The part where his friends and family came to him @8:10 having objections to his personal beliefs or lack there of is a sign of a toxic mentality that exists in religion. Their objections to him not believing in their beliefs is exactly the point that as you pointed out of him saying "Religion is by nature authoritarian".
I'm jealous that Ron was given the choice to go to church or not, at age 12. When I was 12, my choice was go to church, or get beaten until you go to church. My dad was an iron-fisted pastor, and despite having God's message of caring, love, and forgiveness, pounded into me quite vigorously, and repeatedly, I found the message rather difficult to believe.
jmg94j I am so sorry you dealt with that. I never. Believed though my super catholic mother tried her hardest. I didn’t get physically abused but definitely mentally abused with shame, guilt and threats of eternal damnation. How is any of that signs of love or a so called loving god.
jmg94j - Damn! You wrote the story of my childhood, to a "T". I was also the namesake of my pastor father which was somehow an additional factor for me. I didn't understand my disbelief until later, even considering the ministry at some point.
jmg94j my mom verbally berated me just for falling asleep in church(a lot of mental damage). Even when once I tried looking into other spiritual beliefs before officially secretly becoming a spiritual agnostic.
ABC wouldn't even run the FFRF ad featuring JFK: "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute" during the Democratic debates. I would LOVE to know what's wrong with THAT!
Disappointing, but not surprising. I'm not saying that to be a smart a**. It's all about advertising dollars. Unfortunately the internet is not about free speech.
Let’s face REALITY!! Now, “reality” is described this way: there is nothing Christian or God-like about this country. Saying that there is would be blatant hypocrisy.
Let’s talk “reality”. Now this is reality: there is nothing Christian or God-like about this country. This is a Pagan or secular country like China 🇨🇳 and the rest of those nations are.
The biggest problem I have with religion is the unyielding hypocrisy. You can never judge a book by it's cover. The majority of the religious do not practice what they preach. If being religious is so great and their faith so cherished, then why are most of them hypocrites in every sense of the word. Their hypocrisy is so bad they can't even be honest with themselves. The numbers of the faithful are in rapid decline with every decade that passes. The human species is evolving beyond this nonsense known as religion and gods. Religion was conceived by an ancient peoples from ancient time of ignorance and for this reason cannot stand on it's own merits in a modern time of science and knowledge. Hypocrisy is unbecoming, I sure as hell don't want to be like them. I would rather embrace reality over the hypocrisy that is religion. It's time to call religion out for what it is, the time for silent respect is over. If your religious and you are offended, then forgive me (pun intended).
I'm a preacher's kid. I can't imagine being raised in an environment where I would have felt confident to think and express my own thoughts, without perceiving the threat of dire consequences.
I was about the same age as Ron when I told my parents, they forced me to go to church for a few years then just before my 16th birthday they moved away without me, I’d advise against telling parents until you are not Financially dependent on them, it left me homeless. But none the less I’m still an unabashed Atheist.
Wow it be nice to see if there are any statute of limitations in the state you lived in on your parents abandoning you while they were still your legal guardians. Possible criminal charges maybe? I'm just the vengeful type I guess. We all have weaknesses .
Brian Eroh I hear these stories like yours and they strike me like.... THIS IS THE STUFF THAT SHOULD HELP BELIEVERS SEE THE HARM IN RELIGION! But it doesn’t seem to matter to them when I mention it. Sorry you went through it.
I've been a life long atheist too. When I was 5 I was shipped off to live with my grandparents for a year. That was when I was introduced to church and religion. I loved the bible stories told to us in Sunday school. It didn't occur to me until years later that people actually believed them or thought that they were morally instructive. When I was about 10 mom started taking us to church. I told my parents that I didn't believe in God when they wanted me to start confirmation classes in the 7th grade. My father who I have never seen going to church insisted that I go. We had to do a work book for the class and I quit for good when I could no longer even guess what it was I supposed to be getting out of the class or what it was I was supposed to believe.
I'm a life-long atheist who tried for more years than I should have to belong to a religion. When I was in my early 20's, a friend introduced me to the Baha'i Faith. I was impressed with the social teachings and met some of the kindest, most sensible people I've ever known. But I eventually had to admit that I had absolutely no belief in God and felt like the worst kind of fraud when asked to say a prayer. When I eventually resigned from the local Assembly, I felt as though a very heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Fortunately, most of my family members are free-thinkers, and I live in the sort of community where, when the Pro-Lifers held a demonstration at a local park, the Pro-Choice faction was able to gather enough supporters to form a peaceful chain and block their view from the street. It will be interesting to see what happens with our imminent Canadian federal election, as there seems to be the start of a rather worrying American-style increase in fundamentalism in the country.
Cerberus Further to that he is ethical unlike the current incumbent who claims to be devoutly xtian to curry favour and elicit their votes. Apparently the bible is his favourite book and when asked his favourite part declared "That's personal" just maybe because he had no idea of what the xtian bible contains?
When I was growing up, I thought that this was a Christian country…the United States 🇺🇸 where the government is based on God’s moral laws. I looked up to it and I really admired it. Boy, was I wrong! There is nothing Christian about this country. Thank God that I only surrendered my physical soul. Appearances are deceiving! I now see these two-faced suckers for who they really are. You continue to fight for freedom from religion and I will continue to fight for freedom from government. Total separation of Church and State, the way our Founding Father intended.
I am glad to see Ron is doing well. I had never seen anything that was critical of religion on TV until that Ad. I immediately was interested in learning more about Ron, and I was also amazed how his father handled his refusal to go to church. I wasn’t a big fan of his father’s political views, but I gained some respect for him after hearing about that. Thanks for your bravery in publicly admitting to being an atheist. It definitely has made a dent in the fight for reason!
