1. Comment #27302 by MIND_REBEL on March 23, 2007 at 7:59 pm

Great Vid, although Hitchens is not a scientist, he does have a great grasp on many issues relevant to the progress of humankind. It's nice to see people from the softer sciences take a hard stance against the absurity of religion. The fight for atheism is really a fight for progress, and any and/or that accept the call of progress will be welcome in the movement for a livable tomorrow.

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2. Comment #27310 by Monsterbeach on March 23, 2007 at 9:43 pm

As someone said on YouTube: "Wit drier than death valley, gotta love him!" i agree.

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3. Comment #27311 by PsyPro on March 23, 2007 at 9:45 pm

Hitchen's anti-theism, unlike atheism, is more a political, rather than a scientific perspective, and, as such, can make claims of morality, and all the more justifiably so! Despite his ability to infuriate me to no end before, and sometimes even after, I think his many positions through, I value Hitchens highly, and view his willingness and talent to speak clearly and forcibly as all the more reason why *any* restriction on free speech is an egregious error.

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4. Comment #27314 by DistrictSelectman on March 23, 2007 at 10:39 pm

Now I love him, now I hate him, but he never fails to inspire me to drink.

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5. Comment #27331 by howtoplayalone on March 24, 2007 at 4:45 am

"Now I love him, now I hate him, but he never fails to inspire me to drink."

I think that's what Hitchens said about himself.

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6. Comment #27338 by keith on March 24, 2007 at 5:50 am

Mind-rebel,
Re your comment that "although Hitchens is not a scientist, he does have a great grasp on many issues relevant to the progress of humankind".
I doubt that even Richard Dawkins would want to claim that the progress of mankind is a field almost exclusively for scientists, or even that they are per se the best judges on what is progress. However, I'm sure that Hitchens, voted no. 5 in the FP list of world intellectuals (Richard Dawkins was no. 3), will be relieved that you approve of his views.

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7. Comment #27344 by sparkie_t on March 24, 2007 at 6:59 am

Mind rebel: will have to take issue with your statement about the value of people from the 'softer sciences' in the attack against religion. There are many proofs that 'god is man made, not the other way round'. Not all these proofs come from the great 3 mono-sciences, and nor should the podium be reserved for scientists. I am a memeber of the health care professions and should able to bring my experiences and studies to the table as well, as should everyone. I understand that this was your statement, but it seems so obvious to me I wonder why you felt the need to point it out at all?

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8. Comment #27405 by Bremas on March 24, 2007 at 12:15 pm

Where the hell have I been?
This guy kicks ass.

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9. Comment #27411 by yeahok on March 24, 2007 at 12:52 pm

Hell yeah he kicks ass. I just heard about him when the free speech video was posted; but apparently he's a pretty popular, or unpopular, figure in the political world. Which is a world I try to steer clear from(it's too depressing!).

Thank God for this website! :D

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10. Comment #27440 by James Carroll on March 24, 2007 at 3:17 pm

yeahok:

Stay clear of politics!? As Ghandi once said "If I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics today encircle us like the coils of a snake from which one cannot get out no matter how one tries. I wish to wrestle with the snake."

Or as Ralph Nader once said, ""To the youth of America, I say, beware of being trivialized by the commercial culture that tempts you daily. I hear you saying often that you're not turned on by politics. The lessons of history are clear and portentous. If you do not turn onto politics, politics will turn on you."

Staying clear of politics is exactly the opposite of what everyone needs to do.


I shall probably listen to Hitchens video later. Have only heard his one speech on free speech which I thought was amazing; so I expect no less from this.

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11. Comment #27451 by Homo economicus on March 24, 2007 at 5:38 pm

Looking forward to his new book out in June.

Why should evolved monkeys think we have the answer to life, the universe or everything? Or even that we have a right to the answer.

Lets find out what we can and be wary of those mammels he mentions.

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12. Comment #27500 by pmquay1 on March 25, 2007 at 3:29 am

I have loved Hitchen's caustic delivery for years. He's the perfect cynic for a middle-class cocktail party. Dry and biting monologue might be entertaining and butress our already established opinions of ourselves and the world around us, but it is not the same thing as content or new information we can actually use.

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13. Comment #27532 by Jonathan Dore on March 25, 2007 at 7:30 am

Hitchens is going to be at the debate in Westminster Central Hall on Tuesday, along with Dawkins and Grayling -- hope somebody will be recording that to put up here!

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14. Comment #27536 by Henri Bergson on March 25, 2007 at 7:43 am

Hitchens comment on Nietzsche is not accurate.

When Nietzsche writes that Christianity is for slaves, he means it metaphorically (although it originated from Jewish slaves of course). Therefore the fact that slave handlers were Christian does not disprove the theory.

Rather, to be concise, Christianity is for the weak, slave-like, sheepish mind. Nothing revolutionary there, but it cannot be argued against. Nietzsche aso follows Seneca with his famous quotation that,
"Religion for the common person is true, for the wise, false; and for the rulers, useful."

That's the 'will to power', in one aspect.

