We do the same in Germany, too, since at least 5 decades...and only recently (and with the addition of 18 million mostly non-believers in Eastern Germany) we have turned more and more secular. So, no, teaching only "religion history & facts", is not the sole reason why a nation is more secular than others.

@@19ghost73 ”That’s one of the reasons...”, OK?

Hardened hearts. Seminary hardens men's hearts. Real men of God see the supernatural power of God and experience him.

@@jreyas6263 LOLOLOL ok then

@@jreyas6263 Education may harden men's hearts, but religion makes them soft in the head.

....like the fat, putrid pig in the WH? Where's his taxes?

True. Therefore try to use critical thinking to critique Dan's ideas. Lots of fallacies but unfortunately atheists are developing Cult like behaviours too. One example 2:00 Begging the question fallacy Using an analogy to make a point is not proof

@@thinkislamcheckmychannel that is not an atheistic view but a scientific one. And if proven wrong would and should be corrected. As a Muslim are you prepared to correct the quoran on all of its falsehoods, mistakes, misinformation and hate speech ?

Yes, agree.

@@thinkislamcheckmychannel There's no "Begging The Question" fallacy. That fallacy is another term for circular reasoning -- where exactly is his circular reasoning? More importantly, he's not trying to _prove_ anything with his analogy. He's simply making an argument for a curriculum change, i.e., he's arguing for adding the teaching of factual religious history to the core three "Rs" curriculum. Maybe you can clarify your point.

You got that right my friend

As a Christian theist I actually tend to agree that for the most part are theology's and are deities are a product of our own egos and sentiments. Breaking out of that and allowing the Creator to manifest and reveal Himself is no easy task.

@@greglogan7706 Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.

Did that include himself? He must've been praying to himself when he prayed & thought he was God/a god. Which way is the mental institution?

religion as a social dominance game, the shrewd over the gullible; the religious elite worshipping themselves

For some reason, I've always thought that if there was a god, it would look like Daniel Dennett and instead of telling me about the truth of any particular dogma, he tells me that consciousness is actually really easy to explain.

Just like Gandalf.

Born old and pompous more like

Like Yahweh

@Brian O Callaghan, doesn’t come across as pompous. Perhaps I’ve missed something or perhaps you’ve imposed your bias to his talk.

Yes and No. The difference is that the implication of the Rick Warren quote is that the person is moving to reject the God's word but chooses not to because it is God's word. The people who flew the planes into buildings did so because they believed without question, i.e. they did not have this internal dialogue.

oremfrien Begging the question?

TwoDashFaced Man I do not see how this falls into the "begging the question" fallacy. There is no point where the conclusion is assumed in this apparent difference in thought patterns. Please advise.

I've researched Holy Scripture since 1982 and never observed direction to fly airplanes into buildings. I did observe the admonition to not murder or steal, or lie or covet your neighbors servant or possessions. Also advised to love your neighbor and feed, house the poor...

D McK You failed to understand what the comment actually means.

well said... TED is nothing more than a cult

Ian Carroll explain your position.

Ian Carroll How so? I don't really see that

Do you mean that ole' Teddy got a vasectomy? Or did his nuts get snipped off?

citation needed

When you're in the right, there's no need for nastiness. People get nasty when they can't use facts to back up their feelings.

@@ogpcpa sometimes pain and being hurt can cause nasty behavior; for example if someone calls you nasty names even when you are right, you will likely become nasty. I tend to lose my patience when other one keep using empty claims and false information so much that it becomes lying.

2WheelAspie I lived with my mom and my dad there the two individuals I KNOW that your comment speaks of and my uncle Vale and my aunt Piro and an individual I never met Mr Rogers a respectful gentleman, not only of children all the more of merit respectful of individuals of different ages seniors and of younger era. 2WheelAspie God the Spirit weights the ways of each and every individual in the privacy of their residence and/or among friends and family and in the visibility of the public, God the Spirit of truth and justice He Himself hasn't something to hide placing detouring focus from Him onto individuals that are in the privacy of their residence or in the privacy of their friends and families residence. 2Wheels Aspie I at times speak nasty in the nasty nest I'm residing in that most Realtours, and most Investors and most Lawyers and everyone -- anyone that works and the trio mary jennifer and quick claim deed lynn $ow generously claim money and/or entitlement. Of me, say at times my language is nasty and/or she's nasty whatever best suits case but don't ever imply that my sister in Christ that is my mom and I are of the deceptive banquito - oido elefante, herd mom and I aren't and weren't low lifes. 2Wheels Aspie and no one knows the betters more than their criminal defense lawyers in their partiality choice of cLIEnts

Orit "When your in the right there's no need for nastiness" Nastiness ISN'T, ok, at times nor, RIGHT, at times. Kindness, is right, everytime. But that doesn't define the "individual" is right. I'm 59 yrs old and since 2015

@@valivali8104 Indeed. There's a guy in another thread here trying the old lie of 'atheism means people are just animals and can be slaughtered, so atheism killed everyone'. It's so blatantly false, but people like that keep right on saying it. Beyond infuriating, and after seeing it bleated so often by people who ought to know better, I'm sorely tempted to be as nasty as the spiteful, hateful claimant is being. Polite refutation and education only works if someone is listening.

The mushroom method of government is a classic. Keep people in the dark and feed them sh.. er.. lies. The ignorant are far easier to rule.

