Mocking God & the Religious | Sunday Fireside Chat

Life Audio.

Hey there, this is Marissa Streit. I am the CEO of PragerU, and you are about to listen to a special edition of Fireside Chat with Dennis Prager. Those of us here at PragerU are continuing to do the very important work that we've been doing with him for over 10 years. We are educating millions of young people online. We have state partnerships to bring our content into schools and so much more. You can head over to prageru.com to see the progress that we've been making. Also, I'd love to invite you to support our mission by donating to our 501. It is a nonprofit. Your tax-deductible donation will go to an institution of higher learning that actually shares your values. So enjoy your podcast, and thank you so much for all your support.

Hi everybody, it's Otto and me. Really, Otto and I. It's a predicate nominative, but I won't delay any further. I do love grammar. I'm one of the 2% of humanity that likes grammar, and I wish everybody studied it. Otto is doing fine. Thank you for tuning in. Is he out?

Yes.

He really is, isn't he? Do you know, I've told you, when he sees the camera, the tripod, and the lights, he takes his position. That, that is no dummy. Anyway, great to be with you. I want to remind you that this month is fundraising month for PragerU. Everything we do is free. There's a reason for that, because people support us. And we're doing very, very important work as a— There is such an increase In indoctrination rather than education in our schools and in our media. So help us spread light. That's what we do is spread light. We we have videos on every subject, including happiness. Life consists of more than politics. In fact, I'm a little annoyed at how much politics I have to think about. Because that's not what makes me tick. Anyway, please help us out at prageru.com and please subscribe to our channel, as it were. Please subscribe to PragerU. Only God knows how long it will be before we are taken down by the very dangerous tech groups who are doing something unprecedented in American history. And that is suppressing free speech. This has never happened in American history. You are living through a dark age, and I am not prone to exaggeration. This is a dark age where when you can't express your your opinion in the United States, that's a dark age. All right. I'm going to talk to you about the worst possible subject I could raise for about 41% of you, maybe more. And what triggered this is one of our particularly capable people at PragerU posted my 10 Commandments video— videos on her Instagram account, right? Your Instagram account. PragerU Instagram account, and it got hits. Everything we post gets gets a fair amount of hits, but it didn't get a great amount of hits, and she was surprised. I wasn't. Why? Why would that be? Why the the single most important moral code, legal code in the history of the world? Nothing comes close to influencing the world. As the Ten Commandments does. Why would that elicit a big yawn from most people? I know the answer, which is why I'm raising the question. I know the answer. By the way, sometimes I do raise questions to which I do not know the answer. Like, why do— why does one spouse give in to the other on car color? Like me, why do I give in? I'm strong. Well, well, I'm going to raise that actually on the male-female hour on my radio show for your edification. It's the second hour of my show every Wednesday called the male-female hour. So why, why this? incredible antagonism to anything religious. It's instinctive in people. They see the Ten Commandments. Had, had, had she put up Dennis Prager talks about the Quran, I might have gotten the same amount of hits because people aren't threatened by the Quran. It's just another religion's Holy work, but the Ten Commandments—that's Judeo-Christian—and that's that is something they have literally been brainwashed to find absurd. Not just not relevant, absurd. You believe in that stuff? Do you know that you know the videos at PragerU? I monitor this. I don't know if others do. I'm sure others do, but I know I do. I monitor what is the— what types of videos receive the most mockery. Not the most hate, not, not the most objections, the most mockery. And nothing comes close to anything we put up with regard to God or religion. People are taught to mock religion. And, and, and the teaching has worked. That is one's immediate instinct. You know, I remember years ago— it's funny that this is coming back. I don't think I've raised this in 20 years. About 20 years ago, I remember asking on my radio show, what would you rather be caught by colleagues? Let's say you're on the plane. And colleagues, people at your workplace, by coincidence, are passing you as you're sitting, you know, at, let's say, an aisle seat near the front. Would you rather be caught reading Playboy or the Holy Bible? Which would embarrass you more? That's really what I was asking. The very fact that the question is legit gives you, gives you an idea of to what extent people find the Bible worthy only of mockery and embarrassment. Do you know, I, I'm just finished a third of my 5-volume commentary on the first 5 volumes of the Bible. It's called The Rational Bible. And so I do a lot of writing on airplanes. So I will literally have books, let's say Exodus or Genesis, Deuteronomy, whatever, or just the Holy Bible with commentary. And I know that anyone who sees it who is not religious thinks they're sitting next to a weirdo. Whereas if I had a book next to me, 73 sexual positions for better orgasm, they would go, wow, are you a therapist? Are you in the adult film industry? I'm only, I'm only minimally exaggerating. That's, that's how effective the mockery of of religion has been. It's for— it's for not just dummies. It's not for anybody intellectually alive. It's for the common person who needs a crutch. That's a very big thing. I've heard all the arguments. Crutch is a big one. So you need a crutch. And I've always answered, well, if you're in fact crippled, or to use the current word, disabled, you do need a crutch. Of course we need a crutch. Life is extremely difficult, filled with pain. That is exactly— I have no problem with that. After my hip surgery, I needed crutches. What was wrong with that? Did anybody think, oh, this guy's pathetic, he's on crutches? But if somebody believes in God or takes the Bible seriously, oh, it's a crutch. You mean you don't have crutches? The rest of society doesn't have a crutch? Believe me, the— it's obvious when religion dies, people develop new religions. What is this anti-racism if not a new religion? There's so little racism in America. It's not only a religion, it's an irrational religion. Whereas I must say, for Judaism and Christianity, they have irrational aspects, but they're not irrational. There's a God who wants us to be good. How's that? Sounds good to me. Sounds effective to me. That's my religion in a nutshell. It's also Micah's, if for those of you who are religious. And Mike is 6'8. Summarizes what? I think it's 6'8. Might be 6'4. Maybe it's 13-5, 22-11. I'm really, I'm just mimicking a quarterback right now, right before the center gives him the ball. Anyway, that's the summary of what I believe. There is a God who wants me to be good. That's quite— that is my crutch. My— I'll tell you my crutch. That there is ultimate justice. That is my crutch. I admit it. The thought that this is all there is is depressing. If you— if it doesn't depress you, then you don't take it seriously. And I don't mean for you. I mean just for others. You mean all these people who have been given horrible lives in history? as slaves, as tortured people, as raped, you name it. And you're okay with, sorry, Charlie, that's the way the cookie crumbles. I'm not okay with that. I have a crutch. There was a God and there was ultimate reward and ultimate punishment. There was ultimate justice. I believe that. I will, I will in some way be reunited with my loved ones after my death. That's my crutch. I fully acknowledge it. That way I don't have to have a crutch of political religion, which is what we now have. Do you know, I have spent, in speaking about religion, I have spent 90% of my time talking about its necessity.

