Atheist Debates - The Highlander argument against Christianity

[@hayuseen6683]

The flaming sword wasn’t on fire, they painted flames on it to make it swing faster.

[@cygnustsp]

Ok that's the funniest thing I've seen today

[@ShutUpWesley]

🧐😅😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@abyssraven6]

The painted flames give it +20% atk speed

[@graydanerasmussen4071]

It works for cars! That is what Racing Stripes are for! :D

[@thomasseichter5670]

Actually it wasn't an angel it was a jedi and the description of flaming sword is the best these people could describe a Light saber with their understanding. Prove me wrong!

[@lightningfirst689]

"What is it a metaphor for?" The question that isn't asked often enough, and answered even less often.

[@SilortheBlade]

Obviously it's a metaphor for Tazorface.

[@landsgevaer]

They will just call it a parable instead.

[@Strutingeagle]

I was already in doubts about Christianity when I had a conversation with what I thought was a good and faithful friend. He was very active in church, held bible studies in his home and was full of advice to others about their faith and lifestyle. He cheated on his wife with another member of the church and the scandal came to light because the woman involved wanted to have him and confessed what they were doing in and attempt to break his marriage apart.This is cleaned up and not verbatim but it went like this. Me- Would you shoplift something from a store knowing there was a camera on you the whole time and the Sherriff was watching you at all times. Freind- No Me- Why not? Freind- because God is watching, the Sheriff is watching and I would surely go to jail. My reputation would be destroyed by the news paper, a fine would have to be paid and I couldn't live it down. My wife would think I have lost my mind and children would lose respect too. Me- Why would you cheat on your wife if you know God is watching? Freind- It speaks of weakness of the flesh in the bible and I have repented of my sins. God understands we will fall from time to time. Me- Would you have cheated on your wife in front of a video camera knowing your wife was watching. Freind- Well no, I still love her and would not want to hurt her feelings. Me- So what was the weakness of the flesh about then? Are you more concerned about your wife's feelings than Jesus's feelings who you claim to love, have a deep personal relationship with and rely on him for salvation? Freind- Allright!!! I'm done answering your questions. This kind of stuff happens all the time in churches with many many members and not just cheating on a spouse either. These people hide their little secrets and judge one another and determine who has a strong faith and who doesn't all the while they actively and knowingly commit a sin they would judge someone else harshly for. Christianity is a mind game and not a belief. It thrives on cognitive bias and devices such as the shroud of Turin to give them a little pick me up or a fix to carry on in their social circles.

[@animtres]

I like the last paragraph

[@janpersell2259]

Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie who is his own father, can make you live forever if you telepathically accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is there because a rib woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree.

[@davenchop]

yet if you ask a christian about scientology and they will prob say its ridiculous and moronic and not even realize theyre describing their own religion

[@jamesparson]

Does the cosmic Jewish zombie want me to accept the criminal behavior of his fan clubs? I get conflicting answers and the talking donkey won't help me.

[@Akira-jd2zr]

Makes perfect sense

[@hardergamer]

And it's all women's fault, if only we didn't have them.

[@thomasstuart6861]

So what is the purpose of religion if you know there is a God? And saying there is no God does not answer the question on the purpose of religion. As an addendum, if the multiverse concept is true, that there are billions of universes, in whole or in part, are all the Bibles the same and why would they be? Would there be only one God and why would there be?

[@johnnehrich9601]

God could have made the tree like the one in Oz, which would slap away anyone's hand reaching for the apple.

[@PhantomPanic]

But that's preventing free will blah blah blah... 😆

[@johnnehrich9601]

@@PhantomPanic Imagine if a new toddler reaches for the fire on a stove and the adult says "well, I had to let him do it (so he will burn for ever) to preserve his free will."

[@littlebitofhope1489]

@@PhantomPanic Free will went out the window the instant a perfect being created an Imperfect being.

[@Pepsolman]

@@PhantomPanicdoesn’t free will = sin? How do they have free will before having knowledge?

[@thickerconstrictor9037]

​@@PhantomPanicI think even the free-will argument fails because they made their Free Will choice to try and eat the apple but the hand slapped the Apple away. Just like if you said why doesn't God stop school shootings. If I was a God and I had all of his power I wouldn't have to take away free will to stop a school shooting.. As soon as that person goes to pull the trigger I instantly cause a heart attack killing them. They made their freewill decision to pull the trigger and as a God I ended their life and then cause the gun to malfunction. I did not interrupt their free will. They made their Free Will choice and I simply stopped the consequences of their free will.

[@TeslaRangerNY]

I was expecting the argument: "I believe in God." "Which God?" "There can be only one."

[@bradbadley1]

same.

[@sniperwolf50]

🎵Who wants to live forever🎵

[@Plancton5000]

I hope we aren’t gonna have this argument on Holy ground.

