YouTube - The Hour: God Is Not Great »
Posted By greenmac 1 year ago in ReligionBestselling author Christopher Hitchens says religion ruins everything.
This is a good discussion... each of us may have their thoughts on it. Pleas watch the video before commenting
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greenmac
Ok..Ok....This is where I say something great about myself.....hmmmm. I like daylight and night time as well. How am I doing so ...
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STONERS1 year ago
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greenmac1 year ago
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RickyDawkins1 year ago
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Don't worry, I would have propped it twice.
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You have the best abs on propeller, but what makes you so Sure that "god is great"?
Is it the genocide in darfur that makes you say this?
Why did YOUR God blow up the Twin Towers?
Is it that your brethren feel that gays and women are inferior that makes you say this?
Was it the Tsunami in banda aceh or was it the devastation of new orleans that makes you so sure?
How bout contraception and mixed marriages, are they sins?
Why are you following the herd?
Do you think the sun revolves around the earth?
Perhaps it is the earth which revolves around the sun, only patience and Good Science can answer that.
I'm very disappointed, to say the least.
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greenmac1 year ago
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I found this to be an interesting interview. I know there will be opposing points of view...but..that is what "opinion" is all about. I am a non believer, though I was a believer through most of my life. I found that there is not sufficient information for me to now support the belief god exists as we portray him/her in books and sermons. That being said... I also believe in the peace of mind that religion brings to others.
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memestryker1 year ago
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greenmac, I always questioned, and didn't understand why "Christians" kept focusing on the death instead of the teachings. I kept wondering why they missed the whole point!
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I guess I figured out early that religion wasn't necessary to find peace of mind. I married a non-practicing Christian who quickly became an atheist, too. He's not a "joiner" type, but I am, so I attend functions at the nearby Unitarian church and also enjoy the Brights online community. I've never met more ethical people.
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Albmore1 year ago
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The problem with modern day religion is NOT the belief in God, it is that the church itsself has become a man made institution following alot of the greed and corruption that OUR government has. It needs to find the way back to doing good, carring for the hungry and doing God's works once again, and one of the most important things is to learn to forgive and that God is the judge not us.
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HannibalBarca1 year ago
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Your first sentence says it spot on; only this has been the history of the Christian Church almost from it conception.The men who walked and talked with Jesus were (most) later painted as heritics by the Church of Rome, and all the while that Christianity was illegal, many inbattles occured.
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When Constantine legalized Christianity, Rome , being the center of the empire assumed it was also the center of faith, only Constantine split the empire, created another capital and the Orthodox religion gained much power over this move. Constantinoble was to stand as a Christian stronghold for 1000 years while Rome fell 150 years later.
But the Orthodox follow the ways of the Bible a lot more closely than Rome does, as Rome picked up many pagan rituals and incorporated them into Cannon Law.And it was from the Church of Rome that Protestants evolved.
12 years after Christianity was legalized, the oldest complete Bible was compiled, but mostly by Romes dictates, so of course, Paul, a Roman gets most of the spotlight, while gospels like Thomas, Mary, James, secret Gospel of James, the Infancy Gospels and many others were cast aside by Rome as heretical or close to it; yet these people supposedly walked, talked, slept, drank ate with Jesus; but not Paul, he had a vision. -
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memestryker1 year ago
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Actually, it depends on the "church." Some churches have become corrupt--especially at the top power levels or those in the media--but most of the brick and mortar organizations around my area--atheist, totemy, goddy, or goddessy--are focused on doing good.
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Since I don't believe in a supernatural being, the idea of an external "judge" is meaningless. I carry my own moral compass with me.
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Mutainia1 year ago
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kobzikov1 year ago
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I'm an atheist and it's not God, it's some of his followers that bother me. That is why when I lived in Soviet Union I haven't engaged in nearly as much conversations on the topic of how well this or that ancient mythology described the real world.
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It is fairly presumptive to speak for all atheists, whether you are an atheist or not. -
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Sageparadox1 year ago
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You see. If this God, that you say is great, really did exist, then the problem is that he does not bother them. In order for him to bother atheist would give atheist evidence in his existence, therefore not making them atheist at all.
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Bacalao1 year ago
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RickyDawkins1 year ago
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What about when they perform atrocities in the name of God? How do you make sense of that?
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Are they evil or are they just deluded?
To believe that the bible is the word of god, one would have to be either deluded, insane, or ignorant, or sheet-faced drunk.
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reallypsst1 year ago
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What the author is saying he doesn't have a problem with religion the problem is people trying to impose religion on children and also putting a label on people who don't believe ,i agree live and let live but dont mandate or dictate religion and keep it out of government and schools !
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Dionys1 year ago
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DeadXXXManXXXTalkin1 year ago
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''the problem is people trying to impose religion on children''
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thats the biggie and here's why:
it makes no sense to inculcate: to teach children the WAY to think before they even know HOW to think
it's also a sign of not trusting your material-if you trust what you believe, you just present it and it'll stand up to an inquiring and developed mind
Now in some instances ethics can be presented thru religion as a kind of shorthand-sort of like you don't tell a 3 or 4 year old that if he sticks a fork in the socket it create a circuit that will cause his neuro-transmitters to overload and electrons a to pass in an untoward fashion thru his nervous system causing intense pain if not serious injury, you may tell him something he can relate to, like, 'the holes in the wall bite'
this makes me think of many things, because I'm in that frame of mind, so I'll say explaining the interconnectedness of humanity and the ripple effect of evil deeds and karma to some is like explaining electricity to a 3 year old, so you may say goofy things like 'God punishes evil' etc, so some can understand...
