Seth Andrews: The Insanity of Humanity 

When I was young I hoped mankind would have matured by the time I was an old man , I'm 70 nothing has changed. Really sad.

Religion is viewed by the common man as true, By the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. -Seneca

My brother had come out of surgery one day and in the recovery room there was a dude who was just in a car wreck. He was hanging on by a thread; his parents by his bed, the doctors telling them, "if he doesn't get into surgery now he will die!".(internal bleeding) They had those little round caps on their heads. They would not sign the release because there is part in it that says, "we might have to give the dude blood". They were not opposed to the surgery, but the release covers everything. That boy didn't want to die while his parents stood by his bed hugging a book. Watching all this, the doctors and nurses trying to convince them to sign, and their blind ignorance was horrifying to watch. They we able to get him to be coherent enough to try to hold an ink pen. This guy didn't want to die. He couldn't talk because he had a tube down his throat. He couldn't move because he was totally immobilized. Basically they stabilized put him on traction and got him to the point that he might be able to survive the surgery. I was 11 or 12. The mother started crying as the nurse helped him hold the pen and guide his hand while he was forced awake to enter a contract to save his own life. I think they were Jewish. The mother looked around the room, with scorn and hate at the atrocity that just occurred and said, "God WAS watching over him." I never thought i would see anything like that again. A few years would pass i would be driving to Indiana for a family reunion and it is so flat out there. There were two extra lanes for the Amish buggies along the road. What i seen was so far away, i actually wasn't sure i seen what i did for a minute. A horse drawn buggy pulled out in front of a car. Ill keep this short. 911 was called before i even stopped. I stood their being a witness. I stayed because i wanted to be a witness because the buggy pulled out in front of the car. While waiting on EMS the family beat them them to the accident. Since no other buggy showed up and they don't have cellphones or telephones, god must have told them about what happened. The ambulance shows up. This guy is messed up, not as bad as the man in the hospital. Still he was in serious need of medical attention. While emergency services stood around, i cursed them all. The Amish prayed in a circle around their kin, looking like they were playing a game of "light as a feather, soon to be stiff as a board". Being a witness i gave my name and phone number to the Paramedic to give to the cops if they needed a statement. I was not going to stand around and fill myself with hate for some idiots with backward thinking.

Damn, I don't know why RU-vid took so long to recommended this guy to me. I love this dude!

I grew up as an Orthodox Jew (now an atheist), and it's cool to see Seth take some jabs at it :)

To be a Theist, one must suspend all logic, sense, reason and facts.

Imagine a father like Yahweh. Father: Did you smoke in the bathroom again? I told you not to. I must punish you for that. Teenage Son: Here is a chicken. Punish it for my misbehavior. Father: All right, leave the chicken here and you go somewhere else. What a perfect parenting.

Many years ago I found myself a young man in need of a job in an area with a lot of hotels and I took a job as a housekeeper. The hotel had a building of "suites" which were, originally, one and two bedroom apartments. Late spring in this area can result in very changeable weather. One particular week Friday was very chilly and windy. Saturday was 90 degrees. During my rounds cleaning the apartment building I knocked on a door and was called inside by the occupants, a family of Orthodox Jews. They called me in because apparently turning the doorknob was work. When I entered the apartment was SWELTERING. Had to have been 115 degrees minimum. I was requested to turn the AC on for them. It was mid afternoon, about 3pm. They had been sitting there FOR HOURS, sweating away and running a serious risk of heat stroke because GAWD said they couldn't move a lever 3/4 of an inch. I had grown up in a very small town and this was my first exposure to Orthodox Judaism. It STILL blows my mind.

I always think that Seth would be a great singer. Even when he speaks he has this amazing range and depth in his voice. (Yes, he says interesting things too).

Mr. Andrews, your greatest skill among great skills, is how you use your voice. The most subtle tool in your quiver are not the razor sharp arrows of well thought and well written and conceived points to ponder, but the smooth and rare stone you possess that hones them for delivery. One of my absolute favorite indulgences is a fresh pot of coffee, a quiet hour or so, and to sit back and enjoy being slayed. I truly thank you.