[@ukamikazu]

Ditto.

[@TalmudAtheistsHolyBook]

Two things you will never get from Matt and Atheist experience. Any of the host saying they believe the origins of Life came into existence without God and providing evidence to why they believe that. And them exposing or saying anything negative about the atheist bigot most holy book the talmud

[@louisng114]

How does Adam even know what a sword is to be deterred by it?

[@letsomethingshine]

How long were they going to have guards being paid to stand at a tomb? Why would someone buying a tomb for a torture-death sentence "example" criminal be allowed to buy a tomb and not be considered a cult-follower and traitor themselves regardless of how rich they were?

[@GameTimeWhy]

Yeah. Adam and Eve were functionally children. They had no concept of good or evil and had no concept of pain, death or anything negative.

[@HiEv001]

Um? The apple? I suppose? Maybe? Though, I do find it amusing to imagine a scenario where God tries to explain His punishment to Adam and Eve, and they keep interrupting Him to ask what the different words mean, until God eventually gets fed up and just angrily shoos them away. 😆

[@fantomx11]

According to Kent Hovind, Adam was the smartest man who ever lived. Of course the smartest man who ever lived would know what a sword is, children know what swords are.

[@HiEv001]

@@fantomx11 _"According to Kent Hovind..."_ LOL. Any sentence that begins with "According to Kent Hovind" almost always ends in a lie, but do go on. _"...Adam was the smartest man who ever lived. Of course the smartest man who ever lived would know what a sword is"_ What does being smart have to do with knowing the names of various objects? This isn't about being "smart," this is about being _educated._ You can have an IQ of 1000, but if you've never encountered a the word "sword" in your life, then all those smarts aren't going to tell you what that word means. _"children know what swords are."_ Only if they were taught what swords are. Seriously, do you think that people are just born with this knowledge?!? I'd strongly suggest that you go back and rethink your argument here.

[@lukeman9851]

I still feel like Darkmatter2525's animations are the most accurate depiction of the character Yahweh compared to the actual text. Why do they have wings? Why a flaming metal sword? Why legions and armies? Why not just do it yourself in a way that doesn't cause suffering? Because it'd be so COOL, thats why!

[@albaniahenry-franklin2829]

I have these exact same types of conversations with my sci-fi/fantasy/comic book geek friends ALL the time....for literally decades we've done this!! Matt what you said here, especially the parallels between older sci-fi, "bad", contrasted with newer stories or stories meant to flesh out and re-contextualize the older stories, is f*cking spot on!

[@marshamacmillan]

It's like the writer thought to himself - Just a regular sword is kind of vanilla. I know! A flaming sword would be super badass!

[@HiEv001]

It would make sense if the writers of some of the passages in the Bible were a bunch of 10-year-olds like that. 😆

[@darkwind1812]

I think that that was the way of describing what was protecting the garden, a flaming sword. I don't think it was a literal sword. The swords had not been invented at that time.

[@marshamacmillan]

@@darkwind1812 Of course! 😁 I was attempting a tongue in cheek outlook on the flaming sword.

[@DRayL_]

It is interesting that...when it is inconvenient of them,....is suddenly becomes "metaphorical".

[@DRayL_]

What does _god_ need...with "an army of angels"? 🤔

[@brunozeigerts6379]

Of course we can't find the Garden of Eden. Every Mormon knows it's in Jackson County, Missouri. (I still chuckled about a Mormon reading that to me)

[@OuttaMyMind911]

Was looking to see if some had made the Mormon “Eden” location comment. But hey, Matt mentioned Tennessee, so pretty close. We also have Joseph Smith claiming an angel with a sword came to “threaten” him to enter into polygamist marriages.

[@2ahdcat]

Matt, I watched episode 387 of Atheist experience again earlier. You look SO much better now than then 👍

[@waveman0]

Matt, you always make me think and open me up to different ways of thinking about this subject. Thank you.

[@Rationality876]

my mind wandered at matt opening you up 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@davethetaswegian]

This video should have had trigger warnings, I had just about gotten over the the trauma of watching Highlander 2. Oh well, another thirty years of trying to forget again.

[@1389Chopin]

Good stuff matt! Keep the juices flowing

[@tonykarrar7150]

Been waiting for this for a min

[@seraphonica]

If you're committed to making a pop culture reference, there may be a better one to use: Star Trek. "What does God need with a starship?" About as much as God needs with a sword.

[@ShutUpWesley]

"Tractor beams are my specialty, skipper! I'll contact you when that's done. Wesley out!"

[@asagoldsmith3328]

​@@ShutUpWesleyshut up Wesley

[@mickeytwoshoes2822]

Love it Matt! Your mind is truly amazing!

[@rcblazer]

Highlander 2: The Quickening, still a more cohesive story than what's written in the Bible.

