If there were any doubts about writer and general provocateur Christopher Hitchens ability to pull a crowd, they were entirely dispelled by the sold-out opening night of the first ever Festival of Dangerous Ideas. Presented by the Sydney Opera House and the St James Ethics Centre, the Festival brought together some of the more controversial thinkers from Australia and around the world. Hitchens’s keynote address, followed by a discussion with our own Tony Jones, was an expansion on his bestselling, “God is Not Great: Religion Poisons Everything”. Hitchens was at his polemical best, delivering a beautifully constructed speech supporting his argument that religion is not only completely implausible, but often actively destructive. Christopher Hitchens’s other books include “Letters to a Young Contrarian”, “Why Orwell Matters” and “The Missionary Position: Mother Theresa in Theory and Practice.” He also writes a regular column in “Vanity Fair”.
Recorded Jan 14, 2011. Hitchens talks to Brian Lamb about his cancer, treatments, Tony Blair, Pakistan, religion, Kissinger.. For more on Christopher Hitchens, visit www.dailyhitchens.com
Christopher Hitchens at his finest – some of my favorite moments by the writer who has inspired the ideals of skepticism, free inquiry, and rational thought in so many. I believe Hitchslap is now the proper term for the unflinching intellectual prowess displayed in these exchanges.
Brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens debate the Iraq War and religion at an event organized by the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies with the support of the Center for Inquiry and the Interfaith Dialogue Association.
Complete video at: fora.tv Author Christopher Hitchens debates the Reverend Al Sharpton on the question of whether morality can exist in the absence of God. —– A Debate: God Is Not Great with Al Sharpton and Christopher Hitchens. Taking on possibly the greatest issue of our time – the malignant force of religion in the world – Christopher Hitchens makes the ultimate case against religion through a close and learned reading of the major religious texts, citing numerous historical instances in which sexual repression and outrageous acts of violence have been committed in the name of God. He argues for a more secular life based on science and reason, in which hell is replaced by the Hubble telescope’s awesome view of the universe, and Moses and the burning bush give way to the beauty and symmetry of the double helix. — NYPL 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. Al Sharpton Jr. is a Pentecostal minister, a political activist, civil rights activist and film actor. In recent years, Sharpton has also become a perennial candidate in his quest for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States. Author of “Go and Tell Pharaoh: The Autobiography of the Reverend Al Sharpton.”
Full Video: www.92y.org 92Y Lectures & Conversations: www.92y.org Christopher Hitchens and Tariq Ramadan Debate: Is Islam a Religion of Peace? Moderated by Laurie Goodstein. October 5, 2010 at the 92nd Street Y With the Obama administration in its nascent years, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict proving as intractable as ever, relations with Iran reaching a boiling point and the political landscape changing rapidly both in the United States and the Middle East, wrestling with the issue of Islam is more crucial than ever and will be a defining feature of the 21st century. In the clip here, famous atheist and prolific author Christopher Hitchens and the accomplished and controversial scholar Tariq Ramadan debate one of the most pertinent questions of our modern age. Read more on the 92Y Blog: blog.92y.org Follow 92Y on Twitter: Twitter.com on Facebook: Facebook
Some of my favorite clips of the Htich on various topics. Sorry about the volume changes, I pieced this together from other youtube clips. Part 2 of 2
Turek vs. Hitchens at VCU in Richmond, VA complete at: www.vimeo.com Here Hitchens makes his arguments about religion as source of immorality. At 4:01 he makes an interesting point concerning the question by the religious of “something out of nothing” drawing on the physicist Lawrence M. Krauss: if the universe is developing in a way that obscures its origins than this explains that it didn’t sprung from “nothing” but is rather now in a stadium that we just cannot comprehend anything “beyond” the big bang with the data we have now. I’m not a physicist, so feel free to correct me if I understood this wrong.
Q&A part II of the Hitchens vs. Turek debate at VCU, VA. Full debate: www.vimeo.com and www.youtube.com Hitchens citates Omar Khayyám, translated by Richard Le Gallienne: “And do you think that unto such as you; A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew: God gave the secret, and denied it me?– Well, well, what matters it! Believe that, too.” Turek answers: god is probable (which is more a deist point and actually contradicts his religion) and hints on something like an argumentum verbosium. Hitchens answers: you need to do better than that if you want to tell us what to do, how we have to behave – the essence of religion.
Christopher Hitchens gives a speech at the Freedom From Religion Foundation after receiving an award. This is from October 12, 2007.