Miracles and Historical Method - Richard Carrier - Skepticon 5

Carrier talks about how to think critically about history generally, using miracles as an entertaining example. Builds on his talk last year on Bayes' Theorem freethoughtblog..., but this time it's more about method than math, and surveys a lot of real-world examples of miracles from the ancient world (pagan, Jewish and Christian). Summarizes some of what is covered in much more detail in his book. [astore.amazon.c...].
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[@christopherderrah3294]

"A lie can travel half way around the world before the truth gets it's boots on." -Mark Twain

[@AmitKumar-qz2us]

In the entire first Christian century Jesus is not mentioned by a single Greek or Roman historian, religion scholar, politician, philosopher or poet. His name never occurs in a single inscription, and it is never found in a single piece of private correspondence. Zero! Zip references. Dr. Bart Ehrman

[@justarshad8354]

@@AmitKumar-qz2us you tell them! 🔫 My man! 🤝

[@FaithAndMystery]

"The enthusiasm and passion you bring to your videos are contagious. It's clear that you genuinely love what you do, and it resonates with your audience."

[@keystothebox]

Hands down one of the best public lectures on the historical method i have ever seen outside a classroom. I wish this was mandatory for highschool kids.

[@jmullins2008]

The only thing I have against Richard Carrier is I feel incredibly intellectually inadequate after watching or reading his work.:) He frames his points clearly and concisely. I never have to "imagine" just what the f%$k he means unlike every religious apologist I've ever heard or read. A video like this should be mandatory in high school history classes.

[@danielstoner7807]

Jim M Yeah, too bad he's such a divisive SJW, pushing Atheism-Plus on us atheists who don't want that. He needs to stick to what he does (very) well, and avoid mission creep like the plague.

[@Thornspyre81]

I'd be happy with just a basic critical thinking class on the public school curriculum!

[@tim57243]

Daniel Stoner Can you cite evidence for the mission creep? I see your post is 3 years old and perhaps things have changed since. Nowadays it seems to me his mission is too narrow if anything - he has beaten the historicity claim to death but he keeps on reiterating it.

[@FaiaHalo]

@macsporan years later and your words still have the same impact, relevance and thought-provoking power. Thank you, intelligent stranger.

[@AmitKumar-qz2us]

In the entire first Christian century Jesus is not mentioned by a single Greek or Roman historian, religion scholar, politician, philosopher or poet. His name never occurs in a single inscription, and it is never found in a single piece of private correspondence. Zero! Zip references. Dr. Bart Ehrman

[@Bobbotov]

True love? I don't think a God who holds a gun to your head demanding love is going to get true love when the punishment for not doing so is eternal damnation. What you are going to get is fear. It is actually coercive intimidation and somewhat sadistic.

[@YourXavier]

Somehow the "mass resurrection of cooked fish" reminds of that throw-away line in Ghostbusters about how Ray witnessed a "mass undersea sponge migration."

[@martintrastl8415]

One of the best speaker I had the pleasure to listen to so far. He makes history really fun. Thank You

[@ChipFox]

This was a great explanation of what questions to ask when studying history, and how to analyze the information. He presents a simple, sensible ways of finding truth in the past. Thanks for posting!

[@cuscof2]

Always good to remember the cultural context of these miracles as well. In Spain the Christians saw Saint James (Santiago) appear and lead their cavalry in attacks on the Moorish troops. The Moors, on the other hand, saw a demon leading the opposition.

[@coolro3684]

+Brian Bixby hahaaaaa!

[@jamiecullum5567]

Its all just propaganda

[@valivali8104]

When? Where in Spain? What each side claimed that happened? What most likely actually happened?

[@cuscof2]

@@valivali8104 It was during the Reconquista, the decades leading up the the final expulsion of the Moors in 1492, and occurred in several battles. What really happened? Not a clue, but Santiago is the patron saint of Spain because of it.

[@valivali8104]

@@cuscof2 sounds like what "happened" when romans won jews at Jerusalem.

[@uncleanunicorn4571]

Flying wizards? Talking dogs? It makes me wonder if historians in the far future will believe Harry potter is a religious text.

