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Steven Fry lashes out a God

Joe Hutch

Joe Hutch

Mate of the bloke
No reply from Yer Man in the sky yet.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/cele...d-is-evil-meanminded-and-stupid-10013120.html

Broadcaster and atheist Stephen Fry has been filmed launching into an impassioned tirade about the existence of God.

The QI presenter calls the Christian deity "evil", "monstrous" and "stupid" in a clip from an Irish TV show set to be aired this weekend.

Host Gay Byrne asks the 57-year-old, who is well known for his atheism, what he would do after his death if he arrived at the "pearly gates" to find that God really does exist.

Fry responds: "I'll say: bone cancer in children, what's that about?

"How dare you how dare you create a world where there is such misery that's not our fault? It's utterly, utterly evil.

"Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?"
 
Any o'level theologian could answer is somewhat stupid accusations.

apparently the world is what it is because god gave us free will . It be our fault not his/hers.
 
Not only that but christians and muslims are both Abrahamic religions and they workship the same god.

Rich
 
This is pretty poor stuff by SF's standards. He's a clever man, he generally makes sensible comments. However this really is elementary Chapter 1 Page 1 theology, as DQ says. I expect better from SF.
 
stevec67 said:
This is pretty poor stuff by SF's standards. He's a clever man, he generally makes sensible comments. However this really is elementary Chapter 1 Page 1 theology, as DQ says. I expect better from SF.
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Indeed. A sensible answer to Gay Byrne's question would have been 'Since I don't believe in God, it would be pointless to speculate on what I would say to Him were we to meet', but I guess Fry couldn't resist the temptation to mouth off. Probably the Devil whispered in his ear or something.
 
Its not really that much of a big deal imo.
He is just saying what he thinks.
You try telling my 9 year old son who's favourite uncle died two years ago this month from skin cancer and who's good friend and class mate is fighting throat cancer at the mo there is a God and see what he comes back with.
 
Barry williams said:
Its not really that much of a big deal imo.
He is just saying what he thinks.
You try telling my 9 year old son who's favourite uncle died two years ago this month from skin cancer and who's good friend and class mate is fighting throat cancer at the mo there is a God and see what he comes back with.
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That rather illustrates my point. With all due respect to your 9 year old son, I would expect a slightly more considered and sophisticated analysis from SF. Ha has after all had a little more time to think it through.
 
stevec67 said:
That rather illustrates my point. With all due respect to your 9 year old son, I would expect a slightly more considered and sophisticated analysis from SF. Ha has after all had a little more time to think it through.
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Sorry,
I really don't agree.
Why should Steven have to say it any different?
 
My simple question at the Pearly Gates is "Now that I've passed the interview stage Big Fella, where's all the women?"
 
I believe in a god, a creator.
That god is the natural laws of science that brought about the creation of the universe and the belief in the good that that can come out the peculiar circumstances that brought about this existence of life. It is the force and power of nature that exists through time and the universe, and is not contradictory to science at all. There is an order to it and one day we will understand it, but probably not how it came about.
Some people have a god that is somehow in human form, probably sitting on a cloud. I don't believe that myself.

I don't see how anyone can discuss their belief in a god until they have defined what form their understanding of god is. That's just ridiculous. It could mean a different thing to everyone. Even in storybook religions, there are hundreds of different versions, but all of them 'beings'. God is an insufficient definition in itself.
 
People react to suffering in different ways. Sometimes it turns them away from belief in God, sometimes toward it, I wouldn't rush into thinking everyone is the same.

In the film Whatever Works, Larry David's character talks about this "unspeakably violent world" and he's got a point. But as pointed out earlier Theology 101 is about free will.
 
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