You guys are great !!!..LOVE YOU GUYS ALOT !!...was 40 years child indoctrinated christian , NOW SAVED ATHEISTAND SO HAPPY & FREE INDEED !!!.GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA ..
I'm a Christian, and I enjoy this channel and I enjoyed the commercial! I was not offended at all! I'm a firm believer of separation of church and state! Ron Reagan is a wonderful human being!
I gave up on religion at the age of 14. At my English boarding school they told us all we’d be taking confirmation courses because the Bishop was coming to confirm us in the CofE. I refused to attend saying that I could not confirm something I didn’t believe in. They tried hard to persuade me. First it was conformity. “Everybody else is, do you really want to be all on your own, not one of ‘us’? “. Next they insisted that I have several heart to heart ‘little chats’ with the chaplain. When that didn’t work the headmaster insisted on phoning my parents to see if they could change my mind. I only heard one end of a fairly short conversation. The Head put the phone down, looked at me, then dismissed me with a comment I’d never heard before and didn’t understand until my father explained it during the next holidays. “Well boy, run along now, the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.” That was the last I heard of the matter, but on the last Sunday of term I was given a pass out from Matins and allowed to take a packed lunch and my bicycle off for the day. That was 62 years ago.
I’m a conservative anti theist, married with wonderful children. It always struggle with my conservative brothers and sisters with there constant attempt at categorizing the US as a “Christian Nation”, but one by one I will fix this.
My fear of burning in hell is right up there with my fear of being devoured by the kraken. I would also like to add that this is the longest interview I’ve seen with Ron Reagan, and I must conclude the man is very smart and articulates these issues very cogently. He sharpened some of my own thoughts on these matters.
I just don't believe in hell - not sure what I believe especially now, but hell no - just so we are good to each other I think that is all that really matters
Sure wish to hell there was a way to get Ron Reagan's FFRF TV commercial back on again! All networks should carry it and to hell with the bloody televangelists! ..and others like them as well!
Maybe the thing is there isn’t an ungodly amount of money in atheism, like there is in religion. Therefore, atheism and it’s message are not aired or promoted.
I love the Ron Reagan - Unabashed Atheist ads. I've been an unabashed, unapologetic, atheist as long as I can remember. I look forward to hearing his side of the story of how he became an atheist. :)
I agree with Ron on most things including atheism. I am atheist. I am not pro choice. The simple reason being the life of the child. Born or unborn, it is a human being and left alone will grow to an adult and very likely thrive.
I think because of the fact that my dad went through the deconversion that a lot of atheists have gone through, I didn't have to because I wasn't subjected to the indoctrination. Thanks for that, dad.
How fortunate that reality and reason are recognized by intelligent beings in spite of the ease and prevalence of superstition and tribalism still existing, to a degree, in modern societies.
Superstition will always be a human weakness... We crave Happy Stories . We need to know things will be OK. No other species can project so far into the future, or consider all the possibilities.
"What is the function that a clergyman performs in the world? Answer: he gets his living by assuring idiots that he can save them from an imaginary hell." -H. L. Mencken, "Minority Reports"
Ron Reagan for president!! When I was younger, I wanted to give this country the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to accept this as a Christian nation, inspired by God. But now I see that there is nothing Christian or God-like about this country. This is a secular nation like China 🇨🇳 is and it is no better than any other country.
I remember the first time I watched Ron's ad on TV, and how I was teary eyed happy and proud of Ron and the FFRF. Same thing happened tonight, watching this interview.
No, No,No - You have it all wrong. It is not Hell that bothers me, it is the prospect of going to Heaven and having to live for eternity with all of those Christians. I cannot imagine what it would be like to have Ronald Reagan as a father. I am glad that your father handled the situation well. It is strange that I now think better (somewhat) of Ronald Reagan, compared to President Trump. Good comments about abortion. - FFRF Member
I think he hit the nail on the head saying: " . . I'm going to burn in hell for all eternity, while you presumably stay upstairs and look down on me with some pleasure , , ," I think religion is spiritual sadism, a continuation of a time when out and out torture was more rampant, say with the torching of so many live women. How anyone could enable that activity with belief is beyond my realm, but there are 100's of 1000's who do. And he continues with religion as child abuse as is female genital mutilation and male circumcision, more or less the same.
I had the same experience as Ron. A couple of years after realizing that Santa Claus was a myth, it became clear to me that "God" was essentially Santa Claus for adults. Back in the early 1960's as a 12 year old, that wasn't something easily expressed. But, I did tell my parents that none of it made any sense to me.
I was raised Roman Catholic by force and threatened with harm if I didn't attend mass but in my heart, I never believed a word of it because the more than I thought about what I was told the more questions that I had. I'm a humanist. I donated $50 to the FFRF after I saw this video because I wanted to be part of any group that had the backbone to make this video and broadcast it on national TV.
I have lost many " friends " , some that I have had for over 50 years, when they found out that I am an atheist and do not believe as they do and as they think everyone should.
I agree. However, the concept of god is useful to the believers as in their minds they can justify anything and it gives an unquestionable power to those who exploit it.
Life as a believer Life as a nonbeliever Life goes on. When I quit the Catholic Church and became a Buddhist nothing happened. When I quit Buddhism and became an atheist nothing happened.
I believe one of the most fundamental reasons for the resistance to stem cell research is the obvious presence of proof of evolution, refuting the magical thinking of creationists.
3:30 my aunt prohibiting me for telling my cousins that it was a (religious) lie requiring us to nap (age 5!) it confused me very much (especially when my parents gave reasonable explanations when I pushed them).
The fear for most people, is not the invisible character in the sky. The fear, is what people around them will do to them if they don’t pretend that they do believe.
