Blair and Hitchens debate religion - BBC

The two men disputed religion in Toronto Friday night at the Munk Debates before a sold-out crowd of 2,600 — scalpers outside were asking as much as $500 a ticket — as thousands more watched online.

Blair argued for the proposition that religion is a force for good, while Hitchens was against it.

Preliminary results on the Munk website said 68 per cent of the votes backed Hitchens and 32 per cent Blair.

Both men gained about 10 percentage points from the pre-debate standings, when 21 per cent were undecided.

Hitchens argued that religion is divisive and causes conflicts or makes them worse.

Blair conceded that "horrific acts of evil" have been committed in the name of religion, but said people like Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot, who opposed religion, had been evil, too. "I agree in a world without religion, that the religious fanatics may be gone, but I ask you: Would fanaticism be gone?"

Blair pointed to the Northern Ireland peace process as an example of different religions working for peace.

Hitchens replied that 400 years of religious warfare in Ireland entailed "people killing each other's children depending on what kind of Christian they were."

"To terrify children with the image of hell ... to consider women an inferior creation. Is that good for the world?" Hitchens said.

Blair said bigotry and prejudice are not "wholly owned subsidiaries" of religion. But he said the hardest argument he faced was the assertion that evil done in the name of religion is based in scripture.

The ancient religious texts contain many ideas that now appear "very strange and outdated," he said, but religions must be seen as a whole.

Hitchens, a columnist for Vanity Fair, wrote a book in 2007 called God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, which sharply criticized organized religion.

Blair started the Tony Blair Faith Foundation two years ago to promote understanding between religions.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/1...

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[mohfoz77]

LET’S MAKE ALL MYTHS, RELIGIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS HISTORY.

[sulijoo]

Blair demolished his own argument when he admitted that he knows plenty of people who are not religious but "do good for their community and for the world". In that case, what is religion FOR? Blair's position was entirely "well, err, I believe because...well just because, ok?!". Hitchens won without even trying. It was pitiful, like candy from a baby.

[Roland Little]

Idiot

[KLAYM SOUTH]

GOD PUNISHED HIM  HES HAIRS GONE LOL

[Edubbplate]

Myths like the Giant Squid?

[Banisag]

I pretty much doubt that Blair is genuinely a "theist"! He was the leader of Labour Party for over a decade; most of his predecessors (i.e., Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock, etc.) were, in fact, atheists. I don't believe one can call oneself both a "socialist" and a "theist". Capitalism & theism go hand in hand.

[Oliver Marson]

0:46 don't know what Blair is laughing at as a massive dictator himself

[Ken Pisi]

Blair was a superb debater during his time as prime minister and routinely ruined the oppositions argument. But put up against someone like Hitchens he looks like a complete amateur.

[fod2011]

A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything-

Friedrich Nietzsche

[NICH0LASM]

Did you not watch the video? Half of the money comes from faith based organisations. That leaves the other half coming from where? That's right, none faith based organisations! Gold star for you sweety. Now, are you telling me that the people who are of a religion would not give any money if it was not for being part of that religion? Because half of the money comes from non faith based remember. Are you saying religion is forcing those people to give? I smell delusionally biased rhetoric frm u

[Andy White]

You make the assumption of 'poisoning millions of minds' - as far as Tony (and half the worlds population are concerned) that religion (i.e. knowing a greater being) isnt poisoning but a freeing experience. Ok - they may not all agree - but Hitchins point of view is that everyone is busy fighting over it. This is less that 1 percent of confilicts in the world. Sorry - but I've worked in Africa and many poor countries without spreading my faith but worked out of a genuine love for the people.

[Andy White]

Exactly - and Tony held to the point (i.e. subject of the debate). Religion does far more good than harm - way way more than Tony describes or Hitchens ridicules. I've worked in Africa (nearly 2 years), Nicaragua etc. and never once pushed my point of view. It's actually quite interesting to see that Tony Blair stuck to the facts and experience whilst Hitchen's just pulled headline titles that he'd read.