Darwin and the Lord of Lies

00:46:20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwunAyuXRow

摘要

TLDRThe speaker at the Satanic Temple's SatanCon event in Scottsdale discusses his journey into Satanism and his views on Christianity and religion. He critiques the misconceptions around Satanism, asserting that Satanists do not believe in or worship the devil. Instead, the talk focuses on challenging the narratives and lies upheld by religious groups, especially Christians who often accuse non-believers of devil worship. The speaker reflects on personal experiences with faith, highlighting a preference for truth grounded in reason over faith-based claims. He appreciates the Satanic Temple's efforts to uphold the First Amendment and protect reproductive rights, positioning them as an effective force in challenging religious impositions. The story of Adam and Eve from the Bible is critiqued by the speaker as a manipulative parable where God is portrayed untruthfully. Overall, the emphasis is placed on the importance of seeking truth and dispelling lies associated with religious doctrines.

心得

  • 👹 SatanCon is the first-ever Satanic Temple convention, held in Scottsdale.
  • 🗣️ The speaker criticizes religious beliefs, particularly Christianity, for promoting lies.
  • ❌ Satanists are often wrongly accused of devil worship; they don't actually believe in devils.
  • 🔍 The importance of seeking truth and reason over blind faith is emphasized.
  • 📜 The story of Adam and Eve is viewed as a manipulative parable.
  • 🎭 The speaker challenges the narratives upheld by religious groups, especially Christians.
  • ⚖️ The Satanic Temple is praised for defending First Amendment rights.
  • ⚛️ Creationists are criticized for spreading misinformation about science.
  • 🧠 The speaker values truth and facts over faith-based beliefs.
  • 🤔 Religious apologists are seen as making excuses for faulty beliefs.
  • 🙅‍♂️ The emphasis is on rejecting baseless convictions and promoting reason.
  • 🎤 The speaker shares his personal journey to joining the Satanic Temple.

时间轴

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The Satanic Temple hosted SatanCon in Scottsdale, expected to be a large gathering of Satanists. Hundreds of Christians protested outside. Despite opposition, the event featuring various speakers is sold out, including the impurity ball.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The speaker at the Satanic Temple's first convention introduces themselves, sharing their personal journey to Satanism. They address the misconception that they worship Satan and clarify their new association with the temple, highlighting the societal stigmas and myths about Satanism.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The speaker recounts their teenage years during the 'satanic panic,' reflecting on societal judgments based on appearances and interests like motorcycles and heavy metal music. They share personal anecdotes, countering misconceptions about their character and interests.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Continuing with personal anecdotes, the speaker discusses their experiences with religion, emphasizing skepticism towards the Bible's interpretations and the clash between scientific understanding and religious dogma encountered in their youth.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    The speaker details their journey of questioning religious teachings and the eventual abandonment of Christian beliefs. They critique the notion of faith over evidence, discussing personal experience and observations of religious hypocrisy and manipulation.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    The speaker, now atheistic, shares a critical view on religion's traditional narratives, especially creationism. They challenge the reliability and honesty of religious stories, focusing on the contrast between faith-based belief and evidence-based understanding.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    Highlighting the contrast between scientific understanding and creationist claims, the speaker questions the honesty of religious narratives. They emphasize the need for evidence in supporting claims and critique the dismissal of science and facts by believers.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    The speaker supports the Satanic Temple for their advocacy on constitutional rights and separation of church and state. They commend the temple for effectively highlighting religious biases, particularly in contexts of legal and educational battles in the U.S.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:46:20

    The final part appreciates the Satanic Temple's role in advocating for secular rights and critiques Christian narratives by pointing out inconsistencies within religious texts. The speaker calls for a rational understanding of myths and narratives and commends the temple's efforts.

显示更多

思维导图

视频问答

  • What event is taking place in Scottsdale?

    The Satanic Temple is hosting SatanCon, the first-ever Satanist convention, expected to be one of the largest gatherings of Satanists.

  • What is the speaker's perspective on faith and religion?

    The speaker criticizes religious beliefs, particularly Christianity, for promoting lies and avoiding truth and reason.

  • Why did the speaker initially hesitate to join the Satanic Temple?

    The speaker hesitated to join due to accusations of being a devil worshiper and the obviousness of being a Satanist for him.

  • What are some misconceptions about Satanists mentioned by the speaker?

    Satanists are often wrongly accused of devil worship and being deceitful, but the speaker claims Satanists don't believe in devils at all.

  • What criticism does the speaker have towards creationists?

    The speaker criticizes creationists for lying about scientific facts and spreading misinformation.

  • Why does the speaker admire the Satanic Temple?

    The speaker admires the Satanic Temple for its defense of the First Amendment and reproductive rights, sometimes more effectively than atheists.

  • How does the speaker view the Christian narrative of Adam and Eve?

    The speaker sees the story as a parable filled with lies, where God lies about consequences and the serpent tells the truth.

  • What is the speaker's stance on truth and knowledge?

    The speaker values truth and facts over beliefs, criticizing religions for promoting baseless convictions.

  • What does the speaker say about religious apologies?

    The speaker argues that religious apologists make excuses for faulty religious beliefs and practices.

