The Atheist Experience

To be added.

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Recorded in front of a LIVE studio audience in Austi, TX!

Join The Atheist Experience with Jamie Boone and Christy Powell and work through issues, lack of evidence for god, and religious trauma challenges. 
Caleb in OH, believes the Big Bang is evidence for god, and asks the hosts if atheists believe there is no evidence for god. Evidence that is meaningful, compelling or that stands up to scientific rigor has not been observed yet. The universe having a beginning is consistent with many religions. How is your religion any different?  Why would an all powerful and all loving god not show us something on this show? Call back with one good argument that is overwhelming. 
Yetmas in FL makes an analogy about god, people, and ants, and then asks why we are searching for god evidence when we have not even mapped 25% of the ocean floor. This is 25% more than before there was science. 
AJ in MN asks the hosts what they used to justify the Bible when they used to believe. Christy described having to read a chronological Bible that noted the numerical differences realizing it was not inerrant. Jamie never looked into the claims, and when he finally did, he became an atheist. How many talking animals do you need in a story before you realize it is not literally true? 
Terry in NY wants to know how to bat away the indoctrination and fear of hell. Why would we lose sleep over the Christian hell if we are not worried about the Hindu hell? Your nervous system does not need to be argued with and it is okay to struggle with this distress. Adult logic may not work with your first early childhood concept of hell. Recognizing this conflict is the first step to acceptance. Is it fear or is it guilt that is so scary? A book called, Leaving the Fold, by Marlene Winell is a good place to start along with Recovering from Religion where they are trained to help through this struggle.  
Jon in Canada says that the 10 Commandments are necessary for society to function and prove the existence of god. How can you tell me that they eradicated slavery? How do you explain the basis of Chinese civilization before the Ten Commandments?
Katie in OK is trying to determine if she has religious trauma or if it is being raised in a hetero culture. Living in a religious society is almost certain to cause cuts and scars. Having to pretend to believe in something you don?t believe in can be traumatizing. If it hurts, you are allowed to have compassion on yourself and do something about it.
Barry in GA says that faith is the basis for believing along with the word of god. Where does faith come from? What does it mean if something that you read moves you? What other creation stories from other faiths have you read? Why do you use faith for the Bible but not anything else? What would you say to someone that has faith in Allah?
Josef asks the hosts their opinion on the scriptures that condemn homosexuality. Jamie disagrees with the verses. Christy finds these verses to be a big problem and is what caused him to challenge Christianity. If you remove a person's exposure to a type of person, it is easier to make them hate that type of person. 
Thank you for tuning in! Question of the week: Missing from the Sermon on the Mount is, Blessed are the ___.

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00:00 Intro11:08 Ameen-WA | Should I Come Out As An Atheist To My Parents?34:42 Andrew-FL | Power Dynamics Preventing Consent56:51 Bjorn-(NO) | Upholder Of Potential Is Consciousness1:13:52 Jason-WI | Prophecy From God As Barnum Statement1:18:55 Jake-AR | Societies More Prosperous Without Religion1:25:49 Lucy-(LT) | Religiosity Breeds Toxic Positivity1:34:26 Josef-MI | Fascinating Details As Argument For God

SHOW NOTES

In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Jim Barrows and Armin Navabi sort through evidence for a designer, Barnum statements, and upholders of consciousness.   

Ameen WA is contemplating reasons to come out as an atheist to his Muslim parents. What would be the two main costs and benefits to making this decision? Considering this will upset your mom, how long will it take for her to get over it? What will you do if the costs outweigh the benefits? What can be done to help fill the void your mother would feel? Showing support to your family is not the same as believing something. Sometimes you need to play a little peek at a boo with the mask. Don?t do it fast and get them scared. 