[@stephaniecuellar3192]

uncleanunicorn Those Potterists better get on with the building of temples which will survive for thousands of yeara. Those Egypitan God/Kings are kicking their ass. :)

[@brianvance1178]

Stephanie Cuellar the Greek gods are kicking their asses too, there’s plenty of ruins of temples dedicated to the Greek gods all over Greece

[@christopherderrah3294]

We have our own lies of our times.... weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, a commie in every closet etc..

[@vaiyt]

@@stephaniecuellar3192 there's at least four massive complexes dedicated to harry potter around the world, with more to come.

[@suecastillo4056]

Nothing religious re: Harry Potter... they can’t bring back the dead.

[@thatdevilguy]

Religion allows perfectly decent and sane people to believe by the billions, what only lunatics could believe on their own. Sam Harris

[@jameshicks7125]

Indeed. Religion is a socially sanctioned mental disorder with an exquisite psychopathology.

[@Woltato]

Alternatively, there are billions of lunatics.

[@gmorren]

I think Carrier is brilliant and exceptionally sincere. I love how he tries to minimize (or make more subject to scrutiny) speculation in a field of study that is riddled with speculation, bias and distortion. He's a real 'cut to the chase'-scientist, showing a clear understanding of (philosophical) epistemology. And he can't get a position at a university? How can that be? The guy is a paradigm-shifter. Compare historian dr. Richard Carrier to historian dr. Gary Habermas; Habermas who has no problem whatsoever trumpetting the nonsense of con-man Craig Keener, the millions of miracles-recorder who even recorded such miracles as deceased people coming to life again after somebody or a circle of somebodies prayed to Jesus.

[@cyborgraptor1778]

Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Sounds like a Transformer.

[@wmgthilgen]

I've always wonder why if the Bible is the word of "GOD", why is there todate, more than 1,100 different Christian factions whom all interpret it slightly different than one another.

[@rdf098311]

Cuz it’s easy for folks to take the same set of facts (or the alleged word of god) and interpret different.

[@psb1964]

Thanks so much for all the work you guys do, recording these lectures and bringing them to us.

[@ericflynnster]

Thanks for that really heartwarming, friendly and gratifying display of shameless FEARMONGERING. It really is quite stunning how quickly believers switch from the honey-sweet Jesus to the hell-fire Jesus when confronted with reasonable doubts and objections.

[@geezzerboy]

Best intro ever! Everyone can learn from that lovely young woman.

[@dynamic9016]

Informative video

[@Rayvvvone]

"We are not animals, but are spiritual beings made in the image of God." what is a spirit? - and how do you know there is such a thing? what is a spiritual BEING? - and how do you know there is such a thing? what is God? - and how do you know there is such a thing? what is the IMAGE of god? - and how do you know there is such a thing? how do you know we are made in the image of god? how do you know we are made? how do you get made IN an image?

[@beastshawnee4987]

how do they know we “are not animals?”

[@hambone_productions]

Give it time, it'll have more. I just posted it yesterday.

[@esands88]

Richard Carrier is awesome.

[@kalibhakta8640]

Late to the party, but fourtywpm must be a Poe. I really need to believe that fourtywpm is a Poe. Please, somebody reassure me fourtywpm is a Poe. Because the thought that there may actually be people on the planet who believe the "spirit of inquiry" is a possessing spirit that needs to be rebuked or cast out scares the bekrishna out of me.

[@michaelcollins8316]

Richard, please change your photo of Delphi, your photo is of a temple about a mile down the road from the Delphi complex but not Delphi itself. Thank you

[@tommoran77]

it took some time but you got there in the end, its not easy shedding childish comforts

[@Daruqe]

Carrier doesn't seem like the kinda guy who would use Comic Sans non-ironically, yet it abounds in his presentations....

[@KaiHenningsen]

It strikes me that *all* of these "Criteria for Reliability" are alive and well in the current population - they likely follow from fundamental aspects of human nature.

[@temujin667]

The founding fathers always laughed at Christians back in the day.

[@henochparks]

JEFFERSON ADAMS MASON WASHINGTON ETC ETC WERE ALL CHRISTIANS. YOU ARE IGNORANT.

