Atheism VS Religion for dummies with Richard Dawkins!

Important, this is posted under the FAIR USE law!

This small part of the documentary is for me the ultimate statement WHY Religion is evil and should NOT be taught to anyone under 16 years old.

I just did a transcript:
McGrath:
I have enjoyed reading your writings very much and one of the things I have noticed is that in your writings we have what we might call a double critique of religion. There is a sort of intellectual critique, in your view religions do not have adequate evidential foundations but along side that I occasional detect flashes of anger that this is something that is bad that is evil. The world would be a better place if things where to change and so I supposed my question really is this, why the anger, what is it that makes you cross about the way religious people think or behave?

Richard Dawkins:
I think 2 possible answers to that; one would be relating to the evidential point, first. I think that religion teaches people to stop questioning. I'm sure you would disagree with that but the way I see it, it's such a privilege to be born at all. Its a very improbable event that either of us are born. We have the privilege of being in this universe for a few decades and during that time its an enormous privilege to able to understand something about the universe in which we live, why we are here, why we were ever born, where we come from and I think that is such a wonderful thing to be able to do that I am hostile, I can get angry about competing accounts which seem to me to not encourage that kind of questioning but instead to say this is how it is, this is how its all written in the holy book, its written 2000 years ago and thats the end of it.

I think that deprives people, I think that is such a belittling, a demeaning view of the universe and I think its tragic that children are brought up with that while they could be brought up in a more open minded way.

So thats one reason for the anger. The other reason we have touched upon. It is that I do think faith, unsupported by evidence, is a lethal weapon. Doesn't have to be, of course it doesn't have to be but it can be. Its a weapon because, possible unscrupulous people, can hold of often young man and use them as weapons, as them as human bombs. The only reason they can be deployed as human bombs is that they have been brought up from childhood onwards to believe implicitly, without question, that whatever the particular religion is, the details don't matter. The point is that they do believe that it is the will of god that they should detonate themselves and blow up a bus load of people or blow up a skyscraper in new york.

I don't think that any kind of reasoned argument would do that to people and so I believe that religious faith is an enormous powerful, psychological weapon. It isn't always used for the bad of course but the fact it can be used for the bad makes me want to cut it off at the roots. At the very least to stop the inculcation into children of the idea that there is something virtues in faith. I am very concerned, so I suppose I guess you could call this a third reason of hostility. I'm very concerned with the way children coming into the world, innocent and knowing nothing are taken over by the religion of whatever culture they happen to be born into, doesn't happen to everybody but it is very common. And so you see children being labeled, in northern ireland, this is a catholic child this a protestant child, with all that that implies in the really appalling cultural circumstances due to the history in northern ireland. I would much rather say this is a child, perhaps you could say this is a child of catholic parents or this is a child of protestant parents but to tie a label around a tiny child, this is a catholic child. When the child is clearly to young to know what it thinks about the transubstantiation or whatever it is that differentiates catholics from protestants. And its no argument to say in reply that the conflict in northern ireland is all about politics and historical grievances, of course it is but the labeling of children generation after generation after generation down the generations only exsaserbates the problem and is bound the do so.

McGrath:
I'm happy with that.

More on the documentary here:
http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/can_you_believe_it/debates/rooto...

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[ScientificBob]

@Minerax "tell me why Christian scientists have made extreme advancements in the world" Hmmm... Do you realise that those advances only happened once we kicked the church out of our affairs? Do you realise that those advances grew exponentially once we went completely secular and thus freed ourselves from religion?

Do you realise that none of the "christian" scientists actually mention god or anything remotely like it in their papers? Where's the god-variable in E=mc²?

[ScientificBob]

@Minerax "tell me how Christianity manipulates people"

'believe this or burn forever!!!'

'condoms are off the devil and will get you into hell!!!'

'being gay is an abomination and will earn you an eternity of torture!!'

Do you need more?

[MrAntmantis]

i think its kinda funny how we got kicked out of the garden of edan for eating a fruit that gave us knowledge of good and evil. written in the bible. genesis. then. the church. every religion really. teaches use good and evil. pagans didnt teach good or evil. just spirits. of everything. water trees etc. god is omnipotent omniscious and omnipresent. could be coincidence. maybe not. religion is just population control. face it. ppl who believe are just fools sorry

[brentonalla1]

no-one argues with a guy that looks somewhat like leroy jethro gibbs, or they get slapped in the head

[dkthg]

Some of us are afraid of death and the dark, thus, religion.

[Hi2Kiwi]

I was under the influence that the bottom line question that Atheists ask people whom follow are a religion was "is there a god or not?" , Unless im seeing this wrong but its starting to look like that the lines of Atheism only contradicts itself with Christianity, unless of-course the person contradicting, is widely familiar with all religions around the world. Why are Atheists seem to be ganging up particularly on Christianity alone.

[kingkonghitme]

logic = science

retardism = religion

even without all the science and stuff...dawkins speaks the truth , it is so PLAIN to observe the truth he speaks...unlike ...what religion teaches

[Areyourealythatdumb]

this guy asking the questions is so snooty its painfull

[ThreeLions89]

McGrath had the priviledge of being born in a (so called) free country.... and the best thing he did was to join religion....

What a shame and what an insult for all those people who actually have NO CHOICE wether they want to join a religious community or not.

[Meurglys33]

If McGrath keeps holding his head like that, he's gonna get some severe spine condition. Meh... who am I to judge. He's probably just helping the blood flow to the right side of his brain.

[cararacs]

@SuperAsi666 Don't forget vaccines and cures and preventives for diseases.