Here we have the odd couÂple. The agnosÂtic filmÂmakÂer and one of AmerÂiÂca’s most influÂenÂtial reliÂgious figÂures engaged in a liveÂly conÂverÂsaÂtion. It’s actuÂalÂly a rather genÂtleÂmanÂly exchange from the late 1960s, and it’s added to our video colÂlecÂtion of CulÂturÂal Icons. Part 1 appears below, and you can get Part 2 here.
You can find this video perÂmaÂnentÂly hostÂed in our colÂlecÂtion of 235 CulÂturÂal Icons.
Stand-up comÂeÂdy and BibÂliÂcal creÂation don’t usuÂalÂly go togethÂer. But someÂhow they do for Ricky GerÂvais, the creÂator of the ever-popÂuÂlar teleÂviÂsion show, The Office. (Watch episodes here.) The bit runs about 10 minÂutes, and it’s added to our YouTube playlist.
Jonathan Miller’s Brief HisÂtoÂry of DisÂbeÂlief is a BBC proÂducÂtion (2005) that offers teleÂviÂsion’s first susÂtained look at the hidÂden hisÂtoÂry of atheÂism. The three-part docÂuÂmenÂtary takes you from unbeÂlievÂers withÂin Ancient Greece, to the re-emerÂgence of disÂbeÂlief in 15th and 16th cenÂtuÂry Europe, through to the French EnlightÂenÂment, RevÂoÂluÂtionÂary AmerÂiÂca and the rise of DarÂwinÂian thought. We’ve postÂed Part 1 below. You can watch Parts 2 and 3 here and here.
This video comes our way via onlinedocumentaries4u.com
At least in AmerÂiÂca, Charles DarÂwin has become the favorite whipÂping boy for many funÂdaÂmenÂtalÂists on the right. In one neat packÂage, you get in DarÂwin all things deplorable. A godÂless “secÂuÂlar humanÂist” who denied the sancÂtiÂty of humanÂiÂty, God’s provÂiÂdence, and the integriÂty of the Bible. What more could you love to hate?
SomeÂwhere lost in today’s culÂture wars is the real Charles DarÂwin. Aired first in OctoÂber, this proÂgram, proÂduced by AmerÂiÂcan PubÂlic MediÂa’s SpeakÂing of Faith (MP3 — iTunes — Feed — Web Site), revisÂits DarÂwin’s life & thought with James Moore, a CamÂbridge UniÂverÂsiÂty scholÂar who has writÂten DarÂwin: The Life of a TorÂmentÂed EvoÂluÂtionÂist. And here’s the picÂture that we get. Like many imporÂtant sciÂenÂtists who came before him — Galileo, CoperÂniÂcus and NewÂton — DarÂwin believed that sciÂence could help explain the laws of nature creÂatÂed by God. FurÂther, he saw his OriÂgin of Species as describÂing the forms of life that owed their exisÂtence to God’s law — a law that expressed itself in natÂurÂal selecÂtion. ReadÂers will find that DarÂwin’s text is litÂtered with refÂerÂences to creÂation. And DarÂwin, himÂself, was notÂed for sayÂing that when he wrote the book, his faith in God was as strong as that of a bishÂop, although his faith did wane latÂter in life. SimÂply put, DarÂwin was hardÂly the eneÂmy of reliÂgion that many conÂsidÂer him today.
Again, you can access this proÂgram with the folÂlowÂing links: (MP3 — iTunes — Feed — Web Site). AddiÂtionÂalÂly, you can access a free e‑text of On the OriÂgin of Species here, along with a free audioÂbook verÂsion here.
You may also want to check out a relatÂed proÂgram by SpeakÂing of Faith: EinÂstein and the Mind of God
I’m no fan of ChristoÂpher Hitchens. ActuÂalÂly, I find him an almost entireÂly disÂagreeÂable figÂure. But I have to give him points for creÂativÂiÂty. InterÂviewed last week (MP3 — iTunes — Feed), Hitchens, the author of the recent bestÂseller God Is Not Great, gave his spiel on atheÂism and offered a unique arguÂment against God. Not against God’s exisÂtence. But against God itself.
