Why I choose humanism over faith | Leo Igwe

[@Whimswirl]

This meant so much to me as a fellow humanist of African descent. For so long I have felt alone in my beliefs and so nice to finally see others like me out there and know that I am in fact not alone.

[@skydivemag8718]

you're a leader... leading is lonely at times, but you're blessed by whatever you believe in or logically understand to lead others into a new way of thinkimg and living!

[@enochsimo]

You are not alone. I am here with you!

[@Ladybugsbee]

You're not alone

[@Whimswirl]

@@Ladybugsbee your comment is two years late but I really and truly appreciate it❤️

[@Ladybugsbee]

@@Whimswirl you're never late. You're building more😉

[@lonewolfgamingplus379]

Throughout my life, I was a Christian and was huge church goer... But as time goes on I stopped going and feel discomfort with other Christians who curse others who believe in other religions, looking down on people who are different and feel more comfortable of just not being a Christian, I started to become a free thinker, more empathetic towards others.. I started to look at the people around me with clear mind. I started to support freedom of religion, freedom of gay marriage etc.. now I think about it, I've been a humanist half of my life from a teenager to now an adult. I feel good of living in my own skin and by seeing the good in people and helping others.

[@KING_DAVID80]

Lone WolfGamingPlus - You’re such a great person 🙄😒 Can I worship you?

[@bohemianvegan]

@@DipsyDoodleDaisy I agree.

[@__human_]

Remember, as Christians we don’t believe in Him and then look to others as leaders of our faith. We must be ready to lead and stand firm in our beliefs; the separation of the wheat from the chaff. There are many battles that can take place by arguing with each other, but the only battle that matters-is the battle for our soul. And are we looking to obey God and live by His rules without question? Or do we fight for the battles of our flesh and for the freedom to express our desires? Keep in mind that it was the devil who fought for himself and for his desires, he is a lie and a master rebeller; our war is not each other but against these spiritually dark powers of the world.

[@shamusson]

Seems like someone lost his spirit, that is sad.

[@carmenburgos1616]

@@bohemianvegan no excuse and the same crap ..

[@tapatiovidzz]

I will now share this with all of my friends in philosophy and religion. Humanism is the way to go, humans should help other humans to have the good life.

[@marb.u.b8263]

"Humans should help other..." that Sounds a lot like a religion I know

[@joshuak4599]

@@marb.u.b8263 Islam? Judaism? Christianity? Buddhism? You'll have to be more specific, plenty of religions practice ideas that are common to nearly all humans.

[@marb.u.b8263]

@@joshuak4599 that was the point...he's not breaking any new ground only difference there is no motivation to help other humans in humanism (just because won't work for an entire country

[@joshuak4599]

@@marb.u.b8263 Humanism has more goals than just helping other humans. It provides the same foundation many religions offer without any of the superstition, filling a hole some people are left with when abandoning religion. It works if the people within it feel it works. Just a group of people working towards a common goal being part of a worldwide community. This is where helping others comes in play, as a humanist is interested in the betterment of humanity which requires improving the lives of your fellow people.

[@niojackson938]

What is a "good" life

[@karentiede7069]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎 One pair of working hands does more than a thousand hands clasped.

[@ThePlaceWhereWeGo]

Unless you going for the Guinness book of world record's loudest clap.

[@electrichanoi7244]

The Place Where We Go Well yes, but the loudest clap can only be achieved by one person!

[@delancey3181]

No

[@marb.u.b8263]

There's no reason after clasping hands they can't go to work

[@n3r3sh77]

@Muneeb Iqbal Are you a robot? Check your device info. You will surely find the address of your manufacturer in there. Don't give up on trying to find your origin, fellow form of intelligent life ;)

[@rickywinthrop]

Athiest since birth. I have recently been exposed to secular humanism and find that it aligns pretty closely with my personally developed worldview to the point where I am starting to describe myself more in secular humanist terms. Great speech about an interesting slice of this subject

[@Abbas-bx6wi]

I'm a Muslim and I share a lot of the viewpoints made in this Ted Talk, prayer with no action will just lead to nothing you have to be pro active in chasing your goals. I do believe humanism and faith can go hand in hand, a lot of the cultural superstitions and blind belief on prayer really hold some communities back. Great talk.

[@rosiejoy4871]

sadly some people do not share your open minded and appreciative way of thinking .

[@nandhakishor103]

Humanism and faith can't go hand in hand.

[@chupacabraman01]

@@nandhakishor103 humanists can work with faith workers. This is pragmatic.

[@UnderhillKoufax]

Apples and oranges. Faith is not a virtue. It is the attempt to substitute strong emotions for actual evidence. (Bertrand Russell was correct.). Humanism relies on critical thinking, evidence, logic, facts, and human compassion to help other human beings and our shared environment. It does not rely on any faith in imaginary beings, which is the antithesis of humanism at its core.

[@arsenalfan8628]

@@nandhakishor103 Rather, humanism and fundamentalism cant go hand in hand. Non-fundamentalist religious approaches such as the modern day Church of England or more modern religions such as Sikhism can be said to be possible to align with humanism. That said, I dont follow or believe any religion due to none of them holding up scientifically and logically.

