Why Humanity Must Overcome Religion | Carl Sagan

[@gregkoliaga5198]

it is better to have questions that can't be answered, then answers that can't be questioned

[@jamescarpenter6454]

@gregkoliaga5189 I completely love your comment! And I will shamelessly share it whenever possible!

[@Arxchy]

I completely agree with you I would definitely rather have questions that cant be answered instead of answers that cant be questioned, but when it comes to christianity and the Lord, it's more of "There's an answer to all the questions" instead of "answers that can't be questioned".

[@gregkoliaga5198]

@@jamescarpenter6454 hi, this was a carl sagan quote

[@BertrandLaurence]

Yes, well put. Werner Ehrard mentioned that questions tends to yield more transformative powers than answers. Questions open doors, answers tend to close them.

[@andoreanesnomeo1706]

RIP Karl Popper

[@ericyeoman2687]

I used to watch him on TV as a kid. I learned so much from him & could listen to his voice for hours. He shaped my beliefs or lack thereof, to the dismay of my parents & other relatives. I admired him, greatly. It was a very sad day, when he passed.

[@whitehawk2273]

And now he is waiting, like all the dead, for the Messiah's return. Judgment follows and permanent seperation from Adonai. Sad

[@lizoconnor2752]

He was a treasure

[@samsmom1491]

​@@whitehawk2273 Your comment is sad. I would rather have a mind open in wonder than one closed by belief.

[@drutter]

Great comment, echoed 100%.

[@mikeym.1461]

@@whitehawk2273 apparently you learned nothing ...

[@pattyk734]

You don’t have to have religion to be an ethical, compassionate, caring human being.

[@timothyknudson7987]

I agree. But we do need religion to know who we are and what our post mortal destiny is. Science has nothing to say about our existence after death. It can not prove there is no life after death. If there is life after death, I’d like to prepare for it.

[@foolmenow00]

@@timothyknudson7987 Excellent response! Science cannot even prove how everything was created yet guesses with Big Bang theory but WHO created the Big Bang?

[@MolloyPolloy]

Religious people can't and will never see it that way. Imagine being so fucking stupid that you need a list of thing you can't do, and then having to refer to the list.... "don't kill,"... oh really? Thanks, I'd have never known that.

[@milfordcivic6755]

Most evil doers hide behind their religion as a reason for the acts they commit

[@albertbrammer9263]

100% correct.

[@AKDubs06]

I had the immense pleasure of being in the audience for a speech given by Sagan when I was in junior high, that experience absolutely changed my life. I had a completely different way of looking at the world around me after hearing him speak, it was truly amazing. We NEED more people like Sagan in this world. His message that it is ok to be wrong but it is not ok to blindly accept what is right is so spot on.

[@carinaekstrom1]

Thank goodness this man was recorded. I've loved him since I was a child.

[@behzadanwar9396]

I love since his movie cosmos

[@James-ll3jb]

Which is one reason you still are one😅

[@squarehead6c1]

@@James-ll3jb It is hardly a sign of maturing to give in to superstitious belief, if that is what you are alluding to.

[@James-ll3jb]

@@squarehead6c1 "Our science is anti-intellectual by nature. It interprets phenomena, it describes, but it EXPLAINS nothing: all it can do is MEASURE things!" -- Nietzsche To pretend science is anything more or other than that, or even that mathematics is other than an historical human artifact, constitutes the naively disingenuous "superstitious belief" of a Sagan, Tyson, Carroll, Cox, Krauss, Green etc. A friend asked Neils Bohr why he had a horseshoe over the entrance to his house, an item allegedly keeping evil spirits from entering the house. "How can you as a scientist believe in this?" Bohr said, "of course I don't believe in it. But I have it there because I was told that it works even if you don't believe in it." Compris?

[@James-ll3jb]

@@squarehead6c1 No one has ever even SEEN a "cause"! (lol)

[@dragonfox2.058]

When someone says "It's god's will" I know they have abrogated responsibility. That is not honor for me

[@metricstormtrooper]

Thanks for not saying "abdicated" responsibility.

[@ARRAM57]

​@ZilphaJones If only you could prove that. Then we would all believe.

[@ILovePancakes24]

But it's impossible to know his will. That's kind of the point.

[@ARRAM57]

@@ILovePancakes24 Impossible to know but eternally punished for not believing......sounds logical and fair.

[@MrCanucklehead75]

@ZilphaJones God isn't real. Facts don't care about how much you wish your imaginary friend was real.

[@davidarchibald50]

Nearly thirty years ago, we all lost Carl Sagan. But we can find him, still hear him, and even discuss the universe with him in a one-sided way. He lives within our memories as do we and everyone we have known. Slowly, our memories fade until even we pass to join all the other beings that ever lived in this universe. Carl will live a while longer for he has touched so many. I have no need of a god. I can go out into a clear night and look up, breathe the air of our planet and see with my aging, tired eyes the thing I am part of, that I was made of, as was and will be, every living thing. There are atoms in me that were once in Carl Sagan. We are one with it. Strive to be better, never be satisfied,

[@user-wt1jd4rc9n]

I liked what you wrote, we worry too much and forget to perceive goodness.

[@rob6193]

That clear night sky and the shared atoms between us you describe was quite helpful for me. Thank you.

[@robertmorrisey7140]

Excellent! Well Said!

[@karaDee2363]

Very eloquently said and I agree with you 100%

[@sliceserve234]

"Science is more than a body of knowledge, it is also a way of thinking." Wonderful

[@DocSanders]

I'm really glad someone said this because that is the whole point of what Sagan was saying. Full marks. Go straight to the head of the class.

[@filmeseverin]

By denying God, atheists should be aware about their foolishness to think / sustain / believe that this reality and the humans (intelligent beings) from it are the result of no Intelligence. As usual, are in denial (without counter-arguments, of course) only those who are too superficial to think enough to understand *the simple fact that from no intelligence involved, no intelligence comes,* the entire process until nowadays proving the existence of God because *the results of a process prove the intelligence involved into that process* (even schoolchildren can understand that every photon, ... atom, ... cell has intelligence into it, *not to mention their functionality together).* They ignore the intelligence put from the beginning. For example, the intelligence mentioned includes the exact value of the speed of light matching the manifestation of what we call "gravity", working together since the primordial conditions to form in the end this reality, which hosts intelligent life that is able to feel / understand / admire / enjoy / respect / love the Creator, especially through His human form, Jesus Christ. Those wise enough understand that *God is not bounded by time (not being bounded by what He has created), respectively He is eternal, always existed, which means that He was not created,* but atheists ignore, also, the other fact about the nature of God that our power of comprehension will always be like how much the cups can think to understand the man who made them (comparison mentioned in the Bible). Anyway, *they have no excuse because we have Jesus Christ, the human form of Divinity, to be able to understand.*

[@campbellpaget453]

Yes, and it's also a faith position and a religion that has produced the atomic bomb.

This blew my mind

[@James-to7pi]

That mindset kicks dogma to the curb, where it belongs!

[@chrisconklin2981]

I have no problems if someone chooses a religion and believes in a God. My problem is when they use their religion to tell other people how to live their lives. Carl Sagan and Christopher Hitchens left us too soon.

[@Lavida-g5t]

100% agree.

[@gerardowmby7156]

@@Lavida-g5t The world is better off without those who say there is no God when they could experience God by seeing the eternal light that is available to everyone within now. I have seen it twice a day for fifty years during my meditation -- the Transcendental Meditation technique. It's open to everyone now.

[@Lavida-g5t]

@@gerardowmby7156 Good for you.

[@Istandby666]

My issue is when they make laws based on these unproven beliefs of theirs.

[@Istandby666]

​@@gerardowmby7156 Word salad

[@StanSwan]

I lost my dad in April and watched Field of Dreams yesterday. I want to think someday I could play catch with my dad again like we did in the 1970s. I see no reason or evidence that can ever happen but understand how strong that emotion is. Treasure every day with the people you love while we are hear. RIP Carl

[@gothboschincarnate3931]

Amadeus reincarnates in 1 year.

[@StanSwan]

@@gothboschincarnate3931 I nice wish but no proof to back it up.

[@LloydTucker-r7v]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[@russell311000]

That's so deep. I recently left religion. Nobody knows what awaits us on the other side.

[@gothboschincarnate3931]

@@russell311000 you haven't asked me, why not?

[@Enkidu-4U]

This man was a genius and 100% right. He was also kind. He said faith. I'll go ahead and say it for him. Religion will inevitably be man's downfall if we don't grow out of it. Will Christians be constantly waiting for Jesus to return for eternity? When is the gig up? When do we say we're not waiting anymore? We have to move as if nobody is looking out for us or we're not upsetting some deity with stim cell research or any science for that matter. My fav quote by Carl Sagan: "Science is a candle in the dark."

[@Mr.Storytime959]

Science is just as stupid…we created nuke viruses pollution and disease with science…what we should do is go back to Hunter gathers and stay there…

[@Mr.Storytime959]

@@JagdeepSandhuSJC it’s inevitable because they are weak

[@Jake-mv7yo]

@@JagdeepSandhuSJC Humanity isn't going to destroy itself. Even if there was some huge war with nukes everywhere there will still be a few survivors in a cave eating twinkies.

[@Jcs57]

Christianity is a death cult praying that a genocidal being come wipe out humanity so that they can get on to the best part which is singing praises for endless eons to a narcissist genocidal sociopath. If that doesn’t constitute a mental illness nothing does.

[@scribblescrabble3185]

"This man was ... 100% right." A statement Sagan would probably not agree with.

[@chyannehainstock7842]

We need this level of critical thinking now more than ever and fast! Thanks for posting this interview!

[@buckleydodge3985]

Carl Sagan passed away nearly 30 years ago, yet his insights remain as vital as ever. His legacy is a powerful reminder that science isn't just about explaining the present-it's about using evidence and reason to navigate the future. As Sagan said, 'For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.' His words challenge us to embrace reality, not comfort, and continue the quest for understanding in an ever-changing world.

[@themoretruthfultruth]

It is so sad that there are still people gullible enough to fall for mankind's biggest scam, religion.

[@Uncommonsensetoo]

He was truly a man of greatness and his words are true wisdom. He had a great impact on my life as well ever since Cosmos.