[@jackabalas]

Amazing comment. The most nostalgic laugh I’ve had in a while. I know I’ll chuckle to myself whenever I here any mention of a McLoud in future.

[@mdug7224]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣priceless

[@13shadowwolf]

I went with the Warhammer 40K Chaos Gods being more coherent than the bible.

[@orionred2489]

Honestly, to me the biggest mistake in all of Highlander was in the scene after the final fight in Endgame. When the guy asks Duncan if he can walk, he didn't say "I'll bloody well walk out of here."

[@griffindault]

Director's cut or theatrical release?

[@mdug7224]

There can be only one...except for all those other guys on a distant, high-tech planet who came to screw up a fun, magic and fantasy film...and not forgetting the three Mongolians buried alive who pop up later ...or the multitude that Conner's inexplicable blood relative (considering immortals are sterile according to the fiction) battled against for a TV series... but apart from that, 'There can be only one.' Actually, it still makes more sense than the bible.

[@wj2036]

Are you a time traveler?

[@rcblazer]

Don't forget that time the inexplicable blood relative of Connor battles the Flash in leather bondage gear to reach an undefined cosmic anomaly, all so he can lose his immortality have a kid with the special guest love of his life from that film. Still makes more sense than the Bible.

[@jeremysmetana8583]

Connor's relative (Duncan), is a cousin, and a distant one at that. He is really just the former's kinsman. He is not a direct descendant of Connor, thus NOT inexplicably a blood relative. The rule never says the parents or uncles/aunts of immortals are sterile, else how would we get ANY immortals at all? The immortals are born to mortal people, according to the actual canon (you can ignore the distant world crap from no. 2). The phrase "there can be only one," does not refer to there being only a single immortal ever born, or specifically born to a single family, but that, "in the end" (as it is often prefaced), they all have to kill each other until there is only one. Now, I am sure you understood that latter part, and were being facetious, but as to not knowing how babies work, and you know... that not everybody in your family is your direct descendant... I guess the school system really does fail some people.

[@mdug7224]

@@jeremysmetana8583🤣 fantastic apologetics! I am destroyed. Except wasn't Conner supposed to be the only one left at the end of the first film?

[@rabbitpirate]

In the Highlander fanfic I wrote when I was younger Jesus was an immortal and did come back from the dead because he died a violent death. He was then subsequently beheaded by another immortal who didn’t hold to his “turn the other cheek” approach.

[@HiEv001]

In the immortal words of James Tiberius Kirk, "What does _God_ need with a starship?"

[@Enigmanaut]

Came here to say this very thing.

[@johngleeman8347]

Not much need for sword-swinging angels when you can just turn people into pillars of salt.

[@dreadnoughtus2598]

Or flood the whole world with water. I'd go for a ray-gun myself.

[@rudihaufe271]

it always amazed me how many lives and hours were spent to make sense of some old writings..i tried it with the old fable of "little red ridinghood".it took me one hour.

[@kensey007]

Fun video. "A metaphor for what" is exactly the question we need to be asking people who say that.

[@ZenWithKen]

One or more ears were harmed in the making of this video. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

[@nietzschescodes]

Really interesting. Thanks for that video.

[@johnnehrich9601]

Didn't Jesus RISE into heaven at the Ascension without wings? But this also raises (pun intended) the idea that heaven is above the clouds, basically in outer space, along with all the other references say to angels coming down. Yet one more way the bible can't even get the basic facts of science right.

[@joeyangtree1862]

Yes! I'm always interested to hear Christians, especially apologists, talk about how God must be a timeless, spaceless being that exists completely outside of our local presentation of the universe. OK, this is an interesting idea about a God being, but it is clearly NOT the God character from the Bible. The Bible talks in many, many places about heaven being a literal place with God sitting on a throne (e.g. Psalm 11:4, Revelation 4:2) that is "above us" (Joshua 2:11, 2 Samuel 18:9). It never mentions the "timeless, spaceless" realm that this God supposedly inhabits according to many modern interpretations.

[@anuuuul]

This is the argument I always find myself thinking about the most - happy to know that it has a name. Why do all that, when God can just make everything go *poof*. I thoroughly enjoyed this, thank you!

[@cplus14]

I'm inclined to think they were talking about literal swords; God can't defeat Iron chariots, so it would make sense that god with be stuck with bronze age technology

[@theboombody]

Just because God's with you doesn't mean he wants you to win every battle. In fact, he told Jeremiah to go out and preach to people and specifically told Jeremiah in advance that his preaching would be in vain, and he wasn't going to win a single soul in his efforts. God wants his followers to lose sometimes. It reminds them that they are mortal and their strength does not come from themselves. As I age, I find out that nature indeed has given me my strength in the past, because it sure is taking it away now, and my own efforts and desires cannot stop that loss.

