23 votes and no comments? Well, then. Wonderful quote: "We've all got imaginary friends; I've just grown out of mine!"

K more comments go!

Very brave there in ireland.

Very cold reception there, but all credit for carrying on!

*british

Adding video to channels (British) - requested by Zifnab.

I've never seen that interviewer have an easy time of it. Perhaps I've only seen him interview Jimmy Carr, but he always seems like he'd rather be having his toe-nails forcibly removed...

I respect him saying that he lets people believe what they want to believe (don't know why he calls himself a "fundamentalist atheist" a minute before). How you come to terms with your own improbable existence should be up to you.

If someone has a new theory or idea about life, then I'll gladly hear it out, but I'm tired of only hearing negative ideas that focus on how you shouldn't be thinking about life. It's purely combative and not constructive.

>> ^Lodurr:
I respect him saying that he lets people believe what they want to believe (don't know why he calls himself a "fundamentalist atheist" a minute before). How you come to terms with your own improbable existence should be up to you.
If someone has a new theory or idea about life, then I'll gladly hear it out, but I'm tired of only hearing negative ideas that focus on how you shouldn't be thinking about life. It's purely combative and not constructive.


http://lmgtfy.com/?q=evolution

Anyone who was raised Catholic and can't answer "what was so special about Jesus" either wasn't listening or was horribly underserved in the teaching department.

What I did find refreshing from this clip (compared to the buh-zillion other atheism clips on the sift) was his willingness to live and let live in terms of other people's beliefs with minimal judgmentalism. I find "evangelical atheists" to be a bit ironic.

>> ^Jesus_Freak:
Anyone who was raised Catholic and can't answer "what was so special about Jesus" either wasn't listening or was horribly underserved in the teaching department.
What I did find refreshing from this clip (compared to the buh-zillion other atheism clips on the sift) was his willingness to live and let live in terms of other people's beliefs with minimal judgmentalism. I find "evangelical atheists" to be a bit ironic.


You find "evangelical atheist" ironic only because you are too much of an idiot to understand what evangelical really means. It means "to bring good news", hence the "Good News" ("gospel" in anglo-saxon, from "goodspell" NOT "godspell") of the coming of Jesus. Thus an "evangelical atheist" is the bringer of the good news of atheism. Pretty straightforward, eh?

What's really ironic, on the other hand, is exactly the content of the joke about the specialness of Jesus. We are all sons of God, says Jesus himself, yet the church would like us to believe Jesus was somehow special. Yes, Jesus says he is the the son of God but he also says we all are sons of God. Why is he special then? The answer: he's not and he never claimed to be. Only people who never really read (understood) the Bible, but only had it read (interpreted) to them instead can say that Jesus was special. Yes, that means the Trinity is bust and the reformists are "right" but all these theological debates are moot when you realize Jesus considered himself a simple, very much human, messenger and nothing more (much like the Mohammad of Islam). And of course, that we put so much energy on explaining fairy tales seems really ludicrous and somewhat sad when you realize there is no such thing as God.

Bidouleroux - At least you make no attempt to mask your biggotry. You attack me full bore, why, because of my screen name or because I'm not like-minded with you on your rejection of Christ's deity? The lack of venue for civilized conversation between our two perspectives in this day and age is what saddens me.

Atheists like you drill me day in and day out for the audacity to share what I believe to be the best gift on the planet. You have a free will to reject my message however abruptly you wish. But then you turn around with a hard-core message of "there is no God and you're an idiot to think otherwise," and I'm supposed to take it with a smile.

Atheists who try to use the Bible as a lever against my spiritual beliefs amuse me. When you get around to studying it more than I have, maybe your arguments will carry weight. Assuming I know nothing of my own Bible was ignorant at best on your part. Your argument, by the way, that Jesus made no claims of diety hold no water.

http://www.carm.org/christianity/christian-doctrine/bible-verses-show-jesus-divine

...by the way, I will "take it with a smile" because of that whole "turn the other cheek" concept Jesus put on the table. My comments are only meant to highlight hypocrisy and double-standards. Insult me all you wish about my belief in Jesus Christ.

>> ^Jesus_Freak:
Anyone who was raised Catholic and can't answer "what was so special about Jesus" either wasn't listening or was horribly underserved in the teaching department.
What I did find refreshing from this clip (compared to the buh-zillion other atheism clips on the sift) was his willingness to live and let live in terms of other people's beliefs with minimal judgmentalism. I find "evangelical atheists" to be a bit ironic.


So, care to enlighten as to what was so special about him?

PS: It's a trap!

Matthew 19:29 (New International Version)

29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother[a] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.


Mark 4:25 (New International Version)

25Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."


Luke 12:47 (New International Version)

47"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows.


>> ^Jesus_Freak:
...by the way, I will "take it with a smile" because of that whole "turn the other cheek" concept Jesus put on the table. My comments are only meant to highlight hypocrisy and double-standards. Insult me all you wish about my belief in Jesus Christ.