[@NoOne-zl5mq]

I LOVE THIS GUY ! His speech was beautiful, and I hope he has great success in his life. He has successfully shifted my misanthropic view on this world into something more positive and embracing. Whereas religion seeks to control and dictate over other people's lives. Leo has re-ignited my hope for a better future, that I have abandoned. And before you blame me of being overly pessimistic. Take into consideration the fact I was looking to religious people for “the big questions of life”. And all I got was, “this world is full of sin, you just need to pray, pray more, pray more, strengthen your faith, god will handle it”. And while I do share a major disdain for this world like Christians and other religions do (disdain for anything that does not co-adhere to their way of thinking). I get almost physically revolted by pious people who are glad to proclaim someone else's damnation. And at the same time ensuring their own salvation, as if they were hand-picked by god himself. Despite all that, his message is great, and I hope the whole world will come to embrace it one day. I don't expect the world to be perfect, but we can do so much more than what we have now. And if there is a god out there, I don't think he would want this piss water we call religion in the form it is in currently.

[@Hoellewood_Solutions]

If you a man or woman of ANY faith are reading this, sit down with me for a minute. Many of you will argue, (think of this a separate argument for now) that life has inherent meaning and we are lawless creatures without given purpose. Most of the time, an atheist, humanist, nihilist, will approach this in a way that doesn’t translate too well. Hear me. My faith fell over two years ago and I was adamant about finding my “meaning” in this world. At first I was nihilist. Thinking that belief was ridiculous so I simply don’t need to believe anything, but as time went on, I adapted. Through the pain of my transition I figured, why waste time? I can simply learn all I can about the FACTUALLY TESTABLE AND CONSISTENT universe, then I’ll begin to draw my conclusions. Two weeks ago, I began my journey back into philosophy and theist and atheist debates. Aside from a book I read, containing the excerpts from various letters written by Einstein himself, I barely if ever studied anything on philosophy or religion. I was interested to see what this new transition would present, and I tell you, I found a pretty profound argument for a pattern, and in my opinion almost a natural coincidence. Before I dive into this, let me first go over some quick discrepancies. First I’d like to make it clear, this IS mostly an Anecdotal argument. One could say that these ideal are definitely coherent with that of many men and women, Hitchens, Dawkins, this TED presenter, but keep in mind my argument in a Personal Testimony. I am setting out to help you understand something that I feel is almost an imitation of nature, one that argues for Nature Moralism without spirituality, divinity, or metaphysics. Second, I am not an expert in these fields, for Christianity, I grew up in the faith and for a period was unshakingly devoted to Christ. As for the science, though I payed attention in school, took personal fascination in science and I have spent years observing the progress, read research here and there, ran undocumented simple experiments, and countless hours watching and reading scientific articles and videos. This does NOT make my views and interpretations 100% valid. I may “know my stuff”, but I actively advocate that you seek out these ideas and studies on your own. Third, my whole point on this argument is that it might influence you to seek these things with an open mind and viscous hunger for knowledge. Finally, I love humanity, if you will take my word for it, i do not mean to attack anyone for their “beliefs” I simply ask you to look outside of your box and explore the unknown. Now, to the subject at hand. Let me first thank you for taking the time to read through this, or at least skim through to get to the point, my discrepancies may not be for everyone, but are important to relay some thoughts I’d hope you would view as honest. My statement here is important, to me and hopefully the world one day. (This is a Point that i will get to soon) I do not take this words lightly as they have become very passionate in my mind. After years of being raised in the faith, the idea of being given meaning was everything, it’s hard to let go of and it’s painful to lose. I’ll save the death of my faith for another writing in order to save your leisure. When I lost that faith, the whole idea of “life has no purpose we are here by accident” was terrifying to me. The more I studied science, the more I realized how small we really are. This isn’t to be understated when I think back to those words said by Carl Sagan and many great men after him, “this Pale Blue Dot”. I won’t waste time spouting refutation towards religious validity. This has to do with realizing that we are small and that we really Do Not Matter, because when our time is up, nothing will be left in the grand scale to remember us and we will remain a “Pale Blue Dot” faded into a lost past. That hurts, that is one of he most painful ideas I’ve ever experienced. As i grew and continued to explore myself and the science of reality, much came in the way of suggesting Humanism. I often talked with my very close friend who had always been Atheist. He taught me much in the way of science. Many times he and I discussed where I was at in my thoughts. At the time I identified with Nihilism, I figured my distaste for the word, “Belief” fit nicely with it. Though, he still continued through the whole process to call me a Humanist. I didn’t know the word, but by general context, I guess I assumed it made sense. Not once till today did I explore the term Humanism. It seemed fitting, but I didn’t care to embrace it. Today, i have a bit of a revelation that i really care to share with you, my former brother under God. These past to weeks of once again engaging in philosophical, atheist, and today humanist ideology, has shown me a beautiful pattern. All that I acquired in my own partially isolated ideology was congruent with these people and this amazing TED presenter. I am in no way claiming that I am special or that I’ve am amazing for coming to this conclusion on my own. No, this is profoundly comforting to me. This is the most important imitation of a miracle to me. I always thought that if given a scientific understanding, one would eventually land in a highly relative moralism. Call it a hypothetical thought experiment, but the words spoken by the people I’ve lately listened to have brought me to tears. Clearly, I must have confirmed my suspicions. If there IS an INHERENT, GIVEN, PURPOSE OR MEANING TO LIFE, THEN THIS IS IT. Humanism isn’t a label religion, it doesn’t pretend to be anything special, it’s just a good title for what I Believe to be coherent in the true Human Desire. We really do want to live in a world of peace, when we cast aside Fear Of God, we can truly look at eachother as Equal. When you see the Pale Blue Dot, you will be able to see the Love, Pain, Struggle, Triumph, Exploration, Yearnings, and Integrity of humanity. I quote Charles Chaplin, “We all want to help one another, human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness. Not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. And this world has room for everyone, and the good Earth is rich can provide for everyone.” We as human beings must all fall into the same category when we each understand how small and insignificant we are. However, when you see that perspective, it is Inherently impossible to ignore the Absolute Magnitude of our Importance and Ability as a whole. Humanity Is Capable of incredibly great Accomplishment, Mental Ascension, Love, Empathy, and Progress. We have the power to save this Planet, to keep children from starving, to stop war, to hopefully reach the Stars, explore and expand. We have the power to become almost as gods ourselves, but we can ONLY achieve this in cooperation. So tell me, WHY would you not want to be a part of this? Why would you let religion Belittle the Progress of mankind? Because a book, voice from above, tealeaf reader, or preacher at the pulpit told you that we are worthless, submit your eternity to my service? I can no longer accept that. I vastly Love humanity and seek a deeper relationship with our evolution. I can’t image the satisfaction that I would have if for some reason I could be alive and have contributed to the next major advancement for humanity. Meaninglessness isn’t so bad when you get to prescribe it yourself, especially when it happens to fit many others based entirely and only on compassion. Forgive me if I’ve taken more time than you wished, maybe you wished not at all. I absolutely encourage you to ask me anything, but more so to seek the knowledge yourself. Know that I, a now “found” Humanist, have tried to relay the idea that I love you, I love my neighbors, I love my enemies, I love the life that walks this Earth. Not because I’m told to, but because it makes sense and it’ll be the only thing that works on this Pale Blue Dot. I’d like to end this with something that I as of late hold dear to my heart. Once you no longer fear god and want a meaning, think of this; a few simple words from Anti-Theist and KZbinr, @Aron Ra, “If you want your life to mean something, try to make someone else’s life meaningful.” I cannot argue with that Logic, empathy is a great tool and it is evolved in us dispute the repression of belief systems. I hope that my words have meant something to you. Take them as you will and have a wonderful day. -Aaron S Hoelle

