Teach the REAL controversy

[@johnmccarthy7241]

Due to Aron’s appearances and the Internet I became an atheist, and that at the age of 70.

[@kleenex3000]

Internet is the virtual arena where Theism is "gonna" DIE. In mine case, it was a notorious and very disgusting video of a circumcision of an African boy without Anaesthesia, which had been at the root of my deconversion at the age around 50. Kindest regards from GERMANY!

[@jonneexplorer]

That’s bloody impressive mate! Congrats on throwing of the shackles of indoctrination!

[@AnnetQuintanaKnowsBest]

Congratulations John ! Welcome to a sensical world. I truly hope you find understanding, peace and joy in your life, no longer encumbered by illogical rules and hateful examples !

[@theveganwujeeta]

Better late than never

[@juliebarks3195]

There's hope at any age. Nat Phelps [westbro Baptist church] had 18 years of indoctrination as the grandson of Fred, but even he got out and became an atheist activist. Now, that's a miracle.

[@rajanogray9088]

How can a book that contradicts itself multiple times be the "absolute truth"?

[@LisaForTruth]

tell yourself a lie long enough, and it becomes the truth, Seriously, though, I really don't think they know about the contradictions. And, remember, cognitive dissonance is very uncomfortable, so they try to get through that stage as fast as possible

[@broddr]

That's why they only read it a few verses at a time. By the time they get to a contradiction, they've forgotten the first claim.

[@Dizzinator2114]

You all are right to different degrees. Sure there are people who don't know the contradictions, but then there are those who do, but spin them to not be. If you listen to Bart Ehrman he says when he was in college one of his courses actually had lessons on pointing them out and resolving them. However it was this very thing that lead him to real contradictions that can't be resolved.. However on the otherside the Bible is a long read and the beginning (especially reading the kjv is a drag) so sometimes you really do read it and just forget by time you read a contradiction. There's a saying that the Bible doesn't have contradictions so if you see one it's your interpretation that is wrong and not the bible.

[@broddr]

Mr. G -- yes, there are many paths to maintain ignorance. And Christians use them all. But there are many hard contradictions in the Bible that can't be resolved by any stretch of interpretation. E.g., did the Last Supper happen on Thursday or Friday night? The only way to interpret out of that is to merge the Gospels and drop inconsistencies, as has been done with the Christmas story or just ignore one Gospel's inconvenient details. And speaking of Christmas, what happened after Joseph finished his business in Bethlehem? One story says the holy family left Bethlehem to the northeast, to Jerusalem, where a sacrifice was made for Jesus, and then they all proceeded to Nazareth. The other story says that Joseph took the holy family out of Bethlehem to the southwest, fleeing to Egypt to escape Herod's wrath, and staying in Egypt for several years. So, diametrically opposite directions, with different destinations. But if you watch the Charlie Brown special, it all gets homogenized to a single, non-Biblical version. That's not interpretation, that's creating a new non-biblical synthesis.

[@Dizzinator2114]

Pure Facts in matthew jesus is born when king herod is king. In luke he is born while king herod is king, but he says its when quirinnius was govenor of syria. Issue herod died in 4bce. Quirinnius was govenor in 6 or 7 ce. explain

[@meteoman7958]

Here in Canada, I would never bother trying to convince a Christian of anything, but since the United States is on a determined march to theocracy, I understand and applaud AronRa's attempts to bring reason back into the public gaze.

[@kathyheitchue6069]

Yes the USA Is heading toward theocracy This must not be allowed to happen.

[@cyberoptic5757]

Never bother? not even once in a while?

[@garethbaus5471]

I wouldn't be surprised if religious radicalism in the US will try to spread to other countries, so watch out.

[@lionofapollo4636]

Get right the fuck outa here lol It's not that it's actually headed in thatt direction. It's that you NEED it to be for you to feel maybe you have some kind of purpose. So you can get on here and say that haha You're not completely wrong though. Most of the Western World and ever-increasingly, the world at large is indeed under a "Theocracy", although implicit and esoteric. But once this is laid out I don't think that's a conversation you'd actually want to have. Much much safer to go after most likely rural American Christians.

[@solanceDarkMOW]

I'd call it a death march to theocracy, but yeah. That:s about right

[@brucechamberlin9666]

Two acquaintances of mine were sent to private catholic school where they were molested by the priests. One complained to his parents (one bring an MD), and they punished him, telling him, “That can’t be true they are priests.” Today as adults they are broken people. I am raising my child as an atheist keeping her as far away from religious dogma as possible. I’m glad people like Aaron are making atheism not a stigma anymore, but the mark of a healthy sound mind. My child can make up their own mind as adults.

[@snitcheyes411]

Aron: "This is basically just gonna be a rant." Me: 'settles down and makes popcorn'

[@nathanjora7627]

Aron : « This is basically going to be a rant » You : settling down and making popcorn Me : crying because I don’t have popcorn

[@samanthalewin4397]

I enjoy the rants too!

[@MusicAuthority-b9r]

It's not a rant, Aron Ra heavily researches everything he is talking about.

[@Leelilou]

I'm commenting right now to say.. Thank you so very much, Aron. I grew up in the bible belt of Kentucky, raised Baptist. At age 13 my grandmother died in a horrid and demeaning manner that shook my faith to the core. I sought answers within the faith for a year before, age 14, I denounced my status as a christian. It wasn't until age 17, mere months from my 18th birthday, when I turned my back on religion altogether and proclaimed myself an Atheist. Still, I had trouble ordering my reasons and defining certain things until, finally, at age 25 I came across one of your videos. It only took 2 videos for me to decide to subscribe to you. You've helped me order my thoughts and reasons, and I couldn't be more grateful. Thank you.

