It is one of the great ironies of history that a country that was founded as a secular state, largely as a response to the damage caused to Europe by the endless wars over religion, is now far more religious than it's European cousins.
Maybe America is being intentionally ironic.
They are also a country founded on "freedom" and "equality" while being amongst the last to abandon slavery.
And that took the bloodiest war in their history to accomplish.
So you sent all the criminals to Australia and all the religious fanatics to us. Unfortunately they scattered off into the mountains and valleys and thrived like some noxious weed.
I dont think I would be offended if someone asked my religion.
I would inform that I am not afflicted with said delusion. I enjoy a good debate/argument about religious belief and wish more people would ask me. :)
History: Sweden was an orthodox Lutheran State for over 100 years. They raized the Old testament to law under Karl IX and kept it for over 100 years. They were the largest Lutheran country and considered themselves to be the entire branch's defender.
As an Englishman, I don't believe I would be offended if someone enquired about my religion. I'd be surprised, perplexed and possibly embarrassed, as it's not usually a topic of conversation, but more offended than if somebody asked me what my favourite flavour of marmalade was.
Just about the only "really smart" scientist who I can think of that is a creationist is William Lane Craig, who is not a biologist but a mathematician. He's a very smart guy, and also a deeply dishonest character.
I cannot think of a single reputable biologist who is a creationist.
The degree of creationism in the US is indeed shocking, and I think it has to do with the fact that evolution has been politicized by preachers, so acceptance of evolution is considered indicative of irreligiousity
@LynxChan WLC is a christian apologist, and not a creationist per se. He does not deny any scientific explanations that I know of -- other than critical thinking which influences his perspective on those explanations.
Tennreal is probably referring to Michael Behe (professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University), who is the backbone of Intelligent Design's scientific credibility. But Behe is not a young earth creationist and even accepts common descent.
@Blackmark52 ah my mistake, I was thinking of Michael Behe, who to my horror I see is a biochemist and actually employed by a reputable university, though they have made statements repudiating his throughly nonscientific notion of irreducible complexity.
I wonder if Lehigh University employs any physicists who reject gravity in favor of "intelligent falling"?
There is a saying, "a sucker born every minute". And with that being true, you never run out of people to take advantage of and keep in the dark. Not everyone is a fool. Problem is there are more than enough fools that believe with out question or have a prejudice against truth about what they want to believe in.
Thanks for the enjoyable, educational video, Tenneral. Religiously motivated rudeness takes on many forms.
As it so happens; I immigrated from continental Europe to Ireland nearly twenty years ago and found it hard to get used to the liberties that the faithful took upon themselves in assuming my agreement with religious matters.
However, attitudes towards the church are changing here rapidly: A true revolution is taking place...
Advice on learning Gaeilge? Be here for a while! Slán.
@shotgunlo Many thanks. In my youth I was a fluent speaker of Scottish Gaelic, so Irish is not at all difficult although the pronunciation between the main dialects keeps me surprised at times. One of my neighbours went through the Irish school system and remembers no more than you although she tells me that her grandmother was awarded the Fáinne Óir at the astonishingly early age of 7. But that was in the old, old days!
From my US perspective, I have to wonder if it's not the fact that as US society gets generally less religious, those who still are try to compensate by shouting about their faith louder. As one data point, I grew up without religion and rarely hear it mentioned of in my day to day life (except on Youtube). Same goes for my wife. But, yes, you can find plenty of fundies if you go a lookin'.
The English may have given America the Baptists, but sadly it is us Irish, through Ussher (a fellow Dubliner) that gave them the date of 4004BC (around teatime).
It's not all bad, however, given that America has created some of the strongest voices of reason: Sagan, Dennet, Harris etc.We can only hope their voices grow louder.
As for gaelige, I'll PK you with some good links. Slán leat!
It is a failure of US science education... AND a concerted effort on the part fundamentalist religion to discredit science...
This discrediting of science is also supported monetarily by Big Business especially Big Oil... One reason it is so successful is that Big Business has found that large parts of the American electorate will vote AGAINST their best economic interests if fuzzy, feel good issues are supported – especially religious issues…
@CrudOMatic From the age of 7 I was a fluent speaker of Scottish Gaelic and, at my smart senior school, I took the Higher Cert. with an A Grade pass. I'm not sure I could do it today, but you can see how easy it makes the learning of standard Irish.
Theoretical Bullshit is one of my favorite Youtubers. Very articulate, very likeable and intelligent guy and the fact he is good looking doesn't hurt, lol. Did you know he is also an actor on the soapie "The Bold and the Beautiful"? Perhaps that role is keeping him to busy to make videos these days.
Hello Tenneral, and a good evening from across the pond! Yeah, I know what you mean. The Atlantic must seem to be a millions miles wide now, because of the great cultural and religious differences between the UK and the USA. I live in Texas (I'm ashamed to say) which has got to be the most retarded state in my country. Our Republican party would like to see Creationism inserted into high school science classes. And adults actually believe this infantile crap???
And one last thing - for background I am Cornish, but live in Devon, and there we have an entirely moribund (not extinct) language. And you get all kinds of incredibly irritating anoraks arguing over it. There are about 4 different versions, and their proponents just love to argue about it. I'm afraid we deserve a dead culture if we're incapable of nurturing it and selling it to people.
And yes, I have also learned a little Irish, although the teach yourself Irish book was very grammatical and old-fashioned in its presentation (although again Munster dialect). My friend in Ireland has been away on immersion courses for her Irish. Learning by rote is a useless way of doing things, and underlines the civic aspect of Irish in civil service exams. Languages have to be brought to life, and used by people in interactions, and writing.