[@temujin667]

Most were deists but still laughed at Christians quite often back in the day. Have a blessed day.

[@henochparks]

Jeff Ramey MOST WERE NOT DEISTS. MOST WERE CHRISTIAN. BEST STUDY UP.

[@temujin667]

John Jay was the only founding father out of Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, Washington and Madison who was considered an orthodox Christian. The rest were deists. This probably explains why Christianity, God and Jesus isn't mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.

[@henochparks]

Jeff Ramey YOU ARE A LIAR. ADAMS WAS A ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FROM BIRTH TO DEATH. JEFFERSON WAS A ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN FOR AT LEAST THE LAST TEN YEARS OF HIS LIFE. WASHINGTON PRAYED PUBLICLY IN THE NAME OF JEHOVAH, HAMILTON PROPOSED THAT THE CHRISTIAN CONSTITUTION SOCIETY BE CREATED WITH FEDERAL DOLLARS TO SPREAD CHRISTIANITY TO OTHER COUNTRIES MADISON AND FRANKLIN ACCOUNTED TO GOD FOR THE HELP TO CREATE THE NATION SOMETHING TRUE DEISTS WOULD NOT DO. I COULD GO ON. BEST TRY TO FOOL SOMEONE ELSE.

[@Voland0]

The problem with your offer is that it is illusory, the product of self-hypnotism, not based on reality. It is not true that Atheism offers hopelessness: it offers the hope of avoidance of ensnarement in false, mythical religion. However, it is true that it is limited to that, since that is the limit of its scope. Humanism, on the other hand, which is the default "faith" of Atheists, is the belief that the needs of humanity have been, are, and shall be, met through itself. That offers hope.

[@Cootabux]

It's a damn shame this video only has 486 views.

[@amusicment4829]

Yay for almost 180,000 in 2023 … Critical thinking and demand for evidence is growing!

[@TheVanDammeFan2009]

What about Optimus Prime? He died all of us

[@jennibaxter9588]

He died all of us 😂

[@HConstantine]

Glad you thought about it so deeply. Lucian read a book that debunked magicians' deceptions. He then wrote up his book on Alexander, retelling the tricks he'd read about as if they were being performed by Alexander. that is not nearly as firm a basis for the historicity of Lucian's account as many, including Carrier give it credit for

[@choochtrain]

Looks like a variation of the Gish Gallop; after you thoroughly demolish one miracle claim any number of additional miracle claims can be supplied. There are far more miracles claims available then there is time for any one person to investigate.

[@jamiecullum5567]

Cause its far easier to make up some Bullshit than prove its wrong

[@RyanMorsheadable]

Based on the conclusions which must necessarily be drawn from the answers to my questions and reasoning the God you have described is either important, evil, or both.

[@jamiecullum5567]

Dont worry its just a story

[@Penningtontj]

I have to wonder how many people here can't hear the words "Optimus Maximus" without thinking about Transformers (because I sure as fuck can't).

[@RyanMorsheadable]

correction: the God you have described is IMPOTENT, evil, or both. not quite sure why autocorrect chose "important" instead of "impotent". the two words could not be more different.

[@lovebombproject]

Hey Rob, I got your message about the final days. I loved it and cannot wait. When you are raptured, can I have all your stuff? You can watch me get all tribulated from the sky with your God/Boyfriend! It will be so cool!

The content aside, Richard Carrier always has awesome beautiful slides. I wonder what he uses to make them.

[@daltonlucas5529]

You serious? It’s Microsoft PowerPoint lol

@@daltonlucas5529 They are certainly not stock templates. It could also be some LaTeX Beamer or other software.

[@daltonlucas5529]

I never said it was stock. But he def uses PowerPoint to make them

[@Soulus101]

I'd love to be able to listen to this on my commute. Do you do podcast (or audio-only) versions?

[@RobJohnII]

Wow, that was a convincing rebuttal.

[@bogrot69]

Generated by an eyewitness who was there, its a copy of a copy of a copy so you cant dispute it lol.

