Derren Brown on personal responsibility without God

Explore the meaning and joy of life with 100 atheists in this book of photos and commentary featuring Richard Dawkins, Dan Dennett, Steven Pinker, Penn & Teller, Julia Sweeney, Alex Honnold, Derren Brown, and more!

A Better Life: 100 Atheists Speak Out on Joy and Meaning in a World Without God will be released on January 1st, 2014.

[tbz]

fucking hell, he looks like jason statham without his hair

[spiritusinfinitus]

Finding it hilarious that people are focusing quite so much on his change of hairstyle. Especially as his greatest illusion so far is that he was starting to thin out on top from the early television shows and nobody seemed to notice. It must've been in 2002-2003 (TEN years ago) when he said, "I've stopped dying my hair now. The next stage is to get them to stop covering up my bald patch with make-up, twigs, sticks and poo." :D

[travisjohnson]

So, in my poem Happy Puppet. you have in 5 lines emotion, action, character, body and will. Smiling is good, yes? But she could not express any other emotion but 'happy', pretty much every waking moment. You had to look way deep to see if she was hurt, lonely, suffering at all because, on the surface: 'Happy!' She deserves a body that will match her Will and allow her to express Joy truly and without confusion. And she'll get it.

[iamresistance]

I live in America and I agree. I wish we had celebrities like Derren Brown instead of chris brown, lil stain, miley cyrus, or jamal who ever the fuck with a rap beat and nonsense shit to spew. This man reeks brilliance as a role model, as a human being, and as a conscious mind.

[pkdick]

he looks great bald and no little beard

[dejffjed]

Saying of which - I'm from the Czech republic, our national TV station broadcasted Tricks of Mind years ago. Since then many have forgotten about him but there are some (like me) who likes him. I think Derren is really special and one of the most interesting figures in TV business. Not only he has got extraordinary skills he is also a great entertainer. I've seen some of his theatre projects here on YouTube and can't wait till I get to Britain which I'm planning next summer.

[orth]

such a beautiful man inside & out.. even without his hair. Thanks for uploading :)

[travisjohnson]

- The Happy Puppet
Danika smiles big.
The girl can do nothing else.
Her character shines!
One day, she’ll have a body
That obeys her joyous will.

(Actually, its a tanka, not haiku). Your mistake 'unchanging personalities' is twofold: a) nobody thinks they don't change, b) heaven is not time/dimension bound. You will be you. It comes down to Will, as I suggest in my poem.

[foreverfearless]

So excited for Infamous, and then hopefully will meet him afterwards!
Derren is a big inspiration for me, and he's so lovely:)

[WelshDegenerate]

Yeah I saw 'An Evening of Wonders' in 2008.

He's not only one of the most inventive and brilliant performers in all of magic history but... just... the way he can... I mean he's an amazing actor full-stop...

The way he can switch from light and comical and interesting to just... thrilling and dark and even though you know you're watching a man who's constructed this... perform it on a stage, it feels very real and engaging. He's a truly unique talent.

[Asidders]

Looks like a new role just opened up in the Transporter films!

[travisjohnson]

Your question - 'does God have a purpose' has two flavors. 1) A control mechanism by the strong vs weak (or vice versa), 2) a real person with a plan. If going to assume to mean case 2. The purpose of God was to create a universe of free-willed creatures capable of love. That necessitated that they could rebel, for otherwise Love would be compelled either by power, design, or TMI. With rebellion, came suffering. Is suffering only a sand-castle? Jesus redeems even suffering and gives it meaning.

[stevecox]

Intelligent people don't need convincing that god doesn't exist. In the same way that they don't need convincing that unicorns or fairies don't exist.

[ukimbow]

The advertisement before the video was for Women of Faith: Up Close Spring 2013. Co-incidence?

[kelm]

he needs to do more NY shows. That's the only US city I saw on one of his last tours. I PRAY he comes back, with bigger publicity. But..then again the anonymity works in his favor a lot (like the blank paper money trick he did in the diamond district once.)

[larshilmar]

Well said! - I recall a former collegue when I asked he why she believed in a god, she answered: "because thats the way I was brought up" :)

[travisjohnson]

I agree with Ravi Zarcharias when he argues that without God there is no rational basis for objective morality. Further I agree with John Lennox who argues that atheism contradicts itself in that it destroys the foundation of rationality. But, your 'why' question, i'll answer, indirectly. Jesus does a miracle and 3 classes of ppl exist: 1 the recipient who believe but was asking anyway, 2) 1/2 the crowd who believes, 3) 1/2 the crowd who dismisses it or assigns bad source/motive.

[travisjohnson]

The whole point I've been trying to make is the the position 'language ... food chain' (naturalism) is that it is a position that can be debated only if the words themselves have meaning - which in naturalism, they do not. It is just your DNA trying to trick my DNA into allowing your DNA a better chance to reproduce (by adj. society). The decades we have are meaningful only if you eternally exist-if you are just meat, why should I listen to meat, is John Lennox's argument (severely compressed).

[MitchStoffels]

Finding purpose in life is easy. Stay alive and have fun. But not at the cost of others.
The greater purpose is, to help future generations achieve their goal of happyness.

Imaginary gods don't help me achieve happyness. They just keep me guessing until I die.

[travisjohnson]

I may have already responded to you with the following; i am conversing with 3 ppl in parallel, so forgive if I repeat. Consider the Heb word 'sadaqa' (righteousness). It is a word that has no meaning outside of relationships (God, other Men, animals, the environment). It calls for 'saving acts' and is often translated that way. It demands sacrificial grace-at-cost in order to heal relationships. It results not in control but mutual-submission and character based trust. It is the standard...