Tolerance and Religion

Sam Harris goes head-to-head with a somewhat idealistic if not clueless Rabbi on the issue of religious tolerance and how even moderate religion can impede the progress toward rational thought. Harris also dismantles the long-standing notion of "atheistic wars" quite nicely.

Full debate here:
http://tinyurl.com/yr25lb

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Atheism
• Judaism
• War
• Tolerance
• Christianity

[carver555]

Harris makes a great deal more sense than Wolpe. But then again in my view no religion makes sense and they contradict each other.

[rationalmuscle]

@carver555 Harris would agree with that statement.

[moderatemotive]

I agree that the so-called "atheist" atrocities did not occur because of atheism. I think the point is that these behaviors manifest whether religion is a contributing factor or not. Therefore religion can no more be to blame than atheism. The constant in the equation is humanity.

[rationalmuscle]

@moderatemotive I cannot make that leap at all. I can point to over 1,000,000 lives taken by 'decree from god' in the bible alone, let alone in the Crusades, the Inquisition, etc.

To say religion had no part in this is naive at best. The real plus here for atheism is, to my knowledge, no order, book, writ, etc. from a leader to his followers said, "Because there is no God, do X." There are plenty on the other side of the fence.

[z120p]

Such a stupid, all too often heard comment by the Rabbi. He should be embarrassed for having something so illogical. "North Korea, crusader of the atheist ideology...." Use your brain Rabbi.

[rationalmuscle]

@z120p Here's the thing: When you know you don't have a proper argument, toss out the improper to see who is listening. Fortunately for him, it's mostly sheep.... and sheep have lousy hearing.

[firthio2]

Its such a stupid comparison to compare South and North Korea and say 'where would you rather live?'

I wonder if Wolpe would have used the same logic when deciding who to vote for in the US elections. 'Would I rather live in a country run by a black guy (Zimbabwe) or a country run by a white guy (UK)?' I can't believe how demostrably illogical all his arguments are.

[CharlotteMaryFoster]

I do not subscribe to any religion. However,due to the out-of-context written statements handpicked to prove points against the Jewish speaker,and personal awareness of the actual meanings and full contexts of these statements, I am forced to reject blind acceptance of the message of Harris and the notions behind the written claims put forward in this video. Unfortunately,watching this video has boosted my faith and heightened my criticism of atheist viewpoints. Consequently, a real shame.

[phishfearme2]

thanks for posting this - a nice addition to sam's debates

[lifeschild1]

The audacity of us human beings to even try to discern the existence of a GOD is extremely arrogant, since we do not have the mental intellect or capacity to do so in the first place.....so keep contemplating nonsensical conjectural debate with more and more non-provable rhetoric!

[MrGreenPoop1000]

@firthio2 It seemed pretty clear: would you rather live under a regime of tyranny or one of freedom?

[ThatGuyWhoSucksBoobz]

Great vid. you should make more commentaries on sam harris debates.