This is the best proposition in any Oxford Union debate ever. Every single word added to his points - no verbosity, no unnecessary jargon, just pure facts. Michael Nugent, I salute you!

I can only join my voice to that of the 196 people who commented before me: That speech was powerful, brilliant and so right. Thank you so very much, Mr Nugent. Long, healthy life to you. We need people like you.

@FactStorm

Жыл бұрын

@Get Zappéd 1974 At least cat videos are validly gettin views, but religious ones get millions out of people's delusions

2022, this speech is still relevant

@AFMMarcelD

Жыл бұрын

🌕6,000 A.D - Speech still relevant around the planet, sadly humans are still clinging to their prophecies, delusions, crosses and amulets, and it will be so until the end of human extinction.

"Religion corrupts morality", well said

every word he spoke was the sad reality of our world

@Eescobear1

9 жыл бұрын

Chino Pisces I think ISIS beheading a man, or lighting a man on fire for beliefs is sad, and it is real. Ergo, a sad reality.

@Eescobear1

9 жыл бұрын

Or it's like seeing that there is mold on the cheesecake, and even though there are good things in the cheesecake, like sugar and cream cheese, It is still a moldy cheesecake. So you can look at a moldy peice of cheesecake and by not focusing on one sliver you can get rid of the mold?

@midnighthaven

9 жыл бұрын

+Marcos Escobar that is a brilliant analogy

@ianalan4367

8 жыл бұрын

+Marcos Escobar - There is a sad reality of our world. The misunderstanding often is that without religion the world would be a better place. Yet, we have seen societies founded by non religious men and it's often even worst. When do we realize the problem is us!?

@ianalan4367

8 жыл бұрын

Kepran - USSR under Marx, Stalin, and Lenin. The red army China completely annihilated religion in the name of communism. Just to name a few. Peace!

I wish I could remember this word for word to preach it to religionists whenever I have the chance

@FactStorm

Жыл бұрын

Most people of faith are unreachable due to the deep rooted childhood indoctrination

1:42 this is one of the best arguments against religion I’ve ever seen. How have I not seen this moment in an Agatan foundation compilation or something. Wow!

@FactStorm

Жыл бұрын

I think Agatan is on hiatus or stopped posting, but you're right

The most beautiful indictment against the perversion that is "faith", that I've ever heard.....

All that coughing you can hear is a deliberate tactic by some of the religious in the audience to try and put this side of the argument off their stride as they're speaking, I've seen that happen before in debates I've attended. Thing is, if you need to resort to such tactics what does that actually say about your position in the first place ?

@FactStorm

Жыл бұрын

Exactly, they are so petty and insolent

@adrianh332

Жыл бұрын

@@FactStorm Yes because on some level I think they know they're wrong.

@FactStorm

Жыл бұрын

@@adrianh332 Or just in denial and are butt-hurt that anyone would "dare" scrutinize their feeble faiths

Superb I second the motion, religion absolutely harms society 🤔

Wonderful, one of the best arguments I’ve heard in a long time

I question people that believe they need religion to do good in the world, I think it says a lot about them.

@agentsteve8263

2 жыл бұрын

They are psychos held by a chain if they think they need religion to be good

I'm going to participate in next year's EAMUN conference and I could not be more grateful for finding this channel today. So very helpful. It really improves my debating skills.

Simple, to the point and filled with evidence. The opposite of Jordan Peterson or Ben Shapiro.

@FactStorm

Жыл бұрын

Peterson and shapiro - the apologists..they sicken me

Brilliant speech!

Remove religion.

My most favorite indictment of all time!!!

Perfect! No comment here can help that speech!

irrefutable logic trumps irrational wishful thinking.

One of the best and most passionate specch I've heard on this topic.

An expertly crafted argument. Cheers, Mr. Nugent.

Brilliant.

Simply brilliant.

One of the best arguments I've ever heard in a debate. Clear and concise with a logical appeal to the motion.

This debate is amazing I love the freedom of speech in England which most of the countries does not have much.

Excellently enunciated excellence

Thank you, Mr. Michael, for such an amazing speech. I'm so thankful that you used general vocabularies in your speech. It's so clear and easy to understand your points as a non-native speaker. Bravo! 👏

Thumbs up just for the title!

Very well said Michael Nugent. I don't think I could have put it better. Clear , well paced and for the most part off script.

Summed up beautifully.

One major example I use is the Catholic Church/Islam stopping mankind from progressing forward. Studying and understanding our environment

Absolutely brilliant

A perfect analysis

That was incredible

Good stuff.

Excellent!

Every word he said is so true!