[@BlackEpyon]

For me, science was the primary motivator that drove me away from faith. I was raised being told that, "scientists don't REALLY know that the earth is millions of years old," or, "scientists THINK... X" or whatnot, what-have-you. But when I took the time to look, not just into the claims of science, but into it's METHODS, I realized that not only does scientific evidence completely contradict Genesis 1-8, but that science can actually justify and DEMONSTRATE it's claims, where that holds true for pretty much NOTHING in the Bible. If nothing in the Bible can be verified, and much of it can be contradicted by what we actually CAN verify, then faith has nothing but a bed of lies and unsupported assertions to stand on. Within the span of a weekend, I realized that I was an atheist.

[@the-trustees]

Congrats. If only more theists had the intellect to do what you did... but contrary to natural selection culling their numbers, their indoctrination of their OWN children has created a group of subhuman rejects that will kill us all long before they might come to reason.

[@WilbertLek]

@@the-trustees Has nothing to do with intellect. Has to with honesty. And drug addicts are never honest about their drug of choice...

[@barbaraannen8126]

Well done and well said

[@tonyfendex2558]

Great point!!! Science the ONLY ONE with THE EVIDENCE, UNDISPUTED. Religion is FALSE PRETENSE and has ZERO EVIDENCE-- hence faith is REQUIRED!!! You gotta HAVE FAITH because it FAKE!!!

[@BlackEpyon]

@Momazos Hail Chile Genesis isn't written as poetry, it's written as an origins story, by which any SENSIBLE person would pick up that it's just a story. Biblical scholars classify is as "law," and Christians schools (which I attended as a kid) teach it as if it were scientific fact even though NONE of it can be verified to be accurate. Then there's Song of Solomon, which if sung with a Barry White voice, would be softcore erotica. THAT book is what's classified by biblical scholars as "poetry," and I have no idea how it even got into the canon to begin with. It's not bad as classical literature, but if your trying to teach kids that it's an allegory of God's relationship with man, you are fooling yourself, and lying to them.

[@TheTwick]

The Catholic Church claims a population 1.2 Billion. I was born 70 years ago to a catholic mother and was thus baptized and sent to catholic school through grade 8. I am still counted in that population number. As I am an atheist since high school, I’ll correct that number to 1.2 Billion -1. I think that number is a little high.

[@PyrusFlameborn]

I was born 21 years ago, both my parents aren't religious. But I was baptized to appease the family on my mom's side. I have never been religious. Make that 1.2 billion - 2

[@markdoldon8852]

You are correct. Ive seen numbers Listing actual PRACTISING Catholics as less than half of those the church holds on their books even fewer in most developed countries.

[@TheTwick]

Mark Doldon I remember one figure they used to quote us when I was a boy. They claimed the country of Ireland was nearly 100% Catholic. Since the priest-pedophile scandals broke in Ireland, the churches are said to be nearly empty. Same story in many other ‘catholic’ countries.

[@schinderhannesbartelsi9192]

@@TheTwick I am culturally catholic. There is no harm in baptism and going to church. At least not for me, it's just a convieniant place and time to chat with friends and hold contact to the familiy. So I don't know if I count towards the practicing catholics number. Would be kinda funny though.

[@TheTwick]

Schinderhannes Bartelsi I am glad you find it a comforting place. It gives no comfort to me.

[@trapadvisor]

As someone who grew up in small town Tennessee I relate so much to Aron’s anecdotes

[@Soapy-chan_old]

"It's still a fish, it didn't turn to something entirely different" "It can't be related because it's so different" Creationists don't want to admit that they don't want to understand it.

[@darkphoenix7225]

I think it's really sad that since I started watching these videos, I have learned way more about evolution than I did in my biology class. So, thanks for making these educational videos.

[@diobrando666]

I had a great biology teacher so I can't say the same. However it's never bad to learn more about it. Sad that some schools are so against real science

[@erictaylor5462]

Pascal's Wager has another fault: Would you want to spend forever with God? God is so petty he considers non-belief in him to be the worst possible offence.

[@ronaldsmith4153]

God is wise. he understands your doubt. He created doubt and reason.

[@erictaylor5462]

@@ronaldsmith4153 God doesn't exist. The God described in the Bible is either terribly evil, or he is contradictory and thus proven to be non-existent. Read your Bible, not just the good parts and you will see that I tell the truth.

[@tracewallace23]

@@ronaldsmith4153 Try reading the books that were removed from the Bible. I suggest starting with the book of Judas. It could be enlightening

[@lisahenry20]

@@ronaldsmith4153 I'm guessing you think you get to heaven through good deeds rather than faith?

[@thetannernation]

If he exists, then it is the worst possible offense, is it not

[@diobrando6716]

It’s not just creationism people here in America in general don’t have an appreciation for knowledge. I think creationism is a result of this rather than a cause.

[@joschafinger126]

It's both: creationism, conspiracy theories, and any kind of pseudoscience will grow if it falls onto the fertile soil of anti-intellectualism and reality denial that runs deep in American culture. But if it turns into a political movement with effective and powerful structures and organisations, as it has, it will pour manure into that already-fertile soil, tend the buds of delusion as if they were prize roses, help demagogues and proto-fascists gain control of social discourse and generally gain power and influence. By now, that movement has all but taken over the GOP, which in turn has been engineering the political system to its liking and officially subscribed to the idea that facts don't matter in politics either.

[@aaronbredon2948]

Fundamentalism (back to the Puritans and before) is both the cause and effect.

[@trapadvisor]

Idk man generalizing people like that can lead to an incel ideology

[@MrCmon113]

@@trapadvisor Incel class analysis is 100% accurate. It's the most accurate predictive tool of sociology. Americans do value knowledge though. I would say even more so than most of the West.

[@trapadvisor]

@@MrCmon113 wtf no lol

[@warrickdawes7900]

I wonder if, as a child, I could get away with saying "God made it that way" or "God did it" after being caught with a broken trinket or the remains of a chocolate cake on my fingers? I'm guessing religious parents would not believe that that was the simplest and most obvious explanation.

