American Jewish University presents best-selling authors Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe in a debate about the existence of God and the role of religion and faith in society. Sam Harris is a renowned atheist and author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. Rabbi David Wolpe, of Sinai Temple, is the author of Teaching Your Children About God and Why Be Jewish. This debate is moderated by Los Angeles Times religion editor Steve Padilla.
On June 6, 2010, In Uncategorized, by admin
American Jewish University presents best-selling authors Sam Harris and Rabbi David Wolpe in a debate about the existence of God and the role of religion and faith in society. Sam Harris is a renowned atheist and author of The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. Rabbi David Wolpe, of Sinai Temple, is [...]
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Don’t agree with the Rabbi, but out of all the debates on god I’ve seen, he has done the best of defending his belief. But his argument is still that of false “facts” and ideas.
Smart man, this rabbi, but would he really believe in, say, Judaism?
You cant prove God does exist, nor can you prove he doesn’t.
This Debate was magnificent. Not the usual ground and pound that I am use to seeing.This is how all debates should be. As an Atheist I have to say the Rabbi did an excellent job. Sam Harris made some great points also. Nice Videos!
I am training myself to be able to hold contradictory ideas in my head without questioning them. Its like training yourself to go cross-eyed. Eventually I shall accept religion. Eventually I may even be able to accept all of them as true without doubt. But will I be able to come back from that threshold…
So we are not to evaluate Collins’ religious experience scientifically, but it is okay for him, and other theists to make scientific statements based on their religious experience?
Is religion just another vestigial? evolutionary appendage?
Well there you have it, the christian god is a jewish tribal god, so i have nothing to do with it.
faith is belief that is not based on proof,belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
im british, and although our history dates back way further than the US, they seem to be the ones who dwell on it. For a country with as much religious history as we have, only around 50% believe. I see the USA as the most civilised-uncivilised country in the world, and one of our news colomnists in a newspaper said its a shock to see a country that has the technology and is seaching for the answers throughout space, but a one where most still believe in a man with a white beard on a cloud.
Yes, I know. I am norwegian, but since our languages, cultures and statistics are so similar in all the scandinavian countries, I usually just say “scandinavian” on YouTube. Thanks for your support: )
Winter you bring up a good point
Religious apologists always bring up hitler and stalin and atheists always bring up the crusades. But if we look at TODAY, There is a striking relationship between crime and religiosity. America… Most people in jail on the planet, high murder rates, theft, 64th in education, 72nd in health. 16% non-believer. Then look at sweden or scandinavia’s statistics. 75-85% non-believers, or better yet Norway. Google their thats.
“The debate is moderated by Los Angeles Times’ religion editor Steve Padilla”??? Hehe, the newspaper has a “religion editor”? I’m scandinavian, and you won’t find any of those here, nowhere in the media, because people aren’t interested in religion anymore here. Surely religion belonged in the dark ages, and not now in the 21st century? America is so weird in some ways..I’ve read that no more than 15-20 percent are non-believers there yet, ( In Scandinavia we’re 75-85%, hope you get there too):)
I wish Dovid Gottlieb or Rabbi Tatz or Rabbi Motty Berger would actively seek a debate with Sam Harris or Christopher Hitchens. I would love to hear the response of to the notion of divine revelation at Mt. Sinai to the entire nation of Israel. I need to read Dovid Gottlieb’s book again to get the full understanding of that point but ultimatley I do believe that Hitchens would have a good answer to give to these rabbi’s. Hitchens arguments are almost completely indisputeable.
Sure the world and the universe is more complicated than we can imagine…Why does that mean GOD must have created? That’s the same kind of idiotic logic those creationist loonies like Kirk Cameron use when they say “when you see a painting, you must assume someone painted it.” So you see the universe, and someone must have made it? What if it’s so complex we can’t even fathom how it was created. And even if a God DID create it, how the fuck do you know it was YOUR god? Maybe it was Buddha?
the ‘we are not able to understand God’ argument should be taken as an insult by anyone that is able to think logically. These people that say the bible or whatever book is gods word dont seem to have a problem understanding the words of the god so what more is there to understand that REALLY matters? It is a silly notion on par with Pascal’s wager.
If you want to know if god exist or not I give you the answer
You will not believe what I discovered, I advice all to read about this religion Called
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I Love you all
A really good debate. I think that Rabbi Wolpe eventually conceded to retreat into territory that only religion can occupy. The ground that has been claimed by science and sceptical inquiry, that was once the exclusive domain of religion is vast and Sam Harris articulates this in a way that would render opposition as being the rantings of the insane. That’s not to say that there is no room for religion, just that religion has a place that science can’t touch and needs to confine itself to that.
Thumbs up for ignoring the Pascal’s Wager part of that one question. There’s no reason to ever waste any more time on that deeply flawed argument.
lol wtf!?!??!?
You have one random mind sir..
keep it up
A nice point though I don’t think it holds. People of faith are often convinced using logic that faith is pointless – take prayer, someone who believes in the power of prayer and is then let down at a crucial point in their lives might logically come to believe prayer doesn’t work and to question religion in general. As for the other side of it – I think it is happily true that a person of faith can no longer use pseudoscience to make someone believe (Who created the earth if not God?).
Aw.. so you believe in unicorns? Me too! And fairies and dragons and magic. All that happened was that the magic faded – the multiple previously aligned dimensions are no longer in sync. No more can we fly through the air and talk to gods, no more can… um sorry I’ll just quietly stand here in the corner, don’t mind me.
This is the problem with arguing that God is not real and so forth… It doesnt exist so you can make up and shit you want about it and it can not be proven wrong. There for it is immpossible to lose.
However god remains in my book still with unicorns and the boogie man.
SWEDEN FTW!
Sam Harris’ body language is very telling… Look at the position of his legs. “This territory is all mine,” he seems to say. I don’t think this poor guy has ever understood what a symbol or a metaphor is. His thinking is very concrete.
No, the rabbi has made valid points . This is what happens in a democrisy.