..you get the Santa you believe in..or do not believe in.....or need....or become youurself...(Oh ho ho ho home!) from Santa Anthony FYI: check my facebook page out: Santa Anthony" ...we can all participate with EVEN......the iconic understanding and Presence of Santa and MRS Santa (Claus)

Anthony Valdez - lol. The whole “Santa” thing is just a seasonal gig; in real life he’s a philosopher

Anthony Valdez Reminds me of the dyslexic devil worshipper who sold his soul to Santa...

You didn’t? He’s like the face of secular.

🤣

LOL. I see no nonsense coming from DD. And he deserves those symbols he gets paid.

Chris McCann : well said .

Excellent quote, thanks for sharing.

🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

That is so true

Thank you. I've been saying that for years in a longer way. This wording is much more effective.

But that's it, whatever religion you might be born in does not want to "liberate" you.

Your message is three years old but I have to reply he is still alive at 79. He has released a number of books over the years.

@@jonwolynies7465 Thank you. I am glad to hear that.

@@jonwolynies7465 and in the main his books are the same garbage endlessly repeated/ regurgitated over and over and over again,( there is no God); he'll die and be buried and be forgotten and the Bible will remain at the top of the all time best seller list and Jesus's name be known and spoken about world-wide until the absolute end of time.

@@jonwolynies7465 Your comment is 11 months old now, just letting you know somebody else appreciated your response to a 3 (now 4) year old comment🙂👍

He’s passed away now :(

Hopefully all children will grow up knowing all religion's are nonsense and a con mans wet dream, the money religion's make is obscene.

Religious belief has nothing to do with sense (logic).

Roedy Green Yep 👍🏼

@@PaulBrown-uj5le Hopefully all children will grow up not being indoctrinated into anything, and having the freedom of choice.

@FlyboyCGC Because freedom isn't worth praying for?

Christianity isn't religion. It's a personal relationship with Christ. A personal relationship isn't a religion just because the relationship is with God. It's just a relationship where one party is physical and one a spirit. That doesn't make it religious.

@@lawrence1318 *Simple facts and a simple general question for you.* *Fact 1:* Christianity teaches you to thank God for giving life to you and also for giving life to animals for you to take their lives and eat them. *Fact 2:* Christianity teaches you to thank God for choosing you out of many other praying patients to recover from illness as many other praying patients were ignored by God and died. *Question:* Can't you see how the charlatan theologians have fooled your gullible-self to believe in an imaginary God by exploiting your hypocrisy, narcissism, arrogance and ignorance? No offence, just asking.

@@AtamMardes Rather, when are you going to think past your nose and realise that if there is no God and no afterlife, then it doesn't matter what anyone believes, for according to you everyone disappears into nothing forever. So you are contradicting yourself by even talking about these things. Basically you're acting as though when you no longer exist you'll be able to tell others who also no longer exist that you were right and they were wrong. But the fact that deep down inside you know these things are important eternally, should tell you that there is a God and an afterlife.

@@lawrence1318 atheists don’t talk about religion because they secretly know that god exists or something. They talk about it because religion causes hurt in allot of situations. Also having a relationship with god doesn’t matter. If you believe in the existence of a god that created the universe you are religious.

@@ploppyjr2373 You're contradicting yourself. If there is no God and we are all just atoms which are going to dissociate in a few years so that it will be as though we never existed, it shouldn't matter whether anyone is hurt. Stalin and the philanthropist both end up not existing. So you are confused. You are appealing to moral concepts in what is according to you an amoral universe of matter. That you can't see this, shows us you are no philosopher and can't think past your nose. The idea that we are all typing on keyboards, playing tennis, listening to Elvis records, building motor cars and meeting up at restaurants, all suspended out in space and all by chance, is ludicrous. You need to get out of the house a bit more.

They also wouldn't need to kill people for trying to leave the religions like our good friends in Saudi Arabia seem to love doing.

What do you mean by special education?

@Alex Atreides Not really. Those crazy megachurches are a small minority

That's an interesting statement because the scopes trial came about because of darwinism.

@@thinkislamcheckmychannel I think they mean , Catholic schools, Islamic schools etc. The purpose of this is to legitimise that particular belief system without genuine supporting evidence.

This is why conservative republicans hate liberal colleges.....because it teaches the ability to question things and to properly find facts.

That’s what the pin head communist manipulators intended it to do. Look deeper

@@danielessex2162 yes go get that art degree lolol

@@totalcap2989 Oh your one of them people who think the only classes at "liberal colleges" is an arts degree? Ignoring the facts that any college that right wingers claim is a "liberal" college is any college that teaches anything they don't like. So due to the fact you don't seem to know what classes and courses are taught at "liberal colleges" shows your bias.

​@@totalcap2989 Yes, do. Just being on campus in an academic environment and you will learn how to think for yourself and how to learn new things on your own. That smug attitude that college is a waste of time and money is the result of indoctrination by those who want to be able to control you through propaganda for the rest of your life...politicians and big business. Remain one of their puppets if you want to, lolol.

What Cult did you escape from?

@@ericgrabowski3896 The Jehovah's Witnesses

@@helenhollis3984 Well im happy youre free now!!

Good for you. I hope you're doing ok.

@@helenhollis3984 isn't it crazy how an organization could high jack your life, make your life about their interests and have you do it willingly

@Matthew: It's because of the right amygdala in the limbic region of their brain.