查看更多视频摘要

即时访问由人工智能支持的免费 YouTube 视频摘要！
字幕
en
自动滚动:
  • 00:00:00
    the satanic temple is hosting a satan
  • 00:00:03
    con in scottsdale and it is expected to
  • 00:00:06
    set a record of being one of the largest
  • 00:00:07
    satanist gatherings and hundreds of
  • 00:00:10
    christians swarmed outside the saguaro
  • 00:00:12
    hotel signs like satan has no rights be
  • 00:00:14
    gone satan because right behind them is
  • 00:00:17
    the first ever satanist convention
  • 00:00:20
    satan khan will run today through sunday
  • 00:00:22
    there will be speakers over the next
  • 00:00:24
    couple of days the event is sold out as
  • 00:00:27
    well as the satanic temple's impurity
  • 00:00:29
    ball tonight at pub rock live
  • 00:00:32
    [Music]
  • 00:00:43
    the devil has come to scottsdale sort of
  • 00:00:46
    all right so i'm stoked to be speaking
  • 00:00:48
    at the first ever convention of the
  • 00:00:49
    satanic temple and since this is
  • 00:00:52
    our first convention and since this is
  • 00:00:54
    my coming out as satanist
  • 00:00:57
    i must open uh not by speaking to the
  • 00:00:59
    fine people assembled in this room
  • 00:01:02
    but to the larger audience of the tens
  • 00:01:04
    and tens of thousands that i expect to
  • 00:01:06
    see this on video
  • 00:01:08
    i i'm going to be talking about myself a
  • 00:01:10
    little bit this is so much of this is
  • 00:01:11
    anecdotal what i'm going to be going
  • 00:01:13
    over but that can't be avoided
  • 00:01:16
    i only recently joined the satanic
  • 00:01:18
    temple and i held off for a number of
  • 00:01:20
    reasons one being that for me
  • 00:01:23
    to be satanist
  • 00:01:25
    was too obvious
  • 00:01:30
    some christians have accused me not only
  • 00:01:33
    of worshiping satan but of being satan
  • 00:01:37
    and a member of the illuminati as well
  • 00:01:40
    i i'm clearly the the lowest paid member
  • 00:01:42
    i'm still waiting on my checks
  • 00:01:45
    and even some atheists complain that i
  • 00:01:46
    look too much like satan to represent
  • 00:01:48
    them but i've never seen a picture of
  • 00:01:51
    satan that looked like me
  • 00:01:53
    anton levay maybe i've seen pictures
  • 00:01:55
    that look like him not me
  • 00:01:57
    there's a slight difference in our
  • 00:01:59
    appearance
  • 00:02:02
    but i get i get that in the minds of the
  • 00:02:04
    believers
  • 00:02:05
    that truth matters less than appearances
  • 00:02:08
    but that's that's why we're here isn't
  • 00:02:10
    it pushing the overton window
  • 00:02:12
    and we've all seen more evil packed into
  • 00:02:15
    one three-piece suit
  • 00:02:17
    than in the entire audience at a black
  • 00:02:19
    metal concert
  • 00:02:21
    and i've often said that i can't be
  • 00:02:22
    satanic
  • 00:02:23
    because i'm not young and sexy enough
  • 00:02:28
    and because i can't afford the wardrobe
  • 00:02:30
    because you all dress well
  • 00:02:33
    and even if i could fix that problem
  • 00:02:35
    that other one is just going to get
  • 00:02:36
    worse
  • 00:02:38
    and another reason i didn't want to join
  • 00:02:40
    is because i've been accused of being a
  • 00:02:41
    devil worshiper ever since i was a
  • 00:02:43
    teenager
  • 00:02:44
    and that would be in the late 70s early
  • 00:02:46
    80s when if you had a harley or if you
  • 00:02:49
    rode a motorcycle at all then you
  • 00:02:51
    probably had a criminal record to go
  • 00:02:53
    with it
  • 00:02:54
    and when people thought that if you had
  • 00:02:55
    long hair
  • 00:02:57
    then you're on drugs or you're in a band
  • 00:03:00
    on drugs
  • 00:03:02
    which is weird because i never enjoyed
  • 00:03:04
    drugs i tried marijuana when i was 15
  • 00:03:07
    but i think it was laced with pcp also
  • 00:03:10
    known as angel dust
  • 00:03:12
    and that was a memorable couple of days
  • 00:03:18
    that left a lasting impression on me
  • 00:03:21
    so uh back then people thought that if
  • 00:03:23
    you wear an earring in your left ear it
  • 00:03:25
    meant that you're gay and if you wear an
  • 00:03:27
    earring in your right ear it meant you
  • 00:03:28
    were a drug dealer
  • 00:03:36
    yeah i might have these switched around
  • 00:03:38
    it doesn't matter because it's [ __ ]
  • 00:03:39
    either way but i happened to know at
  • 00:03:42
    that time i happen to know a gay drug
  • 00:03:44
    dealer
  • 00:03:47
    and he didn't have either ear pierced
  • 00:03:51
    so i figured that since i'm neither
  • 00:03:52
    selling dope nor smoking dick
  • 00:03:55
    that
  • 00:03:58
    that i should pierce both my ears just
  • 00:03:59
    to balance the confusion in some
  • 00:04:01
    people's minds
  • 00:04:03
    because back then men didn't wear two
  • 00:04:05
    earrings because it meant you were
  • 00:04:06
    either girly or a genie
  • 00:04:11
    what i did do was listening was listen
  • 00:04:13
    to heavy metal
  • 00:04:15
    the devil's music back when judas priest
  • 00:04:17
    and black sabbath were accused of
  • 00:04:20
    recording black backtracking messages on
  • 00:04:22
    their songs that were inspiring
  • 00:04:24
    teenagers to off themselves
  • 00:04:27
    i listen to metal because the music that
  • 00:04:29
    my relatives my family gatherings would
  • 00:04:32
    most often play
  • 00:04:33
    was that dean martin lounge lizard jazz
  • 00:04:38
    that you would see on the lawrence welk
  • 00:04:40
    show
  • 00:04:41
    where all the girls had long dresses and
  • 00:04:42
    the guys had short hair and everybody
  • 00:04:44
    had to be dull and bland and
  • 00:04:46
    non-threatening
  • 00:04:48
    you know yet safe
  • 00:04:50
    so i would leave my family gatherings
  • 00:04:52
    and seek solace from my savior
  • 00:04:55
    ozzy
  • 00:04:56
    the prince of bleeping darkness
  • 00:04:59
    and to make it worse i also played
  • 00:05:01
    dungeons and dragons
  • 00:05:04
    now today that would qualify me as a
  • 00:05:06
    nerd
  • 00:05:10
    which is what i was then really
  • 00:05:15
    but in the time of the satanic panic
  • 00:05:18
    in the time of the satanic panic they
  • 00:05:20
    said where they thought that if you
  • 00:05:22
    played dungeons and dragons long enough
  • 00:05:24
    or play it well enough that you would be
  • 00:05:25
    inducted into high levels of demonic
  • 00:05:28
    witchcraft
  • 00:05:30
    and because the player's guidebooks
  • 00:05:32
    included a monster manual
  • 00:05:34
    it was thought that
  • 00:05:36
    just creating a campaign you know
  • 00:05:38
    designing a campaign to be played would
  • 00:05:40
    be
  • 00:05:41
    would be like conjuring demons and then
  • 00:05:44
    playing the game
  • 00:05:45
    would be like a seance
  • 00:05:48
    but i didn't just play d and d
  • 00:05:51
    i took it to the next level of uber nerd
  • 00:05:54
    and i did live-action role-playing
  • 00:06:00
    uber nerdy as it is now i had a very
  • 00:06:03
    different impression on people then
  • 00:06:05
    especially the the extremely religious
  • 00:06:07
    fundamentalists who thought that having
  • 00:06:09
    an interest in anything gothic
  • 00:06:11
    or having things like daggers or candle
  • 00:06:14
    holders all meant that you were in
  • 00:06:16
    league with lucifer
  • 00:06:18
    and i know it didn't help that also at
  • 00:06:20
    this time that i was dabbling in eastern
  • 00:06:22
    dogmas and neo-pagan spiritualism
  • 00:06:26
    my family was mormon and although i was
  • 00:06:28
    baptized lds i never identified as
  • 00:06:30
    mormon because i didn't know if i
  • 00:06:32
    believed everything necessary to be
  • 00:06:35
    a mormon and and how would i know having
  • 00:06:37
    not studied any other religions either
  • 00:06:39
    how would i know that one of them
  • 00:06:41
    might not suit me better so i just never
  • 00:06:44
    called myself a mormon i knew that there
  • 00:06:46
    were other religions
  • 00:06:48
    that that
  • 00:06:50
    there were
  • 00:06:51
    different mythologies dedicated to
  • 00:06:52
    strange gods and unfamiliar scriptures
  • 00:06:54
    and all making disparate claims mutually
  • 00:06:56
    exclusive to each other such that they
  • 00:06:59
    could not all be right
  • 00:07:01
    but they could all be wrong
  • 00:07:05
    and if there was one true faith as they
  • 00:07:06
    all claimed that each one was then that
  • 00:07:08
