10 Minutes of Religion being Pulled Apart by Michael Shermer 

Science flies men to the moon. Religion flies men into buildings.

"Religion began when the first scoundrel met the first fool." Voltaire

"Science has questions that don't have answers; Religion has answers that can't be questioned." -Anon YT

Religion Poisons everything

God: the last refuge of a man with no argument -- George Carlin

According to some religions, not only does the serial killer go to heaven if he "finds jesus", his victim, if they are an unbaptized child, an Atheist, or anyone else who worships any other god will go to hell. It is unfathomable to me how anyone could find any of these gods to be loving or benevolent.

The idea that you can be absolved from your crimes by punishing someone else is the most fundamentally immoral idea imaginable. If YOU do something wrong, YOU are to blame, and nothing can change that, not even God.

"This is barking mad!" Sums up most religious doctrine.

It's absolutely disgusting that a believer could think that Adolph Hitler would be excused by simply accepting Jesus 1 minute before his death!

Well put: religion developed as a social mechanism out of necessity. It is now obsolete, and the negative effects are so horrendous it should be abandoned.

'Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.' - Seneca Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet. Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.” ― Napoleon Bonaparte

Imagine trying to explain to your boss when you have done a bad job that you work in mysterious ways

Very succinctly put. Should be heard by all theists! Not just Christians! "That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence."

Shermer is speaking with authority and common sense! love his honesty and critical thinking

i am a perfect living proof that you don't need a god, i raise my two sons outside of religion from young age i explain them what religion is all about and also told them that they can make there on choice, 30 years after my two sons are behaving perfect whit out religion and have a great sense of moral. to me religion is like a virus passes from parents to kids and the worst, in nearly uncurbable.

Begging god for forgiveness is just talking to yourself, like all prayer. Lose the Delusion!

Thank God I'm an Atheist. 🇦🇺 😊

loved the speech. Spot on. We dont need the lies anymore. We never did.

I like Matt Dillahunty's extension of "god sacrificed himself to himself to save us from himself", being (not as a quote, but in spirit, as it were) "so god sacrificed himself to himself to save us from himself, goes to hell, then comes back 3 days later? That's not a sacrifice, it's a crappy weekend!"

Religious People: "LA LA LA LA I CANT HEAR YOU LA LA LA"

"I mean death penalty for adultery. There goes half of congress." truer words have never been spoken

Not only did God sacrifice himself to himself, he didn't even do that because he came right back, and of course God knew that was what would happen the whole time so God was never in a state of grieving for his son, which makes the whole thing meaningless. It's all based on how much grief you'd have to face in giving up your child, but God could never have felt any grief.

Incoming Cristians quoting bible verses to prove their God is real 😭😭

This is very painful and scary for religious people. You can also read the age of reason by Thomas Payne he lays it out pretty straightforward with logic and reason. As humans, we are aware of our own mortality and some people just cannot handle that one day they will step into oblivion for eternity.

my question to those affected by Religion is: as someone who was paralyzed from the neck down by Polio at 7 weeks old, what the hell did I do at that young age to deserve "God's wrath" and be punished for life?

God is the ultimate cop-out.

"Atheism is a natural result of intellectual honesty" I'd probably be banned from Utube if I told u what any religion is!

It's quite simple. God was created by mankind not the other way around

Two hands actually working get more done than thousands of hands praying.

Imagine .. no religions.. no fox news.. Utopia... Ppl would be so much kinder to each other... Make believe ripps ppl apart . Just like fox news

If God is good, why are "act's of God" disasters?

If god existed there would be no need to prove his existence

Just Ten minutes of common sense lays waste to two thousand years of nonsense.

Excellent video! I recently tried to explain evolution to my creationist father. He said “Why can’t atheists just accept God did it?” I tried to explain, and he wouldn’t hear me out. I said “If we just accept that God did everything, what about someone who got over a disease? We wouldn’t have studied that, and created medicine.” May not be the best answer, but that was my take.

Great video. Well said Mr. Shermer. Thumbs up.

There aren't any Bibles in my home nor have I read any passage from the any Bible online. I started reading a Bible quote once or twice online but stopped mid sentence when I realized what it was . A friend gave me a huge glorious leather bound antique Bible from the 1860s with brass corners that was printed in the United States. I did the polite thing and accepted it but sold it a week later as not to hurt their feelings.

Overall, religion has done more harm than good.

When it comes to religion , I think of the Tibetan monks, while they are sitting comfortable, contemplating there navels, the other poor fools are out slaving in the fields and feeding them. Nice work if you can get it!