[@darthsiyadina6663]

Absolutely

[@male3083]

Science ultimately becomes a dead-end, literally.

[@paddlefar9175]

I could never understand how it could possibly ever be comforting to trust in a supernatural entity that is capable of scapegoating it’s own creations for it’s failings (in trying to create the perfect human beings) and blaming them for how it - the god character- knew ahead of time how they’d turnout, drown them all and then in starting over with one single extended family (his lucky wife, children and their spouses and their children) failing yet again and then still hold the threat of Hell and eternal torment ( a tad over done, don’t you agree 😂) over any non believer’s heads! People don’t choose what their brain figures out to believe or not believe, it’s based on knowledge and critical and sceptical thinking skills. They don’t deserve death and eternal torture for that! That’s a murderous abuser’s plan, not a loving god. How in the world is that a comforting god belief!?

[@truthfacts57]

“ A scientist will read dozens of books in his lifetime , but still believes he has alot more to learn “ “ A religious person barely reads one book , and thinks they know it all “ Neil Degrasse Tyson

[@milansvancara]

considering statistically only about 20% of christians read the bible, it's even more hilarious:D

[@gsuitter]

“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.” ― Charles Bukowski

[@gordonepema722]

@@gsuitter Such as the latter, namely Tyson.

[@crashoppe]

lol. a scientist gets a degree in science and then starts talking like he knows all about philosophy, the human condition, whats best for the world, blah, blah, blah... and people believe their "opinions" on all other matters _other_ than science. lets face it, we all believe 90% of the population is lacking yet only 10% point the finger back at themselves.

[@georgelayton6641]

If God were truly benevolent, it would erase itself from the human mind.

[@margarethorrall8621]

If a believer demands that I, as a non believer, observe his taboos in public domain, he is not asking for my respect but demanding my submission.

[@herchelleonwood7463]

yep,, its a form of bullying !

[@silvercloud1641]

Facts>Faith 🔭🌎☀ Many Faith based beliefs have become to be known as Myth over time in the face of scientific discovery. People are free to think or believe what they want in a free society though, new ideas are always welcome.

[@garyt123]

A form of control, always has been - that's what religions are _designed_ to do. To keep people submissive and dumb as rocks. They don't call each other _sheep,_ and refer to their collective as _"flocks"_ for nothing!

[@frankbarron1907]

But we should bend the knee when you ask us to use your preferred pronouns, right?

[@spwatch32]

Such a wise statement of truth. Thank you.

[@francisfischer7620]

What a magnificent human being. We were so blessed to have him for the instant that we did.

[@nomadhoss4827]

“Out out brief candle”

[@jamilabagash149]

Magnificent? Excuse me! Nonsensical Sagan talk, again without proof. Science is in a turmoil after all its aberrant theories without substantiating their conjecture.

[@richardparker3273]

It's ironic that you say we were "blessed" to have Carl Sagan in the world... Based on his beliefs... If there is no God of any kind, who did the blessing? Oh yeah, I guess the Flying Spaghetti Monster did the blessing 🤔

[@JimWiese-mm5tw]

Yes a Brilliant being. But he overthought perhaps when he ventured into a whelm he struggled to comprehend. Or accept. Sad

[@whatzause]

​@@richardparker3273 You said it for me. How are we to understand the term" blessed" in relation to an atheist?

[@patriciadechamps3169]

Carl Sagan was a great person, who really deserves to be better known by everyone. This video is simply a gem ! ❤

[@VeganSemihCyprus33]

Why humanity must overcome technology 👉 The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 💖

[@Supergeologist]

Watching 'Cosmos' as a child was possibly one of the most defining moments of my life. I studied hard (ish!) went to University where I studied Geology and Astronomy. It has not made me a rich man but I am content in what I know.

[@Lucinda-zr9su]

I watched it as a youngster also. Years later it was rerun on PBS and it was offered at college for 3 credits. Since I was gonna watch it again anyway I mite as well pick up 3 easy credits. You watched the whole series and then took 2 tests. There was a book that that went with it. Easiest 3 credits I ever earned. Loved Carl Sagan sooo much.!!!❤

[@roseleejohnson2449]

​absolutely.

[@FreyjaJ]

I saw them as reruns as a child too and credit Carl Sagan so much for inspiring my love of questioning everything and becoming a scientist. Life-altering stuff in the best way.

[@brucegelman5582]

On his death bed his last words to his beloved Ann Druyan were about Love being the most beautiful force in all the Universe.Our capacity to love and spread that love to one another that which is all the religion anyone will ever need.

[@muskratsalvage9317]

at about 5:07 "this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces", ...

[@bobjohnson1587]

Yes, we can see it happening now in America!

[@woodwage7988]

As seems to be the case in the U.S. 😢

[@woodwage7988]

​@@bobjohnson1587excuse me for have written the same thing as you..l hadn't read your comment before hand...l obviously agree with you 100 percent...

[@bobjohnson1587]

@@woodwage7988 Great minds think alike! lol

[@margaretlumley1648]

Yes, after the next American election 😢

[@brianjones6072]

Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings.

[@captainjoejoe]

No. People fly into buildings. The same as guns don't fire themselves

[@glenncurry3041]

@@captainjoejoe And people without guns and planes do what then? Not (have the ability to) kill massive numbers of people at one time!

[@captainjoejoe]

@glenncurry3041 people kill people, always have done. Most religions advocate for peace, Christianity for one. Stalin was an Athiest and killed millions, doesn't mean all atheists are murderers

[@captainjoejoe]

@glenncurry3041 not sure what you are getting at here, but Stalin was an atheist and killed millions, doesn't mean atheists are murderers.

[@williamwilson6499]

@@captainjoejoeYeah…religious people. Duh

[@stevenmcmullan409]

Religion is the greatest wound that humanity is ever inflicted upon itself.

[@thesoliloquist1940]

Religion is an opiate It is an abridged counterfeit form of spirituality

[@bucksnort2216]

Mans curse on man, warring book clubs.

[@robertfkaz7013]

Thank you. We were fortunate enough to have a father who suggested watching Cosmos when we were growing up. Now more than ever videos like this are necessary.

[@dggjr1759]

GOD EXISTS

[@ccxr89]

​@dggjr1759 which one?

[@sweetitis]

Im one of those Fathers

[@ZoomZoomMX3]

No god and children's imaginary friends are just stories made to make them feel better.

[@suzylux]

"The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge, and there's no place for it in the endeavor of science."

[@smash666]

What saddens me is that in 2024, in the supposedly most advanced country in the world, the US, presidential candidates must say they believe in God if they want to have a chance of being elected.

[@Vishnujanadasa108]

Ironically all the great scientists were theists. Atheism means mediocrity and sour grapes. The most vicious killers and regimes were atheist. It’s the last step to societal collapse. More people have been killed by atheist regimes in the 20th century than all religious wars combined (only a small fraction of wars were ever religion-motivated). It’s obvious someone had to have designed the universe. The universal constants like the weak and strong forces are so fined-tuned by several decimal places that it can’t be coincidence. Serious astrophysicists know this and thus many postulate infinite universes with varying constant values that don’t have life but ours just happens to be a perfect Goldilocks universe. It explains nothing as to how the universe got started and tuned. How would the quarks suddenly gather in threes: two “ups” and a “down” to form protons and two “downs” and an “up” to form neutrons? How was it ever possible that the charges of these quarks turned out to be exactly ⅔ for an “up” and -⅓ for a “down,” so that the proton would miraculously match the opposite charge of the electron (-1) and the neutron’s charge would be precisely zero? How did such an incredibly improbable event ever happen without some calculated act of creation? And further, how did the masses of the elementary particles turn out to have the perfectly precise ratios needed so that the world of atoms and molecules could exist at all? How did the forces of nature-gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear forces acting inside nuclei, as well as the mysterious “dark energy” that permeates space-receive just the right strengths they need to maintain a universe that has the required stability and neither collapses onto itself nor explodes before life has a chance to begin? It is hard to imagine all this happening just by chance. In science, the fine-tuning of the parameters required for life has such an incredibly small probability to have arisen that the famous British cosmologist Stephen Hawking has described it as follows: “If one considers the possible constants and laws that could have emerged, the odds against a universe that has produced life like ours are immense.” Another leading cosmologist, Roger Penrose, addressing only one of the many parameters necessary for a universe that would support life, has put the probability against the emergence of our universe as 1 over 10^10^123, meaning 1 divided by 10 raised to the power of 10, raised to the power of 123. Such numbers are humbling. Now consider the odds of intelligent life developing. To decisively assert that there was no God or act of creation behind our immeasurably unlikely universe seems presumptuous. Roger Penrose has spent a lifetime trying to understand the workings of the universe and he has come to a stunning conclusion: if the entropy (a measure of disorder commonly used in physics) of space had been off from what it currently is by even a tiny fraction, the universe would not exist. Thus the universe has to have been “fine tuned” to a degree that we can hardly comprehend. In other words the Big Bang isn’t even possible without extreme fine-tuning, meaning it probably never happened in the first place. Even Alan Guth points out the fine-tuning required for his inflation model. Penrose writes, in The Road to Reality: Can the anthropic principle be invoked to explain the very special nature of the Big Bang? Can this principle be incorporated as part of the inflationary picture, so that an initially chaotic (maximum entropy) state can nevertheless lead to a universe like the one we live in, in which the Second Law of Thermodynamics holds sway? In other words can order arise from chaos? Why is the mass of the proton 1,836.153 times that of the electron? Why are the electric charges of the up and down quarks exactly 2/3 and -1/3, respectively, on a scale in which the electron’s charge is -1? Why is Newton’s gravitational constant, G, equal to 6.67384 x 10-11? And there is also the question that has deeply puzzled so many physicists since 1916: Why is the fine structure constant, which measures the strength of electromagnetic interactions, so tantalizingly close to 1/137-the inverse of a prime number? (We now know it to far greater accuracy: about 1/137.035999.) Richard Feynman once wrote: “It’s one of the greatest damn mysteries of physics: a magic number that comes to us with no understanding by man. You might say the ‘hand of God’ wrote that number, and ‘we don’t know how he pushed his pencil.’ ” The astronomer Arthur Eddington (who proved Einstein’s hypothesis that space-time curves around massive objects) built entire numerological theories around this number-all of them false. (He assumed that the constant was 1/136). Austrian physicist and quantum pioneer Wolfgang Pauli throughout his life was obsessed with the number 137. Just as an imprint of a seal suggests a seal, the fine-tuned universal constants suggests conscious design or God. Religion creates civilization whereas nihilistic atheism comes at its downfall. Atheists are intelligent because they question everything so credit goes where it is due, but as physicist Wolfgang Pauli predicted, “We may well reach the point in the not too distant future where the parable and images of the old religions will have lost their persuasive force even for the average person: when that happens. I am afraid that all the old ethics will collapse like a house of cards and that unimaginable horrors will be perpetrated." This happened in the 20th century in many parts of the world. Atheism is nihilistic ultimately. It’s a hopeless frustrated outlook where we are just biological machines floating through space until all energy sources are burned out eventually and all that’s left is a few cold rocks-fading embers hurtling eternally through space. It ignores subjective consciousness, which all beings have but can’t be quantified in material terms.

