You Can't 'Act As If' God Exists

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[bryandraughn]

The whole idea that someone can "decide" what to believe is completely insane to me. If im not convinced of something there's not much i can do about it. Do people expect me to start pretending to believe something? Cause im not going to do that. I can't see how it even works.

[Implicit_Truth]

This video came out 55 seconds ago and yet there are comments criticizing the arguments in it.

[cheesium]

We're figuring out the Dr. Manhattan argument slowly. "I'm just a puppet who can see the strings"

[swolejeezy]

Alex is such a thoughtful dude. I know people have been saying this your entire time on YouTube but we will be watching your career with great interest

[easyaccessjeans]

This was a very thought-provoking clip. I'm adding this to my repeat playlist so that I can think about it more often. Thank you.

[aliraza]

So much to learn in a mere ten minute video from you than entire playlists from so many other channels.

[MaxWithTheSax]

Props on the production quality and editing. Looks great.

[rodgolson]

Amen, and AMEN! Thank you for this succinct and clear video. As someone who left Mormonism and Christianity in 2018 to become an atheist, I appreciate your ability to articulate these thoughts so well.

The ugly political climate in the USA, especially on the right with publicly professed Christians, proves your point that many don't actually believe what they profess. Their actions - lying, cheating, and dismantling democracy for ideology - contradict scriptural teachings about gaining heaven. American Christian nationalism opposes Jesus' teachings and threatens humanity's greatest system of government.

Your discussion lends credible evidence exposing the hypocrisy of those claiming religious beliefs they don't uphold. I aspire to communicate these ideas as concisely as you have.

[davec-]

This was hands down, the best exchange I’ve seen in months, perhaps longer.

Very interesting views given with useful analogies that gave clarity.

[tychostation]

Oh wow. I come from a creationist household. At least while growing up. Alex is a wonderful human being. Glad to see him and Chris having a chat!!

[Berliozboy]

That's one of my issues with the "Act as if you do" type of advice. It reminds me of critics that tear down problematic art with the sentiment "It has dangerous ideas! Well, I can read them and I'm not susceptible to them, but the masses, and think of the children! They are susceptible!" Maybe built into the critical impetus is being way to willing to sell people short.

[jamesbennett]

self deception is never the best alternative

[MadMathMike]

5:15 I believe them too, Alex, but another reason to consider might be growing *discomfort*, particularly due to a lack of economic security. It is certainly easier to be generous (or not selfish) when your needs are well met.

Of course, we don't have a previous poll by Mr. Beast asking this question, so I suppose we can't really say if things have changed at all. 🤔

[witsemxx]

One moment in my life (like 4 years ago) I was so aware of free will not existing, that I had out of body experiences. So I would be talking to some one and constantly be thinking that what I came up with to say and do was completely out of my control, this made my conscious part to be observing my acting self. When I stopped "over" thinking it went away, now I live in the moment and accept my feelings and other peoples feelings as the basis to live on, its nice!

[VikVaughnMISC]

I had brought this up to a Christian awhile ago. I said to them that I understand why I should believe in God if heaven and hell are a thing, but I don't know how to believe in a god. All of them could explain why I should, but none of them had advice for getting over the 'how' hurdle.

Glad to see someone intelligent has the same question as I do. Makes me feel less dumb.

[JeffBedrick]

When you finally get around to removing all the clutter from your attic, your first thought should not be: "now how can I fill it up again with more clutter?"

[JasonPSchafer]

As a Christian, I appreciate this discussion. This is the problem I feel is an issue. Many Christians don't have to experience martyrdom, and we also refuse to work past our experience intellectually and spiritually.

Many of us need a reason to get up in the morning, and so religion is important, but at the same time we wouldn't do the right thing even with those beliefs. It's awful.

We need to be honest with ourselves with our comfort in modern society and not just keep parroting the same 20 arguments on the internet. We have a responsibility to offer something more than just absurdism and nihilism for people who do not have the minds built to handle such an existentially painful self dependent hopelessness.

[greg]

Wonderful dialogue. The exchange on the literally true and figuratively false (and its inverse) can be a useful heuristic for investigating for interrogating the growing number of ethical choice that modern science is bringing forward.

[RorinoTheGreat]

I act like a Christian to appease my parents but it is perpetually low stakes. They have only pressed me on it twice, and I only convinced them by the slimmest of margins, and I would consider that medium stakes at best. If I were in a high stakes situation, or otherwise was forced to act like I was a Christian at all times, I sincerely doubt I would be capable

[clarklawlor]

People often conclude that "no free will" means that nothing they do matters, therefore they shouldn't put any effort into directing their own life. But the conclusion should be that we should be more empathetic about others' decisions and situations, and we should program society (and our own lives) in order to influence our internal algorithms to make better decisions, rather than relying on the old tools of retribution for crimes and sheer "will power" for motivation. Perhaps we need to frame the "no free will" argument differently in order to influence a better reaction to it.