I'm a little surprised he has been an atheist most of his life considering the family he comes from. I was a Christian until I was about 18 and I didn't come from a strict religious family. ironically I was the most religious person in my immediate family until I was 18. I say immediate family because I have a cousin that is a preacher and most of my cousins, aunts, and uncles are very religious (some believe in faith healing and all that crap). However, my dad was a nonbeliever, both my brothers were nonbelievers, and my mom (although a lifelong Christian) started to have a "crisis of faith" before she died and never had an issue with me becoming an atheist. She later proclaimed she was an atheist too, but I suspect she was just doing this because at the time my brother was dying of lung cancer and she was tired of all the Christians saying "they were going to pray him well". I use the term nonbeliever separate from atheist because I once was a Christian. I tried to be one of these "liberal" Christians in my teens because I loved science and tried to view the Bible as metaphoric when it conflicted with science. But, eventually that doesn't work anymore. So, I studied the Bible extensively with the early goal of become a minister. Of course the more I studied the more conflicts I had and I was having my own "crisis of faith". My dad and brothers on the other hand never gave religion much of a thought.
A way to test if a religion is true to the love message is to strip it from any fear inducing mechanism and see how many people stays. I want to see Ron saying " Tear down that "authoritarian" wall!"
That was a VERY good interview! I wasn't aware that Ron Reagan Jr. was an atheist. I especially liked how he addressed the psychology of religion a little bit. In regards to christianity, I've said for a long time that it's more about psychology than salvation.
What I have always had a problem with is this: why do you need religion to be a good person? Why do you need religion to raise children well? Often you see those who embrace religion as persons who are truly “lost”; addicts, people lost in hedonism, people who treat others poorly and are in trouble with the law. But if you can conduct yourself in a decent manner...”Imagine all the people, living life in peace”? Maybe what we need as a society is a general code of conduct based on common decency; something we can teach our children and support in schools but that does not belong to any religion. Then we can produce better citizens, a safer more successful society, deal with the problems we have to deal with and if people want to practice their own religions... they are free to do so, but there will finally be a separation of church and state. You should be able to be a devout Christian or Muslim or anything and still strongly comprehend and support a separation of church and state.
I enjoyed this show. You do good work getting public attention so am sure it’s just a matter of time and the networks will come around. Thank you for all you do.
Now I know why I really liked Ron Reagan, he's one of us, a free thinker who questions the ill logical thinking of radical Religionists. Way to go Ron!
I used to listen to Ron Reagan"s radio show here in Seattle years ago. He was really good. He opened with "All Along the Watchtower" by Hendrix. Good choice of music.
Very entertaining talk. Love Dan & Annie Laurie Barker, and of course Ron Reagan. More insightful and informative talk in 28 minutes than have come out of the Trump Administration in over three years.
Ron is like me. I decided I didn't believe in god around 8 or 9. And I think my father was an atheist although he never mentioned it. I'm sure my mother would say back in the 50s and 60s "Don't say that to the children!"
Same. Atheism was mandatory here before i was born (1989), but my grandparents were strongly religious anyway and tried to rope me into it too. It backfired, lol.
I am the same kind of atheist as Ron. Near the age of 11, I realized gods, angels, demons, the devil (lol) were no different than ghosts, leprechans, fire breathing dragons, the tooth fairy, santa claus, the easter bunny, etc; all supernatural figments of the imagination. It wasn't until three years ago (I am 65 now), that I actually started to research religion. I've watched countless youtube debates, lectures of professors of religious studies (like the awesome Bart Ehrman), historian Richard Carrier; read many books and even read major parts of the Bible. I already knew the science which disproves creationism and events in the OT. I always recommend two books 'Jesus' Interrupted' (the most fascinating book I have ever read) for the NT, and 'The Bible Unearthed' by two professors of archeology from Israel, which proves that the OT characters and events are fiction.
Just discovered this channel and have subscribed. Great content. Ron is a good speaker and very easy on the ears. Living in the UK I am always baffled about the religiosity of the US and how difficult it can be to be an out atheist. Kudos to all of you who challenge the religious privileges and power.
I’ll start out with “Thank gods for Atheists”. I was born and raised in the catholic format, even worked for the church as I was growing up. It was working for them that led me to really consider the religion itself. As usual I witnessed tons and tons of hypocrisy, the typical one hour Christians. My whole family still believes, and because of my atheism there is a massive divide, I can live with it, but to the rest of them I’m a threat, and I got really sick and tired of the “thank god” affirmation, along with all the other catch phases. 30 years ago I quit drinking alcohol, and as like most recovery programs they depended heavily on the god concept, and fortunately I was told by a very wise sponsor to not lose sight, quitting alcohol was my purpose, not reaffirming any kind of religious affiliations.
I just re-learned a lesson I thought I already new. Mr. Reagan's column runs regularly in the local newspaper. I stopped reading it years ago because his political opinions infuriate me. But here he is, in total agreement with me on a subject I think more important than politics. I'm still having a problem with the dissonance - but I accept the reality. The lesson re-learned is, don't make judgements using limited data.
I once experienced an out of body experience where I encountered a power of love that was so powerful that I was sore afraid of my very existence. At the time I was also worried about global atomic war. The question was answered that that power of love was far more powerful than any mere atomic bomb. So while I don't concern myself about the belief in a god ... that Love I encountered was so immensely powerful it would by far be worthy of being called a "god". But ... the biblical tale of Jesus I think is a load of cobblers and can not be believed in any way whatsoever. it's historical baloney. As to the afterlife ... who knows. That was not the question that was on my mind at the time.