    would mean that all of the others were
  • 00:07:10
    wrong especially when they're all
  • 00:07:11
    proclaiming absolute truth because you
  • 00:07:13
    find one flaw and the absolute is gone
  • 00:07:14
    so how much more wrong can you be how
  • 00:07:17
    which one of them are telling the truth
  • 00:07:19
    if any
  • 00:07:20
    and until that time i had always
  • 00:07:22
    believed in god but i didn't never
  • 00:07:24
    believed in the bible
  • 00:07:26
    throughout my childhood everyone i knew
  • 00:07:28
    was a creationist until it was 14.
  • 00:07:31
    i was the only one who understood what
  • 00:07:33
    evolution even was
  • 00:07:35
    much less accepted it
  • 00:07:37
    and i knew how evolution worked because
  • 00:07:38
    i had a book on dinosaurs given to me in
  • 00:07:41
    the second grade
  • 00:07:42
    and you know that taught me what i
  • 00:07:44
    needed and i also knew that adam and eve
  • 00:07:46
    was obviously
  • 00:07:48
    a metaphorical fable that this is these
  • 00:07:51
    trees are parables to eat of the fruit
  • 00:07:53
    of the tree of this everywhere in the
  • 00:07:55
    bible it talks about the fruit of or the
  • 00:07:58
    tree of these are
  • 00:08:00
    the results of actions taken or choices
  • 00:08:02
    made right only in genesis
  • 00:08:05
    is it treated like you could chop these
  • 00:08:07
    things down and
  • 00:08:09
    burn them
  • 00:08:10
    so
  • 00:08:11
    uh everyone told me that the bible was
  • 00:08:13
    the word of god and that god is infinite
  • 00:08:15
    loving wisdom and all of that so that if
  • 00:08:17
    i read the bible
  • 00:08:19
    then i would uh
  • 00:08:21
    and interpreted the fable the parables
  • 00:08:23
    correctly then i would tap into supreme
  • 00:08:25
    intelligence
  • 00:08:27
    of course you can't make it more than a
  • 00:08:28
    few verses into any chapter of the bible
  • 00:08:30
    before you realize it was not written by
  • 00:08:32
    a superior intelligence
  • 00:08:35
    and that wisdom and love and all that
  • 00:08:37
    are absent almost absent from that book
  • 00:08:39
    i think there's two lines two verses out
  • 00:08:42
    of the whole bible that i could call
  • 00:08:43
    wise and the only reason they are is
  • 00:08:45
    because they contradict all the rest of
  • 00:08:46
    it
  • 00:08:50
    instead my impression was that the bible
  • 00:08:52
    was written by ignorant bigoted
  • 00:08:53
    superstitious savages who were obsessed
  • 00:08:56
    with bloodshed and trying to trying to
  • 00:08:58
    cite and assert assumed authority
  • 00:09:01
    to justify genocide
  • 00:09:03
    and i tried to read the bible when i was
  • 00:09:05
    12
  • 00:09:06
    and i didn't even make it out of genesis
  • 00:09:08
    before i threw it across the room in
  • 00:09:09
    disgust
  • 00:09:10
    because of all of the absurdities
  • 00:09:12
    atrocities inconsistencies and
  • 00:09:14
    contradictions therein especially when
  • 00:09:16
    you're so disappointed that you think
  • 00:09:17
    you're reading
  • 00:09:19
    the ultimate wisdom and intelligence and
  • 00:09:21
    everything he says is stupid
  • 00:09:24
    so
  • 00:09:27
    i i prayed to god
  • 00:09:29
    at 12 i threw the book across the room
  • 00:09:31
    and i prayed to god that
  • 00:09:33
    he had better explain himself
  • 00:09:35
    he had better show i would better either
  • 00:09:37
    justify
  • 00:09:38
    all this evil and horror
  • 00:09:41
    that was attributed to him in the bible
  • 00:09:43
    or
  • 00:09:44
    show how the bible got him all wrong
  • 00:09:47
    distance himself from the bible and if
  • 00:09:48
    he did neither
  • 00:09:50
    then he could not have my soul
  • 00:09:54
    i still believed in hell
  • 00:09:56
    because i was 12.
  • 00:10:01
    and i knew the risk so i was really
  • 00:10:03
    putting my soul on the line because how
  • 00:10:05
    how could i spend eternity
  • 00:10:08
    pretending
  • 00:10:09
    to worship something that is so
  • 00:10:12
    a malicious small-minded despot that i
  • 00:10:15
    can't even respect much less admire you
  • 00:10:18
    ever see the twilight zone episode of
  • 00:10:19
    little anthony fremont
  • 00:10:21
    right the little kid that can wish
  • 00:10:22
    things into the cornfield
  • 00:10:24
    yeah so imagine being trapped with that
  • 00:10:27
    you're in his house for all eternity you
  • 00:10:29
    always have to say no matter what a
  • 00:10:30
    horrible thing he doesn't that's a
  • 00:10:32
    that's good that you did that anthony
  • 00:10:34
    that that's right that's real good yeah
  • 00:10:36
    you want to spend eternity like that
  • 00:10:38
    perpetually kissing that kid's ass
  • 00:10:42
    unfortunately that prayer was answered
  • 00:10:45
    as i lived to see endless reasons to
  • 00:10:47
    discount the bible as man-made mythology
  • 00:10:50
    however i still believed in god and i
  • 00:10:52
    still considered myself a christian
  • 00:10:55
    my best friend in high school
  • 00:10:57
    went on to become a southern baptist and
  • 00:10:59
    ordained southern baptist minister and
  • 00:11:00
    the principle of a christian school that
  • 00:11:03
    teaches a literal interpretation of the
  • 00:11:05
    bible as the only source of truth in our
  • 00:11:08
    world
  • 00:11:09
    only source meaning that facts and
  • 00:11:10
    evidence
  • 00:11:11
    dismissed
  • 00:11:13
    they believe the bible
  • 00:11:14
    not reality
  • 00:11:16
    let every man be a liar
  • 00:11:18
    let reality itself be a lie as martin
  • 00:11:21
    luther once said
  • 00:11:23
    so
  • 00:11:25
    he converted me
  • 00:11:28
    and i was reborn in christ
  • 00:11:32
    for a few hours
  • 00:11:34
    after i accepted jesus i was floating
  • 00:11:38
    around in this euphoria that
  • 00:11:40
    like you do like so many people do
  • 00:11:42
    whenever they accept it or adopt a
  • 00:11:44
    belief in any god
  • 00:11:46
    you have this transition period where
  • 00:11:47
    you you think something great has
  • 00:11:49
    happened to you
  • 00:11:50
    until i finally came to my senses and i
  • 00:11:52
    as i asked my friend i said how do i
  • 00:11:54
    know if this sensation of elation is
  • 00:11:57
    real
  • 00:11:58
    or is it just really jesus or is this
  • 00:12:00
    just a you know am i fooling myself with
  • 00:12:02
    a trick of the mind
  • 00:12:04
    and so he grabbed me by both shoulders
  • 00:12:05
    with a huge beaming smile and said just
  • 00:12:07
    keep telling yourself it's jesus until
  • 00:12:09
    you believe it
  • 00:12:15
    his philosophy and he expressed it that
  • 00:12:17
    way was that he believed in fake it till
  • 00:12:20
    you make it
  • 00:12:22
    keep lying to yourself until you believe
  • 00:12:24
    your own [ __ ]
  • 00:12:26
    and he used those words
  • 00:12:28
    fake it till you make it
  • 00:12:30
    but hearing him admit that you know to
  • 00:12:33
    just keep telling yourself until you
  • 00:12:34
    believe it
  • 00:12:35
    um
  • 00:12:36
    i saw that instantly as how dishonest
  • 00:12:41
    and the spell was broken
  • 00:12:43
    he deconverted me faster than he
  • 00:12:45
    converted me it was over in an instant
  • 00:12:49
    and after a few hours of reflection
  • 00:12:52
    was an atheist
  • 00:12:58
    i didn't know that i was atheist yet
  • 00:13:01
    i didn't know that because christians
  • 00:13:02
    tried to redefine what atheism is
  • 00:13:05
    they told me that
  • 00:13:06
    that an atheist is someone who knows
  • 00:13:08
    there is no god
  • 00:13:10
    or that an atheist is someone who
  • 00:13:11
    believes in nothing
  • 00:13:13
    rather than not having to make believe
  • 00:13:15
    anything on faith
  • 00:13:17
    because the believers have to twist
  • 00:13:19
    everything you don't believe
  • 00:13:21
    into something you do believe
  • 00:13:23
    because that's the only way they can
  • 00:13:24
    push the uh the burden of proof back
  • 00:13:27
    onto you because christians hate nothing
  • 00:13:29
    more than the burden of proof
  • 00:13:31
    so i was a i was an atheist for 15 years
  • 00:13:34
    before i found out that the word only
  • 00:13:36
    meant someone who does not
  • 00:13:38
    believe in god
  • 00:13:39
    not necessarily
  • 00:13:41
    someone who has a belief that there is
  • 00:13:43
    no god now i have a belief that there is
  • 00:13:46
    no god i eventually came to that