The video at the end will always cause me to shed some tears, it's so beautiful and true. Thank you, Seth.

These Atheist RU-vid videos and podcasts gives me life!❤️❤️❤️

I enjoyed your story about the bible that survived the car fire. My car went up in a ball of flames and was completely burnt out. The only survivor was the loaf of bread in the backseat and the skateboard in the boot. I wonder if someone had been praying for them?? The bread wasn,t even toasted. It's a miracle. (haha)

Excellent presentation Seth - as always. I've enjoyed learning from you the past year as I left the church (after 50 years) and found myself an atheist. Now spreading the message.

I'm a Filipino Atheist, Hi Mr. Seth thank you for more educational video like this and letting me keep on going to be aware and out of lunatic, 23:35 yeah it always happen to my countyr mostly in the north part of the Luzon Island, part of their lunatic tradition. keep it up and I'm still strong atheist.

A powerful and beautiful voice against tribalism you are. Humanity is fortunate to have you. Thank you for your excellent work.

Loved the video. That was my thinking when I was a Christian. Maybe that is why I'm not anymore. I always told people that if we are indeed God's children and everyone was God's children then we should learn to love all mankind and stop the hate. Now I just replace "God's children" with human beings.

thank you Seth Andrews this is how I an atheist like me goes to church so to speak. keep making these speeches and videos I cannot get enough. being from eastern Kentucky and I am a gay atheist this is a real treat. I would not go anywhere near a holy roller service. I do not fear the snakes just the crazy people handling them. this is a lot better and more efficient than any sermon in any church I have ever known it makes more sense.

During the vid, I cried at Nathan's powerful and compelling narration. Thank you. Thank you both.

Definitely one of Seth's greatest presentations. Great job Seth.

I'm constantly surprised by just how many wacky rituals require live birds, and/or circular motions.

I sat through the video and watched as Nathan narrated at the end. Despite my mother being deceased for over 3 years, his words rang true in a way that she taught me throughout my life, of embracing the difference and beauty of others as the vibrant hues they add to the brilliance of humanity and enriching our individual lives in the shades they deliver. She always embraced the rights and wishes of others; she would have found your presentation at the end with Nathan as a testimony to what is right and good in this world. My only regret is that she is not around to see sanity make itself heard as prominently and poignantly as it is today.

DAT Black Sabbath reference! \m/ Seth Andrews my esteem for you is now even higher :D

You just keep getting better and better Seth. First class work there! So grateful for all you do to bring more rationality and good sense to the world. Thank you.

One of my favorite WTF Bible verses is Malachi chapter 2 verse 3. "Behold, I will corrupt your seed and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts." Basically if you don't give enough glory to God's name he is going to lay a curse on you and on top of that smear poop in your face. Who wouldn't want to have a personal relationship with such a being?

He is a wonderful speaker and man who uses his gifts and his mind to make a difference in this world. Great talk and that ending was very well done.

Excellent video, and I especially love the ending. It’s so true and powerful yet sad that in today’s world it’s not the reality we should be living in where everyone comes together but are being more divided.

First of all, let me say this has been my favourite presentation of yours so far. The chicken bit had me rolling on the ground. Secondly, I'm Bulgarian, and I would like to assure my fellow infidels across the world that "trichane" (the 'e' is pronounced), is an almost extinct vestige of a more barbaric past. It makes the news once in a while, but it always comes from very remote parts of my country that are still stuck in the 9th century. Lastly, people in Bulgaria today are almost all practical atheists. Aside from our customs on holidays, you can't really tell we care about religion. Partly explained by our socialist past and partly by our abject existence today, but also seeing all those corrupt priests running around with Rolexes and driving to church with Bentleys certainly doesn't help bolster the faith.

Great talk Seth! I enjoyed it a lot. I also enjoy it when you say "What the fuck?!" to the bizarre and absurd, it "nails" the point home! :)

two dudes just knocked on my dorm to preach and pray for me lol

Shellfish: I think Leviticus must have had a bad oyster or something at the end of a particularly heavy night!