This is interesting, because my experience was similar - well, absent the whole President of the United States thing. :) I just mean that I was raised Christian, but it simply didn't take. It wasn't a wrenching decision for me to become an atheist, because I don't remember ever believing in that stuff. (And I'm 69, so this was back when you just never heard about atheists.) I do remember believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, so that's kind of funny. But there was _evidence_ that they existed (not _good_ evidence, obviously, but good enough for a little kid). And even though I didn't know a single person who wasn't a Christian, I knew that there were - and had been - lots of different religious beliefs. It was clear to me that... everyone I knew just believed this particular religion because that's what they were taught to believe as children. I admire people who _did_ believe, but then realized that it was wrong (that there wasn't any good evidence backing up that belief) and actually acted on that. That's truly admirable! For me, it was easy to be an atheist. I don't know how I could have been anything else. But I know it wasn't that easy for most atheists.
Hell is the reason I am an atheist. It started making no sense to me. Then I learned about the 31,000 different variations of just Xianity all of whom think their way is the only way and that all other Xians are going to hell. Someone who tells me that I am going to hell will probably be sitting next to me on the bus on the way there because the odds are that they didn't "do it right!" IF there was a god. My favorite line from the video was "are you afraid of going to the Moslem hell?" My grade school principal told us in an assembly that all Catholics were going to hell because they don't use the same bible our religion did. And let's face it, ALL "true" Catholics believe that everyone else is going to hell. There are 5 Catholic sects (I think) and my guess is that each one thinks the others are going to hell. Odds are not good for any Christian even if there were some kind of god.
I appreciate this discussion, however, it's pretty demeaning to say, "I saw the light," when referring to the decision to not believe in God, suggesting, those who believe in God are in the dark. It's perfectly fine to be atheist, or a believer in God, we just need to simply state that you either believe, or not, if you want, and stay away from stereotypes or demeaning talk. I believe in God but really enjoy listening to, talking and working with atheists, without any notion that they're going to hell, or anywhere else. I really like Ron Reagan and love to see Republicans defect.
Interesting hearing Ron describe the time he refused to go to church anymore. I had a similar experience with my mother which didn't end peacefully. I seem to remember her slapping me for my blasphamy. From then on come Sunday morning at 7am I got to stay in bed whilst she and my remaining church going siblings were dragged out of their slumber at that ungodly hour for the weekly pilgimage..
As a 60 year old life-long A-Theist, I have recently discovered the on-line A-Theist community. (Yeah, late to the party....) I have recently watched a lot of videos and I find this one to be the most “on point “. WOW, Ron Reagan is easy to listen to. I would like to meet him someday!
Only 20 here but who woulda known 6 months later I’d see this and say what’s up. I agree Ron is great at talking made the king video seem so short wish it was hours longer
_"Religion is by nature authoritarian". (Ron Reagan)
This seems to cut to the heart of the problem...
The part where his friends and family came to him @8:10 having objections to his personal beliefs or lack there of is a sign of a toxic mentality that exists in religion. Their objections to him not believing in their beliefs is exactly the point that as you pointed out of him saying "Religion is by nature authoritarian".
It does. It's plain fact.
He sure hit the nail on the head with that one. Especially jealous monotheistic gods like the Abrahamic religions.
Most religious people dont realize that if they go back far enough their ancestors were tortured or frightened or shamed into believing.
I'm jealous that Ron was given the choice to go to church or not, at age 12. When I was 12, my choice was go to church, or get beaten until you go to church. My dad was an iron-fisted pastor, and despite having God's message of caring, love, and forgiveness, pounded into me quite vigorously, and repeatedly, I found the message rather difficult to believe.
jmg94j I am so sorry you dealt with that. I never. Believed though my super catholic mother tried her hardest. I didn’t get physically abused but definitely mentally abused with shame, guilt and threats of eternal damnation. How is any of that signs of love or a so called loving god.
The beatings will continue until morale improves, or something similar. Sorry for your early experiences with religion.
Another example of the HYPOCRISY of religion!
jmg94j - Damn! You wrote the story of my childhood, to a "T". I was also the namesake of my pastor father which was somehow an additional factor for me. I didn't understand my disbelief until later, even considering the ministry at some point.
jmg94j my mom verbally berated me just for falling asleep in church(a lot of mental damage). Even when once I tried looking into other spiritual beliefs before officially secretly becoming a spiritual agnostic.
I hadn't realized that the FFRF commercial had been censored by networks: Really? Yet televangelists are okay? That's so absurd & disappointing.
ABC wouldn't even run the FFRF ad featuring JFK: "I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute" during the Democratic debates. I would LOVE to know what's wrong with THAT!
Simple: Hypocrisy of the networks!
America is struggling with fear and childhood indoctrination.
Is freedom from religion possible in Trumpland?
Stay tuned.
Disappointing, but not surprising. I'm not saying that to be a smart a**. It's all about advertising dollars. Unfortunately the internet is not about free speech.
I feel sorry for Americans, the freedom land where you can't choose your freedom, not for real.
When I was about 8-9 years old I said to myself this is stupid stuff people made up because they are afraid of dying. Never changed my mind.
The day you pass away will be the most dramatic experience you will ever have. You are going to have a rude awakening.
Atheism is not a religion,it's a personal relationship with REALITY.
Let’s face REALITY!! Now, “reality” is described this way: there is nothing Christian or God-like about this country. Saying that there is would be blatant hypocrisy.
Let’s talk “reality”. Now this is reality: there is nothing Christian or God-like about this country. This is a Pagan or secular country like China 🇨🇳 and the rest of those nations are.
Thank you for fighting for our rights to remain secular. ⭐️
I called religion "make believe for grown-ups" when I was a kid. I think hearing that people lived to be 900 was a major turning point.
Reminds me of that song in Porgy and Bess "It ain't necessarily so......"
