American Atheists 09 - Richard Dawkins (w/ Q&A)

Richard Dawkins at the American Atheists 2009 conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The talk is divided into four sections: 1. The Tony Blair Faith Foundation / 2. Mining the Eddington Concession / 3. God as Science Ficton / 4. Q&A on dealing with Creationists

A note from Richard:

"In my Atlanta talk, I briefly quoted the journalist Melanie Phillips, as a possible source of John Lennox's 'stunning revelation'. Unfortunately, I also attributed another, similar quotation to her, which was in fact from another blogger who had referred to her. This was inexplicably slipshod on my part. I apologise, and have asked Josh to remove the brief section of my talk where I spoke about Melanie Phillips.

Richard"

Produced by The Richard Dawkins Foundation and R. Elisabeth Cornwell

Filmed and edited by Josh Timonen

See more at http://RichardDawkins.net

Also see Andy Thomson's talk "Why We Believe in Gods" from this convention:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iMmvu9eMrg

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Richard Dawkins
• American Atheists
• God as Science Fiction
• Religion
• Science
• Evolution
• Origin of life
• Ben Stein
• Expelled
• The Black Cloud
• Fred Hoyle
• John Lennox
• Intelligent Design
• Charles Darwin

[iconindy]

1. No evidence for a higher power

2. See 1.

3. No evidence for a Devil

Game over.

[amers963]

I'm going this year!!! XD

[jonny7748]

Critical mass!!! Let's gooo

[Inidiom]

love this man...

[MurtonFeygor]

Well said, sir.

[MidnightThrash]

I said I'd conclude in part three, but I've got a little more to say. If you were a little more open minded, you'd be less like what you preach against, the equally close minded atheist. You as well as those dense, abrasive idiots are not very well rounded individuals if you THINK you KNOW everything rather than KNOW you have to THINK. You'd do well to maintain a shred of doubt and modesty if you're to be any sort of humble, respectable individual.

[MidnightThrash]

A god believer knows the world is unfair? Well, I suppose that's fair although unfairness and evil are hardly synonymous. However, to assume that equality and inequality all sprout from some single disgusting being is absolutely ridiculous considering that the gauge of how one is being treated is completely personal rather than defined for everyone. It's ridiculous to suggest that the devil can manage the feelings of fairness for seven billion people just as god can listen to all their problems.

[MidnightThrash]

Atheists too realize they cannot answer all of the questions. However, they can answer all of the questions referring to god or the devil. It is not a conclusive belief that they do not exist, it is one of incredible, honest and quite honorable doubt. If you were any good of a thinker at all, you'd question everything you hear rather than having this empire of falsehood trickled down your throat like foul, mind-rotting diarrhea. And my conclusion in part two, if you will.

[MidnightThrash]

Well the first thing is absolutely wrong, atheists do not believe humans are the most powerful at all and if that's what you think, you need to learn more about atheism before blindly targeting it like a blithering moron. Atheists actually believe, and this is true of my own personal experience, that there is no extraordinary case with empirical evidence for the extraordinary claims that religion makes of their god. If you don't mind, I'll answer your "challenge" in several parts.

[greenjoker713]

Thank you, Professor Dawkins for that compliment @ 57:00 about us, supposedly "uncivilized" Southerners. There is a growing hostility among the educated to the bigoted, greedy, theocrats that have added to negative stereotype the world has our people. It is an embarrassment that they soil the intellectual legacy of Jefferson, Washington, and Madison.