The God Illusion...

First, I would like to thank member Bluenose for posting part 1 of this earlier in another thread titled:
Derren Brown Fear And Faith

Because of his thread, I went on to watch Part 2, and found it an exceptionally interesting program. Especially considering I spent such a large part of my life as a fundamentalist Christian. I think both believer and unbeliever alike, can take something from this video, IF they are willing to give it a fair viewing.



In this video, Derren covers what he believes to be the origins of god and morals. He also goes on to cover confirmation bias, the placebo effect, manipulation, NLP, and so much more. He even gives an atheist a "powerful religious experience".

Part one is also excellent, but I found this episode appealed to me personally...

reply to post by Klassified


Thank you for posting this!!! I only saw that you had made a thread, and I starred/flagged. Now I'm going to watch it...............
so, just s/f and I subscribed to the thread.

reply to post by wildtimes

Always good to see your posts on ATS, my friend. I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on this...

reply to post by Klassified


Brilliant vid!!! Just finished watching it.
Wow. For now, that's really all I can say, but....... I hope this thread gets the traffic it deserves.
Wow.

Oh wow that was awesome. After seeing the first part of Fear & Faith I was expecting this episode to be actually closer to the opposite of what he did here. I was expecting him to remove the fear of death or fear of god from a religious person, to see if they would abandon the religious crutch once free of fear. But he actually took in the opposite direction by converting an atheist into a religious person to prove those emotions can be induced through artificial means, and it all comes down to human psychology and our tendency to believe in the supernatural. Once again Derren has not failed to amaze.

reply to post by ChaoticOrder

Once again Derren has not failed to amaze.

Agreed. I think part of what he did in this program, was to show how one of our greatest strengths, can also be one of our greatest weaknesses. Faith(not religious) can be a powerful tool in the human arsenal, and it can also be our downfall.

The placebo effect brings this out all too well. It shows we are indeed capable of amazing things as a species when we turn our beliefs into action. We are also capable of being led wildly astray by that same faith. It can be a double edged sword to be sure.

Over and over, science has shown us the human mind is capable of so much more than we utilize it for, yet we still live our lives coasting, instead of living life to our full potential.

reply to post by Klassified


I just remembered something.. In the beginning he has one audience member come up and do the "satanic" ritual thing with his twin sister. I thought he said they would reference it later in the show possibly, I'll have to watch again.
Did this ever get brought back up or was it just to prove a point (many said they did not "believe" but wouldn't take part)?

What did you guys make of that part?

reply to post by SyntheticPerception

You're right, it never came back up. Knowing Derren, it was probably some kind of NLP maneuver to mess with the audience. Seriously, I think he was just showing that even atheists could have a hardwired fear or aversion to such things.

reply to post by Klassified


Thanks for the kind words first of all. Unfortunately, i don't deserve the credit as my thread was actually about part 2 of Fear and Faith (i missed part 1). It wasn't a very good thread to be honest and definitely didn't do justice to what was a fantastic show.

Like most things Derren has done, this had me gripped from the start. I can imagine ofcom getting a few complaints about this, especially the satanic rite bit at the start. Also, i wonder if that guy's still on speaking terms with his sister

Thanks too for starting a better thread about a cracking show, starred n flagged!

reply to post by Klassified


False opinions no longer matter,

The revelation is occurring,

Every knee will bow,

Judgements will be handed down,

Repent.

I love you, God loves you,

Amen

reply to post by godlover25

The revelation is occurring,

Every knee will bow,

Judgements will be handed down,

When?

Tell me when, what date, time, place, etc. I don't want to miss the show.
Please, don't tease us. WHEN?
When?!


If I were you, godsquad godlover, I'd listen to Klassified, and learn from him. He's light years ahead of you, friend.
It will all be okay. And, don't hold your breath.
Do you claim you are He, returned, now?

reply to post by godlover25

Ahhh, gl25. My personal reminder of how obnoxious, annoying, and zealous I was as a Christian. Especially, a baby Christian.

Do yourself, and your God a favor. Forget the condemnation and damnation, and focus on what the word "gospel" means. It means good news, good tidings. I've seen very little in the way of good tidings in the message you present on ATS. Telling people you and god love them after you've condemned them to judgment, and eternal damnation, is not love. Jesus message was "reconciliation to god". It's that simple.

Matt. 5:16

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your GOOD works and glorify your Father in heaven.

reply to post by wildtimes

He won't listen. As a Christian, he literally believes with his whole being that he has found the fountain of life, the reason for our being, and the answers to all questions that could ever be asked, in one book, and one "deity". The word objective takes on a whole new meaning when you're a Christian, and it has little resemblance to Websters definition.

I used to think the Moonies were a scary bunch when I would try to tell them about the "real Jesus". Now I see very little difference between them and myself at that time. We were both trying to convince the other our cult was better.

The pot calling the kettle black.

reply to post by Klassified


S&F That was very interesting.

Did anyone here smell the mint? I didn't.

reply to post by jiggerj

I didn't either. But I think it's because I'm familiar with sound and frequencies, and I also suspected what he was doing.

Originally posted by Klassified
reply to post by jiggerj

 

I didn't either. But I think it's because I'm familiar with sound and frequencies, and I also suspected what he was doing.

I missed the point of stabbing a picture of a loved one. The one person that did it, did he do it because he believed in Satan, or that he found the idea so ridiculous that he believed absolutely nothing would happen?

reply to post by wildtimes


Of that day and hour, no man knoweth, no not even the angels in heaven, or the Son, but only the Father,

God loves you,

Amen

reply to post by Klassified


Selfless love and unfailing compassion for humanity is such a horrible concept,

When your world view if corrupt,

It's hard to imagine loving everyone and not judging any body, and leaving it all up to God,

I don't judge you,

Though you judge me,

I just try to shine the light on you is all,

Your brother,

In Love and Truth,

Amen

reply to post by godlover25

Selfless love and unfailing compassion for humanity is such a horrible concept, when your worldview if corrupt

(I think you meant 'when your worldview is corrupt'. )

I don't see how anyone on this thread is dismissing selflessness and compassion. So, those of us who are selfless and compassionate, but don't sign up for your particular vision......what? We don't count?

That is the second question I've posed to you. Please, would you do me the courtesy of responding? You sent me some bible verse as the first "response." I want to hear what YOU KNOW about it happening "now", and "where".

reply to post by wildtimes


Works without faith is pointless,

Faith without works is dead,

Choose whom and what you follow wisely,

There are consequences for your actions,

What you deny and what you embrace,

Will impact you future