Ep 19 - If America Became a Christian Nation 3/3 (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2010-11-23 | Part 3 discusses the issue of adultery in both the Islamic and Christian faiths. We first explore two different stories from the Hadith, where the prophet Muhammad's unquenchable bloodlust is on display. Next, we examine Jesus Christ's contradictory views on adultery -- including the famous story of Jesus and the adulterous woman, found in John 8, which New Testament scholars have found to be a complete fabrication. The episode concludes with an appeal to the faithful to be cognizant of what their religions truly preach, to see that "extremism is pure, uncut religion that has not be diluted with the progressive views of secular logic and reason." Note: Episode 19 completes the miniseries on "Religion in America" (episodes 17-19). In the next set of videos I will turn my focus to exploring the issues of "Morality" and then "Faith". Each of these topics will have 4-5 episodes. ----------------------------------------- ***All videos have been included in this production with the intent of FAIR USE, do not file a DMCA claim against this production, thank you! VIDEOS CITED: Iranian woman faces stoning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15IWXFh587U Family Waits to See if Mother Will Be Hanged for Blasphemy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX-a1hMVmh0 CNN Interviews Prosecutor Behind the Blasphemy Death Sentence in Pakistan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQrIhmaYxlY ----------------------------------------- SCRIPTURE CITED: Muhammad prescribes stoning for adultery in the Hadith: Ibn Ishaq (970) Bukhari (6:60:79) Bukhari (83:37) Muslim (17:4196) Muslim (17:4206) Muslim (17:4209) ----------------------------------------- LINKS CITED: http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/001-adultery_punishment.htm **note: In an effort to stay within the allotted time of 15 minutes, I paraphrased these verses from the Hadith; however, they can be read in full at the following links: Muslim (17:4206) http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/muslim/017.smt.html#017.4206 Bukhari (6:60:79) http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/bukhari/060.sbt.html#006.060.079 ----------------------------------------- MUSIC CITED: Phillip Glass - Paul Is Dying The Last Samurai (soundtrack) - A Hard Teacher Requiem for a Dream (soundtrack) - Hope Overture Requiem for a Dream (soundtrack) - Lux Aeterna Dexter (soundtrack) - Deb cries American Beauty (soundtrack) - American Beauty - Thomas Newman Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works - Cliffs Aphex Twin - DrukQs - Kesson Daslef Aphex Twin - DrukQs - Kladfvgbung Micshk ----------------------------------------- PLAYLIST: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 TRANSCRIPT: discoveringreligion.net/?p=1414 WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts .
Planetical Gloaming (Atheist Music) - Carl Sagan Tribute Discovering Religion 2014-11-09 | Today would have been Carl Sagan's 80th birthday. As a tribute to this man's incalculable influence on science education and the promotion of reason, I have incorporated a few of Sagan's most famous sound bites, along with another of my favorite authors, Bill Bryson, in an original song. All music is my own production that I have created through Garageband, and I have taken video clips from numerous sources to illustrate the genius of both authors' eloquent ability to convey the wonder of science. I hope everyone enjoys the new music video, and I hope to have additional episodes of my series "Discovering Religion" posted soon. Lately my personal life and career do not allow me to write and edit video as much as I would like. Thanks to all those that still follow this channel. I do not mean to neglect my series, and I sincerely thank all of you who are subscribed. I have been working on a few new projects and will do my best to have something posted as soon as possible. Take care!
Did God Create the Universe? No. Discovering Religion 2014-01-25 | Transcript: http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=947I've had countless debates with believers that claim god cannot do the logically impossible, like create square circles. But if we accept this premise, then it has devastating consequences for the source of the Universe. The Law of Non-Contradiction states that something cannot simultaneously be itself and something else. This means it's a logical contradiction for something to express two different, opposing natures. Therefore, the reason god cannot create a square circle is because these shapes are opposite in nature.So, what does this have to do with the creation of the Universe? Well, god is said to have created the Universe ex nihilo. In other words, god simply willed the Universe into being from absolutely nothing. However, the Law of Conservation states that matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Whenever human beings "create" something we must act on preexisting matter -- we do not create from nothing.If the nature of the Universe prohibits matter and energy from being created and destroyed, then god's act of creation appears to contradict the Universe's nature. This is a violation of logic -- something that believers claim god cannot do. However, some may argue that the Law of Conservation is not a hard-and-fast rule. Virtual Particles are known to momentarily come into existence from nothing in the vacuum of space. Therefore, perhaps the Law of Conservation can be violated. Yet, if matter and energy can spring into existence from nothing, without any cause, then where does that leave god? Wouldn't we be justified in cutting out the middleman by accepting the proposition that the Universe came into existence from nothing, without any cause? It appears we have one of two options: either the Law of Conservation is in effect and matter and energy have always existed, or the Law of Conservation can be violated and matter and energy can come into existence from nothing -- god need not apply.At any rate, I've been playing around with this argument for a few weeks and wanted some feedback. Is my logic sound? What are your thoughts? Thanks for watching!
The Mythos of Superman (Man of Steel Review) Discovering Religion 2013-11-16 | ***PLEASE READ***: It's been brought to my attention that DailyMotion suffers from a lot of advertising, which makes the viewing experience very difficult. If you haven't already, please install "Adblock" on your browser, which removes all banners and video adverts on sites like DailyMotion, YouTube, Facebook, ThePirateBay, etc. Adblock is available for both Chrome and Firefox. Please quickly install this free addon before you watch my presentation. Thank you!Adblock (Chrome): adblockplus.org/en/chromeAdblock (Firefox): addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-plus________________________________________LINKS:Website (videos & transcript): http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=934Part 1: http://dai.ly/x1763fgPart 2: http://dai.ly/x176yqe________________________________________I've been wanting to give my thoughts on the "Man of Steel" ever since I saw it opening day. In preparation for this review I did a lot of research on the Superman character and I learned some very interesting information that I have incorporated into my video, which is basically a Superman documentary/rant against the "Man of Steel". As stated in the above video, YouTube's automated content ID matches are getting out of control and I knew that they would take down my review, as it's laced with clips from the "Man of Steel", "Smallville", "Superman I & II", DBZ, and so on. With productions such as these I'm not going to risk getting additional strikes against my YouTube account, so I've posted it to my DailyMotion channel instead. I hope you enjoy the presentation and please return to YouTube if you'd like to comment or start a discussion. I look forward to receiving your feedback and your thoughts about the "Man of Steel". Did you like it? Did you hate it? And why? Thanks a lot for watching and for your continued support of this channel!
Jesus Christ: Suicide By Cop Discovering Religion 2013-03-13 | WATCH HERE: http://tinyurl.com/bus73oxDue to a content ID match I am unable to upload my video to YouTube. However, it is available on DailyMotion at the above link. Please watch the video and comment on YouTube if you'd like to start a conversation. Thank you!--------------------------------------------TRANSCRIPT: http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=912WEBSITE:http://www.discoveringreligion.netFACEBOOK:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts--------------------------------------------MOVIES CITED:Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, The (2009)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1111422Town, The (2010)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840361Falling Down (1993)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106856Jesus (TV 1999) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199232Passion of the Christ, The (2004)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335345--------------------------------------------VIDEO CITED:Just 3 and half minutes of red and blue lightshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdaNooVo3f8Suicide By Cophttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USED8ENo100Police Chase ends in Deadly Shootout in Virginia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVRVMcwlVZEWorld At War - Ep 20 Genocidehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt1129869--------------------------------------------WORKS CITED:"Dialog with Trypho" (Justin Martyr)http://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/primary-texts-from-the-history-of-the-relationship/240-justin"Eight Homilies Against the Jews" (John Chrysostom)http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/chrysostom-jews6.asp"On the Jews and Their Lies" (Martin Luther)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Jews_and_Their_Lies
Ep 24 - Evolution of Morality (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2013-01-19 | The twenty-fourth installment of my original series, "Discovering Religion". In this episode I examine the claim made by many proponents of a naturalistic origin of morality that our understanding of right and wrong is solely derived from evolution, with little to no influence from philosophic logic and reason. My goal with this episode is to demonstrate that human beings share numerous behavioral traits in common with a variety of species throughout the Animal Kingdom. Our capacity to care and to kill are far from unique on this planet, for animals can inflict just as much "good" or "evil" on members of their same species as do human beings. Within the context of social animals the phrase "survival of the fittest" refers to members of a group that care for one another and help each achieve common goals. However, this alone does not lead to a sound understanding of morality, for often the goal of one group is the demise of another. If we are to achieve a consist and all-encompassing code of conduct that equally applies to every human being, then we must employ the tools of science, logic, and reason.I hope you enjoy the presentation and thank you very much for watching!-----------------------------TRANSCRIPT: discoveringreligion.net/?p=1447PLAYLIST:http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 WEBSITE:http://www.discoveringreligion.netFACEBOOK:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts
The Case Against the Resurrection (Bart D. Ehrman) Discovering Religion 2012-12-12 | I don't often mirror videos, but I would like to bring attention to a debate by New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman on the probability of Jesus Christ's resurrection. The original excerpt can be found on bdwilson1000's channel, and the full debate is available on YouTube. Please check out the following links:The Full Bart Ehrman Debate:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QlYkUY8s3o&feature=g-high-recResurrection Playlist:http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLf113iNh-64a8_1bdkrX7kHqPa88_hjfR&feature=mh_lolzEvolution in Action: The Silver Fox Experimenthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoB0pdhxfZsbdwilson1000's Channel:http://www.youtube.com/user/bdwilson1000__________________________________________BIBLICAL INCONGRUENCIES:(Those discussed in the debate)Day of Jesus' death:Mark 14:12-16 http://tinyurl.com/72t944bJohn 19:14 http://tinyurl.com/bydc4umCarrying of the cross:John 19:17 http://tinyurl.com/anb6zk5Mark 15:21 http://tinyurl.com/a7h2s4pMatthew 27:32 http://tinyurl.com/b57cy9gLuke 23:26 http://tinyurl.com/a9ygx9gHow many criminals:Mark 15:32 http://tinyurl.com/bbmew9qMatthew 27:44 http://tinyurl.com/a6uxdp9Luke 23:40-43 http://tinyurl.com/acd8v3gRipped curtain: Luke 23:45-46 http://tinyurl.com/aodrbljMark 15:37-38 http://tinyurl.com/at7wexyMatthew 27:50-53 http://tinyurl.com/bhtoat5Tomb:John 20:1 http://tinyurl.com/ah78hu4Mark 16:1 http://tinyurl.com/bdkljctMatthew 28:1 http://tinyurl.com/a5q5ynnLuke 24:1 http://tinyurl.com/a535druStone:Mark 16:14 http://tinyurl.com/afg7z5mLuke 24:2 http://tinyurl.com/ahghu4vJohn 20:1 http://tinyurl.com/ah78hu4Matthew 28:2 http://tinyurl.com/axde7tkWho was at the tomb:Mark 16:5 http://tinyurl.com/be8lzpsLuke 24:4 http://tinyurl.com/ahtj9klMatthew 28:2 http://tinyurl.com/axde7tkWhat were the disciples told:Luke 24:49 http://tinyurl.com/ast3ba2Mark 16:7 http://tinyurl.com/amwj4pdMatthew 28:7 http://tinyurl.com/bde8yguWho did the women tell:Matthew 28:8 http://tinyurl.com/b6me4r9Luke 24:9 http://tinyurl.com/ajfoqheJohn 20:18 http://tinyurl.com/a2edgy5Mark 18:8 http://tinyurl.com/a3z3chuWhere did the disciples go:Luke 24:49-53 http://tinyurl.com/ancd7hbActs 1:4 http://tinyurl.com/a7oy5plMatthew 28:16 http://tinyurl.com/9wvkgls
The Meaning of Life Discovering Religion 2012-12-08 | "What is the meaning of life?" I've been asked this question more times than I can count, and it wasn't until recently that I started thinking about this subject from the perspective of objectivity. I suppose my position on this question will stir a little controversy among my peers, but I hope you'll first take the time to understand my argument before laying into me! I often catch a lot flack from other atheists, especially on my videos covering morality; therefore, I made every effort to present the argument as clearly as possible. I repeat myself in several sections of the video because want to emphasize the argument and snuff out potential criticisms within the video itself, leaving no room for misinterpretation. However, there is always someone that manages to take me completely out of context. Even when initially debating this subject my opponent attempted to refute me by claiming, "Not all engines use spark plugs." As you can imagine, facepalms ensued. I hope everyone enjoys this different slant on the meaning of life and thanks a lot for listening to me wax philosophically! :)P.S. It may seem as if I speak a little slowly at the beginning of the video. This is my second attempt at the voiceover and I may have overcompensated for the first time, in which I read way too fast. However, the video does pick up after a couple minutes._____________________________________MUSIC CITED:Llewellyn & Robin Butterfield - 06 - Heavenly Retreathttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr9PBtubK8g_____________________________________TRANSCRIPT:http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=892WEBSITE:http://www.discoveringreligion.netFACEBOOK:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts
The Scientific Basis of Morality (Ep 23 Follow Up) Discovering Religion 2012-11-13 | This video is a follow up to Episode 23, in which I address several questions and concerns with my argumentation for the objective and scientific basis of morality. The content of this video is heavily science-based, adapted from my lectures received during medical school. Therefore, I don't have a great deal of citations for this video, although the information is factual and accurate. However, feel free to fact check me on wiki or other medical resources if you like! Hopefully the information isn't too dry. I could have gone into much greater detail, but I didn't want the episode to get too bogged down. I had this response written several months ago, but I only just now found the time to produce the video. I'll be starting production on Episode 24 soon, but I felt compelled to address some of the concerns raised with my argumentation and it snowballed from there into a 20 minute response. Endocrinology and immunology are some of my favorite subjects in medicine, so I hope you find this episode interesting as well. Please let me know if you have any questions of further concerns. Thanks a lot for watching! :)______________________________________VIDEO CITED:Neurotransmitter Synapse 3D Animationhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90cj4NX87YkParkinson's Disease A Guide for Patients & Families - Part 1 of 3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyquDyeX1fEParkinson's Disease Symptoms Tremor, Posture, Gait and Balance...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E26GsUSjvdwFlight From Death: The Quest for Immortalityhttp://www.youtube.com/movie?v=RH7686gJgj8&feature=mv_srStock Footage - Stock Video Backgrounds - Digital Graffiti clip 10http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xylbq6_nMd0Superclusters of Galaxies. The Great Sloan Wall [cosmic web]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu2-9omdXNc______________________________________MUSIC CITED:The Hours Soundtrack - 11 Tearing Herself Awayhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0OTDu9GrxUAdvent Children - Beyond The Wasteland [HQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJik5N7qmso______________________________________TRANSCRIPT:discoveringreligion.net/?p=1442PLAYLIST:http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 WEBSITE:http://www.discoveringreligion.netFACEBOOK:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts
Faith In A Lie (Atheist Music) Discovering Religion 2012-09-27 | This is just a quirky little song I had buried in a notebook somewhere, and I thought it might be interesting to share with everyone. I recorded it through Garageband and then slapped together a quick video, so I apologize if the editing seems rushed. Note that I am by no means a professional musician, so please excuse me if my voice is not perfect -- I had a lot of complaints about that on the last song I released. This is just for fun, so the trolls can suck a dick.I apologize for my absence from youtube. I am still trying to make time for video production. As most of you know it takes me a very long time to produce an episode. I received a lot of great feedback on Episode 23, and I debated quite a few people through comments and private messages. I have complied a list of points made against my argument and I plan to address them very soon in a series of follow up videos. After that I will continue on with the series, as Episode 24 is written and ready to be produced. Thanks to everyone for being so patient, as I am producing this series entirely on my own with no outside help whatsoever; therefore, my time and resources are limited.LYRICS:The ostrich is flapping its wingsBut it can't flyIt only runsAnd then it hides...Its awkward head in the sandAh, but it can be seenIt's only fooling itselfWhat can it all mean?Does he think it's alrightWhen there isn't a lightOr is it faith in a lie?The eyes of a blind man can't seeBut he can hearYou walk awayAnd he can feel...The empty palm of his handAs once again he's deniedAnd the tears he can't hideBecause it's too much to bearThere must be something up thereAnd before bed every nightHe puts his faith in a lie
Ep 23 - Secular Morality - Primal vs. Refined (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2012-07-25 | The twenty-third installment of my original series, "Discovering Religion". In this episode I examine the basis of Secular Morality, which I've defined in two parts: Primal Morality and Refined Morality. This episode concludes the Secular vs. Biblical Morality miniseries, which began with Episode 20. On a personal note, I apologize for my long absence. I've been extremely busy this year and I had to take some time off from youtube. However, even when I do manage to get some free time it's difficult to devote the many long hours it takes to researching, organizing, and producing new videos. At close to 40 minutes this episode has been by far the most labor intensive to produce. In fact, this script has been in the works since last year, so I feel a great sense of accomplishment in finally getting it out there. I hope everyone enjoys the episode. Thank you very much for supporting the series and for all your patience. :)Please comment and rate. If you enjoy the video feel free to share it with others or mirror it on your own channel. Thanks!---------------------------------------------------INDEX0:10 - Introduction3:20 - Primal vs. Refined MoralityRefined Morality:5:06 Various examples of Refined Morality9:41 Parallels b/w physiological and societal health14:00 Refined Morality at work - Alcohol consumptionPrimal Morality:16:12 The basis of Primal Morality19:21 An alternative evolution of moralityLifestyle: Secular vs. Biblical Morality23:27 The morality of lifestyle choicesCriticisms and Clarifications:27:49 Loopholes in Biblical Morality (Biblical atrocities)31:53 The objectivity of Secular Morality (a scenario of human extinction)34:00 The subjectivity of Biblical MoralityConclusion:35:34 Conclusion of Secular Morality36:42 Morality and the social dynamics of early man---------------------------------------------------BIBLE CITATIONS:Genocide (The Flood) - Genesis 7:21-23Genocide (various nations) - Deuteronomy 20:16-17Rape (Jerusalem) - Zechariah 14:2Rape AND Infanticide (Babylon) - Isaiah 13:16Infanticide (Passover) - Exodus 12:29-30 Infanticide (Midianites) - Numbers 31:17&18Infanticide (Babylon) - Isaiah 14:21Infanticide (Babylon) - Psalm 137:9Infanticide (Israel's Punishment) - Hosea 9:16---------------------------------------------------VIDEO CITED:RobocopAmerican PsychoEquilibriumLet's Go To PrisonYear OnePlanet Of The Apemen - Homo ErectusBBC - Planet Earth - Mountains; Great Plains; Ice WorldsBBC - Walking With Cavemen - Savage Family; The SurvivorsTribal Treehousehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhF7wYpBBqE ---------------------------------------------------MUSIC CITED:Phillip Glass (The Hours) - Dead ThingsPhillip Glass (Kudun) - DistraughtTutors (soundtrack) - Whispers & ConfessionsJames Asher (Dance of the Light) - Peace to All Beings---------------------------------------------------TRANSCRIPT:discoveringreligion.net/?p=1434PLAYLIST:http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 WEBSITE:http://www.discoveringreligion.netFACEBOOK:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts
*MUST SEE* An excellent video by Fibbs1701 Discovering Religion 2012-04-20 | "Shock and Awe"http://youtu.be/SbY74dwKEawFibbs1701's Channel:http://www.youtube.com/Fibbs1701Fibbs1701 is an up-and-coming channel that so far has produced several excellent videos. I had a chance to correspond with Fibbs1701 and he informed me of his plans to release many more such videos, not to mention he seems like a great guy. :) I'm always happy when people contact me to inform me of their new productions, especially of this caliber. I am definitely looking forward to his future work and I hope you'll join me in subscribing!