[@Hoellewood_Solutions]

This is possibly one of the most Profound and well represented presentations I’ve ever watched. Thank you for helping me affirm my position in Humanism.

[@Hoellewood_Solutions]

The Death of God is the beginning of Empathy

[@brauliodiaz3925]

I hope this man achieves great things for his country

[@1chrisarnold]

Welp he made me a humanist too

[@Redsoxking]

k boomer

[@TheParadise2006]

not for me im still a part satanist

[@n3r3sh77]

@@TheParadise2006 mad respect, fellow devil-warshipper. I'm not a satanist but for people like some that you can find in this comment section, atheism equals satanism. We're aaaalll in this togeeether~ 🎶🎶😊

[@davelogan77]

TheParadise2006 no difference.

[@n3r3sh77]

@@davelogan77 Lol, exactly my point :'D

[@mchlbk]

If only more people were like this guy...

[@cutekitten1185]

I am a humanist but people should have their beliefs unless it's hurtful

[@doresnalwanga5499]

You made my soul cry! You are the one and please how can we send this message to our countries in Africa. Every African should be for a better Africa tomorrow. We have our past but we can't let it define us. Things have to change one way or another for our children and grand children.

[@alif8884]

Having just discovered Humanism, I am quite inspired by it to be honest, and it explains quite a lot of how I've felt during my early years. I might well look further into it. It's certainly a lot more trustworthy and solid than a lot of religion.

[@abhisekjena608]

I am also lucky to find humanism .much love brother❤❤

[@vishwakumar2864]

@MunishGamer big NO ! Thats an oxymoron. Read the definition of Humanism. "Humanism" means that you stop believing in supernatural divine sky-daddy and start searching solutions for our problems through science and reason and strive to protect other humans' rights, whether others are religious or not. So when you say you are a Humanist, then you are already an Atheist, but also something bigger than Atheist. On the other hand, Islam and many other theistic religions essentially require "faith" in an not yet proven supernatural entity, which is totally opposite to what Humanism proposes.