Yay - Plymouth Hoe getting a mention. There are different forms of Baptists - the ones in the South of the US are rather more noxious than the average. There are still Baptists in the UK - I even saw my ex-colleague on Friday, who was a Baptist lay preacher, and who did sermons regularly. He was also a creationist.
The baptist church still exists in England BTW. The three way fight between the catholics, state Anglicans and the calvinists was simmering through most of the 16th and the first half of the 17th.
Woo! I love seeing your vids in my inbox. Another good one here.
Have you seen Stephen Fry's world of word? There was an episode where they spoke to people who spoke languages which were dying out. Irish was one of them, it was quite interesting.
I don't think that I would consider it offensive if someone politely asked me what church I went to. A little presumptuous, perhaps, but I would not think it rude or offensive. Good to see you back.
I live in West cork and Irish is stone dead. Apart form Irish language schools in the Gealtacht you will never hear Irish spoken, not even to curse. As a person with a Welsh background, I find it quite chocking. I tried to learn some Irish and students who'd spent 12 years having Irish classes couldn't help me. They learn all their exam answers by rote with no understanding and absolutely hate it. An excample of teaching gone wrong.
@yellowlabrador A familiar story. When I was young in Lochaber, all my contemporaries were Gaelic speakers and a lot of their parents knew no English at all. All that has disappeared but out on the islands the language is holding its own very well.
I often blush when I think of how the US is perceived because of the very vocal idiots here who insist on living in the Dark Ages. The only thing I can suggest as a cause is a sort of mental retreat that people like this make when they are overwhelmed by fear. They see a world filled with things they cannot understand and events they cannot control, so they seek comfort in the calming, unthreatening cloak of religion. Just know that we're not all like them.
As an Englishman who moved to Ireland when young, and was forced to learn Gaeilge (in Munster, incidentally), my advice is don't learn it(!) To be fair, my dislike of it probably came from being forced to learn a language no-one actually uses and some pretty awful teachers, and if I'd wanted to learn it, it might be a different story.
Good to see you back! I haven't posted a video since starting higher education. I'm now halfway through my English degree and have a ton of essays to research, write and presentations to compile! I am still on 'the boards' as it were though!
it has an awful lot to do with the fact that Mr Hitler's buzz bombs never landed on the high street in Birmingham Alabama or or that matter the many subsequent wars and conflicts of the centuries that ravaged Europe and the UK; with the decimation and damage of society's infrastructure comes evolution of of societal norms & politics; the states having been largely spared this is living very much in the past
But wait...if not dead, does that indicate there is life beyond youtube and the nets of inter? I'm glad you have returned from entertaining notions of such imaginary realms, back into our world of the real.
I often wonder what the world would be like if the United States had been successfully colonized by the Dutch. They landed in "New Amsterdam" (New York), but of course they were not in the US for very long. Imagine if the religious heritage of the US had been dutch Calvinism. Perhaps the US would be more liberal and enlightened than Europe.
You are quite lucky, only 7% go to church, we are still around 30% in Italy but it's well on it's way done, I'm sure we will be around 10% in less than 20 years time.
Good to see you back....I think Americans suffer with an initial breeding stock of religiosity and a country that is very unforgiving if you fail financially........I think I would be praying to a skydaddy not to get sick if I lived in the states.
I'm always a bit bemused by Europeans who wonder why America is like it is. You did indeed get rid of the Baptist/Puritan sects--by driving them to move to America. Is it any wonder we are still suffering the effects of such toxic waste?
@TheMudbrooker Please accept out humblest apologies for saddling you with that load of twats! If there's anything we can do to redress the situation just let us know. Of course, that doesn't include taking them back ;)
@unixhead101 Maybe you could convince Ireland and Scotland to donate 10% of their annual whisky production to help us sensable types cope with the constant non-sense. They can just ship it to my house, I'll make sure it gets to those in need. :)
All America is great at is building weapons and bombing people, you don't have to be brilliant to do that. Vast majority of Americans are appallingly ignorant.
I have been shocked to find that at least half of my relatives are Creationists. I posted some hilarious videos about Creationism on Facebook, not knowing my relatives believed such foolishness, and they responded, "Stop posting these videos! What has happened to you - you were such a sweet girl!" Yes, but now I am 55 with grown up thoughts.
It is so good to see you again. My sub box is so heavy, I usually unsub after two+ months of no activity. Couldn't bring myself to lose faith that you'd return. Thanks.
I must disagree with you about that period in English history. In fact Cromwell himself was rather tolerant and was the man who allowed the Jews back into England following Edward 1st expulsion of them. I think we have to have some sympathy for what he was up against and certainly what followed him wasn't exactly a great period in English history. I think he should be remembered for the positive things such as the birth of the British parliamentary system.
@Tridhos I wonder if in a few hundred years Germans will say similar things about Germany , how they were surprisingly tolerant of Afro-Germans and made some great advances in science.
I don't think I can forgive a man who murdered his King, committed Genocide in Ireland and banned Christmas, whatever he did that lead to our modern world.
@lamnaa His king was put on trial for crimes that by any standard today would have landed him at the Hague. Again read any account of that time and Charles I deserved the scaffold for the crimes committed against his own people. As for the genocide in Ireland read Tom Reilly's book An Honourable Enemy which I think gives a more accurate picture of that time. As for banning Christmas now that we have to endure it from October to mid January I have a lot of sympathy for that.
