Daniel Dennett (3) - La Ciudad de las Ideas 2009 [19]

Speaker: Daniel Dennett

Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7Z5YFvo1vQ&feature=PlayList&p=7624790...

The "La Ciudad de las Ideas 2009 Re-Evolution" Festival witnessed a very exciting event, where great theologists, philosophers and thinkers debated over the eternal conflict between science and religion, reason with faith and Darwin vs The Bible. The opinions and views expressed are strong, we recommend open-mindedness for its enjoyment.

Debaters: Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett (new atheists) vs. Shmuley Boteach, Dinesh D'Souza, Nassim Taleb (theists), and Robert Wright (neutral).


Original full-length video (2:16:26):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hnqo4_X7PE
With Spanish narration (2:22:42):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H0VX0vgy44

YouTube channel: LaCiudaddelasIdeas

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[nthoctave]

All he needs is the white robe.

[xTRUExHATEx]

Dennett is god.

[valaraj]

Dennett is just a man with a good idea.

[flibbertergibbet]

Dennet is Darwin.

[Ematched]

@xTRUExHATEx apt

[jeremyemilio]

@rmcdaniel423

The bible is a compilation of different modes, mostly historical or literary writing, and very little scientific writing. It makes as much sense asking if Christians demand peer-reviewed experiments to support the creation theory as asking if literary scholars demand experimentation to investigate the ghost of Hamlet's father. The question to be asked of the Bible is whether a given section is literary, historical, or a mixture. This question is asked PLENTY by people of faith.

[jeremyemilio]

@rmcdaniel423

The Bible is considered a Holy book because of its subject matter and because many of the people who wrote it are revered by Jews and Christians. So? Divinely inspired has never, until very reverently amongst a very select group, been taken to mean 'divinely written or dictated.' The Koran is claimed to be the exact words of God, dictated by Gabriel, and recorded by Mohamed. The Bible makes no such claims. You're simply wrong on this.

[rmcdaniel423]

@jeremyemilio You described the world of scientific literature very nicely. You say the bible is the same? Do they question the validity of the genesis story and demand repeatable peer-reviewed experiments to support the theory? Do they cite references for incredible claims like the miracles of Jesus? Or do they just read one single patched together book and accept it all on faith? The bible and science are hardly the same, IMO.

[rmcdaniel423]

@jeremyemilio wrote "The Bible is held up 'as the perfect and holy word of God himself' only by a very few and very recent segment of the Christian population known as fundamentalist literalists."

I disagree. It seems like the phrase "Holy Bible" is a pretty old and widely used concept. So is the notion that it is "divinely inspired". I hardly think reverence of the bible is restricted to a very recent fringe group of extremists.

[jeremyemilio]

@rmcdaniel423

And the Bible is much like a science text, which is a likewise a compilation of facts, theories, observations, and history, compiled by numerous contributors and which, yes, contains ridiculous content that has been, could be, and will be disregarded. What good science text doesn't contain debating theories on undecided science, or the later refined ideas of Newton, or the defunct geocentric model of Ptolemy, or current science that will need to be revised in the next edition?

[jeremyemilio]

@rmcdaniel423

The Bible is held up 'as the perfect and holy word of God himself' only by a very few and very recent segment of the Christian population known as fundamentalist literalists. For most Christians, and for most of time, the Bible has been seen for what it is: a compilation by several authors of numerous writings in diverse styles and modes ranging from history, to parable, to poetry, held together by a common theme: the relationship between God and humanity.

[rmcdaniel423]

@jeremyemilio You are suggesting that even christians can disregard whole sections of the bible, at their own personal discretion, and still call their religion "necessary and respectable". The same bible that they uphold as the perfect and holy word of God himself. That seems contradictory. Would you consider a science textbook to be "necessary and respectable" if it contained ridiculous content that could be disregarded?