Ricky Gervais on Atheism

Shocker611: “bottom line to me is that if I am wrong, then hell im in the exact same situation you are, just sitting in a cemetery somewhere.. if i am right, however, then i am loving my "afterlife" while you are gettin buttraped by the devil.”

My god sends christians into an unimaginable hell where they are raped by thousands of devils continuously. If you accept that your god could exist, must also accept that all other possible gods could also exist. Gods that would send you into a horrid afterlife as with, or perhaps not with, me. Pascal's wager only works if you pretend that Christianity and atheism are the only options. This is simply not true and thus, it is rendered ridiculous.

“I dont understand why it is looked so down upon to have some hope for something more.”

A hope for something more is not what causes any rational and sane atheist to look down upon religion. Among many reasons, it's the drain on society, the cultural divisions and often hatred it inspires, child abuse (most famously and heinously perpetrated by the institutionalized rape in Catholicism, but also mental abuse of a high order when a child is exposed to it. I can go into more depth on the mental abuse if anyone wants.), pure arrogance, sense of entitlement that is held by many religious types, and the church and its followers effect on freedom. If anyone would like me to give more reasons or further detail the ones i've given, let me know. Before anyone freaks out on me for calling the religious arrogant, it's not arrogant to simply not believe in something. It is arrogant, however, to claim that a being beyond space and time has a personal relationship with you and loves you, yet he would condemn me to an eternity of “getting buttraped by the devil” as Schocker611 so eloquently put it.

“yeah and you believe that all 548OCTILLION miles came from one single miniscule particle?! and YOURE right?!”

Ah. The old “I don't understand it so it must not be true” argument. For a detailed post about the science behind the big bang and the subsequent expansion of the universe, just ask.

“Too many atheists (look above) come at religious people with "you guys are dumbasses" and the such instead of presenting their opinion and realizing that that is exactly what it is, an opinion.”

There are millions of atheists and it's only a small fraction that act the way you're talking about. Let's put things in perspective though. What's more inconvenient, an atheist calling you a dumbass or being ostracized from an entire community for simply not believing? An atheist has no hope of ever holding public office in much of the the united states if they don't lie about their religious beliefs.

“Religion is an extremely hard thing to believe, but after looking at a lot of the science out there, it is the same case with the science. Nothing really makes any sense, and instead of not having any hope I have decided to place my faith in "God".”

Here again, just because you don't understand something does not mean it's not true. For those of us who choose to put in the time it takes or have the ability to understand “science” as you so broadly put it, it's clear as day and far from made up. Feel free to bring up theoretical physics and the like, but the science that explains the big bang, evolution, and all the other things most christians rail against are based on solid, observable facts that even a layman can understand if they try hard enough. So when you say “nothing makes sense” what you're saying is you haven't and won't make the effort it takes to understand. You would rather take the easier route and say “God did it.” What it boiled down to there is that you are afraid of death to the point that you would throw rationality out the window and turn to hope (see:faith).

“I am not "uneducated" or "dumb" simply because of these beliefs, and anyone that says this is ignorant”

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you aren't dumb. However, you are uneducated. You lack fundamental understandings about the natural world. You are ignorant until you prove yourself otherwise. Start by telling me how universe expanded and what evidence we have that it originated from a point of singularity. I'm going to guess right now you're saying to yourself, “It didnt ,” and “there is none.” If you really believe that then you ARE ignorant and you'll have to accept that you are willingly remaining ignorant to avoid questioning your religious beliefs.

“Also, christian politicians DO NOT push christianity in the legislative process! “

Abortion laws. You can say that has nothing to do with religion but then I would say to kindly get the heck out.

“12 year olds come on here making arguments that have absolutely no relevance or factual backing.”

Let's not talk about factual backing when you're the one making claims of an omniscient creator, k?

“Im still waiting for someone who has done even a decent amount of research on religions to come in here and make a viable argument”

Hi there, how are things?

“ all i know is that any theory that has ever been constructed to explain the beginnings of the universe go against so many "laws" of physics. Its like atheists are trying to refute our religion based on science and yet the science refutes itself”

Atheists are not trying to refute your religion based on science. They are simply pointing out that 1) There is no empirical evidence for a god 2) We know how many things happened naturally without the need of a cosmic director. I would be interested to hear from you what science refutes itself.

Jibnut: “Have I ever met a nicer, tighter knit, more caring community than my religious one? Most likely not. Besides my friend group, and some of us are christians and some of us aren't. No one cares who believes in what because we are a big lovin' family and we all have one thing in common: shredding.”

First you said you've never met a better community than your religious one. You went on to say your group that only somewhat had religious ties was just as good. Thank you for proving for everyone that religion isnt needed to feel friendship and community. To deny that Christianity (and let's not pretend you're talking about a different religion) has existed primarily as a scam for much of its existence is to ignore history.

Sir: “I personally feel like I couldnt be an atheist because i would have a hard time thinking there is no reason why we are on earth, it all happened by fluke and there is nothign after this life. that idea just sucks so much...”

Or it can feel extremely liberating. Here's a thought: “We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.”- Carl Sagan. With the ratio of elements that make up our universe, life is assumed to be inevitable. So while it wasn't a total fluke, it was a random occurrence determined by the physical laws and properties that make up our universe. While some such as yourself find this strange and even frightening, I see it as humbling. And although I don't view it as a gift from some creator, I do see it as a wonderful opportunity to make an impact on the world we inhabit. In effect, changing the universe. Because, like it or not, we arent on some special island sanctuary crafted just for us. We're part of a much greater whole. I find beauty in that.

NUGGET:
Why do people care so much about other's beliefs? 

Let's look at it two ways though. 

“You can honestly believe in a religion, take part, and if those religious people are correct, you go to heaven. Being religious isn't any extra effort. It doesn't mean you have to go to church, you just live a different life style is all. 
That being said, if they are wrong, you still live a good life, and you don't really lose out on anything. 
But if you don't believe and they are correct, well then looks like you are going to be in hell for eternity. “

Read what I wrote about Pascal's Wager near the top.


“So what's the problem with giving religion a chance? Or better yet, why do people care that there are religious people. Sure some are bat shit insane, but a lot of them are just normal people living there every day life pretty similar to yours.”

Because there are a lot of people who aren't bat shit insane that hold ridiculous beliefs that impact my life because of religion.