Now...more than ever before, we need science and reason.

I have to say this is one of the best arguments.The best statement I've ever heard in my life.I want to hear More.It is just absolutely fantastic.Thank you sir

There is an irony in the religious argument that we all have a purpose and a reason for existing, but when it comes to moral values, it is not because of a reason, but only because God says so.

If human life is as weak as our weakest link, religion has made humanity stupid.

Excellent - thank you for a rational and logical explanation.

The Jesus Christ sacrifice claim never made any sense to me. I was never pressured to accept any claim that couldn’t be supported by evidence, and this was one of those unverifiable claims. The idea of an invisible judge was equally unverifiable. As far as I can tell, all laws that have ever been created for humans were created by humans. Any claims that involve a third party require supporting evidence.

Superman is the only true god😂

I have understood this a long time now. It sadly shows the control religions want disables our minds and we give ourselfs over to faith instead of logic. Logic can heal by creating tech and proper support. Religions block our healing from judgments of everyone else but themselfs😢

Great video. Well spoken and amazing message. Thank you.

Just thought I’d add my story…I grew up in a devoutly Christian home. While my mom and dad raised me well we disagreed vehemently on the area of spirituality. My dad thought he could heal and that there were near death experiences that include the usual seeing God…white lights…tunnels…etc. People who have been clinically dead for mere seconds or a few minutes go on to monetize the experience they so want to believe they had. I am now in my late 50’s. I am very happily married and have been for 40 years. Due to a genetic heart condition I tend to die rather often. I’ve gone 30 minutes and as long as 38 minutes with no signs of life. I have always been brought back due to the excellent care of paramedics and doctors who wouldn’t let me go. Now it just happens that I have always been a dyed in the wool Atheist (sorry…I know the pun). What’s the chance that each and every single time I’ve tried to leave this mortal coil I’ve experienced nothing…not one thing…not a dream…not an inkling…no white light…no hovering above my body. I guess one could argue I should have made something up and monetized the heck out of my situation. I have all the medical reports to back my story up. Who could argue. I am at peace with my existence. This may be my last writing…who knows. I am still the same Atheist. I am still deeply and profoundly happy. Unmontized. I have been accosted in public by strangers who have heard my story. They are so put out when they don’t hear what they want. I almost feel bad at times. I’ve had doctors and nurses quietly ask me what I experienced. Part of me doesn’t want to disappoint anyone…but I always tell the truth. The only white light I ever saw was from a doctor shining his light in my eyes after being gone for an exceptionally long period of time. That said I apologize if I’ve disappointed anyone.

Great video. It would be hard for me to believe that christians could watch this and not concede that the problem of evil is a huge stumbling block for their religion but alas Shermer is right. The answer would be that god works in mysterious ways or that it is somehow humaniitys fault due to original sin. Sad.

Factual revelation has an appeal to the need for and value of curiosity and truth.

Brilliantly focused, commonsensical and down to the point!

"This is barking mad." That's putting it kindly.

In fact, 93% of prison inmates were christian before going to prison.

Great, rational arguments. Could someone please inform the theocratic scotus?

This was a good start of the week for me.

I love all of your videos

most certainly barking mad !! thanks for saying it like it is. its been far too long a coming

There will be plenty of religious people in hell. A person trying to get to heaven by their own works or following millions of rules, rituals and requirements will fail big time and end up in hell. It was religious people that most wanted Jesus to be killed. The difference between heaven and hell is a free gift.

All completely compelling. Just one gripe with this video (and other similar ones) is the piano background track. The words are good enough on their own without having to try to boost them that way.

It really is just that simple. Thanks Michael.

Right. Native Americans who never heard of Jesus before the Europeans came. Are they being punished eternally in Hell for not accepting a person they didn't know existed?

The Bible throws logic out the window and focuses on delivering laughs and creature feature thrills.

Love intelligent converstions like this. Thank you.

excellent arguments throughout.