Mm-hmm.

talking about specifically God, I've spent 90% of my time speaking about the necessity of God and 10% about the existence of God. The necessity is far more important. If I— I don't care if you're an atheist, I want you to understand how important it is. We had— what is that great author's name from Britain? He was in here for a fireside chat, huh?

Douglas Murray.

Douglas Murray. Douglas Murray, I believe is secular. I know he's not active Christian or active Jew, so I assume he's not religious. I don't know if he believes in God. They're not the same thing. There are non-religious people who believe in the God of the Bible, just they're not religious. So I don't know specifically, but I know he's secular. He understands better than most religious people The hole, that's his word, the hole, that H-O-L-E, that has been left in Europe with the decline of Christianity. This Jew understands the hole that has been left in Europe. So when Christianity died in Europe, guess what we got? Fascism, communism, and Nazism. So here's the question that if I were kept up at night— thank God I sleep well— but if I were kept up at night, this would keep me up at night. What's going to happen to America when Christianity dies in America? The record of the post-Christian world isn't good. So that's what concerns me. The ramifications of the death of religion, for which reason she didn't get many responses to the Ten Commandments postings, which are really good, by the way. They're really, really, really, really, really, really, really good. Now, it may sound odd that I'm saying it because I'm the one who gave them. But I look at whatever I do outside of me. Okay, just for the record, I have a very healthy attitude toward my life. For example, I developed the following idea many years ago: if you let the compliments go to your head, the insults will go to your heart. So I don't let the compliments go to my head, and I don't let the insults go to my heart. So it's a nice balanced life that I live. But my point is, people are truly deeply indoctrinated that this is silly or even dangerous. One example of the consequences of the death of Judeo-Christian religions. By Judeo-Christian religions, I mean any of the religions that are rooted in the Hebrew or Christian Testaments, the Old or New Testament, or both. So that would include Judaism, Protestantism, Catholicism, LDS, Latter-day Saints, or Mormonism, the Orthodox Church. I mean, this is a— it's a large— it's a large world. So Any ideology based in that believes that the human being is created in God's image. Therefore, we're not just animals. There was a piece in the New York Times just a few weeks ago. You could look it up. It's easy. And that is that we are really essentially— what was the term? Squirrels. Yeah. We are really no better than squirrels and they jump better than us. So they have advantages. This was by a professor of philosophy. We are animals. In fact, it's a giveaway whenever I see something written and it will say human beings and other animals. No, that's not how I put it. Human beings and animals, not other animals. Yes, we are biologically animals. But the religious belief, the Judeo-Christian one, is we have a soul, that we are in God's image. There is something other than an animal that defines us. Okay, that's a big deal though. That is a big deal. When I think about what young people in the secular West are taught, let's take America. This is what you're taught. Your past is disgusting. America is a cesspool. Your future is death because of the existential threat of global warming. And you have ultimate— no, ultimately no meaning. You're just another animal. Wow, that is so exciting. Thank you, adult generation, for screwing around with me. Right or wrong? Have I in any way exaggerated? That is not what you're told if you are a young person? Of course that's what you're told. I wasn't. I was told that with all of the problems of slavery and the treatment of Native Americans, all of which I was aware of, this country was exceptional. That Washington and Jefferson and Hamilton And Adams, these were glorious human beings with all their flaws. Okay, I was taught that. I was taught to be optimistic about the future, that more and more people were being lifted from poverty thanks to the free market capitalist idea, that in fact the fossil fuel made everything, everything. Possible. Hospitals, travel, heat, cold, everything. My future was great. You know what? There, I remember, I, I am old enough to remember when nuclear power was declared the great reason for optimism, and they were right. It's a fraud on the part of the environmentalists to only advocate wind and solar. When the cleanest power that works— those two don't work— that works is nuclear power, and it's overwhelmingly safe. And I was taught that I was special, that there was a God who knew me. Wouldn't necessarily protect me from a car crash. I don't believe in that type of God, but who knew me. And this was not all there is, this life. So I had a wonderful past, a wonderful future, and deep meaning. And you've been given none of that. Your meaning is fighting America's racism. That's your meaning. Now you know why I think religion's important, and that's only one of a dozen reasons. Okie Smokey, let's see what you have to ask. Was that extra long?