  • 00:13:47
    conclusion but that makes me a subset of
  • 00:13:49
    those who do not believe that god exists
  • 00:13:52
    and i know we're not supposed to um
  • 00:13:55
    wait because of because of deceptive
  • 00:13:56
    media of the day
  • 00:13:58
    tabloid tv and such
  • 00:14:00
    i still thought there was scientific
  • 00:14:02
    evidence of
  • 00:14:04
    uh telepathy life force extra
  • 00:14:06
    dimensional
  • 00:14:07
    beings uh paranormal psychic phenomenon
  • 00:14:10
    all of that even the people that watched
  • 00:14:11
    star wars star wars and star trek
  • 00:14:13
    believed in that [ __ ] and then you had
  • 00:14:15
    like the characters from actors from the
  • 00:14:18
    first two generations of star trek were
  • 00:14:20
    doing shows like in search of and uh and
  • 00:14:23
    and beyond belief
  • 00:14:24
    right trying to promote that all of this
  • 00:14:26
    is real so i'm thinking there's
  • 00:14:28
    something there i'm still a kid right
  • 00:14:30
    and so
  • 00:14:32
    i bought into some of that but and i
  • 00:14:34
    wanted to know what was real about it
  • 00:14:36
    but how can you find that out when you
  • 00:14:37
    already know that you can't trust any of
  • 00:14:40
    the scriptures
  • 00:14:42
    i know you're not supposed to question
  • 00:14:44
    religion because heresy blasphemy and
  • 00:14:46
    apostasy have been traditionally treated
  • 00:14:48
    as capital crimes
  • 00:14:50
    uh earning a death penalty
  • 00:14:52
    or worse
  • 00:14:53
    but i grew up in 20th century america
  • 00:14:56
    where blasphemy is not a crime it's a
  • 00:14:58
    right
  • 00:15:00
    i had questions and the only way i was
  • 00:15:02
    going to get reliable answers was
  • 00:15:04
    through direct experience with the
  • 00:15:05
    supernatural
  • 00:15:07
    via transcendental meditation and what
  • 00:15:09
    they used to call practice of the occult
  • 00:15:15
    back then i would describe myself now
  • 00:15:17
    who i was back then as a neo-pagan
  • 00:15:20
    but back then i didn't know what i was
  • 00:15:22
    so when people ask me what my religion
  • 00:15:23
    was i said that i'm an agnostic pagan
  • 00:15:25
    for christ
  • 00:15:28
    [Music]
  • 00:15:30
    when i was a young man one of my former
  • 00:15:32
    employers knew that i was knew that his
  • 00:15:34
    family my family was mormon and so he
  • 00:15:36
    thought i was mormon too
  • 00:15:39
    and here in arizona you all know what
  • 00:15:41
    mormons look like right
  • 00:15:44
    i never looked like that
  • 00:15:47
    although there was a time in my youth
  • 00:15:49
    when i would get a haircut every time i
  • 00:15:51
    had to go to court
  • 00:15:55
    but my boss thought i was mormon and he
  • 00:15:57
    thought that mormons were satanic he
  • 00:15:59
    thought the satanists were devil
  • 00:16:00
    worshippers so he threatened me with
  • 00:16:02
    physical violence that when you go to
  • 00:16:05
    go to the mormon temple you go to pray
  • 00:16:06
    to satan don't you
  • 00:16:09
    i said
  • 00:16:10
    i'm not mormon
  • 00:16:11
    and he got confused he said what are you
  • 00:16:13
    then and i said believe me you don't
  • 00:16:15
    want to know
  • 00:16:18
    and he walked away
  • 00:16:20
    he was threatening me a minute ago and
  • 00:16:21
    then he walked away it was as if he
  • 00:16:23
    thought that if i was
  • 00:16:24
    mormon and thus demonic
  • 00:16:26
    that he could beat me up or fire me or
  • 00:16:28
    whatever but my answer made him step
  • 00:16:30
    back
  • 00:16:31
    with the realization that there might be
  • 00:16:33
    something even worse than a devil
  • 00:16:35
    worshiper
  • 00:16:37
    and somehow that earned his respect
  • 00:16:44
    well he did confront me one more time
  • 00:16:46
    when i told him that i don't believe in
  • 00:16:48
    either
  • 00:16:49
    god or satan
  • 00:16:51
    and he told me that that means that i
  • 00:16:53
    worship satan
  • 00:16:55
    and say how you figure that
  • 00:16:57
    he says well you don't believe the devil
  • 00:16:58
    then you don't believe in the bible
  • 00:16:59
    because the devil is in the bible and
  • 00:17:00
    the bible is the word of god wherein god
  • 00:17:02
    said that you are either with me or
  • 00:17:03
    against me so the only choices are that
  • 00:17:05
    you either have to be a bible-believing
  • 00:17:07
    christian or you're a devil worshiper
  • 00:17:10
    and i commented on his dizzying
  • 00:17:12
    intellect and said that
  • 00:17:14
    you know i don't believe in daffy duck
  • 00:17:15
    either does that mean i worship him too
  • 00:17:21
    so he got my point and he didn't bother
  • 00:17:24
    me after that even after i agreed to
  • 00:17:25
    work on christmas and thanksgiving as
  • 00:17:27
    long as i had halloween off
  • 00:17:32
    and memorial day weekend so that i could
  • 00:17:34
    go off to go camping in the woods at a
  • 00:17:36
    huge pagan festival of of uh homegrown
  • 00:17:39
    hedonism with uh belly dancers around
  • 00:17:42
    the fire and a drum circle and all of
  • 00:17:44
    that because to deny me that is to deny
  • 00:17:46
    my religious freedom
  • 00:17:49
    and christians told me that anything
  • 00:17:51
    that is not of jesus
  • 00:17:53
    is from the devil
  • 00:17:54
    that all the pagan witches really
  • 00:17:56
    worship satan knowingly
  • 00:17:59
    and that the entire pantheon of hindu
  • 00:18:01
    gods are all different aspects or
  • 00:18:03
    characterizations of the christian devil
  • 00:18:06
    and so 800 million hindus are secretly
  • 00:18:09
    satanic even if they don't know it
  • 00:18:11
    and supposedly the muslims are
  • 00:18:13
    unwittingly devil worshippers too and
  • 00:18:15
    the freemasons too except willingly so
  • 00:18:18
    basically everyone who isn't christian
  • 00:18:21
    well everyone who isn't a protestant
  • 00:18:23
    christian because you know catholics are
  • 00:18:24
    mary worshipping pagans
  • 00:18:28
    thus obviously irreverent sacrilegious
  • 00:18:30
    agnostics like myself must be demonic
  • 00:18:33
    too right
  • 00:18:34
    more so than anyone else
  • 00:18:36
    however of all these non-christian
  • 00:18:38
    religious groups these
  • 00:18:40
    god or the non-christian religions you
  • 00:18:42
    know who doesn't believe in any devils
  • 00:18:44
    at all
  • 00:18:45
    satanists
  • 00:18:47
    go figure right
  • 00:18:50
    that's just one of the many lies we hear
  • 00:18:52
    from those proclaiming god's truth
  • 00:18:55
    it's no wonder that christians don't
  • 00:18:56
    know what satanists believe my lifelong
  • 00:18:58
    conflict with religion began with
  • 00:19:00
    baptists misrepresenting what jews
  • 00:19:02
    pagans catholics mormons and atheists
  • 00:19:05
    believe and it only got worse when i saw
  • 00:19:07
    that christian nationalists were lying
  • 00:19:08
    about science sex and social studies in
  • 00:19:10
    public school classrooms to sequester
  • 00:19:12
    other people's sequestered students
  • 00:19:16
    and i became an atheist activist
  • 00:19:18
    primarily in defense of students rights
  • 00:19:20
    specifically because the actual factual
  • 00:19:22
    truth matters more to me than whatever i
  • 00:19:24
    might rather believe
  • 00:19:26
    i was fooled before by faith
  • 00:19:29
    when i thought i had the truth
  • 00:19:32
    before i learned what the truth really
  • 00:19:33
    meant
  • 00:19:34
    the truth is what the facts are what we
  • 00:19:37
    can show to be true not whatever else we
  • 00:19:39
    assume or imagine beyond or instead if
  • 00:19:41
    that all of that is speculation we leave
  • 00:19:43
    that to religion
  • 00:19:45
    but there are a hell of a lot of lies
  • 00:19:47
    in every religion
  • 00:19:49
    so every one of these god-fearing
  • 00:19:51
    religions let's put it this way
  • 00:19:54
    so just like martin luther said the
  • 00:19:56
    father of protestant christianity he
  • 00:19:58
    said what harm would it do if a man told
  • 00:20:01
    a good strong lie for the sake of the
  • 00:20:03
    good and for the christian church
  • 00:20:05
    because christians always defend
  • 00:20:07
    the lies of their faith they say what's
  • 00:20:09
    wrong with lying
  • 00:20:12
    luther also admitted that faith must
  • 00:20:14
    trample underfoot all reason sense and
  • 00:20:17