The best speech

Good job Nugent, never heard of him but now I know of him :)

This is great!

I'm smiling. Thanks.

Great speech!

Good speach.

I wish more people would wake up and walk away from religion. Or at least become willing to discuss it openly.

Here is a quote that would never pass the lips of a senior leader of any Abrahamaic religion, "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.” The Buddha

Michael Nugent where have you been all my life?

Wow, Wow and Wow!!

Yup. Religion messes with your thinker.

When God handed out presentation skills, this guy was near the front of queue!

@philkilgallon3852

Жыл бұрын

@Get Zappéd 1974 The only possible explanation for Mr. Nugent's oratory prowess is the devine - The Good Lord undoubtedly sent Mr.Nugent to test our faith, much like dinosaur bones.

@philkilgallon3852

Жыл бұрын

@Get Zappéd 1974 I sense your fear, and that is OK. Why shouldn't we overwhelmed when confronted with Lords undeniable power!. But be assured - that power is a benevolent power. An eternity of paradise awaits you if you reject the poison the Devil has put into your mind, and instead accept the love and truth the Lord has etched upon your heart. I shall make all my fellow parishioners aware of your story and I promise you Get Zapped 1974, we shall pray harder and longer for you than we have prayed for anyone before. There will be no need to thank me for this, instead just pass on the word of God.

sadly praying or karma doesn't save innocent women and children's lives anywhere in the world 🌎

One of the most straightforward and scathing and compelling arguments presented on here. It exposes utterly the twisted knot of religion and its terrible influences on the endeavour of civil society.

I agree with him.

we are born without religion. whomever suckers you into a religious fantasy is not my concern and i wish to keep it so

Truly amazing speech. Its one of the best I heard in this group !!!

Help !!! From America

Where's the lie?

great speech.

I would love to see a debate over whether media corrupts society or not.?

@muhamedadel5859

Жыл бұрын

@Greg kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZK5tt9uJpdW8n84.html

Saying religion harms society is about as useful as saying the internet harms society. There's nothing wrong with the thing in itself, it's how we use it.

@croutonfada

10 жыл бұрын

He's talking about how we use it...

@bartconnolly6104

10 жыл бұрын

croutonfada How we use science harms society. Should we therefore get rid of science or should we use it for the good of all? Similarly saying "get rid of religion" is about as useful as "get rid of science"

@broomshed

2 ай бұрын

@@bartconnolly6104we must ask ourselves whether we find a faith-based belief system useful when we have proof-based belief systems largely based on empirical evidence.

@bartconnolly6104

2 ай бұрын

@broomshed empiricism is insufficient to run society. Theremis a need for values and morals whichnare not scientifically or empirically derivable. The new atheism of the late 20th centurynis a failure and the older atheism of godless communism killed hundreds off millions.

@bartconnolly6104

2 ай бұрын

@broomshed Christianity a faith ismformexample heavily rooted in rationalism. Indeed some no most mofmthe greatest,scientists were Christians and Jews.

Hear hear

Society harms itself. One could even say that society is entirely based on the harming of others.

#OrganizedReligion has always been a challenge, but I believe it may not be so much a problem with the concepts, as the humans running those organizations and the humans following them - which is the same problem with every organization, business, government agency, academic institution, NGO, army or anything else. Perhaps religion just gives justification too easily. But authority usually does, regardless of the organization in my observation. As a non-religious person, those are my observations, care to debate?

I don't need to interact with anyone who rejects my periods of meditation whilst they pay for weekly sessions of mindfulness. Just need them to accept my faith as I do theirs.

@geertdecoster5301

Жыл бұрын

@GregAn idiosyncratic belief or impression maintained despite being contradicted by reality or rational argument, typically as a symptom of mental disorder. Can't say that the dictionary supports your opinion.

Glad that I was introduced today to another fascinating Freethinker !

Absolutely fantastic speech

Thanks

I agree. But Christianity builds you up, If you obey the word of God, and don't pull it to pieces, like religion does, misrepresenting the Truth.

The British government harms society. I can make an argument just as rational for that as this. All things human do some harm, and nearly all do some good.

@exypecxy4185

10 жыл бұрын

Michael made it clear that many things cause harm, and also that religion can be a force for good. However this in no way diminishes the significant harm that religion causes. No truer words have ever been spoken!

@Overonator

10 жыл бұрын

When someone says that x harms society it does nothing to say that y does also. It doesn't lessen x. Also harm is on a spectrum, some harms are worse than others.

@wotmot223

10 жыл бұрын

Overonator so, what you are saying is that comparisons are not reasonable in a conversation?