[@SkittlesDeNocturne]

Ive spent 15 years struggling with religion, bouncing from atheism, to satanism, to christianity, etc. I think ive finally found something I can fully believe in.

[@wangdangdoodie]

Why do you need to believe in something?

[@StellaRoweCooper]

@@wangdangdoodie sense of meaning/purpose in life myabe

[@StellaRoweCooper]

maybe*

[@shadrachemmanuel1720]

Atheism is not a belief and one can be an atheist and humanist at the same time .

[@shadrachemmanuel1720]

Atheism is not a belief and one can be an atheist and humanist at the same time .

[@DigitalWraith]

*2 Hands* toiling WILL Accomplish more than *1,000* hands clasped in prayer.

[@jakem.8469]

One man and God can, has, and will do more to change the world than an entire nation of huminists could ever do

[@electrichanoi7244]

Jake M. I disagree, humanness have done more in the past hundred years to protect and lift up people, their religion has done in over 1000 years. The religion that has done the motion and accomplish the most was actually Buddhism and Hinduism. The Indian subcontinent used to be the richest most prosperous place on earth, and they don’t believe in a God like the Christian God, they believe in a oneness and that we are all God.

[@jakem.8469]

@@electrichanoi7244 you really should go back and check your facts. You know what's funny. Christianity is the only religion whose saviour is still alive.

[@dnw009]

@@jakem.8469 One man and god can .... Yes because god has answered the prayers of those whom needed them. If he did the world would have been quite differen't depending on which religion he favors and the like. Humanism, caring for your fellow man and their wellbeing perhaps a bit too much but still not a bad thing. I honestly doubt humanists think of themselves or humans as god.

[@chibiwire3045]

Jake M. Whose savior is still alive? Where is he? Is he doing surgery? Taking food to the poor? Is he stopping rapists? Stoping murderers. Where is this savior you speak of

[@JNeil1975]

This is wonderful! I went from religion to spirituality.....to humanism.

[@victor_.]

All rational paths lead to humanism and atheism

[@michaelmorris9575]

If Africa actually got this right .. they would be a global superpower

[@SunDown.]

Bravo! Even Africa is waking up. The world is really changing!

[@melaniewade7373]

SunDown The arrogance in your statement baffles me.

[@SunDown.]

Don't know what arrogance you're talking about. But, anyway, what's wrong with arrogance if you're right?!

[@timwilliams8496]

SunDown And it's about time !!!! I guess the Africans are taking the message from the Black Panther movie serious! he,he,he

[@SunDown.]

@Bruno56 you can be as "right" as your valid arguments and evidence allows you to be. And religion has no evidence or valid arguments for its supernatural claims.

[@Kinglouisxvi1790]

​@@SunDown. I will laugh at your grave

[@avice10535]

He is spot on in his words! Actions count more than words!

[@probablecat]

Thank you Leo for speaking up for humanism!

[@shamsulislam1350]

Thanks for your real life experiences and put it in a right way to support HUMANIST movement.

[@OziMan81]

Wonderful words. I’m a humanist though first and foremost humanitarian, which leaves a space of appreciation open for religious faith. I believe that we are the products of our circumstances and understand things according to these graces or challenges. Curiosity is the cure and the pathway to lasting and sustainable kindness.

[@templenature]

Thank you! This is excellent, Mr. Igwe. I will be showing your talk in a class on Humanism in North Carolina. I know your words will stir very good discussion.

[@frostbeam7095]

magical thinking is poisoned thinking.

[@Daysleeper70]

Faith is not a virtue, it's gullibility.

[@Wired4Life2]

Blind faith is not a virtue, but true, supernatural faith is the intellect's firm and proper assent to, among other unseen things, the transcendent Creator of all things.

[@peterp-a-n4743]

+BlueFox94 "it's gullibility"

[@offdaheez]

Define what you mean by "scientism".

[@sayantanm2]

Depends on what the faith rests on. Many of the intellectuals were deists of some form.

[@heyfionaa]

Faith is given by God, it’s not up to us

[@Just.S]

The fact that humans still live disharmonious is proof that we’ve been following the wrong rules.

[@geoffrobinson]

J S it’s proof of original sin

[@zacgoodwin4056]

Secular Guy: Respectfully, In creation, God wanted to create a being capable of love, for what ever reason (possibly to be loved). Therefore, He had to create being with free will as without free will a creature cannot love in the true definition of the word (forced love inflicted by God would be meaningless). Thus, man was given free will even though God knew that some people would decide to disobey Him. Hence, it was the design’s fault for not obeying God with its free will. Claiming original sin was God’s fault is like claiming your parents only made rules so that they could punish you.

[@geoffrobinson]

Adam's fault. And Adam like you attempted to blame God after the Fall.

[@Ichizaa]

@Zac Goodwin: So basically, god is a borderline personality who created humans to be loved with free will, while punishing everybody who uses it. On the other hand, did you ever choose to love anybody? You usually fall in love or you don't, if you love somebody, you can't just choose to not love anymore, so it doesn't have anything to do with free will in the first place. Since seemingly, some people are 'designed' more susceptible to the 'love' of god while others don't feel a thing, it's either a crappy design, or the aim is different. If there is a designer anyway.