[@soriacx]

No, because what happened was a bad thing (from the perspective of the parents), and bad things are NEVER EVER associated with sky daddy PERIOD. They would only believe if you claim that satan did it, but this won't improve your situation, then you would have to do an exorcism, 10 years of constant praying, or something equally strange. Remember, for deeply religious people, god gets every praise, but none of the blame!

[@Steve-Cross]

Ha! Ha! Ha! I am sure if I ever used that as an excuse, I am sure I would have the hand of god on my backside... LOL :-)

[@DonaldKronos]

@soriac - How about this one?: "God ate it, and said thanks for the sacrifice!" :)

[@DonaldKronos]

steve cross - Yeah, that's when a kid finds out where the power of their parents' god really is.

[@paulwettstein7071]

how about "I asked god if I could have a cookie and he said yes."

[@Kevin-iv3lv]

Keep going Ra. Especially in our state of Texas. Love my state but shits gotta get better as far putting religion in it's place.

[@omarosemoon1005]

Love the 'rants'. Always well spoken and informative.

[@personx3119]

AronRa is just pure poetry. I like to watch him after an interesting day posting things to the Satanic International Network.

[@mk-ey2kp]

I just recently discovered i work with several creationist, i was told of you believe in god "you cant believe in dinosaurs", "dinosaurs died out a few thousand years ago", "carbon dating is a lie and science knows nothing", "jesus is the true savior and all other religion's are a path to hell" and finally " you're listening to the word of man not the word of god" (in regards to evolution). Now i have always been on the fence about intelligent design mainly because i wanted to believe. Because of all these things i was told it set me on the path to look into what a creationist is and i found your channel. These fools i worked with made me go in the opposite direction and now im not convinced by any of this godly bs and that its just explanations of the unknown by ignorant people. I prolly sound like im rambling but your work and views have changed my mindset on religion, thank you.

[@josiahhanson1920]

Love your work Aron Ra and appreciate more then you'll know.

[@sirquentincrispy1071]

Me to. If he was a God I would worship him. Just my primitive reptilian brain talking.

[@whoevencaresbrawecb1139]

Sir Quentin Crispy He’s more godlike than that Yahweh dick anyways

[@SimberLayek]

@@whoevencaresbrawecb1139 so are most people.

[@SimberLayek]

@@sirquentincrispy1071 is anything or anyone really worth worshipping?

[@sirquentincrispy1071]

@@SimberLayek No. But as evolved apes, we still have a primitive need to worship the alfa male. For some its Donald Trump.

[@OmniphonProductions]

I love that you clarified the need for precedent before something can be possible. Possible and Imaginable are not synonymous.

[@chuckoneill2023]

“This is basically just going to be a rant”. I LOVE those!!! Thank you.

[@ryanbutler9964]

Thank you Aron Ra for fighting to make the world a better place. I am 26 and a father of 2 and I was born and raised catholic, attended a catholic school from preschool through 8th grade, became an atheist in 6th grade after reading the Bible cover to cover, and haven’t looked back sense. I have been almost cut off by my moms family (the Catholics) because I refuse to baptize my sons, and have told them to never teach my boys their views on the world/religion. I live in the Bible Belt (unfortunately) and it scares the hell out of me for them to potentially be taught the creationist nonsense when they are too young and impressionable to think for themselves...anyway again keep on fighting the good fight!

[@ojonasar]

"11:11" - and this is why my mother failed to indoctrinate me when I was very young. "13:00" - 'anything's possible ' - no, only things that are possible are possible.

[@ListlessLion]

This is exactly why I think if any supernatural phenomena have any merit, they would inherently have natural means and not actually be supernatural.

[@Dizzinator2114]

@@ListlessLion what little we can confirm about things in the Bible that's what we see... The Bible will say something like the Lord sent an angel with a sword and slew 1000 men In a night. In reality it will be a plague broke out.

[@sharkamov]

*I honestly and profoundly **_pity_** anyone unable [or ''unwilling''] to follow Aron Ra's logical and rational train of thought! . . . .* 🇷🇺💓 🇳🇴

[@mrrolandlawrence]

i have to say these talks are gold. as being an ex devout christian who escaped the brainwashing and blackmail... its nice to have cue cards for my still christian friends who are still on a mission to disprove im atheist.

[@markbouvierjr.7446]

Aron, I so wish school teachers would communicate science as effectively as you do. If nore teachers were as good as you. Americans would be a whole lot smarter.

[@timsmith6675]

I have always found your knowledge on many subjects is very accurate. Like you, I have usually been more curious than my peers at a young age. I got Jacques Cousteau and Carl Sagan books instead of games. Like you also, Aron, I just want to know how things work and what has been. Keep it up! Thank you

[@jameswest8280]

Aron's right, my wife calls me a big ape all the time.

[@41-Haiku]

Can confirm. I was a true believer, and I was indeed cured by the evidence. Losing my faith felt like dying, but I'm decisively better off having come out on the other side.

[@randalltufts3321]

I'm a commercial pilot and I despise HTN airport as well lol Bouncing here is considered a perfect landing. Thank you Aaron for bringing the truth to the area. This tri-state area is a bastion of ignorance and backward folklore. I personally thank you for opening my eyes to what I already knew was NOT correct about the Bible and the religiosity I was indoctrinated into at a young age. I Always believed in science, but those fake beliefs were hard to give up until I looked at the evidence and used reason to understand the truth. Thanks. I appreciate what your doing more than you know.

[@aminesebai2916]

Bro, listening to you talk brings back my sanity! Its good to know not everyone out there is absolutely bonkers!

[@yungnissan7959]

Why is the bible written as some kind of novel, rather than an actual handbook of how to live and prosper, written by "God"?

[@magnuspeacock5857]

Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are a handbook on how to live

[@watauguy]

It was the Star Wars of 1000BC. NT, Return of the Jedi 40AD.

[@akizeta]

People like stories. Stories are also easier to remember for pre-literate people than straight instructions.

[@AnnetQuintanaKnowsBest]

Because it WAS a novel. It was SEVERAL dozen novels or stories, really.