For Hitchens, if there existÂed a God who answered prayers and interÂvened in human affairs, “we would be livÂing under an unalÂterÂable celesÂtial dicÂtaÂtorÂship that could read our thoughts while we were asleep and conÂvict us of thought crime and purÂsue us after we after are dead, and in the name of which priestÂhoods and othÂer oliÂgarchies and hierÂarÂchies would be set up to enforce God’s law.” EssenÂtialÂly, we’d be livÂing in a superÂnatÂurÂal Orwellian world.
In a quick couÂple senÂtences, the theÂoÂretÂiÂcal virtues of an all-knowÂing God get turned into a vice. It’s a creÂative and provocaÂtive remark, just the kind that sells books in AmerÂiÂca. Many, many books, in fact.
This bit appears about 41 minÂutes into his interÂview. DurÂing the rest of the conÂverÂsaÂtion, Hitchens conÂtinÂues jusÂtiÂfyÂing his supÂport for the Iraq war and offers his thoughts on who killed Benazir BhutÂto. If you want more Hitchens, and if you want to hear Hitchens behavÂing parÂticÂuÂlarÂly badÂly, you can always lisÂten to this othÂer interÂview from last year.
And don’t forÂget to check out our large colÂlecÂtion of Ideas & CulÂture PodÂcasts.
Mitt RomÂney, a MorÂmon, looked yesÂterÂday to set aside linÂgerÂing conÂcerns about his reliÂgion in a highÂly pubÂliÂcized speech. ImmeÂdiÂateÂly, the speech revived memÂoÂries of John F. Kennedy’s attempt, durÂing the 1960 camÂpaign, to ease conÂcerns about his CatholiÂcism. We’ve postÂed both speechÂes below. The simÂiÂlarÂiÂties are there. But the difÂferÂences are more proÂfound. I’ll resist the tempÂtaÂtion to point them out. You can watch the clips and draw your own conÂcluÂsions.
John F. Kennedy — 1960
Mitt RomÂney — 2007
EarÂliÂer this week, PBS’s NOVA aired a two-hour proÂgram revisÂitÂing the conÂtroÂverÂsial fedÂerÂal case, Kitzmiller v. Dover School DisÂtrict, which asked whether “intelÂliÂgent design” could be taught in AmerÂiÂcan schools alongÂside DarÂwin’s theÂoÂry of evoÂluÂtion. IntelÂliÂgent design essenÂtialÂly holds that “life is too comÂplex to have evolved natÂuÂralÂly and thereÂfore must have been designed by an intelÂliÂgent agent.” And, along the way, it effecÂtiveÂly attempts to make God’s role in creÂatÂing the world a sciÂenÂtifÂic fact, not an item of faith. You can see how the backÂers of intelÂliÂgent design ultiÂmateÂly fared. NOVA has made the proÂgram availÂable online for free. It’s dividÂed into 12 videos, and you can watch them here. For a comÂplete descripÂtion of the proÂgram, click here.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
When debatÂing reliÂgion, you can take the low road (e.g., Ann CoulÂter’s recent flirÂtaÂtion with anti-semiÂtism) or the high road. Here’s Richard Dawkins, an avowed atheÂist and evoÂluÂtionÂary biolÂoÂgist at Oxford, havÂing a high-mindÂed conÂverÂsaÂtion about the exisÂtence (or non-exisÂtence) of God with AlisÂter McGrath, who is ProÂfesÂsor of HisÂtorÂiÂcal TheÂolÂoÂgy at Oxford UniÂverÂsiÂty and also has a backÂground in molÂeÂcÂuÂlar bioÂphysics. We’ve postÂed the videoÂtaped debate below. (And, by the way, you can downÂload the video to an iPod by accessÂing the video here, lookÂing to the right where it says “DownÂload to Video iPod” and folÂlowÂing these instrucÂtions).
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