@lamnaa I would like to know what you think the Nazis did that would allow future generations to speak well of them. Cromwell's actions were the first steps on the road to parliamentary democracy and removed the right of any future despotic monarch who thought he had divine rights. Read Geoffrey Robertson's book the Tyrannicide Brief and perhaps you will come to the conclusion that Cromwell did not go far enough and rid the country of the monarchy for good.
@Tridhos Fair enough. And you are indeed right about his welcome to Jewish immigrants. On the other hand his campaigns in Ireland were marked by a cruelty that is hard to imagine. Obviously he was a complex character: perhaps he too was pushed along by extremists.
@tenneral I would have agreed with you about his campaigns in Ireland they indeed seemed a blot on his record until I read Cromwell an Honourable Enemy by Tom Reilly and that changed my opinion completely. Also worth reading is The Tyrannicide Brief by Geoffrey Robertson a book about John Cooke the barrister who prosecuted Charles Ist, Cooke was appointed law officer in Ireland and many of his judgements favoured the poor not the rich so the landed gentry were glad to see the back of him.
Your impressions of the U.S. and the tension of what we are calling the "Culture Clash" or Culture War (to some, Bill O'Reilly for instance) is not at all inaccurate. There is a very evident divide in the grand population (not necessarily within close proximity, in that many of us are still open to conversing on the matter in small social climates) however, in the grand scheme of who we support and those we vote on, is staggeringly opposing. Things are looking pretty bad, here. :/
@SycorTheosPhilos Also, I wanted to add, that I think the U.S. could take a lesson from the U.K. if not, at least by Britain as the Mother/Father nation, to lead in example of Historical eventuality, and national maturity (minus the Monarchy, that's a different concern of yer own to dissolve, but anyways). I appreciate your input. Keep up the good work. :]
I too am astounded at the religiousness of the US, it really does seem weird from this side of the pond.
You also forgot to mention the current republican presidential candidates, most of whom seem to think the earth is 6000 years old, and was Bush a creationist too?
@prodigyat9 How true: I see plenty of spotty teenagers pulling faces and wasting time on YT, clearly with nothing to say that might be of interest to anyone else.
Before I started watching YouTube videos I also would have been one of those people who dismiss those stories as Anti-Americanism (in my defence: I still think that there is a significant amount of Anti-Americanism here in Europe). I probably would have even thought that Americans who'd tell me otherwise were just far-left and a little crazy. But I still love America and admire Americans who openly speak out against this kind of thing (SoretaYuki made a good video about that recently).
Personally I do not care about or for other peoples' religion. Living a moral and ethical life, as I understand it is my most important thing. Usually if people abide by the idea of leaving me and others in peace, I am happy about that. My personal view is that of agnostic atheism. I cannot claim whether God or whatnot exists or not, but I experience it so unlikely that I choose not to believe in it.
My father also finds incredible that in the USA young earth creationism is a belief hold by more than 60% of the population. He just cannot believe it.
That is because it is not 60%. The number you are thinking of is 60% of those who attend weekly church. The general number is still too high but drops quickly as you poll people who have greater than a high school education.
I am assuming what the report calls "strict" creationists are what you and I would call YEC. If that is true they say that 40% of ALL americans which is pretty sad. The Gallup pole also indicates that of those with only a high school education the number is 47% and those post grad (college degree) it was 22%. 60% of those who go to church weekly believe. Only 40% overall believe in evolution so what do the other 20% believe I wonder?
I miss TB too....And yes Chilish and Ignorant is a perfect description of YEC's beliefs - we should all adopt the use of this particular pair of adjectives as a standard descriptive suffix for all matters relating to YEC - it might just stick a bit - ie never say biblical flood when you can say childish and ignorant belief in a biblical flood.
A related question is why the US is so far to the right politically when compared with Europe. And I think the answer is related to the world wars you mention. Young European men were sent to die for their god and their country - and where did it get them? Americans, or those that survived, on the other hand went back to a flourishing country. Europeans see the tragedy of history. For many Americans, the dream is still alive.
This made my day a bit brighter. Thank you very much.
The US where people pride themselves on blind faith and their ignorance of the broader world and higher learning, a position that is fostered by those that take advantage of that ignorance and unfounded trust to their own advantage. It makes my gorge rise if I contemplate it overlong.
Lot's of contemporary (and broken) Irish spoken on TG4gaeilge (YouTube channel) lot's of music as well.
I am living in Texas, and the question about which church I go to is kind of universal. I remember one lady got relieved when she knew I am non-religious from a Muslim background, she invited me to her church; I guess she thought she found a convert.
It seems to me that the US' intervention during WW1 actually was one of the main causes for Germany's xenophobia(without it the war would likely have ended in a standstill, and everybody would have gone home at some point, instead, there was the treaty of Versailles, forcing Germany to pay reparations for the next 60 years), without which Hitler might never have been able to come to power.
So I would not give them too much credit for "cleaning up their mess".
I think it is noteworthy, that this new rise in religiousness, but also related irrational things like mysticism, is hardly limited to the US. In fact I believe, that it can be found in pretty much all western countries, certainly the ones I am familiar with(for example, religiously funded school grow in number, in at least the US, England and Germany). This clashes with the simultaneous expansion of the "scepticism subculture", if one can call it that.
@amulware Sorry, but I need to disagree here a bit. The end of WWI was already well underway by the time the Yanks got to the front lines. America's help in WWI was more financial and, regarding the troops, more psychological than anything else. And it certainly wasn't President Wilson who set the German reparations. He, and to some extent Lloyd George, would have preferred a less vengeful end. By that time Hitler was well and truly pissed anyway at his own leaders' actions.
