Complete video at: fora.tv Oxford University theologian Alister McGrath debates atheist author Christopher Hitchens on whether the goals of mainstream religions can be separated from those of their extremist “fringes.” This is part three of a three-part excerpt. Part one: www.youtube.com Part two: www.youtube.com —– Poison or Cure? Religious Belief in the Modern World: A debate, dialogue, and discussion with Christopher Hitchens and Alister McGrath. The Ethics and Public Policy Center and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University host a debate between writer Christopher Hitchens and Oxford University professor Alister McGrath on the role of religious belief in the modern world. Christopher Hitchens is an author, journalist and literary critic. Now living in Washington, DC, he has been a columnist at Vanity Fair, The Nation and Slate; additionally, he is an occasional contributor to many other publications. He is most recently the author of “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” (2007) and editor of “The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever” (2007). Alister McGrath is a biochemist and Christian theologian born in Belfast, North Ireland. He currently enjoys the title of distinction “Professor of Historical Theology” granted by the University of Oxford. He has written extensively on history and theology, including “In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a …
Jun 122010
Religions are inherited or accepted emotionally. Both are erroneous paths in the search for truth. Google Doe’s Account.
@justinbernal1 Well thought out!
i watch this show at fringeonline . org
Hitchens only beef is with the humans followers and not Christ or even the religion. Isn’t it funny he puts his stock and belief in the same humans!
It’s not a just war.
I often agree with Hitchens but not on the immorality of loving your enemy. There’s a lot of wisdom in that, and at its core it’s really about seeing them as victims of environment, brainwashing, deprivation, history, and so on. Hate is really blind, and when you understand something thoroughly, including root causes of heinous acts or perceived enemies, you not only don’t guide yourself with hate, but a deeper understanding of how to solve problems. I’m not with Hitchens on this one.
I hate the way the faith heads say that a passage of scripture is only metaphor when they don’t like what it says. They are making excuses for God. They can’t cherry pick like this, it is totally dishonest
5. Mostly atheist, are against GOD’s morality and justice but never refer the same to other candidate: satan.
6. Bible maintans evolution after creation, earth have billions of years etc.
Atheism is a dead concept.
3. Blasphemies: if anybody will do it, is puniched very soon and anybody is free to try it, even right now! This one can come immediatly or later and it doesn’t mean death or going to hospital (but can also happen).
4. In Bible, we find two (2) candidates to be called GOD, but atheists are arguing just with ONE,not with other pretendent.
3. Blasphemies: if anybody will do it, is puniched very soon and anybody is free to try it, even right now! This one can come immediatly or later and it doesn’t mean death or going to hospital (but can also happen).
4. In Bible, we find two (2) candidates to be called GOD, but atheists are arguing just with ONE,not with other pretendent.
God exist! evidences:
1. In Bible we find a lot of prophecies which happened and are happening, examples: vatican, midle east, united states, new order etc.
2. If anybody will follow what God asks (ex: praying), everybody will have whatever they want (ask). Note:Praying in a right form,following the INSTRUCTIONS in the Bible (keeping the 10 commandments – including keeping the Saturday as the 7th day etc.).
Hitches makes me think that 97% of people despise reality.
Cause he faces it without all the emotional melodramatic fantasy that is so constant in fantasy and denial and religion. I find that religious people hate the reality of daily existence.
As much as I admire Christopher Hitchens the only time I’ve found myself taking exception to what he says is when he bombasts against ‘love your enemies.’ There’s something about it that sets wrong with me. I think because, if there is anything leaning towards the ‘most excellent’ in Christianity, this would be it. He’s probably right and it’s just an unrealistic, deluded piece of poetry; but it has a note of human transcendency to it that I won’t quickly reject.
Hitchens is unbeatable
Why does C.H. struggle so much with Jesus’s ‘love your enemy’ idea? sure in the short run it would seem foolish ’cause the world is full of so much hate, but ultimatly what is the the outcome if we all followed this view?… quite simply our enemies would cease to exist for we would finaly become friend and one as a race. then the advancement of our species could truley begin. and this is of paramount importance.
@johnycannuk (continiued) The concerning the alleged similarities to other myths: Those similarities have been heavily exagerated. Besides It doesn’t really matter, since we are not discussing if the early christian doctrines concerning Jesus are true or myths, just if he was an actual person. Philo died before christianity became more than a marginal sect. I am no expert but I have studied religion on a university level for two years, and history for one semester.
@johnycannuk Well you are entitled to your opinion. But just because the fact that there aren’t any real proof, it isn’t reason enough to assume that there is no historical person behind the sect. Your talk about bias reminds me of conspiracy theorists; don’t you have a bias? . It makes me wonder: have you actually studied the issue formally or do you base your thinking on Zeitgeist or some similar pseudo-science? (continiued)
@FoolieFishing Well clearly I have a much higher standard of evidence than most than. It does not matter if the majority of historians accept the existence of Jesus. Most do it out of cultural bias and assumption. If there really was a historical Jesus alive at the time in question, then show the evidence. Otherwise, given the similarities to other myths, I will assume he was a myth.
Big enough to inspire the NT, surely the Romans or Jews would have written something. Or Philo would”ve noticed
@johnycannuk The majority historians does not question the existence of Jesus. Details of his life, however, can be debated.
It is ironic that Christopher Hitchens as a Britt is dismissing the one thing in Christianity that inspired Ghandi (Through Tolstoy) in his non violent resistand to the Brittish opression.
I was an atheist,, now I worship Dawkins & Hitchens. I call him Hawkins.
That’s a new one…lol it’s very subtle, that pope joke.
Excellent video.
Watch also the debate between a Slovenian new atheist (Szabo) and a Swedish Lutheran theologian (Gustavsson) @ =_2SkxwvtRvE …
@johnycannuk u speak truth
mcgrath is a nutjob!