Christopher Hitchens Where do christians think they get their morals from?

Christopher Hitchens Where do christians think they get their morals from?
If christians are only good for fear of god then they have no morals.

[@SleepyPenguin-8og]

Hitch drops more knowledge in under 7 minutes than youll ever pick up inside a church in a lifetime.

[@AlcibiadesMD]

Christopher Hitchens has provided me through his books, videos and debates more enlightenment, wit, humanism and humility than all the churches and religions nuts I attended to in my youth. As nearly 66 years old now I am indebted to this giant of reason, a voice sorely missed. I love 💗 the Hitch and remember his teachings everyday, I even put his name in my vehicle license plate, it reads, HITCH49 his date of birth (1949) and I’m proud of it.

[@creos42]

While in the military, I had an interaction with a roommate who was Mormon. I transitioned from Presbyterian to Atheist, with a brief stay in agnosticism. He couldn't understand how a person without religion, who did not believe in an afterlife, wasn't a criminal. What was stopping me from stealing, murder, rape? It was an odd, but good conversation. I struggle to understand the desire to harm others in any way, religious or not, and want to make the best of the fleeting time in this earth

[@JetSkiSuper7]

The Mormon dude was a stupid fuck.

[@gary100dm]

Speaking of good... the military... ?

[@MR-intel]

The people who spontaneously save strangers' lives, in the act risking their own life, are mostly atheists.

[@gary100dm]

Carl Rogers, the person centered therapy of humanistic psychology. Also of the non Freudian group with Victor Frankle, Rolo May, Abraham Maslow and others.

[@babagalacticus]

@@gary100dm is this what passes for a QUESTION in your mind or from wherever you hail?

[@pcbacklash_3261]

I'm in my seventh decade now and, while I can't claim to possess the wisdom of the ages, I believe I've learned a thing or two. And it's been my experience that all religions are religions of convenience. That is, we adapt THEM to fit OUR moral, ideological or emotional temperaments and inclinations, not the other way around.

[@epicofatrahasis3775]

@Chris Cuomo I'm sure glad I don't follow Biblical "morality". *This website is designed to spread the vicious truth about the Bible. For far too long priests and preachers have completely ignored the vicious criminal acts that the Bible promotes. The so called God of the Bible makes Osama Bin Laden look like a Boy Scout. This God, according to the Bible, is directly responsible for many mass-murders, rapes, pillage, plunder, slavery, child abuse and killing, not to mention the killing of unborn children.* I have included references to the Biblical passages, so grab your Bible and follow along. *It always amazes me how many times this God orders the killing of innocent people even after the Ten Commandments said Thou shall not kill.* For example, God kills 70,000 innocent people because David ordered a census of the people (1 Chronicles 21). God also orders the destruction of 60 cities so that the Israelites can live there. He orders the killing of all the men, women, and children of each city, and the looting of all of value (Deuteronomy 3). He orders another attack and the killing of all the living creatures of the city: men and women, young, and old, as well as oxen sheep, and asses (Joshua 6). In Judges 21 He orders the murder of all the people of Jabesh-gilead, except for the virgin girls who were taken to be forcibly raped and married. When they wanted more virgins, God told them to hide alongside the road and when they saw a girl they liked, kidnap her and forcibly rape her and make her your wife! *Just about every other page in the Old Testament has God killing somebody!* In 2 Kings 10:18-27, God orders the murder of all the worshipers of a different god in their very own church! In total God kills 371,186 people directly and orders another 1,862,265 people murdered The God of the Bible also allows slavery, including selling your own daughter as a sex slave (Exodus 21:1-11), child abuse (Judges 11:29-40 & Isaiah 13:16), and bashing babies against rocks (Hosea 13:16 & Psalms 137:9). ***This type of criminal behavior should shock any moral person.*** ***Murder, rape, pillage, plunder, slavery, and child abuse can not be justified by saying that some god says it’s OK.*** If more people would actually sit down and read the Bible there would be a lot more atheists like myself. *Jesus also promoted the idea that all men should castrate themselves to go to heaven:* For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are eunuchs, that were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it (Matthew 19:12). *I don’t know why anyone would follow the teachings of someone who literally tells all men to cut off their privates.* The God of the Bible also was a big fan of ritual human sacrifice and animal sacrifice. *And just in case you are thinking that the evil and immoral laws of the Old Testament are no longer in effect, perhaps you should read where Jesus makes it perfectly clear:* It is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass away than for the smallest part of the letter of the law to become invalid (Luke 16:17). There are many more quotes on this topic at my Do Not Ignore the Old Testament web page. *If you follow the links on this site you will learn about all the nasty things in the Bible that are usually not talked about by priests and preachers.* www.evilbible.com/ Watch *"Context!!!!!!"* by NonStampCollector (A good video for believers who try to rationalise Biblical atrocities and immorality by saying "Out of context".) ------------------------------------------------------------------ In addition, look up the below articles. *"10 Biblical Atrocities That Go Overlooked (Part 1) - Real Bible Stories"* (Written by a former minister) *"10 Biblical Atrocities That Go Overlooked (Part Two) - Real Bible Stories"* (Written by a former minister) *"The Will of God - The Christian Delusion"* *"The 10 Worst Old Testament Verses by Dan Barker - Freedom From Religion Foundation"* (Written by a former preacher) *"Top 20 Evil Bible Stories - Religion - Nigeria"* *"God is the Source of Morality. (Not.) | atheologica"* *"Is God Necessary for Morality? | atheologica"* *"What Would Jesus Do? - Evil Bible .com"* *"Why Jesus? Nontract (August 1999) - Freedom From Religion Foundation"* *"Morals Don't Come From God: For This I Know Because the Bible Tells Me So"* - Dr Steven DiMattei. *"Secular Societies Fare Better Than Religious Societies | Psychology Today"* *"The Atheist Atrocities Fallacy - Hitler, Stalin & Pol Pot - Michael A. Sherlock (Author)"*

[@Ottawa411]

@Chris Cuomo Christianity says that, if a man rapes and murders my atheist daughter, and later repents, my daughter will burn in hell forever, and he will be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven with open arms. Your god will forgive any, and every atrocity, except for ignorance of his existence. He is the ultimate immoral narcissist.

[@G_Demolished]

@Chris Cuomo Thanks for calling atheism a religion. It’s a great shortcut to not have to read all the drivel following it.

[@cliftongaither6642]

@@G_Demolished drivel? what drivel? do you mean drivel like the bible? see, it's easy. atheism has no dogma, no scripture. im sure you know that all atheism is, is the lack of belief in a god or gods, right? that's it. how is that a religion? do you see atheists congregating together on a weekly basis and chanting incantations to a supreme being? is there some kind of atheist scripture im not aware of? gee, me being an atheist for over 35 years, one would think that i and all other atheists would've heard of and have read that book by now.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

I am in my eighth decade and everyone has a soul which is Divine and we all have an emptiness that can only be filled with the Divine but so many of us do not understand this fact. We try to fill that void with wealth, fun, sex, religion, weird conclusions, ( no God), food, fast cars, shopping, sports, the list is endless. ............falundafa

[@erichouser7756]

Brilliant. World without religion is still a world of rules of conduct. Peace isn't dependent on faith. It's dependent on cooperation.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

If you are looking for peace, sorry, wrong planet.........................falundafa

[@rareram]

So what's the biological process that encourages us to not be immoral? Let's have no religion. What is the foundation of morality then?

[@jeffforsythe9514]

@@rareram Every living particle is created with these qualities, truthfulness-compassion-tolerance, that is the Way the Creator made it. Anything that strays from that path is corrupt. Now you can ponder that ..................falundafa

[@rareram]

@@jeffforsythe9514 I asked the atheist. Not you. Also the conversation is about Christianity and atheism. Not about the teaching of Li Hongzhi.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

@@rareram and?

[@glindathegoodwitch3385]

What a brilliant mind….sadly needed in these sadly conservative extremist times.

[@phil2003ashleigh]

Nothing conservative about today but I agree with radical extremism and liberal bullshit. He indeed was a great thinker, mind, and wonderful orator.

[@PietStassenAdamastor]

The serious question to ask oneself: Will his or my "brilliant mind" stand up to the brilliance of God at the Great White Throne Judgment on Judgment Day?

[@infinity1323]

Free thinking people around the world lost a great man the day Christopher Hitchins died. One of the greatest thinkers of his day. Truly missed.

[@Barzins1]

How sad! I didn't know.

[@morganophelia5963]

only as free as that atheism prison allows

[@infinity1323]

@@morganophelia5963 Thank you for making me laugh at this joke. You made my day.

