Stephen Fry's beautiful comments on a world without God.

EquusFerrarius Says:

Oct 23, 2009 - Old Tjikko, a tree in Sweeden, is 9,500 years old. Old Rasmus, another Spruce tree in Sweeden is 9,000 years old. There are another 20 or so more than 8,000 years old. Pando is believed to be 80,000 years old.

EquusFerrarius Says:

Oct 23, 2009 - We are all sinners, or so the Bible says, with your talk of violence and hate I would venture that your sin is wrath, though you also express a considerable degree of pride and self-assuredness.

discostoo Says:

Oct 23, 2009 - Judging your spelling, i haven't lost anything, nor will I have anything to "loose" by being an atheist. Isn't it interesting how the people most willing to believe in some supreme deity that will save them in the afterlife tend to be less educated.

discostoo Says:

Oct 23, 2009 - Nothing wrong with believing in an almost paranormal experience, except the Christians commenting here seems to be so insecure in their beliefs that they deem it necessary to force the readings from a 2000 year old story book on others as the absolute truth, and that the other 5.4 billion humans on this planet will surely burn in hell etc etc... Sigh. Anyway, you crack on and say hi to the big man for me.

Hufflewaffle Says:

Oct 25, 2009 - Inspiration can come from religious myth as soon as it it accepted that 'god' refers to an aspect of our own humanity. The idea that God is a being 'out there' somewhere is so ridiculous I am baffled as to why intelligent people even bother debating it. The reference in ALL religion must be to the individual otherwise it serves no purpose whatsoever. Unfortunately religion as we now know it has been so contaminated by its institutions that I suspect its real message has been lost.

ovavoo Says:

Oct 25, 2009 - pando is BELIEVED to be 80,000 years old.....im sure just like they thought the earth was flat(which also states in the bible about it not being flat but still ignored) they are wrong, they have to make up these facts otherwise most scientists would be out of work

EquusFerrarius Says:

Oct 26, 2009 - It's hardly impressive that the Bible claims the earth is not flat, ancient Greek astronomers established that is was spherical in 300 BCE, 400 years before the New Testament. If you are refering to the vaugue reference in Job in the Old testament then the Earth was believed to be round a couple of hundred year before that, so still hardly prophetic. Do you dispute the 8,000-9,000 year old trees aswell? The reason you think science can't find any over 6,000 is you don't believe it when it does.

ovavoo Says:

Oct 26, 2009 - oh blimey.............ok your right, lets hope when you die you are right. And christians are dogmatic lol

TrueEmergence Says:

Oct 26, 2009 - What a gift. Thank you so much for posting this.

enotdetcelfer Says:

Oct 27, 2009 - It's admirable how long Fry took to properly answer the guy. I probably would have started laughing before the guy finished. I mean, like the atomistic, physical reality has no beauty; talking like the laws of physics create the poetry of nebula, sunrises and living things... it was a ridiculously assumptive question.

EquusFerrarius Says:

Oct 27, 2009 - I am just presenting facts, I have not given you my opinion on Christianity or religion, or indeed science for that matter, so I can't be "right" as I have not really stated my position. And no I am not dogmatic.

Ilikenuman Says:

Nov 2, 2009 - that was really poetic. I loved that

buzukie Says:

Nov 11, 2009 - Idl21, can you give us some of the context of this recording? I suppose it was a QA with students after a some kind of debate, hence the moderator?

buzukie Says:

Nov 11, 2009 - Hay Festival 2005! I found it. (I think)

lordhaku Says:

Nov 11, 2009 - Although to be fair to some of the Eastern traditions (Hinduism, Taoism and their offshoots), they realised that the god "out there" was in fact a very cunning ruse of the divinity within humanity so that it might gradually be revealed by degrees and overcome the stinting individualisation of the ego. And again, to be fair, a lot of fringe Christian, Muslim and Jewish mystics recognised this. I'm not religious myself, but it's nice to see that at least some of them have the right points of view

johnjosmith42 Says:

Nov 14, 2009 - Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. I've listened to it three times and taken notes and can still feel the tingling in my arms and thighs from the electricity that shot through me on my first listen. How can anybody speak so beautifully, so passionately like that, ad hoc, without rage or malice; just poetry? Thank you again All the best brother J

factvfiction Says:

Nov 17, 2009 - Thanks for posting.....I will not apologise for being human. It's just the way I evolved!!

Etek322 Says:

Nov 19, 2009 - word of the day: bedeviled! love it

Etek322 Says:

Nov 19, 2009 - the majority of people in this world should be on their knees apologizing profusely to their ancestors for allowing such a degeneration to occur. We've violated the earth and mistreated ourselves and our fellow humans in the name of development and so called evolution. An apology, or at least an admittance of our faults as a species, is more than warranted. Only an ego would argue otherwise.

Etek322 Says:

Nov 19, 2009 - very well said

Etek322 Says:

Nov 19, 2009 - wait till someone you love whos very close to you dies, and say then that theres no afterlife.fool.

howardsdunn Says:

Nov 20, 2009 - You are the fool. There was nothing more hurtful and annoying than when someone told me, after my mother's recent death, that she is in "a better place". How cynical and horrible. I just put her in the ground. I'm supposed to be comforted by the idea that she no longer has a brain, body or any remnant of her humanity doomed to praise a narcissictic 'supreme being' for ever and ever? Twit.

Enleuk Says:

Nov 21, 2009 - I agree. I'm not ashamed of being a monkey.

DutchDeath75 Says:

Nov 22, 2009 - @Etek322 You should be worried every time someone close to you dies. They could be in hell for eternity............. When someone close to me dies, I console myself with the memories I have of that person. I have accepted death is the final part of the experience we call life. Belief in an afterlife is not necessary at all.

IronMan360 Says:

Nov 23, 2009 - Stars are also a great argument against there being nothing before 6000 years ago.How can we see stars that are well over 6000 light years away if there was nothingness before that time. And there are many stars that are much further that 6000 light-years away that we can see.