Why Do We Need Religion?

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Why Do We Need Religion? - Sam Harris @ Big Think (Part 3).

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1) Why I Criticize Religion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeblvLoVJCA
2) Modern Science vs. Religious Dogma:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvSljPf9on4
3) Why Do We Need Religion?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lu7OePVglE
4) Atheist Dogmatism And Secular Fundamentalism:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHDVVxT1qk
5) The Legacy Of Faith:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2nK_qLmU8E
6) The Good, The Evil, And The Useful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMn90aAaDg8
7) Relevance Of The Bible In The 21st Century:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgN5pAPTALc
8) Choosing The Right Religion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qM31FSXwlI
9) The Power Of Religious Beliefs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0wiswMZ7jk
10) Applying Pressure To People's Religious Beliefs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpZZ2PPBzP8

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Sam Harris is an author and commentator on philosophy and religion. He is the author of the bestsellers "The End of Faith", which won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction, and "Letter to A Christian Nation". Harris' writing has been published in over ten languages and has garnered attention from numerous media outlets and journals. Harris also makes regular appearances on television and radio to talk about the danger that religion now poses to modern societies. Harris was educated at Stanford University and is currently completing a doctorate in neuroscience.

This is a digital age, one in which a wealth of accessible information empowers you, but where is the information coming from? How accurate and unprocessed is it? How empowered do you feel debating a television screen or a newspaper? The task is to move the discussion away from talking heads and talking points, and give it back to you. That is Big Think's mission.

• http://www.bigthink.com
• http://www.youtube.com/bigthink
• http://www.samharris.org
• http://www.reasonproject.org
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[TheUsername1029]

@CameronWasmund i thought of it as terrifying too. but think of it this way: did you mind your nonexistence in 1850?

[Ashiman12]

@dlenz4437 Perhaps you're right that science - insofar as science deals only in cold, hard evidence - cannot satisfactorily answer questions like "what is love". But the mistake you make is in thinking, "Therefore, only religion can answer those questions". I say we should stick to philosophy - which is based on reason and discourse - rather than ancient mythologies, out-dated pre-science, and the social mores of bronze age nomads.

[CameronWasmund]

@dlenz4437 In a literal sense we -don't- have souls, The soul is something that's completely made up by the functions of our brain. Science CAN answer "what is love" its a different set of brain waves, Science CAN answer "What happens when I die?" you cease to exist. Everything you've ever even remotely comprehended is just -gone- forever, You never sense anything ever again and its the most terrifying shit I can think of, I understand why people believe in religion but there IS truth out there.

[dlenz4437]

As long as we have souls there will be religion. It is not un-"reason"-able to ask "what happens when i die" or "what is love". Those are questions science will never be able to answer. The more science and our culture evolves the more religion will too. He makes no real good points but the truth is, is that they r both VERY important. People need to reconsider before they jump into conversations with so much conviction. Its like pitting Einstein against Gandhi. The world needs both...

[holyhelo5speak]

religion is a good thing, but at the same time its wrong. we would have been lost and confused for so long of a time without religion, that we would not have been able to evolve. religion kept order and provided explanations and examples for every day life, but now science is slowly moving in. "sometimes its not the reward of the journey we should be after, but the journey itself.", kind of funny, i got that from a fortune cookie, but its very true. in this case the reward are answers in life.

[dkthg]

@Ashiman12 GREAT comment! I might have to steal it...

[Ashiman12]

@Erstaunliche8Jungen But the question becomes, why SHOULD we have faith? I mean, if you also presuppose the existance of an invisible deity, it's easy to sit back and say atheists are just spiritually weak. But why is faith a good thing? Why is it a sign of weakness not to take a leap of faith in someone else's unsubstantiated theories (especially since there are so many contradictory claims that are just as baseless)? Why not just cut the crap and use our reason, our intelligence?