Ricky Gervais said at one point that if you were to destroy all the books, movies, any trace of religion today, in 1000 years if it came back at all, it would not be the same as it is now. But, if you destroy everything we know about science, in 1000 years it would come back exactly as it is now! I love that argument!
It is a theory i can wrap my head around. 2 of my favorite comedians.
Awesome point! As a recovering Catholic I can attest to the fact that all Catholics are either atheists, or believe that God is dead. Lol
Me too
I said "You can't excommunicate me, I quit!"
Funny, but not accurate. I have devout Catholic relatives who believe in God, and jump through all the hoops required of Catholics.
'Staunch' would not be the first term that comes to mind when describing Colbert's particular brand of Catholicism. To many Christians, his 'God in the ceiling' and Midnight Confessions skits are downright sacrilegious, which is why I find them so hilarious.
Colbert does seem to be able to laugh at his religion. That is a good thing, he would not be the sheeple to run off the cliff of hate to after muslims, hebrews, wiccans, etc.
Yes, and don't you wonder why any and all religions have only a ~2000 year shelf life ?
Ther are many out there that we are not aware of because of low populations of observers that date back more than 2000 years. There are sects in India,Iran Greece that have very old religions.However most date from the time that writing became available because you then had recordings of these sects..
@Marine Yes, well said. But where are the followers of Baal, of Osiris, of Hel and Freya, the lsit goes on and on. All these deities have faded away when they held sway over thousands of people in their regions. The same will happen with Jaweh, Jesus, Moroni and Allah. People outgrow their creations,
Not true. I met someone from Iran who is a Zoroastrian. Zoroastrianism is experiencing a revival in Iran, probably as a protest against the repressive form of Shia that has become the state religion. There are even people in the Middle East who follow pre-Zoroastrian traditions. Qute a few of the "pagan" religions of Europe are being recreated, and a few never died out and are experiencing a revival.
Off the top of my head, Taoism, Confucianism, Jainism, the various belief systems that make up Hinduism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Native American religions, Hawaiian religion, African indigenous religions, Australian Aboriginal religions, etc...
That's arguable and possible but I like the theory
Even Stephen Colbert had no rebuttal. Don't get me wrong, I love Stephen Colbert, he's a great guy. But Ricky silenced him on religion. I couldn't believe it. So awesome!
That's because Stephen Colbert possesses what few Bible thumper do:
Critical thinking.
Stephen knew there was very little he could say as a rebuttal because it is sound logic.
@SACatWalker Yeah, I thought the whole exchange was awesome! They were both very respectful (in a sarcastic kind of way) and they seemed to both respect the views of the other. Says a lot about the character of both of these awesome guys!!
This was said long before Mr. Gervais by Penn Jillette
If every trace of any single religion were wiped out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense. If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true and someone would find a way to figure it all out again.? Penn Jillette
Ok...There will always be a science geek in this planet...it is inevitable....because of the need of survival and heat and food there will never be extinction...
I don't agree. Humans are as vulnerable to extinction as any other species on the planet, hence climate change. We just might destroy ourselves!!
@stomato Given we aren't religious people here it should be clear that this planet was not "created" for us as a species. Given that, this planet has existed for billions of years (not 6000) and has heated and cooled numerous times, killing off every civilization before us. I wouldn't be surprised if we aren't even the first "advanced" civilization to exist here in all that time. The point being, it makes no difference what we do, this planet will kill us. Even physicists have stated that if we don't become space travelers we will perish by the changing climate. (if I recall it was referred to as a level three civilization, we're still a level one) We're actually coming out of an ice age right now. Things are going to heat up despite or best efforts.
Nihilism, sexy ain't it?
Humanity could be wiped out in a second, and if it happened the collective IQ of the Universe would jump up several points.
Fermi's paradox...