Why religion is NOT a force for good in the world (Christopher Hitchens)

[elfdrummer512]

R.I.P. Hitch

[Kneleist]

When will jesus bring the pork chops?

[gregdye]

Hitchens will always be "The Man"! I would worship Hitchens before I would even acknowledge any alleged supernatural, invisible sky-spook.

[MrSlay2013]

:O i think i got what he said but i agree

[briancornerbrook]

Sad

[Lishy1]

RIP D:

[yellowscott]

Another idol of mine doing actual good work in this world, unlike most politicians who all seem to be religious(or do they just claim to be religious so as to not loose votes) getting around putting themselves on pedestals for their so called good deeds!!

[alakdanism]

I'm just wondering, humans as well other beings are complicated in their physical aspect...hitchens was correct in his discussion, to my opinion...but on the other way around...it can also be correct that there is a creator....religion just misrepresented it in their bible and make God that of the character being pictured by hitchens..and why God did not intervened? coz of our freewill...

[M3t4lManiac]

@alakdanism so why doesn't he stop floods or earthquakes or the other natural causes by which millions of children die from every day.

[alakdanism]

@M3t4lManiac my friend hitchens said that you only qoute him right? well I don't know, I said IT CAN BE that there is God....read it again

[M3t4lManiac]

@alakdanism Nono. I'm trying to explain that those things don't involve free will.

[alakdanism]

@M3t4lManiac yah your right about that, i respect it......from what country are you?if you don't mind...

[M3t4lManiac]

@alakdanism Denmark.

[alakdanism]

@M3t4lManiac i saw your channel nice meeting you my friend

[M3t4lManiac]

@alakdanism Nice to meet you too :)

[alakdanism]

@M3t4lManiac peace, let us discussed things like educated persons and not like others judging and offending others..In this manner we can share and learn.....

[M3t4lManiac]

@alakdanism I agree

[ColibriAnna08]

One man proves religion is responsible for much good in the world : Danny Thomas. He promised God that if his career as an entertainment was successful, he would use his money to do good for the world and pay his dues. He founded St. Jude with the advice of his Cardinal friend after a black boy was died after being denied entrance into a segregated hospital, in an effort to establish a race-netural hospital in the South. Poison? I think not.

[alakdanism]

@ColibriAnna08 just pick the good and hrow the bad in the debate, don't take it seriously. I had a feeling that they were doing this just for a show and to earn money and to be popular...just observe my friend......

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 it is dependent good, not true good, if their was not a book that told them how to live they would not do so out of the good of their hearts, rather out of instruction and seeking an eternal reward, look past the humility blanket that religious claim, see the truth is good out of fear. imagine if he had no bible, would he have done the things he had? maybe, if he was an independent well thinker, a man that could formulate his own morality rather than a bronze age books's idea

[ColibriAnna08]

@1FreeThinker1 False. If you knew anything about the religion that you are criticizing, you'd know that the Bible clearly states that good works cannot save you because an evil man can do good things for the reward alone. It's funny though.. people will tolerate just about anything BUT the people making it a better place.

So what he was a Christian? You have no right to belittle what he did just because you have some childish vendetta against religion.

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 thats the false humility blanket, the fear they learn to hide subconciously, i was a christian for the latter part. also dont tell me i critize those who do good, im not, only the true motive. speak of good in the world do o religion (inquisition, womens treated like trash, people using bible to justify slavery, hitlers delusional god appease goal, the list goes on, homosexyual lynchings ect) its not a childish vendetta, rather a concern for people that cant question beleifs

[ColibriAnna08]

So you think it's a reasonable argument to generalize about Christians so severely that you believe yourself to be an authority them and know their motives for being a believer better than THEY DO? Upon that, you lost every bit of credibility with me. And what's more erroneous is the idea that just because someone is sticks to their beliefs you think they've never questioned it.

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 its not generizing, rather a strong aproach to a majority of religious community. and if you were to actually question beliefs(example:how can god have made plants before sun, allow slavery, only sinful if killed yet saying he loves everyone, ect list goes on) youd realize the hypocrisy in the beliefs, but unfortunately, the fear of hell is so great that one will stick to a certain belief system despite an overwhelming amount of evidence that proves the contrary.

