Peter Hitchens | God DOES Exist

miss president ladies and gentle I hate this argument in fact I loathe taking part in it almost more than any other argument I ever ever take part in for why because I have to come up here and defend the religion of love Brotherhood peace justice and turning the other cheek rather than kicking the other guy in the crutch and I have to listen I have to listen while I'm doing it to these gentlemen who remind me constantly of the most irritating infuriating revolting person I ever knew namely my adolescent self honestly honestly I mean haven't we all heard it all before Horace mithras they're all the same no no that all is saying they all disagree with each other they must be wrong they can't all be right this is the staff of Sixth Form debate there has been nothing serious said against the concept of God by the opposition this evening at all I am expecting something serious to come from the third speaker but there hasn't been anything so far I'm hoping I'm really hoping because it would be nice because this is not fundamentally a serious discussion as it has been held so far from the other side and it's not serious for a very simple reason it's not arguing about what we ought to be arguing about I'm going to have a little bit of poetry here for those of you who appreciate that sort of thing it's from the 38th chapter of the book of Job God speaks from the whirlwind and he asks who is this that darkeneth canceled by words without knowledge good up now thy loins like a man for I will demand of thee and answer thou me where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth declare if thou hast understanding who hath laid the measures thereof if thou knowest or who hath stretched the line upon it whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened or who laid the cornerstone thereof the answer ladies and gentle gentlemen from the opposition is they haven't a clue nor vibe there is anybody in this room we haven't the faintest idea nothing that any of us could say here tonight could convince anybody that they knew that God existed what we are discussing here is a matter of opinion and a matter of opinion mr. president is a matter of choice and the real question before us is why we choose what we choose and this is the most fascinating part of the argument addressed by the most intelligent and interesting atheist I think now living Thomas Nagel who asks repeatedly why is it that I am my fellow atheist so much want there not to be a god why is it ladies and gentlemen they so much what they're not to be a god why would you want there not to be a god why would you want to live in a purposeless chaos in which none of your actions had any significance in which there was no hope of justice in which the lives of all those whom you loved ended abruptly at death and had no further significance why would you want desire actively wish to live in a universe as disgusting as that you have to have a very good reason and I think these gentlemen do have a very good reason it's what they never ever wish to discuss they don't want justice they do want the dead to be dead they do want the universe to be purposelessness they do not want their own individual actions to have any other significance than their immediate effect you will have to discussed with them why they should be so keen on that proposition but from our side of the argument what we say is that if we desire justice for ourselves we also desire it for other people and likewise if we desire it for other people we require it for ourselves and we bring it upon ourselves and on the basis of that we construct with some difficulty with a certain amount of historical knowledge in the case of Silas with an enormous amount of scientific knowledge of the universe we construct a belief which helps us to discover insofar as it is possible what it is we ought to do and how it is we ought to live in the belief that there is justice that there is hope that death is not the end that our actions have a significance beyond what we immediately do that really is what we are discussing do you want it or do you not want it if you don't want it then you can simply turn with raillery and badinage and Mock the beliefs of others I don't care to do that I think atheists have a serious point of view I understand why they seem so anxious to press it upon you and I know thanks to the general destruction retreat of institutional Christianity in our society that many many people growing up feel under a great deal of conformist pressure because it is very fashionable to follow atheism at the moment I also know that a number of people who are in the end servants of power are quite anxious to dispel from our society the enormous force of restraint upon power which Christian belief provides it's interesting that we had he wasn't properly named but Laplace are quoted earlier on this evening as mocking the idea that he needed any such concept of God because he understood the universe perfectly without it quite why it stays up I don't know but he thought that he didn't need that explanation look up Laplace some of you and find out what an extremely nasty piece of work he was I've no wonder he had no need for the concept of God people like that don't because God in our society stands very much against and this is why I after many many years of not believing in God came round to the view that I would choose do so and act as if there is a God God is the principal opposition in our societies and lawless ruthless power so the bully to the autocrat to the despot to the criminal to the person who treats his neighbors like dirt fundamentally once we have dispensed with that concept in our society we are left with nothing now the atheists don't wish to discuss this because they know exactly what I'm saying they're very well aware of the implications of what I'm saying for society in general they know perfectly well that if everybody didn't believe in God the comfortable lives they live in extremely agreeable suburbs where they can trust people not to cheat them and rob them and mug them and rape them would come to an end they want to keep the secret to themselves they want to have all the joys not just now all the joys and all the advantages provided by Christianity but not pay the dues no not just now because I'm just finishing I normally do but thus evening I've decided not to I decided just to give them a Christian kicking and and that is why when you challenge the atheist side on this very point they run from it refusing to discuss it that is why nobody ever answers Thomas Nagle's question why is it that they so much want their not to be a god well I'll tell you exactly why it's very precisely the same reasons as I very much want there to be one vote for the motion please

Channel: OxfordUnion

Views: 695,608

Rating: 4.0089984 out of 5

Keywords: Peter Hitchens, The God Debate, Oxford Union, Peter, Hitchens, God, Debate, Oxford Union Society, Church of England, Proposition, Opposition, For, Against, Atheism, Atheist, Faith, Christianity, Jesus, Christ, Belief, Believe, Choice, is there a god?, Religion, Existance, Universe, Arguement, Question, Answer, Q&A, Oxford University, University, Debates, Debating, Interview, top:Religion, sfn:Peter, sln:Hitchens, evn:God Debate

Id: VnIH4gomOqc

Length: 8min 6sec (486 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 21 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/captokyo]

That was intensely amazing thank you very much for the video!