"Why are you not a Christian?" (Bertrand Russell)

Nobel Prize-winning philosopher/mathematician Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), explains why he does not believe in God.

Courtesy of CBC TV Retro Bites - via http://www.AtheistMedia.com

Russel's Essay "Why I Am Not A Christian": http://users.drew.edu/~jlenz/whynot.html
His book by the same title: http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Essays-Religion-Related-Subjects/dp/067120323...
Bertrand Russell Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell

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[An0maly777]

Gotta love the clean human intellect.

[saxmanchiro]

I never get tired of watching this interview. Russell says it so well.

[MaskedMarvyl]

Two things I disgree with here: Her question: "but what about ordinary people?" I hear this question a lot. There Are no ordinary people. Everyone is incredibly unique, whatver your opinion of them. Religion crushes that uniqueness that into conformity.

Bertrand's steadfast assertion that there is no hereafter, "it's all nonsense", is just that; an assertion. He's stating his belief as if it's a fact. As a scientist, he cannot prove or disprove it; so he's being a little disingenuous...

[MaskedMarvyl]

I really, really wish I had known Bertrand Russell...

[bayreuth79]

@TheSamuraiGoomba Does God need better PR than Jesus of Nazareth? I am not a Christian, but there are very few people historically who have not reverenced this poor, itinerant preacher from Galilee. Look at Einstein's comments about Jesus, for example. Of course, there will always be people con artists who use religion for theit own advantage, but I'm sure there are many non-religious con artists as well.

[bayreuth79]

@TheSamuraiGoomba If you look at what I wrote I never suggested such a leap of faith from "we cannot disprove God", to "therefore, people who claim...", etc. Obviously, it would be a complete non sequitur. However, there are good arguments for the existence of God (look at Plantinga, Ward, Spitzer, Swinburne, etc) and if it looks more probable than not that God exists, which it does for many philosophers, then there is also the possibility of revelation.

[TheSamuraiGoomba]

@bayreuth79 There's quite a leap of faith required to go from "we cannot disprove a god" to "therefore, people who claim God spoke to him without any proof of that can be absolutely right about everything."

I can't prove it doesn't happen, but I look at the people who claim revelation and that usually tells me all I need to know. So often, they're for-profit diamond mining millionaires, proven frauds, tax dodgers and bigots. If these are God's people, he needs better PR.

[madisonelectronic]

This asshole believes NOW. Happy rotting in hell.

[bayreuth79]

@TheSamuraiGoomba Your comment discounts the possibility of revelation. If God exists, which is possible since no one can disprove it, then there is the possibility that God may have revealed that there is in fact an afterlife along with indications of what it will be like. However, determining whether there has been such a revelation is a different question, but an interesting one.

[TheSamuraiGoomba]

@winston2015 He said, "I think," thus differentiating between that statement and a statement of fact. It was his opinion and nothing more. We cannot disprove an afterlife, but the fact one has to be dead to receive knowledge of it is a reason we can with 100% certainty discard entirely the claims of those who say they know *exactly* what happens after death. They don't know and can't know, because they would have to have been dead to know.

[im10pplok]

"engaged in the pursuit of knowledge".

[maxabeles]

The only real truth I've come across is that everything is in a state of flux. So, any absolute statement can at best only be true for a small fraction of time. This search for absolute, eternal truth makes me want to burn down a church.