[@morganophelia5963]

@@infinity1323 oh no joke it's serious they control his thoughts

[@willv1079]

@@morganophelia5963 another one! this lady's on fire!

[@donaldwilliams4019]

I could listen to him talk all-day

[@bas919]

To quote the legend in this video, "human decency is not derived from religion - it precedes it."

[@DSkehan2004]

It’s more than religion. It’s belief. This video is out of date

[@jjhpor]

@@DSkehan2004 "belief" the irrational acceptance of the improbable.

[@vhawk1951kl]

and if that is not religion, I'd love to know what is .Of course it is pure undiluted religion from a profoundly religious little pipsqueak now an ex- pipsqueak

[@vhawk1951kl]

And what exactly is "human decency"? - Anything you happen to like?

[@vhawk1951kl]

"human decency" being anything that diddums or his pipsqueak hero likes? The tendentious and swaggering little mouse(nothing and nobody) does little but come up with more words for likeable., so sanctimonious and smug is the late mouse

[@grantm6514]

So refreshing to hear someone selecting exactly the right words from such a vast vocabulary, when most of us just cobble our sentences together using whatever words we happen to have close at hand.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

I am in my eighth decade and everyone has a soul which is Divine and we all have an emptiness that can only be filled with the Divine but so many of us do not understand this fact. We try to fill that void with wealth, fun, sex, religion, weird conclusions, ( no God), food, fast cars, shopping, sports, the list is endless. ............falundafa

[@labibbidabibbadum]

As Gustave Flaubert put it, “Language is like a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.”

[@jeffforsythe9514]

@@labibbidabibbadum There is a path for all of mankind, created in Heaven, which is called The Way. The orignal Christians called themselves Followers of The Way. Any deviation from The Way only brings that person misfortune. The Way includes practicing truthfulness-compassion-forbearance. Faith in the Lord is also The Way, We are not supposed to always understand The Way but there is nothing wrong with trying to discern its righteousness. In my point of view, suffering is also an integral part of The Way. Falun Dafa.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Are you kidding? I weigh everything I say and write trying to be truthful-compassionate-tolerant. Everything one does comes back to them. Hitchens took on City Hall .

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Gee, you used the word cobble without putting you foot in your mouth. I knew you had a sole.

[@MrShanusMaximus]

Never trust anyone with a strong desire to punish others.

[@genepoole2329]

Meaning "God"

[@TaxingIsThieving]

You're right, let's bring back the Wild West x

[@StonyRC]

@@genepoole2329 - Meaning ANYONE with a strong desire to punish others. Whether a god or a man. If you're an atheist, you need have no fear of the retribution of any god - it's the god-followers you have to watch out for. They are capable of unspeakable barbarity in the name of their beliefs. Worse still, they think they are right and good in their barbarity.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

I am in my eighth decade and everyone has a soul which is Divine and we all have an emptiness that can only be filled with the Divine but so many of us do not understand this fact. We try to fill that void with wealth, fun, sex, religion, weird conclusions, ( no God), food, fast cars, shopping, sports, the list is endless. ............falundafa

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Who would? But today, everyone has lost their moral compass.

[@kevinsysyn4487]

Thank god there's shitloads of Hitchens on youtube... my favorite realist.

[@neiltristanyabut]

what god, though?

[@szilveszterforgo8776]

Average atheist: thanking God, calling Jesus' name, etc. without even believing in them.

[@neiltristanyabut]

@@szilveszterforgo8776 average?

[@szilveszterforgo8776]

@@neiltristanyabut average.

[@bogusmcbogus2637]

@@szilveszterforgo8776 wtf are we talking about right now...?

[@elmoblatch9787]

When we gauge the depravity of D'Souza over the past decade in particular, it seems absurd that he ever shared a stage with the great Hitch. D'Souza is one of many religious conservatives who lost all integrity and stature in their sickening defense of Trump.

[@jessewallace12able]

What moral compass do you gauge depravity from?

[@jeffforsythe9514]

You heap praise on your hero to deflect your own doubts, God is alive, whether you deny it or not.

[@HonoredMule]

@@jeffforsythe9514 There is a certain type of individual who sees projection everywhere, and I applaud them for finding the perfect shield against self-reflection.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

​@@HonoredMule What is that supposed to mean, sorry? We are all supposed to be seeking the Divine which means to look inside where true wisdom lies. Instead, 99% have chosen to play in the mud(materialism)and they end up with six feet of mud on top of them. I realise that most haven't a clue what I am talking about but if you can sense the truth in my words then Falun Dafa is for you.

[@Mcfreddo]

@@jeffforsythe9514 show gaud is alive. This is BS and you're just dreaming. An emotionally based conviction.

[@chbvrgvbn3434]

Christian's morality : believe in Jesus. He loves you. If you don't believe him, he will torture you". Is it a threat or love?

[@stevenperrigo3948]

Threat.

[@YD8189]

+riki halim Wrong. That is a grievous error made by laypeople who do not understand that the idea of a judgement after death is noted ONLY in the Gospel of Matthew and was lifted by Matthew from a parable in the Apocryphal Book of Enoch which was not considered sufficiently "inspired" to be included in the bible. Furthermore the parable is not about men, but nations. I am not a Christian but one does not have to be a chicken to smell a rotten egg. People like you--and others who kneel at Hitchens alter--are inclined to believe, remarkably, that the same man who said to those who had tortured him and subjected him to the most horrific form of execution at the time, "Father, forgive them they know not what they do." would torment eternally someone who merely denied him food when he was hungry. Hitchens, just as those who believe in a literal bible, has lost all sense of perspective. The evangelical would say the glass is half full; Hitchens more than half empty, while a genuinely objective person reflecting on religion would think more in terms George Carlin who said, more or less, the problem isn't whether or not the glass is half full or half empty; the problem is the glass is twice as big as it has to be. Consequently, Hitchens homes in on passages that may or may not have even been spoken by the Nazarene and discounts numerous passages that suggest the God of Christianity is one that does not judge, and upon death, released from the body, the "sinner" will for the first time, confront his or her creator, who understands the thorn-strewn path we all walk in life with its many burdens, the alluring temptations of "the flesh", a person's hidden or thwarted impulses for good, and for the first time in their existence, feel completely understood and unconditionally unaccepted despite their moral failings. Among many others, we find this belief in the 23rd Psalm, the 91st Psalm, in Zephania ("The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing."... . There are too many to count. But Hitchens is skimming the deck. He is cherrypicking the passages he needs to prove his point while dismissing those that run counter to those which agree with his emotional predelictions. And make no mistake about it: Hitchens was one pissed off, sarcastic man. His oratory was laced with anger and whenever one sees that, research suggests that we are experiencing the venting of emotion which percolates up from the primitive brain and is not the result of activity in the neo-cortex--the most advanced part of the brain.

[@moknows4996]

+steven perrigo Believe or burn, its a lot like how Hitler got the German people to "abide". Hitchens nailed it, as usual - what kind of a dictatorship creates you ill and then "orders you to recover"... Its hogwash and all Cults use Fear to control people. Its really that simple with ALL religions...

[@andrewdaly21]

+R the Storyteller Or. Choose God. He is love. He is life. Choose otherwise and you do exactly that.

[@rjames76]

+Gamer Horror Think of it more as someone offering to save you from drowning, and you denying that offer saying that water doesn't exist.

[@nogodism]

A journalist, author, critic and debater, Hitchens was one of those distinctly British intellectuals who seemed to have read everything and forgotten nothing. In his columns, essays and books, in his speeches and impromptu public appearances, he was incapable of uttering or writing a boring sentence. Reading and listening to Christopher Hitchens has helped me emancipate myself from a geographically inherited virus of the mind, known more widely as Christianity.

[@GrenvilleP710]

Christianity Judaism or Islam actually ..Christopher is a great loss.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

I am in my eighth decade and everyone has a soul which is Divine and we all have an emptiness that can only be filled with the Divine but so many of us do not understand this fact. We try to fill that void with wealth, fun, sex, religion, weird conclusions, ( no God), food, fast cars, shopping, sports, the list is endless. ............falundafa

[@RomanJockMCO]

And those who believe fill the "emptiness" with a fake God. Tell me, if you had a child who rejected you would you want him to spend eternity in what ever version of hell is to you? Are you really that petty and sadistic?