[@sophonax661]

Trüe Brit yeah imagine our judiciary would rely on sources like that.. We'd still burning witches and stoning infidels.

[@johnholmesinchesahead342]

Richard's ancestors just "carried" things for a living (peer reviewed on Ancestry).

[@Voland0]

... and your only evidence for this idea is that some apologist has claimed this. Have you asked any atheist why he or she is such? I came to this conclusion based on 1) the god hypothesis not being needed, and 2) learning that the bases for holding my former faith were not reliable. I actually prefer that there be a god; I wish to depend on such, since I'm not so good at living my own life. It's simply that I'm convinced otherwise, and must try the best I can. I still ask: did you watch?

[@Voland0]

You are very wrong about us atheists knowing in our hearts that God exists. I, personally, am quite sure there is no god, though, intellectually, I must grant that there might be one. You are also misusing the metaphor of a crutch. Since a crutch helps someone who is crippled to walk, the metaphor is something required to cope, to function. Getting rid of the idea of god is like throwing crutches away, to function on one's own power. It is religion that can be a crutch, to help people cope.

[@ronburgandy5006]

It's 2019. I am amazed people still believe these silly stories. Just bizarre.

[@beastshawnee4987]

I was 4 years old in 1964 and thought it was ridiculous then! Told people I didn’t believe in god multiple times-the kids all told me I was going to hell. The adults would cluck their tongues at me and tell my parents that I needed to go to church more.

[@ronburgandy5006]

@@beastshawnee4987 All one really needs to read is Genesis. This so-called all knowing, all powerful god and the writer of Genesis would miserably fail a grade school science test today. That book is astoundingly wrong on so many levels.

[@Soulus101]

Thanks, legend!

[@dzizumbo]

Hi HamboneProductions, Some channels let you contribute subtitles and closed captions to their videos. They're viewable on the video by clicking on the [CC] icon in the player. Approved content is owned by the video owner, but you can get credit for your contributions on the video. WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE FOR YOU TO ADJUST THE SETTINGS OF YOUR VIDEOS SO WE CAN TRANSLATE THEM INTO SPANISH? JUST BY DOING THIS WE COULD REACH 300,000,000 MORE PEOPLE...THANKS!

[@richwfd2002]

You assume that we are different from religious people. The fact is that we're not. We have the same emotional experiences as religious people do, ie, gratitude, awe, joy, sorrow, pain. It's part of the human experience. We are different with respect to honesty and truth. We don't slap god's name on these experiences, without evidence, simply because we don't have an answer for something. Your reply clearly illustrates just how you guys do that. Reread it and think about it.

[@Rayvvvone]

"I'm more sure that God exists than anything else in this life." that's nice. Good for you. That's not any kind of evidence at all. You still have to prove that God exists. IF you believe that God exists without good reasons or evidence, then you have a delusion going on. I'd check with a therapist.

[@Vic333]

What do you mean "won't"? Has he said he was going to talk about specific miracle claims?

[@Seda1979]

Being a Christian/Muslim/Jew or belief in a Deity in general is a matter of faith, rather than "scientific evidence" ascribed to a certain religion....History is distorted in many ways....I am of the mindset that one should believe what they will (or not) and acknowledge scientific evidence for what it is....Having said that, NO ONE should be "forced" for whatever reasons to believe anything or acknowledge anything....I think that the "Golden Rule" is a good principle or philosophy to live by regardless of your "worldview".

[@russelld2925]

Sooooo....what people believe is more important then discovering what is true? I think that about sums up religious faith..

[@russelld2925]

There is only one reality. obviously people should be free to believe whatever they want to believe about that reality. But both history and current times indicate that the more true beliefs people hold the better their decisions. And the better decisions people make the better it is for all of us. For thousands of years people erroneously believed that disease was caused by sin. Then science came along and discovered that germs were the real culprit. Within a couple of hundred years science did more to eradicate sickness and disease than all the prayers ever prayed. This is just one example of many religious beliefs eroded away by scientific knowledge. And it is all because of having an accurate understanding of the one reality we all share. It is so difficult for most people to see beyond the narrow perspective of their own life, to share in the bigger perspective of us all to gain a better understanding of reality. But if we have any hope of surviving as a species we must learn to expand our perspectives to see reality for what it truly is in as many areas as possible. And that takes cooperation. Our world right now is built on the divisive religious beliefs of the generations before us. We know what a world looks like that is built on beliefs in myths and legends and various gods with zero evidence. Let us work together to build a world based on believing what is true.