[@Frharlee]

because religion is power. And we use power to control

[@seizetoday2801]

Instead you must commit the insane proposition the everything emanated from nothing, and we're not talking empty space, we're talking the absence of substance, even the absence of absence. Is it so hard then to believe that a supreme being is the progenitor of all substantive reality?

[@Dooguk]

@@seizetoday2801 A supreme being sounds more unbelievable to me. Especially when you add in the heaven and hell, and life after death nonsense.

[@jaysorensenIBEW]

@@Dooguk Occam's razor

[@dennyworthington6641]

"Religion began when the first scoundrel met the first fool." Voltaire

[@Bruce-ob1jn]

Interesting comment from a man who is an atheist which is less than a pagan. He sent for a Catholic priest on his death bed and for some reason changed his mind. Perhaps he came to the conclusion there is no God. We are speaking of Voltaire.

[@Vishnujanadasa108]

He died a madman on his deathbed eating his own feces. Ironically all the great scientists were theists. Atheism means mediocrity and sour grapes. The most vicious killers and regimes were atheist. It’s the last step to societal collapse. More people have been killed by atheist regimes in the 20th century than all religious wars combined (only a small fraction of wars were ever religion-motivated). It’s obvious someone had to have designed the universe. The universal constants like the weak and strong forces are so fined-tuned by several decimal places that it can’t be coincidence. Serious astrophysicists know this and thus many postulate infinite universes with varying constant values that don’t have life but ours just happens to be a perfect Goldilocks universe. It explains nothing as to how the universe got started and tuned. How would the quarks suddenly gather in threes: two “ups” and a “down” to form protons and two “downs” and an “up” to form neutrons? How was it ever possible that the charges of these quarks turned out to be exactly ⅔ for an “up” and -⅓ for a “down,” so that the proton would miraculously match the opposite charge of the electron (-1) and the neutron’s charge would be precisely zero? How did such an incredibly improbable event ever happen without some calculated act of creation? And further, how did the masses of the elementary particles turn out to have the perfectly precise ratios needed so that the world of atoms and molecules could exist at all? How did the forces of nature-gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear forces acting inside nuclei, as well as the mysterious “dark energy” that permeates space-receive just the right strengths they need to maintain a universe that has the required stability and neither collapses onto itself nor explodes before life has a chance to begin? It is hard to imagine all this happening just by chance. In science, the fine-tuning of the parameters required for life has such an incredibly small probability to have arisen that the famous British cosmologist Stephen Hawking has described it as follows: “If one considers the possible constants and laws that could have emerged, the odds against a universe that has produced life like ours are immense.” Another leading cosmologist, Roger Penrose, addressing only one of the many parameters necessary for a universe that would support life, has put the probability against the emergence of our universe as 1 over 10^10^123, meaning 1 divided by 10 raised to the power of 10, raised to the power of 123. Such numbers are humbling. Now consider the odds of intelligent life developing. To decisively assert that there was no God or act of creation behind our immeasurably unlikely universe seems presumptuous. Roger Penrose has spent a lifetime trying to understand the workings of the universe and he has come to a stunning conclusion: if the entropy (a measure of disorder commonly used in physics) of space had been off from what it currently is by even a tiny fraction, the universe would not exist. Thus the universe has to have been “fine tuned” to a degree that we can hardly comprehend. In other words the Big Bang isn’t even possible without extreme fine-tuning, meaning it probably never happened in the first place. Even Alan Guth points out the fine-tuning required for his inflation model. Penrose writes, in The Road to Reality: Can the anthropic principle be invoked to explain the very special nature of the Big Bang? Can this principle be incorporated as part of the inflationary picture, so that an initially chaotic (maximum entropy) state can nevertheless lead to a universe like the one we live in, in which the Second Law of Thermodynamics holds sway? In other words can order arise from chaos? Why is the mass of the proton 1,836.153 times that of the electron? Why are the electric charges of the up and down quarks exactly 2/3 and -1/3, respectively, on a scale in which the electron’s charge is -1? Why is Newton’s gravitational constant, G, equal to 6.67384 x 10-11? And there is also the question that has deeply puzzled so many physicists since 1916: Why is the fine structure constant, which measures the strength of electromagnetic interactions, so tantalizingly close to 1/137-the inverse of a prime number? (We now know it to far greater accuracy: about 1/137.035999.) Richard Feynman once wrote: “It’s one of the greatest damn mysteries of physics: a magic number that comes to us with no understanding by man. You might say the ‘hand of God’ wrote that number, and ‘we don’t know how he pushed his pencil.’ ” The astronomer Arthur Eddington (who proved Einstein’s hypothesis that space-time curves around massive objects) built entire numerological theories around this number-all of them false. (He assumed that the constant was 1/136). Austrian physicist and quantum pioneer Wolfgang Pauli throughout his life was obsessed with the number 137. Just as an imprint of a seal suggests a seal, the fine-tuned universal constants suggests conscious design or God. Religion creates civilization whereas nihilistic atheism comes at its downfall. Atheists are intelligent because they question everything so credit goes where it is due, but as physicist Wolfgang Pauli predicted, “We may well reach the point in the not too distant future where the parable and images of the old religions will have lost their persuasive force even for the average person: when that happens. I am afraid that all the old ethics will collapse like a house of cards and that unimaginable horrors will be perpetrated." This happened in the 20th century in many parts of the world. Atheism is nihilistic ultimately. It’s a hopeless frustrated outlook where we are just biological machines floating through space until all energy sources are burned out eventually and all that’s left is a few cold rocks-fading embers hurtling eternally through space. It ignores subjective consciousness, which all beings have but can’t be quantified in material terms.

[@virgilcain6139]

Atheism and Science and Humanity can be a religion ********************************************************************

[@gunnerlawts]

Don't be in a long lineup of fools. Voltaire was wrong.

[@hahaha9076]

When the first shaman tripped on psychedelics and interpreted it to his tribe.

[@all2031]

Sagan is sorely missed for his character, charisma, fluency of presentation and ease of communication with deep knowledge about the subjects he talked about. Above all, his courage to fight for science against the bullies in social/political/economic hierarchy who saw his scientific approach was threatening their privileges.

[@CATSFOREVER308]

Religion is the worst thing that has happened to humanity.

[@deetheoriginal3117]

“Religion was invented when the first conman met the first fool” -Mark Twain

[@malcolmthompson597]

Yep

[@russellhamner5150]

When you listen to fools like Twain do you become a fool? Asking for a friend…the fool hath said in his heart there is no God

[@BlairWytch74]

@@russellhamner5150I’ll remain a “fool”. Christianity is dying out, people are waking up to the abuse and fraud that is organized religion. It’s a beautiful thing

[@davidmason9118]

@@russellhamner5150 Mark Twain was a fool, huh? There are NO gods. Show a person from 1000 years ago how you live; the items you possess and the knowledge (while still grossly limited) you have, and they would think YOU were a god. Why do you choose to believe in the same lies they believed in? Religion is a con. That is was it was designed for. Subversion of the masses. Stop being cattle.

[@systembinarygaming]

I'm afraid that the substance of this quote from the estimable Mr. Clemens (a citation I can accept for the purposes of discussion but which I have not yet verified) is much like my dear Dr. Sagan's exhibition near the video's end: it involves a liberal use of terminologies to compel a conclusion... and this in the face of the astronomer's own insistence upon the urgency of better defined terms! Sagan’s exposition when asked about his own “God” comes off almost as a comedy skit, particularly in the light of him not wanting to duck the question. In spite of his other clips wherein he grants to “religion” the validity of addressing non-material issues of human existence, his three example definitions of “God” are measured against strictly materialistic concerns and characteristics. One such “God” is the sum total of universal laws and is thus grounded in principles the likes of which he considers “crazy to deny.” Another is a “do-nothing king” Deity with involvement that is restricted to one start, but who had better things to do than meet us. Neither “God” he apparently regards as particularly congruent to Christianity or other faith statements, since he distinguishes them by their adherents (Einstein, Spinoza, some American Founding Fathers). The closest he comes to characterizing an involved “God” person is in a blatant send-up of the concept, which I quote: “an outsized, light-skinned male with a long white beard sitting in a throne in the sky and telling the fall of every sparrow.” The Bible itself, as an example, not only never characterizes that “God” as such a figure but it actually forbids all image portrayals of “God” - the exception being made, for the Christians, in the New Testament with Jesus as the incarnation. To characterize the "God" of these traditions as quintessentially about skin color or size calls to my mind evaluations of women by their figures: missing the entire realm of someone's essence. To read the Bible, for example, is to read of a “God” who is not only involved but actually concerned about humans and the lives they lead, and Jesus justly carries considerable weight as an inspirational figure… but Sagan steers clear of them and instead tilts at a windmill, as if thrones and beards were the whole issue. This is a shameless straw man but, more than that, it is a betrayal of the astronomer’s own admonition to define terms. Sagan indeed ducks the question, and he breaks his own rules to do it. Mister Twain, for the sake of epigrammatic convenience I suppose, likewise forgoes any proper definitions of “religion” and he offers you a proverb of less than a dozen words from which, using Dr. Sagan’s own standard, “you have learned absolutely nothing.”