@Overonator

10 жыл бұрын

I'm saying exactly what I said and what I said does not imply what you suggested it does.

@croutonfada

10 жыл бұрын

Richard Blackmore I think he might be saying that it's a change of subject to say that other things cause harm. We are discussing religious harm or help in a debate format. If the argument is 'Spanish bullfighting is barbaric" it is a change of subject and thus a fallacy to say "Well, so is Irish hare-coursing!". It may well be true but that sheds no light on the subject at hand.

I think its a matter on how these priest, Pastors, imam or Pharisees translates and understands the holy book e.g: Holy Bible, Koran, Torah. I'm stating how these religious leaders can share differently on what the book actually claims/teaches us. So please don't say that Religion corrupts society. Its the religious leaders that corrupts society, not religion in it self. So I ask you mr Michael Nugent to see things in different perspective.

@zartosandra4582

10 жыл бұрын

Actually Im saying this not for mr Michael Nugent but for other people. (not calling them professors-mainly because of their one sided views and lack of research in historical, personal, and what other people thinks) Just because you guys wear tuxedos it dosent make you guys smart. Hell there are probably people in the comments who are actually smarter than those people at Oxford Union.

I am not sure, but to me it seems that pretty much all the issues mentioned are just in the interpretations of some misguided people, not intrisically in the religions or in religion in geeneral, since there are religions which seem to cause only very rarely such trouble since one cannot make such interpretations there. So, the problem might be not religion, but the human nature.

@misscameroon8062

5 жыл бұрын

HeyDudefuss,what the heck do think religion comes from?and what the fuck is the human nature?fart..fart..fart...

Have we progressed from fruitless debating of religion's validity, instead evaluating its societal consequences? That would be a sign of our liberal times...

Brilliant speech.

Is he related to Ted Nugent?

Kaboom!

Fabulous arguments. Clear and simple enough for even the most brainwashed and indoctrinated mind to understand.

Brilliant

General statements and presumptions on thing which does not exists "religion". Religion is intellectual category in real life there is no religion. There is only Catholic Church, Orthodox Churches, countless protestant and other pseudo-Christian denominations, Islam, Judaism, etc. The idea of religion in modern Religious studies is even more vague and general than that of for example "a vehicle". Shooting arguments on every side and putting it up together as an argument does not work. It has no intellectual weight whatsoever.

M [ICHAEL N [UGENT] : MN [ ICHAELUGENT ] : AMEN [ I CALL YOU GENT ] BOOOO!! LETS HAVE A "MIC CALL" 4A "NEW GENT"!! YEAH!! AS MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN... IN OTHER WORDS... ONE MAY HAVE BEEN CALLED TO AUDITION, BUT, DID ONE GET THE PART??

When you say religion harms society, it means that it deviates us from living the right way. But in atheism there is not right way to live.

@asherloat8570

3 жыл бұрын

But that's a good thing because we can figure it out for ourselves instead of following ancient dogmas

@BerishaFatian

3 жыл бұрын

What we can figure out ourselves??

@asherloat8570

3 жыл бұрын

@@BerishaFatian The 'right way to live'

@BerishaFatian

3 жыл бұрын

@@asherloat8570 But you're assuming that there is a right way to live. I know there is but in atheism why there is such a way and what makes it right??

@asherloat8570

3 жыл бұрын

@@BerishaFatian Well there's no objective 'right way', but a secular society is certainly better off than a religious one

👏👏👏👏

Because of few faulty /problamatic components of system leaves us two options either change components or discarding whole systems. Changing components is always benificial and recommend solutions.

@FruityHachi

2 жыл бұрын

for religions to not be harmful, they’d need to be changed in major ways and what would be a point of them then? unless people shift their religious beliefs to being agnostic or unitarian universalists, taking just non-harmful parts of all kinds of religions instead of dogmatically following any one religion

@anikettripathi7991

2 жыл бұрын

@@FruityHachi people were aggressive and killing others even before births of prophets and holi books. So problem is human behavior. It constantly needs guidance and support. But we fail to provide values and guidance and instead use that aggressive nature to benifit own intrests and agendas. I haven't seen any religion who can claim not involved in wars and killing. Only problems is except us everyone needs to be sensible and careing.

@anikettripathi7991

Жыл бұрын

@Get Zappéd 1974 when we say market it means a place where everyone search for profitability and for that all politeness, /pleasing tactic are used. Only inclusiveness philosophy is benificial never cleverness of exclusion. To fathom this you have to be really free from entangles and prejudice .otherwise filth and garbage are also part of Universe.