[@LisaForTruth]

Well, if you really read the Bible, there are several contradictions, the very first one being in Genesis 1 and 2. There are two different creation stories. The Bible didn't always exist as the "Bible," and the whole myth of how the Jews started is just plain wrong. It is WAY too detailed to get into here, but I can at least explain the OT contradictions. You see, for the majority of it's existence, ancient Israel was two kingdoms: Judah and Israel. Over time, these kingdoms kept the "important" parts of their theology but differed in the details. When the time came to put the stories in writing, the scribes had a problem: two different stories. (You can see this in Exodus, when Israel crosses the Red Sea.) Anyway, the scribes patched up the stories as best they could, but they didn't do a very good job.

[@johnfox9169]

I would be embarrassed if I proclaimed or professed a belief in ANY religion or faith. Religion is so much yesterday's game.

[@robertfletcher3421]

AronRa thank for another great video. One slight error, tulips that we all love come from the Netherlands. But there is the interesting evolution in these. I understand that the wild variety comes from the Mediterranian. It was when they became infected with a virus that we get the beautiful blooms we have today, thanks to evolution.

[@MRayner59]

Denmark also grows tulips and daffodils in the part of the country known as Sønderjylland.

[@tuxino]

Yes, we grow tulips in Denmark, but it isn't really something that we are known for in the wider world.

[@henrikbger4111]

Well, Denmark and the Netherlands are pretty close to each other and Sønderjylland is the closest, both geographically and topographically

[@Lucius1958]

Even the Netherlands imported the tulip from elsewhere: the name itself comes from Turkey.

[@richardcramer1604]

Robert Fletcher, the point AronRa was making is the tulip can survive in a temperate climate such as the Netherlands, hense finding a tulip petal snagged in the fur of a mammoth does not mean that Siberia was tropical.

[@roddychristodoulou9111]

Thank you for these videos, we need you more than ever now that Hitchens is no longer with us.

[@brigham2250]

In a novel I recently read (nothing to do with religion) one of the characters thought to herself: You can't make a person believe something he/she doesn't want to believe. Instantly I thought of religious believers, evolution deniers, flat earthers, etc. Evidence means nothing to Ken Ham because he doesn't want to give up his false beliefs. He doesn't want to change his position. He has no personal motivation to do so. In fact, he's got so much invested in his false beliefs that to admit he was wrong would collapse his entire world around him and make him regret his wasted life. People with that kind of inner strength are few and far between. No one wants to be wrong (especially in the public eye) and no one wants to think they've wasted precious years.

[@phrygiandominant6989]

Great speech Aron! I love learning from your content.

[@valerieangell7588]

Thank you AronRa...

[@drivenbyrage5710]

It is easier to fool someone, than to convice them they have been fooled.

[@ListlessLion]

My brother loves superhero media, so one time he was discussing X-men and how the mutant with wings would have been too heavy to actually fly. I kind of excitedly got to explain how the mutation for bird feathers couldn't have happened even if he'd mutated extra limbs and wings. Right on cue, my dad says I'm wrong and I smugly get to tell him that's not how evolution works. When he proceeds to say evolution claims we all originate from sludge, I continue. THAT'S NOT HOW EVOLUTION WORKS.

[@Antis14CZ]

True that. Every Pokémon player know how evolution TRULY works.

[@krispalermo8133]

@ListlessLion , about 20 years ago Marvel comics came out that mutants were create by space aliens.

[@davidjones272]

@@krispalermo8133 that's inhumans not mutants

[@krispalermo8133]

@@davidjones272 please check up on the " Celestials," they are giant armor cosmic beings the gene farm planets. They started the mutant blood lines back in the stone age.

[@moisesmelendezblanco5724]

Another great lecture on KZbin thank you Aron Ra!!! I loved it!!!

[@randomguy-tg7ok]

But my holy book...

[@antediluvianatheist5262]

It's 'But *muh* holy book!' kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJi8aa2Ej5hoq9km22s :)

[@Skyfire_The_Goth]

No no no, you got it wrong, it's, and I quote, "Bu...bu...but muh hoeleeeyyy buuuuk"

[@broddr]

And my irreducible complexity 'disproving' evolution: - human eye! (oops, already explained from an evolutionary perspective) - birds wings! (oops, that's been explained too) - bacterial flagella! E.g. Michael Behe. (not fully explained yet, but only studied at the molecular level this century) Of course even if science _never_ explains the evolutionary development of the flagellum, claiming that that knowledge gap supports some god idea like creationism is just an argument from ignorance. "We don't know how, therefore god!"

[@qwertydog9795]

between yours and Stanford's KZbin channel I think I've caught up on some education I would have otherwise missed out on. thank you. 👏

[@philj3167]

If that was a rant, then I love rants.

[@Antis14CZ]

If you want a true rant, I recommend Greta Christina's "Why are you atheists so angry?" and Seth Andrews's "Christianity made me talk like an idiot!" Both are glorious.

[@philj3167]

@@Antis14CZ I love "Christianity made me talk like an idiot". One of my fav Seth talks. Been meaning to watch Greta's. Cheers

[@Antis14CZ]

@@philj3167 Seth is an awesome speaker. We're lucky that he's on our side. He's a master of mood whiplash. He starts light-hearted, comically poking fun at the ridiculousness of religion, then gets more informative while still dropping a joke here and there and then he floors you with an atomic bomb of some atrocity, after which he'll soothe you with a hopeful and encouraging closing. Powerful stuff.

[@Freeze014]

Tulips are generally associated with the Netherlands, not so much Denmark.

[@martynjones8560]

I think they originally came from Turkey or Middle East.

[@bdijkstra1982]

What they are associated with is not that relevant. They grow from North Africa to Mongolia.

[@doranku]

Everybody (in the U.S. of A.) knows that Denmark is the capital of Amsterdam.