[@LimitlessThinker]

I love Carl Sagan. I wish he was still around. I think we need great thinkers more than ever.

[@tonyduncan9852]

That must be why we have DT instead, for _maximum irony._

[@VeganSemihCyprus33]

Dominion (2018)

[@donaldmahaya2689]

You are still around. Honor him by becoming a great thinker as well.

[@sharonazar1]

We must carry his words forward!! He was truly a great heart!!

[@robertshiell887]

I’m sure that the world has many thinkers every bit as intelligent as Carl Sagan, but few of those are able to communicate as effectively as he could.

[@antaress8128]

He is humble, really humble. Also very well spoken, very respectful. Smart man. Great visionary.

[@RobertAdkins-ow6xt]

I watched a video of Carl Sagan where a man in the audience asked " if there is no god where does that leave us? " Carl Sagan " Alone " .

[@jonroesler8155]

In the video right here, when asked the same question, Sagan answers, "On our own." Not alone, exactly; but alone together with the rest of humanity.

[@patricknorton5788]

​@jonroesler8155 Yup. Together, if we can get along, it would be better.

[@Lillie-p1k]

Alone in the universe, but for good or evil, we have one another as company.

[@jamilabagash149]

I would rather have the company of God than be left "Alone".

[@Lillie-p1k]

@jamilabagash149 - That's when you would be truly alone, all alone.

[@Dostoyevsky866]

"Science is a self-correcting process. To be accepted; new ideas must survive the most rigorous standards of evidence and scrutiny." ~ Carl Sagan

[@charlesbrightman4237]

"Science is a self-correcting process." IN THE INTEREST OF FINDING THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING: It seems to me that ANY theory of everything idea should be able to answer the below items in a logical, coherent, inter-related way. If that idea does not, then is it truly a theory of everything? a. Numbers: Modern science does not even know how numbers and certain mathematical constants exist for math to do what math does. Surely the very nature of reality has to allow numbers and mathematical constants to actually exist for math to do what math does in this existence. b. Space: Modern science does not even know what 'space' actually is nor how it could actually warp and expand. c. Time: Modern science does not even know what 'time' actually is nor how it could actually warp and vary. d. Gravity: Modern science does not even know what 'gravity' actually is nor how gravity actually does what it appears to do. And for those who claim that 'gravity' is matter warping the fabric of spacetime, see 'b' and 'c' above. e. Speed of Light: 'Speed', distance divided by time, distance being two points in space with space between those two points. But yet, here again, modern science does not even know what space and time actually are that makes up 'speed' and they also claim that space can warp and expand and time can warp and vary, so how could they truly know even what the speed of light actually is that they utilize in many of the formulas? Speed of light should also warp, expand and vary depending upon what space and time it was in. And if the speed of light can warp, expand and vary in space and time, how then do far away astronomical observations actually work that are based upon light and the speed of light that could warp, expand and vary in actual reality? f. Photons: A photon swirls with the 'e' and 'm' energy fields 90 degrees to each other. A photon is also considered massless. What keeps the 'e' and 'm' energy fields together across the vast universe for billions of light years? And why doesn't the momentum of the 'e' and 'm' energy fields as they swirl about not fling them away from the central area of the photon? And why aren't photons that go across the vast universe torn apart by other photons, including photons with the exact same energy frequency, and/or by matter, matter being made up of quarks, electrons and interacting energy, quarks and electrons being considered charged particles, each with their respective magnetic field with them? Electricity is electricity and magnetism is magnetism varying possibly only in energy modality, energy density and energy frequency. So why doesn't the 'e' and 'm' of other photons and of matter basically tear apart a photon going across the vast universe? Also, 'if' a photon actually red shifts, where does the red shifted energy go and why does the photon red shift? And for those who claim space expanding causes a photon to red shift, see 'b' above. Why does radio 'em' (large 'em' waves) have low energy and gamma 'em' (small 'em' waves) have high energy? And for those who say E = hf; see also 'b' and 'c' above. (f = frequency, cycles per second. But modern science claims space can warp and expand and time can warp and vary. If 'space' warps and expands and/or 'time' warps and varies, what does that do to 'E'? And why doesn't 'E' keep space from expanding and time from varying?). g. Energy: Modern science claims that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it's one of the foundations of physics. Hence, energy is either truly a finite amount and eternally existent, or modern science is wrong. First Law Of Thermodynamics: "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed." How exactly is 'energy' eternally existent? h. Existence and Non-Existence side by side throughout all of eternity. How? * NOTE: Even General Relativity and the Standard Model of Particle Physics cannot answer these items in a logical, coherent, inter-related way. Shouldn't these above items also require accurate answers?

[@diaryofnricom163]

That is so well put by him. ❤

[@MrGilfred]

Why did it take 41 years to discover Piltdown Man was a hoax? Sure there were doubters as there are with a lot of new discoveries.

[@ClassicJukeboxBand]

But science is also propaganda. Most people don't understand this, and this is the EXACT reason most American are fat and sick, because of propaganda masquerading as legitimate science, true fact.

[@TheHighlanderprime]

Science might eventually have to be self-correcting once it learns more about a deeper layer regarding faith.

[@namzarf]

Be doubly skeptical of an assertion when you are admonished for asking questions. In fact, you should be alarmed.

[@herchelleonwood7463]

very astute ! its a giant red flag !

[@themoretruthfultruth]

As a gullible teenager I fell for the allure of religion. After reading the New Testament a few times I went to my pastor and told him about a concern I had in something Jesus did. he told me I was too new of a Christian to be asking such questions. Immediately I understood Frank Baum's meaning in "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." I left that church and never looked back.

[@arcguardian]

​@@themoretruthfultruthas a Christian, I'd love to know what u had concerns about. Perhaps u caught something I didn't when reading scripture.

[@ginachampagne2586]

Yet, when the governments shut down the world for COVID, those who DARED to question the tactics used, were censored.

[@bobjohnson1587]

@@themoretruthfultruth A very wise choice!

[@Hammern28]

The way he words himself, is... beautiful to me. I could listen to him talk, all day long, and never go tired.

[@Trifler500]

In his own way, the way he talks reminds me of Mr. Rogers.

[@zachscarbrough2727]

Religion was humanities security blanket. A way for us to comfort our young minds from the unknown. But as we have grown as a species, asking questions and seeking answers, and the more we discover the less we need that secure comfort. The time to put the blanket away is drawing ever closer, and we should embrace it. Even if there is a God, which I'm not denying whether there is or isn't, I think they would be proud of us moving on. Like a parent seeing their child take their first steps out into the world.

[@TheTerryscotttaylor]

Lol, just wait, tragedy comes for us all. We don't need religion or belief when our world is comfortable and going well. Have enough stripped from you and you'll understand the reason humanity's reliance on religion. It's reflects fundamentally what we are. We are not calculators, we have two sides to us, one that we control and another that we don't. Those two sides control each other (the side we don't control has a megaphone, the one we do can only whisper). We are complex beings because we are built to be wildly flexible and survivable. We are not built for the comfortable world we live in, we're built for a savage, unpredictable and cruel world. We don't think we need things like religion because we're sheltered from the tragedy that necessitates it. This is a first world ideology, and can't exist without a lot of layers of protection around it.

[@neilparnell5712]

Religion was also mans way of controlling and persecuting others. The security blanket is soiled and not fit for purpose.

[@nicolasrose3064]

"Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence..." C.Sagan.

[@DaveMartinCanuck]

I don't disagree. A claim is extraordinary if there is overwhelming empirical data of the exact antitheses. (D. Hume). Sagan is not advocating to cease investigating the Invisible Fire Breathing Pink Unicorn but to pause the examination, provisionally, until there is data to examine. Stay skeptical, yet open minded to the possibility that one day empirical data may be presented. This has occurred with black holes, radio waves, finding the mass of top and bottom quarks... Provisionally I accept there is no current way to determine if my neighbour is in possession of Pinky the Unicorn. My interest wanes, but my interest may be engaged by new data.

[@nicolasrose3064]

@@DaveMartinCanuck "The Earth was created in six Days.."...!?, you might want to keep something handy to wipe the Cobwebs away while you wait for the "Empirical Data" on that one, and maybe some Sandwiches......

[@ThePapawhisky]

Religion is the science of human infancy. Some people cling to it now as a baby clings to a pacifier. As a species, we must outgrow the ignorance and delusion of religion. Our only hope on this planet is to learn, develop, and create.

[@roblovestar9159]

Correction: Pre-science.

[@davidoran123]

All Religions are mythologies. All of them.

[@TheHighlanderprime]

He said faith, not religion. The two are not mutually the same.

[@barrylyndongurley]

Re: "back:" Ligio: " to bind;" Re-ligio; " to bind back." But to what? Religion is Man's attempt at trying to figure out what the Hell we're all doing here. But let's keep working on the problem. We really haven't finished figuring all this out just yet. A sustained meditation practice would likely yield a better result than continuing our uncritical acceptance of words from corrupt TV-charlatans seeking more $$$.

[@johncoldwell7835]

There never was human infancy, Religions are not all the same and we are not a species. You labour under many false assumptions

[@angusmackaskill3035]

"Faith is believing in something nobody in their right mind would believe in" - Archie Bunker

[@IHaveCovidTruth]

"Nothing exploded" -Same guy.

[@rssphllps]

Carl Sagan and Archie Bunker. I always get those two mixed up.

[@frankbarron1907]

Yup. Just like Darwinian Evolution. Completely irrational yet people like you pour your faith into it wholeheartedly.

[@karlx-1]

EVERY child should carefully study the words of Sagan before the words of any ancient religious author.

[@donbranch87]

Faith is a poor substitute for facts.

[@BluestoneGargoyle]

My father was a preacher, yet ge agreed with Carl Sagan and encouraged us to question and seek answers, instead of clinging to blind faith. He pointed out that the god he knew had left humanity as care-takers for our world, with instructions to help it grow and prosper. Not to cling to outdated interpretations when the world keeps changing around us. We must change to keep pace, and remember we are caretakers of this world, for the future generations of LIFE that are yet to come.

[@joeh.5372]

How can anyone not warm up to what this man preached?! The champion of reason, free thinking and open mindedness.