[MIRROR] Thunderf00t vs. Eric Hovind - Commentary (Venaloid) Discovering Religion 2012-04-08 | Venaloid's channel: http://www.youtube.com/VenaloidOriginal video: http://youtu.be/LXi0HPshfVoAs you may have already seen, Thunderf00t recently posted his debate with Eric Hovind at the Reason Rally. However, every time I watch one of his debates it just drives me up a wall. I respect Thunderf00t and he is certainly an intelligent guy, but he simply does not perform well in live debates.At any rate, over the past week I found Venaloid's channel, where he presents very well-reasoned and informative arguments against theism. Tonight I was pleased to see that he provided some commentary on the Thunderf00t v. Hovind debate and where it all went wrong. I thought this would be a great video to share with everyone in case you are not aware of his channel. Venaloid has a lot of great arguments and I particularly enjoy his editing and humor in this video. If you enjoy it as much as I do please visit his channel and show your support by subscribing!Note: I know it's been a while since I have updated my series. Unfortunately, I do not have much free time at the moment to produce videos. However, in the next few months I will get getting a break and won't have to work so much. I have a lot of great topics in the works so I hope everyone can be patient until then. :)
Why Even Try (Atheist Music) Discovering Religion 2012-02-06 | This is an original song that I wrote a few years ago. If you enjoy my music, and would like to hear more, please let me know by rating and commenting. I have many more original songs, some about atheism as well as other topics.DOWNLOAD MP3: http://tinyurl.com/7lo99zk(To download: Right click the link and select "Save link as...")LYRICS:Wearing your costumes and playing your gamesTurning your tricks with all sorts of namesFeeding us lies with a smile on your face, you deceivePainting your face like the fool that you arePreaching the word that means nothing at allYou desperately grasp onto a false sense of beingWhy even try, when you know the end is comingYou can't say why, but you feel yourself numbing, yes you doWhat do you do when day fades to nightSay your little prayers then turn out the lightDidn't mother teach you that all hope is in vainWhen you awake you start it againConvinced of the lies you unthinkingly defendBut in the back of your mind you know it's all pretendWhy even try, when you know the end is approachingYou can't say when, but you feel yourself hoping that it's true
Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (3 of 3) Discovering Religion 2012-01-06 | Slavery Anti-Apologetics (Introduction) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdT1uODfXbw Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (1 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-4zv1zagNE Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (2 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xml_8if0mU4 Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (3 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ITcuh28JQU Transcript: http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=831 _________________________________________________ Recently I've been getting requests about how best to approach a theological debate and/or how to express one's newly found atheism to friends and family. So, I thought I'd share one of my recent debates over the issue of slavery, which has always been one of the most difficult subjects for me to reconcile with the notion of an all-loving God. Although I am probably not the best person to ask about how to announce your disbelief to friends and family, my personal opinion is to take it slow and don't rush into a huge theological argument. Initially start by dropping hints, raising concerns about the Bible, and gauging reactions. Perhaps mention you've been reading some interesting passages in the Bible and it's starting to become difficult to reconcile what you read with who/what you believe God is supposed to be. When you feel ready, engage others in an detailed debate and defend your position. I find debates to be fun and engaging. I always learn something new, while sharpening my critical thinking. I hope you find this video entertaining and educational. Please leave me your thoughts and feedback. Thank you!
Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (2 of 3) Discovering Religion 2012-01-06 | Slavery Anti-Apologetics (Introduction) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdT1uODfXbw Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (1 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-4zv1zagNE Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (2 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xml_8if0mU4 Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (3 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ITcuh28JQU Transcript: http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=831 _________________________________________________ Recently I've been getting requests about how best to approach a theological debate and/or how to express one's newly found atheism to friends and family. So, I thought I'd share one of my recent debates over the issue of slavery, which has always been one of the most difficult subjects for me to reconcile with the notion of an all-loving God. Although I am probably not the best person to ask about how to announce your disbelief to friends and family, my personal opinion is to take it slow and don't rush into a huge theological argument. Initially start by dropping hints, raising concerns about the Bible, and gauging reactions. Perhaps mention you've been reading some interesting passages in the Bible and it's starting to become difficult to reconcile what you read with who/what you believe God is supposed to be. When you feel ready, engage others in an detailed debate and defend your position. I find debates to be fun and engaging. I always learn something new, while sharpening my critical thinking. I hope you find this video entertaining and educational. Please leave me your thoughts and feedback. Thank you!
Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (1 of 3) Discovering Religion 2012-01-06 | Slavery Anti-Apologetics (Introduction) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdT1uODfXbw Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (1 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-4zv1zagNE Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (2 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xml_8if0mU4 Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (3 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ITcuh28JQU Transcript: http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=831 _________________________________________________ Recently I've been getting requests about how best to approach a theological debate and/or how to express one's newly found atheism to friends and family. So, I thought I'd share one of my recent debates over the issue of slavery, which has always been one of the most difficult subjects for me to reconcile with the notion of an all-loving God. Although I am probably not the best person to ask about how to announce your disbelief to friends and family, my personal opinion is to take it slow and don't rush into a huge theological argument. Initially start by dropping hints, raising concerns about the Bible, and gauging reactions. Perhaps mention you've been reading some interesting passages in the Bible and it's starting to become difficult to reconcile what you read with who/what you believe God is supposed to be. When you feel ready, engage others in an detailed debate and defend your position. I find debates to be fun and engaging. I always learn something new, while sharpening my critical thinking. I hope you find this video entertaining and educational. Please leave me your thoughts and feedback. Thank you!
Slavery Anti-Apologetics (Introduction) Discovering Religion 2012-01-05 | Slavery Anti-Apologetics (Introduction) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdT1uODfXbw Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (1 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-4zv1zagNE Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (2 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xml_8if0mU4 Slavery in the Bible: Slavery Dialogs (3 of 3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ITcuh28JQU Transcript: http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=831 _________________________________________________ Recently I've been getting requests about how best to approach a theological debate and/or how to express one's newly found atheism to friends and family. So, I thought I'd share one of my recent debates over the issue of slavery, which has always been one of the most difficult subjects for me to reconcile with the notion of an all-loving God. Although I am probably not the best person to ask about how to announce your disbelief to friends and family, my personal opinion is to take it slow and don't rush into a huge theological argument. Initially start by dropping hints, raising concerns about the Bible, and gauging reactions. Perhaps mention you've been reading some interesting passages in the Bible and it's starting to become difficult to reconcile what you read with who/what you believe God is supposed to be. When you feel ready, engage others in an detailed debate and defend your position. I find debates to be fun and engaging. I always learn something new, while sharpening my critical thinking. I hope you find this video entertaining and educational. Please leave me your thoughts and feedback. Thank you!
Newton, Einstein, Naturalism, and Walking Fish Discovering Religion 2011-12-28 | Over the past few weeks a pair of creationists have been trolling my videos like crazy, so I've decided to respond to a few of their comments and address an issue that has been bothering me for quite some time: Naturalism vs Supernaturalism.Discovering Religion: Ep 07 - Transitional Specieshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpW7nQl3-D4 ____________________________TRANSCRIPT:http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=818 ____________________________LINKS CITED:Einstein Quoteshttp://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/einstein.htm Newton the Alchemist http://www.alchemylab.com/isaac_newton.htm Isaac Newtonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton#Optics ____________________________VIDEO CITED:Australia Telescope Compact Array and surroundshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsGJFlTFGhI Ambystoma mexicanum axolotl aquariumhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7cxJY5gu-A BBC Planet Earth - Ocean Deephttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Earth_(TV_series)#11._.22Ocean_Deep.22 Chemical Bondshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEFeLYWTKX0 Genesis (2004)http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287457 The Incredible Hulkhttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800080 Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed Season 1 - Episode 13 Part 3http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAz79eZlaxI Strange fish is walking on the bottom of the oceanhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQv7uIfMIqc Simulation solar systemhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R5P9Y9gRYY The Hubble Ultra Deep Field in 3Dhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVjF_7ensg The Violent End Stage of Star Formationhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_nCIJnZDW8 The Way Of The Master Series - Season 1 - Episode 7 - Atheismhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7uA-P8TsPM
Create A Custom-Made YouTube Channel Background (2of2) Discovering Religion 2011-12-24 | YouTube Channel Background Template: http://tinyurl.com/6qhxkle I've received many complements on my YouTube channel background as well as questions about my design. So I thought I would give a quick tutorial on how I made this graphic as well as provide you with a template to get you started creating a custom-made background of your own. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and if you end up creating your own channel background please send me a private message letting me know, because I would love to see your work! Happy holidays and be safe everyone!
Create A Custom-Made YouTube Channel Background (1of2) Discovering Religion 2011-12-24 | YouTube Channel Background Template: http://tinyurl.com/6qhxkle Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qBBSUSrEV4 I've received many complements on my YouTube channel background as well as questions about my design. So I thought I would give a quick tutorial on how I made this graphic as well as provide you with a template to get you started creating a custom-made background of your own. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and if you end up creating your own channel background please send me a private message letting me know, because I would love to see your work! Happy holidays and be safe everyone!