[ColibriAnna08]

@1FreeThinker1 You can't even have a strong approach to the majority of the religious people because their motives and their personal reasons for believing what they do is known truly only to them. You are not in a position to understand or make any judgments about what goes on in someone's subconscious or private mind. Also, the idea that if Christians question they would be guaranteed to become nonbelievers is egotistical on your part. That is *NOT* the case in the least.

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 your right, i was generalizing, and im sorry, i know you dontr become a non believer if you question because you are afraid if you are wrong so you might stay inn that format. i know that was true for me for a while, until i realized that god never helped me, never helped anyone really, everyone did the work for them selves and then thanked god for it. pray for it and it shall be recieved if you have faith, jesus said that, and i had faith, and after a while, it became bullshit

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 your right, i was generalizing, and im sorry, i know you dontr become a non believer if you question because you are afraid if you are wrong so you might stay inn that format. i know that was true for me for a while, until i realized that god never helped me, never helped anyone really, everyone did the work for them selves and then thanked god for it. pray for it and it shall be recieved if you have faith, jesus said that, and i had faith, and after a while, it became bullshit

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 when people would thank god for the good things inj their life, it would sicken me, because just by observing the world, i can tell that only the rich and sucessful christians had the opportunity to say that, and the poor hungry nd dying christians would pray and die off. i know missionaries help the unfortunate, but god dosent do that, its the people, out of their love, not the love of a god who never did anything. I left christianity because of the obvious lie it was,

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 and because of fear of eternal torment is why people will not question, ask yourself this, do you really love a god that does not love you? i mean really, why would the creator of the universe care so much about the acceptance of a puny human being, compared to the rest of the world we are nothing, let alone the universe. dont tell me im childish, rather, a man who questions, finds contradictory garbage and false promises, and makes a decision.

[ColibriAnna08]

(cont.) You may deem human beings puny and trivial, but I'd like to know where you get this absurd logic from. You tell me this: if the creator of the universe doesn't care about us and deems us puny compared to the rest of the world, then why would he have created us? You are childish because you have a sickening superiority complex going that causes you to degrade any entire group of people just because THEY DON'T THINK LIKE YOU. Get off the ego trip, dear.

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 really? thats your answer to my question,: becausae he created us, he also created the sun, the stars and the galaxies right? and the millions of planets out there yet he cares about where i put my penis in and what i do in regards tio good and evil. Sorry "dear" your logic is very flawed and absurd.and im not degrading anyone, only explaining to you that people dont get to decide to be on that group, rather they are molded into it from birth. so get off your cloud and THINK.

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 and there is no ego and superiority complex, only exercizing my freedom of speech, which you seem to condemm considering you say i have no right to critize something. its funny because in our culrure we can critize anything but religion is off limits. if you say something negative about religion you are automatically put into the hate and racist and egotistical category, again get off your cloud and stop using insults like callin me childish, because if you gotta say that, well...

[1FreeThinker1]

@ColibriAnna08 i realize that i am only spreading more hate and intolerance and im no better that the fundamentalists and homophobes that destroy our peaceful world. im sorry once again, i dont have a right to generalize or know people

[ColibriAnna08]

@1FreeThinker1 Well, I think that is very admirable of you. I understand religion gets people fired up and they say things that are wrong. I'm very pleasantly surprised by your apology. Thank you so much. I apologize for anything I might have said that was out of place, too.

[VongolaAQW223]

Why cant we just go along?

[Nerd0042]

I was at this debate :) right behind them

[OyonTheAdept]

@Nerd0042 lies.

[Nerd0042]

@OyonTheAdept No really. I was in the choir booth behind them. Hitch is really skinny these days. He kept pulling his pants up even though he was wearing a belt. Plus it seems he hasn't gone shopping for new clothes since he got sick, which just makes him look skinnier.

[OyonTheAdept]

@Nerd0042 i see... but you do realize this is still unbelievable, right? XD oh well, your 2nd comment makes you seem a bit more believable.

[Nerd0042]

@OyonTheAdept I completely understand. I was really lucky. Hitchens hardly ever comes to Canada even though he lives relatively close being in Washington DC. I guess his book tour wanted to focus on the supposedly extremely religious US. I was really embarrased though because I had no idea who Blair was :S After my dad got the tickets I had to do some research online. I'm 15, but I really should be reading the newspapers and stuff now to avoid future embarrassment like that.