[@ncscientist]

Like when atheists say the science is settled and the Bible says reproof. Pick up a Bible and ignore Al Gore. 1 Thessalonians 5:21: "Test all things; hold fast what is good."

[@peggyjaeger9280]

@@ncscientist atheists do not say that and you must not have watched this.

[@kozmosis3486]

This man did not preach. He suggested that people use their ability to reason things out for themselves, instead of following those who preach.

[@kozmosis3486]

@@peggyjaeger9280 Do not concern yourself with this person for they will remain lost. You cannot reason a person out of something they didn't reason themselves into.

[@jonnawyatt]

Preach is the wrong word to use here.

[@bgrune1]

Instead of saying we are on our own I would say that the higher power we should believe in is the power of people to come together to solve problems and create a world that reduces suffering of all living things.

[@marilynnoll541]

Adopt a Vegan lifestyle !!😉

[@mastopakya]

We live in a world that causes suffering to all living things.

[@arcguardian]

Cute, let us know how that works out.

[@ShortFuseFighting]

that can never happen while we are allowing islam to exist

[@jonroesler8155]

So, on our own together. No help from a higher power, but also nothing to fear from nonexistent supernatural forces of evil. We can do this.

[@planetfocus911]

"We are stardust" - Dr. Carl Sagan (1934 - 1996) - Astronomer, Cosmologist, Naturalist, Philosopher, Astrophysicist, Astrobiologist and outstanding human being.

[@otfriedschellhas3581]

I'd say we're more than just aggregation of matter. But those who want to settle for that-well...

[@patchwurk6652]

@@otfriedschellhas3581 Kinda just sounds like you're desperate to be viewed as special.

[@patchwurk6652]

@@otfriedschellhas3581 What do you mean "Settle"? That is, quite literally, the sum total of what you are. You can't just decide you're somehow more than the sum of your parts.

[@patchwurk6652]

@@johnkeszei5995 So? That's the fate of everyone. Time erodes all, and no one is free of that reality. Most of us won't even be remembered once our direct loved ones shuffle off the mortal coil. This must bother you if you see fit to use it as an insult. Afraid of your own irrelevance in the grand scheme?

[@patchwurk6652]

@@johnkeszei5995 I don't feel insulted at all. In case you missed it you're the one that brought up "he will be forgotten" as if it was an insult. Implying you find the concept of being forgotten derogatory.

[@nopriors]

Carl Sagan always reminds me that I am sane. But then Hermann Hesse reminds us, "When dealing with the insane, the best method is to pretend to be sane."

[@pegonz3084]

❤😂

[@zxys001]

“The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge, and there's no place for it in the endeavor of science. We do not know beforehand where fundamental insights will arise from about our mysterious and lovely solar system. The history of our study of our solar system shows us clearly that accepted and conventional ideas are often wrong, and that fundamental insights can arise from the most unexpected sources.” ― Carl Sagan

[@TheHighlanderprime]

Isn’t science in itself another form of religion?

[@zxys001]

@@TheHighlanderprime no

[@ianoliver3130]

The god of science is "doubt!"- "Don't believe anything you are told- unless you can verify it yourself" This is the opposite of "belief"

[@zxys001]

@@ianoliver3130 long live skepticism! 🤔

[@polandturtle]

@@TheHighlanderprime "The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge" Truth. Now try proposing that the problem isn't religion, but that most people on earth are sub-human morons due to their inferior genetics, and a planet wide program to fix their genetics so they aren't so dumb is needed to fix it. Those are very, very uncomfortable ideas for most, and the idea will be suppressed as a kind of blasphemy, but you won't find a scientific reason. It's likely there are some set of changes that could make us all have 150 IQs, and dumb fundamentalist religion would instantly vanish, but they don't want to admit that. So yes, what you see there is another kind of religion, where there are domains of acceptable discourse and heresies against them. None of it comes from the core ideas of science, but its always there.

[@qa4057]

Science: We don’t know and we’re not making shit up. Religion: We believe what we don’t know.

[@filmeseverin]

Most scientists, doctors, engineers... are quite ignorant in many areas (some even in their field of study, unfortunately) but those without God/Jesus are the most deceived. _They should stop being deranged by the truth._ *All evil has been done because of stupidity and the main/worst stupidity has always been to not listen by God/Jesus.* In particular, for mankind, if ALL people (over history and nowadays) would have followed the main commandment from Jesus Christ, *besides to love / respect our Heavenly Father, to love / respect (care for) the other humans as we love / respect (care for) ourselves,* all the crimes and the tremendous useless suffering would have never happen. Without *true belief* in God/Jesus, the following evil facts have happened, are happening and will happen, unfortunately: - so many millions of people killed in wars and not only (following the killing of billions in the Third World War); - so many trillions of dollars, euros, etc. wasted on nuclear, chemical, biological and conventional weapons, on armies, etc. only for killing and destruction... not used for: free better education for ALL, suitable jobs for ALL (without exploitation / slavery), healthier food for ALL, renewable energy, science, eradication of all diseases, better housing (resistant to earthquakes...), financing of useful inventions, recycling, reforestation etc. - sadism, violence, dishonesty, vices, envy ... stupidity in general. We should never fight against each other but only against our lack of useful knowledge / wisdom (for decreasing our ignorance), while loving / respecting each other as we love / respect ourselves, these being the main requests of God/Jesus. Therefore, both true/useful science and proper education are very important to understand God's creation and what is better, regarding the human behavior, so that ALL of us can be not only happier in our ephemera life into this world (while we are still alive here) but also deserving, or at least allowable, for perpetual life in Heaven (after leaving this world). By the way, the problem with the deceived ones is that they do not know enough science, otherwise they would realize the fact that true/proven/useful science is used to gain the trust and after that the fake/unproven (because it is false) science, *on which are wasted the most resources,* is used to manipulate the superficial people, to keep them away from the truth about/from God/Jesus, the most important truth.

[@filmeseverin]

The truth is only one. No matter where a human is born, his/her deeds will be judged 100% correctly, after the leaving of this world. Any other religion, which does not advise humans to love / respect (care for) each other as they love / respect (care for) themselves, as Christianity does, is not from God (the Creator), but from the fallen angels instead. I have been an atheist (due to the atheistic education under the communist regime) until the vision received. Atheists should have realized by now at least that the perfection of mathematics, which is the "language" used to "write" this reality (every shape in this 3D space/world having a corresponding equation that generates it) is one of the main proofs of the perfect Intelligence who has created everything, called God/Divinity. Generally, those from such videos, exposed to my clear and undeniable demonstrations but who still want to remain atheists, are ignoring intentionally the simple fact that *from no intelligence involved, no intelligence comes,* hoping that this reality is the result of no intelligence, in other words that God does not exist, only to escape the responsibility for their deeds, to not be Judged by God/Jesus after the leaving of this world, but they are in error. *_"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad."_* 2 Corinthians 5, 10 My simple and undeniable demonstrations can be found quite easily after sorting the comments.

[@lookilookibuthearingtooi]

@@filmeseverin Stop making shit up, please.

[@filmeseverin]

Anyone can see the poor reaction from those without counter-arguments (but disturbed by the truth). After hearing the truth about/from God/Jesus, only those who want to use freedom for evil are opposing to Divinity, feeling their freedom restricted, the really good humans being happy to receive the confirmation for their love of / striving for goodness, wisdom, justice... for perfection, as Jesus Christ has said: *_"Be perfect therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect"_* Matthew 5, 48 Unfortunately, too many people have refused over history, and too many still refuse nowadays, to follow this.

[@josephbelisle5792]

The older I get the more I appreciate Dr. Sagan. And that says a lot as I have appreciated his work since I was a child decades ago. I fully agree that for humanity to survive we need to shed all the modes of thought that give rise to and perpetuates religion. Acting out your life based upon things that have no evidence has proven to be a danger to the existence of humanity. The US is facing a huge crisis now with people believing in things without evidence. They are willing to send the world into the dark ages because they can't think beyond their own noses. Or worse, they accept false beliefs as reality and are willing to harm others because of them.

[@crashoppe]

people believing in things without evidence? like men that believe they are women? i agree, those modes of thought and any other unstable mentality will and does make the world a worse place.

[@antinatalistwitch111]

Why is the survival of humans important?

[@cesardiezv]

The things people believe without evidence causing a crisis in the US and elsewhere came from the academic world, not religion.

[@ianoliver3130]

The problems of the world are not caused by religion,but by selfishness,greed, bigotry, delusion and arrogance. All religions teach "kindness" and altruism. Science does study the origin of these attributes, but doesn't attach "value" to them. That is not the purpose of science.

[@rubenpuls353]

@@antinatalistwitch111 It's not important. I don't care if our species go extinct in the future. It might even be preferable. I only want all the already existing humans to have a nice life and that we are kind to each other and kind to all the other sentient animals on Earth. :)

[@dianekeane7740]

Organized religion is especially detrimental to the physical, mental and spiritual health of girls and women.

[@imike7716]

Something I've understood intuitively since I was a child.

[@pamelaportland1286]

Me 2

[@ClaudiaIhl-r6m]

And me. I've been an atheist since I was in kindergarten.

[@backagain5216]

@@ClaudiaIhl-r6mWow that’s depressing. Are you bragging?

[@ClaudiaIhl-r6m]

@@backagain5216 stating a fact

[@jon2026]

Backagain, what's depressing is billions of brainwashed mooks who are willing to die or kill because of their delusions.

[@IusedtohaveausernameIliked]

Religion helped us humans get to the first rung on the ladder of ethics but it is preventing us from going any further.

[@milansvancara]

Raw morality (simple evolutionary empathy) is much better than most religious attempts at universal morality, especially Abrahamic ones

[@theboombody]

Maybe there isn't any more than one rung. Keep in mind nature makes animals eat each other.

[@IusedtohaveausernameIliked]

@@theboombody There are definitely levels to secular moral philosophy. And such a thing exists even though most religions think that they have a monopoly on the subject. For example check out Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development. There are other models but they are similar.