I Am Not An Atheist Discovering Religion 2011-12-21 | Although I did not plan on making a video to commemorate the recent passing of Christopher Hitchens, I felt compelled to address an issue I had been thinking about for quite some time when I learned Kim Jong-il died just two days later. There is a tendency for Christians and other monotheists to lump all atheists together in one group, when there are big differences between atheists like Christopher Hitchens and Kim Jong-il. Indeed, I find the term "atheist" to be non-informative, non-descriptive, and in a major source of confusion for many people. Therefore, I have been considering whether atheists should change their tune and label themselves according to what they are rather than what they are not.I originally wanted this to be a quick video, ending with a little montage of Kim Jong-il to the song "I'm so Ronery" from the Team America soundtrack. However, I tried uploading the video two times and I kept getting copyright violations. Therefore, I had to find an alternative version of the song, not from the movie -- thanks a lot YouTube! :( Anyway, every time I went to re-edit the video I kept adding a little more to the end until it eventually became 15 minutes long, LOL. I don't have time to produce a lot of videos, so when I do I might as well make them count. In this video I also mention that I recently had a debate about slavery's depiction in the Bible, and over the past few weeks I've been getting a lot of private messages about people having theological debates with Christians. I think my anti-apologetics would be a great place to start developing hard-hitting questions of your own -- to really challenge theists in a debate. I hope to someday adapt the debate into a video of its own, but if you are interested in reading a comprehensive rebuttal to the apologetics of Biblical slavery, please check out my website. Andy's Anti-Apologetics on Slavery:http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=579 Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video. Please leave me your feedback on the question of how atheists should refer to themselves. Thanks again and have a great holiday!________________________________________LINKS CITED:North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies 'of heart attack'http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16239693 List of Kim Jong-il's titleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kim_Jong-il's_titles 18 Strange 'Facts' About The North Korean Leaderhttp://tinyurl.com/83f93mcNecrocracyhttp://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Necrocracy Pol Pothttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol_Pot Year Zerohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Zero_(political_notion) Bill and Malinda Gates Foundationhttp://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx ________________________________________MUSIC CITED:"I'm So Ronery" (cover)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cunVVeYiwIo ________________________________________VIDEO CITED:If Kim Jong-un Fails to Control Arsenal, North Korea Could Be 'Truly Terrifying'http://youtu.be/FxOWYrZfMpQNorth Koreans weeping hysterically over the death of Kim Jong-ilhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSWN6Qj98Iw________________________________________TRANSCRIPT:http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=798
QMQ: ANSWERS - Ep 01 - Medical Ethics How Ethical Are You? Discovering Religion 2011-11-19 | The next time you hear a monotheist tell a non-believer that morals come from the Bible or that moral reasoning cannot provide an ethical code of conduct, point them to the body of Medical Ethics. :)I find Medical Ethics to be so fascinating because we are required to implement our moral reasoning in order to discover the best course of action in a difficult situation. Physicians are bound by the Hippocratic oath, dating back to the late 5th century BCE. The original oath was sworn to the Greek gods, including Apollo, and the oath served to guide the practice of healers and bind them to the doctrine of "do no harm". Ethics was of immense importance to the Hellenistic world, in fact, Plato and Aristotle were the first great philosophers to study and write about ethics in detail.In contrast, Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe morals and ethics are only derived from their specific holy books. Therefore, how do monotheists explain the refined set of medical ethics we have today? What does the Bible have to say about the therapeutic privilege exception to informed consent, doctor-patient confidentiality, sexual relationships with former patients, and accepting gifts from pharmaceutical companies? Ancient scrolls written many thousands of years ago could never hope predict all the moral and ethical dilemmas future societies would face. The Bible cannot speak to modern-day medical ethics just as it says nothing about insider trading, sexual harassment in the work place, or the ethical obligation of lawyers to defend clients known to be guilty.I find it truly amazing at the same the ancient Greeks were refining a code of ethics by which to conduct the practice of medicine, the Hebrews were cursing Babylon and threatening to seize Babylonian infants and violently dash them against rocks (Psalm 137:9). These two groups actually coexisted, and you could not hope to find a better example of two morally polarized theistic belief systems in the ancient world.There is a major disconnect between what the Bible considers morally acceptable, and the ethical standards of practice of physicians, lawyers, law enforcement officials, and the public at large. Our modern-day understanding of ethics can only be derived from moral reasoning. The Bible simply did not have the foresight nor the capacity to speak on modern-day ethical dilemmas, and in some cases, such as those of slavery and infanticide, the Bible is totally devoid of ethics, compassion, and the doctrine of "do no harm".As we can see by the sheer variety of ethical dilemmas that doctors and other health care providers must face, there is no way the authors of the Bible, Aristotle, Hippocrates, or any other ancient text could predict the way ethical conduct would be practiced by future civilizations. Indeed, the body of medicine is continually growing and shows no signs of relenting. In one hundred, five hundred, or even a thousands years the novel problems the future of medicine will encounter will be entirely different than our own.There is no conceivable way to predict the kinds of bio-ethical dilemmas our descendants will face, and only a strong ethical foundation and the ability to morally reason will allow them to continue to refine their ethical codes of conduct. However, what can be certain of, is that the foundations of ethics will never change. "Do no harm" was the under-riding principle of medical ethics over 25 centuries ago, and it will continue to be 25 centuries from now. But unfortunately for monotheists, the same kind of comparison cannot be made with their historical documents regarding moral and ethical conduct. -----------------------------------MUSIC CITED:Intro: "Happy-Go-Lively" - Ren and Stimpy soundtrack"When it Falls" - Zero 7"Deb Cries" - Dexter Soundrack-----------------------------------WORKS CITED:Practice questions taken from USMLE review material such as "First Aid" and "Kaplan".
QMQ: Ep 01 - Medical Ethics How Ethical Are You? (Question) Discovering Religion 2011-11-17 | Follow up video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b25fe_KR5U I am making you guys work for this one. :) But please take the exam and see how you do! ----------- The first installment of my new series, "Quick Moral Quandaries". Although in future installments I plan to present only one question and then a follow up explanatory video a few days later, this initial episode contains a series of questions regarding medical ethics. As some of you may know, I am currently in medical school and I always found medical ethics to be of particular interest. I would like to share a selection of my favorite questions, which are used for training purposes for the first step of the United States Medical Licensing Exam, or USMLE for short, which all medical students must complete in order to practice medicine within the United States. In the follow up video I will reveal the answers, discuss why they are correct, as well as examine the implications of medical ethics with regard to theistic morality. Keep an eye open for the answer video in over the few couple days!
Quick Moral Quandaries: Introduction to The Series Discovering Religion 2011-11-17 | I have decided produce a new miniseries called, Quick Moral Quandaries. Each video will be presented in two parts. First I will pose a moral dilemma in a short video. You can answer me in the comments section or debate others as to the best moral and ethical course of action. A few days later I will post a follow up video relating my views about the moral problem and perhaps discussing some of the more interesting comments I receive on the question video. I hope make an interactive, entertaining new series where everyone is free to participate and share their thoughts. Although my intended format is to only pose one question at a time, the first installment of this series will be breaking this formula. The initial episode will discuss a large topic concerning medical ethics, where I will display a series of questions in a test format. The questions are taken from practice tests for the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USLME). These questions are fairly intuitive and do not require prior medical or scientific knowledge. Test your moral intuition by playing along. Continue to the next video by clicking on this link:QMQ - Ep 01 Questions:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG2y0gcjrAw
My Favorite Book! Discovering Religion 2011-11-02 | Introduction:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in7ujsC_KQA
Ep 22 - Moral Absolutes and The Motivation to be Moral 1/2 (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2011-11-01 | The twenty-second installment of my original series, "Discovering Religion". In this two part episode I examine the concept of moral absolutes and ultimately where our sense of right and wrong is derived. To illustrate this concept, I pose two question to theists: "Why is adultery immoral?" and "Would it be moral to kill your child if God command you to?" If morality is solely derived from God, do theists believe actions are right or wrong merely because God says so? These questions serve to highlight a famous philosophical debate found in the "Dialogs of Plato", known as the Euthyphro Dilemma. If it is possible to know something is wrong, despite the fact God has commanded it, then where is one's sense of morality truly derived? Episode 22 Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq0PvkB9jdY --------------------------------- VIDEO CITED: Is God Necessary for Morality (Debate) William Lane Craig vs Louise Antony http://youtu.be/9n0lqWPaIuM 128. What is The Euthyphro Dilemma? With William Lane Craig http://youtu.be/IgGB4Oxs5VU That Mitchell And Webb Look (S03E06) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499410 --------------------------------- MUSIC CITED: Tudors - 15 - Buckingham Plots For Murder Tudors - 08 - More's Love Of A King Tudors - 06 - Cardinal Wolsey's Secrets Tudors - 11 Lovers Silent Hill - Promise (reprise) Silent Hill - Le Tourment de Laura --------------------------------- WORKS CITED: Euthyphro Dilemma http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/plato/euthyphr.htm --------------------------------- BIBLICAL CITATIONS: Featured Stories: David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11 and 12) http://tinyurl.com/m3y59j Abraham Tested (Genesis 22) http://tinyurl.com/44zctaz Biblical Atrocities: Murder, rape, and pillage at Jabesh-gilead (Judges 21:10-24) http://tinyurl.com/3chb5vg Murder, rape and pillage of the Midianites (Numbers 31:7-18) http://tinyurl.com/4yt6c29 Murder Rape and Pillage (Deuteronomy 20:10-14) http://tinyurl.com/3f2v5gn Making Sex-Slaves of Female Captives (Deuteronomy 21:10-14) http://tinyurl.com/3uccacg Rape and the Spoils of War (Judges 5:30) http://tinyurl.com/4y4cz8g God Assists Rape and Plunder (Zechariah 14:1-2) http://tinyurl.com/3umlgs7 God Kills 1st born of Egypt (Exodus 12:29-30) http://tinyurl.com/3fp58sb God kills children for ancestor' sins (Isaiah 14:21) http://tinyurl.com/3ouwq57 God kills offspring of enemies (Hosea 9:11-16) http://tinyurl.com/3dlhg2n God promotes murder, looting, and rape (Isaiah 13:15-18) http://tinyurl.com/4xnbbht --------------------------------- TRANSCRIPT: discoveringreligion.net/?p=1429 PLAYLIST: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts
Ep 22 - Moral Absolutes and The Motivation to be Moral 2/2 (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2011-11-01 | In part two we examine the claim commonly made by monotheists: If morals are not fixed and absolute, then how can anyone claim someone else's actions are wrong, such as those of Hitler? However, the problem lies with the very question itself. Anyone that believes in moral absolutes is immune from being challenged and will never change their mind about what they believe to be God's will, no matter what. The only form of morality worth having is that which can be modified as new, factual evidence is discovered. We do not now nor ever will have all the answers, and to assume that our present-day morality is complete and no additional facts may be discovered that could provide greater insight into the nature of well-being is the highest order of arrogance and intellectual dishonesty. Although it is possible for moral ideals to change, that is not to say Secular Morality does not have any objective truths, which we will thoroughly discussed in future episodes. However, to believe the entire basis of one's morality is predicated upon the ambiguous will of a God will only result in the appearance of hypocrisy on the part of the theist if they are to ever change their minds about they believe to be "God's will". Therefore, theist are forced to rail against any notion that morality does not come from God. It's interesting to note that despite what theists claim about being humble and seeking humility, they are far too proud to ever concede that they could be wrong, and that their understanding of divine morality is built upon superstition rather than facts and evidence. Episode 22 Part 1: http://youtu.be/qFTM1FU4Xd4 Note: In the video I mention how science reveals homosexuality is not a choice. I have gotten several requests for information about this subject, so I have created a blog. Please check it out here: http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=518 --------------------------------- VIDEO CITED: The Question of God Sigmund Freud And C.S. Lewis - 1/6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymjuxVPBZYc Leni Riefenstahl - Adolf Hitler - Triumph Of The Will http://tinyurl.com/3ydmask (torrent) Charlie's Retorical Questions About Accountability to God http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8OaKYfiYww Super Chameleon http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMT1FLzEn9I The World At War (BBC): Episode 1 - A New Germany Episode 2 - Distant War Episode 20 - Genocide Episode 22 - Japan http://tinyurl.com/3kxttnn (torrent) --------------------------------- MUSIC CITED: Silent Hill - Blackannis - MusicBox Tudors - 17 - A Queens Loneliness American Beauty Soundtrack - American Beauty - Thomas Newman Silent Hill - True --------------------------------- WORKS CITED: "Mein Kampf" - Adolf Hitler http://www.crusader.net/texts/mk My blog on homosexuality: http://discoveringreligion.net/?p=518 --------------------------------- TRANSCRIPT: discoveringreligion.net/?p=1429 PLAYLIST: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts
The Making of: 05 - Photoshop Cropping, Clone Stamp, Skew, Fill, Removing Watermarks Discovering Religion 2011-10-29 | Continued from part 4, I give some more photoshop tips on how to crop images, using the "clone stamp" tool, skew, "fill" tool and how to remove the watermark on images from the web. ---------------- Part 1: http://youtu.be/s4Hi-Hl9esY Part 2: http://youtu.be/hT4JBf3siI8 Part 3: http://youtu.be/VamB0JFztRI Part 4: http://youtu.be/yoy3evJqdg8 Part 5: http://youtu.be/nD8XuxMW6EQ
The Making of: 04 - Staying Organized & How to Make Arrows in Photoshop Discovering Religion 2011-10-29 | In this part I give a couple more tips on how to stay organized when producing a big script, as well as a few more photoshop tips on how to create arrows and animate them in Pinnacle. ---------------- Part 1: http://youtu.be/s4Hi-Hl9esY Part 2: http://youtu.be/hT4JBf3siI8 Part 3: http://youtu.be/VamB0JFztRI Part 4: http://youtu.be/yoy3evJqdg8 Part 5: http://youtu.be/nD8XuxMW6EQ
DDOJ: The Pledge of Allegiance Discovering Religion 2011-10-21 | Inspired by TheFaithCheck series "Daily Doses of Jesus", I have decided to make my own video highlighting some of the idiotic posts that I have seen on facebook. I don't plan to make additional DDOJ videos after this, but if you haven't already, I encourage you to check out some of the excellent videos in TheFaithCheck's DDOJ series. TheFaithCheck (DDOJ): http://tinyurl.com/43x9cb8 --------------------------------------------------- VIDEO CITED: DDOJ-6 Christian Superstition Becomes Reality: http://youtu.be/1FAAs9ozqPE Pledge of Allegiance - 1949: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA0A0ymd0CM *This version of the Pledge does not contain the words "under God". Leni Riefenstahl - Adolf Hitler - Triumph Of The Will: http://tinyurl.com/3ydmask (torrent) South Park - S07E01 - I'm A Little Bit Country http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s07e01-im-a-little-bit-country --------------------------------------------------- MUSIC CITED: God Bless America!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z5hD38Bs8Y ERiC WEiSSBERG DELiVERANCE Dueling Banjos (Live Midnight Special) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHNU9XzA9Wc Southland Tales - Rose Petals (Moby): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN6AZsqiIjs --------------------------------------------------- WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts .
The Living Dinosaur: 15 Questions (Mirror) Discovering Religion 2011-09-29 | This exceptionally well-produced video by The Living Dinosaur has been false flagged. In solidarity against this senseless act of censorship, I have mirrored this video on my channel. Everyone must be free to express their opinions. Even if others disagree or feel offended, it does not give them the right to silence the opposition. If you would like to support The Living Dinosaur channel, and stand up to censorship, I request you mirror this video as well. Thank you. Link to mirror the video: http://www.mediafire.com/?9w62j540ay54j3d The Living Dinosaur Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheLivingDinosaur
Ep 21 - Ultimate Accountability & The Loss of Free Will (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2011-09-27 | The twenty-first installment of my original series, "Discovering Religion", and the second episode in the "Morality" miniseries. In this episode I examine the philosophical implications of ultimate accountability and how a belief in heaven/hell destroys the theistic concept of free will and makes genuine belief in God utterly impossible. ------------------------------ LINKS CITED: Sam Harris "The Moral Landscape" audiobook. Chapter 2. 1:39:15 - The Illusion of Free Will http://tinyurl.com/3en3pmd Note: You can listen to the entire audiobook on my secondary channel, youtube.com/DRCited. If you enjoy this book please purchase it for yourself! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgX2_WRIfAs ------------------------------ VIDEO CITED: Clips taken from the following movies: Austin Powers http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118655 Nineteen Eighty-Four http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087803 ------------------------------ MUSIC CITED: "New Fish" - Track 3 - "The Shawshank Redemption" Soundtrack "Alone in Kyoto" - Air http://youtu.be/QJ4Pm0N8s78 "Brooks Was Here" - Track 7 - "The Shawshank Redemption" Soundtrack ------------------------------ PLAYLIST: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 TRANSCRIPT: discoveringreligion.net/?p=1424 WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts .
What Really Grinds My Gears (2 of 2) Discovering Religion 2011-09-14 | For LINKS and MUSIC cited, read the description: Part 1: http://youtu.be/i9V7xMdgIQk For the first time in any of my videos I express my open opinions about religion, as well as use strong language, and I have the feeling this production may receive criticism for it. However, I feel there are appropriate times and places to use expletives, and considering this is a video about what makes me angry, what better a setting? Keep in mind this video is about "What Really Grinds My Gears" and is therefore based on MY opinions. In the "Discovering Religion" series I typically remain as objective as possible, only discussing passages from the Bible and their implications, or historical and scientific facts. But this video is just for fun and being able to share my unadulterated opinions on religion is actually a nice change of pace. Although the topics I discuss don't actually make me that mad, there are a few important issues that I want to raise with regard to how people use the comment section of my videos. I also want to bring greater awareness to the trend I've noticed in people's lack of grammar and spelling correction, to display the hypocrisy of celebrities that thank God during award shows, and to provide my reasoning behind titling the series, "Discovering Religion". Finally, I end the video by analyzing the obvious falsehoods in the theistic claim that humans have a soul and we will experience an afterlife. I feel I make some pretty good arguments, so I hope you can sit through the long runtime. I figure since I am unable to release many videos on a regular basis, when I do produce a video I am not going to worry about its length. I guess you could say this is the "directors cut", haha. By the way, I just found out that YouTube has revoked my privilege of posting videos longer than 15 minutes on both this account as well as DRCited. Therefore, I am back to producing multiple parts. Thanks a lot YouTube, good to see you are STILL finding new and interesting ways to fuck over your loyal users. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this production. Like I said, it is much different than any of the videos in my series or supplemental section. When I sat down to write this video I just followed my train of thought wherever it led, and I feel I went on some interesting tangents. As a side, this is the first time I have been tagged to make a video, thanks to FishHeadSalad (check out the link to his video below). However, most of people with whom I regularly correspond on youtube have already made a "WRGMG" video, so I figured I would just tag all my subscribers. :) Although I don't expect to get a lot of video responses, if anyone would like to share what gets you pissed off at religion, or even atheism, I'd love to hear what you have to say! ------------------------------- VIDEOS CITED: FishHeadSalad: "What Grinds my Gears Tag" http://youtu.be/JE98Yl0uKcA 2011 MTV Video Music Awards (link unavailable) "Dolphin Parenting" http://youtu.be/EhH_M9C8hBA "Dog saves newborn BABY amazing animal!!" http://youtu.be/2rWP1O3HbAs "Hero Dog Tries to Help Mortally Wounded Dog -Chile" http://youtu.be/ofpYRITtLSg "Rabbit decomposition time-lapse (higher resolution)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6sFP_7Vezg "All Men Are Born Evil. (Paul Washer)" http://youtu.be/mEOqxibhCxU "Grind my gears - America" http://youtu.be/bGjwMMlUhCQ ------------------------------- AUDIO CITED: Aphex Twin: Jynweythek Ylow (DrukQs album) Zero7: When It Falls Aphex Twin: Ruglen Holon (DrukQs album) Phillip Glass: The Poet Acts (The Hours Soundtrack) Phillip Glass: Tearing Herself Away (The Hours Soundtrack) Aphex Twin: Petiatil Cx Htdui ------------------------------- WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts .
