Richard Dawkins and Brandon Flowers in religious dispute | SVT/NRK/Skavlan

how is it mr. Dawkins are you are you are you Kristin to yourself as a favor say yes as a baby like many English people I was I was baptized Church of England I see check it's not me no it wasn't a huge success one would say afterwards last until I was about 15 you you are a professor in biology and according to you it's impossible to be a religious man and the professor in biology that's obviously not true because plenty of people are both religious and professors of biologists that can't literally be true but for you it was impossible for me it was yes yes how come is that well I think that the world is explained fully by science or will be explained fully by science there is no evidence for any kind of supernatural being of any kind and so that it goes against the spirit of science to put your trust in the supernatural when the natural explanation is there and so much more fun and so much more exciting and so much more interesting even though you say that still people believe well a lot of people don't know the facts a lot of people are simply ignorant of science and that's no fault of theirs it's probably the fault of our scientists isn't is that the reason people who become religious but I think I think it would help a lot if everybody was educated in in science science I think it would help a great deal many of the the reasons that people give when you ask them why they become religious they palpably show that they don't actually know any science and many of them say for example oh you how could you not be religious when you look at the beauty of a tree or a bird or or a kangaroo I mean how could how could that just come about by chance well of course it doesn't come about by chance it comes about by evolution by natural selection and that's an explicable and explained and understood process but a lot of people don't realize that it also when you listen to to Brandon here explaining what's for him the beauty of religion the beauty of believing isn't this some need we have like a genetic need I think I may be may well be a profound need to understand and the satisfaction that you get from genuine understanding which comes from science is so much so much greater I mean there is far more beauty in a real understanding of the reality of nature than there is in reading some ancient book or than reading some modern book which is what the Book of Mormon is and I have to say that when I read the book of Mormon recently and it reads all what impressed me was that it's an obvious fake I mean this is a 19th century book written in 16th century English and it came to pass verily I say unto you and things like that that's not the way people talked in the 19th century it's a fake so it's not beautiful it's a work of charlatan real you have you're free to answer the books been studied and and and torn apart and and looked at and I am NOT I'm not one of the one of the professors that has did it that have done it do you do believe all this amount of charlatans it I do I do I take offense to it and it is a convicted child there's a convicted combat no these are all false says you should do your do your research well yeah I think I have information but these texts and whether it's the Book of Mormons or is the Bible or is the Quran isn't all these texts about something else that the true stories it's it's it's about values it can be for many anyway the Bible and the Quran are both genuinely ancient books so they're not obvious fakes and them in the way the Book of Mormon is and they do contain great poetry and these are ancient myths which are a great interest to mythologists to anthropologists they're not actually more interesting than the myths you get from other parts of the world which are also very interesting before we continue actually I have to throw you out I don't mean to interrupt the debates it could be a wonderful debate with you about the Book of Mormon the whole night yeah but you're going to play for us in a short while yes so while I finish up with mr. Dawkins here the band would like you to come and get ready for with them okay is that okay yeah good and it's actually something you'd like to discuss but anyway you could talk on the phone come back anytime to discuss some of the true history I didn't realize you had to leave that's okay that's why we dock to answer anyway and I I wonder this need for as you asked you you you whether you talk to a Mormon or you talk to a Christian or Muslim it will give them some consolation some kind of happiness yes do you think that's wrong you can get consolation from all sorts of falsehoods but because it's consoling it doesn't mean it's true no but do you think that's wrong no I don't get strong but I think what matters is what's true and I don't care what's consoling I care about what's true being said earlier in the program that in given the right circumstances he might turn turn to all he might pray that would happen if someone could prove to me that there is a reason that ray to someone that's right yeah right yeah and yeah that's what makes a yes that wasn't that wasn't no really yeah all the difference I mean if you'll be provided with evidence of course yes no question well okay let's let's say ah let's say a five year old kid she's got a rabbit the rabbit dies and father and daughter varies the rabbit in the garden what should the father say should the father should the father say now the rabbits in the better place or should they say it will lie here and rot this is the this is an entirely different I mean what you actually say to a child is not a question of what's true necessarily it's a question of what of the best thing for the child psychology and that is a separate question and I could imagine being persuaded some people might say that it's a better thing to lie to a child I don't think I would accept that but I would listen sympathetically to that view have you ever had any experience in life that's that's that moves you in an explainable way I am regularly moved by poetry by music by beautiful sunset that's not unexplainable in principle it's unexplainable in practice I can't actually give you a scientific explanation for why the sound of a Schubert string or the or Houseman poem moves me to tears but I believe that there is an explanation which is ultimately to be found in the natural world it's not convenient in the short term to attempt to explain it in scientific terms it's better to explain it in artistic terms are you a really religious person no well you wouldn't dare to say now well you know my children go to a C of E school and that's not really that that's the Church of England school and and doesn't really does well no because there really isn't any other choice either so so I I certainly stopped short of sending them to a Catholic school because I felt that my jar a little bit more and I have trying to have open dialogue with my with my children about religion my 18 year old son is a huge fan of yours and he's studying philosophy and ethics at the moment and so he's kind of fascinated by this whole it's opened up a whole new world and then my youngest child is four years old of course has no idea but has to go to assembly and and pray and say the Lord's Prayer so somewhere in the middle I'm there with the whole dead rabbit situation of trying to allow them to I want them to shape their own opinions because I don't want to dictate to them what they should believe or what they shouldn't believe that's entirely admirable I mean here you you should let them think for themselves no tell them either way you seem to be somehow provoked by by by religious people but also people believing in things they cannot prove well I think it's very sad since there's such a lot that we can prove and it's it's so rich especially nowadays I mean back in the Middle Ages there was virtually nothing and so it was natural to turn to religion for example astrology or alternative medicine astrology is rubbish obviously not all people say that say so in my style what alternative medicine much of it it may not be rubbish but if it's not rubbish then it will cease to be alternative it'll be adopted by by by medicine so if somebody demonstrates that acupuncture works then any good doctor would immediately adopt it as part of medicine what about traditions like do you celebrate Christmas I like tradition I like our pulled a tradition it doesn't mean I actually believe what lies behind it I'm a church vet decision so if I go to church it's wherever I can find them I love church so you're kind of you're gonna kind of walk to eat the cake and keep it at all it's not like it's culture yeah whether its culture well yes yeah it's its culture it's it's politeness - it's it's it's courtesy if you're if you're in a situation if I if I'm in a say a Hindu temple I take my shoes off and treat it with respect because I don't want to disrespect the people there thank you so much for coming even though it's a long time for Christmas do you think once you have one should have Santa Claus well when my new dress up no when I was asked by a small child I didn't say there is no Santa Claus I said well let's just work it out how many chimneys are there in the world how long would it take to get from each chimney to the next she's all configured think assemble thank you very much thank you you're thank you relief I hope you enjoyed the clip for more interesting conversations please hit subscribe you

