"Why are you not a Christian?" (Bertrand Russell)

[MaskedMarvyl]

Two things I disgree with here: Her question: "but what about ordinary people?" I hear this question a lot. There Are no ordinary people. Everyone is incredibly unique, whatver your opinion of them. Religion crushes that uniqueness that into conformity.

Bertrand's steadfast assertion that there is no hereafter, "it's all nonsense", is just that; an assertion. He's stating his belief as if it's a fact. As a scientist, he cannot prove or disprove it; so he's being a little disingenuous...

[MaskedMarvyl]

I really, really wish I had known Bertrand Russell...

[madisonelectronic]

This asshole believes NOW. Happy rotting in hell.

[im10pplok]

"engaged in the pursuit of knowledge".

[maxabeles]

The only real truth I've come across is that everything is in a state of flux. So, any absolute statement can at best only be true for a small fraction of time. This search for absolute, eternal truth makes me want to burn down a church.

[winston2015]

He contradicts himself by saying if something is unknown we should reserve judgement and then pronounces there is no after life with complete confidence.,,..Granted, there is no reason to believe in an after-life but for many I imagine it is, to many people, no more implausible to imagine an afterlife than the world and universe we find ourselves in at present. Knowing we will die.. we wish to hold onto life and create in heaven what is lacking in the world.

[TheSamuraiGoomba]

@winston2015 He said, "I think," thus differentiating between that statement and a statement of fact. It was his opinion and nothing more. We cannot disprove an afterlife, but the fact one has to be dead to receive knowledge of it is a reason we can with 100% certainty discard entirely the claims of those who say they know *exactly* what happens after death. They don't know and can't know, because they would have to have been dead to know.

[bayreuth79]

@TheSamuraiGoomba Your comment discounts the possibility of revelation. If God exists, which is possible since no one can disprove it, then there is the possibility that God may have revealed that there is in fact an afterlife along with indications of what it will be like. However, determining whether there has been such a revelation is a different question, but an interesting one.

[TheSamuraiGoomba]

@bayreuth79 There's quite a leap of faith required to go from "we cannot disprove a god" to "therefore, people who claim God spoke to him without any proof of that can be absolutely right about everything."

I can't prove it doesn't happen, but I look at the people who claim revelation and that usually tells me all I need to know. So often, they're for-profit diamond mining millionaires, proven frauds, tax dodgers and bigots. If these are God's people, he needs better PR.

[bayreuth79]

@TheSamuraiGoomba If you look at what I wrote I never suggested such a leap of faith from "we cannot disprove God", to "therefore, people who claim...", etc. Obviously, it would be a complete non sequitur. However, there are good arguments for the existence of God (look at Plantinga, Ward, Spitzer, Swinburne, etc) and if it looks more probable than not that God exists, which it does for many philosophers, then there is also the possibility of revelation.

[bayreuth79]

@TheSamuraiGoomba Does God need better PR than Jesus of Nazareth? I am not a Christian, but there are very few people historically who have not reverenced this poor, itinerant preacher from Galilee. Look at Einstein's comments about Jesus, for example. Of course, there will always be people con artists who use religion for theit own advantage, but I'm sure there are many non-religious con artists as well.

[jumpingmap]

I dont disregard Russell as being great or extremly reasonable, but his logic based on his compensatory scale, which i assume existed, is slightly overlogic when it comes to his oppinion of an after life. Idk just a thought. By compensatory scale I mean the things he mentally compensated for that he excelled in other areas. If you know what I mean.

[moorekwl92]

@jumpingmap No i do not. He presents a logical argument to perhaps irrational social norms.

[pdoylemi]

Beautifully said! Unfortunately, Mr. Russell's answers were logical, sensible, and fact-based. None of these things is a virtue to the religious mind when discussing religion. The logic and reason that they may use every day to choose a car, or invest money, or anything else mundane is scrapped for the false virtue of 'faith'. Therefore, these people cannot be reasoned with any more than can a violent schizophrenic. In this area, their worldview does not admit logic if it contradicts belief.

[awesomeskier12345]

bertrand russell= my hero

[repomayne]

i wanna find this written down and take notes :) anyone know a site?

[TheIphone4thewin]

@ishtarian Well, if you truly believe in a religion, Christianity for an example(Christians believe that you go to eternal heaven or hell based on if you believe Jesus Christ is/was your savior or not) , and that religion states that whomever does not believe in god will go to etenral damnation, it makes a lot of sense for those people to want their children to follow their religion.

[martinbondesson]

Bertrand Russell is the coolest geezer ever!

[N0tsaved]

I love this geezer! ♥

[stuys69]

This guy is my new hero.

[jackomick]

He would have made a wonderful Doctor who don't you think, and he is the best atheist

[gigsing]

@jackomick I disagree. It would upset me a lot to see Bertrand Russell yank the eyepiece off a Dalek or sticking his sonic screwdriver where the Cyberman's sun doesn't shine !

[BeckaMorena]

I must pick up his book. Thanks for posting!

[BetterOffDamned]

53 years later and it hasn't been said more plainly. Simple, comprehensive truth.

[Gryffster]

Sensible words, simply spoken. Compare this to the weasel words of William Lame Craig.

[IFUCKINGLOVEYOUTOO]

Thanks for the upload. Love the retro footage.

[ishtarian]

A beautiful and eloquent statement on the matter. As H. P. Lovecraft put it: "If religion were true, its followers would not try to bludgeon their young into an artificial conformity, but would merely insist on their unbending quest for TRUTH, irrespective of artificial backgrounds or practical consequences. With such an honest and inflexible OPENNESS TO EVIDENCE, they could not fail to receive any REAL TRUTH which might be manifesting itself around them." (Against Religion, pp. 39-40)

[Gryffster]

@ishtarian Absolutely. If it's so obvious, why are the religious so desperate to ensure their children never make a choice.

[fourbabies1]

"i was just engaged in the pursuit of knowledge"

i wonder if william lane craig or ray comfort spend any time in the search for knowledge or does their book give them all the knowledge they need.

seen this interview untold times and it's lost none of it's power.

[ganados0]

@fourbabies1 "No amount of evidence will convince me I am wrong." their words.

Lets just say religion is big business for people.

[GMJ7]

Bold words for the 50s. I'd only ever heard Professor Russell's name dropped by Hitchens or Dawkins or Sagan once in a while, but this is the first time I've actually heard his words from the man himself. Perhaps I've been missing out all this time and should pick up his "Why I Am Not a Christian" book once and for all!

[AcemanJones]

Thank you SO MUCH for uploading this.

[An0maly777]

Gotta love the clean human intellect.

[scoopmaster23]

And we're living in an age where fundamentalist Christianity, climate change and evolution deniers, and people who think every embryo has a soul, are so influential in the GOP. This is so discouraging. Our dear gentle and dynamic Bertrand Russell said this more than 50 years ago!

[brett2100]

ULTRA Good Video for people who "think", not "follow" what they are 'told'.

Hard to believe he said that in 1959

[saxmanchiro]

I never get tired of watching this interview. Russell says it so well.

[OriginalScuffler]

Faaaaaaaaaantastic.

[dewinthemorning]

There is a practical reason, and it serves priests, theologians, or others who preach Christanity, and that reason is to have influence and power over people, and to make a living... on preaching nonsense. They preach "God wants you to do that." But god is always hidden, scripture can be interpreted in many ways, so it is the priests and theologians who tell people what to do, actually.