Great to see you back!, have you any advice or tips for me on learning a new language? I really want to learn Japanese but Im finding it difficult to make anything stick.
A lot of youtubers have 'moved on' but there are new people coming in, these weren't the first generation of youtube atheists. Most of the channels I recommend on my channel are new.
Good to see older people talking about and using new technology. I don't understand the point of FB - other sites do all it does better - but i still have one because everyone else does and it's free. More interactive parts of the net (Forums, chats, etc) are better at getting to know other cultures though IMO
At my college few people seem to even know the US lacks universal health-care or so much creationism, wonder where I'd be without the net? I've been appealed by the kind of things humans can come out with in general on-line. The US isn't as bad as many say and we're not as good as many Americans believe but there's a lot they could copy and learn from us as we have from them. I'm sure russia helped more than the US in WW2 and in WW1 there was no clear 'good guy.' That generation is dead whatever
The spread of these ideas to the UK and other parts of the world is usually from the US but there's so much of it in this country now. The number of university students I know who don't seem to realize this kind of thing is well known in the US shows why it happens, people are very insular even here. Watching US TV a lot I knew most of this long before I came online. I'm unsure how people can be ignorant of the US given the mass media comes from here. The USA is an English invention ;)
@unassumption I disagree on the basis that Russia helped 'more' during WW2. More soldiers died yes, most of them died in vain, badly trained and badly equipped. Besides that East Germany still suffers from the horrendous ways in how Russia stripped it clean, still dealing with the aftermath of lower income, lower workforces etc.
The US and Russia were both people that assisted Europe against Nazi Germany, but ofcourse both were not 'good guys'. They did it also out of selfish reasons.
Oh yes, fundamentalism is very much alive and well in the US. Especially in the bible belt. Have you heard the Republican pres. candidates? All but one claim to believe in creationism and deny climate change.
@tenneral I am, though not on this channel :) I moved to Malta, so I have a channel dedicated to "walk and talk" videos about Malta in general, my job, how I'm holding up here, etc.
It is one of the great ironies of history that a country that was founded as a secular state, largely as a response to the damage caused to Europe by the endless wars over religion, is now far more religious than it's European cousins.
Maybe America is being intentionally ironic.
They are also a country founded on "freedom" and "equality" while being amongst the last to abandon slavery.
And that took the bloodiest war in their history to accomplish.
A strange bunch.
PFWoody488 2 months ago
Nice to see you back on the tubes.
Widgetas 2 months ago
The Red Scare probably didn't do us any favors either. Especially with them drawing a connection between Communism and a lack of religious belief.
Azurerosa 2 months ago
Asking which church you go to could be asking for trouble in areas not far from me.
x42brown 2 months ago
Youtube was great - you can learn anything from Electronics & Computing to make up & Folding a tent.
I really think that google have killed it with all the nasty adverts though.
squidfanny 2 months ago
@squidfanny Very true, they are a confounded nuisance, like wasps at the picnic.
tenneral 2 months ago
its only the southeastern U.S. comparatively even Utah seems almost like Amsterdam
GrandePresidente 2 months ago
Good to see you're back!
cmxcmx 2 months ago
So you sent all the criminals to Australia and all the religious fanatics to us. Unfortunately they scattered off into the mountains and valleys and thrived like some noxious weed.
meleagrisfelis 2 months ago
I dont think I would be offended if someone asked my religion.
I would inform that I am not afflicted with said delusion. I enjoy a good debate/argument about religious belief and wish more people would ask me. :)
Scanini 2 months ago
History: Sweden was an orthodox Lutheran State for over 100 years. They raized the Old testament to law under Karl IX and kept it for over 100 years. They were the largest Lutheran country and considered themselves to be the entire branch's defender.
spaderace5 2 months ago
Great to see you back. I very much enjoy your "chats"!
TheLivingDinosaur 2 months ago
Those americans who believe the myths are indeed here, but they are hardly a majority, but rather they're a very noisy minority.
Hereticbooks 2 months ago
Wherever there is an abundance of deeply religious whack jobs, you hear from them. The USA is one such place.
fantasy0coach 2 months ago
Glad to see you back, love your videos!
HansiusBardius 2 months ago
As an Englishman, I don't believe I would be offended if someone enquired about my religion. I'd be surprised, perplexed and possibly embarrassed, as it's not usually a topic of conversation, but more offended than if somebody asked me what my favourite flavour of marmalade was.
JimCroz 2 months ago
@JimCroz *NO more offended* - must proof read before posting....
JimCroz 2 months ago
A well articulated little chat there Tenneral, nice to hear from you again. Marlborough is looking absolutly splendid this time of year.
bonnie43uk 2 months ago
@bonnie43uk Thanks neighbour!
tenneral 2 months ago
Just about the only "really smart" scientist who I can think of that is a creationist is William Lane Craig, who is not a biologist but a mathematician. He's a very smart guy, and also a deeply dishonest character.
I cannot think of a single reputable biologist who is a creationist.
The degree of creationism in the US is indeed shocking, and I think it has to do with the fact that evolution has been politicized by preachers, so acceptance of evolution is considered indicative of irreligiousity
LynxChan 2 months ago
@LynxChan WLC is a christian apologist, and not a creationist per se. He does not deny any scientific explanations that I know of -- other than critical thinking which influences his perspective on those explanations.
Tennreal is probably referring to Michael Behe (professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University), who is the backbone of Intelligent Design's scientific credibility. But Behe is not a young earth creationist and even accepts common descent.
Blackmark52 2 months ago
@Blackmark52 ah my mistake, I was thinking of Michael Behe, who to my horror I see is a biochemist and actually employed by a reputable university, though they have made statements repudiating his throughly nonscientific notion of irreducible complexity.