[@jeffforsythe9514]

@@RomanJockMCO That is Old Testament stuff, scare the unsophisticated minds of the humans who then needed rules. It takes quite an evil deed to get a ticket to hell. Denying God is one, I do believe, good luck. But you are not afraid, you have that drunk hero of yours to protect you. laughable, if it wasn't so sad.

[@RomanJockMCO]

@@jeffforsythe9514 Jesus is new testament, not old. I was asking you to put yourself in place of "god". Because ehat did jesus say would happen if you rejected him? Heaven and hell aren't even mentioned in the OT. And you're calling me unsophisticated?

[@lavidasombra7090]

I put my trust more in someone whose morals are derived from a deep-rooted sense of humanity and not simply because that's what some book told them to believe. Doing good things because a book says so means nothing to me. Doing good things because you believe its the right thing to do...I find that a far more solid foundation for values.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Yes, Mao was an atheist, Stalin, Kim, XI, all wonderful, kind people.

[@michaelbrickley2443]

You’re a fool

[@mickeyhadley4281]

@Jeff Forsythe - and yet the crusades were conducted by christians, all wonderful, kind people.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

@@mickeyhadley4281 People call themselves one thing and then act another way, what about you? That is the important thing, not what others did or are doing. Hitchens ignored an old adage, never take on City Hall.

[@michaelbrickley2443]

@@mickeyhadley4281 we follow Christ not man. Thou shalt not use the Lords name in vain

[@Bella-vt7ol]

Miss that man 🫶🏻 So eloquent, so tactical in his takedowns of religion

[@bustedfender]

Amazing brain and eloquent raconteur. Boorish, arrogant prick at times too.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

The one thing that atheists cannot deny is that they are good quitters. They quit seeking the Divine by joining Hitchens Cult of Quitters where they have a quitter for a hero and quitters for friends. Well why not use that ability to your advantage and quit being a quitter, I promise you that you just may have overlooked a miracle or two.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Let's say I was new in town and wanted to know about restaurants and I came upon a critique who told me all the places not to eat. That is exactly what Hitchen's has done with religions but I still would not know where to eat that was good. I will solve that spiritual problem............Falun Gong is wonderful.

[@DSkehan2004]

The reason why Hitchens is angry at God is his mom took her own life. None of what he’s said are facts to believe God won’t help you.

[@tomasneel1980]

very interesting..as Thomas Jefferson eloquently penned. '' Hitchens is 'self evident'' . notice Hitchens has a Christian name , born about 1950 yrs after the attested resurrection of Jesus Christ,,, I ask you, how do you account for my experiences, miracles, manifestations i have witnessed and millions of others like me ? i admonish any to read the Book of Mormon . thank you

[@jeffcolorado]

I miss Hitch. We need his type of thinking more than ever.

[@gking407]

Every Hitch video I watch seems to be better than the last. He’s an ethical breath of fresh air in a world overcome with religious buffoonery

[@broadstreet21]

Religion is nothing less than man's attempt to reach God, it will fail. That is why we need an anti-religion, where God reaches down to man.

[@vhawk1951kl]

What is all that bleating about 'morals but religious buffoonery?

[@vhawk1951kl]

If only you had slightest or faintest idea what you mean by "ethnical", but you are about to demonstrate that you have absolutely no idea whatsoever what you mean by "ethnical". Presumably "ethical" is some sort of religious mumbo-jumbo.

[@nicksenkovs1525]

We love and miss you so very much Hitch.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

We? You think that there is more than one of you? I know that Hitch probably saw everything double the way he drank but..............

[@Mike-bp2hh]

​@@jeffforsythe9514they must have a mouse in their pocket

[@inctru]

All "Christian morality" existed long before Christianity was ever manufactured by mankind. Everything about Christianity is derivative in one way or another from the multitude of folklore/mythologies/cultures that preceded it over several hundred thousand years. Same with Judaism, Islam, etc. Everything that we have traditionally regarded as morality from the very beginning has always been the simple byproduct of empathy, compassion & basic humanistic reasoning.

[@photonjones5908]

Truth!!!!

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Christianity began with Christ, you should try to quit sounding like you are some great sage explaining the world to the rest of us. The one thing that atheists cannot deny is that they are good quitters. They quit seeking the Divine by joining Hitchens Cult of Quitters where they have a quitter for a hero and quitters for friends. Well why not use that ability to your advantage and quit being a quitter, I promise you that you just may have overlooked a miracle or two.

[@TaxingIsThieving]

If morality is so "simple", why has atheist England never been so degenerate? I'll wait.

[@inctru]

@@jeffforsythe9514 I'm open to the possibility of anything sounding remotely credible & rooted in some notion of reality. Basic concepts & abstract notions of Deism with regards to creationism, for example. You are only a dogmatic Christian by happenstance of time, birth, indoctrination and/or geography, just like every follower of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc. around the world throughout history, & equally a "quitter" of every assertion except the ONE you were taught to believe. So, you are no different than those you call quitters, ironically enough. I'm obviously open to more different concepts & theories than you are regarding our existence - just not the (comic book quality) dogmatic ones that are blatantly constructed by superstitious and/or devious humans down through history for purposes of control, manipulation, conformity, profit & providing artificial certainty/stability where none actually exists. Mithra bless you, & give you great bounty.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

As your great speaker has so eloquently pointed out, there are hundreds if not thousands of evil, misleading, lying, fraudulent and destructive religions and cults in this world. Now , here is a fact. We all live in this dimension where every thing has its Yin and Yang. Hot and cold, up and down, male and female, tall and short, fast and slow, fat and thin, rich and poor, the list is endless. This is irrefutable. So for what Hitchens says about all the dark evil black side of mankind, there must also be a good, honest, white side. Instead of continuously wallowing in the dark side of this dimension, should not a wise person be out seeking that light side, it has to exist.

[@mariavon22]

Brilliant! Christopher was such a loss to common sense and also to the furtherance of humanity!

[@jeffforsythe9514]

If you call a direct path to Hell the furtherance of humanity.

[@nealgrimes4382]

@@jeffforsythe9514 Have you any evidence that Hell is real.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

@@nealgrimes4382 All hell has broken out right here, in case you didn't notice. Children killing children, children killing parents, strangers shooting strangers, wars all over, disease everywhere, no morality at all, and this is not hell. It is not my job to prove anything to you, it is your responsibility to seek the Divine for yourself, not to join a Cult Of Quitters.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

On its road to Hell.

[@korganrocks3995]

The world is more confusing than ever, and corporations and governments are researching the best ways to confuse us and using them against us. Has nothing to do with religion.

[@JeffreyGillespie]

Only humans would invent God. It’s so profoundly human to suggest that life is not enough. You have to beg an imaginary being for an afterlife as well. So stupid.

[@chucktaylor4958]

Christopher Hitchens is the best of speakers.

[@Jr-qo4ls]

So eloquent, so logical.

[@vhawk1951kl]

What would be an example of what you suppose to be his logic? Can you identify or reproduce any (even one) of his syllogisms? No, I rather thought not.

[@ralphmunn1685]

This is one of the most powerful repudiations of religious faith, and explicitly belief in the New Testament teachings, that I've ever heard. 🙏

[@jeffforsythe9514]

The one thing that atheists cannot deny is that they are good quitters. They quit seeking the Divine by joining Hitchens Cult of Quitters where they have a quitter for a hero and quitters for friends. Well why not use that ability to your advantage and quit being a quitter, I promise you that you just may have overlooked a miracle or two.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

As your great speaker has so eloquently pointed out, there are hundreds if not thousands of evil, misleading, lying, fraudulent and destructive religions and cults in this world. Now , here is a fact. We all live in this dimension where every thing has its Yin and Yang. Hot and cold, up and down, male and female, tall and short, fast and slow, fat and thin, rich and poor, the list is endless. This is irrefutable. So for what Hitchens says about all the dark evil black side of mankind, there must also be a good, honest, white side. Instead of continuously wallowing in the dark side of this dimension, should not a wise person be out seeking that light side, it has to exist.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

@@cthulhucrews6602 Should I waste my time? The Ten Commandments, the New Testament and now Falun Dafa.

[@asyetundetermined]

@@jeffforsythe9514seems you’ve crafted an entire personality centered on wasting your time. Carry on.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

@@asyetundetermined I am 73 and saving people from a lifetime in Hell is not wasting time, what is your way of passing time, a tv clicker in one hand, a sandwich in the other and a cold one in the other. The American Weigh. 5 out of4 Americans are overweight.

[@nightowl6260]

"No, it won't do, it won't do". His oratory is also so rhythmic.

[@gofannon1943]

Goosebumps at that line.

