Ricky Gervais: Why I’m an Atheist

by moshe 18 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  agonus

  Gervais is a funny and intelligent man and I respect his views. One scene from "The Invention of Lying" did kind of have me scratching my head however. It was towards the end of the film when he was at his mum's grave. He starts off by saying, "Listen, Mum, I know you can't hear me..."

  And that just made me think "wait a second..." and smile ever so slightly...

  Ricky, you sly little devil, you! You KNOW your mum can't hear you, do you? Then why do you bother talking to "her"? Ahhh... could there be a little ray of hope there under that rationalist facade?

  I think many folks like Mr. Gervais, deep down, KNOW that they CAN'T "know" for sure, but secretly HOPE... even if it isn't fashionable in intellectual celebrity circles... if "intellectual celebrity" is NOT an oxymoron... ;)
• 

  moshe

  It has be theorized that our subconscious "hope in the afterlife", was an evolutionary mind adapation that prevented the first self-aware man-apes from going crazy at the realization they were going to die soon.
• 

  wobble

  Well said Moshe, and a good thread this.

  As to the Afterlife,as no one knows what happens to the "mind" when the body dies, hoping in some form of Afterlife is not incompatible with Atheism.

  Believing in an Afterlife, and living life now as though there is going to be one, is not rational, due to the lack of evidence.
• 

  Perry

  People who believe in God don’t need proof of his existence, and they certainly don’t want evidence to the contrary.

  The proof is all around you. You have evidence that there is no God? Where is it?

  Merry Christmas
• 

  IsaacJ22

  Agonus,

  Sometimes, even nonbelievers might talk to people who've died despite their confidence that the dead can't hear. It's an emotional, psychological thing. I haven't seen the Invention of Lying, but I suspect the character Gervais was playing simply felt better for having done it. Or at least he was trying to feel better. Just as believers do.

  BTW, Gervais wasn't playing himself in that movie, was he? His character's beliefs may not be his own.

  I have to say that I don't fully appreciate the tendency that many religious believers have of searching for hints that nonbelievers secretly believe. It seems a bit snarky, you know? I mean no offense here, but I think some believers try too hard to make connections like these. To us, it often seems a bit desperate or even self serving.

  Despite being atheists, we grew up in a culture dominated by believers and do pick up some of their habits. Like saying, "Oh Jesus," as a statement of general discontent. Or talking to a dead loved one in an effort to feel better about their passing. Then someone grins slyly at us for it as if they've found a very satisfying "got ya" moment. This is the sort of thing that makes us roll our eyes in exasperation.

  Not every religious habit is done for religious reasons. Sometimes, people try to inject meaning or complexity into things that are actually quite simple. I hope you get where I'm coming from here.

  New Light,

  I guess I thought there was a video or something at the link. But I see the written version below, thanks. I more or less had the same reaction as Whereami to your comments, though. Maybe you could explain that a bit more?
• 

  new light

  I have a tendency to get judgemental and self righteous, and as I typed I knew it was foolish to divulge my opinion on a matter such as this. There is no convincing anyone of anything on this particular subject, as it tends to be based on personal revelation.

  I must admit Ricky Gervais has always rubbed me the wrong way, no matter what my current philosophy happened to be, and I was more than happy to have a forum in which to trash him.

  If atheism works for RG or any of you folks, then fine, keep on truckin'. Be as happy as you want to be.

  I don't see much need, however, to "explain" anything. It is all just sitting there in black and white without much need for interpretation. I gave my opinion on Ricky Gervais' article and divulged a little of my personal philosophy.

  What can I say, Ricky Gervais annoys me. I am probably bothered that he is financially wealthy and I am not. More importantly, he is not only a voluntarily public figure, but he published an opinion-based article. That makes him fair game.

  Oh, and Whereami, my apologies for using italics. This was my opinion on Ricky's article, not you personally, so fuck off.
• 

  Qcmbr

  The double slit physics experiment is strong evidence against an omniscient god.

  The ignored prayers of abused children, raped women, cancer riddled terminal patients etc. is strong evidence against a compassionate god.