[@laurajarrell6187]

Matt, I've always thought people started using the images from art of the middle ages. And Dantes' Inferno. In the Bible , god and the angels looked like men, the angels go on to Sodom and Gemora . The ones in revelation sound more demonic! But as the book we have today progresses, it seems both old and new testaments get more magical? This was excellent, great points! It all, they all, fail when you think too much! 👍💖💙🥰✌

[@sophistichistory4645]

A flaming Söorgh?? "Hello, sweetie!!!......I am feeling totally FABULOUS amongst the fjords!!!"

[@cropcircle5693]

People need to be shut down on the phrase "taking it too literally." A story is either literal or it's not. If they say the bible is literal and then we critique it as a literal account, we are not being "too literal."

[@Mmmmilo]

This is an amazingly good point. Either AGREE on what’s literal and metaphorical and convey this, or sit down and shut up. The fact that there’s any room for interpretation in the perfect word of a perfect god is contradictory to begin with.

[@AquaPeet]

"Ah of course the snake didn't really talk hahahahaha BUT JESUS WALKED ON WATER THOUGH!!!" Err.... yeah @cropcircle5693 you have a great point! :)

[@AquaPeet]

@@Mmmmilo self-contradictory, fallacious... you're right, I can't see why they can't see that whilst it is blatantly, unmistakenly obvious UNLIKE THE EXISTENCE OF A GOD that they claim is so obvious (look at the treeeeees)

[@tjp1451]

They love this trick, don’t they? “Whatever I say regarding religion is the literal truth, unless you demonstrate that it’s ridiculous in which case it’s just metaphor, you silly atheist.” 🤣

[@robtbo]

The big point is: metaphor requires interpretation. Things can be interpreted to mean the opposite of what is intended. God would know this. If God cared enough to deliver a word, God would not and could not allow interpretation. If He did, then He doesn’t actually care.

[@StannisHarlock]

It would be difficult to say the six pairs of wings that the seraphim have if the wings are figurative. Why differentiate how many wings they have from the cherubim I'd the wings are figurative?

[@4Mr.Crowley2]

The image of an angel with a flaming sword protecting Eden is from Paradise Lost (imho as a retired lit prof) as that image is a major figure in the final verses. Way too many Christians have never read the scriptural texts and have also never read texts by say Dante or Milton and don’t realize which images are from the actual Bible vs popular literary works written centuries later.

[@uninspired3583]

100%

[@arash_bayatpour]

Love your videos, thank you for what you are doing.

[@StygianEmperor]

hold on "I still have a sword, I still have a knife; they still have their use" please tell me what you're using your sword for - i need to know

[@ilesalmo7724]

I can somewhat explain the swords. In Terry Pratchett's Discworld, one of the good guys is a vampire, who carries a sword "for protection. Not mine but theirs". If a bronze-age baddie sees a guard with a sword, they are less likely to challenge any commandment not to go in.

[@DiggerEvans]

Jebus glued the ear back on in the version i heard about

[@joeyangtree1862]

Speaking with angels and why they are necessary, I loved Paula White preaching about how the 2020 election would be overturned because "angels have been dispatched from Africa right now...they're coming here, in the name of Jesus...from South America..." This was right after she said, " The Lord says it is done." If the Lord says it is done, then why are the angels from Africa and South America needed? What are they going to accomplish, and what were they doing in Africa and South America before that? Of course, we can also add that if the Lord really did send all these angels, and tell Paula White that "it was done", that God was completely wrong in his assertion and failed to do anything of note. The Christian beliefs often seem to be a mash up of an all powerful, all knowing, timeless, spaceless entity that somehow also needs a giant bureaucracy of angels and humans to accomplish things, has a throne and corridors of heaven, and is fighting an eternal war against an enemy. I'm not even sure what Christians want me to believe when they say I should believe in their god.

[@mckorr2116]

Well of course those immigrant angels were going to vote illegally, because for Republicans "every accusation is a confession."

[@broddr]

In addition to that odd heavenly bureaucracy, I’ve always wondered why an all powerful god needs missionaries. Why not just ‘inspire’ a local everywhere one is needed, the way god ‘inspired’ Paul? Is Yahweh’s magic limited to Canaan?

[@charlieinwhite]

highlander, a film where a frenchman playing a scotsman really struggles with english language while failing badly to hide his frenchie accent and, a scotsman playing a spaniard makes zero effort to sound spanish or hide his thick scottish twang. and that kids is one of the greatest eighties movies!

[@_S0me__0ne]

I thought this was going to be a talk about the need for one interpretation. But, i was either raised or concluded as a kid that eden couldn't be found because it was destroyed in the flood.

[@marcelomec3461]

Matt, you could also include horses in the argument. Like those in the book of revelation. Who the fuck goes to war on horses, anymore?

