Hitchens / McGrath - Religion: The Center vs The Fringe, Pt 2

Complete video at: fora.tv/2007/10/11/Christopher...
Bestselling author and atheist Christopher Hitchens responds to theologian Alister McGrath's defense of mainstream religions from their extremist "fringes."
This is part two of a three-part excerpt.
Part one: • Hitchens / McGrath - R...
Part three: • Hitchens / McGrath - R...
-----
Poison or Cure? Religious Belief in the Modern World: A debate, dialogue, and discussion with Christopher Hitchens and Alister McGrath.
The Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University host a debate between writer Christopher Hitchens and Oxford University professor Alister McGrath on the role of religious belief in the modern world.
Christopher Hitchens is an author, journalist and literary critic. Now living in Washington, D.C., he has been a columnist at Vanity Fair, The Nation and Slate; additionally, he is an occasional contributor to many other publications. He is most recently the author of "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" (2007) and editor of "The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever" (2007).
Alister McGrath is a biochemist and Christian theologian born in Belfast, North Ireland. He currently enjoys the title of distinction "Professor of Historical Theology" granted by the University of Oxford. He has written extensively on history and theology, including "In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture" (2001), and "The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World" (2005).
He has written biographies of John Calvin, Thomas Torrance, and J. I. Packer. He has also written on the interaction of science and theology and his "A Scientific Theology" (4 volumes, 2001-2004) has been hailed as one the most important works of systematic theology to appear in recent years. He has written two critiques of the biologist "Richard Dawkins: The Dawkins Delusion?" (2007) and "Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life" (2005). His most recent book is "Christianity's Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution - A History from the Sixteenth Century to the Twenty-First," published by HarperOne. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2005 and in 2009 he will give the prestigious Gifford Lectures at the University of Aberdeen.

[@PhilipMcAdam]

For so long of my growing up. Him and people like him were censored out of main stream media. Very few if any got through that would have been able to express his thoughts and feelings in the way that he does. So I say to everyone do not squander this super resource of the internet where we can listen and enjoy free thinkers such as this wonderful and learned and well read man. I would certainly advocate that no one should follow a faith. The word faith itself should scare you away if nothing else.

[@eseskay99]

How wonderful that Hitchens and McGrath can debate and share ideas and at the end, thank each other and shake hands. Get better soon, Hitchens! You are a very special person.

[@writersblock26]

Thank you for posting this, ForaTv.

[@Ar-Taru]

@rugbyboy198127 Thank you in turn for your generous comment. As you pointed out, it really is quite hard these days to discuss the topic of religion without either getting ridiculed for your faith or chastised for your lack of faith. That is why there so much malcontent and disunity: people have divided themselves, and are unwilling to break out of their small mindsets. So, again, thank you very much for your comment.

[@Adamazeroni]

Miss you Hitchens <3

[@ivlfounder]

@Lakshmii88 Who is?

[@stud6999]

Which faith?

[@ivlfounder]

@frightenedsoul Was it the one that Hitchens confesses he lost?

[@ivlfounder]

"....I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval..." Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

[@gamesbok]

@Sneezlebob I watched both debates, but I didn't see Lennox beating anyone.

[@THEREIZNOGOD]

hitchens is the atom bomb of debate: it's just not fair

[@frightenedsoul]

@ivlfounder I'm not sure. He admitted losing a debate to Lennox, but I don't think it was this one. I think it was one titled “Can Atheism Save Europe?”

[@ytfmichaelxu]

@ivlfounder I can't remember where exactly where I heard something about him admitting being wrong . I could be wrong. You mentioning it seem to enforce a burred or false memory.

[@themathguy]

As a formerly religious person myself I'm starting to agree with Hitchens. Religion is not necessary for morality and teaches people that they are required to believe things which are simply not true. All other questions aside, this alone is enough for me to reject religion.

[@ytfmichaelxu]

This is Hitch at his prime. I hope there is someone out there who is as intelligent, witty and brave as Hitchen willing to speak out against religion after he is gone.

[@SoSaCA100]

How old are you!

[@1n354a]

@ivlfounder did you take him to the vet?

[@ivlfounder]

@ytfmichaelxu And has he ever said he was wrong to think the war would be brief and relatively bloodless?

[@niinja2]

@mr1ah just to me and you or just to the people of the time bible was written in ? people forget that social norms change over time, and people in the bible never say that god is unjust by doing any of those things. when we read old piece of text we understand it in that time and culture. But somehow this does not apply to the bible? What is just for you? Is it ok for god to sacrifice animals? If the whole world would be vegetarians people would says that god was immoral for killing animals

[@automaticSOM]

Hitchens has a wonderful grasp of the english language, it must be said