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15. Comment #27682 by Jonathan Dore on March 26, 2007 at 5:57 am

CH has great gifts as an extempore speaker, but the downside is an occasional error resulting from a reliance on memory rather than checking facts. The most recent thinking on the expansion of the universe is that it will expand forever, not reverse in a big cruch. And I may be wrong, but I'd be very surprised if the US Constitution is still the only one in the world, even among acknowledged democracies, that makes no mention of God.

I'm greatly looking forward to his forthcoming book "God is not Great" ... but I hope the publishers will have had it fact-checked, or he'll be giving the theists point-scoring material to distract attention from his arguments.

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16. Comment #27707 by poundemonium on March 26, 2007 at 8:20 am

pmquay1: Your dismissive and patronizing comment on Hitchens misses the point. The fact that this gadfly of our time challenges received wisdom with such cavalier cynicism and irony shouldn't make his musings any less thought-provoking. After all, all intellectual discourse builds on pre-existing discursive formations (as Foucault so memorably puts it). I don't know what you mean, exactly, by Hitchens' alleged dearth of "content or new information we can actually use," but I'd argue that his clear-thinking alone rejuvenates the spirit of rational inquiry in our time. Your argument seems to have a whiff of anti-intellectualism and vulgar utilitarianism to it, a dangerous trend in the current rise of theistically-muddled thinking.

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17. Comment #28503 by Riley on March 29, 2007 at 1:04 pm

I agree and disagree with a lot of what Hitchens has to say . . . the only problem I have with him is that he too often speaks with an air of absolute certainty, often to the point of being dismissive and arrogant on points for which he's factually mistaken (i.e. evolution) or simply by the nature of the suject, he cannot be certain.

I may from time to time fall guilty to this same vice myself, however, I recognize that it's a fault and honestly try to curb such behavior when I catch myself. Hitches on the other hand is gleefully unapologetic and as a professional public speaker has time and money and responsibility to be better prepared.

That being said I enjoyed his thoughts on: God creeating us vs. we creating Gods were thought provoking (to me at least). It's a nice and simple point: If God had made us in his own image, it's hard to explain why the world full of so many versions and images of God. On the other hand, if we created God then the pluralism of god-beliefs we see in the world are exactly what we'd expect. I think it's a good simple point to bring-up in conversation with theist friends. I cherish such tidbits of ammunition.

--

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18. Comment #31069 by Sittingduck on April 10, 2007 at 9:36 pm

Wouldn't Hitchens be just a riot at a cocktail party? As an observer by nature I would love to watch him teak the brittle people.

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19. Comment #31071 by Rtambree on April 10, 2007 at 10:01 pm

Ultimate debate:

S Harris, C Hitchens, R Dawkins

v

A McGrath, D Turner, R Warren

with a precise definition in the motion, a structured response segment, and a strict moderator to ensure particpants adhere to the topic.

And screened on primetime network TV.

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20. Comment #33965 by crazy4blues on April 22, 2007 at 10:01 pm

Well, Hitchens has got it right on atheism, but some of his other positions are founded on hot air. The Iraq war, for instance. Did you see him on the Daily Show about a year and a half ago? In argument, Stewart handed him his a$$!

Here's a link to the transcript:

http://www.wonkette.com/politics//hitch-v-stewart-stewart-tko-122400.php

Of course, it's very difficult to find Comedy Central video those days, and it's too bad. Hitchens positively wilts under Stewart's logical assault.

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21. Comment #37874 by simplemind on May 6, 2007 at 4:25 am

is this army of jihadi Muslims he refers to in the jails afro Americans by any chance?
Afro Americans who just hate the system??
A white system???
Im not buying into this American parnoya that its, "because where a christian nation".

and atheists shouldnt be getting embroiled in the whos the best whos the worse religeon argument.

Churches work better in poor areas as do betting shops, lets improve living standards for all humans and then see what happens. two thirds of the world population lives on less than a dollar a day.So that means most only have hope and most are ready to gamble what little they have to better there life.

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22. Comment #46185 by voiceofreason12 on May 30, 2007 at 1:45 pm

Hitchens is brilliant. You all should read his new book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. I also highly recommend Sam Harris' Letter to a Christian Nation and of course Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion.

We need more people fighting to bring humanity out of this technological Dark Age. Science and religion don't go together.

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23. Comment #101278 by ADH on December 20, 2007 at 7:11 am

Here's some more youtube for those of you who think the sequence atheism > nihilism > destrucion of human life is not a real one:


Here's another in case the text isn't clear

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24. Comment #101279 by Diacanu on December 20, 2007 at 7:12 am

*Finger*

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25. Comment #127564 by MrPickwick on February 15, 2008 at 12:22 pm

YouTube: "This video has been removed due to terms of use violation."

Anybody knows what are the particular terms violated?

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26. Comment #127574 by tooltroll on February 15, 2008 at 12:40 pm

Apparently, it violates YouTube's god-given right to control others' thoughts.

Are we surprised?

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27. Comment #175142 by Ascaphus on May 4, 2008 at 3:17 pm

It's still there via the other links.

:)

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