Andrew in FL says that Armin failed to debunk the slippery slope argument about sexual relationships being allowed that have no potential for harm. How can you claim a failure when you don?t know everything that was said? The potential for harm with incest is much higher than it is with LGBTQ, that is why it is not fair to compare on to another. Incest will have the problem of power dynamics that makes it hard to demonstrate consent. The emotional harm can?t be prevented as easily as STDs can. 

Bjorn in Norway has research that connects consciousness with god and every real life moment has to have the potential of becoming a realization. If you are trying to prove god?s existence, please define god beyond a name. What is god? How would you demonstrate this? How can we connect all these random sentences together and tell us why consciousness is necessary? How do you know that something can?t exist alone? Why do we care about things that are potential but not probable? How do you know what happened before the Big Bang?

Jason in WI has a prophetic message from god about things that will happen. What will happen specifically and what is the exact date and time? Making Barnum statements is not the same as prophecy. Don?t waste our time. 

Jake in AR says the world would be better off without religion. Would a society that has closer beliefs to reality have a better chance of prospering than one that does not have true beliefs? As Forest would say, all models are wrong, and some models are useful.

Lucy in Lithuania says that religiosity can breed toxic positivity. We agree and this is also a way for religious governments to take advantage of people. 

Josef in MI asks what god the hosts have an issue with and uses DNA as an example of why he believes god exists. We have a problem with all claims without evidence. Your interpretation of an experience is going to be heavily influenced by the culture in which you are raised. What do you think a good standard for god is and are we there? It must be proven the designer exists before we can prove that things were designed. Why would we assume that the supernatural or god has anything to do with our existence more than chemicals? Why would DNA being fascinating be an argument for the existence of god? How do we find the creator of the body like we can find the designer of a car?

Thank you for tuning in! Question of the week is: Why is Satan competing for god?s followers?


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Welcome to the full Atheist Experience where JMike and Secular Rarity(SR) take on the resurrection, complaints of atheists, and people being saddened by the truth before Kelley Laughlin takes over for JMike battling the allegation that atheists have no will and the fear of hell. 

James in OH has evidence for the resurrection that has been heard before and is Biblical based. Why would it need to be a supernatural cause if Jesus did in fact resurrect? You must make your case for this with an argument because just stating it doesn't cut it. How can this be done without just adding more miracles? Giving reasons and evidence will move people closer to your position. What is the earliest date of the earliest gospel? 

Michael in FL asks why atheists complain that Christians can?t agree on issues when atheists can?t even agree on what atheism is. SR reminds the caller that Christians inherently have the same idea of the deity while atheists do not have any idea of a deity. JMike points out the problem of interpretation agreeing with god?s principle with Christians, and still has yet to complain about it. How do two people have a relationship with an entity and be so wrong on the  most basic aspects of it? Does god love the LGBTQ people or does god want them to be murdered in the streets the way the Bible says? 

Chloe in MI, one of our more honest and engaged callers, is a theist who responded to the chat poll with atheists should NOT be persecuted for their lack of belief in god. She added some good reasoning behind this; one of which is that god is love. Is love the reason why billions of infants die? How do you reconcile your two concepts of love?

Jon in Canada looks at the sky and wonders how all this came about by accident. Just because something is not intentional, doesn?t make it an accident. Why is it okay to let people believe untrue things that may end up killing them? Would you rather have people who are sad because they learned the truth, or people who believe in an imaginary deity that makes them feel broken? Take the risk of bumming people out by telling them the truth when the alternative is how the Bible considers them worthless. 

Leonard in Germany says that atheists have no will or drive. SR explains how he has been involved in starting up several non-profit organizations, and Kelley runs his own business. How is this not a sense of will? There is a common thread of religions being political, where politics is not a part of atheism, however, individual atheists can be politically active. Every group of people will have bad people within the group. Why do we find justification in the core doctrine of religions to do atrocious things? The crusades, inquisition and conquest of the Americas are examples of this. Make friends with an atheist to get an idea of how they live and treat other humans. 