[@TheFeldhamster]

Dora Nku thanks, made my day! :) :) :)

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

+Martyn Jones Turkey is correct, thus the name (originally "tulipan") which is derived from the word "turban"

[@not_a_theist]

I appreciate your willingness (eagerness even) to share your extensive knowledge- just want to say ‘thanks’ ❤️

[@LP-MeAndMyShadow]

Okay, AronRa, you are an excellent speaker. I went to listen to other speakers here on KZbin and you are by far the best with Matt and Seth running close behind.

[@shortperson20]

The thing you said about sincere creationists was me. I prided myself on honesty. The more facts I learned, the harder my faith was to defend, and the more I learned I would have to be dishonest to make most of my old points work when I saw how most of them were debunked

[@paulcaudle6275]

My favorite atheist!! Awesome video bro!!

[@magnuspeacock5857]

4:45 the bible does get one thing right, man and beast *are* one and the same.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

Sadly that is ONE thing the biblethumpers won't ever consider taking at it's literary meaning ;-)

[@BlackBanditXX]

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. ;)

[@magnuspeacock5857]

@@BlackBanditXX true

[@brucenator]

Where does the bible say anything about "man and beast are one and the same"? It's impossible to know what you are even referring to with such a general statement as that. In every context I can find, the bible makes a distinction between "man and beast" and refers to 'beasts' in the generally accepted colloquial sense: wild (or sometimes domesticated) four-legged creatures of the field or forest, such as lions, leopards, bears, bulls, deer, donkeys; or in the very mixed up dream world of Daniel and Revelation as a symbolic/mythical creature with two horns that 'speaks' like a dragon, or with four heads and four wings that looks like a leopard, or with seven heads and ten horns that looks like a leopard with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. Perhaps you are referring to the tiny morsel of wisdom found in Ecclesiastes 3 : 19-21 where it talks about the fate of all animals (never mind all life forms), which is death? "Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the [wild] animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over [wild] animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the [wild] animal goes down into the earth?" Certainly man and beast are one and the same in that they are animals that die with their last breath. And "who knows" if 'the spirit' is nothing more than the air we breathe in and out of our lungs? Certainly no one knows but many make believe that they know what that spirit is. I have yet to meet anyone who, when they start talking about a person having a "spirit," can give a coherent answer to the question, "What do you mean by spirit?"

[@magnuspeacock5857]

@@brucenator Ecclesiastes 3:18 to 21

[@alanw505]

Hearing the blunt and naked facts about reality is refreshing.

[@jason666king]

I have an irrefutable argument for God: Aron Ra walks among us.

[@jason666king]

@Kenneth Schrank actually, I made a video on that very topic

[@glorfburfington9676]

@Pisstake or maybe. It's a joke. Or maybe. He's an ironic genius.

[@GabS-o1m]

@Pisstake Dude I’m sure it was a joke... Life’s not always a dick, stop taking it so hard. 🙄

[@GabS-o1m]

@Pisstake Oh ok then my bad haha.

[@GabS-o1m]

@Pisstake Haha same to you. Ain’t gonna lie though, life can be a huge dick. 😩 Lol.

[@DanielBrownsan]

Content aside, having done presentations, the seamless transition from "panicked delayed-flight and now I'm late" to "It's cool, I'm here now, let's do this" in this video is a lesson in how it's done.

[@drewduncan7702]

Keep spreading the honest truth Aron!

[@FoamKittyGamer]

Aside from Creationism, what worries me most is all the other crazy beliefs there are... Creationism is only one example of how bad human ignorance is...

[@ListlessLion]

yup! There are still flat earthers, antivaxers, conspiracy theorists and people who believe in alternative medicine, auras and ghosts. If you're willing to believe something that doesn't have an explanation, you're also willing to eventually stop searching for answers and accept the supernatural explanation, even if you think you're rational enough to go through the logical explanations first.

[@rahowherox1177]

And how deliberate or preferred that state of ignorance seems to be for most.

[@stylis666]

rahowhero X Entertain for a minute the idea of not having science, living thousands of years ago. You cut the wheat, feed the animals, grind some wheat for a bread which your wife will bake. You have some extra breads you wish to trade for eggs and beer. Your children are playing and helping your wife with washing clothes while you go out into the forest to hunt for some meat. You're living the good life. You live on the edge of a small town with crimes such as murder and rape and you have your ideas on how often those things happen and how bad they are for society and wish to change it, so you join the council. Here you propose to open schools and pay workers better and abolish slavery so they too have a better life and the economy will grow and crime rates will drop. How will you convince the council, that consists mostly of rich people who have slaves and don't care that villagers, workers and slaves get sick, murdered or raped because they can just get new slaves and workers? Without science you have no way to prove that your ideas are correct, or that sick, murdered and raped slaves and workers are bad for society and the economy. It's just your opinion and ideas against theirs. But you have a god who gives you good crops and punishes you with droughts if you don't sacrifice enough children and animals or had an impure thought about the neighbor's wife. God blessed you with a good life, a pretty wife and healthy children so you must be right. God doesn't just act like a placeholder for knowledge, but it's the placeholder for the authority and the power to convince that facts and knowledge gives us now. Shouting also seems to work and so does discrediting actual science by sowing doubt. Just imply that there is something questionable about the opponent. People can't check the facts anyway. Now, fast forward to modern day. Science advanced but a person can't know what we as a society learned. Science is slow and complex. Now imagine that you are disgusted by the idea of kissing another man. So disgusted even that you want it to be illegal, but all the facts show that there is absolutely no harm in it. How would you try to convince people? You pick up a book with an assumed imaginary authority that supersedes facts and science and show that this authority agrees with you that there is something bad about it even if we can't see it, but your authority is wise and does see it and we'd be wise to listen to it. People won't check the facts anyway if you appeal to their emotions and tell them that if they don't do what you say they're fools, terrorists, vile abominations or whatever. Many people still prefer to pretend to see the emperor's clothes over being called a fool and being the outcast, regardless of the consequences. Centuries of gay bashing and executing. Who cares as long as we don't get shunned by our families and friends? Or imagine that you want to understand the world, but you never finished school or can't afford to go to college or a university. So how would you go about explaining how psychology and biology makes your life so good with great friends while a criminal surrounds himself with backstabbers and finds himself in danger? You don't. You just insert placeholders for knowledge. Karma, god, spirituality, re-incarnation, etc. You can just ignore that children in Africa die at birth or of hunger; it's more complex than we, feeble humans can comprehend. There's a plan for all of us and all will be just great and that makes all the suffering and injustice just a beautiful part in an awesome plan we don't understand and is for the good of everyone, so don't question it or you're the fool who doesn't believe that everything is going to be okay; the hopeless bitter one who relies on science and gets nowhere and isn't happy and you can't convince them otherwise, because any criticism can simply be dismissed as bitterness. The bottom line is that having options isn't enough. You need knowledge about those options to gain the freedom to choose; to gain control over our lives; to get what we want. So one way or another we want answers. Having lived your entire life doing just fine on your gut feelings, you wouldn't learn how important it is if they're correct or how much better your life or all of our lives would be if we raise our standards of evidence before making decisions. Not many schools teach how to think critically or how to get answers but teach the answers instead. If we are ever going to change people just inserting random guesses in their decision making, we have to teach our children the difference between a guess and a hypothesis and how to think critically and about logical fallacies and the freedom and responsibility that comes with knowledge.

