“A Brief History of Disbelief” This is a BBC series about Skepticism and Disbelief.
http://www.veoh.com/videos/v290939G3cdaPWh
The whole series can be found over at Red State Rabble.
Scroll down and find “A Brief History of Disbelief”, Parts I and II. Also, please if you would like to see this on your local PBS station there is an effort afoot to do call-ins and ask them to please play the entire series. The blogosphere rules, so up and at em, spread the word. If you like this sort of thing, that is.
Now if we could just get the sons and daughters of Abraham to read a book and join us in the 21st century, we might have something.
Update to the downloads are here:.
http://www.huge-entity.com/2007/03/jonathan-millers-brief-history-of.html
The update includes 6 additional interviews called “The Atheism Tapes”.
And now for current news, an absurdity that needs exposure for what it is. Get a laugh out of this.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660215179,00.html
And I thought all along that “The Bush Admin” was Satan. I now know the error of my ways. ROTFLMAO
At end of his viewing the stained-glass windows in the chapel, Miller said:
I’m hoping that he was only speaking of the “colorful myths and characters”. Or was he, perhaps, speaking of the beauty that an artisan had produced?
I believe that the architecture, paintings, scultures and music of the era that produced Michelangelo and DaVinci were possible, even if not bought and paid for by Popes! Perhaps the artists had even better ideas that would not have pleased their patrons and so some art died with them…
From the last link in this post:
Absurd isn’t a strong enough word for this.
You know thats why they all have dark skin right? Because they’re demons who’ve been rotiseried in the depths of hell and are marching across our borders to infiltrate our lily white purity. That’s why we had to exterminate the injuns, why we must wage war on arabs and why it’s OK to let genocide rage in Africa. They are not sons and daughters of Jehovah, they are singed in the evil of the devil!
The worst part of this rant I just spewed - I’ve heard it stated from folks before who actually believe it. Religion is nothing more than the disenfranchised convincing themselves thery are part of an elite that will be rewarded one day. A sort of VIP lounge in the hottest club where all others will be cut off at the door by God’s bouncer.
Anyone else see the article about neo-cons and their phylosophy on religion as an opiate to the masses? It’s really worth a read if you get the chance:
http://alternet.org/story/15935/
Thanks, Jimmer, for those very interesting links. Both series of videos are, indeed, very educational!
Yeah, Naomi…I also thought the stained glass comment by Miller was a bit strange. I personally would have at least added something about it being a shame that artists of the time lacked any substantial secular ‘gigs’. A huge, MAJOR, chunk of the history of art, including, of course, music, is rife with the mind, and purse string, control by religions. Johann Sebastian Bach, of course, is one major musical example of the Church’s mind warp.
It sure would’ve been interesting if the whole history of the arts had been completely secular!
And how much different the resulting history of the world might have been, if that had been the case.
Hmmm…maybe an alternate, parallel universe?
“Missed it by THAT much, 99!”
[You know…Max Smart?)
Mr. Larsen makes me so proud to be a Utahn. Sometimes I think we have a special kind of “crazy” here.
Just passing on an atheist’s…”Must See” recommendation…
]
I stumbled on the Live [4/29/07] C-Span BookTV’s running of a “Festival of Books” panel discussion.
The first hour [approx.] of a 4 hour run ‘mixed bag’…was on “Religion and Culture, Do They Mix?”
Amongst the panel was, atheist, Christopher Hitchens who was really “Hot”…erm…extremely, right on target…more than I’ve ever heard him.
Anyone interested in this very interesting discussion…check your BookTVchannel listings for a rerun.
http://www.booktv.org/schedule/
It’s listed as 10 PM Eastern time [4/29/07]. For those who want to record; I recommend setting it for 1:05 [1Hr. and 5min.]
It’s worth the effort just to catch Hitchens at his sharpest!
[Maybe he’s gotten sober?
I’m guessing, of course, it’ll end up on YouTube soon…?
Pharyngula also had a post on this:
A brief history of disbelief
Jimmer, apologies for not watching all the episodes at once — I think my brain isn’t up that or at the very least my eyes, which tend to glaze over when the mind pegs in the red overload-zone.
That said, in Part Two, I loved this (from Paul Henri Theirry, Baron D’Holbach):
Thank you for bringing these to us, Jimmer. (I had posted on the Collin McGinn tape a few months back; I wasn’t aware that it was part of this big and beautiful body of work!)
Your all welcome. I had a hard time yesterday getting the links to work. Sheesh, I’m glad they came out OK.
I think it was the idea of an ignorant and superstitious culture that begat religion which caused me to look closer. I realized that it was made up and poorly at that. The idea of a loving forgiving god but also one who would punish you for eternity. That never fit my ability to reason it out.
It will be our knowledge of nature and our understanding of our place in it that saves humankind.
Thanks for the heads up on Hitchens on Booktv ChuckA
Oh and Toni, Yes you do have a special kind of crazy there. LOL. That is just too good I had to share it.
Has anyone found a searchable transcript for “A Brief History of Disbelief” on the internet yet? I have come up with nothing so far.
Thank you, jimmer! I’m definitely going to either tune in to watch it or catch one of the Internet copies - er, “previews”
. What an interesting precursor to Cinco de Mayo!
Ummm…they do read a book.
The wrong 1.
If we could just substitute it for “Everything I Needed To Know, I Learned in Kindergarten”, I think that’d wrap up at least 50% of the world’s problems.
Oops.
I meant substitute the bible WITH EINTKILIK.
My bad.
KA
The wrong one. Yeah I agree but for the part that they read it. If they would just read it all the way through a few times. Then they would realize how falible it is. Most ahve never questioned their beliefs. They go along with what they are told. They trust a preacher for all their needs.
Did I hear Cinco De Mayo? EEEEEEeyyyaaaaa.