The biggest problem I have with religion is the unyielding hypocrisy. You can never judge a book by it's cover. The majority of the religious do not practice what they preach. If being religious is so great and their faith so cherished, then why are most of them hypocrites in every sense of the word. Their hypocrisy is so bad they can't even be honest with themselves. The numbers of the faithful are in rapid decline with every decade that passes. The human species is evolving beyond this nonsense known as religion and gods. Religion was conceived by an ancient peoples from ancient time of ignorance and for this reason cannot stand on it's own merits in a modern time of science and knowledge. Hypocrisy is unbecoming, I sure as hell don't want to be like them. I would rather embrace reality over the hypocrisy that is religion. It's time to call religion out for what it is, the time for silent respect is over. If your religious and you are offended, then forgive me (pun intended).
I never could stand his father but the one good thing he did for us was to bring his son Ron into our world!
I just love this guy!
Ron is great! It's also cool that he's not scared to admit that his dad was flawed.
Thanks to everyone for this very interesting show. Ron is a gifted, well-spoken, and clear-thinking ambassador for "The Cause." 👍
My brother went the way Ron went and I went the other. Wish I had figured out things sooner then I did. Wasted a lot of my time. Great interview.
I'm a preacher's kid. I can't imagine being raised in an environment where I would have felt confident to think and express my own thoughts, without perceiving the threat of dire consequences.
I wasn't even raised on a religious home, just a religious community - and the scary words of scary preachers still take their toll.
Ron Reagan is a VERY effective speaker. Glad he's on the right side.
I was about the same age as Ron when I told my parents, they forced me to go to church for a few years then just before my 16th birthday they moved away without me, I’d advise against telling parents until you are not Financially dependent on them, it left me homeless. But none the less I’m still an unabashed Atheist.
Wow it be nice to see if there are any statute of limitations in the state you lived in on your parents abandoning you while they were still your legal guardians. Possible criminal charges maybe? I'm just the vengeful type I guess. We all have weaknesses .
Fuck, Dude, so sorry! Yeah, see, I was too indoctrinated to be able to comprehend that I didn't believe, until later in life.
Brian Eroh
I hear these stories like yours
and they strike me like....
THIS IS THE STUFF THAT SHOULD HELP BELIEVERS SEE THE HARM IN RELIGION!
But it doesn’t seem to matter to them when I mention it.
Sorry you went through it.
unbelievable that parents would do such a thing and at the same time believe in God.
Ron Reagan the best Reagan!
*The "Not afraid of burning in hell" is perhaps the best part of the PSA*
Facts and logic destroy theist nonsense every time
I agree, I want a shirt with this.
I totally agree, Louis. :-)
Hell doesn't exist so i'm not going to be doing anything in it.
I've been a life long atheist too. When I was 5 I was shipped off to live with my grandparents for a year. That was when I was introduced to church and religion. I loved the bible stories told to us in Sunday school. It didn't occur to me until years later that people actually believed them or thought that they were morally instructive. When I was about 10 mom started taking us to church. I told my parents that I didn't believe in God when they wanted me to start confirmation classes in the 7th grade. My father who I have never seen going to church insisted that I go. We had to do a work book for the class and I quit for good when I could no longer even guess what it was I supposed to be getting out of the class or what it was I was supposed to believe.
I'm a life-long atheist who tried for more years than I should have to belong to a religion. When I was in my early 20's, a friend introduced me to the Baha'i Faith. I was impressed with the social teachings and met some of the kindest, most sensible people I've ever known. But I eventually had to admit that I had absolutely no belief in God and felt like the worst kind of fraud when asked to say a prayer. When I eventually resigned from the local Assembly, I felt as though a very heavy weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Fortunately, most of my family members are free-thinkers, and I live in the sort of community where, when the Pro-Lifers held a demonstration at a local park, the Pro-Choice faction was able to gather enough supporters to form a peaceful chain and block their view from the street. It will be interesting to see what happens with our imminent Canadian federal election, as there seems to be the start of a rather worrying American-style increase in fundamentalism in the country.
Ron Regan for president 👍
Cerberus Further to that he is ethical unlike the current incumbent who claims to be devoutly xtian to curry favour and elicit their votes. Apparently the bible is his favourite book and when asked his favourite part declared "That's personal" just maybe because he had no idea of what the xtian bible contains?
When I was growing up, I thought that this was a Christian country…the United States 🇺🇸 where the government is based on God’s moral laws. I looked up to it and I really admired it. Boy, was I wrong! There is nothing Christian about this country. Thank God that I only surrendered my physical soul. Appearances are deceiving! I now see these two-faced suckers for who they really are. You continue to fight for freedom from religion and I will continue to fight for freedom from government. Total separation of Church and State, the way our Founding Father intended.
I am glad to see Ron is doing well. I had never seen anything that was critical of religion on TV until that Ad. I immediately was interested in learning more about Ron, and I was also amazed how his father handled his refusal to go to church. I wasn’t a big fan of his father’s political views, but I gained some respect for him after hearing about that. Thanks for your bravery in publicly admitting to being an atheist. It definitely has made a dent in the fight for reason!
You guys are great !!!..LOVE YOU GUYS ALOT !!...was 40 years child indoctrinated christian , NOW SAVED ATHEISTAND SO HAPPY & FREE INDEED !!!.GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA ..
From South Africa as well, exmuslim.
I'm a Christian, and I enjoy this channel and I enjoyed the commercial! I was not offended at all! I'm a firm believer of separation of church and state! Ron Reagan is a wonderful human being!
Good for Ron. Neither am I. Nor am I afraid of being gored by a unicorn or trampled by Bigfoot.
But Bigfoot exists!😮😅
I was about 7 years old when I thought it was all BS. My mother was extremely religious and my only thought was to feel sorry for her.
I gave up on religion at the age of 14. At my English boarding school they told us all we’d be taking confirmation courses because the Bishop was coming to confirm us in the CofE. I refused to attend saying that I could not confirm something I didn’t believe in.