[@theboombody]

@@IusedtohaveausernameIliked Very interesting. I was unfamiliar with those stages. But I would argue that the Biblical literature does go further than stage 1 on that ladder. Much of the Torah seems to be at level 4 on that Kohlberg model. Some of the laws are completely unexplained and would fall on level 1. But a lot of them explain that they're established to keep order which would be level 4. The writings of Paul, particularly in the book of Philemon, and the writings of Solomon in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes might go higher than level 4. I don't see it ever going to level 6 in a religious stance though because human beings will always be considered lower than God, and never equivalent.

[@IusedtohaveausernameIliked]

@@theboombody The point is that doing something (or not doing something) based on fear of punishment from a higher authority (i.e. a god) is a kind of low level ethics but it is far from fully formed ethics no matter how one parses it.

[@Steve52344]

Carl understood what too many don't.

[@Timelord2001]

At a study once, someone asked me if I believed in gawd. I asked him what he meant by that word, and he became flustered, because he couldn't tell me. It is *not* "just gawd," you *have* to be able to define it clearly and cogently. Many profess a belief in something they can't elucidate. That's simply not good enough. We can, and should, do better. *Then,* we got to the matter of Reason-based support, a.k.a. Evidence, and will see they have none. At that point, we should be able to shrug our collective shoulders, and move on to respectable endeavors.

[@filmeseverin]

The perfect eternal Intelligence, the Creator of everything, God/Divinity with the human form, Jesus Christ, is giving us the chance in this earthly life to prove through our choices / deeds that we have understood that freedom must always be used only for good, never for evil. Sort the comments and read my demonstrations back in time.

[@peggyjaeger9280]

♥ Carl Sagan. We need someone like that today. I miss his wisdom so much. Luckily we still have these recordings and his books.

[@ozdogwoman]

As a dog trainer this is pivotal to how new/er ideas evolve and how superstition prevents growth. Adherence to what worked 50 years ago holds back the growth of our understanding. Try/test, evaluate, change!

[@peterturnball8310]

A hero ever since Cosmos had me transfixed as an adolescent. Apart from Carl's brilliance as a scientist, he was a philosopher, teacher and humanitarian with lots of charm and wit. Quite simply a remarkable and wonderful 'uman being.

[@CuttingEdges]

The only reason there are so many Christians outraged in the comments, when sorted by new, is because religion has taught you to be obedient and to fear hell. You fear a reality for which you have no proof of its existence. It was burned into your minds, beyond your control, from your childhood, and now you are slaves to that culturing. It is time to start accepting the reality of religion. Regards, someone who was born into a Catholic household and grew up cherishing scientific endeavours, art and literature. Also, thank you to the uploader of this video - a beautiful collection of Carl Sagan clips. This was much-needed during the current times we are now facing.

[@raysparro3937]

If all scientific and religious knowledge and books were obliterated today, all the science would return essentially unchanged. Religion, as we knew it, would be gone forever.

[@WeAreWatchingU]

Ricky Gervais 👍🏻

[@JoeStampf]

i think religion would definitely return but in entirely new random forms utterly unrelated to any of the erased predecessors. I think this is because religious beliefs are rooted in human nature and are tied to human emotions which can still overpower reason and rationality, and other cognitive shortcomings such limited access or exposure to education and credible information.

[@arcguardian]

U assume that to be the case. If religion did indeed arise by God revealing Himself, then you should add that as a possible repeat as well, should religious literature be erased.

[@robertog3875]

​@@arcguardianstill waiting

[@samd.5203]

@@JoeStampf 100% agree

[@musicauthority674]

Carl Sagan Absolutely predicted the the future perfectly. his prediction of politics is spot on. its like he knew about Trump before Trump ever came along. he was beyond brilliant.

[@khafreahmose8768]

The more religious a society is, the more poverty, ignorance, and sickness exists. The more scientific and technologically advanced a society is, wealth, knowledge, and higher qualities of life exists.

[@abdellahbouchendouka]

However, if we look at history, this statement is not true. The most advanced civilizations were religious.

[@khafreahmose8768]

@@abdellahbouchendouka name one

[@abdellahbouchendouka]

@@khafreahmose8768 -Islamic Golden Age (8th to 14th Century)-Byzantine Empire-Mughal Empire-Sassanian Empire , and the list goes on. Saying that religion is the reason why certain societies are behind doesn't make sense.

[@bkbland1626]

That was before they got religo-crazed. ​@@abdellahbouchendouka

[@ARRAM57]

​@@abdellahbouchendouka And it went full circle and now deny science (evolution) when it contradicts their beliefs .

[@robynmasters335]

I think that Carl Sagan was one of the most brilliant scientists of the 20th century. One of my all time favorite speeches of his was his explanation of 4 dimensionality. He explained it by cutting an apple and pressing it against a sheet of paper. He showed how if the apple were to pass through the 2 two dimensional world, its beings would only ever be able to see a tiny piece of who the being really was. He always had a great way of explaining science without all of the complicated mathematics.

[@RajKumar-zz8kj]

Has anyone else explored the Hidden Astral Projection Techniques on Shirlest? I was skeptical at first, but after reading it, I actually projected out of body for the first time. Such an incredible experience!

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

From a scientific point of view this can not stand up. One case is not evidence. There is plenty of evidence to show just how the mind works and that evidence explains what you experienced.

[@donritchfield1407]

Bully for you!!!

[@AndrewHillis_2024]

I HAD MY FIRST OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCE WITHOUT THE USE OF DRUGS WHEN I WAS 16 AND I WENT ON TO HAVE MORE OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCES USING KETAMINE ! ! !👌👌👌👌👌👌👌

[@jonathanwetherell3609]

@@AndrewHillis_2024 Any psychologist would have a scientific explanation for you.

[@deepsareen1]

Nice pure weed you have!

[@MasterSpade]

"Religion is a phase a species goes through when it evolves enough intelligence to ask profound questions but not enough to answer them." - Bill Flavell

[@frankbarron1907]

Marxism is a secular religion and millions of devout atheists adhere to it.

[@ajsparkman]

Funny how science people value quotes more than original thought and critical thinking.

[@MasterSpade]

@@ajsparkman -- Judge NOT... lest YE be Judged... More proof that believers only follow the parts they like....

[@ajsparkman]

@@MasterSpade shows you know absolutely nothing about the Bible. You think you can judge me, but I can’t defend myself or point out your hypocrisy? You are the most hypocritical person.

[@MasterSpade]

@@ajsparkman -- Don't get mad at me, get mad at your god. HE said that, not me. I simply reminded you what it says. If you have a problem with that, go complain to that god. Also remember: Turn to him also the other cheek...

[@penboyasgod6103]

I don't know if you can understand how much this video is truly needed to be seen -- at least for Americans.

[@filmeseverin]

There are two kinds of atheists: those only temporarily deceived, being too superficial regarding the Creator of this reality (as I used to be due to the atheistic education under the communist regime) and those who do not want God to exist, who deny everything that proves their errors, such as all my simple, clear and undeniable demonstrations (found quite easily after sorting the comments).

[@penboyasgod6103]

@@filmeseverin You have no f*cking idea what a true atheist is. You're full of crap thinking what you just posted. What is this total garbage/LIE? Atheism has nothing to do with *NOT WANTING* a "god" .... that's just immature bullshit from a religious source. *"god" JUST DOESN'T EXIST IN ANY REALM THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE.* Argue that and you're just STUPID.

[@filmeseverin]

Only those too deceived will not sort the comments to read *entirely and carefully* all my demonstrations (which prove their errors) just to keep their deceiving. Furthermore, only those who renounce intentionally to elementary logic cannot understand my simple, clear and undeniable demonstrations.

[@lookilookibuthearingtooi]

We do. The world knows that Amrica is full of christians who lve to support terror, war, unequality and hate.

[@rizanz2108]

When the KNOWERS are more dominant than the BELIEVERS in a community, peace reigns❤

[@filmeseverin]

The truth is only one. *All evil has been done because of stupidity and the main/worst stupidity has always been to not listen by God/Jesus.* In particular, for mankind, if ALL people (over history and nowadays) would have followed the main commandment from Jesus Christ, *besides to love / respect our Heavenly Father, to love / respect (care for) the other humans as we love / respect (care for) ourselves,* all the crimes and the tremendous useless suffering would have never happen. As Jesus has said: *_"Be perfect therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect"_* Matthew 5, 48 Unfortunately, too many people have refused over history, and too many still refuse nowadays, to follow this. By the way, the problem with the deceived ones is that they do not know enough science, otherwise they would realize the fact that true/proven/useful science is used to gain the trust and after that the fake/unproven (because it is false) science, *on which are wasted the most resources,* is used to manipulate the superficial people, to keep them away from the truth about/from God/Jesus, the most important truth.

[@filmeseverin]

Regarding the manipulation through fake science, anyone can read online the Scientific American article titled: "Is Lawrence Krauss a Physicist, or Just a Bad Philosopher?" (about his book: "A Universe from nothing") I mention here just few quotations: "He [Lawrence Krauss] is presenting untested speculative theories of how things came into existence out of a pre-existing complex of entities, including variational principles, quantum field theory, specific symmetry groups, a bubbling vacuum, all the components of the standard model of particle physics, and so on. He does not explain in what way these entities could have pre-existed the coming into being of the universe, why they should have existed at all, or why they should have had the form they did. And he gives no experimental or observational process whereby we could test these vivid speculations of the supposed universe-generation mechanism. How indeed can you test what existed before the universe existed? You can t." *Horgan:* Larry, I'll always be grateful to you for helping bring me up to speed on modern cosmology 22 years ago when I was researching an article for Scientific American. And what's disappointing is that, apart from the discovery of the acceleration of the cosmic expansion, which was certainly a big surprise, nothing has really changed since then. You and/or your popularizing colleagues--Hawking, Greene, Kaku, Susskind--are still marketing various unsubstantiated versions of inflation, multiverse theories, string theory, vacuum energy, anthropic principle, etc. What's ironic is that, although you don't have any more evidence for these speculations, your marketing of them has become more aggressive... and yet you accuse ME of hype. *Krauss:* John first, I didn't make any definitive claims.. and I get offended when people claim I make such.. second I tried to indicate how much has changed in the last 22 years.. that is the purpose of the book.. things are dramatically different than they were then, and I went through a very careful analysis to describe these changes..... the analysis of fluctuations in the CMB, the discovery that the universe is flat.. these are REAL empirical discoveries that both impact upon and add credence to many of our ideas. *Horgan:* Larry, so you're saying that you're not claiming to have answered the question posed by your book's title? You're just tossing some ideas around, and you don't expect anyone to take them too seriously? OK, that's a useful clarification. It also means that things have not progressed in the last 22 years, in spite of what you just asserted. I think you better tell Dawkins, before he embarrasses himself further.