[@zacgoodwin4056]

Salix Zander: Firstly, God does not punish us for using free will, but for disobeying Him (which would be something we could not do without it). I again turn to the parental analogy; your parents know what is best for you, they make rules accordingly, and then punish you because they know the punishment is lesser than what you would face if you did not obey the rules. God’s law is like this. Secondly, I believe we are using differing definitions on the vague word ‘love.’ You are talking about romantic love, while the love for God is something else. It is a voluntary thing that accompanies the decision to follow God. If you ask a long-married couple, they will probably tell you that about 5 years into the relationship the hormones or whatever wore off, and they probably witnessed marital problems. The love for God is like this; you have to choose to love your spouse for who they are as love truly becomes less of a feeling and more of a choice.

[@patricksperspective99]

Mum told me "God helps those, who help themselves " Sad that villages/impoverished communities build churches before they build schools or hospitals Sigh 😪

[@KH4444444444N]

This is one of the most incredibly Human diatribes. This gives me fortitude beyond all.

[@timwilliams8496]

Change only comes through education and not through prayer or religious teachings !

[@christianmosesjohnny1112]

U great

[@holistichandyman9787]

This video is Powerful! I compeletly agree with him when he said "our lives are not pre determined." I talk about that all the time on my channel. I'm definitely a humanist...

[@konyvnyelv.]

Lives are predetermined because there's no free will

[@ahmadisrar9446]

The important things,how will you manage people who try to obstruct our goals,not letting human progress.

[@Clintsessentials]

💯

[@AtamMardes]

"Religion was invented when the first con man met the first fool." Mark Twain

[@jynx3978]

No, religion is actually a human nature

[@AtamMardes]

@@jynx3978 So is scamming the gullible fools with made up religious and non-religious bullshit.

[@jynx3978]

@@AtamMardes Literally everything in the society controls you if you do not want to get your so called scammed then go away from human civilization

[@jynx3978]

@@chewinggum5550 I'm not saying it progressed society but it's part of human nature

[@potcleanx7693]

Your the real fool

[@texastriguy]

Too many comments here will end with a battle of words between religious and nonreligious instead of focusing on the real issue: that people allow their belief system to justify the mistreatment of their fellow human. That's priority #1. Once EVERYONE agrees that torture, murder, and similar crimes against their fellow humans are unacceptable under all circumstances, the secondary question of which god, if any, is the "one true god" is somewhat irrelevant.

[@batrachian149]

Eric Fontaine Malice/bad morality is not the only factor in human suffering. Incompetence/ignorance has the lion's share of it. Many people do awful things thinking that they're helping people.

[@texastriguy]

Awakened2Truth - Disciple of Jesus the Christ Wow...not sure where to begin with you. It appears your fountain dispenses only Kool-Aid

[@yakubu-fatimajenifa6539]

It is an insightful talk. Africa needs humanism to evolve and move past superstitions, blind faith, and poverty. Religiosity is indeed one of the qualities of the poorest countries. It is pathetic that Africa is still stuck in the past, and the future seems bleak. I hope we see progress soon. Bravo, Leo. Thank you for sharing your story and discussing how humanism can help Africa progress.

[@lsweet222]

In my opinion this is one of the best ted talks 👏👏💯

[@isabellekwok1391]

Thumbs up. I am a citizen of Earth too. Thank you.

[@MichaelJonesC-4-7]

_Earthicans Rule!!_ ; )

[@gavinomalley7099]

I like how you said that. That's the truth. It puts it in perspective that we are not labels, we are not "us and them". We are all fellow citizens of earth. We all can help each other.

[@vmwindustries]

This is a great talk! We don't need witchcraft. We need to work together!

[@domjfp]

@@rosieokellybit rude

[@offline34]

This is an awesome speech... He is very passionate and motivating!

[@LawrenceofCanadia]

As a 30 y/o guy who just had to stealth-cry on a crowded subway ride home....you guys could have WARNED me.

[@tomcigarsmoker8958]

This is so powerful... thank you my brother.

[@AndyRhodes1]

What a beautiful message!

[@ZHike360]

Seriously now, this is an amazing speach

[@starfall4824]

I think, religion is slowly dying. As it should. Good speech.

[@succulentpizza]

S t a r F a l l- On the day you die all will be revealed, remember these words.

[@Kyle-qu9vf]

On the day he dies no one but him will know what it's like. Stop pretending like you somehow know what happens after we die.

[@succulentpizza]

Kyle Divan- Ignorance is bliss, human.

[@Kyle-qu9vf]

I admit I would defer to a Christian on matters regarding ignorance.

[@Brett-kg7je]

Joseph Apate Who are you one to know what happens when one dies? I think it’s safe to assume you haven’t yet.

[@milhouse14]

Reason > Faith

[@hawkstringfellow]

Humanism is the way

[@mazorine]

Faith is what makes this obviously good video controversial. Please do yourself and everyone else a favor. Don't believe things without evidence.

