Stephen Colbert and Ricky Gervais Debate the Existence of God

[rug]

02.01.17 10:38 PM ET
MATT WILSTEIN

Typically, the question “Is there a god?” does not come up on late-night TV. But Wednesday night was different.

Stephen Colbert is one of comedy’s most devout Catholics — he even teaches Sunday school. Ricky Gervais is one of its most outspoken atheists, happily getting into a philosophical debate with anyone on Twitter who disagrees with him.

On Wednesday, they met on the Late Show couch, and Colbert presented Gervais with what he thought was a simple question: “Why is there something instead of nothing?”

“That makes no sense at all,” Gervais replied, denying the premise of Colbert’s inquiry right off the bat. “Surely, the bigger question is not why but how,” he said. “Why is irrelevant, isn’t it?”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/01/stephen-colbert-and-ricky-gervais-debate-the-existence-of-god.html

3:45 video at link.

[guillaumeb]

1. Gervais makes the saame mistake that so many non-theists make.

From the article:

But that’s when Gervais went in for the kill. “Science is constantly proved all the time,” he said. “If we take something like any fiction, any holy book, and destroyed it, in a thousand years’ time that wouldn’t come back just as it was. Whereas if we took every science book and every fact and destroyed them all, in a thousand years they’d all be back, because all the same tests would be the same result.”

Gervais attempts to judge faith and belief by the standards of science. That would be like judging art by the standard of mathematics.

[tonedevil]

2. I'm not sure what you mean...

math figures a lot in art. There is meter, beat, and scales in music. The rule of thirds is well understood in painting. I think you can judge art by the standard of mathematics.

[guillaumeb]

3. Let me riff on this a bit:

Would you call playing scales "art"?

I generally warm up on the guitar with scales, and I incorporate scales in my playing, but the art, the musicianship, does not come in playing the scales, it comes in knowing what notes to play.

As to this post, religion and science do not deal with the same issues.

[tonedevil]

4. The relationship...

of the tones is based on scales and that is math. I will concede that religion and science do not deal with the same issues. The contrast is between fiction and nonfiction.

[guillaumeb]

5. Let us toast our partial agreement with a fifth.

I hope it has not gone flat.

[tonedevil]

6. My coworkers...

wonder how server maintenance can be so hilarious. That got me right in the funny bone.

[guillaumeb]

7. Glad to help lighten the load.

[edhopper]

8. No

It was Colbert who used faith to judge science.
Watch the segment.

[guillaumeb]

9. My response, #1, was based om Gervais' own words.

So I stand by Gervais' own words when making my statement.

[edhopper]

10. but you obviously didn't

see what Colbert said to which this was his response.

[guillaumeb]

11. No.

But can Gervais' own words stand on their own?

[edhopper]

12. Not when it was a response

to Colbert saying faith in science is the same as faith in God.

Just watch the video, it's 3 minutes long and a fun exchang

Then you can denounce Gervais.

[guillaumeb]

13. I watched the video clip.

First, Gervais tries to call his belief a non-belief. Pure sophistry. Colbert believes that there is a God. Gervais believes that there is no god. So we have belief vs. belief.

Second, Colbert replies to Gervais that he (Gervais) does not know that the universe started with a big bang. Colbert says that is a matter of believing that scientists are correct in their assertions.

As to faith and science, science attempts to prove. Faith attempts to convince.

[tonedevil]

14. You say theres a God...

I say, can you prove that? You say no. I say I don’t believe you, then. Where is the belief system in that?

[guillaumeb]

15. I believe that there is a Creator.

You believe that there is no Creator.

[tonedevil]

16. I just want proof...

you said there was a Creator.

[guillaumeb]

17. I said that I believe that there is a Creator.

The word believe does not indicate a definitive statement.

[tonedevil]

18. Minus proof...

I can't say there is or isn't.

[guillaumeb]

19. Understood. Each of us must decide on this issue. eom