God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

Frank Turek and Christopher Hitchens debated the topic of the existence of God and represented differing positions. For this debate Frank Turek represented the affirmative side which stated a belief in the existence of God. Frank Turek has a Doctorate in Apologetics as well as a Masters in Public Administration. He is also is a speaker, author, columnist for multiple websites, and a coauthor of two books including, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. Debating against him is Christopher Hitchens who represented the negative side which stated a disbelief in God's existence. Christopher Hitchens is the author of ten books including God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, a writer for multiple periodicals, and a regular television

He has an inclination as a Catholic individual towards seeing God as an undeniable element. Be that as it may, Hitchen had some legitimate focuses yet appeared to be excessively highly contrasting, making it impossible to have a decent civil argument with Craig. By this, I imply that he assumed that everybody would just have confidence in science or religion while numerous consolidate their faith in what their religion says with what science lets them know is truth. Hitchen likewise did not appear to have a sufficiently open personality to religion, as appeared to him saying that they trusted in superstition. Craig appears to be sufficiently open to hearing what researchers need to say and what pioneers of his confidence need to say, which likewise loaned to why I favored his level-headed discussion. His verbal confrontation was likewise amazingly clear and he invalidated each point Hitchen made with confirmation from researchers and

The mistake Hitchens’ makes is that he focuses entirely too much on the capability of an individual, whether they be an atheist or a member of a faith, to speak or perform an ethical statement or deed or to carry out an immoral act based on their religious or spiritual affiliation. In reality, every individual has the power to do great good in the

Throughout time, medical personnel intertwine science with religion to comprehend the unexplainable and the incomprehensible. The basis of medical knowledge of the ancient Greek period included observation of a disease and attributing it to religion. However, The Sacred Disease takes the first step to start to value science and rationality over religion and superstition in medicine, but there is not a definitive mark that separates science from religious beliefs. The author addresses the issue of superstition and religion within the medical world and attempts to debunk it by humanizing the religious association of the term ‘divine.’ Even through the primeval medical information during the writings of the ‘sacred disease,’ the author bases

Rarely do you find a film both intelligent and entertaining like “The Gods Must Be Crazy”. The film is a collision of the individual journeys of three separate groups: the journey of Xi, the bushman, traveling to the end of the earth to get rid of a Coca-Cola bottle; the growing relationship between Kate Thompson, a school teacher, and Andrew Steyn, a clumsy scientist; and the actions of a band of terrorist led by Sam Boga. One day, a Coca-Cola bottle drops from the sky and lands unbroken near the temporary home of the bushman. The bushman family, completely isolated from humanity, has never seen such a thing and perceive it as a gift from the gods. Although the object proves to have many

The identity of human kind seems intrinsically linked with a search for the divine. Since the beginning of time, we have contemplated and proposed many different interpretations of the supernatural and existence of a divine being(s). In Karen Armstrong’s book, The Case for God, she assembles an exhaustive and detailed account of the history of all major religions and their historical significance and similarities. She concludes with an admonition of a modern atheist attitude towards religion based on the idea that we, as a democratic society, have lost sight of the overall intention and nature of belief and religion. Her perspective is unique and she adds an interesting new alternative to complete atheism and traditional religion.

Later on, writers such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, raised during the baby boom, would come to popularize a new movement of atheists starting in the early 2000’s. “One of the greatest challenges facing civilization in the twenty-first century is for human beings to learn to speak about their deepest personal concerns—about ethics, spiritual experiences, and the inevitability of human suffering—in ways that are not flagrantly irrational,” writes Sam Harris, popular New Atheist writer. “Nothing stands in the way of this project more than the respect we accord religious faith.” New Atheism would become interested in rationality and free-will, and would heavily criticize religious practitioners and the church at large. These are just a handful of reconstructions

