how to tell a story.

[AtheistAaron]

Thanks! I was worried I was kinda boring! =)

[neowired]

I love magic. I love fantasy and sci-fi. My disbelief in magic makes me appreciate them more. They bring magic into my logical world. I also see magic in casual things. The sky, wind, people working together for a noble goal. Many people don't see that understanding or analyzing things doesn't render them magic-less. Magic, the beauty and wonder caught in the object or phenomenon by the human eye and mind, much more miraculous, than shooting fireballs from ones hands, or changing water to wine..

[AtheistAaron]

Precisely. I find the "magic" of quantum mechanics infinitely more amazing than any conjuror's trick, because it explains how the universe works! =)

[ghazzter]

I wish majik was real

[AtheistAaron]

Haha, yeah, me too. =)

Still, I find there is much wonder to be found in science.

[AtheistAaron]

I studied music at a college that specialized in jazz. I always loved performing jazz (I'm a drummer) - it's so free. But I never really liked to listen to jazz until I found Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, etc. There's a lot of great stuff out there. Honestly, though, I'm a huge Radiohead and Mike Patton fan, so rock is still dearest to my heart. =)

[xrayman7040]

Great Material. "Evolution my have a few hurdles to cross, but magic has not left the lockerroom"

[AtheistAaron]

LOL, nice.

[RobertlewisIR]

It's amazing how much your story is like mine. Just substitute believing in magic with believing in ghosts, aliens, etc., because I never really believed in real magic (though I share your interest in illusion). Great background music, too.

[AtheistAaron]

Thanks! I used to fancy myself a paranormal investigator, so I can relate. =0

[AtheistAaron]

It wouldn't surprise me. The Darwin Awards are a tribute to human stupidity. =0

[IcyNami]

Your young self reminded me of me a year ago. xD

[AtheistAaron]

Whenever we come to epiphany, what matters is that we acknowledge it, and grow as people. Thanks for the comment, Nami. -_^

[ndclark]

Hehe! I think we have all believed at one time or another. I love Penn and Teller also. They are very great Atheists too. Peace Brother.

[AtheistAaron]

Thanks for the comments, Nathan. I still intend to pose a video question to you, hopefully sometime soon. Peace!

[saigokun]

Interesting parallel you make between magic and religion. I couldn't agree more with you. But a magician knows from the start that he/she is fooling people, I am not so sure however of the priest or pastors however since they quite sincerely believe in 'the magic' themselves (apart from real crooks of course)

I hope you continue you quest for knowledge.

Great backgroud music btw.

[AtheistAaron]

Thanks, saigokun. I agree that many people who preach religion actually do believe in it - I would hope that most of them do. I mentioned the pastor of the church I used to attend in the video description. I was friends with his son, and that family was always good to me, even after I announced my atheism. I intend to post more about my youth and go into this.

[AtheistAaron]

Oh, and, as for the quest for knowledge - it will never end. =)

[Morte6669]

7 people a year huh? Well you definitly offer some extremely interesting points and im glad to see that your sharing what you know and believe and not to much of one or the other, i love your videos keep it up. 5*****

[AtheistAaron]

Thanks for the comments, Morte. The q-tips death thing isn't really a fact. I like to end my videos with a little bit of nonsense to remind people to question what they hear, even if it comes from me. =)

[Morte6669]

well entertaining none the less I've just finished going through all of your videos and I am extremly eager for more. Maybe even a viewer suggested topic perhaps.

[AtheistAaron]

Thanks for the kind words. If you have a topic to suggest, please do!