This comment has not received the recognition it deserves. Very funny.

petmom ful You are what you say you are. If you’re a Christian, Jesus Christ lives in you. Is He sick, NO. So why are you? Command Satan to go, and take his lies with him.

@@suzanneyoung6273 do you know what a joke is?

Pikeandslippers I am an agnostic insomniac dyslexic dog trainer. I lay awake at night wondering wether or not dog will come when I call.

originality is NOT the purview of atheism.

Keep it up, maybe you'll improve your spelling skills.

lol

haha!

Love it!

No need for Plato now

Dust...Wind...Dude.

Cant you be more specific?

nooo most americans are

@@shaunmcinnis1960 he means americans or maybe just southerners specifically those from alabamy

I suspect you exempt yourself.

@@iwanwillemse7703 Childish insults might work better with consideration of basic proper sentence construction.

This is the first presentation of Dan Dennett's that I have listened to at the suggestion of Seth from The Atheist Experience. Whether you agree with what he says or not, it's a fine display of rational thinking and eloquence.

👍🤗BUDDHÀ

While it’s a nice quote, I just checked it and it’s not exactly what the Buddha said. The actual quote is as follows: “Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness’ - then you should enter & remain in them.”

This sounds like someone to quote to defend Hindu faith: “oh, you say I’m irrational? Well look at this one line! Clearly this proves I thought rationally about my faith.

@@johanfijnvandraat9339 Someone almost entirely altering a quote! Unlikely! Lol. Great quote though

@@stoopidapples1596 Someone got out of the wrong side of bed

Id say KZfaq's algorithm. I've watched enough atheist experience and stuff by the other horsemen. This should have shown up in my recommendations much sooner

1 year after your comment @400,000 more views

Most people aren't that concerned with Truth as much as with the false sense of security they get from the illusion of safety in numbers and the soul-crushing conformity that orthodoxy demands. The truth, however, is simply not a matter of consensus and does not require even anyone's recognition let alone anyone's alignment with it to simply be itself. Don't sweat it.

Blue Heron Long winded answer to explain the algorithm process on youtube.

there probably only a select type of person who would look at this video.

thats the truth of Gods word....Its called the Christian faith...not religion

If it was easy to believe it would not require faith. If it was easy to understand it would not require the effort that God wants you to put into studying his word.

@Justin winter because of the sin of mankind

All religion should die it's fruitless,, .Religion is man reaching up to God through his own means....Christianity is God reaching down to man through Jesus christ....Christianity is not a religion but a faith....and religion is not a faith....but merely an effort of man's ideas to reach God..which is completely fruitless...✝️✝️know Jesus now

@@Mrcrisis2012 I'm sorry, but christianity is a religion

Nimuel: Good point! Thinkers on religion from Hitch to Alan W. Watts correctly pointed out the fundamentally theocratic nature of the Stalin & Mao regimes. The personal adoration of Hitler, Mussolini & Trump are covert examples of the same. More explicit were the cults of Hirohito, & of the Russian tsars.

Why do you think North Korea and China do not allow other religions? The state does not want any competition from them. The state is the only religion allowed and the leader is the prophet or god himself.

Region is Politics. They both manipulate people in a social and behavioural manner.

Politics: A way to direct or otherwise control a group of people. Relgion: A way to direct or otherwise control a group of people. The similarities far outweigh the differences, or so it seems to me. The main difference seems to be that one pushes the idea of the people, state or country. The other pushes the idea of a deity. One has slightly more existance than the other. That's about it.

Reason is actually reading the Bible and discovering why it's right, and then doing what's right no matter what you are told.

"Surrendered people obey God's word, even if it doesn't make sense." -Pastor Rick Warren

Faith is believing things without evidence which don't make sense.

@@mrswimmyboy cultural thing. for you that has no sense, in other culture it has. you do realize that you believe in things without seeing evidence and just believe in them because someone said so? you never conducted any own research to confirm those claims, but you do believe in their words... take evolution for example, do you have evidence that man became from the ape? but you still believe in that. :)

@@zoki.to974 First: Evolution doesn't teach that "man became from the ape". Second: you're right saying that for many things I believe, I'm not able to redo the experiments or the researches. But when it comes to religion, NO ONE has ever been able to confirm any claim.

Beautifully said!

@Glenn Heston Thanks for your response. I appreciate your point. I still hope we can play a positive role in the lives of people and be part of the continuing evolution of huamn thought.

@@johnanderson3700 So, y'ever learn yet why Satan was owed anything, post exile, or to keep any powers? And when any angel could ever impair other angels, like Eve did, unwittingly, ah, to humans?

@@chrissonofpear1384 Hey, y'ever figure out exactly how matter uses gravity to attract other matter? What's the mechanism there?

BeachsideHank I am not afraid. Thus I will do as Jesus asks. Next question?

@@Gpacharlie "Next question?" *Sapient Wisdom:* Why accept as honorable a God who impregnates a married woman with himself as her child?

BeachsideHank Because He is God. Because He is perfection. Next question?

@@Gpacharlie "Next question?" *Sapient Wisdom:* So deformed children are God's perfect plan?