[@upgrade01a]

What a great speaker he is.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Is? Don't tell me that he is still yapping away somewhere.

[@TaxingIsThieving]

Glad to hear you believe in the afterlife, Justin.

[@williamgreenfield9991]

@@jeffforsythe9514 Well, you are still yapping, so what's your point?

[@vhawk1951kl]

Seemingly anyone with who you agree is a"great speaker"

[@obits3]

Morals come from the evolutionary value of cooperation.

[@Barzins1]

That makes sense to me.

[@OldTeaMate]

Barry, it means, that values have developed long side the development of society, which seems clear observing the variety in weight different societies put on different values.

[@Dada-jn2de]

They have developed in this way, along with many other useless and irrational things which are innate. Many people suffer from social anxiety especially towards the opposite sex, for example, even though there is no reason for a 21st century man in the west to have any uneasiness about it. I think ultimately as atheists we are left with no rational reason to help others outside of our occasional need for reciprocation and cooperation. We have no rationale for issuing humanitarian missions in the 3rd world or helping a beggar etc. Rational egoism is correct in saying that no action that is not directly or indirectly selfish can be called logical. Also, it amazes me that someone as intelligent as Hitchens is ready to say that some things are objectively bad or good or to be so firm in condemning what he perceives to be immoral, while claiming that morality's origins are evolutionary - which makes it only a subjective instinct. Everything, in absence of a conscious being is only neutral.

[@gladiator8325]

i agree, just look how moral mankind is, lol

[@ChillAssTurtle]

you're as much an atheist as you are a non astrologer.

[@waggishsagacity7947]

"Vicarious expiation" is so pivotal to Christianity that having shredded it here, Christopher Hitches had won the debate once and for all, in my view. However, you and I know that no such thing is likely, so the debate continues. To me it is the exact equivalent of the sound of one hand clapping. As an Atheist, I'm pleased that we've won, and sense that those who want to continue the debate are just in abject Denial.

[@mikeokeeffe6163]

Geez, I LOVE listening to Hitchens. His posh accent and eloquence in the language - it's like music.

[@vhawk1951kl]

Not posh at all it is merely English spoken correctly ( which means how power-possessing beings speak it.

[@laestrella9727]

It's definitely a posh accent 😅

[@laestrella9727]

Über posh in fact. The posh-deniers do it because that label is unwanted nowadays but he is *definitely* posh(!) About as posh as you can be in Britain.

[@vhawk1951kl]

@@laestrella9727 Only the Elsies and Americans say that we speak with"a posh accent"- the Americans because pure well enunciated and thus unaccented English is an accent' to them and only the Elsies describe how their betters speak as posh, and only imbeciles use those asinine infantile little symbols.

[@Dragonsnack73]

Even as an atheist i volunteered to help "society", (in this case, ironically, i volunteered in a catholic charity), but not because "god" told me to do so, but because it just was the right thing to do. I wonder, what do you value more highly: persons that do good (or don't do bad things) because it is the right thing to do, or because a book told them to do so? I hope this was somewhat coherent (still sleepy). Thank you a lot for the food for thought :) Have a wonderful day!

[@DaveBuildsThings]

Never believed in a afterlife. When we die we go back to what we were before birth. Nothing. No heaven or hell. just nothing. And I don't need a bible or a god to tell me right from wrong. I know what they are. Why one would think we need a god to explain it to us is simply amazing. Capitals left out on purpose.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

I think that you did a little charity work as a little insurance policy just incase God is watching you. And I assure you that he is.

[@TaxingIsThieving]

The self-righteousness of atheists never fails to amaze. Who do you think you are, knowing the reasons for what we do? Unlike God, you are not omniscient.

[@TaxingIsThieving]

@@jeffforsythe9514 His one-time volunteering was all so he could boast about it later on KZbin - and then tell us that he is "valued more highly". What a champ.

[@Dragonsnack73]

@@jeffforsythe9514 Hi god, f*ck you!

[@ncooty]

If there were such a thing as an intellectual restraining order, surely all literate people would have one against Dinesh D'Souza.

[@tikhongilson3770]

There would be such a restraining order if more people knew what a racist D'Souza is.

[@Repackrider84]

This is probably the best 6min short that Christopher has done.

[@jimgulick9773]

I agree. Morals come from human experience about what makes human communities and families happy and successful.

[@jimgulick9773]

@@raptorhandz Huh? How does that follow?

[@robp2253]

@Chris Cuomo Quite a jump there. And a lot of self serving ignorance. Do you really mean to say that helping each other is not in our own best interests? Do you think that our ancestors helping each other through famine, disasters, and especially war, is a lack of morality? Even before the Hebrew god made his appearance, humans were working together for their common good. Where do you think that spark of morality can from? Do you really think that the human species would have survived the stone age without looking out for each other? I would add that if you intend to point to religious people (especially Christians) as paragons of virtue, then I would simply point to that large mass of Christian fundamentalists in the US today who have no issue justifying actions that the average non-Christian knows is immoral if not just plain evil. No sir, your argument falls flat. I could even talk about the animals, for whom you exhibit no small degree of disdain, as showing compassion and kindness toward other animals. But I will refrain from examples unless you insist.

[@Jeremy9697]

@Chris Cuomo pack animals that don't steal survive. Ones that do get shuned from the pack and die. Pack animals that kill each other die from the lack of the pack...there are many examples of why being selfish in the animal kingdom can lead to failure.

[@Jeremy9697]

@Chris Cuomo very clearly I was referring to their own pack. Wolves don't steal from their own pack. They don't needlessly kill their own pack.

[@Jeremy9697]

@Chris Cuomo what are you still on a different topic? Your avoidance of the facts I have presented only show you have no rebuttal because you have nothing to rebuttal with. Sorry you can't contribute to the conversation. It shows your character.

[@831Billy]

Ahhh I miss you Mr Hitchens. You make sense of so much that I question. We were so lucky that you were with us as long as you were. And continue to be with you in our hearts and minds. 😢

[@jeffforsythe9514]

I am in my eighth decade and everyone has a soul which is Divine and we all have an emptiness that can only be filled with the Divine but so many of us do not understand this fact. We try to fill that void with wealth, fun, sex, religion, weird conclusions, ( no God), food, fast cars, shopping, sports, the list is endless. ............falundafa

[@jeffforsythe9514]

It is a very simple task to find the errors in so many religions but much more difficult to find a righteous one, I did.............falundafa

[@jeffforsythe9514]

If you call sense a direct path to hell then I agree.

[@831Billy]

@@jeffforsythe9514 you are an idiot

[@jeffforsythe9514]

and you are a member of Hitchens Cult of Quitters. A sad drunk who criticized others his entire life, what a waste.

[@mnamhie]

Speaking of Legends! Christopher, you will always be a Legend. What a great orator, a great thinker, smashing the ludicrous idols of the faithful. Only the credulous, the deluded, believe in things that are not evidently true. And then shamefully teach their children the same. Is it any wonder the world is in the condition it is in?

[@vhawk1951kl]

Someone is great to those tat are mice(nothings and nobodies) if the said mice happen to agree with him, while Titch was no more great that he was impartial and not a tendentious child, the bugger died before he had the chance to become a grownup man which was never a possibility for him because he had his head so far up his own arse in self-admiration that becoming a real man was not a possibility for him beause he was always sucking up to Mrs. vanity and Mr self love; the silly creature had an absurdly high opinion of himself which he did not merit , seemingly and it comes as no surprise he was a queer but which sort? who knows? You mice always think that absolutely worthless creatures like Titch are something special because you mice are not.

[@8698gil]

The reason people don't believe in gods of thunder and rain anymore is because thunder and rain can be rationally explained. Religion is going through its dying period, its not easy, believers are kicking and screaming, but its absolutely no different to believe in the god of creation than it is to believe that gods are responsible for the weather.

[@GriethDay]

This gave me a bit of hope. I’m writing from 12 years after you made this comment, and the right wing christian nationalists are trying to rule us all. I hope are are well.

[@samuellfunksonandthemother7752]

All of these years later I am so happily amazed to see the huge amount of incredible comments regarding the legendary Hitch. I miss his wisdom, the way he makes even now, people think, his way of speaking and his cheeky yet clever humour and sarcasm.

[@catsupchutney]

The world is worse off for the loss of Chris Hitchens.

[@shetland990]

.. who I believe despised being referred to as Chris 🤔

[@catsupchutney]

@@shetland990 Fight the good fight guy!

[@kikojones73]

And yet a cancer to humanity like Dinesh D'Souza still breathes. More proof there is no god.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Everyone gets what they deserve.