Channel: Skavlan

Views: 1,500,015

Rating: 4.7458968 out of 5

Keywords: Skavlan, interview, talk show, Fredrik skavlan, talkshow, richard, dawkins, religion, argument, discussion, brandon, flowers, the killers, mormons

Id: W-pr2PL-e9Y

Length: 11min 19sec (679 seconds)

Published: Tue May 28 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Searchfortruth1]

I feel sorry for TBM’s to put them selves in the position of speaking with someone who knows the truth and they don’t they have any clue how stupid they may look

[u/DonCarlosSmith]

This was a long time ago, and you don’t see anything religious from Brandon anymore. He is in fact one of the greatest rock stars of all time (imho) and never claimed to be a religious authority. He also wrote a lot of my broken shelf playlist, so there’s that. But still I would love to see him and his wife publicly leave.

[u/Bubba-Ho-Tapir]

Wow, Brandon really spoke with such boldness and power! Mr. Dawkins was practically struck dumb in the face of such terribly glorious majesty... /s

[u/lionofthe]

I don’t know Brandon but he looked deeply shook. Why he took personal offense is the silliness that embodies the Mormon church.

[u/The_Tapir_is_Back]

"Well I think I have"

Translation: "Eat shit you repugnant arrogant ignoramus fucking one hit wonder fuck. I've written more books than you will ever fucking read!"

[u/Labans_Severed_Head]

Dawkins was a dick to Flowers IMHO. No need for him to go after Brandon like he did. Dude was there to promote his album not his religion.