BeachsideHank They are now that we disobeyed and he had to go to plan B. Besides what is your definition of deformed and do you see them as having less value?

evolution is full of hoaxes and divide and conquer meme… those who cooperate best survive the best. this kind of theory is what allows the Stalin's and Hitlers of the world to rise… geniuses of history have always known there was a God... “The gift of mental power comes from God, Divine Being, and if we concentrate our minds on that truth, we become in tune with this great power. My mother taught me to seek all truth in the Bible.” --Nikola Tesla "My worldly faculties are slipping away day by day Happy it is for all of us that the true good does not lie in them. As they ebb, may they leave us as little children, trusting in the Father of Mercies and accepting His unspeakable gift. I bow before Him who is Lord of all.” --Michael Faraday, on his death bed, one of the greatest experimental philosophers, Doctorate from Oxford University, holding 97 unsought for distinctions who discovered Electricity “This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent Being.” --Sir Isaac Newton, Principia, Book 3 “I think in the first place that it is very pious to say and prudent to affirm that the Holy Bible can never speak untruth-whenever its true meaning is understood.” --Galileo (Letter to Grand Duchess of Tuscany) “The chief aim of all investigations of the external world should be to discover the rational order which has been imposed on it by God, and which he revealed to us in the language of mathematics.” --Kepler “All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.” --Max Planck “When the answer is simple, God is answering.” “I am not an atheist, and I don’t think I can call myself a pantheist.”[20] “Then there are the fanatical atheists whose intolerance is of the same kind as the intolerance of the religious fanatics and comes from the same source.”[21] "There is harmony in the cosmos which I, with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, yet there are people who say there is no God. But what really makes me angry is that they quote me to support such views." “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.” --Einstein “A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question." --Dr. Fred Hoyle (scientist who coined the term "Big Bang" who was unafraid to go wherever the facts led him, and who consequently recanted his atheism.) Head of Human Genome Project, Dr. Francis Collins, converts to Christianity "I set out to prove that my atheist position was correct." “Since everything that is in motion must be moved by something, let us suppose there is a thing in motion which was moved by something else in motion, and that by something else, and so on. But this series cannot go on to infinity, so there must be some First Mover.” --Aristotle, “Physics” “One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all... To be forced to believe only one conclusion--that everything in the universe happened by chance--would violate the very objectivity of science itself.” --Werner von Braun, Letter to CA State Board of Education, 9/14/72 "The laws of nature produce no events, they state the pattern to which every event have only and can be induced to happen, must conform. Just as the rules of Arithmetic state the pattern to which all transactions of money, must conform, if only you can get a hold of any money. Thus in one sense the laws of nature cover the whole field of space and time. In another what they leave out is precisely the whole real universe. The incessant " "For every law says in the last resort: 'If you have A, then B." But first catch your A. The laws will not do it for you." --C.S.Lewis 12 min “The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the Divine.” --Dr. Vera Kistiakowski, Prof. of Physics Emeritus, MIT “I stand in awe of God because of what He has done through his creation. Only a rookie who knows nothing about science would say science takes away from faith. If you really study science, it will bring you closer to God.” --Dr. James Tour, Nanoscientist, Rice Univ. “If physics is the product of design, the universe must have a purpose, and the evidence of modern physics suggests strongly to me that the purpose includes us.” Paul Davies, Superforce, (1984) “As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency--or rather, Agency--must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof for the existence of a Supreme Being?” --George Greenstein, Astrophysicist, The Symbiotic Universe (1988) “If everything in the universe came into being, then the cause of the universe must be transcendent, not a part of this universe,” Strauss argued. “Science kind of stumbled onto something that the Bible declared long ago … that the universe had a beginning.” --yt: Scientific Evidence for God - Dr. Strauss “If some god-like being could be given the opportunity to plan a sequence of events with the express purpose of duplicating our “Garden of Eden,” that being would face a formidable task...it is unlikely that the Earth could ever be truly duplicated.” --Peter Ward, Geologist & Donald Brownlee, Astronomer “Rare Earth” (2000) “It is my science that drove me to the conclusion that the world is much more complicated than science... It is only through the supernatural that I can understand the mystery of existence.” --Alan Sandage, Astronomer (Newsweek, 1998) “Where do you get information from?” Dr. John Lennox, Mathematics, Oxford Univ. “Natural selection reduces genetic information.” Dr. Marciej Giertych, Population Geneticist, EU youtube: The Case For A Creator With Lee Strobel yt: Latest Scientific Evidence for God's Existence - Hugh Ross, PhD yt: Young Earth - Young Universe yt: Scientific Evidence for God - Dr. Strauss

Tyndale Israel None of that means anything. >.

Tyndale Israel Clearly you do not understand evolution. Get some books and read them(proper science books,even 5th grade level ones would do for you I think)

Odd jørgensen “There are no detailed Darwinian accounts for the evolution of any fundamental biochemical or cellular systems, only a variety of wishful speculations.” Dr. James Shapiro, evolutionary microbiologist, Univ. of Chicago

yarpen800 It is interesting that scientists have analyzed the Creation story of the Bible and seen a scientific method embedded within it. Probably one reason so many scientists believe in God and have contributed so much. John Ray-Founder of Biology and Devout Christian Ray quoted experiments by Francesco Redi which contradicted spontaneous generation. Ray said that “My observation and affirmation is that there is no such thing in nature” and he referred to spontaneous generation as “the atheist’s fictitious and ridiculous account of the first production of mankind and other animals.” “He declared fossils were the petrified remains of extinct creatures. This was not accepted by biologists generally until a century later.” I am not religious, btw. Patrick Henry made a very clear statement: "It cannot be emphasized too often or too strongly that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians; not on religions but on the gospel of Jesus Christ....It is for this reason that people of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity and freedom of worship here." “If you ask an American, who is his master? He will tell you he has none, nor any governor but Jesus Christ.” --Jonathan Trumbull, c. 1770; Faith of Our Fathers Newsletter Fall 2003, vol 1 Issue 11

"Just claim you came up with the quote"- Albert Einstein

@@88mphDrBrown its true he said that in a debate

@@88mphDrBrown I knew I could depend on you once again Al, for the right quote at the right time.

teaching lies with people's tax dollars isn't something to be proud of brother.