I wonder if Lehigh University employs any physicists who reject gravity in favor of "intelligent falling"?
LynxChan 2 months ago
There is a saying, "a sucker born every minute". And with that being true, you never run out of people to take advantage of and keep in the dark. Not everyone is a fool. Problem is there are more than enough fools that believe with out question or have a prejudice against truth about what they want to believe in.
rich2rock 2 months ago
Thanks for the enjoyable, educational video, Tenneral. Religiously motivated rudeness takes on many forms.
As it so happens; I immigrated from continental Europe to Ireland nearly twenty years ago and found it hard to get used to the liberties that the faithful took upon themselves in assuming my agreement with religious matters.
However, attitudes towards the church are changing here rapidly: A true revolution is taking place...
Advice on learning Gaeilge? Be here for a while! Slán.
studioROT 2 months ago
Sliante! Sadly, between that drinking cheer, "isce beathe," "sea," and "dia dhuit," I got nothin'. Glad to see you back and posting again.
shotgunlo 2 months ago
@shotgunlo Many thanks. In my youth I was a fluent speaker of Scottish Gaelic, so Irish is not at all difficult although the pronunciation between the main dialects keeps me surprised at times. One of my neighbours went through the Irish school system and remembers no more than you although she tells me that her grandmother was awarded the Fáinne Óir at the astonishingly early age of 7. But that was in the old, old days!
tenneral 2 months ago
From my US perspective, I have to wonder if it's not the fact that as US society gets generally less religious, those who still are try to compensate by shouting about their faith louder. As one data point, I grew up without religion and rarely hear it mentioned of in my day to day life (except on Youtube). Same goes for my wife. But, yes, you can find plenty of fundies if you go a lookin'.
ozmoroid 2 months ago
The English may have given America the Baptists, but sadly it is us Irish, through Ussher (a fellow Dubliner) that gave them the date of 4004BC (around teatime).
It's not all bad, however, given that America has created some of the strongest voices of reason: Sagan, Dennet, Harris etc.We can only hope their voices grow louder.
As for gaelige, I'll PK you with some good links. Slán leat!
DaithiDublin 2 months ago
Good to see you back, and very well said...!
Most people don't realise how extreme things are in the US now, superstition overrules reason too often over there. It's ridiculous.
HarrysSecret 2 months ago
It is a failure of US science education... AND a concerted effort on the part fundamentalist religion to discredit science...
This discrediting of science is also supported monetarily by Big Business especially Big Oil... One reason it is so successful is that Big Business has found that large parts of the American electorate will vote AGAINST their best economic interests if fuzzy, feel good issues are supported – especially religious issues…
apeek7 2 months ago
Learn Gaelic
CrudOMatic 2 months ago
@CrudOMatic From the age of 7 I was a fluent speaker of Scottish Gaelic and, at my smart senior school, I took the Higher Cert. with an A Grade pass. I'm not sure I could do it today, but you can see how easy it makes the learning of standard Irish.
tenneral 2 months ago
Theoretical Bullshit is one of my favorite Youtubers. Very articulate, very likeable and intelligent guy and the fact he is good looking doesn't hurt, lol. Did you know he is also an actor on the soapie "The Bold and the Beautiful"? Perhaps that role is keeping him to busy to make videos these days.
midas41 2 months ago
I think you got well rid of it.
scratchingcat 2 months ago
tenneral is back!!! thank you for this another brilliant video
bajorjor1 2 months ago
@bajorjor1 And thank you for the comment!
tenneral 2 months ago
Hello Tenneral, and a good evening from across the pond! Yeah, I know what you mean. The Atlantic must seem to be a millions miles wide now, because of the great cultural and religious differences between the UK and the USA. I live in Texas (I'm ashamed to say) which has got to be the most retarded state in my country. Our Republican party would like to see Creationism inserted into high school science classes. And adults actually believe this infantile crap???
BigFatHeretic 2 months ago
And one last thing - for background I am Cornish, but live in Devon, and there we have an entirely moribund (not extinct) language. And you get all kinds of incredibly irritating anoraks arguing over it. There are about 4 different versions, and their proponents just love to argue about it. I'm afraid we deserve a dead culture if we're incapable of nurturing it and selling it to people.
stevebritgimp 2 months ago
Your reality is what you make it.
ZerkishTank 2 months ago in playlist More videos from tenneral
And yes, I have also learned a little Irish, although the teach yourself Irish book was very grammatical and old-fashioned in its presentation (although again Munster dialect). My friend in Ireland has been away on immersion courses for her Irish. Learning by rote is a useless way of doing things, and underlines the civic aspect of Irish in civil service exams. Languages have to be brought to life, and used by people in interactions, and writing.
stevebritgimp 2 months ago
Yay - Plymouth Hoe getting a mention. There are different forms of Baptists - the ones in the South of the US are rather more noxious than the average. There are still Baptists in the UK - I even saw my ex-colleague on Friday, who was a Baptist lay preacher, and who did sermons regularly. He was also a creationist.
stevebritgimp 2 months ago
The baptist church still exists in England BTW. The three way fight between the catholics, state Anglicans and the calvinists was simmering through most of the 16th and the first half of the 17th.
johncrwarner 2 months ago
Woo! I love seeing your vids in my inbox. Another good one here.
Have you seen Stephen Fry's world of word? There was an episode where they spoke to people who spoke languages which were dying out. Irish was one of them, it was quite interesting.
Lpoolboy 2 months ago
Welcmoe back! You've been missed.