AMEN to everything that man just said. Also as he said, do not lose your focus or be distracted by claims that "religion also does good". What was being asked was "does religion harm society". Not whether religion also does good, and not whether other things also do bad. His main point here was simple, DO NOT CHANGE THE SUBJECT! Stay on subject and ANSWER THE QUESTION. Something religious people don't like to do. “Morality is doing what is right, no matter what you are told. Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what is right.” - H.L.Mencken “The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.” - George Orwell "Religion is a phase a species goes through when it evolves enough intelligence to ask profound questions but not enough to answer them." - Bill Flavell

.

What he said!

truth has a natural cadence to it. if you pause the video at 6:59 you'll see exactly the nature of this cadence demonstrated in the posture of a man who knows he's right.

For all those anecdotes, I mostly see that stupid people do bad things, religious or not.

@maria6451

3 жыл бұрын

But when the religious scripture actively promoptes that behaviour, i dont see how those act are independent of religion

I wish to 'heck' I could believe we are going to paradise and there is a GOD who is taking care of us but I just can't stomach it.

The correct motion would be society harms itself.

Very through

Like 706. Bernie-Ojeda 2020

2:43 gross. That dude is nothing but hatred

@bruh9811

2 жыл бұрын

How?

T

stop coughing!

He makes sense,but he's on his own crusade. He's absolutely obsessed with religion. He once suggested an Atheist mass on a Sunday in Dublin where all the Atheists get together and follow his version of a moral compass. He means well,but....

You could put forward the motion "food harms society" and get the motion past. It's a poor question. It was obviously written by someone who is biased and anti religious. I can't think of anything that doesn't harm society when taken to extremes. The motion should have been: religion does more harm than good. I guess it wasn't that because the motion wouldn't have past.

@Othelbark

10 жыл бұрын

Something that does more harm than good: harms society. Something that does more good than harm: helps society. It's the same motion..

@croutonfada

10 жыл бұрын

The motion had two sides, harm and help; they posted all the arguments under the side they argued. It's a bit messy on YT but the motion was balanced.

If this were true then we should be able to look at societies founded by atheists for such an example. They were actually worst! Peace to all!

"THE DEVIL IS A LIAR FROM THE BEGINNING" 🤔

"FROM EVOLUTIONIST TO CREATIONIST" BY PROFESSOR WALTER VEITH BEAUTIFUL TRUE AMAZING POWERFUL STORY FROM SOUTH AFRICA YOU TUBE ENJOY BEAUTIFUL WATCH ❤️👀🙏🏾😄

@homelessballoon

2 жыл бұрын

Why do you find it necessary to write your posts with Capital letters? It makes me think that you don't trust your own words.

@FactStorm

Жыл бұрын

Religious idiot

You've got a lot of work to do yet, with 2 billion christians around the world with an opposing worldview, this little talk won't make a scrap of difference. Prove God doesn't exist , then your talk won't be so futile. The argument of " I'm smart and your not " on the belief in God, just doesn't cut it.

What a weak argument. Saying religion harms society is like saying eating harms the body. Yes, the body can be harmed from eating and yes society can be harmed by religion. It is misguided people of various religions that are causing harm to society. Religion promotes tolerance, justice, mercy and is a blueprint for living a well balanced and meaningful life.

@WalldoTheWInner

8 жыл бұрын

did you watch the whole thing? He specifically addressed that point.

@brothersintruth

8 жыл бұрын

Yes. I did. I just can't believe how ridiculous the motion is. When you say religion harms society, than the opposite can be true as well. Atheism harms society. A subset of the non-religious group also can harm society. Is this even a serious debate put forth by Oxford Union, supposedly the leading world's institution.

@alessandropangia697

8 жыл бұрын

Your point is utterly wrong. Eating is necessary for the well being for the body and for it to survive. Without food we would die. Religion, on the other hand, is not mandatory, as plenty of atheists, who haven't dropped dead for non believing, prove.

@brothersintruth

8 жыл бұрын

The topic is whether religion harms society, not whether religion is necessary. That is why I'm alluding to the point that food can also harm the body. So to say religions harm society is like raising an argument that food harms the body. It is a silly blanket statement. Just like bad choices of food harm the body, wrong interpretation of the teachings of all religions contribute to disasters around the world. Atheists too are harming and causing chaos in the world. True religions promote peace, love, mercy, justice for the benefit of society.

@alessandropangia697

8 жыл бұрын

brotherinbooks Wake me up when you get an atheist killing in the name of "atheism" with that being the real reason. I warn you not to bring Hitler to the discussion if you want to avoid being embarassed. Except religion is never helpful, unlike food. Religious people can be helpful, but it is not the religion which is making them be so.