Faith and Reason

In the two-part series The Root of all Evil?, science luminary Richard Dawkins -- author of "The Selfish Gene", "The Blind Watchmaker" and other books -- takes religion to task as a backwards, irrational belief system. The full-length version can be found on Google Video:

Part 1
Part 2

Comment: While Dawkins is a brilliant man, and may be absolutely correct about his conclusions, this video demonstrates all too well why religion has always remained more popular than intellectual, secular humanism, and why academic intellectualism has always been a harder sell.

Dawkins' narration comes off as supercilious; even abrasive at times, and could potentially offend some viewers who feel their beliefs are being insulted.

I would also suggest that all rationalists take a course in emotional intelligence and public speaking before attempting to debate any politician, preacher, lawyer, or anyone other experienced public speaker.

Religion provides a source of emotional comfort people are often looking for, and it is no surprise that people often turn to religion in times of hardship. Preachers and politicians have learned to hone their charisma to create a perception of leadership and guidance that their followers are seeking out. Dawkins observes that large numbers of followers help to validate an otherwise irrational belief system, but perhaps that's a major part of the appeal: humans are a tribal species, and the instinctual need to congregate and indulge some sort of emotional bonding ritual is what helped maintain the "strength in numbers" that became a driving force in human evolution. He would do well to read more Joseph Campbell.

Two videos about the Middle East conflict:

Relentless: The Struggle For Peace In the Middle East

Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land

A Christian film about "End Times" prophecies:

Israel, Islam, and Armaggedon

A Brief History of Disbelief: Jonathan Miller's BBC documentary on atheism:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Bill Moyers On Faith and Reason: thought-provoking interviews with various authors and intellectuals.

More videos will be added in these sections as I come across them.

Comments

[Pete K]

"Dawkins' narration comes off as supercilious; even abrasive at times, and could potentially offend some viewers who feel their beliefs are being insulted.

I would also suggest that all rationalists take a course in emotional intelligence...."

Compared to some zealots, Dawkins is passive in tone: he even begins by warning that his discussions may strike viewers as shocking: "why SHOULD scientists tip-toe around religion?"

Anyway, rationality often sounds like abrasiveness. Rationality, like a cold shower, can appear abrasive.

In a program rationalizing beliefs, which are mostly emotioanally-based anyway, emotional intelligence is thrown out of the window, so to speak.

[PurpleKoolaid]

I'd viewed this documentary shortly after viewing the "Century of Self" and "The Power of Nightmares" series. I guess I was hoping for a more dispassionate tone similar to the British narrator of those documentaries.