I imagine an evangelical atheist is excited to share his views because of what he perceives as freedom of rejecting the notion of God (or attesting that he sees no evidence for God), and the shedding of the shackles that organized religion seems to entail.

I also imagine the stereotypical view of what drives an evangelical Christian is one (or more) of three things:

• Fear that if he does not share his faith, he'll be punished or not make it to heaven.


• Brainwashing from his mother and father since childhood.


• Some twisted pleasure from telling you that you're going to hell while "I'm not."

@Jesus_Freak:

First, "bigotry" doesn't take two "g". Maybe you should spend more time with a dictionary than a Bible.

As for your purported claims of Jesus' divinity as found in the site you linked, well, assuming he really did want to make it known that he was divine wouldn't you think there would be more than NINE verses in the whole Bible about that? And three of the quotes aren't from the apostles, which writings amount to hearsay in the best case anyway (the rest of the New Testament in mostly shit, especially anything written by Paul, but it still doesn't show how Jesus is somehow divine). Plus, there is a section on the page that says in bold "Jesus is worshipped - Jesus said to worship God only, yet He receives worship." That kind of shows that Jesus wasn't a deity, at least in the sense that he was simply as much divine as everyone else on earth.

Plus, the only direct assertion is in John 10:30 "I and the Father are one." But this is quoted out of context, where Jesus says something about sheep being given to him by his father and thus he and his father being of one purpose in leading these sheep (that includes you, Jesus_Freak). In John 17:10 : "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one." Looks like pantheism to me or some shit.

http://wings.buffalo.edu/sa/muslim/library/jesus-say/ch1.2.2.7.html (yes this is from a Muslim book, but hosted on the University of Buffalo site, thus very respectful blah blah blah and the page in question has no Islamic doctrine in it) Read that for many quotes that demonstrate how the first Christians, as shown in the texts of the New Testament themselves, thought about the unity of Jesus and God. The first recorded use of the word "trinity" in christian texts is in 170 A.D. and the doctrine of trinity only adopted in 325 A.D. So the divinity of Jesus is indeed a later purely theological development.

>> ^Jesus_Freak:
What I don't have to imagine is the ACTUAL reason I'm thankful for my Christianity. I've led a very satisfying life with very tangible blessings stemming from my relationship with Jesus Christ. I've found His teaching to be profound and reliable, I've found indescribable freedom, and I've found layers of comfort that surpass all understanding. If you wish to maintain a dim view of all Christians in some stereotypical way, you do so with a focus of poor examples of some individuals who share my faith, or from a lack of exeprience that your scientific analysis can't quantify.


That is in fact the root of the problem. You make all these unfounded assertions about the benefits of being absorbed in your religion, yet you show no proof of this, most probably because you can't. Then if we ask you why you can't, you say no one will ever know because its a mystery out of the reach of science. That is the same bullshit mentalists/psychics and other charlatans use every day to justify how none of them have passed the James Randi Educational Foundation "One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge". I do not maintain a dim view of Christians on the basis of the fact that they believe in something, only in the fact that they believe in something that 1. hasn't been shown to do what they claim it does 2. isn't worth believing in in the first place (since it is medieval bigotry at its finest) 3. demand that they shut off their bullshit detectors so that they can believe it blindly.

If you want to live your life on the precepts of Jesus, why not throw away the Old Testament and its irate God? Why not throw away everything else but the apostles' testaments? Why not try to reconcile the message of Jesus in light of scientific discoveries? Why not abandon, or suspend indefinitely your belief in, the idea of God as being superfluous to the realization of Jesus' message in this life? If you cannot do all this then you are not a Jesus freak, you are simply a God freak of the most hypocritical kind.

>> ^Jesus_Freak:
I imagine an evangelical atheist is excited to share his views because of what he perceives as freedom of rejecting the notion of God (or attesting that he sees no evidence for God), and the shedding of the shackles that organized religion seems to entail.
I also imagine the stereotypical view of what drives an evangelical Christian is one (or more) of three things:

• Fear that if he does not share his faith, he'll be punished or not make it to heaven.


• Brainwashing from his mother and father since childhood.


• Some twisted pleasure from telling you that you're going to hell while "I'm not."

>> ^Jesus_Freak:

I also imagine the stereotypical view of what drives an evangelical Christian is one (or more) of three things:

• Fear that if he does not share his faith, he'll be punished or not make it to heaven.


• Brainwashing from his mother and father since childhood.


• Some twisted pleasure from telling you that you're going to hell while "I'm not."

There is not one good argument for Christianity or any other religion, which non-religion cannot do. In that sense, it's useless.

>> ^gwiz665:
There is not one good argument for Christianity or any other religion, which non-religion cannot do. In that sense, it's useless.


Can it provide you a life after death?