Thanks for having a smart kid who's making a difference for the better!

@@Farsadelcatolicismo you must not know how private college education is funded, what evolution is, or even what "Ms." means.You're not off to a great start, "brother." 😘

***** One can't teach religion without teaching doctrinal issues, to some extent. Children should know about the noble eightfold path of buddhists, the five pillars of islam, the seven sacraments of catholicism, etc. I believe simply exposing children to this information is part of a good start, IAW _better than nothing_. In addition to that the history of some religions should be taught in greater depth. A christian should know about christianity becoming the majority religion in Rome under Constantine, the crusades, Luther and the reformation, etc. So that the next generation of teachers may not be as biased.

***** I agree completely

***** I agree with you guys... I'm even religious, and I have no qualms with educating the public about other religions. Information is power. You can't KNOW too much. You can INFER too much when you don't have all the information. However, when presented as just raw information, there's nothing wrong with teaching Facts. Problem though is its very difficult for many people to really discern fact from opinion. Don't interpret religious texts. Teach what the text says (by virtue of quotation), and be very careful with summarizing and generalizing. One can factually quote the Bible, it is almost impossible to factually teach what "Christianity" believes because just look at all the different sects of Christianity. It's insane. Protestant, Catholic, Episcopalian, evangelical, Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, unitarian, 7th day adventist, Presbyterian... There's all those different subsets, then you go into one church belonging to one of those subsets, and you will find division within that single church regarding various interpretations about what "Christianity" teaches. To answer "what do Christians believe" is difficult to say the least.

***** there are verses that speak of violence for sure. However reading through the new testament, I at know point felt like it was conveying a hate induced message, but that was my experience reading the text. That's why I advocate teaching what the text says and little more than that regarding religious doctrine. You can teach religious history, but it should be taught under that pretense (for instance, the crusades are part of religious history, they happened, that's a fact, and to ignore something like that is wrong). Teaching they happened "because of religion" is a different statement though. Not a fact. A theory. Not saying it's wrong, but it is absolutely not a "fact". Thise things trip people up a lot. Also your last statement shows a fundamental difficulty with teaching religion through non religious teachers. Knowledge is not the original sin. Bible never states or implies that understanding the universe is wrong. In fact just the opposite. However an inaccurate interpretation of what the "tree of knowledge" was, and the act of eating from it was in direct defiance of God's command which is the definition of "sin", could falsely lead someone to believe that Christians believe knowledge is sinful which is completely baseless and untrue, and that's why we NEED accurate teaching of various world religions, to remove inaccuracies like that from public thought. Historically it was Christians who undertook the rise of Scientific thought, it was the political leaders of their day (who were also religious leaders as the church was a dominant political leader of the time) that sought to crush it. Another common example is that people say "scientists say the earth is millions if not billions of years old, but the Bible says it's only 6000 years old..." The Bible never says that anywhere, that's another interpretation based on a chronology of the family trees listed, and a view not Universally held (not even close). It's extremely difficult to teach people what Christians believe because you can get ten Christians reading the same passage from the Bible and get ten different interpretations. That's why I advocate for just teaching people what the Bible says, and treading very softly when teaching non religious people what it means, and if you do teach what it means, be sure not to present it as a fact, because it's not, it's an interpretation, or opinion.

***** definition of a theory: an idea or set of ideas that is intended to explain facts or events. Arguing that religion caused the crusades (events) sounds a lot like an idea intending to explain an event. Chill out man. Also, people did not follow the crusades because "they read the Bible and saw that it was in there". Crusades started in the late 11th century. At that time it was purported that the average individual wasn't capable of understanding the Bible and required the help of religious leaders such as priests and the Pope. The Pete going on crusades did what the Pope told them to, not what they read in the Bible. The Catholic Church at the time functioning as much as a political institution as it was a religious one. I would say the crusades were instigated by politics more than religion and the people controlled by the religious leader, not their own conviction. Protestant reformation (Martin Luther and his 95 theses) didn't happened until hundreds of years after (and the definitely had its own fair share of problems, to be sure). Am I convinced that I'm 100 percent right? No, that's just my theory after trying to study the historical event and place it in context. You think it's an obvious explanation, but since when is history ever so obvious? Also, I'm not trying to fight here, you seem to be getting a little aggressive. Just a healthy exchange of ideas, that's all I want, otherwise this is just another silly KZfaq argument.

Thanks Steeltrap. As a footnote to your HL Menchen quote - judging by the moron we now find in the White House, it looks like democracy has been perfected.

The white house remark has now actually happened !

Amusing if true. Source?