[@ksb2112]

@@jeffforsythe9514 I guess if you choose to believe in imaginary beings the same holds true.

[@joekonopka2363]

Man created gods so he can worship himself

[@hughbarton5743]

Dazzling, as always. Thank you, as always, Hitch.

[@ardidsonriente2223]

Excellent presentation. One of my favourites on this topic.

[@honestkaos]

I was lucky to see these two and get a couple of books signed by Hitchens. Dinesh is still a crank.

[@babagalacticus]

the "crank" part actually is fine; it's that he's a slithering, odious, demented LIAR who makes shit up out of whole cloth & conflates his extremely regressive MORAL views with his extremely crypto-fascist POLITICAL shenanigans.

[@mikefufuffalo8487]

God, I miss him so much!

[@Mike-bp2hh]

That's funny

[@jimmythebold589]

NoGod,i'msureyou meant

[@jeffforsythe9514]

You miss God so much? So quit listen to drunken cynics.

[@thedaemonator3244]

I've always found the notion of having a scapegoat for all misdeeds that can absolve you of all responsibility because you clapped your hands together and mumbled a few words to yourself to be the genesis of conscienceless criminals, as it's a practical equivalent to sociopathy.

[@jeffbaer5851]

More than anything, the LEGENDARY Christopher Hitchens reminds us that RELIGION and THINKING are mortal enemies.

[@mike196212]

Flawless thinker. He pulled no punches and went after the left and the right. I really miss the man and his logic and bravery. I have yet to see the person beat this guy in a debate. Last year I watched a nutcase from a rinky-dink US college(I think he was the dean as well as a prof) take the subject of the debate,atheism,off the rails because he was sinking fast in double talk.

[@vhawk1951kl]

Round objects he was a tendentious attention-seeking child, blithely unaware that he had fallen down the hole of the atheist's paradox.

[@Mulatto4Metal]

Oh but the part that I actually found amusing was your "the truth shall set you free-you’re being deceived” notion; that one gave me a good laugh. It’s such a classic favorite among theistic people like yourself and I just love it when “believers” spit that phrase at me because of the great irony behind it that they (and yourself) never seem to see.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

So people are spitting in your face, not me. If people were spitting in my face I would just tell them that the truth will set you free. You most certainly will never hear the truth by being a member of Hitchens Cult of Quitters.

[@bruth6138]

We miss you, Christopher.

[@H0n3yMonstah]

Really wish this man could have been here to debate Jordan Peterson.

[@dragonfox2.058]

that's the trouble, people say something that rings true but the rest is BS ie Peterson

[@seamusdelahunty1615]

why? both great thinkers but its women journos that rip peterson

[@deirdre108]

JP is embarrassingly weak in regards to debating religion. Matt Delahunty and Sam Harris demonstrated that.

[@H0n3yMonstah]

@@seamusdelahunty1615 because he says stupid things like "atheists take their values from the judeo Christian religions." Or "what do you mean by Do, what do you mean by believe, what do you mean by In and what do you mean by God". He's knows perfectly well what those words mean in the context they're delivered. He's a hack.

[@afh001]

He would have carved Jordan Peterson into tiny self-regarding fragments. JBP's angsty theological woolliness wouldn't have stood a chance.

[@Gaspo123]

The reality is that as a cooperative species (I.e. we live in family groups and larger communities) we need to make rules and codes to acceptable behaviour. Wolves do it, marmots do it, elephants do it, Mercat's do it. Morality is just natural behaviour that's preserves our species otherwise our cooperative would not function.

[@vhawk1951kl]

Exactly who invents your famous rules or codes and by reference to what criteria? Who told you that Wolves or elephants or what you call Mercats do, and why do you believe them? If only you had the faintest idea what you mean by "morality" but you are about to demonstrate that you have no idea whatsoever what you mean by "morality

[@vhawk1951kl]

m Man or men (human beings are a genus not a species and your famous what you call morals which are observed mostly in the breach are little more than relative subjective and temporary likes and dislikes. As the master said what is moral in Petersburg is immoral in Moscow and vice versa and the truth is that their famous morals are one of the chief reasons that those men creatures keep catching that terrible disease I-am-right and they are incapable of understanding that a man can never find himself to be right, because they will spend their miserable worthless existences dreaming and worshiping their god self-calming, and it never crosses their dreaming mechanisms that a dreaming machine has no choice, and they only invented that lie that they call free will to please their god self-calming, which is for them, so powerful that when it says jump" !they meekly enquire how high?- they simply have no choice.

[@larrylorenzen2449]

I love this guy! Clear thinking at its best!

[@jeffforsythe9514]

We are not here to give opinions of how the world should be, the world is a mess and unfixable by man, man is too greedy. We are all here to seek the Divine and to return home, which is Heaven........................Falun Dafa

[@arkdark5554]

This man died early. Too early. I wish he lived twenty more years. Respect.

[@janeblogs324]

He needed to live another 2000 if you wanted to meet him

[@korganrocks3995]

I love reading, and few things annoy me as much as "too long, didn't read", but my friend, you need to use paragraphs if you're going to write an essay in a youtube comment.

[@fisherguzzi]

@@korganrocks3995 it’s a haiku

[@korganrocks3995]

@@fisherguzzi The comment I was responding to was the biggest wall of text I've ever seen. It appears to have been deleted, unless I accidentally responded to the wrong comment.

[@joedruo]

it is so liberating to know that I get my morality from myself and other humans, not God.

[@vhawk1951kl]

And what pray are these morals that you get from others?

[@108padma]

One of Hitch's very best! Salutations to this most noble of men, sadly lost to us far too soon.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Even though that common man does not have the wisdom to understand, everyone gets what they deserve. Unless some act of madness is involved.

[@SNORKYMEDIA]

@@jeffforsythe9514 "everyone gets what they deserve" love to see you prove that....

[@babagalacticus]

brother hitch was by NO MEANS the "most noble of men"; he supported the american military-industrial complex' invasion of iraq & NEVER recanted until his dying day. it took me awhile to figure out why & it was rather sad. in any case i'm fairly certain he would not have appreciated being appraised thusly; even the saints weren't saints.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

He is not lost, I know exactly where he is and you most certainly do not want to join him there. Sorry.

[@TaxingIsThieving]

@@SNORKYMEDIA How did Hitchens meet his end? His hedonism caught up with him. You can't drink away the void.

[@Barzins1]

Vicarious redemption is possible for the believer because vicariously culpability is possible for them. If man is guilty by virtue of the sin committed by Adam, then he can be forgiven his sin by virtue of Jesus paying the price for his sin. The whole concept is juvenile.

[@Barzins1]

Fat fingers suck ass when it comes to typing.

[@timdieselmois]

You would think that such a trivial answer to the question of our being would be innate inside of us. That's what makes me doubt the most. the idea that we need to be taught what the purpose of the universe is, is ridiculous to me

[@Barzins1]

Our brains have been programmed to look for a cause for every effect. That is to say Ina addition to wanting to find out how is there something instead of nothing, we naturally want to know why is there something instead of nothing. That instinct (the one of finding patterns) is so strong in us that the idea that there is no why (as distinguished from how) the universe came into existence (that is there is no purpose for the universe) is repugnant to us.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Good brings you good and evil brings you evil, too simple.................falundafa

[@vhawk1951kl]

Oh no that cautionary tale has far more to it than that. A man is only vicariously liable for the acts or omissions of his servant or agent.

[@leepd1]

If a believer can listen to this and still have a need to follow a god thru faith, then they are never going to see reality.. facts just don't matter when your emotional state of mind dictates every thought, highlighting what a basic species we really are.. thanks Hitch.. much missed.

[@albertmoore4445]

I have often proposed the notion to friends that public schools ought to openly and consistently promote moral behavior from students from kindergarten through high school. I also believe that bringing religious teachings and activities into those same schools is wrong. It surprised me that the concept of moral teachings without any religious connection was so difficult for intelligent people to accept as a workable, valid approach to helping young people make better choices. We can promote honesty, trustworthiness, responsibility, kindness, humility, cooperation and respect for themselves and others, and steer them away from drugs, alcohol, bullying, sex, pregnancy, and many other potentially harmful temptations and influences without reading from the Bible or other religious texts, praying or otherwise involving religion. Character building and healthy decision-making guidance could go a long way toward improving our society, even if students do not develop religious affiliations.

[@vhawk1951kl]

public schools as understood where?-in England a public school is a very expensive boarding school. What makes behaviour " moral"?-Likeability?- Does that not depend on who is doing the liking?