[@_Omega_Weapon]

Many of the biblical stories regarding angels, swords, lights and fires from the sky sounds more like misunderstood ET tech and actions. I don't necessarily hold the belief that that's the case, but I find it much more probable than a literal interpretation.

[@markbeoluke6454]

Some people think the weird scorpion/dragonfly thing in Revelation is a clear description of an Apache Helicopter! But you know, sometimes a weird scorpion/dragonfly thing is just a weird scorpion/dragonfly thing!

[@blatherskite3009]

Ironically, considering all the talk here of Highlander and angels, the writer of the original Highlander film (who stuck to his "there can be only one" words and had nothing to do with any of the sequels) went on to write that film "The Prophecy" (1995) which starred Christopher Walken as "Gabriel" and was all about (you guessed it) angels. Haven't seen it since Laserdisc but it was quite good, iirc.

[@davenchop]

ricky bobbie said highlander won acadamy award for best movie ever..."shake and bake"

[@dreadnoughtus2598]

When i read the title, i thought the Highlander argument was about christianity getting rid of all the other gods, as in 'There can be only one.' I've not thought about it in terms of the wepons used. If i was god, I'd go for a ray-gun myself.

[@jpizzleforizzle]

Scrolling down past comments, first an ad, then... Highlander (the movie). Noice.

[@Grim_Beard]

Not the main point, but _Highlander_ wasn't sci-fi, it was fantasy (which doesn't have to make sense, because magic). The problem with _Highlander II The Quickening_ is that they tried to turn it into sci-fi, which requires it to make sense and it didn't. There should have been only one.

[@v.sandrone4268]

"The problem"??? Don't you mean "The most significant of the many problems" ??

[@Grim_Beard]

Fair point

[@uninspired3583]

Highlander 2 wasn't even a dumpster fire, it was the warm juice running out the back of the dumpster fire.

[@wj2036]

Theres a funny line from a song called "Dont be mad at God" by Steve Baughman, that captures this argument. Some people say its Satan, hes battling the almighty lord But the almighty in a battle, he must be gettin' mighty bored.

[@TitenSxull]

I love the first Highlander movie. All this video did was tell me I don't have to bother watching the second film. But yeah, viewed as mythology it seems pretty cool for angels to have swords and look really crazy. But when taken as if inspired by true events and a real God it immediately falls apart.

[@Domzdream]

Loved Highlander. All the other ones that followed, especially #2 was horrible. They really fkd that franchise.

[@Eliphas_Leary]

The movie literally states "There Can Be Only One!" As in "No sequels or TV-shows."

[@griffindault]

Yeah movies fell off fast but the TV series was pretty good actually. Well 90s basic cable TV show budget good so I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't hold up really

[@Domzdream]

@@griffindault Yea you'er rigtht. The tv series was pretty good I thought. That dude with the pony tail and the samurai sword.

[@davidbrock4605]

This reminds me of Star Wars where Obi Wan explains the force to Luke, "The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together." compared to Qui Gon saying, "Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force."

[@jaypacic]

Well, Matt, what's wrong with a god wanting do things that way? Guarding a garden with a bunch of angels and a flaming sword is very important when it's *two* people that just got yeeted from the place. *One may never know* how harmful *two* people can be, especially now that they are scared of being naked.

[@benswartz6387]

What the prognosis?

[@jaypacic]

@benswartz6387 Well a prognosis is like a "spot diagnosis" or an "initial diagnosis. "....

[@GameTimeWhy]

As a wise Jedi once said "you underestimate my power".

[@derfuzzy8854]

Wasn‘t that Anakin?^^

[@jaypacic]

@@derfuzzy8854 I think so. Right before Obi-Wan cut his legs off.

[@Lost-Lilim]

When I saw that title, I was expecting a very different argument. Something like "because each denomination and sect of Christianity disagree, they could not all be correct. Only one could be correct. (And any of them that emerged from within another group would have developed from a group they believe to be incorrect, which doesn't bode well for their own correctness.) They could however all be incorrect."

[@manfredconnor3194]

I recently had a debate with a deist and encountered an argument that I did not really know how to counter effectively and wonder if someone might help me with it?

[@cardshark38]

I would just like everyone to know that because of the title of this video, KZbin is advertising Highlander 3 for me to rent 😂

[@vinnygiggidy]

OK, I need help with this syllogism. I've tried to punch holes in it, but I can defend each premise. But if anybody can find problems with it or can give me a better way of wording it, I would appreciate it. Especially the conclusion. Premise 1) God, by definition, can not be contingent upon anything outside of him. Premise 2) it is impossible to say "God exists" without making God contingent upon something outside of him. Premise 3) If something is contingent upon anything outside itself, it can not be God by definition. Conclusion) The sentence "God exists" is incoherent by definition.