  The disproportionate effect natural disasters have upon the weak and defenceless on earth is strong evidence against a just god.

  The lack of any correct scientific principles in any creation stories, flood stories, exodus stories, miracle stories, revelations, teachings, parables or prophecies argues against an intelligent god.

  The lack of interaction and reliance on an inaccurate set of religious texts so constructed as to deliberately obfuscate even the most basic points of doctrine argues against any interested god.

  The ridiculous stunts recorded in the bible to achieve very basic outcomes argues against an efficient or rational god.

  The need for imperfection in matter -and it's distribution -and energy gradients unequally distributed to generate stars, planets and life argues against a perfect god - if the existence of the created Satan didn't already do that.

  Perry - do you need me to point you at evolution utterly removing the need for a god once the first replication machine gets going, do you need me to point you at astrological evidence for a vast universe created over billions of years (not 6000 years ago- which is what the big story book says) , do you need to understand any physics laws to see how an arbitrary god who can wander in at any time and ignore any law is a god of utter chaos not order and law?

  I challenge you to provide any shred of evidence that your personal Perry God is the best explanation for the observed world and remember , your evidence must be better explained by your sky friend than by the Norse sky god.
• 

  Lion Cask

  I will tell you that "God" has revealed itself in my life in ways I can not logically deny.

  The second quote in the preface to Christopher Hitchens' The God Delusion comes to mind:

  And do you think that unto such as you
  A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew
  God gave a secret, and denied it me?
  Well, well—what matters it? Believe that, too!—The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

  I think many folks like Mr. Gervais, deep down, KNOW that they CAN'T "know" for sure, but secretly HOPE... even if it isn't fashionable in intellectual celebrity circles... if "intellectual celebrity" is NOT an oxymoron... ;)

  The vast majority of people who profess to be atheists, agonus, are only 99.999999999999999% sure there is no god. This is a level 6 in Dawkins' scale of 7, where Dawkins, arguably one of the most well known atheists in the world, places himself. A true 7, someone who just knows there is no god is very rare. I've never met one, myself. The opposite end of the scale, a 1, someone who just knows there is a god, is much more common.

  The proof is all around you. You have evidence that there is no God? Where is it?

  Absense of proof is not proof of absense, Perry? You have evidence that there are no piglatin-speaking little yellow polka dotted people living in the Great Red Eye of Jupiter? Where is it?

  I have to say that I don't fully appreciate the tendency that many religious believers have of searching for hints that nonbelievers secretly believe. It seems a bit snarky, you know? I mean no offense here, but I think some believers try too hard to make connections like these. To us, it often seems a bit desperate or even self serving.

  Amen to that, IsaacJ22.

  I must admit Ricky Gervais has always rubbed me the wrong way, no matter what my current philosophy happened to be, and I was more than happy to have a forum in which to trash him.

  You know, I can't stand the guy, either. His comedy is not funny to me at all. In fact, it's so annoying I won't watch it and I very nearly didn't read the OP when I read that Ricky Gervais wrote it. But it is actually brilliant. Best thing I've ever seen from the guy.

  Your words are clear and logical, Qcmbr, which means that there will be some people who are completely deaf to them.

  Moshe, I obviously haven't read enough of your posts. I had the impression that you were religious, since you were a converted Jehovah's Witness and more recently converted to Judaism. Am I confuzzled?
• 

  jaguarbass

  From what I see being good doesn't get you into heaven and being bad doesn't send you to hell.

  Believing or disbelieving in God is the key to your eternity.

  Quantum physics is the scientific discipline that explains the theory.

  Quantum physics is a science a lot like evolution, it is always followed by the word

  theory and the bagage that the word theory entails.

  I have moments of doubt about my atheism and I have moments of doubt about my faith.

  When it comes to my existence as a 21st century human in the information age, I am bi-polar.

  Back in the 20th century, before the internet, I wasnt bipolar, I just had belief and faith.

  If there is no God, I do agree that belief is an evolutionary adapation to keep me from going crazy because I realize I am going to die

  soon, sometime between today and the next 30 years.