[@SimberLayek]

"Government is the Most Dangerous Superstition."-KZbin it

[@terryfuldsgaming7995]

The micro evolution argument is just as stupid as saying that if you have a round lump of clay, it can never be anything other than a round lump of clay, no matter what you do to it... obviously you can slowly manipulate that lump into anything at all, even if you can only touch a finger tip to it once a day, you can still slowly make it take any form. This is how evolution works also. A billion small changes equals one HUGE change ...

[@ImpudentInfidel]

The best analogy I've heard for only accepting "micro" evolution is acknowledging that it's possible to walk across the room, but insisting that actually crossing town that way is absurd.

[@MBarberfan4life]

I also like the languages analogy. Small changes in a language over time will eventually lead to a new language

[@terryfuldsgaming7995]

@buzz magister umm, are you responding to the right post? Cuz the only thing i see related to my post is you mentioned clay... why would i know what it's like in russia? I live in California... what akita? My dog is a German shepard and a 100lb pit bull... lol. You are out there buddy...

[@jamesyoung1022]

What do the following three relevant facts tell us? 1. The Theory of Evolution is accepted by nearly all (97%) world scientists to be fact. (Source NCSE) 2. Of the small percentage (3%) of scientists dismissing the Theory of Evolution, nearly all (100%) do so for religious reasons. 3. The scientific community regards the Theory of Evolution to be the only credible scientific explanation of human origins. Those three facts are all anyone needs to know about the issue of evolution vs creationism. What do these relevant facts tell us? • We don't need a science degree in anything to recognize what is driving the religious creationist’s objections. • Religious creationist scientists dismiss the Theory of Evolution, not because of defects in the Theory but rather because it challenges their religious faith.

[@sirmeowthelibrarycat]

😖 Really! Who was that person walking in front of the camera? Attendees should be told not to do so when the guest speaker is about to open his talk. Aron has the patience and courtesy of a saint in such circumstances!

[@pmgodfrey]

Thank you for this. I have a friend, who is honestly brilliant (is actually a Mensa Member), that is frighteningly close to creationism. It baffles me how, as smart as he is, he denies facts because...bible. Nearly every discussion we've had turns into a debate. When I reach the limitations of my knowledge, he declares victory. It's quite annoying.

[@richardski2218]

Sounds to me that he could be fearful of aspects of Science, or just raised to believe in his religion without question, intelligence helps but sadly it does not completely defend from religious indoctrination.

[@davidh.4944]

High intelligence can even work to make indoctrination stronger. The smarter the believer the more capable he is of defending his beliefs (both internally and against others) with seemingly-solid and hard-to-counter rationalizations. It can also make him overly confident in his own cognitive ability. He "knows" he's right, and he can "prove" it.

[@diciamoltd]

I imagine that is very frustrating. I have found that rather than argue on their own ground it is easier to go back to the far more obvious contradictions and foolishness of religion, which simply cannot be rationalised.

[@larryscarr1929]

Just keep asking..How do you know that? Eventually he will admit he doesn't know..or he will lie.. as no evidence exists to support a magical world.. he must lie or admit he is wrong..

[@baronsamedi7304]

"Frighteningly close to creationism?" Is pretty general, so here's a general statement....he who believes in unproven supernatural mahamba jamba ain't that fucking brilliant

[@narusferree6506]

Imagine just how advanced we as a species would be if we weren't being held back every step of the way by the big metal hand in the sky.

[@55Quirll]

I just realized you are at the School I went to for Graduate Studies in Microbiology - No Masters degree, my funds ran out - and I got my BS in Biology from Wheeling/College/University, both good schools and made good friends with the teachers. My BS was in 1978, my Graduate Studies were in the 1980's, just short of the 2 years I would have needed. Take care and stay happy, healthy and safe.

[@brucecook502]

reding the bible with an open mind for first time is how i realized it was bs.

[@seanmichaels8060]

Exactly. I read it cover to cover. Even the boring parts. Most Christians I know can't seem to make it past Leviticus.

[@brucecook502]

I only read it cover to cover twice because I was at a cultish like christan boys home in panama city florida for 2 years and we read it through each year reading several chapters each morning and night. I read i wh a bias for how to interpret everythng so I didnt know there were the errors and inconsstances n t that I later found. It was when I decided several months ago to read the new testament wth an open mind having abandoned the baptist denominaion so reading it with an open mind hoping to find out through prayer how to interpret it correctly oly to find that there was no way it could be true because james 2:14-26 when taken in contex completely contradcts the faih only doctrine jesus preached, and even jesus himself confused me throughout the gospels because he fip flopped when teaching people what one is to do to be saved. then james completely made up my mind, and since I already beleved all other religions were false, I became athiest. I cant believe what have learned since then after i ventured onto youtube to find out if there were other former cristians turned athiest on youtube. i see the big picture how religion as a whole is truely been manmade since its beginning. its no wonder the world has never documented any version of god/gods having ever appeared to all of mankind. thats because there was never a god to begin with.