[@martinas2204]

That's the test, "Do everything I tell you to do without asking why, and you pass"

[@LAsilversurfer]

Loved the Show!

[@nagilumsnangilima]

🎼🎵🎵Maybe I'm wrong And I should know better To trust easily, I don't know... But I've waited so long And I need to believe That there must be a way And I know I've got... One dream that keeps me hangin' on One dream, over and over One dream that love will find a way Find a way, yeah, yeah Yesterday's gone And all that remains of the past Is this memory But it takes love that is strong And a heart that is pure To stand a little pain We gotta live for today One dream that keeps me hangin' on One dream, dream it over and over One dream that love will find a way Find a way, yeah One dream that's all that I'm livin' for One dream, dream it over and over One dream that love will find a way Find a way, yeah, yeah Ooh, yeah Yesterday's gone And all that remains of the past Is a memory But it takes love that is strong And a heart that's pure And can stand a little pain Ooh, yeah, yeah now One dream that keeps me hangin' on One dream, over and over One dream that love will find a way I know, I know One dream that keeps me hangin' on One dream, over and over One dream that love will find a way Mmm, mmm Will find a way Love will find a way One dream that keeps me hangin' on One dream, over and over One dream that keeps me hangin' on One dream, over and over

[@Katie-hb8iq]

When I think of angels with swords, I think of Diablo lol. Or magic the gathering.

[@brunozeigerts6379]

Or Socred II... there's a class of Seraphim you can play.

[@transient_]

I like the image of the flaming sword in the novel Good Omens, The angel standing near Eden gave his flaming sword to Adam and Eve when they were banished from Eden in order for them to have something to make fire with. 🤣🤣🤣

[@williekeenan7861]

Ayo Matt, can we get some throwback talks from nature like you user to do?

[@Starfield_Eclipse]

What does Thomas Aquinas say about angles?

[@dwendt44]

all the satellites orbiting earth, google maps, and we still can't fine EDEN. Maybe it doesn't exist.

[@nealgrimes4382]

If we did fine Eden it would have to pay in Apples.

[@davosholdos1253]

When i first heard the term "The Highlander argument", before knowing what it really was, my first impression was kinda like the no true scottsman argument in that, "there can only be one!" Lol.

[@JJCP95]

In the Bible there are at least 3 references to angels holding swords. Numbers 22:31 "Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face." 1 Chronicles 21:16 "And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem." 1 Chronicles 21:27 "And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof."

[@joshboydtheactor]

Matt, thanks for apologizing for mentioning Highlander 2

[@bricks-mortar]

Listening to Matt is much better than Church. I never understood the "message" from those self taught "I was called to preach the Gospel" preachers.

[@thomasstuart6861]

Good point and I can not provide a resolution to your question. However, I do stand on the reasoning that religious text are for some purpose of which we have not discovered. For example, if the multiverse theory is correct, then there would be billions of bibles and they would not all be the same. You say, you know whats in the Bible because you have read it, but so have others and did witness the Bible making variations because they called it, "the living bible", because it changed text.

[@SuperChicken666]

Why didn't the evil queen simply kill Snow White instead of disguising herself and tricking her into biting the poisoned apple? Fairy Tails are designed to entertain children.

[@TeslaRangerNY]

Read Neil Gaiman's take on Snow White, "Snow, Glass, Apples". 😁 *Not* for children.

[@chuckgaydos5387]

Flaming Sword was the best that ancient people could do to describe a firing phaser pistol.

[@donsample1002]

Highlander I was a decent fantasy story. Highlander II tried to turn it into science fiction.

[@uninspired3583]

Dumpster fires look to highlander 2 and think "well at least I'm not THAT"

[@brucecook502]

I actually called into The Atheist Experience several years ago, to point out the fact that in many places in the Bible including the Old and New Testament, it seemed that God and His angels utilized quite a few human inventions, both on this Earth and in heaven and my point was that it made it so obvious that people were making things up in the Bible because it makes no sense that contemporary human inventions always finds their selves in the hands of God or in heaven when new things are made up by Prophets during different time periods. Things like Gates, doors, Kings Thrones, staff's rods and swords, chariots, Etc, and if you fast-forward to today, you have so-called the prophets today talking about motorcycles, waterparks, and all that other crap being in heaven or owned by God that people like Kat Kerr make up. But it's ironic that these things are never mentioned by these so-called prophets until humans have invented them, and then suddenly these prophets both ancient and current claiming that God has these things only after the fact.

[@ryangoza2370]

Hey Matt. Love you, love the show. I've been listening for about 15 years. I was raised evangelical fundamentalist in a small town in Oklahoma where I still live. I'm 40 now. I've been atheist since highschool, but I'm gonna put on my christian hat for a second. I was always taught that either the garden was destroyed in the flood or god sort of "raptured" it to heaven before the flood because it was the only perfect place. He would have left the guard with a sword because even primitives understand what it means and he never needs to fight higher technology. As for the wings and such, when I asked about that, I was basically told that God likes pageantry.😂 It's all ridiculous.