[@albertmoore4445]

@@vhawk1951kl Respecting others by not bullying them or assaulting them, being responsible for your own behavior, not stealing, lying, cheating, doing drugs and alcohol, not getting pregnant or getting STDs... I think reasonable people can come up with moral parameters which can be accepted by all. Those who like to play semantic games can always find a reason to debate rather than do anything.

[@vhawk1951kl]

@@albertmoore4445 "Respecting others by not bullying them or assaulting them, being responsible for your own behaviour, not stealing, lying, cheating, doing drugs and alcohol, not getting pregnant or getting STDs... bla bla bla " *Because*?

[@albertmoore4445]

@@vhawk1951kl *Because* students who are guided toward behaviors that make their lives and the lives of those with whom they interact better and happier will help make better families, communities and overall society. It makes sense for schools to promote that. Instead of playing the juvenile "devil's advocate" game, why don't you express you own solutions. Any fool can question. How about some answers?

[@vhawk1951kl]

@@albertmoore4445 "Better" according to whose criteria which are what specifically? What is the source of those criteria which are what

[@douglaidlaw740]

Seneca the Philosopher (died A.D.65) gave a religious or moral flavour to the Stoic philosophy, (which had been around since about 350 BCE) and is said to have been a big influence. His brother was Gallio, the governor of Greece before whom the Apostle Paul appeared (adoptions were very common in Roman times.) A letter from Seneca to Gallio has survived.

[@babagalacticus]

Seneca the Younger's Letter 47 of his Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium, sometimes known as On Master and Slave or On Slavery, is an essayistic look at dehumanization in the context of slavery in ancient Rome. It was a criticism of aspects of Roman slavery, without outright opposition to it (Seneca was himself a slaveholder), and had a favorable later reception by Enlightenment philosophers and subsequently the 19th century abolitionist movement, though it has also been seen as a proslavery apologia, as well as in the light of the Stoic philosophical idea that "all men are slaves".

[@doneestoner9945]

I love💙💚💜Christopher Hitchens ❤

[@ANDROLOMA]

The absolute strangest thing about the average Christian is how they assign more credibility to the Torah and the Tanakh than the average Jew does.

[@ANDROLOMA]

@chriscuomo9334 Thank you for confirming that not only are Christians logically delusional, they are also incapable of simple skills such as proficient grammar and spelling. Despite all your degrees and languages you're also inept at.

[@ANDROLOMA]

@chriscuomo9334 Nihil est hominum inepta persuasione falsius nec ficta severitate ineptius (There is nothing about man more false than his foolish convictions and there is nothing more stupid than hypocrite severity.) -Petronius Arbiter

[@Ottawa411]

@Chris Cuomo Christianity has absolutely no moral accountability, except for the requirement to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

[@spikutus]

Which is better? Doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do? Or doing the right thing because you fear being punished by a god?

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Being good is its own reward.............falundafa

[@vhawk1951kl]

right meaning what?By what criteria to you judge r suppose what ever to be what you call but cannot define, " right"? You have absolutely no idea , have you? What makes your famous right right? -that you like it?Why do you bother with all that right religious mumbo jumbo?

[@jeffforsythe9514]

One does the right thing because it feels better than doing the wrong thing, good grief, what is so difficult. It has nothing to do with God.

[@bersef]

We must question religion at every chance. We must make 'believers' do something they were never asked to do: Question what they were told as children.

[@Pixelkill3R]

You're religion will scientism which indoctrinated you as a child, and now as an adult with the belief the world was made from a Big Bang from nothing and that you live on a spinning spherical planet floating in a vacuum of space 🤣

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Why must "we" do anything that you think we should do? Oh, you think you are God. You should question why you are here, I know exactly why and I also know that you do not have a clue.

[@bersef]

@@jeffforsythe9514 Thank you for your response to my comment from 13 years ago. Here is my response to your response: Questioning things is how we improve and advance for the betterment of all. To your statement "Oh, you think your are God." No I don't, for I don't see any evidence of there being a God. Or a Devil for that matter. No one knows why they are born, but as I was born and have consciousness, I will endeavour to be as good a person as I can be. Not because of some unseen reward being offered when my heart stops pumping, nor because of a threat of eternal suffering, but simply because being kind and good is obviously the right thing to do. That didn't need to be explained to me by any religious body, it's plainly clear to any rational person. Enjoy your day. 🌎

[@jeffforsythe9514]

​@@bersef Being good is its own reward but that is not a good reason to deny God's existence. Faith is what is necessary when evidence is not present. We were put here to prove ourselves to God, not the other way around. That is a fact, now you know, now it is your Choice. No amount of faith goes unrewarded, that also is a fact......................................Falun Dafa will explain it all to you unless you do not care, again, your choice.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Until we find a righteous path and Falun Dafa offers that.

[@yarlkymcfirblatherington9879]

Humans complicate life to the point of madness. The meaning of life, the purpose of life is action. We have evolved to move as everything else does in the universe. Look at your body, your hands, your articulated limbs. Do as you would be done by is the only rule of thumb. Simply treat others as you wish to be treated, with respect, compassion, empathy and kindness. There's nothing more to life. We can live by common human love, not bitterness and hatred. This is the exercise of true intelligence. Is this too simple to understand? It doesn't even need debating.

[@if6was929]

Maybe they'll break the monotony by sitting around the rim of heaven and listen to the screams of billions of souls suffering in hell (some will be their former family and friends) so that they can tell them "see I told you so". Then they'll go back to tanning their souls by basking in the glory of god. Sounds pretty sadistic to me. I think that's the core of the religious personality; they're mean spirited people who can't wait for a scenario like that the exist.

[@SicilianStealth]

Basically being ethical involves thought and reflection. Morality comes as a set of beliefs, (not necessarily accurate ones) and requires unquestioning belief and obedience. In other words, the moral person does the thing they're taught to do out of obedience and the ethical person does the right thing out of understanding.

[@NeedsEvidence]

Always a pleasure to listen to the great Hitchens. I always thought of Christianity as a self-serving, self-aggrandizing BDSM play based on a ridiculous premise and an even more ridiculous climax, a fake sacrifice.

[@tsb7911]

I never understood the story. If Jesus knew he would spend eternity in heaven, what was his sacrifice again?

[@williamgreenfield9991]

@@tsb7911 It's like he took the weekend off and then came back. Big sacrifice.

[@tsb7911]

@@williamgreenfield9991 Sadly, millions of people throughout history have died via torture. There was nothing special about Jesus, and that's if he existed. Many people, back then, were nailed to a cross. Like I said, the story makes no sense. Also what would have happened if everyone was cool with Jesus 2,000 years ago? That's never been addressed.

[@williamgreenfield9991]

@@gregoryt8792 No amount of math can prove anything about the supernatural. And what would forensic science have to do with proving donkeys and serpents can talk? Did this guy prove forensically that Moses turned a stick into a snake and then turned it back into a stick? How does one prove forensically that some dude walked on water or rose from the dead? Either you are joking or you are forcing your mind to jump through some pretty absurd hoops in order to convince yourself that some (all?) of the ridiculous stories in your holy book are true. My favorite bit of scientific wisdom from the Bible: "The Earth is fixed and cannot move". We now know it is not "fixed" and certainly does move. There. I just proved your book wrong. And if it's wrong about one thing, you've got to question all of it. Tell me you aren't silly enough to think that the Earth paused in the sky for most of a day so Joshua could finish his slaughter.

[@NeedsEvidence]

@@gregoryt8792 I'm having a good laugh!

[@AimlessTrek]

Ill be one of the many to wish this that this man was still alive

[@rogerquintanilla863]

He is probably frying in hell. Nobody is perfect.

[@AimlessTrek]

@@rogerquintanilla863 “What is it you most dislike? Stupidity, especially in its nastiest forms of racism and superstition.”

[@tgstudio85]

@@rogerquintanilla863 Your troll comments kiddo prove Hichens was right, religion fries brain.

[@vhawk1951kl]

There are indeed a lot of sheep like you, but no men will mourn the loss of yet another tendentious-attention seeking mouse(nothing and nobody)with such an inflated opinion of himself the he could barely get his head through doors or out of his own arse.

[@Aironcrow]

Bob Dylan sang, "People don't do what they believe in, they just do what's most convenient then they repent. I I always said, 'Hang on to me honey and let's hope that the roof stays on.'"

[@mrtadreamer]

Being the word of God I have read it,... clear through several times, plus daily devotionals with the help of the Holy Spirit without the deceived mind of an atheist.