@@Amberscion Christian Post, Washington Post, Louisville Courier-Journal, Lexington Herrold, Cincinnati Enquirer, CBS, Christian News Network, USA Today, News.co.uk, BBC...

The irony.

@@undrcoverlouky It's really easy to rattle off a pile of news sources. That's not a source, however, any more than listing the continents is a source for the claim that continental drift occurs... A link to an article would be a source.

@@Amberscion A.) I believe you are confused. A source is where you can obtain something. A source is not the product you're looking for specifically. B.) You're rude. Is Siri broken? You can verify it as I did.

I doubt it. Knowing Rich Warren, he probably found the whole discussion interesting and enlightening. Rick Warren is smarter than to take the bait. Atheists love to argue and debate.

Michael Murphy yea, because argument and debate are very good ways of coming to, at the very least, an understanding of the opposition of your beliefs; and, at the most, can totally change your opponents mind. The real benefit is public argument and debate, because, since your opponents are versed enough in the subject to consider themselves worthy to seriously discus it, it’s safe to assume that they are pretty firmly set in their beliefs; but, the audience is a totally different matter. A public argument or debate can, depending on the platform and persuasiveness of the debaters, change plenty of undecided minds, changes some people’s entire perspective, and bring new life to the arguments previously used for your position. They are both very important parts of rational, civilized, discourse.

@@murphy903 : I'm going to have to agree with Jared Bridge. Debates are important to bring forward the issues, they are a way to be made aware of issues, to be aware of the ideas. "Rick Warren is smarter than to take the bait" ==There is no bait. I don't know who Rick Warren is but he should be able to discuss his ideas like a human being.

Michael Murphy n

Michael Murphy Atheists love to argue and debate? No, but in the domination, at least by passive acceptance, of religion, an atheist may believe there’s need to show another view. Argument and debate seem civilized ways to be honest and true to oneself amid the hostility of organized religions.

What you have missed is that you never surrender to God nor do you argue with the devil. What you do is you surrender to stories, in an old book. And you surrender to words of other human beings you interpret those stories in a way you like.. If you are honest with yourself, you know this is true. You have surrendered to Stories, mostly the stories of men dead for more than a thousand years. You cannot judge their honesty, their agenda nor their state of mental health. You are pretending that you know things about the world that you do not know. Others read other holy books and believe quite different things. Things you think are wrong. They too believe they have knowledge that they do not have.

@@dimbulb23 you missed the point of the comment 🤦‍♂️

Now you have the opportunity to live, learn and experience life yourself... Good luck! Remember to thank your parents when you have lived a little and grown up!!!

Get counselling . You are not the first to go through this .There are people who can help

If you are not an atheist then shut up.

eddy2dend if you are not a theist you should shut up :D

Guys, of course, I would never lose in my dream world either. Bam!

Dennett is a wonderful philosopher and he seems like the kind of individual with whom discussions can be very fruitful. because he really does listen to other people.

Arnes Klisura Sorry man, just forgive this eddy2dend guy. I promise that there are a lot more logical and kind people in the atheist club. Well, at least if you join us ;)

increíble

Absolutely

Most serious religious people would not fear a proposal like this.

Gromlek follow you even to poisoned koolaid.

The faith of evolution and atheism is a perfect example of total ignorance!

Then why do Atheists keep fellow Atheists ignorant of Christianity?

Elizabeta Macovei Yep, misinformed consent is what took us into that shambles in the 70’s

@@illigitimus5020 👍

Could not agree more...the remainers definitely tried to lie to everyone. ..what a waste of there time..long live England. ..death to europe .

@@jameswyatt1227, you're the very definition of a cretin.

Believers don't listen to anything.

same goes here ! Dennett is brilliant. I'm excited!

He's the least militant--and my favorite--of the four.

+Andrew Jebb same!

A classic talk - thanx for posting.

transcript @ www.ted.com/talks/dan_dennett_s_response_to_rick_warren/transcript?language=en "By the way, I find -- Homer Groening's film presented a beautiful alternative to that very claim. Yes, there is meaning and a reason for right or wrong. We don't need a belief in God to be good or to have meaning in us. But that, as I said, is just a difference of opinion. That's not what I'm really worried about."

I guess I should clarify...Which of Homer Groening's films is he referring to?

If you are going to take religious advise from a chemistry instructor .......

@@1lightheaded My professors name is Dr. Angel. (No joke) 😬

My Religious Education teacher was Christian. Personally, I think you should learn from someone NOT of a faith. My teacher was very disparaging of religions not his own.

He should have told you to learn from those who teach you how to think, not how to believe.

Try deism, pantheism, or any of the other varieties of non-atheism which are not based on any revealed scripture.

Shan Oakley reddit.com/r/catholicism

KingElrosTarMinyatur Thanks!

+Adrienne Gurge Why define any version of god into existence? Why would a god that you have invented for yourself be superior to any other? You don't have to be an atheist, but the alternative is to select a god that will give you what? Nothing.

***** Yes, but why have any concept of God at all? What purpose does it serve to have a concept of something for which there is no evidence whatsoever?

This is why democracy fails. Because the ruling class can just misinform it’s citizens and people won’t recognize it.

Exactly. It's why(well, one of the reasons why.., it's a little more complicated) Socrates himself was opposed to Democracy. How can you expect uninformed, or misinformed, commoners to Democratically decide who should rule while being completely ignorant?