I honestly believe the biggest issue for most believers is that they have been raised with this idea that the current existence is imperfect and that afterlife will provide -- Gettin' high on 24/7 Holy Spirit and full knowledge of life, universe and everything. At least, that's what my parents sold me at the age of 4. I sometimes don't understand how I escaped the talons of fantasy Christian afterlife. Indoctrination from a young age is a brick house that rarely fails. It really is a comforting notion that may be too much for some believers who are on the fence. Why do I think this? Because I, like most believers (this is a guess) was on the fence before I got the balls to start having honest, systematic dialogues with my pastor. But after a lot of discussion, argument, and a near middle finger from my youth pastor, I realized what bullshit it all was. It's the ultimate peer pressure scheme with a back up afterlife threat, just in case you're a black sheep in your congregation. Accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior comes with the high cost of a twisted conscience.

Obviously this fades over time as one wises up.. but remember getting a massive crush on someone in your youth, and falling in love with very little knowledge of the person? Remember how it felt?

I think this same emotion is felt for many with religion. No I don't mean they have an actual crush on Jesus or anything, it's just that same sort of base feel of love. I mean it's there in all of us, we just wise up to falling into it frivolously over time with physical people. When it's felt for something abstract, there's no rejection to make you realize you're in it's trance, or conversely no one to work with to develop it into a more true love.

I think -that's- a key reason religion is so strong for some people. It's certainly a good emotion, but it causes a feeling of attachment and righteousness (in a, 'I'm on the right path...' sort of way) in place of clear thinking.

Just my theory.

I had a long-lasting crush on a girl, and it actually motivated and inspired me in many ways over the years. Feelings of attachment and righteousness aren't "in place of" clear thinking, they can co-exist.

Religion is a little deeper in us, remember Ted Kaczynski making up his own rabbit-god while he was solo in the Montana forest?

"While I was living in the woods I sort of invented some gods for myself. Not that I believed in these things intellectually, but they were ideas that sort of corresponded with some of the feelings I had. I think the first one I invented was Grandfather Rabbit. You know the snowshoe rabbits were my main source of meat during the winters. I had spent a lot of time learning what they do and following their tracks all around before I could get close enough to shoot them. Sometimes you would track a rabbit around and around and then the tracks disappear. You can't figure out where that rabbit went and lose the trail. I invented a myth for myself, that this was the Grandfather Rabbit, the grandfather who was responsible for the existence of all other rabbits. He was able to disappear, that is why you couldn't catch him and why you would never see him... Every time I shot a snowshoe rabbit, I would always say 'thank you Grandfather Rabbit.'"

It satisfies our need to humanize our environment (and our existence) and have a personal relationship with it. Though I think your metaphor was right on in some ways, I don't think religion can be reduced to that level of triviality.

>> ^Drax:
Obviously this fades over time as one wises up.. but remember getting a massive crush on someone in your youth, and falling in love with very little knowledge of the person? Remember how it felt?
I think this same emotion is felt for many with religion. No I don't mean they have an actual crush on Jesus or anything, it's just that same sort of base feel of love. I mean it's there in all of us, we just wise up to falling into it frivolously over time with physical people. When it's felt for something abstract, there's no rejection to make you realize you're in it's trance, or conversely no one to work with to develop it into a more true love.
I think -that's- a key reason religion is so strong for some people. It's certainly a good emotion, but it causes a feeling of attachment and righteousness (in a, 'I'm on the right path...' sort of way) in place of clear thinking.
Just my theory.

I didn't mean to define religion as a whole in that way, but I will stand by that when you're in that state of puppy love you're not thinking as clearly. Of course it could lead to good things. You obviously become very focused on whatever the center of that love is for. Hell, pure insanity can replace the need for bravery in accomplishing things. I just think it's an element. You hear people talking about experiencing the love of God, or Jesus, and it sounds like that euphoric, dreamy, wishful state you can be in when you're in that kind of love. I believe it's another way of experiencing that feeling. It's a good feeling, but a strong one.

Anyways, again in no way am I trying to boil religion down into something that can fit in a single sentence. No matter what it's still a deeply personal experience which automatically implies it's unique to some to degree for everyone. It was more to explain why people can feel it's so right to them and hold on to it so diligently. Imagine if that first crush you ever had accepted you, always helped you, always saw things your way and never left you... you would guard that person with your life.

I agree with you on your example about the rabbit, but I would also add it shows a need to connect with the rabbit. As you said, to pull it's existence into something more similar with his own human existence, but also in the process make it somewhat benevolent. Like it could make choices about giving him a rabbit to survive off of, an act of giving like a friend would do. All this hinting at a need to love -something- on some level. Too metaphysical to argue though, I can only see it as a possibility.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Jimmy Carr, Atheism' to 'Jimmy Carr, Atheism, late late show' - edited by rasch187

2 more comments have been lost in the ether at this killed duplicate.