RABBI REACTS to ATHEIST Arguments | EP2: Christopher Hitchens

👀 Watch as Rabbi Daniel Rowe reacts to atheist Christopher Hitchens famous interview. This is part of the series Rabbi reacts to atheist arguments, covering topics like rational arguments and proof for the existence of God, and common atheistic arguments against belief in God, and against religion.

In this episode, world-renowned atheist and critic of religion, Christopher Hitchens, mocks the idea that God would wait for so long, and then provide revelation of Torah to an illiterate people in the rocky Sinai desert. Rabbi Rowe argues that. to the contrary, it is precisely the sort of people that Torah should be given to, and would suit the precise purpose God would want from such a revelation. Post the questions you would like Rabbi Rowe to respond to in the comments!

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[plekkchand]

Debating a dead man, after having a transcript of his conversation and years to consider a refutation.

[CodyHeimbach]

This guy is either a liar or has a stunning talent for missing the point entirely.

@3:30 he begins to explain how "proper cities which have social complexity" were home to mass oppression of humans based on social classes. I agree that oppression occurs under class models, the problem is he uses this point to lift the Israelites and their social structure above that of the Chinese, Indus Valley, and other civilizations because the Israelites didn't have "proper cities". He completely ignores numerous passages where slavery is permitted by God to the Israelites and them only, which would make their civilization by definition the most oppressive.

@4:15 he justifies divine intervention waiting until 3000 years ago, rather than intervening before, because around 5, 500 years ago was when the aforementioned oppressive social structures were implemented. This raises two obvious questions. The first being why not intervene 5, 500 years ago instead of waiting an additional 2, 500 years after the oppression you're describing began to form? The second being why not intervene way before 5, 500 years ago to prohibit this kind of social structure before it even began? This last question is much more poignant if you also notice that Christopher's description of how life was frightening and dangerous before civilization is completely cut from this video. Christopher states that most humans died early in their lives and were lucky to make it past being born in the first place. Why not intervene then and help fix the astoundingly high rate of infant mortality? It's very clear that this section was cut out because he doesn't have a good answer.


@9:23 he basically says slavery might have needed to wait until industrialisation to be eradicated because that's when machines started to replace human labor. This is bafflingly stupid and horrendous. We still have human labor in the industrialized world and yet slavery is outlawed. There is no justification for slavery. There is no excuse for slavery. Only racism, xenophobia, and prejudice. It's disgusting to hear someone try to justify their holy book condoning something as obviously awful and oppressive as slavery, especially when they're also saying their book is intended to end oppression as this man has done. For shame.

At no point in this video did the speaker actually tackle Christopher's main point which was 'why did it take so long for heaven to intervene when suffering was taking place for so long?'. The closest he came to this was his comment at the end about waiting for the alphabet, but isn't god all powerful? Why did he have to wait for humans to discover the alphabet and find themselves entrenched in tens of thousands of years of toxic and oppressive practices before saying anything? At what point for him will this all break down and show that this was all done by humans and nothing else?

[Sthsayer]

Boy, you're lucky Hitchens is not here to respond

[timothywilliams]

'God is not watching, we can't get our heads around space and time', says it all, the invisible and non existent look very much alike...

[Balleehuuu]

First answer from you shows directly your misconception: the presents of god is not the decisive point. There was no so called "true" religion so every human before the foundation of it couldn't save his soul and therfore go to hell - and that is the point for all monotheist religions.
Your approach to focus of the civilization background on this point is the real strowman here.

[Peter-drch]

Can you do the Christopher Hitchens/Rabbi Harold Kushner re: Circumcision video next. It’d be fun watching you try and explain that away

[Djsouthpaw]

The effort to try and engage with these arguments at all, is very respectable and i applaud you for it sir. I do echo some of the critiques from other comments, but flawed engagement is preferable to none.

[ujack]

Groups spontaneously appearing?
Really?

[sonpacho]

Looked/sounded like a straw-man argument to me.

He kept stopping the video and replying to half sentences/thoughts...he didn't even bother to see/hear his whole point.

He was responding to his own conversation because he didn't bother to even hear what Hitchens was saying.

[matimus]

Adults getting paid to lie to children and the stupefied for a living is disgraceful 👆🤡

[craigcassidy]

Really u could of just of watched bambi and said what you said

[chrisgibson]

Don't create a strawman then you create a strawman yourself

[trixieelle]

"Let me prove you god exists. God exists therefore god exists".

[bbasmdc]

Just wondering why you feel you need a musical soundtrack - very "TV Evangelist". But anyway...at about 4:45 writing is portrayed as a tool of oppression and then by 10:40 it's suddenly decided that it's a democratizing influence. It's not just that it's a simpler alphabet - Chinese and Japanese children have no problem learning hundreds or thousands of symbols. And the Hebrew alphabet is a real issue with having no vowels. It's super easy to misinterpret written Hebrew (and Arabic).

[figurativewire]

so you saying followers of Ibrahim have a better understanding of morality than followers of buddha?

[skogstjuven]

Daniel Rowe well you had good go. but your mistake. never debate Christopher Hitchens you not going to win even if right or wrong he will win.

[shocklobster]

Yikes these are quite weak arguments really

[bbagain.]

And yet you stole Palestine under god's auspices.