They tried hard to persuade me. First it was conformity. “Everybody else is, do you really want to be all on your own, not one of ‘us’? “. Next they insisted that I have several heart to heart ‘little chats’ with the chaplain. When that didn’t work the headmaster insisted on phoning my parents to see if they could change my mind. I only heard one end of a fairly short conversation. The Head put the phone down, looked at me, then dismissed me with a comment I’d never heard before and didn’t understand until my father explained it during the next holidays. “Well boy, run along now, the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.” That was the last I heard of the matter, but on the last Sunday of term I was given a pass out from Matins and allowed to take a packed lunch and my bicycle off for the day.
That was 62 years ago.
I’m a conservative anti theist, married with wonderful children. It always struggle with my conservative brothers and sisters with there constant attempt at categorizing the US as a “Christian Nation”, but one by one I will fix this.
My fear of burning in hell is right up there with my fear of being devoured by the kraken. I would also like to add that this is the longest interview I’ve seen with Ron Reagan, and I must conclude the man is very smart and articulates these issues very cogently. He sharpened some of my own thoughts on these matters.
I just don't believe in hell - not sure what I believe especially now, but hell no - just so we are good to each other I think that is all that really matters
Your last sentence is exactly what happened to me too.
Love you, RON!!
I stopped believing when my dog told me it was nonsense. I can't hear my dog, I can touch my dog. I believe in dog.
Sure wish to hell there was a way to get Ron Reagan's FFRF TV commercial back on again! All networks should carry it and to hell with the bloody televangelists! ..and others like them as well!
Maybe the thing is there isn’t an ungodly amount of money in atheism, like there is in religion. Therefore, atheism and it’s message are not aired or promoted.
I love the Ron Reagan - Unabashed Atheist ads. I've been an unabashed, unapologetic, atheist as long as I can remember. I look forward to hearing his side of the story of how he became an atheist. :)
I wish I was 8 instead of 68, and everything was getting up to speed like it is now, thanks to the internet. 👍 Good for him!
I don't get why Satan would punish me in hell for all eternity for being evil. Shouldn't he reward me?
It'll be good ol' god who "punishes" you. You'll be welcomed by satan 'cause he be burnin', too, and needs company.
Wow! First time I've heard that angel, uh, I mean angle !
I agree with Ron on most things including atheism.
I am atheist. I am not pro choice.
The simple reason being the life of the child. Born or unborn, it is a human being and left alone will grow to an adult and very likely thrive.
I think because of the fact that my dad went through the deconversion that a lot of atheists have gone through, I didn't have to because I wasn't subjected to the indoctrination. Thanks for that, dad.
Mahalo - I'm not afraid to burn in hell either
I on the other hand am afraid of burning my vegan dinner. What a mess. No talent in cooking whatsoever.
Hell was invented by the Jesus character who imagined he met Satan in the Sinai Desert two thousand years ago after a month without food.
GREAT WORK RON. I WILL JOIN YOUR ORGNIZATION TODAY. FINALLY SOME COMMON SENSE
How fortunate that reality and reason are recognized by intelligent beings in spite of the ease and prevalence of superstition and tribalism still existing, to a degree, in modern societies.
Evolution at work.
Superstition will always be a human weakness... We crave Happy Stories .
We need to know things will be OK.
No other species can project so far into the future, or consider all the possibilities.
"What is the function that a clergyman performs in the world?
Answer: he gets his living by assuring idiots that he can save them from an imaginary hell."
-H. L. Mencken, "Minority Reports"
💖💖💖
Great video. Now we need one titled "Christians: Not Afraid of Being Kept Out of Valhalla". (edited to change Greta to Great)
Or Helheim.
Ron Reagan SHOULD be president. We need one that can think...
Can you imagine rational Ron as president instead of the Trump nightmare of power seeking religious nut bags?
I don’t think an open atheist can get elected president in the US.
Ron Reagan for president!! When I was younger, I wanted to give this country the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to accept this as a Christian nation, inspired by God. But now I see that there is nothing Christian or God-like about this country. This is a secular nation like China 🇨🇳 is and it is no better than any other country.
I remember the first time I watched Ron's ad on TV, and how I was teary eyed happy and proud of Ron and the FFRF. Same thing happened tonight, watching this interview.
I have utmost respect for Ron Reagan.
No, No,No - You have it all wrong. It is not Hell that bothers me, it is the prospect of going to Heaven and having to live for eternity with all of those Christians.
I cannot imagine what it would be like to have Ronald Reagan as a father. I am glad that your father handled the situation well. It is strange that I now think better (somewhat) of Ronald Reagan, compared to President Trump. Good comments about abortion. - FFRF Member
Apeirophobia - Fear of eternity
Travelier, Good point!
They not only tell kids that they show them horribly emotionally charged videos of it to make sure they know 'the truth '.
I love that he brings up the Stoics and Epicureans !
A breath of fresh air does exist. 👍
I think he hit the nail on the head saying: " . . I'm going to burn in hell for all eternity, while you presumably stay upstairs and look down on me with some pleasure , , ," I think religion is spiritual sadism, a continuation of a time when out and out torture was more rampant, say with the torching of so many live women. How anyone could enable that activity with belief is beyond my realm, but there are 100's of 1000's who do. And he continues with religion as child abuse as is female genital mutilation and male circumcision, more or less the same.
I had the same experience as Ron. A couple of years after realizing that Santa Claus was a myth, it became clear to me that "God" was essentially Santa Claus for adults. Back in the early 1960's as a 12 year old, that wasn't something easily expressed. But, I did tell my parents that none of it made any sense to me.