    understanding and whatever it sees it
  • 00:20:18
    must put out of sight and wish to know
  • 00:20:21
    nothing but the word of god
  • 00:20:24
    and i've encountered believers who
  • 00:20:25
    admitted that these may be what the
  • 00:20:26
    facts are but i prefer to believe this
  • 00:20:29
    or why does it have to be true before i
  • 00:20:32
    believe it
  • 00:20:33
    and one of my best friends said i'm
  • 00:20:35
    christian because i like to believe that
  • 00:20:36
    not because i think it's true
  • 00:20:38
    having no idea what he had just admitted
  • 00:20:40
    to me
  • 00:20:42
    and one woman told me that if she had a
  • 00:20:43
    time machine
  • 00:20:45
    and was able to go back and watch jesus
  • 00:20:48
    be crucified and die and watch him get
  • 00:20:50
    you know entombed or whatever watch his
  • 00:20:52
    body rot
  • 00:20:53
    for a week
  • 00:20:55
    that she hopes that her faith would be
  • 00:20:57
    strong enough to keep believing even
  • 00:21:00
    when her eyes tell her otherwise
  • 00:21:03
    they admit
  • 00:21:04
    that it doesn't matter what the truth is
  • 00:21:06
    they're going to believe what they want
  • 00:21:08
    to believe regardless and no amount of
  • 00:21:10
    proof is ever going to change their
  • 00:21:12
    minds
  • 00:21:13
    william jennings bryan the creationist
  • 00:21:15
    attorney in the scopes monkey trial
  • 00:21:17
    famously declared that if the bible said
  • 00:21:18
    that jonah swallowed the whale i would
  • 00:21:21
    believe it
  • 00:21:23
    a minister on a documentary called
  • 00:21:24
    questioning darwin said something
  • 00:21:26
    similar he said if the bible said that
  • 00:21:29
    two plus two equals five
  • 00:21:32
    i would believe it
  • 00:21:35
    mathematic proof is absolute
  • 00:21:37
    but that doesn't matter to faith
  • 00:21:40
    all goes to show that believers don't
  • 00:21:41
    care what the truth really is they'd
  • 00:21:43
    rather make believe something else
  • 00:21:45
    instead
  • 00:21:46
    thus faith is the most dishonest and
  • 00:21:49
    auto deceptive perspective it is
  • 00:21:51
    possible to have
  • 00:21:52
    it is not a reliable path to truth but
  • 00:21:54
    it's a great way to stay wrong forever
  • 00:21:56
    and never know it or never admit it even
  • 00:21:58
    if you do know it
  • 00:21:59
    because faith means never having to
  • 00:22:01
    admit when you're always wrong
  • 00:22:03
    their belief system doesn't allow
  • 00:22:05
    admission or correction of error
  • 00:22:08
    and the only way to make a believer any
  • 00:22:10
    more dishonest
  • 00:22:12
    is if they become a religious apologist
  • 00:22:14
    which essentially means making up
  • 00:22:16
    excuses
  • 00:22:17
    uh every excuse imaginable to justify
  • 00:22:19
    every error in an a priori assumption or
  • 00:22:22
    to systematically dismiss rationalize
  • 00:22:24
    away any and all evidence against it
  • 00:22:26
    to convince themselves of what is not
  • 00:22:28
    evidently true nor even possible
  • 00:22:31
    if jesus was the truth he would neither
  • 00:22:34
    need nor want apologies or excuse me
  • 00:22:36
    apologists lying for him the way they
  • 00:22:38
    all do and have always done are these
  • 00:22:41
    seats available because there's people
  • 00:22:43
    standing over there
  • 00:22:44
    some of you can fit in these these seats
  • 00:22:46
    up here
  • 00:22:47
    okay
  • 00:22:48
    very i got standing room only here i got
  • 00:22:50
    no pictures of that but yeah
  • 00:22:54
    okay so
  • 00:22:55
    um
  • 00:22:56
    frederick nietzsche
  • 00:22:57
    said that faith means not wanting to
  • 00:22:59
    know what is true
  • 00:23:01
    and his contemporary mark twain wrote
  • 00:23:03
    that faith is believing what you know
  • 00:23:05
    ain't so
  • 00:23:07
    both accurate assessments
  • 00:23:08
    i have dedicated my life to combating
  • 00:23:11
    the lies of religion particularly those
  • 00:23:13
    of creationism because when you debate
  • 00:23:14
    the loftier notions of theism it all
  • 00:23:16
    melts into nebulous philosophy where
  • 00:23:19
    everything becomes an opinion and you
  • 00:23:20
    can still pretend that descartes had a
  • 00:23:22
    defensible position despite what hume
  • 00:23:24
    says despite what descartes says to
  • 00:23:26
    contradict himself
  • 00:23:27
    so i focus on creationism because that's
  • 00:23:30
    where believers make testable
  • 00:23:31
    demonstrably false claims where we can
  • 00:23:34
    unambiguously
  • 00:23:36
    prove the prove the fact or expose the
  • 00:23:38
    fraud such that any undecided spectator
  • 00:23:41
    will immediately see how the religious
  • 00:23:43
    right is wrong
  • 00:23:45
    that put me in conflict with christian
  • 00:23:47
    nationalists in their imagined culture
  • 00:23:48
    war against science secular policies and
  • 00:23:51
    even the constitution
  • 00:23:53
    i'm on the board of directors of
  • 00:23:54
    american atheists a position i hold very
  • 00:23:56
    proudly but i paid for membership in the
  • 00:23:58
    satanic temple too because i admire how
  • 00:24:01
    this organization can sometimes defend
  • 00:24:03
    the first amendment better it seems than
  • 00:24:06
    mere atheists can
  • 00:24:07
    because when some christian group wants
  • 00:24:09
    to put up the ten commandments that
  • 00:24:10
    they've never read can't remember and
  • 00:24:12
    don't understand
  • 00:24:14
    atheists might put up a monument to
  • 00:24:16
    science or something like that and
  • 00:24:17
    nobody would even get the point of it
  • 00:24:19
    and if the hindus want to put up a
  • 00:24:20
    statue of hanuman nobody knows what that
  • 00:24:23
    is and they don't take it seriously it's
  • 00:24:24
    only when the satanists show up with
  • 00:24:26
    their baphomet statue
  • 00:24:28
    that suddenly they realize that this
  • 00:24:30
    this was supposed to be a secular nation
  • 00:24:31
    that didn't promote any religion it's
  • 00:24:33
    just like whether they're all about
  • 00:24:34
    vouchers for religious education until
  • 00:24:37
    the muslim schools want to take
  • 00:24:38
    advantage of that then they remember
  • 00:24:40
    what the establishment clause is all
  • 00:24:41
    about
  • 00:24:43
    more recently the satanic temple stepped
  • 00:24:45
    up to defend women's reproductive rights
  • 00:24:47
    where i live in texas
  • 00:24:49
    when our religiously biased supreme
  • 00:24:51
    court chose to ignore and thus tacitly
  • 00:24:54
    allow
  • 00:24:55
    a
  • 00:24:56
    grossly unconstitutional law to stand
  • 00:24:59
    that's when i joined
  • 00:25:00
    tst
  • 00:25:02
    now i think the satanic temple might
  • 00:25:04
    need to get involved in oklahoma
  • 00:25:05
    students religious belief protection act
  • 00:25:08
    which would charge teachers ten thousand
  • 00:25:10
    dollar fines if they teach anything that
  • 00:25:13
    contradicts a student's religion
  • 00:25:20
    that's any student
  • 00:25:22
    of any religion
  • 00:25:25
    so you can't teach
  • 00:25:26
    world geography
  • 00:25:28
    or the theory of gravity to a flat
  • 00:25:30
    earther
  • 00:25:33
    now atheists don't have a standing in
  • 00:25:36
    that because despite the lie that
  • 00:25:38
    christians tell you all the time atheism
  • 00:25:41
    is not a religion
  • 00:25:44
    and evolution is not a religion either
  • 00:25:46
    it's literally a fact of life
  • 00:25:48
    demonstrable both in the lab and in the
  • 00:25:50
    field verifiable in real time it is not
  • 00:25:52
    a belief and neither requires nor
  • 00:25:55
    desires faith which finally gets me to
  • 00:25:58
    what i was supposed to talk about
  • 00:26:00
    today is february 12th
  • 00:26:02
    the birthday of a famous bearded figure
  • 00:26:05
    you may have heard of kind of a big deal
  • 00:26:07
    in history
  • 00:26:08
    someone who among other things publicly
  • 00:26:10
    condemned slavery and while i could say
  • 00:26:13
    that of a couple of people who were born
  • 00:26:14
    on this day in the year 1809 i am at
  • 00:26:17
    this moment talking about abraham
  • 00:26:19
    lincoln
  • 00:26:21
    also known as honest abe
  • 00:26:23
    and why did they call him that i think
  • 00:26:25
    it might have been in part due to this
  • 00:26:27
    letter wherein he said
