I recently saw a series of pictures that depicts either an interview or conversation with Stephen Fry. He discusses God. A video can be found here:
Guy Byrne: "Suppose what Oscar believed in as he died, in spite of your protestations. Suppose its all true. And you walk up to the pearly gates and are confronted by God. What will Stephen Fry say to him, her, or it?
Stephen Fry: "I'd say, 'bone cancer in children? Whats that about? How dare you? How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault? It's not right. Its utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-spirited, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?' That's what I'd say."
Guy: "And you think you're going to get in?"
Stephen: "No! But I wouldn't want to. I wouldn't want to get in on his terms. They're wrong. Now, If I died and it was Pluto, Hades, and it was the twelve Greek gods, then I would have more truck with it, because the Greek's were... they didn't pretend not to be human in their appetites, their capriciousness and unreasonableness. They didn't present themselves as being all-seeing, all-wise, all-kind, all-beneficent. Because the god who created this universe, if indeed it was created by God, is quite clearly a maniac. Utter maniac. Totally selfish. We have to spend our life on our knees, thanking him? What kind of god would do that? Yes, the world is splendid, but it also has in it insects, whose whole life cycle is to burrow into the eyes of children and make them blind. That eat outwards from the eyes. How -- why? Why did you do that to us? You could easily have made a creation in which that didn't exist. It is simply not acceptable.
So you know, atheism is not just about them not believing there is a god, but on the assumption that there is one, what kind of god is he? It's perfectly apparent that he's monstrous, utterly monstrous, and deserves no respect whatsoever. The moment you banish him, your life becomes simpler, purer, cleaner, and more worth living in my opinion."
I am sure those of you who read this as Gnostics can see where the problem rests.
I agree with everything he said, because he is describing the so-called "Demiurge." However, he is able to go outside the social norms but instead of trying to think outside of the box, he throws the box away completely. He says "I do not believe in this (Judeo-Christianity), so I will instead believe in nothing!" He does not say "perhaps there is something else?" And he certainly does not seem to be able to think "millions of people have had a number of religious and spiritual connection to something, so I should look at others." Instead, it is "this religion (Judeo-Christianity) is correct or nothing is."
If you existed in a culture that did not know other modes of faith, I could understand. But we are in an age of globalization. Unfamiliarity is no excuse to dismiss all faith. To do so is just intellectual laziness. It is a childish reaction to the faith you grew up with. It is an act of rebellion that lacks maturity.
Of course not all Atheists are like this. Yet I have seen few Atheists who have seriously considered all there is in the world. Few have tried to walk different paths and still found them lacking. Instead, they say "this path is twisted. No more walking for me," and then choose to simply sit down instead of walking a different direction!
There are many objections to Judeo-Christianity. I feel all of these are answered by Gnosticism. And sadly, these people don't know about it, don't care about it, or are simply too afraid for it.
Guy Byrne: "Suppose what Oscar believed in as he died, in spite of your protestations. Suppose its all true. And you walk up to the pearly gates and are confronted by God. What will Stephen Fry say to him, her, or it?
Stephen Fry: "I'd say, 'bone cancer in children? Whats that about? How dare you? How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault? It's not right. Its utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-spirited, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?' That's what I'd say."
Guy: "And you think you're going to get in?"
Stephen: "No! But I wouldn't want to. I wouldn't want to get in on his terms. They're wrong. Now, If I died and it was Pluto, Hades, and it was the twelve Greek gods, then I would have more truck with it, because the Greek's were... they didn't pretend not to be human in their appetites, their capriciousness and unreasonableness. They didn't present themselves as being all-seeing, all-wise, all-kind, all-beneficent. Because the god who created this universe, if indeed it was created by God, is quite clearly a maniac. Utter maniac. Totally selfish. We have to spend our life on our knees, thanking him? What kind of god would do that? Yes, the world is splendid, but it also has in it insects, whose whole life cycle is to burrow into the eyes of children and make them blind. That eat outwards from the eyes. How -- why? Why did you do that to us? You could easily have made a creation in which that didn't exist. It is simply not acceptable.
So you know, atheism is not just about them not believing there is a god, but on the assumption that there is one, what kind of god is he? It's perfectly apparent that he's monstrous, utterly monstrous, and deserves no respect whatsoever. The moment you banish him, your life becomes simpler, purer, cleaner, and more worth living in my opinion."
I am sure those of you who read this as Gnostics can see where the problem rests.
I agree with everything he said, because he is describing the so-called "Demiurge." However, he is able to go outside the social norms but instead of trying to think outside of the box, he throws the box away completely. He says "I do not believe in this (Judeo-Christianity), so I will instead believe in nothing!" He does not say "perhaps there is something else?" And he certainly does not seem to be able to think "millions of people have had a number of religious and spiritual connection to something, so I should look at others." Instead, it is "this religion (Judeo-Christianity) is correct or nothing is."
If you existed in a culture that did not know other modes of faith, I could understand. But we are in an age of globalization. Unfamiliarity is no excuse to dismiss all faith. To do so is just intellectual laziness. It is a childish reaction to the faith you grew up with. It is an act of rebellion that lacks maturity.
Of course not all Atheists are like this. Yet I have seen few Atheists who have seriously considered all there is in the world. Few have tried to walk different paths and still found them lacking. Instead, they say "this path is twisted. No more walking for me," and then choose to simply sit down instead of walking a different direction!
There are many objections to Judeo-Christianity. I feel all of these are answered by Gnosticism. And sadly, these people don't know about it, don't care about it, or are simply too afraid for it.