[@TaxingIsThieving]

You are wise my friend. RIP to the atheist alcoholic anyway

[@vhawk1951kl]

Hitchens was not an atheist, he only *said* he was an atheist to get the attention he craved not having been breastfed as a child which he remained until he was for himself destroyed forever; he was a classic case of look at little me, me, me, because I am trying to shock you.He had all the wits and self-insight of garden furniture and was a poor liar.

[@mrtadreamer]

@@vhawk1951kl Thank you. I didn't know that. He was still an anti theist who hated the idea of God.

[@831Billy]

Every time I watch a Hitchens video I feel more educated and more happy. And realize all the problems of religions.

[@korganrocks3995]

Wait, is he anti-semite or anti-muslim? It's hard to keep track of these accusations...

[@JACKnJESUS]

The infallible church which backed fascism...that one?

[@OtherDAS]

You mean Socialism and Communism, right?

[@JACKnJESUS]

@@OtherDAS It's all the same thing...but the RCC specifically backed fascism in Spain, Italy, Africa, Germany. It also helped a heck of a lot of nazis escape. But the church is built on socialism...so no surprise there.

[@BeachsideHank]

I simply don’t have enough intolerance, hatred and indecency in me to be a Christian.

[@holulu777]

Damn, I miss Hitch.

[@ncooty]

The dear, dear Mr. Hitchens was not always as modest as he might've been or as logically rigorous as he should've been, but my goodness, he was a nearly obnoxiously effective orator.

[@phillipemery572]

Hitchens was a journalist and entertainer, at his core. I think he played particularly well in America because he played gloriously to type: the gruff, po-faced Brit with no (blanks) to give. People liked his character a lot more than they listened to his arguments. Definitely not a dumb person by any stretch, but I think he got away with a lot of logical malpractice because he was/is darn fun to listen to. I would be intensely interested on how he would have interpreted the Trump era, MeToo, and woke-ism, were he alive at the time. If nothing else, he would have made for good TV.

[@ncooty]

@@phillipemery572: Exceptionally well put.

[@00bikeboy]

Hitchens would have made mincemeat out of Jordan Peterson.

[@vhawk1951kl]

That is some crush you have on Titch ducky, but birds of a feather, as they say

[@davidkeogh1570]

Hitches was so good at calling bs, bs.

[@vhawk1951kl]

he had no choice being full of it himself. If only he had not worshiped his various gods so assiduously. His problem was that of all men, he was the abject slave of his functions and devoted to his gods and one of them in particular- he had no choice because no dreaming machine could possibly have a choice.

[@milonguerobill]

The answer to this dilema is simple, man created god in his image not the other way around, therefore man without god is the same as man with.god morally and visa versa.

[@biffstrong1079]

I had a christian friend ask me why without god I maintained a moral code. I was brought up not to murder people, to try to be kind to people,. My general experience in life was that being good to people was a better way to live and tended to result in a better life for me. I didn't want to hurt people or see people hurt. Plenty of lessons in the bible that I have to say seem less than moral to me. One of the old prophets , Elijah? is shown contempt and scorn by some children. He calls on god to chastise them . God sends bears who eat the children or adolescents as a penalty for not showing proper respect to Elijah. I believe they taunted him by calling him "Old Bald Head" This dos not seem moral or a useful lesson.

[@robp2253]

" It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." Luke 17:2 My experience is that Christian morality is simply "fluid." I do not mean to be offensive. Just making an honest observation.

[@williamgreenfield9991]

Actually it was Elisha, and yes the story is morally repugnant. God sends some bears to shred about 40 kids because they teased him about being bald. This is not a "good book" if you are looking for a moral code.

[@isaakleillhikar8311]

There, so what if being a mean person resulted in a better life for you ?

[@biffstrong1079]

@@isaakleillhikar8311 That would be a problem.. Not my experience and not how I was brought up. I would suggest a moral code does need to to be taught to you , but parents can do that. If you have a society that cares about the people in it, you can learn to do the same.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

We are all born with a spark of the Divine and if we do not nurture this spark with our faith, even during hard times, and it goes out, we are then forever on the dark side. This is just the Way it is, that is why today, we see children killing their school mates, pure evil.........................falundafa

[@MizzouRah78]

The question of where atheists and secularists get their morals from has to be the single most preposterous, offensive, ignorant, embarrassing, disconcerting, and disgustingly arrogant point that theists make. It's absolutely void of sound reason or understanding of the natural world and its social creatures. I feel simultaneously infuriated and heartbroken when this point gets made.

[@robp2253]

That is an odd declaration. I seriously thought your were talking about theists at first. No joking. I have to ask if you have ever bothered to study your Christian Bible (assuming you are a Christian, if not, then I apologize). I studied the Bible very intently for decades as I sought to draw closer to God. After all, Paul made it clear that we should study the scriptures in order to know god better which implied that we should not take someone else's word for what our god intends. He is supposed to put his spirit within us when we accept Jesus. Yet the more I studied, the more question I had. The more I studied the more (dare I say) "contradictions" I found. But I pushed all those questions aside. My god was a god of truth and I trusted that he would not lead me astray. My god was not some bumbling fool who had to reach into the natural world to "correct" events that were happening. My god planned everything in advance. He knew what was going to happen. He was highly intelligent and all loving and caring. But the more I studied, the more everything fell apart. Here was a god who had no trouble torturing a man described as righteous just to win a bet. One might argue that god restored everything to that man. But what about the man's children? The 10 or 12 who were killed in a disaster. Are we supposed to ignore them as meaningless characters? Would our protagonist really not mourn the rest of his life for those children slain simply on a bet? If you really study the Christian Bible you can only conclude that you do not want your morals dictated by such a god. But you, Mizzou, want to call the non-theist as ignorant, embarrassing, arrogant, offensive, and preposterous. Perhaps you should be more prepared to explain how this god of yours exhibits any kind of objective morality rather than so readily judge those who ask honest questions.

[@MizzouRah78]

@Rob P Wow. I'm sorry that you invested so much time, energy, and thought to a response in vain. I'm an avid atheist and thought it was pretty clear that I was indeed speaking of theists. Do I not specifically clarify such in my original post?

[@robp2253]

@@MizzouRah78 😃 LOL. It was unclear to me. But I may not have read carefully enough. Thank you for your kind response.

[@MizzouRah78]

@Rob P But of course. More than anything, I felt bad that you had put so much time into a response to someone who is in agreement with you. Lol

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Everyone born here has evil karma, some a lot, some a little. The more karma, the blacker one's soul.

[@andy77718]

Christopher Hitchens said it best "personal responsibility means nothing" no making amends for your wrongdoing, compensating this you have victimized, but that Jesus will forgive me for the crimes I committed against you and the harm, pain, & suffering I caused you ALONE.

[@Minoltalphafan]

It is evolution. We are social mammals. Behavior that is not conducive to the well being of the group is checked. If it persists, they are banished or worse. Hence, it is beneficial in social societies to not be murderous thieves. You see this with Meerkats a lot, when a member shirks their duties or breaks rules they get kicked out and survival is low so that mean gene goes away, mostly.

[@OtherDAS]

For the self group, but not for other groups. History shows MANY tribal societies where you didn't steal or kill from your Trieb, but outsiders were fair game for anything goes. It is NOT evolution. Sorry, but your idea is refuted.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Like most today, you have mistaken Satanic for evolution. We are all born with a spark of the Divine and if we do not nurture this spark with our faith, even during hard times, and it goes out, we are then forever on the dark side. This is just the Way it is, that is why today, we see children killing their school mates, pure evil.........................falundafa

[@vhawk1951kl]

What is unrolling(which is what evolution means? You are not a" social mammal", you are a dreaming machine, but I see the hand of your god in play there.

[@neilus]

this man was brilliant

[@Gid-J]

Christopher Hitchens misses the point that Jesus saves the world from sin by showing us that Radical Responsibility and forgiveness for others is the way out. Christians are supposed to take on the consequences of the sins of others and forgive them thus taking the sin out of the world. Christopher thinks Jesus' sacrifice means a Christian can do whatever they want because Jesus removes their sin.

[@billwhite9703]

To me, this is more than an explanation of one man's disbelief in the need for, or existence of an almighty being. It's a repudiation of religious faith, yes; but this marvellous monologue is an affirmation that man can be ethical for his own reasons. If one assays the value of different interactions he _must_ acknowledge that treating others well brings reward for all concerned PLUS good feelings all round, including self-congratulation and healthy self esteem. And a dictatorial creator who creates you as a sinner and commands you to become pure while claiming that it has taken responsibility for your sins will not do; in fact is insane, illogical and not to be trusted.