What Really Grinds My Gears (1 of 2) Discovering Religion 2011-09-13 | For LINKS and MUSIC cited, read the description: Part 2: http://youtu.be/AQhS62kzYRw For the first time in any of my videos I express my open opinions about religion, as well as use strong language, and I have the feeling this production may receive criticism for it. However, I feel there are appropriate times and places to use expletives, and considering this is a video about what makes me angry, what better a setting? Keep in mind this video is about "What Really Grinds My Gears" and is therefore based on MY opinions. In the "Discovering Religion" series I typically remain as objective as possible, only discussing passages from the Bible and their implications, or historical and scientific facts. But this video is just for fun and being able to share my unadulterated opinions on religion is actually a nice change of pace. Although the topics I discuss don't actually make me that mad, there are a few important issues that I want to raise with regard to how people use the comment section of my videos. I also want to bring greater awareness to the trend I've noticed in people's lack of grammar and spelling correction, to display the hypocrisy of celebrities that thank God during award shows, and to provide my reasoning behind titling the series, "Discovering Religion". Finally, I end the video by analyzing the obvious falsehoods in the theistic claim that humans have a soul and we will experience an afterlife. I feel I make some pretty good arguments, so I hope you can sit through the long runtime. I figure since I am unable to release many videos on a regular basis, when I do produce a video I am not going to worry about its length. I guess you could say this is the "directors cut", haha. By the way, I just found out that YouTube has revoked my privilege of posting videos longer than 15 minutes on both this account as well as DRCited. Therefore, I am back to producing multiple parts. Thanks a lot YouTube, good to see you are STILL finding new and interesting ways to fuck over your loyal users. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this production. Like I said, it is much different than any of the videos in my series or supplemental section. When I sat down to write this video I just followed my train of thought wherever it led, and I feel I went on some interesting tangents. As a side, this is the first time I have been tagged to make a video, thanks to FishHeadSalad (check out the link to his video below). However, most of people with whom I regularly correspond on youtube have already made a "WRGMG" video, so I figured I would just tag all my subscribers. :) Although I don't expect to get a lot of video responses, if anyone would like to share what gets you pissed off at religion, or even atheism, I'd love to hear what you have to say! ------------------------------- VIDEO CITED: FishHeadSalad: "What Grinds my Gears Tag" http://youtu.be/JE98Yl0uKcA 2011 MTV Video Music Awards (link unavailable) "Dolphin Parenting" http://youtu.be/EhH_M9C8hBA "Dog saves newborn BABY amazing animal!!" http://youtu.be/2rWP1O3HbAs "Hero Dog Tries to Help Mortally Wounded Dog -Chile" http://youtu.be/ofpYRITtLSg "Rabbit decomposition time-lapse (higher resolution)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6sFP_7Vezg "All Men Are Born Evil. (Paul Washer)" http://youtu.be/mEOqxibhCxU "Grind my gears - America" http://youtu.be/bGjwMMlUhCQ ------------------------------- AUDIO CITED: Aphex Twin: Jynweythek Ylow (DrukQs album) Zero7: When It Falls Aphex Twin: Ruglen Holon (DrukQs album) Phillip Glass: The Poet Acts (The Hours Soundtrack) Phillip Glass: Tearing Herself Away (The Hours Soundtrack) Aphex Twin: Petiatil Cx Htdui ------------------------------- WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts .
10,000 Subscribers: Thank You! + Channel Recommendations Discovering Religion 2011-07-25 | PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION... Thanks! :) It seems these days I cannot make a video shorter than five minutes; however, I hope you will bear with the long runtime because I have made recommendations and provided excerpts from several amazing YouTube channels you will not want to miss. I would like to take this occasion of reaching 10,000 subscribers to extend my most sincere thanks to everyone for watching the series! It has been a lot of hard work producing theses videos and I am very appreciative of your recognition. I hope to continue providing high quality productions and well-researched topics regarding science, religion, politics, history, and philosophy. Please continue the debate and leave me your thoughts about the series. On a final note, I have redesigned my website as well as posted several working scripts in the "In Progress" section (further explained in the video). If you get a chance, please check them out and leave me some feedback if you think they can be improved. http://www.discoveringreligion.net/?cat=12 Again, thank you so much! I really appreciate your interest. I hope you enjoy the following channel recommendations, and if so, please show your support and subscribe. :) UP-AND-COMING Fish Head Salad: http://www.youtube.com/FishHeadSalad Featured Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdGzm6JBJh8 The Faith Check: http://www.youtube.com/TheFaithCheck Featured Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa2TCsCrhfw Mr Truthfinder1975: http://www.youtube.com/MrTruthfinder1975 Religous Truth: http://www.youtube.com/ReligousTruth UNDER-SUBSCRIBED Uppruni Tegundanna http://www.youtube.com/UppruniTegundanna Featured Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRiRV0Z1GA Your Brain on Religion: http://www.youtube.com/YourBrainonReligion Featured Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV-RZYxF0qA I Hate All Religions: http://www.youtube.com/IHateAllReligions Fundie Video Hell: http://www.youtube.com/FundieVideoHell The Living Dinosaur: http://www.youtube.com/TheLivingDinosaur Featured Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsq4dwh0xMU FAVORITE ATHEISTS: Theoretical Bullshit: http://www.youtube.com/TheoreticalBullshit Evid3nc3: http://www.youtube.com/Evid3nc3 43alley: http://www.youtube.com/43alley The Thinking Atheist: http://www.youtube.com/TheThinkingAtheist http://thethinkingatheist.com *This website has a great forum, check it out! Atheist Media Blog: http://www.youtube.com/AtheistMediaBlog http://thethinkingatheist.com *A great resource for religion/atheism in the news. Sisyphus Redeemed: http://www.youtube.com/SisyphusRedeemed ProfMTH: http://www.youtube.com/ProfMTH c0nc0rdance: http://www.youtube.com/c0nc0rdance Qualia Soup: http://www.youtube.com/QualiaSoup INTERESTING CHANNELS: Red Letter Media: http://www.youtube.com/RedLetterMedia http://www.redlettermedia.com *DEFINITELY check out all his reviews! LOL Bargain Bin of Oblivion: http://www.youtube.com/BargainBinofOblivion http://www.everythingisterrible.com *Another amazing resource for wacky religion videos and all things bizarre! Soundless Dawn: http://www.youtube.com/SoundlessDawn Featured Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7kgMRf9Zr0 Featured Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-GDzYbgogM Space Rip: http://www.youtube.com/SpaceRip Cassiopeia Project: http://www.youtube.com/CassiopeiaProject Liberal Viewer: http://www.youtube.com/LiberalViewer I hope you get a chance to check out all of these great channels. I know it's a lot of content, but I've been watching YouTube for such a long time and these channels stand out as my favorites. Take care everyone! -Andy
May 21st Rapture? Christians can be such dicks... Discovering Religion 2011-05-21 | Having a little fun with the May 21st Rapture. :)
Draw Muhammad Day (Follow Up) Discovering Religion 2011-05-21 | This is a follow up to the video "Draw Muhammad Day", posted on May 20th 2010. In this video I address a few points I kept seeing being made in the comment section of the original post. Unfortunately, this video was a little rushed and I didn't have time to go back and fix a couple glitches in the audio/video, as well as correct some grammatical errors. But hopefully the arguments are sound and you enjoy the production. Thank you! Note: I am already anticipating there will be some comments about my use of the word "monolith" to describe the Ka'aba in Mecca. Yes, I know it is not technically a monolith, but the Ka'aba always reminded me of that scene in "2001 A Space Odyssey" when the monkeys are gathered around the giant, singing monolith as they appear to worship and bow to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML1OZCHixR0 I am not trying to imply that I think Muslims resemble monkeys, I'm just saying thats what it reminds me of. :) Anyway, I just used this term to drive home the point that the Ka'aba appears to be an object of worship. But even if Muslims aren't technically worshiping the Ka'aba it still presents a problem to their world-view. Why does their so-called desire to prevent all possible objects of idolatry only extent to depictions of Muhammad? Furthermore, why do Muslims feel the Ka'aba is not at risk of being an object of worship but cartoon images are? LINKS CITED: "Draw Muhammad Day" (my original video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMCsI0-vcKA "Do muslims worship the Kaaba in Mecca and why they kiss the black stone" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK5Jb8gRIlk "Discovering Religion: Ep 19 - If America Became a Christian Nation (3 of 3)" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7jIU0GpUFU "Lightning Strikes!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wY_t7zVIXY&feature=fvst MUSIC CITED: "bismillah" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvCUiHK7AXk "Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plvpV9p0ywg
Ep 20 - Secular vs. Biblical Morality (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2011-05-02 | The twentieth installment of my original series, "Discovering Religion". This episode begins the miniseries on morality by comparing and contrasting concepts like subjective/objective and secular/biblical moralities. Now that we have exposed God's true moral nature and found that our sense of right and wrong comes from somewhere outside the Bible, we can begin to explore the possible evolutionary origins of morality and how science informs our shared principles of conduct. Christians and other monotheists absolutely HATE the idea that morality can be based in science and I am very much looking forward to producing these episodes. However, please note my videos are extremely time-consuming to produce and unfortunately I do not have a lot of free time. I try make videos as often as I can, so I hope everyone understands why such time passes between episodes. Thank you all for your support of this series, I very humbled by all the attention my channels has been getting recently. I very much appreciate your interest in what I have to say! --------------------------------- BIBLE CITATIONS: Jesus supports the Law - Matthew 5:17, 19 Conception and Birth of Jesus - Matthew 1:18-25 Dividing the Spoils - Numbers 31:26-35 Save Only the Virgins - Numbers 31:7-18 Marrying Female Captives - Deuteronomy 21:10-14 God Kills 1st born of Egypt - Exodus 12:29-30 God kills children for ancestors' sins - Isaiah 14:21 God kills offspring of enemies - Hosea 9:11-16 God promotes murder, looting, and rape - Isaiah 13:15-18 Slaves are inherited property - Leviticus 25:44-46 How to properly beat slaves - Exodus 21:20-21 Toddler-murder is moral - Psalm 137:9 Death Penalty for the following actions: Witchcraft - Exodus 22:17 Fortunetelling - Leviticus 20:27 Blasphemers - Leviticus 24:16 Non-Believers - 2 Chronicles 15:12-13 False Prophets - Zechariah 13:3 Non-Virginal Brides - Deuteronomy 22:13-21 Work on Sunday - Exodus 35:2 Disobedient children - Leviticus 20:9 Adulterers - Leviticus 20:10 Homosexuals - Leviticus 20:13 --------------------------------- VIDEO CITED: "God on Trial" (2008) Watch the movie on my channel, DRCited: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKZsRBpfn6Y --------------------------------- MUSIC CITED: Blackannis - MusicBox TRON - 11 - Nocturne Inception - 08 - One Simple Idea Johan Soderqvist - Hiding the body Johan Soderqvist - Virginia wakes up Silent Hill 2 - PromiseThirdVersion Silent Hill - 06 - Promis (reprise) Silent Hill - 10 - Claw Finger The Tudors - 03 - Pleasured Distractions The Tudors - 09 - Visions Of A Great Ruler The Tudors - 12 - Mixed Messages From Anne The Tudors - 17 - A Queens Loneliness The Tudors - 13 - Whispers & Confessions "Mad World" (instrument) --------------------------------- PLAYLIST: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 TRANSCRIPT: discoveringreligion.net/?p=1419 WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts .
God Heals Amputees! Discovering Religion 2011-04-01 | In observance of April 1st I examine a subject that I've recently given a lot of thought -- the inconsistency between what the Bible says about prayer and the reality of personal miracles. For my primary example I discuss a young girl by the name Gabby. Although my introductory story about Gabby is completely fictitious, aside from the fact she is indeed an amputee, her story is no different than countless other believers of religion who have suffered senseless tragedies for which their prayers continuously go unanswered. I do not mean to pick on Gabby, and I thought twice before using her images. However, I decided to go ahead with my depiction since she has become somewhat of a public figure -- there are several news stories posted about Gabby on youtube, in addition to her blog, "Gabby's Fund", where I found the photos used in my video. If anyone objects to my use of these images please be informed I am conducting myself under the terms of "Fair Use". Any attempt to take down this video will be adamantly challenged. LINKS: Gabby's Fund http://www.gabbysfund.com Rotten Leg Disease (Zhejiang-Jiangxi) http://www.sunshine-project.org/pingfan/pf10.html Why Wont God Heal Amputees? http://whywontgodhealamputees.com 10 questions that every intelligent Christian must answer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDHJ4ztnldQ VIDEOS CITED: Girl hit by boat propeller has leg amputated http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhG-3d7Yhwc Why Wont God Heal Amputees? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_K_4fBcYK0 Father Chooses Prayer Over Medicine As His Diabetic Daughter Died http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjFv5VrQqT0 Father George Coyne Interview (5/7) - Richard Dawkins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl1xmkVOyRw VERSES: Matthew 21:21-22 Matthew 7:7-8 Matthew 17:20 Matthew 18:19-20 Mark 11:24-25 Luke 11:9-13 John 14:13-14 John 15:7 John 15:16 John 16:23-24 MUSIC: Philip Glass - Distraught Llewellyn & Robin Butterfield - 06 - Heavenly Retreat Memento - David Julyan - Main Theme Ween - You Were The Fool
Discovering Religion *EXCLUSIVE* Must See!!! Discovering Religion 2010-12-16 | http://www.youtube.com/DRCited_________________________________HardAsNails:(1 of 5)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHaTy6SmdgQ(2 of 5)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk3n7JPwuOc(3 of 5)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adG4GP6PTwk(4 of 5)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_4fsQ5KUe4(5 of 5)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZrWJRbMZx4_________________________________TrialsOfTedHaggard:(1 of 3)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9nSrzfs70g(2 of 3)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afo8k2DJNTs(3 of 3)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tffz6X5Dpo
The Making of: 03 - Photoshop Discovering Religion 2010-12-13 | Part 3 of a behind the scenes look at how I produce my original series, "Discovering Religion". In this part I discuss how to use Photoshop, creating stylized images for video production. ---------------- Part 1: http://youtu.be/s4Hi-Hl9esY Part 2: http://youtu.be/hT4JBf3siI8 Part 3: http://youtu.be/VamB0JFztRI Part 4: http://youtu.be/yoy3evJqdg8 Part 5: http://youtu.be/nD8XuxMW6EQ
The Making of: 02 - Video Editing (Pinnacle Studio 14) Discovering Religion 2010-12-13 | Part 2 of a behind the scenes look at how I produce my original series, "Discovering Religion". In this part I discuss how to use my preferred video editor, Pinnacle Studio 14. ---------------- Part 1: http://youtu.be/s4Hi-Hl9esY Part 2: http://youtu.be/hT4JBf3siI8 Part 3: http://youtu.be/VamB0JFztRI Part 4: http://youtu.be/yoy3evJqdg8 Part 5: http://youtu.be/nD8XuxMW6EQ
The Making of: 01 - Voice Over (Audacity) Discovering Religion 2010-12-13 | Part 1 of a behind the scenes look at how I create my original series, "Discovering Religion". In this part I briefly discuss how I produce my voice over with the program "Audacity", which can be downloaded from this link: http://audacity.sourceforge.net ---------------- Part 1: http://youtu.be/s4Hi-Hl9esY Part 2: http://youtu.be/hT4JBf3siI8 Part 3: http://youtu.be/VamB0JFztRI Part 4: http://youtu.be/yoy3evJqdg8 Part 5: http://youtu.be/nD8XuxMW6EQ
A Sadomasochistic God Discovering Religion 2010-12-11 | This is a deviation from my typical approach to examining Scripture. While developing Episode 18, I went off on a bit of a tangent as I began to think about Christ's sacrifice and God's standard of forgiveness. However, I decided not to include this information in the original episode because it drew attention from the main topic of focus, namely, Christ's role in God's law. Note, this video's intended audience are atheists; as the views expressed in this video/rant are certainly not going sway the minds of any Christians. Furthermore, I am aware of the arguments theists could use to refute the claims made in this video. I would venture most Christians believe Christ's actual sacrifice was not made on the cross, but rather, battling Satan in the effort to redeem the World's sins, or whatever they believe exactly happened "down" there (although I would love to see what evidence they have in support of where Jesus went and what he did after his execution). Regardless, I wanted to have some fun with the concept of "A Sadomasochistic God" and share my observations on what I perceive to be the contradictory nature of Christ's sacrifice and God's standard of forgiveness/punishment. Scenes featured in this production were taken from: "Hard As Nails" documentary (HBO) "Passion of the Christ" "Groundhog Day" "Constantine" "Roots" (miniseries) "Amistad" "The World At War" - episode 20: Genocide "Devil's Advocate" VERSES CITED: Hebrews 9:15 Hebrews 10:16-18 Matthew 22:39 Matthew 5:39 Matthew 6:12 Psalm 119:9 John 14:6 Luke 13:3 Matthew 25:41 Malachi 4:1 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Luke 18:33-33 Matthew 17:22-23 .
Origin and Symbolism of Christian Holy Days Discovering Religion 2010-12-06 | Please share this video with your Christian friends/family. As requested, I have taken a more objective look at the symbolism surrounding the Christian holy days of Christmas and Easter. In addition, I more closely examine the origins of Santa Claus as well as the Easter festival. Thanks to everyone that watched the original. I hope this re-edited version will be more acceptable to share with your Christian friends/family. Please remember to rate. Merry Christmas! =) The Seasons: Due to time constraints my explanation of the seasons was not scientifically accurate. My video only serves to demonstrate the varying positions of the Earth's equator in relation to the Sun, which results in the four seasons. For a more in-depth explanation of how the seasons are produced, please visit this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuiQvPLWziQ Citations: Pope Julius I and Dec. 25th: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm "In 385, therefore, 25 December was not observed at Jerusalem. This checks the so-called correspondence between Cyril of Jerusalem (348-386) and Pope Julius I (337-352), quoted by John of Nikiû (c. 900) to convert Armenia to 25 December (see P.L., VIII, 964 sqq.). Cyril declares that his clergy cannot, on the single feast of Birth and Baptism, make a double procession to Bethlehem and Jordan. (This later practice is here an anachronism.) He asks Julius to assign the true date of the nativity "from census documents brought by Titus to Rome"; Julius assigns 25 December."