I really appreciate his arguments which sound natural and solid,religion means cultivation of human hatred

This is brilliant!! I’m a practicing reformed Jew, who doesn’t believe in a personal God. Judaism has evolved since the enlightenment and those of us who have evolved with it understand that there are good moral principles that helped guide our behavior and we should retain those and let go of those that are clearly superstitious and harmful. Personal responsibility is a large part of Judaism. It is one of the things that enabled us to move past the idea that we’re going to be saved by something supernatural. Each year at Yom Kippur we consciously admit our faults and any harm we may have intentionally or unintentionally done to others and believe it is necessary to make things right with the person we have harmed. Although originally the idea was that God can’t forgive us until we have made things right with others, most of us understand that it’s simply important to make things right with others because that’s what makes the world a better place. We are the “Messiah” because it’s our choice whether to make the world a paradise or not. Humans have the ability to bring about a “messianic age” if you will by consciously choosing to do so.

that's great - I'm a bit late to arrive in this comment section, but I've caught myself up. The "God" arguments have not changed in the slightest, to no one's surprise. I do have to say, the most unique or entertaining theist comment in this thread was when someone said that "Atheism" is simply an excuse to remain the center of your own universe." this preceded a rather long essay of further misrepresentation of atheism and oversimplification, as someone pointed out. I thought to myself, well that's a bit of a bold and astonishing claim - what is religion and theism then? The theists are the ones who think that the world/planet and universe was created with them in mind - until Galileo, they all thought that everything (though some definitely still do), all the planets and the sun revolved around Earth, - talk about self-centerednessThey are the ones who believe they are the center of the universe - their universe, that is. If anything, atheists are among if not the most increasingly aware of just how small and insignificant humans are compared to the vast expanses of the universe. That's because atheism is embracing reality and scientific discovery, rather than hiding from it, and clinging to the guidance of an imaginary skyfriend.

It's religion that causes so much confusion

The hitchens razor hits hard. 👌

If these gods ideologies exist. Why did the U.S. have to make laws against religious beliefs and hospital care?

When I was a child in Sunday school, I was told the story about "God" commanding Abraham to murder his beloved son Isaac, JUST TO SEE IF HE COULD MAKE HIM DO IT. I thought "Wow, what a cruel and arrogant bastard this 'God' must be!" Later, learning about the pointless and unreasonable sufferings of Job, my feelings were confirmed.

It’s a free country. Believe what you believe. No one has to ‘prove’ anything to anybody. People are sovereign under a secular law.

Reigion and politics did not develop as two separate systems. In fact, religion was the *original* politics.. and this remained the case for millennia. The split is, by comparison, a recent development.

Come on theists. Come to the comment section with your god of the gaps argument. That's all you have.

Christians go all dewy-eyed at the idea of a father sacrificing his only son 'for the good of humanity'. It really tugs at their heart strings. How many fathers in WW1 or WW2 or Vietnam or Iraq or Afghanistan had their only sons sacrificed 'for the good of humanity'. You don't hear much debate about that.

"He is the messiah,i should know I've followed a few" John Cleese(life of Brian)

As a Christian, I don't usually debate atheists, but when I do, I find that they know WAY more about the Bible than I do. 😂

nice

When a man is freed of religion, he has a better chance to live a normal and wholesome life. - Sigmund Freud

Brilliant video,

Good

"God sacrificed himself to save us from him" Thank you Saul of Tarsus for this idiocy and the diabolical religion you made up. Oh, and Saul...you never apologized for stoning Stephen now did ya'? Huh?

Wonderful. Perfect!

Fabulous. Truth is bracing and delicious. Thank you, Michael.

That book says i should be able to walk on water. Why can't I. Because their faith sucks balls and they're doing it wrong.

Excellent explanation.

He left out abortion as the main cause for death in children.

Carl Sagan once said: "Religion is founded on the fear of the many, and the cleverness of the few."🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

well done micheal ,thank you

Sounds reasonable. Hope it works out for you, I truly do.

I left the Catholic Church when I reached the age of reason.

All you have said is absolutely true. Thank you.

I would recommend reading Edgar N.Johnson’s “An Introduction to the History of the Western Tradition”. The book suggests that this tradition has been shaped by 2 points of view, the humanistic, represented by the Ancient Greeks, and the ascetic, represented in general by Christianity. It also suggests that the 2 have tried, at times, to combine into an outlook often called Christian humanism.

Right on!!!!

The people that need to hear this won't. "The lips of wisdom are sealed, except to the ears of understanding." ~The Kybalion

I met Michael in 1980 when he was a stringer for a bicycle trade magazine, followed his career since then through cross country cycling, PhD, magazine articles, Skeptics, and so on. What a guy.

And don't forget Shermer's explanation of the logically mutual exclusivity of omniscience and omnipotence.

Wonderful 🤲🙏💯

Believing in God and believing in religion are two very different things.

It's incredibly convenient that God always seems to say exactly what you want to do at any given time. 😂😂😂