  • 00:26:29
    i believe this is established maxim in
  • 00:26:31
    morals that he who makes an assertion
  • 00:26:33
    without knowing whether it's true or
  • 00:26:34
    false is guilty of falsehood and the
  • 00:26:37
    accidental truth of the assertion does
  • 00:26:39
    not justify or excuse him
  • 00:26:42
    now before i knew about lincoln's
  • 00:26:44
    statement i'd been saying something the
  • 00:26:46
    similar thing albeit differently for
  • 00:26:48
    years the way i put it was that it is
  • 00:26:50
    dishonest to assert baseless speculation
  • 00:26:53
    as though it was a matter of fact
  • 00:26:54
    pretending to know what no one even can
  • 00:26:56
    know yet that is what all religions do
  • 00:27:01
    i said that was tantamount to lying but
  • 00:27:03
    lincoln took the extra step and said
  • 00:27:04
    that it is lying
  • 00:27:06
    and believers tell me that it's not a
  • 00:27:08
    lie if they believe it to be true but
  • 00:27:09
    you're still expressing an opinion as if
  • 00:27:11
    it was a fact a fact is objectively
  • 00:27:13
    verifiable data
  • 00:27:15
    so if you can't show that it's a fact
  • 00:27:16
    you don't get to call it one and you
  • 00:27:18
    shouldn't call it truth either unless
  • 00:27:20
    you can show the truth of it
  • 00:27:22
    if you can't show it you don't know it
  • 00:27:24
    because if you can't confirm what you
  • 00:27:26
    say to any degree at all by any means
  • 00:27:28
    whatsoever then you can't even know if
  • 00:27:31
    you know what you merely believe
  • 00:27:33
    presuppositionalists like to tell me
  • 00:27:35
    that i can't know that we
  • 00:27:37
    can't know anything unless we know
  • 00:27:39
    everything
  • 00:27:41
    or you know someone who knows everything
  • 00:27:44
    but by that mystifying perversion of
  • 00:27:46
    logic it means that you don't know
  • 00:27:47
    anything if you don't know everything
  • 00:27:49
    and so you wouldn't even know if you
  • 00:27:50
    know someone who knows everything you
  • 00:27:52
    wouldn't even know that
  • 00:27:56
    so the only thing you that you can know
  • 00:27:59
    that you can honestly say that you know
  • 00:28:01
    is what you can show objectively so that
  • 00:28:03
    we can see it too
  • 00:28:04
    and that's what i find to be the most
  • 00:28:06
    irritating thing about religion when
  • 00:28:07
    believers confuse conviction with
  • 00:28:09
    knowledge oh i don't just believe
  • 00:28:11
    there's a god i know there is
  • 00:28:14
    no you don't joe bob you just believe
  • 00:28:17
    because you don't know any better
  • 00:28:19
    have you noticed the unabashed arrogance
  • 00:28:22
    of ignorance
  • 00:28:23
    as if some uneducated adult who never
  • 00:28:25
    studied anything can look up the wrong
  • 00:28:27
    website for a minute and think they know
  • 00:28:29
    more than all the world's best educated
  • 00:28:30
    expert specialists anywhere ever
  • 00:28:34
    in any field
  • 00:28:35
    and this effect was known long before
  • 00:28:37
    dunigan kruger gave it a name
  • 00:28:40
    in fact there was another bearded fellow
  • 00:28:42
    born 213 years ago
  • 00:28:44
    today
  • 00:28:45
    on the same day and year as lincoln who
  • 00:28:47
    noted the same thing
  • 00:28:49
    when charles darwin said
  • 00:28:51
    ignorance more often begets confidence
  • 00:28:53
    than does knowledge
  • 00:28:56
    now look at how everyone lied about
  • 00:28:58
    darwin
  • 00:29:00
    creationists tell us that darwin was a
  • 00:29:01
    eugenicist and that hitler was a
  • 00:29:03
    darwinist and that darwinism killed
  • 00:29:05
    millions in communist russia when in
  • 00:29:07
    fact darwin wrote against eugenics
  • 00:29:10
    hitler wrote against darwinism and it
  • 00:29:12
    was stalin's rejection
  • 00:29:15
    of darwinian science that directly led
  • 00:29:17
    to the starvation of millions in the
  • 00:29:19
    world's worst famine
  • 00:29:21
    ever
  • 00:29:22
    creationists have always lied about
  • 00:29:24
    darwin there was a nurse named lady hope
  • 00:29:27
    who told the story that she had attended
  • 00:29:29
    darwin at his bedside and that in his
  • 00:29:31
    last moments he recanted his theory of
  • 00:29:34
    evolution and accepted jesus
  • 00:29:39
    however
  • 00:29:41
    each of darwin's children
  • 00:29:43
    said no dad never said anything like
  • 00:29:46
    that and we never met lady hope because
  • 00:29:48
    she was never even there
  • 00:29:52
    the wanna believers hate darwin because
  • 00:29:53
    he was first and foremost a scientist
  • 00:29:55
    and he revealed an inconvenient truth
  • 00:29:58
    although his goal was not to overturn
  • 00:30:00
    the genesis myth
  • 00:30:01
    he saw that science points in a
  • 00:30:03
    different direction
  • 00:30:04
    he said
  • 00:30:05
    my theology is a simple model i cannot
  • 00:30:08
    look at the universe as a result of
  • 00:30:09
    blind chance yet i can see no evidence
  • 00:30:12
    of beneficial design or indeed design of
  • 00:30:14
    any kind in the details
  • 00:30:16
    as for each variant or each variation
  • 00:30:18
    that has ever occurred having been
  • 00:30:19
    pre-ordained for a special end i can no
  • 00:30:22
    more believe that than that the spot on
  • 00:30:24
    which each raindrop falls has been
  • 00:30:26
    specially ordained
  • 00:30:29
    remember religious fundamentalists have
  • 00:30:32
    to believe by any means even dishonesty
  • 00:30:36
    so these reality denying extremists
  • 00:30:38
    point to built down man which was a
  • 00:30:40
    fraud that was perpetrated against
  • 00:30:42
    evolutionary scientists
  • 00:30:44
    and was exposed by evolutionary science
  • 00:30:48
    using the science of evolution to do it
  • 00:30:50
    yet creationists pretend as if evolution
  • 00:30:53
    is a hoax as if built down man means
  • 00:30:56
    that evolution is a hoax and to support
  • 00:30:58
    their own claims of creationism they
  • 00:31:00
    have their own hoaxes
  • 00:31:01
    like the sacred shroud of turin which
  • 00:31:03
    turned out to be
  • 00:31:05
    a medieval painting
  • 00:31:07
    then there are the artificial fossils of
  • 00:31:10
    human and dinosaur footprints being
  • 00:31:11
    peddled by dr carl baugh
  • 00:31:14
    dr carl baugh one of many pseudoscience
  • 00:31:17
    charlatans with a bogus phd pretending
  • 00:31:19
    to have actual credentials and there's
  • 00:31:22
    also a hoax among the tucson artifacts
  • 00:31:25
    which include a sword made of lead that
  • 00:31:28
    has hebrew inscriptions on it and
  • 00:31:30
    a scrawling of a sauropod dinosaur
  • 00:31:34
    flicking a forked tongue as if it was a
  • 00:31:36
    lizard
  • 00:31:39
    now
  • 00:31:40
    these artifacts were
  • 00:31:42
    were buried in an already existing
  • 00:31:44
    archaeological site 100 years ago so
  • 00:31:46
    that they would be discovered the next
  • 00:31:47
    day and the intention was that it was
  • 00:31:49
    supposed to fool the archaeologists
  • 00:31:52
    into thinking that jewish immigrants
  • 00:31:55
    came to the united states before
  • 00:31:56
    columbus and that they had witnessed
  • 00:31:57
    dinosaurs
  • 00:31:59
    however not only did no one ever make a
  • 00:32:02
    sword out of lead
  • 00:32:03
    think about how effective that would be
  • 00:32:06
    oh
  • 00:32:07
    [Laughter]
  • 00:32:11
    but the hebrew scripts that were that
  • 00:32:13
    were written on it turned out to have
  • 00:32:15
    been copied verbatim
  • 00:32:17
    from a textbook on how to learn hebrew
  • 00:32:19
    language
  • 00:32:22
    and there there were the eco stones a
  • 00:32:25
    collection of fraudulent carvings on
  • 00:32:26
    allegedly pre-columbian artifacts the
  • 00:32:29
    pictures were modeled after plastic
  • 00:32:30
    dinosaur toys from the 1960s
  • 00:32:33
    and a number of peruvian natives had it
  • 00:32:35
    have confessed to having made these
  • 00:32:37
    stones
  • 00:32:38
    on commission of a crooked dentist who
  • 00:32:40
    was trying to build tourists
  • 00:32:43
    but people like kent hovind will still
  • 00:32:44
    present these as if they're legitimate
  • 00:32:46
    pre-columbian artifacts
  • 00:32:48
    but the crowning fraud of all
  • 00:32:50
    creationism has to be ron wyatt who
  • 00:32:53
    claimed to have found noah's ark at the
  • 00:32:55
