Sam Harris - Misconceptions About Atheism
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Author Sam Harris addresses what he feels are several commonly-held misconceptions about atheism.
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"Believing the Unbelievable: The Clash Between Faith and Reason in the Modern World" with Sam Harris speaking at the 2007 Aspen Ideas Festival.
Some of the most inspired and provocative thinkers, writers, artists, business people, teachers and other leaders drawn from myriad fields and from across the country and around the world all gathered in a single place - to teach, speak, lead, question, and answer at the 2006 Aspen Ideas Festival. Throughout the week, they all interacted with an audience of thoughtful people who stepped back from their day-to-day routines to delve deeply into a world of ideas, thought, and discussion.
Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN Award for Nonfiction.
Mr. Harris' writing has been published in over ten languages. He and his work have been discussed in Newsweek, TIME, U.S. News and World Report, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Chicago Tribune, The Economist, The Guardian, The Independent, The International Herald Tribune, Der Spiegel, The Globe and Mail, New Scientist, Wired, SEED Magazine, and many other journals.
Mr. Harris makes regular appearances on television and radio to talk about the danger that religion now poses to modern societies. His essays have appeared in Newsweek, The Los Angeles Times, The Times of London, The Boston Globe, and elsewhere. He blogs for the Washington Post / Newsweek website: On Faith, the Huffington Post, TruthDig, and Edge.org. Mr. Harris is a graduate in philosophy from Stanford University and has studied both Eastern and Western religious traditions, along with a variety of contemplative disciplines, for twenty years. He is completing a doctorate in neuroscience.
Channel: News & Politics
Uploaded: September 24, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Author: ForaTv
Length: 00:06:45
Rating: 4.84
Views: 57771
Tags: atheists athiesm athiests hitchens dawkins god delusion religions beliefs agnostics science christianity islam foratv
Video Comments:
GODandPEACE (November 18, 2008 at 11:29 am)
Magnulus76
You nitwit, religion itself is nothing more than assertions and claims but yet you swallow all the bullshit it feeds you. I don't need any studies to tell me that idiots in general including religious people are much happier people; it's a known fact.
You are saying that Good and decent people are often deluded, they merely think they are good and decent. And I am assuming that you, with the IQ of an ape, are in a better position to determine who is good and decent.
You nitwit, religion itself is nothing more than assertions and claims but yet you swallow all the bullshit it feeds you. I don't need any studies to tell me that idiots in general including religious people are much happier people; it's a known fact.
You are saying that Good and decent people are often deluded, they merely think they are good and decent. And I am assuming that you, with the IQ of an ape, are in a better position to determine who is good and decent.
Magnulus76 (November 19, 2008 at 7:28 am)
No, I am in no position to absolutely decide who is good and decent, that belongs to a higher power. I am suggesting, rather, that a persons perception of what is morally good is irrelevent without some kind of transcendent source of Goodness.
Magnulus76 (November 19, 2008 at 7:31 am)
It's also amazing you consider me an idiot. I doubt you have studied as much philosophy or comparative religion as I have. Yet you assume everybody who is religious is an idiot. This is simply amazing.
GODandPEACE (November 19, 2008 at 10:03 am)
Magnulus76
What you have studied is ignorance, in fact it is only credible in your line of work specific to your faith, otherwise it is totally worthless. There are Muslim preachers with PhDs in the same fields you studied, should we take their message seriously and see it as credible too? The same applies to all other religions. As you can see, we have people with similar "educations" but Mutually exclusive TRUTHs. Conclusion: you are just as credible, educated and enlightened as the others.
What you have studied is ignorance, in fact it is only credible in your line of work specific to your faith, otherwise it is totally worthless. There are Muslim preachers with PhDs in the same fields you studied, should we take their message seriously and see it as credible too? The same applies to all other religions. As you can see, we have people with similar "educations" but Mutually exclusive TRUTHs. Conclusion: you are just as credible, educated and enlightened as the others.
Magnulus76 (November 19, 2008 at 1:57 pm)
Muslim truth claims are open to scrutiny, though, the same as any other religion or belief system.
Not all truths are mutually exclusive, nor does any religion have all the truth possible. However, some religions do describe truth better than others.
In the end, you are making your judgements or religion on an emotional, not an intellectual basis. This is the case for Sam Harris as well. He has not objectively studied religion, he is just making baseless assertions.
Not all truths are mutually exclusive, nor does any religion have all the truth possible. However, some religions do describe truth better than others.
In the end, you are making your judgements or religion on an emotional, not an intellectual basis. This is the case for Sam Harris as well. He has not objectively studied religion, he is just making baseless assertions.
GODandPEACE (November 19, 2008 at 2:38 pm)
Magnulus76
You are the typical religious hypocrite; you know well that Christianity dismisses all other religions Gods(Truth)and vice-versa yet you denie it:
"If you don't follow me, you will not be in the kingdom of God" (Matthew 7:26-27)."He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him" (John 5:22-23). "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well" (John 14:6-7).
You are the typical religious hypocrite; you know well that Christianity dismisses all other religions Gods(Truth)and vice-versa yet you denie it:
"If you don't follow me, you will not be in the kingdom of God" (Matthew 7:26-27)."He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him" (John 5:22-23). "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well" (John 14:6-7).
Hopeful71 (November 21, 2008 at 5:34 am)
"However, some religions do describe truth better than others"
Gotta ask Magnulus; how do you figure that? The capital 'T' Truth you refer to oxymoronic in its assertion vs traditional definitions that imply a rational, fact-based, & testable assertion. The Truth you refer to can never be judged by the very nature of it being 'personal' & emotional
One man's Truth of himself as the center of universe is as valid as anothers Truth that we are all computer programs or another's 'sky daddy' Truth
Gotta ask Magnulus; how do you figure that? The capital 'T' Truth you refer to oxymoronic in its assertion vs traditional definitions that imply a rational, fact-based, & testable assertion. The Truth you refer to can never be judged by the very nature of it being 'personal' & emotional
One man's Truth of himself as the center of universe is as valid as anothers Truth that we are all computer programs or another's 'sky daddy' Truth
8av8today (November 18, 2008 at 4:42 am)
Eventually Atheism will be the next Christianity.
ifyoureadthisyousuck (November 18, 2008 at 4:38 am)
No one has the right to try and convert anyone else into believing their beliefs. Everyone has their own free will and can believe what ever they want to believe.
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"Good and decent" people are often deluded, they merely think they are good and decent. Religion isn't about making evil people good. That's another ridiculous assertion.