Being an atheist for the past three years in a Southern Baptist household in one of the most ideologically conservative states in the country has been incredibly difficult. My views are a complete 180 degree turn from the way that I was raised and the people that surround me. Possibly the largest issue that has arisen for me is the issue of church-state separation. Living in the state of the nationally infamous Ten Commandments monument, it has been hard to feel like an insider that is welcome. This is why it was refreshing to hear a like-minded individual, Dr. Charles Kimball, on many of the same issues that I struggle with in his book When Religion Become Lethal: The Explosive mix of Religion and Politics in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It was also relatable in that Dr. Kimball and I both grew up Baptist and lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For many of the issues facing church-state separation, his ideas clicked and

Religion and science often contradict each other’s arguments and explanations. Evidently, many people believe religious claims over science, reasoning, and proven facts. The Four Horsemen, also known as the New Atheists, refer to four atheist writers. Daniel Dennett, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens have written several popular books on atheism, and their writings call for new ways of thinking about religion and interpretations of religion through scientific fact and logic rather than blind, unsupported beliefs. While the words and arguments of the Four Horsemen seem logical in context, some people are not swayed by their call to question religion.

Throughout history different cultures had many different religions and deities; therefore, one could say that religion has been the main patron of artworks depicting sacred subjects. Yet, how they worship and disseminate their religions and deities is quite similar. When looking at Virgin and Child in Majesty (ca. 1175-1200) and Yashoda with the Infant Krishna (12th Century), one immediately establishes a connection between them due to their visual similarities. The first (Fig. 1) is a sculpture made of walnut that depicts the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ as a child. The latter (Fig. 2) is a depiction of Krishna and his foster mother Yashoda made of copper alloy. Both works of art are iconic sculptures in

Author of three books, Darrel Ray, born in August 24th, 1995, is a psychologist who has been helping society to “recover from religion”. Ray himself was a part of the church community since his parents were fundamentalist christians, deeply involved in church life. After getting a degree in anthropology and sociology, he got masters degree in religion. As he states in the interview, Darrel changed his mind and became atheist after a getting degree in psychology and spent over 30 years contributing in field of organizational psychology and consulting. His latest work called - The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture, tells us why and how religion influences our lives and how does it inject itself so deeply into so many areas

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” This quote by famous scientist Albert Einstein shows how there are those who believe that the coexistence of Science and Religion is possible despite the overwhelming majority of the population that that believes the quite opposite to be true. However, there is a scientist that takes this clash and puts it into a better way of understanding. Francis S. Collins’, who wrote the New York Times bestseller, “The Language of God”, explains in this text many arguments and counterarguments that bridges the gap between science and faith, whist arguing that they can coexist, contrary to many misconceptions. In the novel, he explains his own personal journey from atheism to a steadfast belief in God and His word then proceeds to address scientific ideologies such as, Intelligent Design and Theistic Evolution and their connection to faith.

Christopher Hitchens makes the argument of the nonexistence of God by using the examples of the faults of religion then he concludes his book with a chapter on a need for the abolishment of religion to study human kind without its presence.

Religion has been a powerful force in human history. Mankind has longed and searched for the answers to its purpose, the reason for being and the possibility of life after physical death. They reasoned that an afterlife would be a place of accounting and reckoning for the life they lived on earth. Religious belief systems seemed to give the answers as to how to prepare for the afterlife. Religion became the means of giving answers to those basic yet deep-seated questions of both life and death. Religion provided a format of rules and laws for conduct and treatment toward others based on the desires and wishes of a god or gods that people envisioned, imagined or invented. Religious belief systems have been a powerful force for good and bad...good in the sense that it provided a measure of individual behavior and order in society for the wellbeing of the whole, but bad in the sense that men of ambition who craved power and control over others would often use religion as a tool of manipulation and fear. A casual glance of history tells us that complete civilizations have been built, grown and maintained around elaborate religious systems, ancient Egypt being a prime example.

It’s the twenty first century. Scientists have found evidence of water on Mars, they have successfully cloned human embryos, and everyday, they are getting closer to finding a cure for cancer. Still, in a world of groundbreaking facts and evidences, where the newest discovery leaves older ones out of commission, we fool ourselves into blindly putting faith on a series of chronicles conceived during the primitive age. Religion probably started out as a result of mankind trying to explain the physical world, but then became a tool to control and oppress, a reason for bloodshed and hate. While religion may have been of great help in