[@lookilookibuthearingtooi]

@@filmeseverin I don't give a fuck about Jesus. If anything he was a cult leader who wanted nothing but power.

[@filmeseverin]

This reality has been created intentionally so that freedom to be 100% offered, God rewarding accordingly the free choices/deeds *_"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad."_* 2 Corinthians 5, 10 The problem is with those who have used (are using) their freedom for doing evil on purpose. That is why it is not easy to fight continuously with what Satan has done to this world (carnivores, parasites, viruses, bad bacteria... the so called _"weeds"_ in Matthew 13:24-43) and to ourselves ... because *until our physical death we fight with the works of the fallen angels and of their tools, the evil=stupid people, the consequences of evilness = stupidity.*

[@2l84me8]

Religion does nothing good but hold humanity back.

[@johnhelms8226]

I don’t agree with that. Most religions tell adherents to control their selfish instincts and to promote the greater good in society. Many people would have no moral or ethical values without a religion telling them there will be eternal punishment if they don’t comply. Religion also helps to maintain order in society by telling people that they will have a reward in an afterlife. Without this, they might simply act in antisocial ways that would threaten a peaceful society. This is not to say that religion has more benefits than disadvantages, but it responds to the assertion that religion has no benefits at all for society.

[@2l84me8]

@@johnhelms8226 We have many reasons not to be selfish without religion. Religion is concerned with blind obedience and willful ignorance. It has nothing to do with good morals and anybody that needs the constant threat of enteral punishment as a means of avoiding bad things is not a good person. Religion often makes excuses for allowing said bad actions anyway. Religion also teaches you to disregard the one and only life we currently have for the empty promise of another.

[@johnhelms8226]

@@2l84me8 I am looking at this issue on a societal level, not an individual level. Many people (maybe close to most people), are simply not capable of using reason and logic. Like children, they need something black and white that takes almost no intelligence or effort to understand. Religion gives them that. Religion can therefore moderate their behavior.

[@BeefT-Sq]

@@johnhelms8226 " In Mohammedan Europe, boys are unsexed by the lancet, that they may thereafter be more safely employed as harem-attendants and in Christian Europe “eunuchs are made and trained and priced, to sing the praise of a risen Christ.” -Arthur Desmond-1890

[@arcguardian]

​@@2l84me8why are u deflecting? U just made a false claim and someone called u out on it. If u were scientifically minded, you would accept correction instead of redefining what religion is/does in order to strawman. All ur proving is that ur the one who is religious by ur own standard lol.

[@X75Hurricane-lk2vs]

Personally, I'd never try to take away or belittle another person's faith. For many, faith is all they have. How someone chooses to worship god or whatever entity it is they have faith in, is absolutely none of my business. It does not make me right and those who have faith wrong. We just hold differing opinions is all.💜

[@TheTerryscotttaylor]

Yes, there should be limits on actions they can take, but people are all very different and what may not be needed for one person, may be desperately needed by another. None of us REALLY understand others, humans are very complex.

[@geoffmower8729]

Until people die because of it. Like recently with the abortion laws in America. Because a woman had to go to another state in America to have an abortion, when she arrived home she had complications and her religious home town hospital refused to help her and let her die. It happened the same to another woman too. And if the religious answer to that is, well she shouldn't have upset god by getting an abortion, then that is another prime example of how religion uses it's bible as an excuse to be immoral!

[@Mary-cw4lf]

Fair enough. But I would be lying if I claimed to think of believers in any fundamentalist sect as anything other than bamboozled and pitifully witless.

[@x-75hurricane65]

@@Mary-cw4lf If you have to chose between being kind and being right, chose being kind and you will always be right.

[@Mary-cw4lf]

@@x-75hurricane65 I said honest, not kind or right. I was not unkind. Also, indiscriminate niceness is overrated.

[@maheshsoni5051]

Faith is belief without evidence.

[@RobertGraziose]

Yea no evidence. But it should at least make sense and not go so much against science and common sence.

[@ettienevandeventer2838]

Well, there has been unexplainable blessing in my life after prayer. How would science explain that. I think we dont understand God and the bigger picture.

[@arcguardian]

Faith is trust. Ur conflating faith with blind faith.

[@ajsparkman]

I don’t know why it means that today, but that’s not what it always meant. Faith means loyalty…as in to be faithful to your wife.

[@JeuneF]

⁠@@arcguardianWords can have different meanings, and faith is one of them. By the nature of this video, it is clear that the first comment is referring to religious faith. Religious faith is blind faith.

[@dmixon69]

"On our own." I miss Sagan. I miss more humans attempting to think like Sagan.

[@fspg3207]

Science is the celebration of enlightenment of knowledge where religion is the worship of profound ignorance.

[@filmeseverin]

Most scientists, doctors, engineers... are quite ignorant in many areas (some even in their field of study, unfortunately) but those without God/Jesus are the most deceived. _They should stop being deranged by the truth._ *All evil has been done because of stupidity and the main/worst stupidity has always been to not listen by God/Jesus.* In particular, for mankind, if ALL people (over history and nowadays) would have followed the main commandment from Jesus Christ, *besides to love / respect our Heavenly Father, to love / respect (care for) the other humans as we love / respect (care for) ourselves,* all the crimes and the tremendous useless suffering would have never happen. Without *true belief* in God/Jesus, the following evil facts have happened, are happening and will happen, unfortunately: - so many millions of people killed in wars and not only (following the killing of billions in the Third World War); - so many trillions of dollars, euros, etc. wasted on nuclear, chemical, biological and conventional weapons, on armies, etc. only for killing and destruction... not used for: free better education for ALL, suitable jobs for ALL (without exploitation / slavery), healthier food for ALL, renewable energy, science, eradication of all diseases, better housing (resistant to earthquakes...), financing of useful inventions, recycling, reforestation etc. - sadism, violence, dishonesty, vices, envy ... stupidity in general. We should never fight against each other but only against our lack of useful knowledge / wisdom (for decreasing our ignorance), while loving / respecting each other as we love / respect ourselves, these being the main requests of God/Jesus. Therefore, both true/useful science and proper education are very important to understand God's creation and what is better, regarding the human behavior, so that ALL of us can be not only happier in our ephemera life into this world (while we are still alive here) but also deserving, or at least allowable, for perpetual life in Heaven (after leaving this world). By the way, the problem with the deceived ones is that they do not know enough science, otherwise they would realize the fact that true/proven/useful science is used to gain the trust and after that the fake/unproven (because it is false) science, *on which are wasted the most resources,* is used to manipulate the superficial people, to keep them away from the truth about/from God/Jesus, the most important truth.

[@Robert_McGarry_Poems]

Honest question: Why does losing your imaginary friend create such an existential crisis in you? What is it about yourself that you are you truly afraid of learning? If purpose only exists when you think of your imaginary friend... what does that actually say? If you can read a translation of a book, that was second-hand accounts of a person they never met, and turn that into a purpose driven existence, I think that means you have more power of imagination than you give yourself credit for. Purpose is created in your head.

[@Ritabrata_24]

Wonderful Analysis My Friend ❤.

[@Ithinkthereforeiam-ph9nb]

Purpose cannot be created anywhere other than one’s head. Education greatly broaden what’s inside one’s head. I like how you are comparing God to an imaginary friend in one’s head. Great comparison. So, making one’s head have knowledge reduces the need for any Imaginary companions, including gods😂

[@kidcoyoteanarchy]

Exactly their small minds can't fathom choosing their own purpose.

[@SlavaPunta]

I found the whole process freeing and liberating. Like a giant weight being lifted off my chest. I'm not being judged. I'm not being criticized. I am not the puppet of an absent parent. I am empowered to think for myself. And to find my own answers. Nobody is going to light my ghost on fire. And by dropping the charade of "saving souls of the unenlightened / nonconverted" I immediately stopped caring about what others believed. It just wasn't relevant anymore. I stopped judging others. And no longer had a motivation to force my (bronze age) ideas on them. I immediately became a better person.

[@Robert_McGarry_Poems]

I kind of blew myself away this morning. I thought this... this phenomenon of religion of spirituality, the yearning for transcendent elation, must be a leftover nostalgia from the child mind. It's tapping into those comforts that can't be tangibly described because they came before language imprinted enough to have a descriptor system. Before object permanence. Interesting line of thought.

[@colingenge9999]

Sagan’s brilliance was his ability for everyone to understand his point without confusion.

[@VeganSemihCyprus33]

Why humanity must overcome technology 👉 The Connections (2021) [short documentary] 💖

[@donaldring4650]

Carl was the essence of confusion. Everything he preached was dead wrong. He now knows this as he burns eternally.

[@colingenge9999]

@@donaldring4650 Please enlighten us on Sagan’s wrong ideas.

[@donaldring4650]

@@colingenge9999 Really .... evidence please on the age of the universe, hence the "Big Bang"? I thought science was based on empirical evidence? "Billions and billions" ... Mr. Carl - you were joking right?

[@colingenge9999]

@@donaldring4650 Not sure exactly what point you’re making. Are you disputing that Sagan’s pronouncement of the age of the universe is invalid. If so, what age do you think it is and what evidence do you have of that?

[@karaDee2363]

Carl Sagan was a genius and great communicator

[@TrisjensChronicles1203]

I can listen to him all day!! We are all we have: humanity.

[@LR-mh8hs]

I belonged to an evangelical Christian church until the church decided to embrace a narcissistic sociopath who has broken almost every one of the Bible's commandments as their dear leader. I am now questioning the value of religion altogether. It seems to do more harm than good to humanity.

[@allstarwatt7246]

all religions are equal and equivalent forms of spiritual nonsense.

[@mikebiermann9915]

You were in the darkness. Welcome to the light of science.

[@mytwocents848]

Good for you!