[@mazorine]

Umm you don't need Jesus to explain that stuff bruh.

[@nurlutfiana483]

That's sad.

[@mazorine]

Ice Queen What?

[@danhull3727]

Awakened2Truth - horrible speaker--doesn't understand the atheist position; we don't disprove gods, we point out why they aren't reasonable to believe in. We can trust the "chemical and physical" reactions in our brain because we can check to see if they're consistent with other's. He appears childish trying to show why natural selection "doesn't work" to select for logical reasoning, etc.; he doesn't understand evolution whatsoever.

[@nurlutfiana483]

Mykel Walters “don’t believe things without evidence” you want proof? you want him to show himself? the last time he did, human nailed him on the cross so... 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@ammoniakki]

i still cant believe that most of the people on earth still believe in god

[@louisadu-amoah1504]

neither can i also believe that many people on earth still don't believe in God

[@GabS-o1m]

Twisted Titan No one said everything came from nothing... some people just don’t feel convinced that it was a god.

[@miguelconstantino-guzman7957]

Because many people haven't read the truth the Bible speaks of. I won't say more because it would require dozens of pages and people will still not listen, just as the Bible tells us. God really knows us better than ourselves.

[@miguelconstantino-guzman7957]

Read Job 36. Science is proven right there an there. Scientists found water distillation onto the clouds to be true in the 1600s while the Bible was written loooonger than that.

[@shamusson]

I can't believe people still believe in humanism.

[@reex345]

This is the thinking we meed

[@yahiakhaled253]

Believing in both is the best. Our existence is the best proof that God exists there is nothing that is created by itself.

[@originalblob]

Who says that the universe or human beings are "created" at all? I for one believe in a spatial and temporal infinity of universes, which cannot ever be understood completely or even given a proper term. If you say god is eternal, which means without beginning or end, why can't I say the world (infinity of universes) is eternal in the same way?

[@shamusson]

Humanism and religion are incompatible.

[@Kamisama77]

If you wanna be a humanist, you can't follow some weird verses of your quran. Quran 9:29, 8:12, 4:24, 4:34

[@yahiakhaled253]

@@Kamisama77 you’re right. I left islam years ago.

[@SabrinaWohlman]

Thank you for this. As we evolve so can our thinking.

[@brightlights365]

A very interesting viewpoint. I agree with much of what he said, although I don't believe humanism and religion go against each other. Nonetheless, these ideas could lead to great innovation and advancement.

[@penumono]

Bright Lights Oh they do. Stop being blinded by your religion !!

[@italouibai]

You can be a religious humanist, if you are not that religious.

[@mrnarason]

I'm pretty sure that humanism and religion are definitely a dichotomy.

[@yourfullofsheite]

Wow that's alot of cut and paste gish gallop

[@yourfullofsheite]

Look I can do it too! ...The following message sent by Sergius, the Acting Patriarch, to Stalin, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution (November 1942) gives eloquent proof of this: “On this 25th anniversary of the Republic of the Soviets, in the name of our Clergy and of all the believers of the Russian Orthodox Church, faithful children of our Fatherland, I salute with cordiality and piety, in your person, the leader chosen by God, the leader of our military and cultural forces, who is guiding us to triumph over the barbarous invasion, to the prosperity of our country in peace, towards a radiant future for its peoples. May God bless by success and glory your valorous exploits for our Fatherland.”

[@nottodaysatan101]

We need a man like this as president for Nigeria.

[@graymatterwolf850]

That was amazing

[@jamesbrean8004]

I believe in the human race and preserve what keeps us human and intelligent.

[@kaustubhkadam1083]

Glory to african brothers and sisters Love from India 🇮🇳

[@seanc.6470]

Faith is not closing your eyes and sitting still not doing anything. The Bible has 66 books speaking of people doing things they never imagined they could do, becoming better than they have ever been by helping others, by sacrificing, by suffering. I do not think you have to chose to be either one or the other. I strive to be better everyday, for myself and for others. When I am down I tell myself to be the light for others because you never know who is watching you. Our smiles, our positive attitudes our golden hearts can change each other's lives. All Glory must go to God! Great speech!

[@KhantNPi]

Some people saying him to just do good things without labelling. Well, as a humanist, my actions are far too insignificant to create a meaningful impact. Important changes will only be possible as a group. Labelling is important because it creates awareness and therefore inspire others to do the same.

[@jameswood2385]

I was raised in a conservative Christain home adopted at a young age. I've never denied the existence of a creator or a God and a Devil in-fact I'm biases towards the Christian God, but I deny the need of these beings for the survival and advancement of our species. In-fact I've always seen faith and religion as limiters to true knowledge and advancement. The Christian God in the Bible will be our end in the so called rapture I refuse to be subjected to the whims and wills of a God or creator I don't want to be chained to either gods or devils I just want freedom for myself and my species I want to see a day we colonize past our solar system. People have called me a Satanist, but I deny that I've always called myself a supporter of humanity humanity First before God's and devils I see so much potential, but I've seen religion limit that human potential like chains and slaves. I refuse to be that. The impossibilities we give ourselves have always eventually became possibilities.