    top of mount ararat right where the
  • 00:32:57
    bible said it should be
  • 00:32:58
    see snowmelt
  • 00:33:00
    over a rocky obstruction created a
  • 00:33:03
    boat-shaped island you know as the snow
  • 00:33:05
    flows around it takes dirt around and
  • 00:33:07
    leaves a hill that's roughly canoe
  • 00:33:09
    shaped
  • 00:33:11
    and since it looked like a boat
  • 00:33:14
    wyatt called it noah's ark
  • 00:33:18
    and to make it worse he took other
  • 00:33:20
    creationists up there like famous
  • 00:33:22
    creationists with reputations to protect
  • 00:33:24
    and he showed him this pile of dirt
  • 00:33:27
    and they left in disgust having bought
  • 00:33:29
    into his [ __ ]
  • 00:33:31
    ron wyatt also claimed to have found the
  • 00:33:34
    exact spot where jesus was crucified
  • 00:33:37
    which was directly over a hidden
  • 00:33:38
    underground chamber that no one else has
  • 00:33:40
    ever seen and he goes into this room and
  • 00:33:42
    he kept it secret where it was he didn't
  • 00:33:44
    want anyone to know so he followed a
  • 00:33:46
    trail of some reddish
  • 00:33:47
    some kind of a reddish trace from the
  • 00:33:49
    remains of what he said was a cross down
  • 00:33:51
    to the ark of the covenant
  • 00:33:54
    which was sitting directly below
  • 00:33:57
    and he found a bottle cap on the floor
  • 00:33:58
    because that's what you find in secret
  • 00:34:00
    chambers like this
  • 00:34:02
    and he scraped a bit of this reddish
  • 00:34:03
    material off the wall and he declared it
  • 00:34:05
    to be jesus's blood
  • 00:34:07
    and then
  • 00:34:08
    he took that bottle cap with the red
  • 00:34:10
    whatever on it and put it under his own
  • 00:34:12
    microscope and then published a
  • 00:34:14
    statement that the reanimated undead
  • 00:34:17
    cells of jesus's blood
  • 00:34:19
    came reanimated again
  • 00:34:21
    right before his eyes
  • 00:34:24
    he lost
  • 00:34:26
    jesus's blood
  • 00:34:31
    because it was unimportant now i guess
  • 00:34:36
    and there was no way to test or confirm
  • 00:34:38
    anything he ever said
  • 00:34:42
    you can't just say something's true
  • 00:34:44
    because you want it to be
  • 00:34:46
    that's called lying
  • 00:34:49
    most of the time though you'll notice
  • 00:34:51
    that defenders of the faith can make any
  • 00:34:53
    crackpot claim they want and other
  • 00:34:55
    believers will just let it slide as if
  • 00:34:57
    it doesn't matter
  • 00:34:58
    but if you
  • 00:35:00
    get anything wrong in a public state
  • 00:35:02
    you're debating people online or
  • 00:35:03
    whatever you get anything wrong
  • 00:35:05
    about science or history or philosophy
  • 00:35:08
    or even theology
  • 00:35:10
    and your own allies
  • 00:35:11
    will come down on you for it
  • 00:35:14
    very unforgiving of error
  • 00:35:18
    learn the lesson that that i did you
  • 00:35:20
    know everybody's wrong about something
  • 00:35:22
    somewhere doesn't mean you're wrong
  • 00:35:23
    about everything you've got to be wrong
  • 00:35:25
    about something somewhere right there
  • 00:35:26
    has to be something you can correct and
  • 00:35:28
    that's the purpose of science right is
  • 00:35:30
    to to seek out and expose the flaws in
  • 00:35:32
    our current understanding and correct
  • 00:35:33
    them
  • 00:35:36
    if your your sources can be mistaken and
  • 00:35:38
    mislead you so if you find out that
  • 00:35:40
    they're wrong and thus you're wrong or
  • 00:35:41
    for whatever reason you realize you're
  • 00:35:43
    wrong own it as soon as you can it is to
  • 00:35:46
    your benefit and the moment you admit to
  • 00:35:48
    being wrong is the moment you stop being
  • 00:35:50
    wrong
  • 00:35:52
    if i get something wrong
  • 00:35:55
    other atheists will publish books
  • 00:35:58
    condemning me for it
  • 00:36:00
    i'm speaking from personal experience
  • 00:36:02
    here it's happened
  • 00:36:05
    so
  • 00:36:06
    and they could just tell me why it's
  • 00:36:08
    wrong and i'll fix it so well i think
  • 00:36:10
    that that was an overreaction and maybe
  • 00:36:12
    unproductive it is nonetheless necessary
  • 00:36:16
    that there be some way to hold us
  • 00:36:18
    accountable because
  • 00:36:20
    if if our motive really is to improve
  • 00:36:22
    our understanding then we should be
  • 00:36:24
    careful not to say things are true
  • 00:36:26
    unless we can show that they are and we
  • 00:36:28
    should get into the habit of knowing how
  • 00:36:29
    to show
  • 00:36:30
    that they are so it took me a while to
  • 00:36:33
    figure that out and i was reprimanded
  • 00:36:35
    harshly a couple of times because i read
  • 00:36:37
    something from voltaire for example one
  • 00:36:40
    of my errors was you know voltaire said
  • 00:36:41
    that uh that the donaise convention
  • 00:36:44
    had
  • 00:36:45
    had been done to establish
  • 00:36:47
    what the doctrine of christianity would
  • 00:36:49
    be and then there was some famous
  • 00:36:50
    christian author that was saying the
  • 00:36:52
    same thing so i thought these two people
  • 00:36:53
    are saying the same thing that must be
  • 00:36:54
    true right well then the
  • 00:36:56
    people who versed in christian theology
  • 00:36:59
    come down on me say no that's not you
  • 00:37:01
    know
  • 00:37:02
    okay fine
  • 00:37:04
    believers pretend
  • 00:37:06
    that fantasy is reality
  • 00:37:08
    and that all of reality must be a lie
  • 00:37:12
    especially evolution
  • 00:37:13
    and i offer a two-part challenge to such
  • 00:37:15
    believers
  • 00:37:17
    one
  • 00:37:17
    name an evolutionary scientist who ever
  • 00:37:20
    lied
  • 00:37:21
    while promoting evolution over
  • 00:37:22
    creationism give me the name
  • 00:37:25
    quote the live verbatim
  • 00:37:27
    and then show me how we know that that
  • 00:37:29
    was not true and that the person who
  • 00:37:30
    said it knew it wasn't true when they
  • 00:37:32
    said it
  • 00:37:34
    no one has ever answered that challenge
  • 00:37:37
    nor the second part of the challenge
  • 00:37:38
    either which is to name a professional
  • 00:37:40
    creationist who did not lie
  • 00:37:44
    when promoting creationism over
  • 00:37:45
    evolution
  • 00:37:47
    in which case just give me the name
  • 00:37:52
    i'll show you
  • 00:37:54
    where they lied and how we know that
  • 00:37:56
    they knew better than whatever they said
  • 00:37:59
    i will never understand why some people
  • 00:38:01
    would rather believe in a fantasy
  • 00:38:03
    than embrace reality especially given
  • 00:38:05
    the indefensible fairy tale in question
  • 00:38:08
    because we know for absolutely certain
  • 00:38:11
    that adam and eve
  • 00:38:13
    are just a parable
  • 00:38:16
    noah's ark
  • 00:38:17
    the tower of babel these things did not
  • 00:38:19
    literally happen we know that they
  • 00:38:21
    didn't not they didn't happen as
  • 00:38:22
    described there might be some
  • 00:38:24
    interpretation where you could say that
  • 00:38:25
    there's a kind of a kernel of truth to
  • 00:38:27
    one or two of these stories
  • 00:38:29
    and evidently the exodus never happened
  • 00:38:31
    either
  • 00:38:33
    adam and eve
  • 00:38:34
    definitely just a parable it's a fairy
  • 00:38:36
    tale with a moral and these are it and
  • 00:38:38
    the story is adopted from elder
  • 00:38:40
    mythology from all of this there's not
  • 00:38:41
    even a kernel of truth to that
  • 00:38:44
    but you have to believe it
  • 00:38:47
    you have to believe this fable of
  • 00:38:48
    creation without question reservation or
  • 00:38:50
    reason or else suffer a fate worse than
  • 00:38:53
    death
  • 00:38:54
    so let's look at this story shall we
  • 00:38:56
    another advantage of this being the
  • 00:38:58
    first ever
  • 00:38:59
    convention of the satanic temple is that
  • 00:39:01
    i looked on the schedule nobody else was
  • 00:39:02
    talking about this so i get to be the
  • 00:39:04
    first
  • 00:39:05
    and it may be that you all know this
  • 00:39:07
    already but the people in the video
  • 00:39:08
    audience don't
  • 00:39:09
    so that's why i'm doing it
  • 00:39:11
    so christians say that adam's sin
  • 00:39:14
    brought death into the world
  • 00:39:17
    but that's a lie
  • 00:39:20
    what the bible actually says that there