Autumn in MD asks how to calm the fear of hell in her partner. Be patient and be a support system. Reach out to Recovering from Religion and the Secular Therapy Project.


Thank you for tuning in this week; question of the week is: Why did god wipe out the dinosaurs? 

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity and Armin Navabi, question the universal theist answers and someone figured out that Jesus is the Devil, but not to worry, it is all in the mind because the experience is having us not believe that god is true because of cultural longevity. 

James in OH asks if the hosts think atheists have more questions than theists. Theists may have more answers, but many of those answers are wrong. Would you agree that having more answers is not necessarily correct? A lot of times, answers that are given on the non-religious side do not unravel more layers of questions. Why would you use the Bible as a method to demonstrate god? What would you do to prove that Abraham almost slaughtered his own son and that the Bible is a good source for this claim? What information has been given to you that makes the supernatural a viable option?

John in CA claims that Jesus Christ is the Devil and quotes something that he calls a parable from The Book of Revelation to try and prove it. Why does this ?parable? bring you to your conclusion? Is the Devil the good guy or the bad guy? Why is it that nobody else has figured this out? Why are you one of the few or the only one that has solved this puzzle?

Mark in MN says that the proof of something is in a person?s own mind. Accepting a belief is up to the individual, but that does not change the facts. What is your best evidence for god being real? Lets pray! God please provide us atheists proof of your existence! Amen! Okay now everyone get off your knees, you are released from the magical spells.
Josh in MT says that Jesus awakened a truth about people?s experience of the world. Most of the universe is not experiencing anything. 

Michael in CA says that it is important to believe in god because god has always been a part of human culture. Would this be a good justification for the conclusion if we used another word instead of god? Why would longevity make it reasonable to believe in god? If you believe in something, and good things happen because you believe this, would the good things happening justify believing it is true? What if it is a lie? Where is the tomb now? How easy do you think it was for fraudulent claims and lies to spread thousands of years ago?


Thank you for tuning in and be as blasphemous as you need. Don?t forget Atheist Day on March 23. Question of the week: Name a time that God unfairly blamed someone. 

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Show notes upon receipt

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity and JMike float above their bodies as they look at the chat in order to prove they exist as an all knowing god does illogical things with free will.

Jeff, with no location disclosed, believes in Jesus because he experienced floating above his body right before someone took him to church. Why does this give you creedence to believe? How do we justify this content in your head? What does ?demonstrated by love? mean? Asking questions does not mean we are disrespecting you, it just means we want to understand the methodology used to arrive at your beliefs.

George in TX asks the hosts if they can see the chat. And then he just left with a classic troll mic drop of running away.

Ali in VA asks the hosts if they can prove that they themselves exist. Available views can be compared to demonstrate how we exist and views that have less explanatory power lose out on justification abilities. Of the two following questions, which will have more justifications in the answers? ?Why am I seeing a tree rather than anything else?? Or ?Why am I seeing a tree rather than not a tree?? If you received words from Allah directly, would you accept that is Allah speaking?

Abe in NJ asks the hosts about god being all knowing and having free will at the same time. It feels like these ideas clash with each other hard. An open theist might say that knowing the future is not a propositional attitude. This contradiction can reveal some theological and scriptural concerns.

Thank you for tuning in today everyone! Question of the day is: Name a time that god had not chills. Put your answer in the comment section.

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Forrest Valkai, Armin Navabi, and Seth Andrews sort through information that causes design as they dodge spiders with wings because Jesus just was not an apocalyptic creature.

Adam in England wants to talk about the relationship between information and design where the information needs a mind to exist and therefore the mind must be god. How is this different from the argument that says DNA is so perfect we must need a designer? Why do people have different understandings of words like ?mind? and ?freewill?? Where do we draw the line for what has a mind? Being too inclusive with how these words are defined cause them to lose their utility. What is one example of something that was chosen by god to be the way it is? Why add dead weight to the universe to try and explain it?