Yes, I live in a southern state. We've got a lot of nuts down here. Unfortuantely, theyare taking concerted aim at public education, now. It's scary.
curlew0609 2 months ago
I was worried. Good to see you.
robthesamplist 2 months ago
I don't think that I would consider it offensive if someone politely asked me what church I went to. A little presumptuous, perhaps, but I would not think it rude or offensive. Good to see you back.
djhalling 2 months ago
I live in West cork and Irish is stone dead. Apart form Irish language schools in the Gealtacht you will never hear Irish spoken, not even to curse. As a person with a Welsh background, I find it quite chocking. I tried to learn some Irish and students who'd spent 12 years having Irish classes couldn't help me. They learn all their exam answers by rote with no understanding and absolutely hate it. An excample of teaching gone wrong.
yellowlabrador 2 months ago
@yellowlabrador A familiar story. When I was young in Lochaber, all my contemporaries were Gaelic speakers and a lot of their parents knew no English at all. All that has disappeared but out on the islands the language is holding its own very well.
tenneral 2 months ago
I often blush when I think of how the US is perceived because of the very vocal idiots here who insist on living in the Dark Ages. The only thing I can suggest as a cause is a sort of mental retreat that people like this make when they are overwhelmed by fear. They see a world filled with things they cannot understand and events they cannot control, so they seek comfort in the calming, unthreatening cloak of religion. Just know that we're not all like them.
ddoyle11 2 months ago
As an Englishman who moved to Ireland when young, and was forced to learn Gaeilge (in Munster, incidentally), my advice is don't learn it(!) To be fair, my dislike of it probably came from being forced to learn a language no-one actually uses and some pretty awful teachers, and if I'd wanted to learn it, it might be a different story.
Afterthoughtbtw 2 months ago
Good to see you back! I haven't posted a video since starting higher education. I'm now halfway through my English degree and have a ton of essays to research, write and presentations to compile! I am still on 'the boards' as it were though!
neil73 2 months ago
it has an awful lot to do with the fact that Mr Hitler's buzz bombs never landed on the high street in Birmingham Alabama or or that matter the many subsequent wars and conflicts of the centuries that ravaged Europe and the UK; with the decimation and damage of society's infrastructure comes evolution of of societal norms & politics; the states having been largely spared this is living very much in the past
rollerpodger 2 months ago
But wait...if not dead, does that indicate there is life beyond youtube and the nets of inter? I'm glad you have returned from entertaining notions of such imaginary realms, back into our world of the real.
Always nice to see what you have on your mind.
vipertaja 2 months ago
I often wonder what the world would be like if the United States had been successfully colonized by the Dutch. They landed in "New Amsterdam" (New York), but of course they were not in the US for very long. Imagine if the religious heritage of the US had been dutch Calvinism. Perhaps the US would be more liberal and enlightened than Europe.
NORTHERNKONFLIKT 2 months ago
Welcome back.
I agree Theoretical bullshit is brilliant.
You are quite lucky, only 7% go to church, we are still around 30% in Italy but it's well on it's way done, I'm sure we will be around 10% in less than 20 years time.
saintpine 2 months ago
Very happy to see you again...
cosmos11 2 months ago
Good to see you back....I think Americans suffer with an initial breeding stock of religiosity and a country that is very unforgiving if you fail financially........I think I would be praying to a skydaddy not to get sick if I lived in the states.
Redpilldown 2 months ago
See? You ejected your religious zeolots 4 centuries ago, and now the world is paying the price! ;-)
SiriusMined 2 months ago
Sadly, we have a lot of "styx" here.
Many states with a whole lot of empty, and that isolation leads to idiocy.
SiriusMined 2 months ago
I'm always a bit bemused by Europeans who wonder why America is like it is. You did indeed get rid of the Baptist/Puritan sects--by driving them to move to America. Is it any wonder we are still suffering the effects of such toxic waste?
TheMudbrooker 2 months ago
@TheMudbrooker Please accept out humblest apologies for saddling you with that load of twats! If there's anything we can do to redress the situation just let us know. Of course, that doesn't include taking them back ;)
unixhead101 2 months ago
@unixhead101 Maybe you could convince Ireland and Scotland to donate 10% of their annual whisky production to help us sensable types cope with the constant non-sense. They can just ship it to my house, I'll make sure it gets to those in need. :)
TheMudbrooker 2 months ago
Welcome back, I missed you.
IAmDonar 2 months ago
All America is great at is building weapons and bombing people, you don't have to be brilliant to do that. Vast majority of Americans are appallingly ignorant.
adrenacrumb 2 months ago
Big fan - glad you're back! :)
eric39175 2 months ago
I really appreciate your perspective on our religious problem here in the states. There are more and more of us speaking up against this foolishness.
a300pilotster 2 months ago
I have been shocked to find that at least half of my relatives are Creationists. I posted some hilarious videos about Creationism on Facebook, not knowing my relatives believed such foolishness, and they responded, "Stop posting these videos! What has happened to you - you were such a sweet girl!" Yes, but now I am 55 with grown up thoughts.
BobbieJamesTuOl 2 months ago
I have a similar problems with youtube, it seems as soon as I subscribe to a youtuber their video output dries up henceforth.
mystereed72 2 months ago
It is so good to see you again. My sub box is so heavy, I usually unsub after two+ months of no activity. Couldn't bring myself to lose faith that you'd return. Thanks.
mahdatonta 2 months ago
I must disagree with you about that period in English history. In fact Cromwell himself was rather tolerant and was the man who allowed the Jews back into England following Edward 1st expulsion of them. I think we have to have some sympathy for what he was up against and certainly what followed him wasn't exactly a great period in English history. I think he should be remembered for the positive things such as the birth of the British parliamentary system.