  • 00:39:21
    was two trees to choose from and adam
  • 00:39:23
    could have eaten from the fruit of the
  • 00:39:25
    tree of eternal life and if he had then
  • 00:39:27
    he would live forever
  • 00:39:29
    but he didn't eat from that tree
  • 00:39:31
    he had to eat he had to ingest and
  • 00:39:34
    digest living cells in order to survive
  • 00:39:36
    which is the definition of an animal
  • 00:39:38
    because he was mortal already
  • 00:39:41
    now what about that other tree
  • 00:39:43
    of knowledge of good and evil
  • 00:39:45
    we know now that death was already in
  • 00:39:47
    the world from the moment of creation
  • 00:39:48
    there's no way out of that
  • 00:39:50
    god says when he at the end of that
  • 00:39:52
    story was like he has to get adam and
  • 00:39:54
    eve out of the garden because
  • 00:39:56
    to stop adam from eating from the fruit
  • 00:39:58
    of the tree because then he'll live
  • 00:40:00
    forever and then he won't be like the
  • 00:40:01
    gods then he'll be a god
  • 00:40:04
    so this is just the one way that
  • 00:40:06
    christians have constantly
  • 00:40:07
    misinterpreted their own scripture isn't
  • 00:40:09
    it weird when you know more about both
  • 00:40:12
    sides of this argument than they know
  • 00:40:13
    with their own alone
  • 00:40:15
    so god put a poison tree
  • 00:40:18
    right in the middle of the garden
  • 00:40:19
    because it says it's in the middle of
  • 00:40:20
    the garden
  • 00:40:21
    and he planted a snake to set the trap
  • 00:40:29
    and he created adam as a naive noob
  • 00:40:32
    who doesn't know right from wrong
  • 00:40:35
    so you're going to punish him for
  • 00:40:36
    figuring out right from wrong
  • 00:40:38
    at a time when he was neither competent
  • 00:40:40
    nor culpable and therefore shouldn't be
  • 00:40:42
    pun not you can't legally punish him but
  • 00:40:45
    god is going to punish him anyway
  • 00:40:46
    because god is unjust
  • 00:40:50
    and
  • 00:40:50
    evil and god is a liar
  • 00:40:54
    he told adam not to eat the fruit of the
  • 00:40:56
    fruit
  • 00:40:57
    saying that for the day thou for on the
  • 00:40:59
    day thou eatest of it thou shalt surely
  • 00:41:02
    die but the serpent said ye shall not
  • 00:41:04
    surely die for god doth know that in the
  • 00:41:07
    day you eat thereof then your eyes will
  • 00:41:09
    be opened and ye will be as gods
  • 00:41:12
    knowing good from evil
  • 00:41:14
    and so they ate and they didn't die like
  • 00:41:17
    god said they would
  • 00:41:19
    instead they lived on to a ripe old age
  • 00:41:22
    times 10.
  • 00:41:26
    being what we now today would call
  • 00:41:28
    immortal because most of our immortal
  • 00:41:30
    characters don't live that long dracula
  • 00:41:32
    only lived half as long as adam
  • 00:41:36
    instead their eyes were opened and they
  • 00:41:38
    knew right from wrong just like the
  • 00:41:39
    serpent said
  • 00:41:41
    it was important to note that god lied
  • 00:41:43
    to adam and eve and then adam and eve
  • 00:41:44
    lied to god but the serpent is the only
  • 00:41:47
    character in the story who never lied
  • 00:41:51
    god is the lord of lies
  • 00:41:54
    god himself is a lie
  • 00:41:57
    to defend belief in god is to
  • 00:41:59
    participate in a lie
  • 00:42:01
    in the sacred fables which is a book of
  • 00:42:03
    lies
  • 00:42:04
    god lies again and again he lied to adam
  • 00:42:07
    about the tree and about the
  • 00:42:08
    consequences because he made up a set
  • 00:42:10
    new set of punishments that weren't what
  • 00:42:11
    he said they were going to do
  • 00:42:15
    elsewhere the scriptures read that god
  • 00:42:17
    has greatly deceived his people
  • 00:42:19
    oh lord thou hast deceived me and i was
  • 00:42:22
    deceived
  • 00:42:23
    the lord put the lord hath put a lying
  • 00:42:25
    spirit in the mouth of the prophets and
  • 00:42:27
    if a prophet be deceived when he has
  • 00:42:29
    spoken a thing i the lord have deceived
  • 00:42:32
    that prophet
  • 00:42:34
    so god not only lies he brags about
  • 00:42:37
    lying
  • 00:42:39
    how can you say that we are wise and
  • 00:42:40
    that the law of the lord is with us look
  • 00:42:43
    the lying pen of the scribes has made it
  • 00:42:45
    into a lie
  • 00:42:47
    for this cause god shall send them
  • 00:42:49
    strong delusion that they shall believe
  • 00:42:53
    a lie
  • 00:42:54
    and they
  • 00:42:56
    do christians today said that the
  • 00:42:59
    serpent was satan
  • 00:43:01
    and that satan was the lord of lies but
  • 00:43:02
    that's just another lie in itself
  • 00:43:05
    but again the bible doesn't say that nor
  • 00:43:07
    does that even allow that interpretation
  • 00:43:09
    since the serpent was supposed to be
  • 00:43:10
    crawled
  • 00:43:11
    cursed to crawl on his belly for all the
  • 00:43:13
    rest of his days
  • 00:43:14
    but the first time we see satan
  • 00:43:16
    mentioned by name is in a story
  • 00:43:18
    chronologically after that one
  • 00:43:20
    and satan is described as walking
  • 00:43:24
    and we're and what working with god
  • 00:43:26
    because they're still friends they've
  • 00:43:27
    never had a falling out
  • 00:43:29
    so there's an inconsistency in the story
  • 00:43:31
    and then you know christians will say
  • 00:43:33
    that well then in revelations it says
  • 00:43:35
    that that
  • 00:43:36
    satan is that old serpent yeah but it
  • 00:43:38
    doesn't mean that old serpent
  • 00:43:40
    it also says he's standing
  • 00:43:43
    on the beach
  • 00:43:45
    with seven heads which maybe is a detail
  • 00:43:47
    that should have been in genesis if it
  • 00:43:49
    was written by better people
  • 00:43:51
    and let's remember in the middle of the
  • 00:43:53
    book that jesus calls the pharisees a
  • 00:43:55
    bunch of vipers and the sons of satan
  • 00:43:57
    but he doesn't mean that they're all
  • 00:43:59
    individual pharisees are satan right
  • 00:44:01
    these are figures of speech and so forth
  • 00:44:03
    so the serpent in the garden was an
  • 00:44:06
    adaptation of the character the serpent
  • 00:44:07
    who could not be tamed from the hilipu
  • 00:44:09
    tree in the epic of gilgamesh it's a
  • 00:44:11
    completely different character was only
  • 00:44:12
    ever supposed to be a snake
  • 00:44:16
    now
  • 00:44:17
    in the story of job
  • 00:44:19
    god made a bet with satan you're not
  • 00:44:21
    supposed to make bets with the devil but
  • 00:44:23
    you know special pleading it's okay when
  • 00:44:25
    god does it
  • 00:44:27
    and god forced satan to do the only evil
  • 00:44:30
    that satan ever does in the bible
  • 00:44:33
    and god did some evil too like he always
  • 00:44:35
    does
  • 00:44:36
    but this time god used god used the
  • 00:44:39
    excuse that the devil made me do it
  • 00:44:43
    otherwise what's the worst thing that
  • 00:44:46
    satan ever did
  • 00:44:48
    he tried to reason
  • 00:44:50
    with jesus
  • 00:44:54
    and that's only evil because faith is
  • 00:44:55
    assumed without reason and defended
  • 00:44:57
    against all reason and trying to reason
  • 00:44:59
    with someone to reason them out of faith
  • 00:45:02
    is just harshing their buzz man
  • 00:45:05
    as i understand it the character of
  • 00:45:07
    satan
  • 00:45:08
    is based on the zoroastrian deity araman
  • 00:45:11
    um yeah aroman
  • 00:45:14
    the opposer or enemy specifically he's
  • 00:45:16
    an enemy against faith
  • 00:45:20
    meaning that he's reasonable
  • 00:45:23
    and despite being called a lord of lies
  • 00:45:26
    folklore always depicts satan as a man
  • 00:45:28
    of his word
  • 00:45:30
    an honest person albeit much maligned
  • 00:45:33
    for trying to help people out of their
  • 00:45:34
    dishonest delusions the name is also a
  • 00:45:36
    title
  • 00:45:37
    such that anyone
  • 00:45:39
    who tries to wield truth against lies to
  • 00:45:42
    try to reason people out of faith anyone
  • 00:45:44
    who does that is a satan
  • 00:45:53
    that's me
  • 00:45:56
    that's all you
  • 00:45:58
    all of you hail all of us hail satan
  • 00:46:12
    thank you
  • 00:46:16
    [Applause]
标签
  • Satanism
  • SatanCon
  • Satanic Temple
  • Christianity
  • Religious Critique
  • First Amendment
  • Reproductive Rights
  • Creationism
  • Religious Misconceptions
  • Truth and Reason