[@Seda1979]

I am about knowing the truth. I have challenged my own personal faith along with weighing all the known scientific evidence based on emperical data. I also have considered all that has gone on in my life these past 37yrs. Let me tell it...It's been a heck of a ride (so to speak). I seek to understand first, then to be understood. I am convinced in my own mind that a Universe that not only exsists, but also exsists in such a precise manner that life could then habbit this universe is to me a universe that ONLY an Intelligent Mind could have designed. There are so many different possibilities that could have risen out of the creation of the universe. To think that we exsist just by mere chance or "roll of the cosmic dice" is just too much of a stretch for science to ever explain. I do acknowledge DTE but that is too inefficent to account for life's orgins. Abiogenesis is more of a scientific hypothesis than a scientific theory. When you go back in time as far back as reason can possibly take us (along with light), you will ultimately be left with a noncause cause. Atheists and agnostics ascribe to other theories of explanation that is more hypothetical than observable. I CHOOSE to have faith in Almighty God as the Creator of our origins. I don't agree that the Bible should be used as a source of scientific knowledge because it is incomplete. Besides, I think more of the Bible is allegorical and philosophical than historical and scientific. That's not to say that there is no historical accuracy mentioned at all I just don't know how much that is mentioned is accurate. Either way, i don't get hung up on the historical accuracy of the Bible but rather try to learn the moral of the stories mentioned no matter how accurate. Finally, absolute truth is subjective because a lot of life is based on perception. What I see as God's work skeptics see as coincedental acts of nature. I understand the criticisms aimed towards God's methodology of how He did things early on. I must admit alot of it is beyond my reasoning.....HOWEVER I refuse to think that i am just here by mere chance and that all that there is to life is the here and now. TO ME that is a vain way of looking at things, because if that is the deal, then life has no real purpose (imo). Reason I say that is because if all there is is the material, then whatever happens in this life good or bad, it really doesn't matter because we will all die equal, with nothing, absolute 0. And if that be the case then why go thru all the ups and downs when your memories cease the moment you are dead, because what seperates us as humans is our experiences which in turn spawns memory...If everything ceases upon death then nothing matters on the GRAND SCALE therefore life is vain at best and therefore not worth living if you so choose not to.....Based on materialism alone.

[@jordanboyadventures37]

Death by Gamma Rays so despite all that we know about how the Bible was put together and that Jesus more than likely never existed, you still choose to subscribe to its doctrine of obvious fiction? What's wrong with having no purpose? Why do you need one? What's wrong with being happy to experience this life and then leaving it? Trust me, you'll have much more fun if you're not afraid if burning in hell once you're done.

[@Seda1979]

First of all you ask what's wrong with having no purpose???? Well let me see, EVERYTHING. If you just live just because, then that living is a life in vain. We are the sum of our memories, if those memories only exsist while we are allive, then nothing matters because in the end, we all die equal. There is a reason why we as the highest form of intelligent natural beings exist. Nature does not produce nor cares to produce life from nonliving materials, abiogenesis is just a scientific copout for leaving The Divine out of the equation. Given all the different historical writings that makes reference to Jesus (who is called Christ), it is more plausible to think that He actually exsisted, as opposed to life arriving on earth via abiogenesis or panspermia. Yet I presume that you accept those scientific hypotheses because it suits your atheistic agenda, even though it is more speculation than emperical observation. IF life has no purpose then why care about the preservation of it, because in the end does it really matter???Because as we all know to well, death eventually becomes us all anyway. It's just that human beings have a unique perspective on it which I don't think is coincedental at all. We not only care about death in general, but the timing and method of which we die. But if there is no purpose to life then why care about any of those things, its futile to even consider when we die or how we die. Finally, i am not scared of damnation, because I have a relationship with God and I trust Him with my salvation.