Wasn't bad.

Wasn't bad. I can't believe it. It's like my trainer. She— the highest compliment that I've ever received from her in 4 years of torture, 3 days a week, was she looked at me once and said, not too bad. That was it. Not too bad. So normally it's too bad when I do my plank. Who invented the plank, by the way? They should be shot. Some sadist invented this notion of a plank, and I do it every week. Believe it or not, I do a plank. Okay, it's enough of that. All right, it's time for the question and answer. Of the week. All right, there we go. Take it away. Hi Dennis, my name is Mark Huber and I'm 18 years old from Great Neck, New York. A few weeks ago, my economics professor claimed that universal basic income is the key to getting people off the welfare system in America. I was wondering if you can explain what universal basic income is and if it's a form of socialism or communism. I have to say that if that's what the professor said, I am dumbstruck. I want you to all hear the words if I got it right. He's quoting his professor: universal basic income is a great way to get people off welfare. That's right. Okay, are you all aware of why that's not coherent? Why isn't universal basic income welfare? That was priceless. It's like saying there is a way to get people off heroin. And that is with another drug. There you go. Meth. The way to get people off heroin is with meth. Ah, it's genius. Bloody genius. All right, why does that not answer the question? That's what it is. Universal basic income is giving everybody a check every month, and that's welfare. That's the definition of welfare. Okay. Anyway, it's also— it's not healthy. People— it's so ironic. It goes back to my earlier thing, crutch. It's okay to have an economic crutch. But not a religious crutch. And the irony is the people who have the religious crutch are the most opposed to economic crutches. That's the irony, because they have a healthier view of life, because they have a wisdom source called the Bible. No wisdom, you end up a professor. Okay, that was good though. That was important. Thank you, Martin, Great Neck, New York. Peyton, 17, Garland, Texas. Hi. Hand wave or handshake? I've been watching PragerU videos for many years and often show them to friends to give alternative views. My question is, I'm interested in college and look forward to the future and having a career, except I'm not sure what to go into. I love to learn, but I'm afraid of the college indoctrination, hate, and propaganda. I want to do something useful and safe, especially with the realization of COVID and the hate mongering of society now. I greatly appreciate you, PragerU staff, and your wisdom. Thank you again. All right, so let's see. You love to learn. Let me deal with it. There are a few issues here. You love to learn, but you're afraid of the college indoctrination, hate, and propaganda. That's what you are. You learn to hate at schools in America. You really do. Think about it. You learn to hate America. You learn to hate whites. You learn to hate Christianity. It's an amazing thing. You do. You're taught to hate. So there's a— it's a very accurate statement that— but you sound like you might withstand it. You might have strong enough intellectual and emotional—

I do.