[@proculusjulius7035]

@@seanmichaels8060 you're right, I only made it to the book of Leviticus and in particular chapter 11:13-19 this is where the Bible says that bats are birds. I straight up choked with laughter and realized just how full of sh!t the book was.

[@tonybrantley]

I just realized there is absolutely 0 down votes on this video !!!

[@zoranocokoljic8927]

I wanted to say that tulips are usually associated with Holland, not Denmark and that I've often seen those two countries confused, but some nitpicks have done it already. As for teaching controversy, why don't creationists start it by teaching Theory of Evolution in Sunday schools? Also, there's a "controversy" between Science and every other creation myth. Why limit the "teaching" on Genesis only?

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

Why Evolutoin? Teach the controversy of Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, Wikka ... all the conflicting religious claims to every believer in every place of worship. Let THEM figure it out, give them the necessary information, including where Thorah and thus Bible STOLE ideas from earlier religions (like the Flood and the creation account, Satan and hell). THEN and only then, should we seriously consider putting the ill reasoned and factually incorrect religious claims over the origins of the world, life and the multitude of species we see today in classrooms. As examples of how bad it is when you do not follow stringent rules of scientific conduct ;-) Let's be honest: there is no controversy. there are people that are open to truth and there are fundamentalist believers offended that their untested creeds are not held as the same level of demonstrably correct. Their obtuseness and insolent insistence on being equal to "our" science is no reason to take away precious space and time on the schedule just to humor the incarnation of ignorance out of its tantrum.

[@darthnightstrike1808]

Im 4 years to young!!! I missed this at my college too😢😢. Hope i can catch you live sometimes, love your work!

[@gnolex86]

One thing made me wonder about those creationists who reject everything that contradicts their scripture. Hypothetically, if there was a god, just not the one they believe in, and that god suddenly came down on Earth to show he is real and scientists would be able to verify him scientifically, would those creationists reject that god as well? Or would they change their mind?

[@LisaForTruth]

hypothetically, they'd say it was the devil, trying to trick them. I used to be one of them; that's how I know

[@cornerstaple8747]

They would brag about how science proved a god and then come up with a conspiracy

[@MrDanAng1]

Many creationist organisations have a declaration of faith that, in slightly different words, say that if scientific discoveries contradict scripture it is by definition false. So by their own declaration of faith, it's not possible for them to accept evidence for another deity.

[@gentbar7296]

this so funny ITS A DEAD END...LOL

[@faithfulservant83]

It is already foretold in scripture...the Antichrist is coming and will declare himself god and deceive the masses and make war with the saints. The whole world will wonder after the beast. It is coming...preparations are already made...Israel will be his seat. Thst is just a fact. Already planning the building of the third temple.

[@MMAGamblingTips]

Holy shit! In Huntington, WV at my alma Mater? How’d I miss this? Geez, I’m surprised ANYONE showed up. People have no idea how much a religious state WV is. Its north Alabama. Catch ya next time Ra!

[@themelancholia]

If people want to teach the controversy, ask them to teach Islam. Maybe then they'll stop wanting to teach the fucking controversy.

[@cyberjism]

"...to believe an irrational fantasy that is not true and that has no truth in it." dizaaam, AR saved the best for last.

[@ThisIsMeOnYoutube]

I have a Personal Relationship with Reality.

[@josephrodriguez2780]

3-year-old video true 3 years old still true today truth is truth.

[@TheGreatPOD]

Your rough landing may have been In part due to the fact that you where flying with an ex Navy pilot, When I have those rough landings I really want to poke my head into the cockpit on the way off the plane and remind the pilot that there is no tail hook or arresting cable on the runway this is not an aircraft carrier. If your pilot was in the military and was flying for the Air Force then you have a nice soft landing, but if they flew for the Navy it's a hard landing.

[@scottn322]

Science, and having a greater understanding of it, was my primary reason for abandoning my faith. The bible was a close second, and the hypocrisy of the church was after that, if those are the reasons we are going with. Additionally watching a lot of those old KZbin athiest videos, yours included, from back in the mid-2000s, certainly helped me along.

[@jimbobaggans1564]

When I was in grade school I brought home my science book and started showing my mom that Genesis was wrong. She was a devout jehovah witness. She got so angry with me. She said that I was an apostate. I didn't know what that was but the way she said it, I knew it couldn't be good.

[@peteconrad2077]

Yet it is good!

[@Troubleshooter125]

I LOVE it when you rant, Aron! Don't ever stop!

[@shanen8031]

Aron Ra... your da man!

[@aidanmatthewgalea7761]

I say this as a semi-christian, or at least a theist. but here in Malta, what we do is we listen to the main thing that Jesus preached of being kind to people, which has led to malta being frankly an anomaly amongst heavily christian countries of being both relatively highly educated, highly open and accepting, and highly religious all at once while being tolerant of other beliefs. sure we're also a tax haven for the almost satanically wealthy, but that is the rich, not humans of the species homo sapiens sapiens. I am a biochemistry student and I believe in both a God and that evolution is true. that there are people stupid enough to not be able to reconcile both simulatneously is frankly a sign of a deep systematic fallacy, such as what plagues the states.

[@aidanmatthewgalea7761]

@@A_Stereotypical_Heretic I love American politics you guys are all on crack or cowering from those on crack it's great knowing that this inevitably ripples to affect the entire world just because 2 old men are throwing chairs at eachother like it's WWE

[@ryublueblanka]

Imagine traveling with Aron Ra. He would be a dream seat partner on the Greyhound I'll tell you that much

[@KeithCooper-Albuquerque]

Outstanding as usual, Aron!

