RE: Cenk Uyguy gets it
August 15, 2016 at 1:16 pm
(This post was last modified: August 15, 2016 at 1:19 pm by Simon Moon.)
(August 14, 2016 at 4:26 am)Irrational Wrote: This video is from two years ago, but still relevant today.
Cenk Uygur (Young Turks) said it best: this is a cultural problem, not a strictly religious one. This is why even Christians in the same regions commit some of the extreme stuff that some Muslim factions commit. I know a lot of you are big fans of Sam Harris, and some may not be fond of Ben Affleck, but Sam Harris is just misguided on this topic. Listen to the video and see what Cenk has to say: he pretty much says what I've always wanted to point out to some members here.
I am unable to watch the vid right now. Being a fan of TYT, I've probably seen it before.
Could you summarize the cultural aspects that Cenk is pointing to?
I tend to side more with Harris on this. While I am sure the cultural aspects have a big influence, without having a religious text that specifically tells adherents to kill unbelievers, treat women horribly, cut thieves hand off, etc, etc, etc., what would the 'cultural aspects' have as an engine to motivate so many to act horribly?
As an example, China has a horrible human rights record toward Tibetans. So where are all the Tibetan terrorists? Might some of the differences be the religious text they adhere to?
You'd believe if you just opened your heart" is a terrible argument for religion. It's basically saying, "If you bias yourself enough, you can convince yourself that this is true." If religion were true, people wouldn't need faith to believe it -- it would be supported by good evidence.