[OyonTheAdept]

@Nerd0042 haha. well anyway, it's awesome to have such an experience!

savor that moment, dude. because in the next 15 years or so, Hitchens might die.

that's just speculation but it seems to be coming true. i hope he lives for many more years to come, but cancer is a ferocious disease.

[Nerd0042]

@OyonTheAdept Let's hope he makes it through. He does have access to some of the greatest medical attention. There really is hope.

[Nerd0042]

@OyonTheAdept It is depressing, but we can't argue with plain facts are statistics. Hitchens himself admits that the statistics are depressing and says that he would be lucky to have another 5 years. He's been lucky thus far, he's survived his first year and he's still writing.

[StrikaAmaru]

Pfft... In North Korea, at least you can die and get away. Not so in Christianity; not even death is a respite.

... I think I unwittingly stole this observation from Hitchens.

[saxmanchiro]

'Religion poisons everything'. I think those three words will follow this man into eternity and show everyone the incredible man behind them.

[richter75]

@saxmanchiro Yes, it will be as famous as "Veni, vidi, vici" ;)

[Pundead]

@saxmanchiro

Read the book. It's the most amazing book ever. It was what finally made me change from being and agnostic to an atheist.

[saxmanchiro]

@Pundead I have read it but it was mostly preaching to the choir. I have been an atheist( more militant over the last 10) for 45 yrs now.

[ColibriAnna08]

@saxmanchiro And yet, there are thousands of religion charity organizations that prove this bold generalization completely false.

[saxmanchiro]

@ColibriAnna08 Charities do not need imaginary beings behind their curtain. It still poisons minds, especially when they collect money from folks and the kids jump on board thinking this will somehow get them past the pearly gates.

[ColibriAnna08]

@saxmanchiro Irrelevant. It doesn't matter what you think they need or not. The fact is, many good is done by charities in the name of god. If it poisons minds, then why would Danny Thomas do something like this? What kind of person with a poisoned mind does something this selfless? Exactly. And thank you for ignoring him in my argument entirely. As for the money, a non-profit organization needs money to help. Duh. And NO charity uses heaven to get to kids. Take a hike.

[saxmanchiro]

@ColibriAnna08 Where is your YT page? I wanted to leave you a comment and see if I can help you with escaping the clutches of faith in sky daddies.

[ColibriAnna08]

@saxmanchiro Satire in place of intelligence. Not something I'm not used to or alien to atheist's behavior on the internet. When you try to degrade religion using nonsense terms like "sky daddies", you only degrade your logic. God does not live in the sky. And he's not my daddy. Likewise, you ignored my argument entirely. So all around, you just embarrassed yourself. By the way, I never said I believe in God. I just know religion can be good as well as bad like all things.

[alakdanism]

@saxmanchiro i would suggest that you watch the collision it's a little interesting, in the end hitchens said that if there was one left he would not convince that person to be non believer and he don't know why, maybe he thought that it is better that some people believe in God, not that because there is one but it maybe the reason they are being good to themselves and others, that's it....

[Chic01taliano]

Long live Hitchens

[MrTalgon]

Baby's almost perfect now let me get a sharp stone so that I can do the lords work. xD

[LsBaba]

Thanks for sharing this.

I think this debate was took place November 2010.

[thespiderbiter]

i could listen to chris talk for hours

[UrbanFury12]

@thespiderbiter Oh me too...

[cmsalvagio]

Glad to see Hitchens back at it. I hope he feels as good as it is to hear him.

[mythicalhell]

@cmsalvagio He actually feels like sht(he says that)and his long term outlook in regards to health looks terminal. He's undergoing experimental treatment for which I hope puts him in remission(unlikely though. He has a less than 50% chance of beating this form of cancer. SAD, VERY SAD.

[cmsalvagio]

@mythicalhell well that sucks. He is strong man. Perhaps, his strength will overcome.

[mythicalhell]

@cmsalvagio I think it would be his will to live in addition to his medical team's intervention.

[cmsalvagio]

@mythicalhell I concur