[@Robert19002]

The only religion that we as humans should honour is for the planet we live on. Outside of this, nothing else matters.

[@arthurberman-MFTS]

Right, we must figure out how to live sustainable lives here on Earth 🌎. It’s something indigenous people knew but the scientific and technologically advanced west have lost. We must find that balance or we will destroy the habitat we depend on for survival.

[@oneshothunter9877]

@@arthurberman-MFTS Not really. Not all of them, at least. Many great civilisations has gone away due to mismanagement of their ressources.

[@doloresreynolds8145]

@@oneshothunter9877. True, but they did not mismanage the entire planet’s ecosystem as we are doing.

[@doloresreynolds8145]

Absolutely. And we are not learning this quickly enough.

[@lookilookibuthearingtooi]

We don't need any religion.

[@keithposter5543]

The universe is a poorer place without Carl Sagan but richer for having had him in it

[@nestorar]

He says it very clearly: “what makes us feel good…” Sagan should be mandatory in schools.

[@johnanthony4194]

My faith in video editors is destroyed by the background noise drowning out the words. What is wrong with words pure and simple and audible?

[@lookilookibuthearingtooi]

I wonder about this everytime I try to watch a documentary about space!

[@godisbollocks]

What really hurts is that I can only like this video once.

[@KittyS-gg5gd]

I have NEVER understood why people think religion even needs to exist

[@godfreycarmichael]

Carl would be so disappointed in our current era of anti-intellectual, anti-science culture.

[@rsk3634]

The truth is much bigger than Carl Sagan and the current science we know of and all those religious charlatans.

[@theboombody]

Well said.

[@gregorygant4242]

@@theboombody Correct he was a great scientist in his day but no philosopher, knower of religion , faith in something higher than yourself or humans ,

[@cardcounter21]

Its a shame people like Sagan and Hawking aren't around to see the new data being brought in by the JWT! I'd love to hear their reactions and speculations on the possible challenge to the big bang theory!

[@TheCreep69]

We need more people like Carl Sagan in the world. It would be a much better place.

[@omelborpon3159]

"Faith is believing something that you know just ain't true" - Samuel Langhorne Clemens

[@richardparker3273]

Now that's just a bit of nonsense. If you know something isn't true, faith isn't possible. It would be more accurate to say "YOUR faith is believing something that *I* have faith just ain't true"

[@richardparker3273]

Faith is nothing more than believing something you don't see, or hear. If my friend goes to the store for me and says he will bring me back whatever, I have faith that they will do as they said.

[@stevehead365]

Never the twain shall meet.

[@Kang2112]

I love Carl Sagan he communicated science to me when I was very young especially the science of the true nature of the universe. I know he would be appealed by this post truth society we live in today. I mean when a presidential candidate and president says that global climate change is a hoax and nearly half this country buys that crap. Where the hell are we and how did we get to such a place?

[@stevehead365]

Greed and stupidity.

[@themancuniancandidate2744]

I have a photo of Pale Blue Dot as my screensaver. When I’m fretting about something, it never fails to make my worries feel insignificant.

[@jardennis4nd]

In grandiose scale, I’m nothing more than a flea clinging to a sand grain’s hemisphere.I find it comforting to know that my prayers cannot change the world, let alone a coastline or a sand flea on another continent. My life is such much easier when I accept my limitations and remain grateful for what I can control.

[@terryr7443]

I may print your comment and put it somewhere hopefully safe. Perhaps next to something Carl said... I hope you don't mind.

[@arcguardian]

I don't think prayer was ever implied to change the world as u have presented it. Matthew 5:44 Modern English Version 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

[@lesliea7394]

I am grateful and awed by "being".

[@RobertGraziose]

I've often thought that people treat god rather rudely. Trillions and Trillions of prayers being offered up. Snd most of this praying takes place on Sunday, his day off. No way to treat a friend. But what if what your praying for is not in gods divine plan? You want him to change his plan? For you? Doesn't that seem arrogant? 10 million years ago god made a divine plan and along you come and want him to change it. If there is a divine plan then why the fuck bother praying? Thy will be done. So why cant we go straight to his will? He's gonna do what he wants to anyway. George Carlin wss a genius as eas Carl Sagan.

[@richardthiele8363]

Carl Sagan is a man we miss a lot now. He would make us realize the dangers we face such as climate change with his brilliant programs.

[@lookilookibuthearingtooi]

We? I know all that. Don't need him for it. Stuop worshipping celebrities. Many peole do what he does.

[@richardthiele8363]

@ Ok, have a nice day. I’ll keep that in mind and I’ll “stoup” worshipping celebrities and pay attention to other “peoles”.

[@victorcelna3028]

"If god wanted us to fly, he would have given us wings" was a saying before flight. We have already flown out of the solar system with Voyagers I and II. Some of the ashes of the discoverer of Pluto, Clyde Tombaugh, travelled through Pluto's moon system, and continue beyong.

[@Rod-cb3vd]

Far better to accept the universe as it really is than to embrace a delusion no matter how reassuring or comfortable. Carl Sagan

[@Gamer4Life1993.]

I find it scary when religious people actually believe they are not "allowed" to ask questions to the god they believe in and are expected to blindfully follow without hesitation.

[@theboombody]

The world Israel means "wrestles with God." I believe God intended us to question him.

[@Gamer4Life1993.]

@@theboombody Many people will disagree with you. But - admittedly - it is refreshing to read this.

[@arcguardian]

​@@Gamer4Life1993.As a Christian, he's actually correct. The Bible is rife with ppl questioning God and those in leadership, while at the same time u can't find one commandment or precept that forbids asking questions... Thanks for ur comments, it does demonstrate there is a level of ignorance in these comments sections, but ur one of the few who was actually willing to be corrected. I wish there were more atheists like you. Scientifically minded ppl should accept correction, but most ppl here just lash out and deflect. Very curious. "You can fix ignorant but u can't fix stupid" Acts 17:11-12 Modern English Version 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all eagerness, daily examining the Scriptures, to find out if these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, including honorable Greek women and many Greek men.

[@Gamer4Life1993.]

@@arcguardian I would have to correct you in one thing: I am not an atheist. I guess I would be (seeking) agnostic at best. "Scientifically minded people should accept correction." (Shouldn't this apply to the religious as well?) Yes, I agree and think it is important to have an open mind, and to realize and acknowledge when one makes a mistake to have it pointed out etc. However, just because someone believes in a particular religion that doesn't automatically mean they are following the truth. I agree with the words of Richard Dawkins, saying that a lot of people claim they are religious but in truth they might be atheists or unsure, but simply go through the motions of a religion because the people around them do so as well. Furthermore, when someone uses the bible as their foundation for their arguments I have follow-up questions, such as: How could I - as an outsider - know which bible to read and believe in? Within the English language alone there are over 900 versions. The curiosity I've had for a long time: are they all the same? So, I started to compare 4 Dutch bibles (my mother tongue). The 4 come from different years: 1) 1637, 2) 1975, 3) 2004, which is the one I grew up with, 4) 2010. Now - let's keep in mind - I have started on this very recently so I've gotten until Genesis 6:14. But even within this little part of the chronicle I have found some big differences. One for example: 2 bibles claim when Cain receives the punishment from God for killing his brother Abel, Cain says to God: "The punishment is too heavy to bear." But 2 other bibles are saying quite the opposite: "My crime is too big to be forgiven." So, knowing this, my question would be: Why are religious people absolutely certain they are following the one true religion and all the others would be false? And as soon as someone starts to ask questions that could imply that there might be a chance for them to be wrong, or not know as much as they like to believe, why do they get offended so easily? Doesn't it seem to be a bit too convenient for billions of people to be born within the one true religion?

[@Sinderbad]

@@arcguardian Funny, that has been my 60 year plus experience with religious people. When they find out I am Atheist they pretty much recoil and some try their best to “enlighten” me.

[@AS-xi9df]

If it wasn't for the asteroid that hit earth approximately 65 million years ago wiping out the dinosaurs allowing mammals to evolve into modern day humans (us) we simply would not be here so thank that asteroid stay safe guy's 👍

[@Howie-f3z]

That's realistic and accurate, I surmise, though I was not there

[@tonyduncan9852]

Maybe you'd instead be an evolved reptile intelligent enough to know that the plural never requires an apostrophe.

[@vmax4steve524]

A christo scientist would say that god sent that asteroid 😇

[@lookilookibuthearingtooi]

@@vmax4steve524 Then there aren't a scientist.

[@RMNPBETA]

Sagan’s words almost always brings me to tears of hope.

[@caronadams4486]

It's not enough to be skeptical. One must strive for knowledge and understanding in order to evolve.

[@theboombody]

Some folks think all you got to do is bash religion and work an i-phone and you're automatically a genius.

[@caronadams4486]

@@theboombody Think about it.

[@patchwurk6652]

@@theboombody Doesn't take much to be smarter than people who have zero standard of proof for what they believe.

[@theboombody]

@@patchwurk6652 Pretty difficult to be smarter than a guy like Bernhard Riemann or Ramanujan. These guys were masters of proof, yet they still strongly believed in certain things they could not prove.

[@patchwurk6652]

@@theboombody ...The hell is a "master of proof"?

[@Gorgovoid173]

He predicted the current state of America. Imagine that.

[@frankhuitzi5123]

One political charlatan said “I love the poorly educated”. You know who. Mr Sagan warn us, we didn’t listened.

[@lookilookibuthearingtooi]

Who is we?!?!

[@michaelp.9921]

Thank you very much for uploading! (And a heartfelt thanks to the memory of Dr. Carl Sagan and his work....) I have been periodically watching and listening to Dr. Sagan since I had the privilege of being around when his series "Cosmos" debuted on PBS in 1980.....I was a sophomore in high-school and watched every episode in rapt attention..... I had not since seen some of the interviews and speeches shown here in this video post; again, thank you. This was enlightening.... It was also very relevant, (and maybe KZbin's algorithm showed me this video because of this - - ) since just yesterday I discovered the work, philosophy and logic of Richard Dawkins which I wonder if some here might find relevant, supportive and related to Dr. Sagan's viewpoint.....

[@paddlefar9175]

Carl Sagan was such a marvellous, wise and reasonable man and a great proponent of Science!