James Randi: Science Will Never Support Religion | Big Think

James Randi: Science Will Never Support Religion
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James Randi has shunned faith since he was a kid spending collection plate money on ice cream. "If my dad and mom are up there someplace… I ask them to forgive me."
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JAMES RANDI:

James Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician, but when he retired at age 60, he switched to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively calls "woo-woo." Although often referred to as a "debunker," Randi rejects that title owing to its perceived bias, instead describing himself as an "investigator". He has written about the paranormal, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and is occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.
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TRANSCRIPT:

Question: As a “bright,” what do you believe?

James Randi: The term "bright" I don’t much care for, but hey, we did the best we could with it. I was with Richard Dawkins in Clearwater, Florida and a few other people who brainstormed and came up with idea of having the "brights." I think I was maybe the third or fourth person to sign the membership roster.

And a "bright" is someone who thinks logically and rationally; bases his or her decisions on rationality, upon logic, and upon evidence—that’s the major thing right there. And if we don’t have evidence, we can express our belief or lack of belief in it, but it has to be provisional. I believe that this is probably true, though I don’t have any evidence for or against. It’s a perfectly safe statement. And so, brights base all of their decisions and their beliefs on logic, rationality, and evidence. That’s the thing in which they differ from the average person who takes anything that comes along that looks attractive. “Oh, I like that; I think I’ll believe in it.”

Question: As the scientific picture of the universe gets weirder, could any religious claims ever be verified?

James Randi: Not that I know. I am an atheist, tried and true. I have been since I was, oh I guess about this tall. I’m only about this tall now. And I made up my mind that I was going to investigate all of these things and question them. I went to Sunday school. I was tossed out of Sunday school immediately. But it gave me 25 cents that I could have put in the contribution plate there, so when they pass the plate around, and I found out that at Purdy's Drug Store, you could buy a two-flavored ice cream sundae for 25 cents. And that was a great discovery of my childhood, I must say, and I took full advantage of it. My parents, bless them, never found out and I went off every Sunday morning as if going to Sunday school, but I lied. And I’m ashamed to admit it now, and if my dad and mom are up there someplace, or down there someplace, I have no idea, I ask them to forgive me.

Recorded April 16, 2010
Interviewed by Austin Allen
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[JanjayTrollface]

Wow, almost nothing to do with the title, well done.

[Smilesrck]

I feel like the title is misleading...

[davesheppard]

lol if james randi didn't skip sunday school to eat icecream, the world would be riddled with faith healers and hoaxes. badass

[xianicarus]

You know, I notice that a lot of religious folks spend a lot of time commenting on these kinds of videos in some vain attempt to convert atheists to their cult. I bet they don't even watch the videos!

[thegothamcityqueen]

I thought this video would help me a lot to write an essay about the relationship of religion and science, but I guess I'll just have to write how James Randi used his contribution plate money to buy ice cream. Hmph.

[MaskedMarvyl]

I would love to have seen what transpired that got him kicked out of Sunday School his first time there.

[clint-webb]

RELIGIOUS DEBATES ON YOUTUBE, MY FAVORITE THING!

[RestlessWicked]

You really made my day with that statement.
It also makes me think "The thing is: I don't want to drown in proof, but seeing something like ONE flying lump of pure lead with the inscription "God was here" -or something like that- just ONE indisputable piece of evidence..."
If I'd get that I would really have to apologize to my town's priest. And I'd do so without hesitation.

[zDarinka]

"I like that, so I'll believe it" is a perfectly logical reason to believe in something, as long as that something can't objectively be proven or disproven and it doesn't contribute to negative behaviors. For example, I'm a pantheist, I like it, it feels good, it can motivate me and inspire me. It carries no moral baggage with it, so it doesn't inform my behavior or cause me to hate others. Therefore, it's logical to believe in it because it has only positive consequences on my life.

That's applying logic in practice.

[madahab]

I wish can recall when I lost my faith. It was pretty flimsy to begin with but I did believe there was a god at some point early in my life, but then the questions of logic started to slowly sprout in my mind and I listened to non believers and their point of views seemed more reasonable and logical and that religion was a superstition that was left over from more primitive times that we refuse so brush off as we have other superstitions. But reading Nietzsche was the real turning point. When he wrote "god is dead" I interpreted as god as a concept and not a being who once existed and is now deceased. The more I observe religion the more negative it seems. It wears this happy-face exterior but it wants total obedience. For me faith asks too  much. To cease questioning any philosophy, idea, leader, etc is bound to lead one into a bad area (i.e. culrs) where freedom is a dirty idea. Their energies seem more focused on the rewards of the afterlife rather than making this world a better place. They seem to regard this  life with a dagree of contempt and can never compare to the paradise waiting for them later on. Antheists cannot hope to compete with a mythology that has had thousands of years to refine and polish itself...but there is a lot of blood on their hands that no amount of holy water will wash away. I will never claim that I am absolutely correct in my own belief but the burden of proof is on them and they have totally failed to prove to me that their faith is nothing but an accumulation of fantasies and fairy tales dominated by a petty, vengeful father-figure to be feared. I know I will not live long enough to see this superstition finally edicated from the human mind...but I have faith to believe that it will at some point be seen for the fraud that it is and generations to come can look back and see all the deaths and pain it has caused and hopefully that will inspire shame (good shame that prevents bad behavior from repeating itself). I dream of Nietzsche's ubermensch--not a single man but an entire race of elightened people of all colors who have liberated themselves from this superstition and become accountable for their own mistakes and collectively attempt to find a sollution rather than going to war with that  self-righteous "god-is-on-our-side" mentality and we are the morally superior race.

HAPPY

[deletebilderberg]

Science is unsettled.

Science is uncertain.

Silly little man.

[Gregory-the-small]

man i'm glad I became atheist recently it just makes way more sense than my old Christian life style.

[DanMarik]

I am Christian, and I love James Randi. :D

[teddyl]

I haven't found answers in faith or atheism. Religion has changed many times to accept science. Our understanding of science is constantly changing too as new discoveries are made.

[TheAGNOSTIC_who_YT_CENSORS]

*Critical thinking and debate should be mandatory in the school system and only people who can pass logical IQ tests should be allowed to vote, run for office, have careers in law-enforcement/justice, serve on juries, acquire military ranks above E-3, become officers in the military, and eventually, even pro-create and have online accounts where they can post messages*.
But first, there really needs to be a serious movement in the rationalist community to make debate a mandatory class in all schools.

[Mantorok]

HAHAHA xD I can't stop laughing at the ice-cream story.

[IgonDrakeWarrior]

Thank you for not falling to the religious bullies

[XxrudyboysxX]

It's not as much that religion is wrong, it's that science is right. It's more logical to believe evolution and stuff like that than to believe in an imaginary friend who has not been proven. If a god is proven to be true through sight or science, than maybe I'll rethink my views.

[Liam]

the guy is not even close to being a scientist, he is a magician

[awsomeshow]

I don't really like religious people or the term 'religion' in general. I believe in God, but in my Bible it says to question if you want and that it's your choice and your free will with your life. It has given me freedom. Especially free from lots of chains I have held against my own self.