[@AmitKumar-qz2us]

In the entire first Christian century Jesus is not mentioned by a single Greek or Roman historian, religion scholar, politician, philosopher or poet. His name never occurs in a single inscription, and it is never found in a single piece of private correspondence. Zero! Zip references. Dr. Bart Ehrman

[@garrettlumpkin9277]

None of that matters to Christians. You see they have this thing called faith. It's extremely reliable. Like really really reliable. LMFAO 🤣

[@grahamash-porter7795]

I have ordered your Proving History. I just hope I can understand it Richard?

[@Schraupe]

BTW, can I conclude form your "argument" against homosexuality, that the supposed "harm" it does is only existent if I accept the existence of your specific god, i.e. there is no objective harm to anyone?

[@popbklyn1]

Amazing breakdown ..!!

[@johnsmith-fi2io]

I wish i had time to translate this to Arabic :(

[@almVancouver]

I think i'm a little confused on what you're calling god. could you define further?

[@ikawpipa]

since you claim facts of actual documented history. Do you have a picture of the Common Ancestor of everything? any idea of its color, size and shape? thanks.

[@jamiecullum5567]

It a single cell organism, the size of single cell, doubt it really had any colour. Shape no idea most likely circular

[@tommoran77]

still waiting..........

[@jimmo42]

The problem is that the 1st century concept of miracle is much different than in the 21st century. Events were described as "miraculous" even though they did not violate any physical laws. The word "miracle" comes from the latin word meaning "wonder". So a miracle as simple something "wonderous". For example, a disease curing itself would like have been a 1st century miracle. Claiming Zeus or the local deity did it, was simply ingorance of the real cause.

[@lmeasley1262]

You had me until you accused Fox News and no other news channel. are you kidding me?

[@surfk9836]

Yea but they are,by far, the worst.

[@andreab380]

How are we going to assign a value to "prior probability", i.e. what has usually happened before??? If we need knowledge of what has happened before, in order to assess historical documents, don't we have to evaluate even MORE historical documents? It's an infinite regress, or a regress that ends just because we run out of sources. And, I mean, if you had to judge the likelihood that miracles are real based on the "usual" alone, the abundance of pagan sources would compel you to say "yes". Carrier doesn't reject them because of a historical criterion of what's "usual", but because of a scientific one of what's possible in a materialistic universe. So there are other criteria at play here. The interpreter always selects the sources and assesses their validity based on judgments that have nothing to do with the sources as such (e.g. miracles don't exist, this author is reliable/unreliable, I know the difference between myth, allegory, and history, I know how a purely mechanistic cosmos is expected to work, etc...) This problem of interpretation has actually been known to professionals in the humanities for decades if not centuries. This guy should really have much more intellectual humility.

[@andreab380]

EDIT: the notion of "expected" is also less mathematical than he pretends it is. First of all, while I can attribute a numerical value to probability, expectation is something different: it means considering something possible in the first place (possibility is black and white, 1 or 0, not a scale or gradation). First I determine whether even A is possible in principle, within the framework I am using, then I can assign a value of probability. (Impossibility is not grade 0% of probability, it's just something to which probability doesn't even apply: e.g. a silent scream, or a triangle with four sides. So it must be determined /before/ probability.) Second, Carrier fails to give a definite criterion for assigning numerical values to his probability. Where do you place improbable events on a scale from 1 to 100, without being arbitrary? What is the exact standard for 100% and how do we compare other events to it? He's been asked this only once in his many videos I've seen, and he didn't give an objective answer. So he doesn't seem too reliable on this.

[@soth3d]

very good account how EVERYTHING those days was extremely magical, again everything, not only Jesus

[@jamiecullum5567]

Magic is not real just like jesus.

[@HConstantine]

Jupiter Cassius, is the Zeus of Antioch, i.e. the Semitic god Baal in interpretatio Hellenica-Romana.

[@Schraupe]

You're right, we don't see a creator, because we (or rather, I) ALSO see all the monstrosities that go on in nature - you can't attribute the good ones to god and ignore the bad ones. That changes of course how I see morality, in that I only care about what actually hurts people in any way, and (most) porn, homosexuality and "fornication" don't harm people in any way. Drugs, alcohol and abortion are more complex issues of course...

