Bravo Ricky Gervais for having the courage to tell people where you stand.

[ReservoirAngel]

I continually tell people where I stand - I'm agnostic and once I see definitive proof (stop waving the bible at me, I'll just wave Lord of the Rings back), I might be convinced to change my opinions.

I'd like to take this moment to applaud you for that answer. That is the most brilliant thing I've heard someone ever do.

On-topic though, I genuinely don't understand why admitting your an atheist is seen as such a massive deal. Honestly it's most likely the hardcore bible-thumping fundamentalist Christian's faults, since to them any belief that isn't a literal interpretation of the Bible is just madness and spreads lies.

But really guys. It's 2011 now, is someone saying that they are an atheist REALLY got to be such a massive deal anymore? We're supposed to be getting SMARTER as a civilisation (despite Channel 4's efforts to undermine that ideal) yet we stil make this big a deal over a famous person being an atheist?

If he'd said he was a Christian, nobody would have batted an eyelid, but because he said he's atheist, it suddenly deserves praise in a whole thread about it? Come on! It doesn't need this much exposure.

And yes before someone quotes me to be snarky about my comment here, I'm aware I'm adding to this by posting in the thread. Go figure.

 

[Moriarty70]

Which is why, strangely, I stood up and cheered when Ricky Shocked the world (or he WILL have, come tomorrow morning when the media breaks the story) When at the VERY end of his hosting the Golden Globe awards (after viciously taking apart every self-important, smug "artist" in the room) his final words defiantly shouted into a mic:

Unfortunately he missed the biggest target of the night the short, fat, self-satisfied, over hyped, talentless git presenting the awards.

I didn't think Zach Galifianakis was there let alone presenting.

I kid, I kid.

 

[garjian]

huh?

ive never met a religious person that is currently under the age of 73.
atheists arent at all persecuted or silenced in my experience...
im actually very suprised religion still has any power, or even exists anymore... the majority of it can be disproven by a child, and its clear that its only real purpose is to face death with denial...

england is not a very religious country anymore it seems, and its odd to see the influence religion has on america... but i figured these were mostly just small societies or individual people that are dramatic enough about ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING to appear in the news e.g.ZOMGZ FLOODZ R BCOZ IF GAYZ, AM SO CONTRA... CONTRO... CON... VERSIAL... OH HAI BBC GUY.)

is everyone in america really that religious, to the point that atheists are silenced? really?
i expect "Women bearing skin causes earthquakes" (lol) from muslim countries... but even i expect america to be better than that, if that really is the case...

 

[Geekosaurus]

It's always fun to poke the religious people with stick. Not Muslims though. They might explode.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

...So what's the part of that story that "shocks the world?" That he's an atheist? Big whoop. When was the last time you saw anti-athiest riots in the streets? Athiest-targetting neo-Spanish Inquisitions? Last I checked, athiests weren't treated like second-class citizens. It isn't edgy, it isn't taboo; it's just a belief. It has no weight.

 

[ActionDan]

Snip

I do so wish that every religious person was like you, including the extremists, since I'm not a fan of having religion being pslammed into my face. I also love this saying;

"Religion is like your penis, don't show it off in public or shove it down childrens throats"

 

[NeuroticDogDad]

Unfortunately he missed the biggest target of the night the short, fat, self-satisfied, over hyped, talentless git presenting the awards.

Now, I'm not going to tell you that he is funny and you're wrong because humour is subjective, however, I think there is something you've misunderstood about him.

He isn't self-satisfied. A lot of his humour is based on the understanding that his arrogance is false and self-importance is an act. It might be subtle but his tone of voice usually changes when he is saying something arrogant or smug. If you watch interviews he is humble, very humble for a multi-award winning and vastly popular comedian. He is actually quite concerned what people think of him and he doesn't like to disappoint the people on the street because he understands that his fans are the ones who make him popular and rich, unlike a lot of the people he was ripping into at the Golden Globes.

The people he ripped into are millionaires who have made bad choices or have done stupid things. I don't think they need anyone's sympathy.

You've obviously never seen An Idiot Abroad, where the tit spends the entire program doing what he can to shit all over the holiday of a perfectly friendly, reasonable man.

Karl Pilkington is anything but a reasonable man. He's actually quite rude as well but that stems mostly from him being an idiot. But he is loveable. And those trips were free.

 

[Thunderhorse31]

I was under the impression that if you're familiar with Ricky Gervais in the first place, you're aware that he's an atheist. Is that not made clear in his movies (Invention of Lying) and stand up shows (Out of England)?

 

[DanielDeFig]

I'm fine with Atheists, as long as they understand what they are saying. Many people label themselves Atheists because they disagree with certain Christians(or people of other religions), or they just haven't really thought about it. An Atheist who has honestly thought about where he stands with God, I can respect.
Go watch The Big Picture with Moviebob: Nerd Gods. This guy when to a RC school, and thus has been forced to understand that there is a God which, while being 100% the wrong way to go about it, hasn't completely removed any positive thought of religion from him. This guy, I respect.
Ricky Gervais. I don't really like him, but if he wasn't joking, then I don't know if his fame can protect him here. But most people probably don't care.

I am technically an atheist, but i don't see myself as one. Mainly because labeling myself as being part of one group, as you said, as opposed to another, is not something i'm interested in.
In fact, it's one of the reasons why i'm not religious (apart from the usual "lack of logic" in literal belief of religious teachings). Not being able to understand why you would pick one religion over all other ones that exist (i see roughly the same amount of logic across all religions. Past, and present), is another one.

OT: Like some people have already said on this thread: not all countries are so religiously focused that they feel to make a big deal about a public statement like that (or making one, in the first place). I do agree though, that publicly talking about diversity of belief in a country where a majority of the population are of the same belief (and it influences politics), is definitely something to be applauded.

 

[Togs]

I'm fine with Atheists, as long as they understand what they are saying. Many people label themselves Atheists because they disagree with certain Christians(or people of other religions), or they just haven't really thought about it. An Atheist who has honestly thought about where he stands with God, I can respect.
Go watch The Big Picture with Moviebob: Nerd Gods. This guy when to a RC school, and thus has been forced to understand that there is a God which, while being 100% the wrong way to go about it, hasn't completely removed any positive thought of religion from him. This guy, I respect.
Ricky Gervais. I don't really like him, but if he wasn't joking, then I don't know if his fame can protect him here. But most people probably don't care.

Wait a minute- so your saying you like MovieBob because hes an atheist who believes in God?