[@joseyharris2123]

go back to christ. he will show you wonders. he lives!! jesus died, rose from the grave, and now the holy spirit lives in me. come to christ. you might be confused on what you want to belive. you might wonder what exactly Christianity is. read the holy bible and the answer is there. John 14:6 - “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” I'm praying for you

[@jameswood2385]

@@joseyharris2123 I don't need a God to show me how to live a good life either morally or righteous I don't need a God to be a decent human being, and the fact that God thinks only by living for him only good things can be done through him I reject God's Ego his hypocrisy and better yet his, selfish self concerned personality he doesn't and never did care for humanity he would wipe us out in the blink of an eye if we didn't serve as worshipping slaves for that fat ego, I believe in humanity nothing else I don't need God or a devil to tell me how to live and use my free will you don't need it to be or do something good for yourself for others for your species.

[@teriscallon]

I completely agree...what courage

[@Renin_Viper]

@@InMaTeofDeath he's just stupid ..i have seen his other comments saying stupid stuff on other great videos .

[@allahhernandez3546]

Learn to love and respect yourself and you’ll find everything you are looking for self peace and learn to respect all living beings.

[@just246]

What a great speaker!

[@MacAutomationTips]

I agree with him about humanism, but Africa was and is undermined by colonialism, imperialism, exploitation. It’s very difficult to undo vicious European domination and destruction of the past and the present. African countries have survived and are prospering despite the past, but Western Europe still owes Africa and its descendants a lot for what it did to undermine the continent and its people.

[@parpettersson1905]

I wonder if you could please explain how colonialism, imperialism and exploitation are still holding Africa back?

[@애다]

He was so inspiring! I hope he will be more successful :)

[@vibhorsteele]

Wow amazing and inspiring speech!This really makes us do our best!

[@brendarua01]

This was well said. Thanks for sharing!

[@wilytw]

I'm a Christian here, but I do think that religion isn't a reason to discriminate and belittle.

[@alexmendez3682]

Avaricious Cenozoic why question her religion? If she's Christan then let her be. She just wants to know why no faith - having assholes like to talk down on god and faith.

[@LughSummerson]

Then why did you joint a cult that has, for much of its history, discriminated and belittled people based on religion, hypocrite? If what you say is true, Christianity is not for you. More likely you're just an easily-swayed moron who didn't give it much thought.

[@katerkarlo159]

Alex Mendez "no faith - having assholes". You have just outed yourself. Typical...

[@NiX_aKi]

Bravo! 👏

[@Ras_Spinoza]

I regained my sanity after I stopped believing in Devine intervention..

[@Jade_En]

This is great! It's high time we Africans woke up from our delusion.

[@0deszuh111]

He shoukd narrate a national geographic documentary. His voice is unique.

[@marb.u.b8263]

Don't you have to have faith that hard work will get you there Agency and faith is not opposite but complimentary People and poor because they are religious, but religious because they are poor

[@StellaRoweCooper]

Interesting.

[@jitheshdsouza6354]

You can't justify humanism without god. Without god good and bad just becomes social constraints. You can make your own " this is good and this is bad" just like hitler and Stalin did

[@Kamisama77]

Hitler was a catholic

[@SRCG2773]

Leo is the best. Most Africans should follow him. Good luck 👍👍

[@Liam3015]

A Religion teacher here, using this as a class example.

[@jonahlynx94]

"Faith without works is dead"

[@italouibai]

Faith in unreal things is dead anyway. The only thing that deserves faith is reality.

[@speakyourtruth7872]

One day at a time.

[@offdaheez]

Faith is worthless, actions or "works" is all one has to change anything. What you believe means nothing, what you do is everything.

[@heyfionaa]

Italo Rafael Machado Santos you are correct, but if we have no faith which is given by God then we can’t know reality and are blind from the truth

[@italouibai]

UltraAar the idea of cause and consequence is derived for our perception of time and space. But it us well known that time and space don't behave accordingly to our senses. One can say " God exists because every intelligent effect happens due to an intelligent cause, God is the primordial cause of the universe", but let's do de fallowing mental exercise, imagine if you live in a society that can handle fire, but you've never seen fire occuring spontaneously because of a lightning, and you don't have any idea about the Constitution of the lighting; therefore, you will most certainly think that fire is an intelligent effect correct? Try to think out of the box, we actually don't have any idea of how the universe came to be, we have five common senses, and our intelligence is guided through them, how many ways of feeling the universe might exist that we are simply anware of? How can we say that something like "God" exist when we can't even cure câncer? God is no more than an illusion created to fulfill our ego when it's faced with lack of knowledge. " Well I know nothing... But I know a God that is allmighty powefull, created the universe and stays with me all the time, he even looks like me, so I am basically the second most wise and amazing thing in the universe, perhaps even the first, cause I love God right, but if he was really that amazing he wouldn't need to create me, right? I'm am like the primordial dumb end for the existence of everything, I am so special that I don't even need to be wise, like good, in order to my life have meaning".