[@johnkoenig326]

"Hands up don't shoot."

[@tommoran77]

Their own logic does not compute, if nothing comes from nothing and everything must have a cause then who or what created god?

[@lfzadra]

There are millions of miracles from thousands of religions. The skeptic does not have the burden to prove all them are false. If the miracles you are quoting are real, you must provide the evidence that they are. And you have none to present.

[@oldpossum57]

Rapid development of myths. I met a gent whose wife owned the rose quartz and beryl pit in Quadeville ON. He was impatient with the village legends, like Al Capone’s hideout. He found an ugly concrete statue of a young woman in the shed, and decided to cement it to a boulder in the middle of a local pond. Within a year, the legend was it marked the place where an indigenous woman pined away for her lover and drowned herself. I won’t mention QAnon. For too many evangelicals, the kidnapping of children to harvest their adrenochrome is settled fact.

[@kalibhakta8640]

which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. Nothing here about spiritual death, just hard agricultural work and the denial of "living forever". The nonsense about "spiritual death" is just mental gymnastics cooked up to explain why what God said would happen, didn't happen. And Revelation doesn't say the serpent in the Garden of Eden was Satan, it just metaphorically refers to Satan as a dragon and a serpent.

[@ikawpipa]

among the ton of proof, there's no size, color and shape? what kind of evidence are you talking about?

[@RonJohn63]

30:49 "All the fucking Internet shit" Guess I'm not showing this video to my kids... Too bad, since -- other than the frequent foul language -- the presentation is very important.

[@Gnomefro]

+RonJohn63 _"Guess I'm not showing this video to my kids..."_ Poor kids. I guess they never get to see any action movies either, or go around into the real world where people in fact swear all the time. But do try to protect them from reality - good going sir.

[@RonJohn63]

Gnomefro _I guess they never get to see any action movies either_ Amazingly, there's this thing called the Rating System, which give *some* guide as to age appropriateness. _But do try to protect them from reality_ It's the parents' *job* to bring *children* along slowly. People who have abrogated that responsibility is why the culture is so crude.

[@Faeriedarke]

Seriously? There are far worse things to expose your children to than a word that has been interpreted to be 'bad' in some way. They are going to hear it out in the world anyway, and it's probably a better idea to educate your children to not evaluate ideas based on the odd colloquial words that may be used in expressing them.

[@RonJohn63]

Vanessa Mc Lean _and it's probably a better idea_ IOW, you don't have children, and are pulling untested hypotheses out of your ass.

[@Faeriedarke]

Au contraire, I have 2 adult children, both intelligent and well adjusted, open minded people, who are able to evaluate ideas based on their content and not the language they are expressed in. Hearing the occasional 'cuss' word doesn't do anyone harm. In fact if you teach children the etymology of so called cuss words, you take away their power, which is just a societal construct. You keep control of context in that way.

[@selaluoposisisiapapunpresi7982]

i want to ask the first human on earth, did he/she ever ask why he/she exist?

[@TaylorX04]

Go to savevid (dot) com, copy and paste the URL, and then select mp3 audio.

[@FrodeHauge]

Assuming miracles do not happen is based on everything _but_ belief. But that's not relevant in this case, because he said no such thing. You need to refrain from commenting until you obtain the necessary clarity of thought to follow a presentation.

[@RobJohnII]

2 Corinthians 4 3:4 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

[@jamiecullum5567]

Quoting a a fictional story as proof had the be the height of insanity. Keep your brainwashing relgion to yourself

[@Voland0]

Atheism is enlightened faith in evidence and reason, particularly applied to the faith-claims about gods, especially whether there exists any. It doesn't say anything about morality, but Humanism does. Here's a proof: if there were a god, there would be plain evidence (effects due to the cause of that god's being and actions). There is no such evidence, hence there is no god. Did you watch this video all the way through? And listen to it?

[@darbone]

I think the Mormons own youtube at this point. Their ads are everywhere.