Tridhos 2 months ago
@Tridhos I wonder if in a few hundred years Germans will say similar things about Germany , how they were surprisingly tolerant of Afro-Germans and made some great advances in science.
I don't think I can forgive a man who murdered his King, committed Genocide in Ireland and banned Christmas, whatever he did that lead to our modern world.
lamnaa 2 months ago
@lamnaa His king was put on trial for crimes that by any standard today would have landed him at the Hague. Again read any account of that time and Charles I deserved the scaffold for the crimes committed against his own people. As for the genocide in Ireland read Tom Reilly's book An Honourable Enemy which I think gives a more accurate picture of that time. As for banning Christmas now that we have to endure it from October to mid January I have a lot of sympathy for that.
Tridhos 2 months ago
@lamnaa I would like to know what you think the Nazis did that would allow future generations to speak well of them. Cromwell's actions were the first steps on the road to parliamentary democracy and removed the right of any future despotic monarch who thought he had divine rights. Read Geoffrey Robertson's book the Tyrannicide Brief and perhaps you will come to the conclusion that Cromwell did not go far enough and rid the country of the monarchy for good.
Tridhos 2 months ago
@Tridhos Fair enough. And you are indeed right about his welcome to Jewish immigrants. On the other hand his campaigns in Ireland were marked by a cruelty that is hard to imagine. Obviously he was a complex character: perhaps he too was pushed along by extremists.
tenneral 2 months ago
@tenneral I would have agreed with you about his campaigns in Ireland they indeed seemed a blot on his record until I read Cromwell an Honourable Enemy by Tom Reilly and that changed my opinion completely. Also worth reading is The Tyrannicide Brief by Geoffrey Robertson a book about John Cooke the barrister who prosecuted Charles Ist, Cooke was appointed law officer in Ireland and many of his judgements favoured the poor not the rich so the landed gentry were glad to see the back of him.
Tridhos 2 months ago
Your impressions of the U.S. and the tension of what we are calling the "Culture Clash" or Culture War (to some, Bill O'Reilly for instance) is not at all inaccurate. There is a very evident divide in the grand population (not necessarily within close proximity, in that many of us are still open to conversing on the matter in small social climates) however, in the grand scheme of who we support and those we vote on, is staggeringly opposing. Things are looking pretty bad, here. :/
SycorTheosPhilos 2 months ago 2
@SycorTheosPhilos Also, I wanted to add, that I think the U.S. could take a lesson from the U.K. if not, at least by Britain as the Mother/Father nation, to lead in example of Historical eventuality, and national maturity (minus the Monarchy, that's a different concern of yer own to dissolve, but anyways). I appreciate your input. Keep up the good work. :]
P.S. I want to learn Swedish.
SycorTheosPhilos 2 months ago
I too am astounded at the religiousness of the US, it really does seem weird from this side of the pond.
You also forgot to mention the current republican presidential candidates, most of whom seem to think the earth is 6000 years old, and was Bush a creationist too?
dave28lax 2 months ago
Actually I whole-heartedly support youtubers who have nothing to say NOT making videos.
:)
prodigyat9 2 months ago
@prodigyat9 How true: I see plenty of spotty teenagers pulling faces and wasting time on YT, clearly with nothing to say that might be of interest to anyone else.
tenneral 2 months ago
Before I started watching YouTube videos I also would have been one of those people who dismiss those stories as Anti-Americanism (in my defence: I still think that there is a significant amount of Anti-Americanism here in Europe). I probably would have even thought that Americans who'd tell me otherwise were just far-left and a little crazy. But I still love America and admire Americans who openly speak out against this kind of thing (SoretaYuki made a good video about that recently).
NoNiceNameFound 2 months ago
If anyone around where I live asked what church one attended I am pretty sure they would get some pretty odd looks.
prodigyat9 2 months ago
Don't know theoreticalbullshit. I'll watch him now though.
As an American who's lived on the English side of the pond for eleven years, the U S seems more and more like a foreign country to me.
Had to smile at your account of the smart dinner party. It brought the dinner party scenes from Bremmer, Bird and Fortune but with a higher I Q.
I'm from Texas and your observations on religion were spot on imho.
Irish Gaelic is not one of my languages, but it's always fascinated me.
Good vid....
2bsirius 2 months ago
Personally I do not care about or for other peoples' religion. Living a moral and ethical life, as I understand it is my most important thing. Usually if people abide by the idea of leaving me and others in peace, I am happy about that. My personal view is that of agnostic atheism. I cannot claim whether God or whatnot exists or not, but I experience it so unlikely that I choose not to believe in it.
silimas 2 months ago
My father also finds incredible that in the USA young earth creationism is a belief hold by more than 60% of the population. He just cannot believe it.
BohemianBlasphemy 2 months ago
@BohemianBlasphemy
That is because it is not 60%. The number you are thinking of is 60% of those who attend weekly church. The general number is still too high but drops quickly as you poll people who have greater than a high school education.
prodigyat9 2 months ago
@prodigyat9
Oh. Well, what's the percentage of people in the USA that believes in young earth creationism?