My Mom once accidentally set our stove to Sabbath Mode and that was the first time we even learned it existed!

Thank you Seth, you inspire me everyday, and we truly hope to have you as a special guest on Positively Godless.~Scott

What a wonderful presentation, and the video finale was both powerful and beautiful

Seth, fantastic as always, but let me just say that the video at the end took it to another level. Let's make that video go viral when it comes out. I don't normally preach atheism but I'll openly preach THAT message. Thank you Seth!

Well done Seth. One of my alltime youtube favorites; shared on all my social media channels. Best regards.

Brilliant talk. Came here to see video of the end bit with the music as it was very affecting. Glad I heard it first without video as it does not do it justice. The orator and text were superb.

The fire in Brooklyn (a few blocks from my house enabling me to see the fire) did not kill the father who was out of town. The mother and her daughter survived whole seven children were killed. As for the shabbat candles, lighting them has nothing to do with the fact that matches can't be used on the sabbath. It's just a ritual to signal the start of the sabbath and are lit by the woman of the household. My wife still lights them every week and even though she hates that I do it, I blow them out shortly after because I rather like my house.

Nothing less than OUTSTANDING!

So few people in the audience.. I really hope much much more are hearing this at leat on RU-vid. Congratulations for a beautiful and resonating choice of words and non the less for your unic points of view.

Thank you so much for your work! Mankind needs people like you! If we could replace all the hateful, judgmental, ignorant priests, ministers & ‘Christian leaders’ with people who think like you the world would be in a better place. I used to be in a psychologically, mentally, emotionally abusive fundamentalist Christian Church & joined a bible studies, prayer & worship, etc. when I was in college. I loved it the first month or so. I felt inner peace until I really found out what the other college students believed. I remember when I truly believed that me, most of my family & friends were going to spend eternity in a literal hell. It caused me years of severe depression, anxiety, obsessiveness, hopelessness, panic attacks, insomnia, etc., but I still believed it as truth b/c of the numerous Christian pastors, ministers, followers who all believed the same thing. It took years until I started to believe it wasn’t true & that was b/c I found Christian Universalism, the belief that all mankind is saved. Although I don’t believe anything anymore, I will say Universalism is by far the most tolerant, caring, humane, loving faith I’ve seen. It condemns no one, accepts all & I bet a lot of Universalists I met years ago at a convention would love listening to you. Right now I’m agnostic, I’m burnt out from religion. Your message is fantastic & I hope you continue to make RU-vid videos, write books, & get the message out about how disgusting, hateful, evil & insane religion has turned the world. Thank You!

I'm about 2 and a half years late on this video, but this is the single best SA vid in my opinion. I'm going to share the hell out of this. amazing. thank you, Seth.

Love you Seth..found you just today... this is the fourth i watched... will catch up with every one in here... keep it up.. love to all there

This was held on my birthday. Thanks Seth. :-) I saw you in Springfield MO, hope to see you again soon.

I'm proud to say, the cycle of god in my family has stopped with myself and my children. Thank you for being my friends❤

Amazing... Watching this after the event in Paris, just had me more present to what this world needs. This world doesn't need division and segregation. This world definitely doesn't need hatred and vitriol. This world needs love and compassion. Thank you for your videos and what they stand for. To coin the the words of Carl Sagan "To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

Seth Andrews, thank you for your activism to protect the innocent from people's harmful actions. You are a great man, my friend! :)

Something Beautiful was so wonderfully heartfelt it left me in tears. Thanks, Seth.

why isn't this animal cruelty considered illegal?

Oh man. The Mormon ad that played before this video was hilarious.

A great presentation Seth. Listening to the last five minutes touched me deeply and brought tears to my eyes, which frequently happens when I consider the inhumanity of Man over the millenia. I have long considered that the majority of humanity is unsane (as compared to _in_sane), and when I come across a fellow human who recognizes the same _unsaneness_, it strengthens that impression but at the same time gives me hope for the future of humanity.

