3D Dialogue: Atheism

Jesse Hirsh host of 3D Dialogue interviews University of Toronto Philosophy Professor Ronald de Sousa regarding Atheism.

"Every religion is right about one thing. And that is that all the others are completely wrong." - Prof. Ronald de Sousa

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[ElasticGiraffe]

subversive enough. It is very clear from the Bible that the early Christians held all people -- men and women, slave and free, Jew and Gentile -- to be spiritual equals in Christ.

Atheists like De Sousa tend to moralize about how dangerous and childish religion is and how the Enlightenment was mankind's true salvation, but "evil" is a departure from the way the world "ought" to be. If there is no God to make such a transcendent determination, then it is all a matter of personal preference.

[ElasticGiraffe]

De Sousa felt unqualified to comment on the history of atheism, but he apparently believes he is qualified to speak on the history of religion. He mentions that early Christianity instructed slaves (who were indentured servants in the ANE, not slaves in the modern sense) to be kind to their masters, but he conveniently neglected to mention that early Christianity also instructed masters to show kindness to their slaves. It sounds like he is complaining that Christianity was NOT politically

[Samuelthemule]

@parafleet how about, givers and takers? why are these terms so important to us? believer, nonbeliever, unbeliever... people who love, give, freely, people who hate, take, all they can, is the way i see it, we have a choice to make :)

[Samuelthemule]

@pnoozi "common sense... is not so common" voltaire :p

[Samuelthemule]

@diabloknk "how many people would fall in love if they had never heard the phrase"? and how different would our lives look, if we did not have the words belief, god, and creation? my answer: not so very much.., and why does everyone insist on being right all the time anyway? if you're right, you'll wish you were wrong in some sense so that you can understand more, later, and if you're wrong, you'll feel silly for having tried to convince others. let people think what the want.., for a while.

[Samuelthemule]

@diabloknk in china children do not ask their parents how they were made, but how they were grown, i think you are right in a sense, who created something, and who created the universe, are just... problematic phrases that we've inherited with our germanic language (what? english isn't just "english") with it's latin alphabet, and all the weird and wonderful routes.

the way i see it, there was always something, but perhaps it expands and contracts, and at one point it was small, and now it is..

[Samuelthemule]

@masameus the problem is when people categorize themselves or others, really, everyone knows there is "something", and it seems like that something can be "alive" or "dead", but we don't really know. poets can make that poignant.

and the more people pretend to know, the tougher their own lives get, instead of going on an adventure, they make everything a task; they --must-- know!

what kind of question is it that can only be answered post mortem anyway.

agreee/disagree?

[Samuelthemule]

@dudefromlondon so if that's true, why are all your priests required?

if you've seen the light, why are you having such a hard time leading anyone to it?

and why is turning your back on islam punishable by death, if a far worse fate awaits those who do so anyway? :|

simple, religion is a mixture of sentimentality, control scheme, and regarding of certain things as sacred (love, art, life)... but how is that really so different from anything else people come up with? look into your heart, go on

[praftman]

@Samuelthemule... incorrect. Perhaps you would not die in such a manner, but Socrates was willing. His charge was blasphemy against the gods of his day--specifically, atheism. The daemon was metaphorical, he believed not in literal spirits, and you are flatly misleading any readers. For shame.

[Samuelthemule]

Ronald de Sousa is apparently not only NOT a historian, he is also illiterate and not a philosopher, but, in fact, a SNAKE.

You have to look up every single claim these people are making.

Socrates believed in God, absolutely, he could only die for what he thought was the truth because there IS an afterlife.

Also, he spoke of a daemon being perched on his shoulder always telling him to do, what he knew he shouldn't.

read the trial of socrates yourselves, it is absolutely beautiful.