Shawn Steuer No one. Truth does not exist in universal reality. Learning what Truth IN Reality is the quest of each person. A perfect Truth is a perfect realization of Reality.

BELIEF and the BELIEF SYSTEM My primary research is a study to elucidate: WHAT IS “belief” and the “belief system?” What is their duality? What “good or bad” has been and is connected to the belief system? Most people believe that Truth and Reality are conceptual. This means most people invent in their brain what Truth and Reality is...and then “believe” what they invented is real. My goal has been to deprogram and retrain my brain to function without: opinion, bias, preconceived ideas, indoctrinated education AND to eliminate beliefs and disbelief from my analogies. Obviously a daunting task. I consider the evolution of “intellect” just as important as developing “intelligence.” Intellect is the thinking process that has all the tools of discernment that SHOULD be used when working to learn or realize anything as Truth IN Reality. And most certainly applied before belief or disbelief are invoked. The danger I have experienced and see in our humanity...is that belief and disbelief are a form of “certainty” that closes the mind and brain to intellect discerment. I try to steer away from any discussion of the “symptoms” of belief in this study because they always become to emotional and adversarial. However, I do also work to define what the “symptoms” of belief (cause and effect) are and what part does belief play in mankind’s history, personal life, society at large, the world population and governments? So, because this is an ongoing study, I can NOT claim to have any definitive answers. So instead...I offer a few statements to open a dialogue and critical thinking, that hopefully I will use to help further my study. The question is...is there any truth, validity or interesting insight to the following statements? 1. People believe that Truth and Reality are conceptual. This is saying we invent in our heads what they are and then believe what we invent is Truth and Reality. Authoritarians spin pure fantasy as Truth and Reality and force with physical and mental stratagem...the fantasy “belief system” onto people. Believing that a fantasy is Reality creates huge cognitive dissidence because the brain knows better and is in a constant state of confusion when forced to believe fantasy is Reality. When a person stops believing...the universe of Reality becomes clear and the real work of developing my/our Truth of Reality begins. A brain free of beliefs begins to discovers/realizes what real Truth and Reality is. 2. Learning how to think and discover with a mind free of opinion, bias, preconceived ideas and beliefs...with a truly open mind, willing to do the task of intellect discernment, is daunting and truly impossible for most people because they simply have never been shown how and most are stuck in the indoctrinated world of choosing belief or disbelief as their only options. 3. The psychology of belief is that once a person invokes/commits their brain to the belief...it closes the mind to dialectic intellect discernment, logic and reason. Any attempt to change the belief is repelled with anger, rage even physical harm. Belief is a horrifically dangerous mental tool that is used without a full understanding of its dangerous potential. And it is not yet being recognized for the 5000 years of insanity it has wrought on mankind. 4. When belief and disbelief are taken out of the equation...the universe begins to reveal itself to you. Most people cannot fathom NOT having beliefs...even though it is obvious that beliefs are what has been and IS controlling us. We are protecting our “belief system” abuser...this is a form of Stockholm syndrome insanity. 5. My use of big T and R. I try to separate mans invented truth and reality from what I call “real” Truth IN Reality. Truth does not exist in the universe so a search for it is futile. Reality...IS...the universe and what we learn of it becomes our personal Truth. Truth exists inside each of us. A “perfect” Truth or knowing of Reality...would be a perfect realization of the universe Reality. I think we have a long way to go to get to a perfect Truth of Reality level. But it is a MOST admirable and desirable quest...which epitomizes my study and research.

Reality IS the universe. Truth exists in your head just as beliefs do. So do we consider thoughts and emotions part of the universe or Reality? Are Truth and beliefs actually real? This is up to each individual to decipher for themselves.

Because religions are for ignorant people !

ItsOElA Because he knows he's right. Wish i saw warren's face

He is "so calm" because one has to use drugs to counter the bullshit that Rick Warrren puts out. Bullshit that even he does not believe, if the truth were known.

@@HPGCHEMIST1 correct! Ignorant is not knowing so read the word and get educated and you won't be ignorant anymore

I felt there was an undercurrent of well controlled rage in his voice. And understandably so, Rick stands for everything Dan hates.

Paleontologists speaking to lay audiences make that mistake all the time. Such-and-so is "designed" for grasping, etc.

Same question

I have - you must've encountered less well informed and intentioned preachers on your travels. I do agree, however, that yours are sadly probably more typical of the experiences of others.

@@erict.watson2460 I am a minister who reads widely. Sam Harris's podcast is one of my "don't miss" inputs every week. But many of my colleagues don't take any time to learn outside our denomination (with the exception of the one comparative religions of the world class that was required in my seminary).

@@JOLchurch sad isn't it?

Whoa

Information is not an enemy of faith in God but it is an enemy of hypocrisy and many traditions. Wisdom is the proper timing and application of information.

He talks about sheep. Have you read "Treasures in The Book of Job" that book has a very interesting take on animal domestication.

Information is the enemy of specific faith because amassed factual information provides reason and proof to either maintain the faith, shift it elsewhere or drop it entirely. Thus the reason why religious schools acknowledge the existence of other religions but they give very little information (if any at all) for learning about those other religions. Ties into Dan's general point.