BohemianBlasphemy 2 months ago
@BohemianBlasphemy
I am assuming what the report calls "strict" creationists are what you and I would call YEC. If that is true they say that 40% of ALL americans which is pretty sad. The Gallup pole also indicates that of those with only a high school education the number is 47% and those post grad (college degree) it was 22%. 60% of those who go to church weekly believe. Only 40% overall believe in evolution so what do the other 20% believe I wonder?
prodigyat9 2 months ago
He is risen!
prophetchannel 2 months ago
I miss TB too....And yes Chilish and Ignorant is a perfect description of YEC's beliefs - we should all adopt the use of this particular pair of adjectives as a standard descriptive suffix for all matters relating to YEC - it might just stick a bit - ie never say biblical flood when you can say childish and ignorant belief in a biblical flood.
Artifactorfiction 2 months ago
A related question is why the US is so far to the right politically when compared with Europe. And I think the answer is related to the world wars you mention. Young European men were sent to die for their god and their country - and where did it get them? Americans, or those that survived, on the other hand went back to a flourishing country. Europeans see the tragedy of history. For many Americans, the dream is still alive.
Misterb0z 2 months ago
This made my day a bit brighter. Thank you very much.
The US where people pride themselves on blind faith and their ignorance of the broader world and higher learning, a position that is fostered by those that take advantage of that ignorance and unfounded trust to their own advantage. It makes my gorge rise if I contemplate it overlong.
Lot's of contemporary (and broken) Irish spoken on TG4gaeilge (YouTube channel) lot's of music as well.
Nhurm 2 months ago
I am living in Texas, and the question about which church I go to is kind of universal. I remember one lady got relieved when she knew I am non-religious from a Muslim background, she invited me to her church; I guess she thought she found a convert.
spinspermy 2 months ago
Some of my thoughts:
It seems to me that the US' intervention during WW1 actually was one of the main causes for Germany's xenophobia(without it the war would likely have ended in a standstill, and everybody would have gone home at some point, instead, there was the treaty of Versailles, forcing Germany to pay reparations for the next 60 years), without which Hitler might never have been able to come to power.
So I would not give them too much credit for "cleaning up their mess".
amulware 2 months ago
@amulware
the soldiers didn't chose to fight, so they were more victims than 'heroes.' Fuck conscription.
unassumption 2 months ago
@amulware
I think it is noteworthy, that this new rise in religiousness, but also related irrational things like mysticism, is hardly limited to the US. In fact I believe, that it can be found in pretty much all western countries, certainly the ones I am familiar with(for example, religiously funded school grow in number, in at least the US, England and Germany). This clashes with the simultaneous expansion of the "scepticism subculture", if one can call it that.
amulware 2 months ago
@amulware Sorry, but I need to disagree here a bit. The end of WWI was already well underway by the time the Yanks got to the front lines. America's help in WWI was more financial and, regarding the troops, more psychological than anything else. And it certainly wasn't President Wilson who set the German reparations. He, and to some extent Lloyd George, would have preferred a less vengeful end. By that time Hitler was well and truly pissed anyway at his own leaders' actions.
bluestatedem 2 months ago
@amulware You could be right - I am no expert on President Wilson and his approach to the conflict.
tenneral 2 months ago
Great to see you back!, have you any advice or tips for me on learning a new language? I really want to learn Japanese but Im finding it difficult to make anything stick.
MrElliotpaige 2 months ago
A lot of youtubers have 'moved on' but there are new people coming in, these weren't the first generation of youtube atheists. Most of the channels I recommend on my channel are new.
Good to see older people talking about and using new technology. I don't understand the point of FB - other sites do all it does better - but i still have one because everyone else does and it's free. More interactive parts of the net (Forums, chats, etc) are better at getting to know other cultures though IMO
unassumption 2 months ago
At my college few people seem to even know the US lacks universal health-care or so much creationism, wonder where I'd be without the net? I've been appealed by the kind of things humans can come out with in general on-line. The US isn't as bad as many say and we're not as good as many Americans believe but there's a lot they could copy and learn from us as we have from them. I'm sure russia helped more than the US in WW2 and in WW1 there was no clear 'good guy.' That generation is dead whatever
unassumption 2 months ago
The spread of these ideas to the UK and other parts of the world is usually from the US but there's so much of it in this country now. The number of university students I know who don't seem to realize this kind of thing is well known in the US shows why it happens, people are very insular even here. Watching US TV a lot I knew most of this long before I came online. I'm unsure how people can be ignorant of the US given the mass media comes from here. The USA is an English invention ;)
unassumption 2 months ago
@unassumption I disagree on the basis that Russia helped 'more' during WW2. More soldiers died yes, most of them died in vain, badly trained and badly equipped. Besides that East Germany still suffers from the horrendous ways in how Russia stripped it clean, still dealing with the aftermath of lower income, lower workforces etc.
The US and Russia were both people that assisted Europe against Nazi Germany, but ofcourse both were not 'good guys'. They did it also out of selfish reasons.
silimas 2 months ago
Oh yes, fundamentalism is very much alive and well in the US. Especially in the bible belt. Have you heard the Republican pres. candidates? All but one claim to believe in creationism and deny climate change.
fractal420 2 months ago
I'm trying to learn Norwegian. :)
Best of luck with Irish!
piprod01 2 months ago
@piprod01 Let me know if you need help with that :)
steffenml 2 months ago
Great to see you!
ContractorTwobitz 2 months ago
nice to hear from you again :)
Alucard9692010 2 months ago
My favourite YouTuber - I'm just happy every time I see one of your videos in my subscription box ^^
steffenml 2 months ago
@steffenml Thank you - and I hope you too are busy making videos.
tenneral 2 months ago
@tenneral I am, though not on this channel :) I moved to Malta, so I have a channel dedicated to "walk and talk" videos about Malta in general, my job, how I'm holding up here, etc.
steffenml 2 months ago