This great. Love the humor Sanity thru atheism

*I was just 12, going on 13 when I'd had enough of the stupidity of religion, and I chucked it out the window. - Now, some fifty years later, I have **_never_** looked back, and those intervening years have only firmly established my early conclusion to be a valid one. - Praise and respect to Seth and all that have had the intellect and the guts to - and **_continues_** to point out - that the emperor is in fact **_stark naked! . . ._* Even though we're living in a global asylum (where the ''wardens'' are the _most_ insane), I feel that at the end of the day, in a _future_ edition of the DSM [The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders], we will find religious belief minutely described (with all of it's ''bells & whistles''), on par with all the other mental conditions out there . . . . .

The end video reminds me of the late, great Carl Sagan.

I teared up a little at the end, beautiful speech

The entire talk was great but the ending was beautiful. Thank you Seth Andrews.

Great video, great message in the end.

excellent talk, and the video at the end gave me chills and left me with tears in my eyes. Well done Mr. Andrews AND Mr. Phelps.

I was thinking about adding a Latin-American Spanish translation (subtitles) to video, so I can show this to my parents, but, while I was translating in my head every sentence, I paid even more attention to the closing message, I had already watched it a few days ago, but now that I was listening to it in Spanish I had a tie in my throat, the message really hit me this time. Great video. I'd like to help translating the video by providing the subtitles.

34:56 I guess you could say, Jesus was full of shit.

I'm glad to see this great event taking place in Florida! There's always hope!

A voice of sanity in a world of madness! thanks for that Seith .

Beautiful show once again. Thank you

Seth, that was amazing, as always. And, in light of the recent attacks in Paris, the "Something Beautiful" video has taken on a new meaning in my eyes. It made me cry because my Facebook page has been flooded today with hateful messages aimed at the Syrian refugees from my "Christian" relatives. I got so angry that I posted a log rant on my status, citing Bible passages, which is not something I normally do. How dare they blame innocents for the crimes of others and seek to demonize people who have nothing left! I just posted the link to "Something Beautiful" on my Facebook page in hopes that it might change some minds, but, like any good skeptic, I have my doubts.

Seth used these arguments before, still awesome to hear. He can really deliver the goods!

keep it up, you are changing the world for the better !

Thank you that ending was beautiful...great evolution of possibilities!!😚

you did it again Seth with the thinking atheist! appreciate it!

I love Seth. Seems like one of the nicest guys you could ever meet.

Such a great presenter. Loved the 'Pale Blue Dot' video at the end. Great words

Watching that video at the end always gets a lump in my throat. My spouse is transgender and is transitioning from male to female. We are both atheists, her from a heavily religious background, me from a household that had multiple religious traditions, but practice of religion was kind of private. I remember when I told my parents that my dad said if I still wanted to celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah. They don’t seem to care that much. I worked for a church in college (musician in a rural area; you need to be affiliated with a church for survival, and for a time the volunteer work seems selfless) and went to a Universalist as a kid, which messed me up in terms of coming out. My spouse on the other hand...the only person who knows in her family is her mom, but as her mom lives with her grandparents, it’s all very DACA. My spouse was raised largely by her grandparents, who she’s very close to. She would lose almost all her family, and her mom would have difficulty being in contact with my wife if the grandparents ever found out about the transgender or atheists aspects of her life, let alone both. It causes the both of us emotional stress and anxiety visiting

That was amazing. Nathan Phelps at the end has me crying. ❤️❤️

I loved this! Thanks again & again for all you do. Religion has made the world as crazy as ever. You are appreciated for saying what so many of us know to be true. Your video was wonderful as well. When I was in the Bible cult I realized the preacher was building walls, instead of bridges. I just got so damn sick of the Us vs Them mentality that was being preached on constantly. I hope people's eyes will continue to be opened as more of us who have escaped will speak out.

Jesus led me to you, - for any religious readers that's called, " Sarcasm."

That way the end should run on TV!!! This is amazing

The final video reminded me of the late, great Carl Sagan!

I'm glad I finally found the time to watch this.