Christmas Card from an Atheist Discovering Religion 2010-12-03 | Should non-Christians celebrate Christmas? Yes! This video is primarily targeting atheists, agnostics, and people of non-Christian faiths who might have reservations about celebrating the Christmas season; however, I hope some Christians will watch this video and perhaps learn a little about WHY they are truly celebrating Christ's birth at this time of year. Actually, I wanted to make this video last year, but time didn't permit. I've been fed up with the whole "War on Christmas" for a number of years now and I've decided to finally address the true meaning of this season as well as Easter (for good measure). I find it a "tad" hypocritical that Christians proclaim Dec. 25th to have so much spiritual significance to their faith, while decorating Christmas trees, hanging stockings, and giving presents to one another. History is indeed written by the victors, and that's exactly what the Holy Roman Empire did as they dominated Europe and eradicated and/or assimilated Pagan traditions into the Christian faith. I am not saying Jesus was fictitious (that would be another video), but "if" he was a real historical figure he certainly wasn't born on December 25th and the entire imagery that surrounds this day has nothing to do with honoring Christ and everything to do with celebrating the Winter Solstice. Through my efforts in producing this video I've learned a little bit more about the Equinox and the Solstice, as well as the close association between the mythical Sun Gods/Jesus Christ, and I hope viewer will find this to be educational as well. I want to show as atheists and people belonging to non-Christian faiths, we should not be put off from celebrating Christmas, for we have far more right to this holiday than the Christians that stole it from the Pagans and slapped their name on this entire season. Note, I wanted to devote more time to exploring the rituals of Saturnalia and the symbolism behind other pagan customs that made their way into Christmas tradition, such as history behind the use of mistletoe, gift giving, the eating of ham, lighting of candles, and so on. I also had a really good section written about the history and development of Santa Clause; however, I had to cut it short, since the video would have been 30 or 40 minutes with all the material I planned on covering. Maybe next year I can make a follow up video, but for now I wanted to send a message to non-Christians that it's OK to celebrate Christmas, no matter what beliefs you hold. The Winter Solstice and Vernal Equinox are celebrations of the Earth, upon which everyone lives, and no particular group of people/religion has the right to claim these events as their own. CORRECTIONS: Due to time constraints my explanation of the seasons was not scientifically accurate. My video only serves to demonstrate the varying positions of the Earth's equator in relation to the Sun, which results in the four seasons. For a more in-depth explanation of how the seasons are produced, please visit this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuiQvPLWziQ VIDEOS CITED: Billboard You KNOW It's a Myth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URA7z699QhA Penn Point - Is Halloween a Religious Holiday http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jP08_H8G0w Zeitgeist: The Movie - PART 2/9 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k90p2m4b_6k Atheists attacked by idiot bigots on Faux News http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCD2wigqFUk Some scenes taken from: Caligula (1979) Globe Trekker - Great Festivals II
Ep 19 - If America Became a Christian Nation 1/3 (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2010-11-23 | The nineteenth installment of my original series, "Discovering Religion". In this episode I discuss what would happen if American were to TRULY subscribe to the Biblical laws passed down by Moses, from the Ten Commandments found in Exodus to the other moral and social laws found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Interestingly, we can get a very good idea of how an American theocracy might appear, by comparing the Old Testament to Sharia law -- practiced by Islamic theocracies, such as the Islamic Republic of Iran. Part 1 explores the loss of our First Amendment rights, specifically the Freedoms of Religion, Speech, and Press, in addition to relating these loss of rights to the political and social climate in countries that follow Sharia Law, such as Iran and Pakistan. The episode finishes with a brief look at the Thirteenth Amendment and the scriptural justification for the practice of slavery. Note: Episode 19 completes the miniseries on "Religion in America" (episodes 17-19). In the next set of videos I will turn my focus to exploring the issues of "Morality" and then "Faith". Each of these topics will have 4-5 episodes. ----------------------------------------- ***All videos have been included in this production with the intent of FAIR USE, do not file a DMCA claim against this production, thank you! VIDEOS CITED: Sarah Palin says America is a Christian Nation on Bill O'Reilly http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luWealTuQDI Richard Dawkins - Apostasy In Islam Carries The Death Penalty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r018ohLUuL4 BBC - Protest against Iran election results http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcHT8-ps64w Rachel Maddow - Anti-Abortion Extremists http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWR1DngybTI God and Politics in Lynchburg Tennessee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpJfWOWkB2Q Note, scenes were used from the following movies: "Glory" (1989) "Amistad" (1997) "Roots" miniseries (1977) "Ten Commandments" (1956) ----------------------------------------- LINKS CITED: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Iran http://www.civilwarhome.com/casualties.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties ----------------------------------------- MUSIC CITED: Phillip Glass - Paul Is Dying The Last Samurai (soundtrack) - A Hard Teacher Requiem for a Dream (soundtrack) - Hope Overture Requiem for a Dream (soundtrack) - Lux Aeterna Dexter (soundtrack) - Deb cries American Beauty (soundtrack) - American Beauty - Thomas Newman Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works - Cliffs Aphex Twin - DrukQs - Kesson Daslef Aphex Twin - DrukQs - Kladfvgbung Micshk ----------------------------------------- PLAYLIST: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImmfkdyKMKY Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7jIU0GpUFU TRANSCRIPT: discoveringreligion.net/?p=1414 WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts .
Ep 19 - If America Became a Christian Nation 2/3 (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2010-11-23 | Part 2 explores the death sentence prescribe by the Old Testament for a myriad of trivial infraction that by modern-day standards we wouldn't even consider misdemeanors. The episode concludes with the Old Testament's view on homosexuality in addition to how modern-day Christians have taken this archaic law and used it as a tool to spread discrimination and homophobia. Note: Episode 19 completes the miniseries on "Religion in America" (episodes 17-19). In the next set of videos I will turn my focus to exploring the issues of "Morality" and then "Faith". Each of these topics will have 4-5 episodes. ----------------------------------------- ***All videos have been included in this production with the intent of FAIR USE, do not file a DMCA claim against this production, thank you! VIDEOS CITED: Penn & Teller: Bullshit! - The Vatican s07e10 (no link available) ABC Nightline Preaching Hate in Uganda http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIXiNX71coc ----------------------------------------- SCRIPTURE CITED: Witches - Exodus 22:17 NAB Fortunetellers - Leviticus 20:27 Nonbelievers - 2 Chronicles 15:12-13 False Prophets - Zechariah 13:3 Work on Sunday - Exodus 35:2 Non-virginal bride - Deuteronomy 22:13-21 A stubborn and disobedient child - Deuteronomy 21:18-21 Blasphemy - Leviticus 24:16 Cursing parents - Leviticus 20:9 Homosexuality - Leviticus 20:13 Daughter of a priest that has sex - Leviticus 21:9 Verses in the Qur'an against homosexuality: Qur'an 7:80-82 Qur'an 26:165-175 Qur'an 27:55-58 Qur'an 4:15-16 ----------------------------------------- LINKS CITED: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory ----------------------------------------- MUSIC CITED: Phillip Glass - Paul Is Dying The Last Samurai (soundtrack) - A Hard Teacher Requiem for a Dream (soundtrack) - Hope Overture Requiem for a Dream (soundtrack) - Lux Aeterna Dexter (soundtrack) - Deb cries American Beauty (soundtrack) - American Beauty - Thomas Newman Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works - Cliffs Aphex Twin - DrukQs - Kesson Daslef Aphex Twin - DrukQs - Kladfvgbung Micshk ----------------------------------------- PLAYLIST: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7jIU0GpUFU TRANSCRIPT: discoveringreligion.net/?p=1414 WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts .
Ep 18 - Gods Law vs. Christs Grace (Discovering Religion) Discovering Religion 2010-11-12 | WARNING: This episode contains some graphic scenes of sacrifice and torture, view at your own discretion. The eighteenth installment of my original series, "Discovering Religion". Although I have a feeling some of you might find this episode a little dry, due to the large amount of Bible quotations, this episode is a very important addition to my series. If you've ever debated a Christian about morality you are familiar with the large emphasis placed on the Ten Commandments, while vast majority of Moses' other commands are selectively 'cherry picked' as it suits their needs. I attempt to rectify the fallacious attitude Christians have toward Scripture by examining the Mosaic Laws of atonement and morality, the purpose of Christ within God's Law, and how Jesus defined himself with regard to the Law. This episode originally started off as a couple paragraphs in the next episode, "If America Became a Christian Nation"; however, I knew many Christians would contest my arguments if I had not thoroughly established the Law's Christians are required to follow. Now that I have set the stage, so to speak, the next installment will be a two-part episode that discusses all the changes in public policy we might expect to see if America went the way of Islamic countries that follow Sharia Law. ----------------------------------- Important Quotes: And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Hebrews 10:14 "God's law requires nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" Hebrews 9:22 "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." 1 Corinthians 5:7 "...the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." John 1:29 "For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." Romans 6:14 "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness." 1 John 3:4 "because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression." Romans 4:15 If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. John 5: 46 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me? John 7: 19 If they hear not Moses and the prophets they would not be persuade by someone that rose from the dead. Luke 16: 31 They have Moses and the prophets let them hear them. Luke 16: 29 Offer those things that Moses commanded. Mark 1: 44 What did Moses commanded you, is because of the hardness of your hearts. Mark 10: 3 ...have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? Mark 12: 26 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death. Mark 7: 10 All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense. Leviticus 20:9 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. John 7: 22 ----------------------------------- PLAYLIST: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70E757541E8576D7 TRANSCRIPT: discoveringreligion.net/?p=1409 WEBSITE: http://www.discoveringreligion.net FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Discovering-Religion/143122652390020?ref=ts .