I was raised Roman Catholic by force and threatened with harm if I didn't attend mass but in my heart, I never believed a word of it because the more than I thought about what I was told the more questions that I had. I'm a humanist. I donated $50 to the FFRF after I saw this video because I wanted to be part of any group that had the backbone to make this video and broadcast it on national TV.
Nice, much better than I would have expected; Ron articulates my beliefs (and non-beliefs) perfectly....
Yes it's all carrots and sticks
Wait a minute.
"Not afraid of burning in Hell."
If you're an atheist, then that means there's no Hell to burn in.
Thank you, FFRF, and thank YOU, Ron Reagan!!!
I have lost many " friends " , some that I have had for over 50 years, when they found out that I am an atheist and do not believe as they do and as they think everyone should.
Thank you sir.
Evidence aside, I don't see any *reason* for a god. As far as I can see, God is not really necessary for anything.
As time goes on there are less and less unexplained things for religious folk to attribute to their gods.
I agree. However, the concept of god is useful to the believers as in their minds they can justify anything and it gives an unquestionable power to those who exploit it.
Life as a believer
Life as a nonbeliever
Life goes on.
When I quit the Catholic Church and became a Buddhist
nothing happened.
When I quit Buddhism and became an atheist
nothing happened.
@@JamesRichardWiley ... When u become a pauper from a millionaire, nothing would happen.
Most people need a Sky Daddy to guide them and protect them
from the many bad things that could happen.... so a Sky Daddy was created.
He is so eloquent. Love his style. Great job.
Love you guys! You're the best!
I believe one of the most fundamental reasons for the resistance to stem cell research is the obvious presence of proof of evolution, refuting the magical thinking of creationists.
Wait! What? Santa is not real?
I'm fifty now and just finding out?
Tee hee hee
LOL
3:30 my aunt prohibiting me for telling my cousins that it was a (religious) lie requiring us to nap (age 5!) it confused me very much (especially when my parents gave reasonable explanations when I pushed them).
Why would anybody be afraid to burn in Hell if it's going to take 40 billion light years to get there.
Good comment!
Thank you ron😊
I love Ron Reagan, he's such a great speaker, and so intelligent. Thanks FFRF for having Ron on your wonderful show.
Amen brother!
The fear for most people, is not the invisible character in the sky. The fear, is what people around them will do to them if they don’t pretend that they do believe.
Fantastic show. I'm always glad to hear the intelligent views of Mr. Reagan.
I'm a little surprised he has been an atheist most of his life considering the family he comes from. I was a Christian until I was about 18 and I didn't come from a strict religious family. ironically I was the most religious person in my immediate family until I was 18. I say immediate family because I have a cousin that is a preacher and most of my cousins, aunts, and uncles are very religious (some believe in faith healing and all that crap).
However, my dad was a nonbeliever, both my brothers were nonbelievers, and my mom (although a lifelong Christian) started to have a "crisis of faith" before she died and never had an issue with me becoming an atheist. She later proclaimed she was an atheist too, but I suspect she was just doing this because at the time my brother was dying of lung cancer and she was tired of all the Christians saying "they were going to pray him well".
I use the term nonbeliever separate from atheist because I once was a Christian. I tried to be one of these "liberal" Christians in my teens because I loved science and tried to view the Bible as metaphoric when it conflicted with science. But, eventually that doesn't work anymore. So, I studied the Bible extensively with the early goal of become a minister. Of course the more I studied the more conflicts I had and I was having my own "crisis of faith". My dad and brothers on the other hand never gave religion much of a thought.
"Another white guy with a beard" - great, made me laugh right out!
A way to test if a religion is true to the love message is to strip it from any fear inducing mechanism and see how many people stays.
I want to see Ron saying " Tear down that "authoritarian" wall!"
I can honestly say I like Ron never believed in god. My parents did not require us to go to church.
"Religions of today are entertainment for tomorrow"!
Awesome show! Loved the super bowl commercial.
That was a VERY good interview! I wasn't aware that Ron Reagan Jr. was an atheist. I especially liked how he addressed the psychology of religion a little bit. In regards to christianity, I've said for a long time that it's more about psychology than salvation.
What I have always had a problem with is this: why do you need religion to be a good person? Why do you need religion to raise children well? Often you see those who embrace religion as persons who are truly “lost”; addicts, people lost in hedonism, people who treat others poorly and are in trouble with the law. But if you can conduct yourself in a decent manner...”Imagine all the people, living life in peace”? Maybe what we need as a society is a general code of conduct based on common decency; something we can teach our children and support in schools but that does not belong to any religion. Then we can produce better citizens, a safer more successful society, deal with the problems we have to deal with and if people want to practice their own religions... they are free to do so, but there will finally be a separation of church and state.
You should be able to be a devout Christian or Muslim or anything and still strongly comprehend and support a separation of church and state.
You make really good points RON
Ron should run for president. The Whitehouse need smart people.
I enjoyed this show. You do good work getting public attention so am sure it’s just a matter of time and the networks will come around. Thank you for all you do.
Now I know why I really liked Ron Reagan, he's one of us, a free thinker who questions the ill logical thinking of radical Religionists. Way to go Ron!
his logical explanation really nailed it!
Thank you for being there for us. That tv ad is what brought me to the ffrf. I am indebted to you.
I used to listen to Ron Reagan"s radio show here in Seattle years ago. He was really good. He opened with "All Along the Watchtower" by Hendrix. Good choice of music.
Thank You Ron.
Very entertaining talk. Love Dan & Annie Laurie Barker, and of course Ron Reagan. More insightful and informative talk in 28 minutes than have come out of the Trump Administration in over three years.
Ron is like me. I decided I didn't believe in god around 8 or 9. And I think my father was an atheist although he never mentioned it. I'm sure my mother would say back in the 50s and 60s "Don't say that to the children!"