I've seen people ask why atheists object to religion when, according to the religious, it's making them be better people whether it's true or not. This sort of thing is why I consider that claim ridiculous. Only a religious person would think it's reasonable to think that if they do something they perceive as wrong, spinning and killing a terrified animal in any way makes up for that, rather than being an additional wrong thing they did. Now, I might not have any issue with killing an animal for food, but standing there spinning a chicken over your head is just unnecessarily torturing the animal, and the thing they did with the dogs is senseless and a betrayal of the trust dogs give to their owners. I think it's especially tragic with the dogs, because we've bred dogs to love and trust humans over their own families, and yet some humans turn around and treat their dogs like they're disposable. Honestly, I think religion is the origin of most animal abuse. In addition to these pointless and abusive rituals (which also extend to humans, although with the adults it bothers me less because at least they're consenting), it also sets up a false dichotomy between humans and animals. Things like 'god counts every hair on your head' and 'your lives are worth more than the lives of many sparrows'. Now, I'm not saying that I don't generally consider my life worth more than a sparrow's life, or even many sparrow's lives, but there's a difference in how you approach things if you're coming from the perspective of 'I think my life is worth more than a sparrow's, but I'm sure the sparrow disagrees' and 'the creator of the universe and the individual who designed both humans and sparrows thinks my life is worth more than the lives of many sparrows'. Especially since the assumption is that this applies to all animal lives in comparison to human lives, as opposed to God just thinking sparrows are especially worthless. It creates the attitude that leads people to say 'it's just a dog', as if though the dog didn't have it's own (albeit simpler, but still present and very strong) emotions, it's own capacity for pain and fear and suffering.

its not often I am impressed with something but that talk was impressive.

Thank you, that was such a great talk and the addition of the video was the perfect touch! :)

I sell appliances and have found that "sabbath mode" is a boon for everyone as it allows automatic cooking and cooling. Put your meal inside a day or two in advance and you've got a pre-made, home cooked meal. You don't have to wait until Friday night, though, it's just the auto cook mode that anyone can use and set.

This lecture is hands down one of Seth's best. The message at the end is beyond words beautiful.

When he mentioned the Sabbath mode on ovens and stuff, I assumed that it would set a timer, so you turn the stuff on friday and on saturday you just have to put the food in and get it out etc... When he explained what it actually ment, I had a concussion!!!!4!!!

The snake represents a phallus, a metaphor. Phallic worship has existed in the past, so religion demonized it, quite literately.

Brilliant presentation, as always.

Damn it Nate and Seth. I feel no greater link to my own flawed humanity than in the tears I'm wiping away. Well done!

That video at the end was awesome. Can't wait forYou to upload it, so I can share it with all my friends.

What's left out on the Lenten celebration in the Philippines featured in this video is that those who whip themselves bloody end their ritualistic penance by taking a dip in the sea. I've been to one of these events when I was in college, and it was more gruesome to witness in person.

I am REALLY glad this is still available on RU-vid, it is even more relevant today. I survived a Catholic upbringing and learned the Truth about the church and its abhorrent history. Seth is so right, most of humanity is insane for believing the virulent and idiotic teachings of the “People of the Book”. They are equally evil and dangerous, too many lives have been sacrificed in the name of religion. 😢😢😢

The ending was wonderful. The beginning with the snake handlers was something else. Most religious groups don't like gay people, but more and more do. There are some crazy stories in the Bible like the talking donkey, but it also talks about loving your neighbor.

Dec. 26, 2020. I needed this! Sananda I AM. NAMASKAR

Anyway good job :3 I think you are teaching people something that will hopefully better the future.

superb lecture,getting the points across in humour.

Y, RU-vid? Y u no let me like this more than once!?

You seriously don't get enough credit Seth, fantastic speech

Seth cracks me up something chronic. Watching any of his videos is to put it mildly, a joy.

There are two best sellers in religion;INSECURITY-FEAR

The human brain is wired for agency detection in several ways. The fear of snakes is one, and the two roots of religion are a couple more. I just read Dr John C Wathey's book, The Illusion of God's Presence, The Biological Roots of Spiritual Longing. This book is a real eye-opener, and I feel it should be taught in every biology class.

so glad you speak up for those who still can't

You always give the greatest talks, Seth.