[@bornjusticerule5764]

Great Talk

[@a.d.w8385]

Africa can greatly improve if more Africans had his mindset. My fellow brothers and sisters of the black race all over the world are way too religious. We are the most religious but the furthest behind. Yes, much of it is because of slavery and colonialism. However, when will we realize that our attachment to religion and our rejection of progress is also because of slavery and colonialism? These factors have made it to where the black race is stagnant while others were allowed to progress and learn. It is time Africans embrace the ideal of making things better for the future and stop equating progressive thoughts such as gender equality, science and other topics as "not African". I believe there are beautiful lessons all religions can teach us, from Christianity, Islam, Buddism, Jainism, The Bahai faith and so on. However, I wish people would not take it so literally.

[@Fonzzz002]

It depresses me to see something as nihilism, absurdism or even a bit existentialism being so popular among young philosopher enthusiasts, but humanism is more of a niche. If you ask me, those should be the niches and humanism at the lonely top. Makes so much more sense when you look at life and society as a whole.

[@diosenlaliteraturacontempo4337]

Faith is not superstition, not every religion invites not to work. I am a humanist and I am a believer: I believe in order to understand, and I understand in order to believe.

[@patricksanchez8041]

Now I. Pick humanism why would I keep dreaming I'd rather work hard

[@Overonator]

Finally a clear thinking African on TED. If more people did what he said to do Africa would be better off.

[@brendarua01]

Overonator The world would be better off.

[@ummyousuff]

Overonator Africa is suffering from being enslaved by big countries & it isn't the result of them being lazy.. They work the hardest.. If they find comfort in religion then that is better than Chinese who are committing suicide for going through less stressful situations.. Compare the African children enslaved in chocolate factories to those adults working in Apple industry in China.. African children are working so hard while someone like this guy speaks bad about Africans and ignores the real problems facing them.

[@NeoFighterX]

Veiled racism

[@Overonator]

NeoFighterX Clearly racism. Not even veiled.🙄

[@MoyeenAbi]

Leo Igwe for president

[@BardouSia]

"Mana from Heaven". I like that

[@wrldonwill]

Faith doesn't mean that you stop putting in work.

[@marcusanark2541]

Great speaker.

[@ghfreakwierdo123]

Isn't this common sense? Crazy it even needs to be said.

[@Kamisama77]

Learn all religions and human nature, you'll see why its needed to say

[@Pilbaran00b]

yes, well said.

[@hiddendepths1089]

Awakend2Truth - when you take such radical stances against nonbelievers they will never listen to you. Be more gentle - gentleness is one of the fruits of the spirit after all. I myself and a christian, yet even I am offended that you would call someone a communist for believing in humanism. In fact, from a secular point of view humanism makes a lot of sense. Remember that you cannot change hearts - only God can do that.

[@janepatton8100]

Now just convince the other 7.5 billion people in the world to do good and put the needs of others before themselves. This is titled "Why I choose humanism over faith", but he may not be bright enough to understand that what he's suggesting is not the abandonment of faith, but the realigning of our faith on mankind to do what's right. So with that, I have to say that this man's faith is exponentially great.

[@IshtarNike]

I'd be interested to know how much churches benefit from tithes in these poor communities. That's not to say that all churches exploit poor people, but from what I've seen in the US I'd be really shocked if these kinds of people weren't running an even bigger racket in truly poor countries.

[@vickmackey24]

Hear, hear

[@jimmy.singer]

This guy is confused as to what faith really is. It doesn’t mean all your prayers are answered and you don’t have to work hard to achieve your goals, quite the opposite actually. Belief in and worshiping God does not contradict his vision of an African people who work hard to improve their ways of life, in fact it strengthens it.

[@joannot6706]

"we blame slavery colonialism and neo colonialism" of course those are to blame. blaming those thing that are clearly to blame doesn't prevent anyone to take action for themselves and against it. Otherwise, excellent speech.

[@Jipnag]

Great guy talks alot of sense. Religion is so old fashioned

[@MrZanProductions]

feel like i have more self control after watching this

[@LuxiBelle]

“Just to be clear, I’m not a professional ‘quote maker’. I’m just an atheist teenager who greatly values his intelligence and scientific fact over any silly fiction book written 3,500 years ago. This being said, I am open to any and all criticism. ‘In this moment, I am euphoric. Not because of any phony god’s blessing. But because, I am enlightened by my intelligence.’"

[@scatton61]

Faith is what you need when you have no evidence to support your assertions. Finally, an African speaker who is not just interested in only themselves and without the woo-woo of religion or pointless dance art. Refreshingly he talks about making changes for themselves and not just claiming victimhood and blaming everyone else for their problems

[@fromthe4621]

TED Uploaded this right after the last TEDvid of a religious African who thought atheists were nothing like this guy

[@brucedunn938]

Excellent. My life is freed with humanism.

[@amandagarcia2848]

Having people think that God will do everything for then leads to people doing little to change the outcome of their lives. Having Africa become less religious and more humanist would help millions of people in Africa.