[@lfzadra]

If it is a joke, it is not funny. But I like that part about the talking donkey.

[@ChipFox]

I'd rather be honest about realty than to call myths and magic truth. Atheism claims not to know if there is no god, only that there is no evidence for one.

[@againstjebelallawz]

Yeah, we are animals. There is no evidence whatsoever for your claim that we "are spiritual beings made in the image of God". The repetition of assertions is not an argument. What would convince you there is no god?

[@RobJohnII]

What proof or evidence can you give to show that atheism is not ensnarement or utter delusion? Whereas we Christians have real evidence to support our claims. It is based on the life of Jesus Christ and the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. The accounts in the Bible are supported by historical and archaeological data. . If, as you believe there is no accountability then the focus is going to be continually on self gratification. Whoever loves the world becomes an enemy of God.

[@rhondah1587]

Atheism is correct and accurate because of the facts of actual documented history that shows all religions are myths and legends and the facts of science which has tons of evidence refuting the claims of religions and the claims in their holy books as absurd. Of course you have to actually study, research and learn the difference between facts and fiction to see this.

[@DonusAmbrose]

Why didn't Richard Carrier bring up the column of Marcus Aurelius in any of his debates with Michael Licona? That seems suspicious.

[@FactStorm]

When is humanity going to wake up from the religious nightmare?

[@RobJohnII]

.Satan’s goal is the destruction of humanity; he knows his judgment is coming. He knows what salvation is, and what the saved have in store. So his goal is very simple, to prevent humanity from coming to salvation and atheists are helping him achieve this goal - they just don't realize it. If you are not for God you are against him!

[@LoughansDragstra]

Why don't you show us YOUR critical thinking skills and back up your statement. calling someone a fraud without even explaining why doesn't lead me to agree with you mr. Almli

[@ikawpipa]

believing in a book instead of nature (hospitals) is a religion and not science.

[@lovebombproject]

Wow how magnanimous of you! Im glad you know the one true god. I am an atheist so I know the one true Not God

[@mindmesh7566]

Soooo they made jackylopes waaayyyy back then?!!!

[@kalibhakta8640]

OK, first off, I've read the Bible through four times. Nowhere does it say what you just said. Second, I'm going to say it again, free will requires knowledge of things like, oh, good and evil, and if God didn't want Adam and Eve to know about evil, they wouldn't have had the ability to make an informed choice. All they had to go on was God's word vs. the Serpent's word, and no way of knowing who was telling the truth. It's obvious from the text that God intended Man to be ignorant slaves.

[@lovebombproject]

Good opt out. Nice twist of logic and great use of idiocy. If I say I think the Bible is crap then you pull out your magical theory! Brilliant!

[@tommoran77]

Actually, i would not, I would have to consider did I have a vivid dream. Normal people usually look for the simple explanation for an unusual event before jumping to a polytheistic father son creator deity fanciful explanation.

[@RobJohnII]

What concrete proof and evidence do you have that atheism is accurate and correct?

[@Voland0]

"Evidence" that can be reasonably explained by other means is not proof for the existence of a god, only wishful thinking. I take it that your only offer of exclusive evidence for such is abiogenesis, but there is evidence: backward extrapolation from Evolution, and actual direct experimentation. See wikipedia (dot) org/wiki/Abiogenesis and talkorigins (dot) org/faqs/abioprob/ . You're wrong about avoidance of accountability, and imputing motives about which you know nothing. ...

[@againstjebelallawz]

That isn't an answer to my question.

[@DonaldEFlood]

Why won't Richard Carrier tackle the following? 1) The Miracle of Calanda 2) The Miracle of the Sun. 3) Our Lady of Zeitoun. 4) The Miracle of Lanciano. 5) The NDE of Pam Reynolds.

[@lovebombproject]

Wow! How awesome is that! Ooh your so luuky

[@TheHossman27]

His lip smacking is annoying

[@jamiecullum5567]

You're annoying

[@ikawpipa]

what is the color, size and shape of the common ancestor of every life form? I'm doing my research and counting the different cults and sects in the religion that believes humans came from non-human. thanks.

[@havadd]

before he was banned