It would certainly be important that Atheism, particularly militant Atheism, be included in the religions presented. It seems to me that the overall histories and factual outcomes of them (not accusing or defending) would be important to present as well so that the students have some idea of what they achieve, e.g., the religion's representation in the belief systems of world leaders, nations, groups, actions that have resulted, etc. For a student to best understand Islam, for example, It is much more instructive to understand the philosophy and average condition of life, freedoms, peace, standards of justice, etc., that have derived from the practice of its tenets in devout Islamic societies like Saudi Arabia than it is to have the tenets presented without any idea of their practical outcomes.

Reflected Miles Militant Atheism is not a Religion. It isn't organised along Religious grounds with Churches and congregations and it isn't founded on faith. There's no reason why Secular viewpoints can't be included in the class discussion, but they most certainly should not be listed alongside the different faiths because those views are not a Religion. I certainly agree that the outcomes of the various faiths ought to be taught, this is important. The way it distorts government policy throughout the world needs to be explored. For example, how it's all but impossible for an Atheist to be elected in the USA. The Middle Eastern countries, and groups such as ISIS and the Taliban should also be examined when it comes to how they have turned countries into rubble. Another outcome is the catastrophic effect that Islam has had on the Muslim scientific community which, for all practical purposes, has collapsed.

+cHRISmERRITTmUSIC The problem here is that some strands of monotheism become fundamentalistic and make truth claims about the universe and others. As they take literal what is at best an allegory they close their eyes and mind from reality. They claim stories about a god are true instead of accepting that followers produced fan fiction to express their believe in this god.

+Caramelo ~ Religion is part of history, and also part of the history of philosophy. I was rather surprised, after school, to learn that the ancient Greeks had ideas of atoms (Democritus), evolution (Anaximander, Empedocles), the spherical shape of the earth (Eratosthenes) and of secular, constitutional politics (Aristotle).

+differous01 In fact, our society would be much more advanced if it weren't for the loss of most studies done and documented by the Greeks. We've had to relearn and rediscover so many things that had already been found before, not to mention that we probably have not rediscovered much that is lost. Now, I hope you also learned in school of what caused the loss of such enormous collection of knowledge that came from the Greeks and other advanced societies of the time: the all powerful Catholic Church. The Church started by burning down the Library of Alexandria where most discoveries were stored in scrolls of papyrus. And we all know the rest of the history of persecution by the Church and the many intellectuals the institution assassinated. Imagine how the world would be today if during documented human history there had been no religion to thwart human curiosity and quest for knowledge. I think it would be much, much better because we wouldn't be so much immersed in long lasting impenetrable ignorance that religious bigots created for us throughout the centuries.

Caramelo What caused the loss of such enormous collection of knowledge was not the Catholic Church per ce, but the influence of Plato's Republic, as incorporated into Christianity by the likes of St Augustine (his 'City of God'). Platonism hinges upon a superstitious belief in 'Forms' and in inductive reasoning from those pre-supposed moral entities. It became necessary, as Plato advised, to suppress teaching which relied on deductive reasoning. The closing of the School of Athens resulted in the works of Aristotle disappearing from the scriptoria of Europe and appearing in Persia. Here they flourished until 1100 when one Al-Ghazili did the same thing the Catholic Neo-Platonists did; breaking the link of cause and effect (in his work 'Incoherence of the Philosophers'). This ended Islam's Golden Age but sparked Europe's Renaissance (re-birth); Ibn-Rushd's commentaries on Aristotle, rescued from the fall of Cordoba, formed the basis for Aquinas's 'City of God', and England's Magna Carta. Separation of religion and state only became reality with the Founding Fathers of the US, but we have Ibn-Rushd to thank for preserving that ancient Greek notion.

+Caramelo "Reason and sciences should take over this space," or in other words, another de facto religion. All culture within a 'civilized' context is brainwashing.

I found him better in this than some of his other clips but I get the point. I find Hitchens tricky to understand too but mostly because of his references and quotes to cryptic stuff. Dawkins seems the easiest generally, with Sam Harris not far behind.

I actually think Dan is probably the second best. With Sam Harris being far at the top.

Poor fellow is clueless.

Imagine if they did that for evolution too. Imagine if they actually had to be honest about what they actually know and what they believe to be based on faith. It’s the biggest cult in modern history by a long shot.

@@benjamingilley9629 I know, you live in America. But still: Information is not so hard to come by. You shouldn't brag about you utter lack of education, it makes you look like an idiot.

They dont need to do it where i live. I just go around putting them in the fiction section for them. Saves them the task. (PS: i will pre-empt the possible tirade by stating i was kidding. I have never done the above.)

There is, it's called "fantasy"

Jay Wendt There has never been any real point where i live. Here you are likely to get thrown out and banned (Kinda need access to that bookstore. We only have the one). And it would not suprise me if they tried to involve the police. As funny as the idea has always been to me. It would only ever be an exercise in futility.

Jay Wendt Hahaha! Now that does sound like it would be a good one to try. Got to practice my serious face, for added comic effect. :)

Jay Wendt Think i heard about that. It was Walmart, i think. I cant really speak for the US, as i am British, but it is odd that in a supposed secular country the bible is practically forced on you. I actually took the bible down to the reception desk once (I was in a bad mood) and told them i found it offensive. Its policy apparently, so i was told. Anyway, i got a free night out of it. (No kidding) In the UK religion is a tense subject. Most people are very PC about it. And yet, the bible and Christianity is still pushed on us.

Frazer- Rama dorada