[@Kisame501st]

For a long time I had these questions about religion but ever sense I looked up a few atheist youtube vids....I just feel like a weight has finally been ripped off of my back. So to that I thank you mr.AronRa and thanks to every other atheist youtube channel for showing me the truth of how corrupted religion can be. Really it helped me alot.

[@arielle2745]

Excellent presentation, Aron Ra!

[@pulidoggy]

I keep wondering why such powerful and insightful lectures are usually confined to such sparse audiences instead of filling stadiums of applauding crowds as they would deserve. Embracing the values of scientific and rational thought, including atheism, is a call to arms against superstition and dogma. Let your voices be heard, loud and clear!

[@WildwoodClaire1]

Within the last month I had someone ask me to explain "the mammoths frozen standing up." Ironically, it was in the comment section of a video that explained just that and, actually, the inquiry sounded more like a demand from someone smugly confident that the evidence was irrefutable. So once more into the breach, I explained the PRATT all over again.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

Claire! You're well? Haven't seen you around quite some time. Still enjoying Soccer?

[@WildwoodClaire1]

Yes, and yes. I'm eight months away from retirement. Thanks for asking! Fulham has made it back to the Prem and Leeds United are top of the table in Division 2 (aka "the Championship League").

[@dieSpinnt]

If you think that faith can move mountains, then you probably don't work in road construction.

[@glennyoung7088]

I've learned so much from you, keep up the great work Aaron!

[@Bacxaber]

An excellent speech, Aron. The world needs more people like you - not just atheists, but atheists who are as well spoken as you.

[@doommslayer6411]

I woke up to an Aron Ra lecture. Today is gonna be a good day.

[@longleaf1217]

I think its time we evolved past religion

[@roseblack1301]

Love is Hate, Peace is War etc... Those who know the arguments of their interlocutors but reject any possible truth to them cannot be reasoned with and do not care if the facts are not on their side, so long as they feel like they can argue their own position.

[@eppursimuove3090]

I wonder if the rise of creationists and the rise of flat earthers are connected?

[@infinitesentient3545]

100% yes!

[@cookienibz2578]

Great work, as usual! How on earth is that room NOT packed? One would think misleading children would be a hot issue!

[@Apostate_ofmind]

people keep mixing the meaning of "theory" with the meaning of "hypothesis". religious people go to town on this misconception.

[@Antis14CZ]

And those professional apologists who do know the difference simply lie.

[@stylis666]

Apologists don't confuse theory for hypothesis. A hypothesis is based on evidence. The theory that apologists mean is just a wild guess that functions as a terrible placeholder for anything evidence based.

[@Antis14CZ]

@@stylis666 Let's just shorten it to: "Apologists are lying to people." I mean, if you're an apologist and you're on your tenth formal debate with an atheist and you still play the "It's only a theory" card, you're a disgusting liar. There is no way that apologist hadn't had that explained to him a thousand times by then. I saw a clip the other day of WLC being profoundly confused when being told that his opponent's position was not "There is no god", but simply "I don't believe your god claims, because you haven't demonstrated their truthfulness". At that point, he's been doing those debates for decades, yet he was acting like he's never ever heard of such a position. I call bullshit.

[@donvanduzen8944]

We all have to do a better job at informing them otherwise regarding scientific theories.But with the growing trend towards rejection of expertise , science and knowledge. It's an uphill struggle but too much is at stake.

[@richardpowell4281]

Totally unrelated but Aron could do an AMAZING Governor Ratcliffe cosplay

[@Desertphile]

I am no more capable of believing the gods exist than I am capable of growing wings and flying to Mars.

[@Demogorgon47]

Lols Ironically neither can creationists no matter how much they prey for Jesus to come down and miracle them to mars.

[@mikeha1214]

Because there isn’t an atmosphere between Earth and Mars, right?😉

[@ladybard]

Oh I wish I would have known about this... I would have came to listen to him. I live about 2 hours away and have wanted to see Aron speak for a long time. Hope to find you next time you're in West Virginia!

[@simongiles9749]

*Ahem* Tulips - Holland.

[@hilohahoma1547]

Aarons observations are right on, "christian science" is an oxymoron............period.

[@zeemon9623]

Evolution isn't a theory, meaning "not proven", it is a theory as in the counterpart to "practise". Music theory is a system to describe how music is made in practise. If you heard a piece of music, then got hand of the sheet music and showed it to anybody who can read it, they will be able to play the same piece. Theory in a scientific sense describes how things work in practise. How this "theory" argument hasn't died yet amazes me.

[@dp9550]

I became Atheist at the age of 6 when I was told Santa was not real, made me ask my religious father where is God? he said waving his arms all around everywhere , I said do you actually believe that? he was not impressed and never did answer my question.

[@stonedagain5191]

Soon it's got to come to a head between the religious and the atheist, as the religious all believe the atheist must be put to death. Religion is today offensive and completely unacceptable to the majority of the world. God's/Allah's hate and demand all non-believers are put to death? God's/Allah's demand for the slaying and killing of all non- believers and even all other religious people? They can't deny it as It's all written in their Bibles or Korans! That's actually no different from a group of people committing the crime of hate speech. It's no different from people committing the crime of planning a murder. So clearly the reality is that it's soon to be either them or us? Religion Itself is responsible for more murder, more torture, more inhumane, heinous atrocities than can ever be seen as acceptable. There's simply no excuse any more, It's now unforgivable. Oh, you can try to say the Wars aren't religious or that it's people using religion, but that's not the case, and that's a lie, they are religious, and they do represent religion, the Pope ordered crusades that killed hundreds of thousands, is that acceptable to religion? Seems it is. So tell me, how many need to die before religion becomes unacceptable? Religion really is mankind's very own special ''man-made'' poison. Lots of us don't want that poison. And guess what? With atheism growing hand over fist faster than any religion there's far more of us than there is you religious today.

[@briq4339]

You are the man Aron. Well done sir!