...Thou Art That? wtf you talkin bout? I am ME chief, what is good for me is good for me, the other guy is on his own...screw him...
bet you know a couple folks like that, who just don't get it. There the ones make existence so darn fun...
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greenmac1 year ago
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Bacaloa...reallpsst. I agree we hate to be told how we should behave, when our behavior is sometimes better than the messengers. I have friends that are in the ministry, we have some very good discussions about faith and religion. sure ...they would like me to join the flock and they say so with tongue in cheek. Morals and the Golden Rule to me is my religion... I believe in treating my fellow man with respect. I also believe in expressing myself and questioning anothers beliefs. Without questioning we cease to learn.
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lvrofwolves1 year ago
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Who's 'God' is he referring to???
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Well a religion doesn't ruin everything for everyone, but for many it does. One has to ask themselves, what is my religion for exactly? what is it's intent? How is aligning myself with others affecting me and others? where something should be very personal, there sure seems to be a lot of happy and unhappy sheep mentality, which is ok if that's what makes you happy, as long as you cause no harm to others. -
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Eagle_Eye1 year ago
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God and I are "Best Friends", God watches over me, leads me to the correct decisions, brings the right things I need in my life and all that is asked in return is that I have respect and love for God's creations. God also says that organized religion is not God's doing and you don't need a middle man with God.
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greenmac1 year ago
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Hey EE...Thanks for dropping by...... Where is the sing song this year. it is your turn to host..LOL
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I believe faith is inside us all... goodness and evil reside there as well. How well we control these, is what generates what others see and feel. We search for the answers in the books and the heavens... no need to go that far. -
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jordan111 year ago
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"Religion's got a toxic element at its core".....he's right. That's why it keeps surfacing to intrude on mankind negatively.
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To me, organized religion serves a purpose that nothing else does. It isn't like a clique that excludes you if you're poor, or old, or unattractive, or not terribly bright. Everyone can belong if they say they 'believe' in the god of that religion. It can also serve to empower people who otherwise have no real power, & give a sense of community they probably wouldn't otherwise find. The group is their power, and depending on how big or well connected the group, they can 'lord it over' people who aren't in the group by dictating their 'superior' beliefs. I liken it to the mob mind set. Not always a bad thing, if it works for the group and makes their lives happier to belong and believe. But when they take it beyond their corner of the world, it really can be quite dangerous to a society. And that's where the "toxic element" comes in.
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ELISHEVA11 year ago
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Again, the big problem here is ego. As though we or the church represents G_d. We don't! As far as understanding spirituality, the meaning of the words in any Holy book, or G_d, forget it. Maybe the sages of our times are gifted this information and we need to listen because they are all saying the same thing. Time to reintegrate with the given structure - Nature.
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Religion is at the bottom of the barrel in terms of holiness. Religion was made by man and the agenda has been clear from the beginning - to serve itself, to get rich, to gain and keep power over the masses, not to look our for you or your family.
That is not to say that G_d is not the most important - in fact, the only reality. G_d and Nature are interchangeable. This is where are thoughts, efforts and actions must go - to find our place in the existing system of Nature. If we don't we will perish shortly.
All this saving corporations and banks clearly shows that we still don't get it. If money goes out, it should go to people and development of new ways to live, that resonate with Nature.
As far as 'fear of death' as an excuse to believe in a higher power goes - why would anyone want to live here forever??
It is a mistake to confuse religion and G_d. My G_d / Nature IS Great!-
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memestryker1 year ago
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I applaud your view, ELISHEVA1. But most "believers" don't, and "God" as used here really does refer to the patriarchal supernatural entity of the revealed religions. I think we need to separate the two, because most people who believe in a God (or the Jewish G_d) do not equate it with Nature.
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I wish they did.
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NoWayMan1 year ago
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hitchens is a doosh.
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god is great.
and god and religion have nothing to do with each other. its puny humankind that continually tries to link the two.
hitchens seems to have completely missed the point, or simply eschewed of it in favor of a snappy title so he can sell his books. -
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antibrainwasher1 year ago
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Man created the concept of god. Religion is a tribal survival trait, a tribal identity, darwinistic, genetically programmed, vestigal, sociological behavioristic trait of humans, and those that weren't born with the conformist instinct have been less reproductive over the eons. This is why religion is still prevalant, even though its now unnecessary.
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We as a society now know about bacteria, which killed 60% of all children. We don't need priests or witch doctors or prayer anymore for anything.
We as a society now know the extent of the universe, its not a flat plane which the sun revolves around, we don't need priests or witch doctors or the american teliban to tell us this.
As science and knowledge progresses, religion shrinks. Science and knowledge is the light, religion is ignorance and darkness and misery and death.
Religion is a genetic sociological disease, left over from the dark ages of ignorance. -
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reallypsst1 year ago
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Religion and science will always be debated and as time goes by science keeps us grounded by facts, religion is mankind's hope and aspirations of something greater than ourselves.In the old days religion was a way of controlling the masses. A wise man once said take the good out of religion and absorb it on to yourself and dismiss the rest, in other words take what is right for you and only you and ignore the rest live and let live. Common sense has always been the safety net for many and thats how scientist debate religion!
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