[@AlanCanon2222]

The Garden of Eden scenario is crying out for an application of the Someone Else's Problem field generator.

[@strider_hiryu850]

the Ophanim are wingless flyers. i think the wings of angels are more of an æsthetic choice. although i don't think what the angels do is ever called or even really meant to be interpreted as "flight", as such. they just kinda appear wherever they need to, and that includes in the sky. there's an electric car brand named Aptera Motors. and 'Aptera' is, according to them: the Greek word for "wingless flight".

[@joshkar24]

I just figured the garden was destroyed in the flood why did people keep thinking it was preserved ?

[@randallanimal]

Someone please tell me what the vid/call/clip was where someone said proof of God was there was a John 316 sign in the crowd at a football game at the same moment the clock said 316 while a field goal was being made (or similar), and Matt was laughing and then saying "Oh you're serious? Ok you tell me when you're serious."

[@brunozeigerts6379]

Didn't the movie hint that Jesus might be an Immortal? Might explain how crucifying didn't work. I still remember the episode in the Highlander TV series that had the actress who played Ivonava in Babylon 5. A man asks, 'You've read the Kama Sutra?' She replied, 'Who do you think posed for the pictures?'

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

The ad for this video was a church trying to convert Jews, for some reason.

[@kevinmcgrath8310]

Who were they guarding the tree from ? If it’s just from Adam and Eve then a flaming sword and two nightmarish monstrosities seems a tad over the top .

[@basildraws]

It's a good argument, and surely something we've all concluded ourselves in some way or another, if not put words to. For myself, I've started down that road of thinking many times, and I always seem to take it to an insoluble dead-end. For example, we start with angels not needing swords, angels not needing wings, god not needing angels, or trees of XY or Z. Then we imagine theist's objections regarding metaphors, or better yet, intentionality. God designed it with angels and swords and trees because that was the best way to design it. But that inevitable leads to more questions. WHY? Why did he have to 'design' anything at all? Omniscience rules out the notion that we are being 'tested'. Reality and the various laws of nature rule out Omnipotence. That is, he could have made us balls of consciousness floating in a formless void and set up any test he wanted from there. Universe (and batteries) not required. He doesn't need angels or swords or trees. He doesn't need us or universes or reality either. We don't create video games in the hope that the characters will fulfill some destiny, despite the fact that the game might have a story, and characters, that DO seem to fulfill some destiny. We write games to entertain ourselves and when we get bored we delete them. If there's a god, as unlikely as that is, granting grudgingly, it doesn't follow that we factor in to his plans in any way.

[@JJPHILLYLG]

Does the concept of perfection ironically have flaws?

[@Itsgbk]

Angels have wings because they needed to describe how they fly .and the only thing they ever seen that was flying had wings ..imagine what they would say if they seen a plane 😳.would blow there mind

[@tomalan6519]

Yeah swords, and horses and thrones. If Moses returned from the top of Mt Sinai with a laptop instead of stone tablets or Jesus was said to one day return in a Stealth Fighter instead of a horse I might be impressed.

[@davenchop]

only if he had wifi

[@broddr]

Or “do not covet your neighbor’s iPhone.” Would have been meaningless word to Israelites, but that would have been prophesy that would be difficult to ignore.

[@algi1]

As a kid I was told the Archangel Gabriel was wielding the flaming sword guarding the Eden.

[@tariq_sharif]

of course he is doing that ... stop spreading doubt ... ... i was told many such stories when young, but happy to report that (eventually) critical reasoning kicked in ...

[@13shadowwolf]

I ask them, what exactly was it that the Angels were guarding against, because God created everything...

[@GameTimeWhy]

​@@13shadowwolfespecially when the snake got in despite having these elite guards. What was their purpose?

[@13shadowwolf]

@@GameTimeWhy well, if god created Eden, and created the guardians, and created the threat that the guardians were placed their for...and has perfect knowledge... The only conclusion is that god planned for humanity to "fall"; and needed it to happen to become the "savior" of humanity. Which is totally in line with god's childishness and petty rage displayed repeatedly in the bible. The biblical god, is a Malignant Narcissist, that requires our worship, because god is pathetic.