Same. Atheism was mandatory here before i was born (1989), but my grandparents were strongly religious anyway and tried to rope me into it too. It backfired, lol.
I am the same kind of atheist as Ron. Near the age of 11, I realized gods, angels, demons, the devil (lol) were no different than ghosts, leprechans, fire breathing dragons, the tooth fairy, santa claus, the easter bunny, etc; all supernatural figments of the imagination. It wasn't until three years ago (I am 65 now), that I actually started to research religion. I've watched countless youtube debates, lectures of professors of religious studies (like the awesome Bart Ehrman), historian Richard Carrier; read many books and even read major parts of the Bible. I already knew the science which disproves creationism and events in the OT. I always recommend two books 'Jesus' Interrupted' (the most fascinating book I have ever read) for the NT, and 'The Bible Unearthed' by two professors of archeology from Israel, which proves that the OT characters and events are fiction.
Just discovered this channel and have subscribed. Great content. Ron is a good speaker and very easy on the ears. Living in the UK I am always baffled about the religiosity of the US and how difficult it can be to be an out atheist. Kudos to all of you who challenge the religious privileges and power.
110 % to Ron !!! What a smart person !
I’ll start out with “Thank gods for Atheists”. I was born and raised in the catholic format, even worked for the church as I was growing up. It was working for them that led me to really consider the religion itself. As usual I witnessed tons and tons of hypocrisy, the typical one hour Christians. My whole family still believes, and because of my atheism there is a massive divide, I can live with it, but to the rest of them I’m a threat, and I got really sick and tired of the “thank god” affirmation, along with all the other catch phases. 30 years ago I quit drinking alcohol, and as like most recovery programs they depended heavily on the god concept, and fortunately I was told by a very wise sponsor to not lose sight, quitting alcohol was my purpose, not reaffirming any kind of religious affiliations.
Watched all of it, thank you very much
Is there a way to have the ad on my Facebook cover?
I just re-learned a lesson I thought I already new. Mr. Reagan's column runs regularly in the local newspaper. I stopped reading it years ago because his political opinions infuriate me. But here he is, in total agreement with me on a subject I think more important than politics. I'm still having a problem with the dissonance - but I accept the reality. The lesson re-learned is, don't make judgements using limited data.
The “joke” Reagan tells at the beginning of the interview followed by the woman completely ignoring it made me LMBO
I once experienced an out of body experience where I encountered a power of love that was so powerful that I was sore afraid of my very existence. At the time I was also worried about global atomic war. The question was answered that that power of love was far more powerful than any mere atomic bomb. So while I don't concern myself about the belief in a god ... that Love I encountered was so immensely powerful it would by far be worthy of being called a "god". But ... the biblical tale of Jesus I think is a load of cobblers and can not be believed in any way whatsoever. it's historical baloney. As to the afterlife ... who knows. That was not the question that was on my mind at the time.
10:50 *"it's not even a belief, it's a lack of belief"*
This is interesting, because my experience was similar - well, absent the whole President of the United States thing. :) I just mean that I was raised Christian, but it simply didn't take. It wasn't a wrenching decision for me to become an atheist, because I don't remember ever believing in that stuff. (And I'm 69, so this was back when you just never heard about atheists.)
I do remember believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, so that's kind of funny. But there was _evidence_ that they existed (not _good_ evidence, obviously, but good enough for a little kid). And even though I didn't know a single person who wasn't a Christian, I knew that there were - and had been - lots of different religious beliefs. It was clear to me that... everyone I knew just believed this particular religion because that's what they were taught to believe as children.
I admire people who _did_ believe, but then realized that it was wrong (that there wasn't any good evidence backing up that belief) and actually acted on that. That's truly admirable! For me, it was easy to be an atheist. I don't know how I could have been anything else. But I know it wasn't that easy for most atheists.
Hell is the reason I am an atheist. It started making no sense to me. Then I learned about the 31,000 different variations of just Xianity all of whom think their way is the only way and that all other Xians are going to hell. Someone who tells me that I am going to hell will probably be sitting next to me on the bus on the way there because the odds are that they didn't "do it right!" IF there was a god.
My favorite line from the video was "are you afraid of going to the Moslem hell?" My grade school principal told us in an assembly that all Catholics were going to hell because they don't use the same bible our religion did. And let's face it, ALL "true" Catholics believe that everyone else is going to hell. There are 5 Catholic sects (I think) and my guess is that each one thinks the others are going to hell.
Odds are not good for any Christian even if there were some kind of god.
Thanks Mr. Ron Reagan for your devotion to the separation of church and state. I want America become a secular state
I appreciate this discussion, however, it's pretty demeaning to say, "I saw the light," when referring to the decision to not believe in God, suggesting, those who believe in God are in the dark. It's perfectly fine to be atheist, or a believer in God, we just need to simply state that you either believe, or not, if you want, and stay away from stereotypes or demeaning talk. I believe in God but really enjoy listening to, talking and working with atheists, without any notion that they're going to hell, or anywhere else. I really like Ron Reagan and love to see Republicans defect.
Thank you for helping understanding myself since I was 10
Interesting hearing Ron describe the time he refused to go to church anymore. I had a similar experience with my mother which didn't end peacefully. I seem to remember her slapping me for my blasphamy. From then on come Sunday morning at 7am I got to stay in bed whilst she and my remaining church going siblings were dragged out of their slumber at that ungodly hour for the weekly pilgimage..
As a 60 year old life-long A-Theist, I have recently discovered the on-line A-Theist community. (Yeah, late to the party....) I have recently watched a lot of videos and I find this one to be the most “on point “. WOW, Ron Reagan is easy to listen to. I would like to meet him someday!
Only 20 here but who woulda known 6 months later I’d see this and say what’s up. I agree Ron is great at talking made the king video seem so short wish it was hours longer