Shock absorbers to take the shock of, of college in that regard. On the other hand, you don't have to go to college. You might want to do some other work. You might want to travel and do some other work. There are so many things you can do other than college, or go to college later. I've never understood the rush to go through college. You're 17. The odds are you will live to 100. Really, that's what the odds are. And I don't know exactly why you need to get your degree now when you will have 78 years left of life. And the older you are when you go to college, A, the more you get out of it, and B, the less likely you are to be indoctrinated. The teachers know that, and so they really want young people. That's why they— by the way, did you ever notice that teachers don't allow Overwhelmingly, they don't allow their classes to be recorded. Why not? Why not? I'll tell you why. Because they're afraid of adults seeing what they say. They can say anything to 18-year-olds and get away with it, but not to 30-year-olds or 40 or 50-year-olds. I taught college and they had the same thing. They had cassette players. They didn't have tele— they didn't have smartphones. They recorded it. And I remember the first time a student came over to me when I taught college and said, Mr. Prager, can I, can I record your sessions? And I remember thinking, why are you even asking? Of course you can. Why would I want to hide what I tell you? I hope you send these cassettes to everybody you know. My hope was that everybody heard what I taught. Why would a teacher not want that unless they're ashamed of the propaganda that they're giving? If you're proud of what you say in a classroom, why are you opposed to it being recorded? Because what's being taught is shameful. It's indoctrination, not education. It's an important test, isn't it? Why don't you want it recorded, professor? Because it might be misused. What does that mean? It's your words. You're not being quoted. It's you. How could it be misused? Anyway, you should go. You should take a couple of years off after high school. You should work. Working is maturing. Be a waiter, be a ditch digger, or drive a UPS truck. I don't, I don't care what it is, but do something. That is productive. Also travel. Ideally travel alone. Traveling alone matures you tremendously, but it's better to travel with someone than not to travel at all. Seeing other cultures is extremely, extremely valuable. I've been to 130 countries, and I can assure you that that is a very worthwhile venture in life. Then you can go to college after that. You don't know what you want to do. 90% of people at your age don't know what they want to do. But it's a very odd thing. If you'd have said to me, do you know what you want to do? I didn't. Professionally, I was clueless. I knew I wanted to influence people with good ideas, and I've been blessed to be able to do that. But that's all I knew. You don't make— and I didn't think you make a living doing that. So I had, I had a very similar dilemma. But I'll tell you this, I knew what I wanted to do in life. I want to get married and have children. You, your generation doesn't even have that. It's amazing to me how insignificant it is to young people when I talk to them. I talk to a young woman, you know, you want to get married? Yeah, maybe one day. That's, that's indoctrination. It is not female nature to look upon marriage as maybe one day. Female nature is to bond with somebody. Even that annoys people on the left because they hate anything to do with human nature. They deny there's human nature. They deny there's male and female, let alone human nature. All right, so that's what you got to do. Aim to get married, make a family, figure out how to support them. Try 100 different things. You'll never know what you love. And what you'll fall into. What's our story time-wise, Megan?

29.

29. Do I hit the button virtually every week? I'm telling you, you are, you are looking at a living timer. That's right. I remember my parents said to me once, what would you like to be when you grow up? And I said, a timer. They had no idea. Anyway, my mother thought I'd be in prison, so that wasn't so bad because timers are not imprisoned. But she did. She really did. It's a very funny thing. My mother believed that if you didn't do homework, you were a criminal. And I never did homework. That's just the way it is. I was too busy teaching myself how to read symphonic scores. And Russian. That's what I was doing in high school, uh, in my spare time, which I had a lot of because I never did any homework. I was, uh, I wasn't your regular guy. Anyway, I won't go to another question. Oh, I will because this one's brief. Okay, from the PragerU staff. Okay, this is just to annoy me. Dennis, how much do you hate daylight savings time? Let me put it to you this way. If you said to me, Dennis, this year no daylight saving time, but you would have to go through a beehive in a bathing suit, I would choose the beehive with the bathing suit and hope that the bees just made honey and ignored me. That I hate daylight saving time, and I know half of you love it. All I know is why is there some joy? Officially, if you have kids, trying to put them to bed before it's dark at 9 PM, I don't know why that's a thrill to people. Anyway, I like real. I like real time. Daylight Saving Time is not the real time. And it— the sun sets late anyway in summer. What do you need the extra one for? But anyway, look, I don't lose sleep over it. But since you asked me at the PragerU staff, I gave you my answer. I would do what Arizona does: stay on regular time all year. Bravo, Arizona! Okay, everybody. I hope you'll share these fireside chats with others because I. Really do touch a lot of important issues. Otto sends you his love. And don't forget to help us out at PragerU and subscribe to PragerU as well. Until next week, be well. We want to take just a second to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the podcast. Go to lifeaudio.com to find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts on their network, including shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.