[@weeaboobaguette3943]

Not only are swords the pinacle of melee weapons (in overall versatility, surpassed by specific weapons in specific situations where said weapons are effective only in said situations), but you have no idea what technology will develop. Will dune-like personal shields limiting velocity, bringing back melee weapons as credible main weapons of war, be possible ? Will stealth technology, paired with anti-missile defenses, become so good that melee ambushes/stealth assaults will become favoured for taking enemy positions ? Will exoskeletons enable such durability, speed and agility that swordmaster-like supersoldiers ( with genetically engineered/selected predisposed talent for swordsmanship ) be able to become literal one-men armies, maybe even bring a new paradigm of a legions of city-states kept together by god(of war)-kings ? What about metal gear : revengeance ? ( i always asked for this, what a shame ) There's also the simple fact that firearms, on any kind of relevant scale, are fundamentally tied to industrial society, and civilizational collapse could make ammunition/parts scarce enough for melee to become the meta again ( assuming it happens before the molecular assembler ).

[@thabangoliphant5587]

Thank you Matt !

[@Nocturnalux]

I was raises Catholic and when it came to swords and religion, what immediately comes to mind is Saint George slaying the dragon. Extra biblical for sure.

[@scambammer6102]

swords are cool. half the shows on tv have swords.

[@Nocturnalux]

@@scambammer6102 Shoujo Kakumei Utena.

[@stevewebber707]

A metaphorical weapon to protect a metaphorical garden of Eden is getting very meta. Does a metaphorical garden need protections?

[@jiubboatman9352]

When I saw the title, I thought it was referring to Jesus saying there are people alive that will see his return. Thinking about Highlander three, where the sorcerer is hidden behind a wall and corner is unaware of him. Made me wonder if one of the disciples was bricked up alive somewhere.

[@broddr]

The Jehovah’s Witnesses take that Jesus ‘return in your lifetime’ literally, as they do the rest of the Bible. Their dogma is that there are a few dozen people more than twice as old as Methuselah still wandering around this planet, just waiting for Jesus to return so that they can finally get their eternal rest.

[@somersetcace1]

Basically it boils down to the idea of this supreme entity doing things in the most unlikely of ways for seemingly no reason. Though, as you said, they just pass it off as metaphor, except for the evangelical whackos, but they believe the Earth is 6k years old and more than a few them believe the Earth is flat, so believing in actual angels running around with swords doing God's bidding is not surprising.

[@owenoulton9312]

Actually, Matt, in the Book of Ezekiel, Cherubim had two *_PAIRS_* of winga and four faces, that of a lion (representative of wild animals), an ox (domestic animals), a human (humanity), and an eagle (birds).

[@troffle]

> 6:23 metaphor for some other weapon why would we need a weapon is it a laser weapon a lightsaber is it a plasma torpedo is it a molecular wire that you could use to decapitate someone I don't know why we would need a metaphor for a weapon You know what, I think we're gonna need a Matt Dillahunty video that isn't another one of those "learn just how little theists have considered their position / brush up your non-theist logic skills" educational videos. I think we're gonna need "so Matt's into Highlander, Star Wars, possibly Star Trek and very likely some kind of cyberpunk, let's see what drives him outside of the theistic realm, oh pretty please...?". On that topic, @SansDeity, ever done Doctor Who? Before Russell Davies did his first Doctor Who cash-grabbing, he'd gotten Christopher Eccleston and a couple of others in to do a two-part micro-series called "The Second Coming". Eccleston plays a "works in a video store" guy who disappears for days after a bender in a pub. When he comes back, he appears to have understood that he's actually The Second Coming of Jesus and the world now has to produce a Third Testament, or it shall be Judgement Day. Would love to find your opinion on said show if you ever have the time to burn... > which is why the science fiction of today is much better and will still be laughable I would hope in a thousand years AH. I see you haven't watched recent "Star Wars" or "Star Trek" or "Doctor Who" or even Amazon's "Rings Of Power" and if you feel like having a heart attack born of pure anger and hatred read Asimov's "Foundation" and then watch the filthy garbage put out by AppleTV... ... sorry. The point being, you gotta be kidding, science-fiction since about 2009 is laughable garbage *right now*.

[@Cthulhu013]

I interpret the tree of life/knowledge as the goddess Asherah (fertility goddess) otherwise known as Queen of Heaven (consort of El, Baal, and Yahweh). From that perspective, it would make sense to guard the queen just like any sort of royalty would be guarded at that time. It's just a remnant of the Canaanite roots. Interesting aside: If the interpretation is accurate, we basically have Asherah serving the role of Prometheus, sharing 'fire' with mankind. In this case, sharing the divine power of creation. But rather than punish the sharer of divine power as happens with Prometheus, it's mankind that suffers repetitive torture and death for eternity.

[@randolphphillips3104]

My question has always been: I gawd carved morality on our hearts, why did he need a "Tree of the knowledge of good and evil"? And if he just wanted a tree, why would Adam and Eve (with this knowledge already carved in their hearts) be a threat (or even affected by) eating the fruit?

[@thinkingsapien6338]

Religious fiction versus science fiction. Good job Matt.