[@vhawk1951kl]

Indeed it is no more that the swagger of some smug bumptious attention- seeking little dreamer who is the plaything of his god self-calming, to say nothing of his abject slavery to his functions and who is blithely unaware of the atheist's paradox, mainly because the puppy has all the self-insight of garden furniture. The puppy*says* that he is an atheist, which he self-evidently is not- Before being for himself destroyed forever he supposed that it was possible for him to be an atheist, being blithely unaware of the atheist's paradox.

[@MrFLUIZZLE]

RIP Hitch.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

Apologists seem incapable of reasoning from a neutral place in the direction of whatever the most likely true thing is. They instead start out assuming they're correct, make no pretence at all that they're trying to be fair or start neutral, in the direction of them being right through whatever means at hand whether or not it's intellectually honest. God can't be the foundation for anything if he doesn't exist so his existence can't be demonstrated through the idea that he's the foundation for morality

[@ChantingInTheDark]

Only evil people need a book to tell them how not to be evil.

[@vhawk1951kl]

What else do you suppose is all that good/evil right/wrong, morality mumbo jumbo but religion?

[@kapple654]

hahahah - so so so beautifully said xx

[@Gwyndolin-hk4ql]

Adding more to it, you need that kind of control to make good people evil. That's how religion (which is fundamentally a type of ideology) works.

[@vhawk1951kl]

"Evil" being anything diddums dopes not like, eh diddums? those two ideas of good and evil are at the bottom of all religions and are of course relative subjective and temporary- just like you titch.

[@vhawk1951kl]

"Evil" meaning no more than diddums-doesn't- like it". if religion be all that good/evil, right/wrong morality mumbo jumbo which it plainly is. Do you not have the information that the late Titch Hitchens was a devout follower of the religion socialism the sacred cows of which are, inter alia sewerites or homosexualists, like Titch

[@OpenBiolabsGuy]

We've all been asking the wrong loaded question. Morality doesn't "come from" anywhere. It's not an object that you ship in the mail or something like that. Moral and immoral DECISIONS are BASED ON certain types of reasoning. The real question that people ought to be asking is, "What is your morality BASED ON?" Not, "where does morality COME FROM?" Come from? What nonsense. It is nonsense both in form and meaning. Let's say that you tell me that morality "comes from" God. That God gave us moral guidance. Well, are God's commandments good because they came from God, or does God only give good commandments? If the first is true, that anything God says is good simply because it's God that's telling you to do it, then anything he says would be considered "good" no matter how harmful or egregious his edicts are. He could tell you to kill your first born to prove your love for him (Genesis 22:1-19), and you'd have to consider it good. He could tell you to kill your prisoners of war, except the "women children who haven't had sex with men" and keep those little girls "for yourself" (Numbers 31), and everyone would have to consider it good. "Good" becomes arbitrary and capricious. Whatever God tells you to do in the moment, no matter how evil it would otherwise seem, is "good", and for no other reason than "because God said so". If, on the other hand, God only gives good commandments because he has advanced wisdom and perspective beyond the ken of mere mortals, and would never tell you to do something truly evil, then even God's goodness isn't based on himself or his existence, but on something other than himself. Such as the abstract principles of virtues and reason, or far off goals and ends that mortals can't see yet how his means are supposed to achieve. The question I would then pose to Abrahamic theists is, "Why are the instances of Genesis 22 and Numbers 31 to be considered good?" Don't tell me "the Old Testament doesn't count"! These aren't the Kosher diet rules that Jesus nullified or the prophecies he supposedly fulfilled (which begs the question of why they don't count if they were fulfilled). These are case examples of things that God told people to do. "The Old Testament doesn't count" argument does not itself count here. So are we supposed to consider an order to commit human sacrifice with your own child, and forced marriage, rape, and pedophilia after killing a young girl's family in front of her (on a massive scale no less) good simply because God told his followers to do it, or did God tell his followers to do it because it's good? OR, hear me out, are these orders evil mislabeled as goodness, and religion has been subjecting people to what George Orwell called Double Think?

[@kawasakiwhiptwo5821]

Christopher Hitchens couldn't have said it better himself.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

No, it depends on how much black karma is on one's soul........falundafa

[@OtherDAS]

The double think is yours, as your "morality" is just your opinion and not based on anything.

[@pkwilliamson4579]

This sentiment was shared by Nicodemus, who was a knowledgeable, moral person but, like Hitchens, could not understand the point of religion-- religio-relationship. To many naturalists, like Nicodemus, the only thing religion is good for is to generate people who will mop up the vulnerable and the victims of this word. However, as a scientist, i am not so presumptuous to think that I can understand everything in my box of knowledge, and continually search for realities that are beyond my grasp. This leads for a search for God, who is found in the quiet of the night. It also makes my science more innovative, because I realize that neither I nor my field of science have it all in our convenient little box. Be uncomfortable, search beyond your box. Peace

[@HughJaxident67]

So basically, an argument from ignorance fallacy.

[@reacher124]

There is still a whole lot that only an infinite Creator can explain. It's pure ignorance to say that we are products of a random explosion of cosmic debris.

[@darrinjohnston4237]

Far more intellectual than any religious preacher

[@babagalacticus]

it is not the business model of ANY religious 'preacher' to be intellectual but rather to appeal to the lower [untutored] emotions.

[@TheLochs]

Hitchens rocks!

[@blackbird5634]

It is the HEIGHT of arrogance to ask a God who allowed the holocaust to help you find your car keys, or to improve your life in any way at all.

[@allaboutdmagic]

I'm always thrilled to realise that I'm part of a civilization that owes not one precept of it's morality to religion, at root, at it's essential origin.

[@ionizer24]

The United States, Canada and the rest of the ex-colonies are all founded off the papal bull called Doctrine of Discovery. Don’t be too smug! 😀

[@jeffforsythe9514]

Everyone is different. Some are good and some are evil. I am sorryto inform you that God is our judge and you are not doin

[@ryomensukuna4526]

​@@jeffforsythe9514 "God is our judge" Judges the guy himself and delivers verdict. Classic believer indeed.

[@jeffforsythe9514]

@@ryomensukuna4526 I know God's rules and I also know that this lifetime is the End of Times. No more fooling around, this is the time of Final Judgement. How you doing?

[@ryomensukuna4526]

@@jeffforsythe9514 Ok sure 💀💀I'm doing fine btw

[@ncooty]

Some people are so depraved that they think all of us need their celestial babysitter.

[@joemahony4198]

The cult of reason was a group of atheist that tortured people that refused to belief and murdered 16 Carmelghte nuns,but Hutchins refuses to bring that up.

[@RedRaptor78]

How many people did they kill?

[@writersblock26]

Thank you for posting this, Anti1Theist.

[@IAmTheLord3]

If you read the Bible in chronological order, you would believe/know the Christianity was started by Paul, not Jesus.

[@burrellbikes4969]

It would seem that since Moses was in trouble for killing an Egyptian (allegedly), humans already felt that murder was wrong BEFORE the 10 Commandments.

[@davebruneau6068]

Israel spent over 20 years,using their very best archaeologists,attempting to find evidence of Moses & his attributed fables. Theres none.

[@burrellbikes4969]

@@davebruneau6068 I was using the logic that “the Bible gives us morals” and that murder is often the first one believers mention. As Genesis would HAVE to have been written AFTER Moses led the people out, his murder would have taken place before the Bible or even the 10 commandments was done. Therefore, it would be reasonable to conclude that the idea for murder being wrong was already a practice of ancient people BEFORE the Bible was written. Thus, an argument against the Bible being where mankind learned morality. And yes, I am an atheist. I was just making this point.

[@davebruneau6068]

@@burrellbikes4969 Of course normal people would consider murder wrong. A human being would have to have a mental illness to not know that murder isnt normal behaviour. All the stories in the bible were taken from older myths & superstitions. Noah & the flood...Epic of Gilgamesh,written a few thousand years before ... Virgin Birth....from Egyptian mythology,again,1000's of years before any abrahamic mythology...Pick a fable from the bible & you will find an exact copy from history thats 1000's of years older than any bible Bronze Age storytellers didnt know humantiy would be able to fact-check everything in the next couple of millenia,so they just bullshitted everything

[@OtherDAS]

Murdering one of your tribe is not regard the same as murdering those from outside your tribe throughout history for MANY cultures. It is NOT the same.

[@vhawk1951kl]

What exactly do you mean by "wrong"?