RJ in CO asks why spiders have not developed wings if evolution is real? If you are such a hard worker, why are you not blowing glass yet? Spiders have some terrifying ways of traveling through the air and there is just no reason to develop wings, just like not having a reason to blow glass. What are the benefits and cons of spiders having wings? Why would the wing mutations have any advantage over what spiders are now? Why would god create a spider to cause its prey to die so horribly? If your god is real, he is evil. Why would god punish a child that he designed for things a child does not understand?

Mikael in GA asks why atheists feel that Jesus is an apocalyptic preacher, when he presented himself as a peaceful Messiah. Why can?t Jesus be both? How do you reconcile the verses that suggest the second coming would happen within the lifetime of his followers? Was it right or wrong for god to forcibly impregnate a young girl?

Thank you for tuning in this week! Question of the week is: It is a bad idea to (blank) at church.

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity and Jim Barrows walk callers through logical fallacies, getting out of faith mindsets, and ways to learn more about evolution.
Luke in AZ states that the existence of god is a rational necessity because everything will be meaningless if god doesn't exist. Why does some god?s opinion of what is meaningful have anything to do with anyone else?s? Lack of knowing what is behind everything does not mean there is a god and shows the fallacy of incredulity. Do you accept this same reasoning for anything else in the world?
Art in PA regards god as the ultimate ground of existence. How do you define the ?ultimate ground of existence?? Does existence have to exist and is pure philosophical nothing possible? If there was a number other than 17 frequencies to use, what does this do for your concept of god? What do we care about what theology says about science? If your god is the same as ?existence?, how does calling ?existence? god not lead to problems? What is the difference between Spinoza?s god and a hurricane?
Jack in MD argues that the universe was created because it needs an uncaused cause, and free will is the only uncaused cause. We have not been able to rule out all the potential causes so therefore this is an argument from incredulity. What is an example of free will existing without a brain and how do you get to this being an uncaused cause? Does someone with a traumatic head injury that has lost their ability to eat have free will? We do not need to assume free will to make progress, but we do need to assume logic. Patrick in SC would like to know how to get out of a faith mindset. You ask yourself how you know things and why you think they are true. This is not done overnight but is constant because we are always learning new things. Ask yourself if you could get to any conclusion using the same method you use to get to god.
Olivia in NJ asks if god was created to cope with the uncertainty of death and to explain what we don?t know. We need to make sure we are not presenting this as if the first believers were doing this maliciously. Humans like telling stories and we need to assign agency to random events.
Adam in TX is looking for hardcore evidence for evolution. Start by defining what evolution is, and then must prove that either genes don?t exist, or must prove their frequency does not change over time. Watch the science journals for all the ways that evolution happens. Check out the content by Erika Gutsick Gibbon and Forrest Valkai for helpful information. You can also check out Crash Course for bit size chunks that will help broaden your understanding.
Denny in MI went through conversion therapy that did not work and is considering telling his parents who he really is. Your safety and security needs to be weighed along with how hurtful it may be to your parents. Contact Recovering From Religion for help with ideas on how to deal with this.
Thank you for tuning in folks! Question of the week is: What is an example of god?s sense of humor?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Jim Barrows and JMike find Jewish atheist communities to help not trust their brains for the truth while they travel into the past to discover that oral traditions are partly the root of religions and to finally confirm that gravity is real.

Chuck in HI is that humans are here to provide a dwelling place for Jehova and gravity is not real. If he is omnipotent, why can?t he provide his own dwelling place? How would he be omnipotent if he does not know who he is dwelling in? Where do you get your god claim if we do not have the sensors to detect him and you do not have evidence? Whining about things that fly in the face of science does not meet the criteria to make them true. Try and bring your A game next time.

Richard in NY is looking for a community of Jewish atheists. Jim points out that both Judaism and Islam are as much a culture as they are a religion and how people have a hard time accepting that. Mike mentions that it is not that weird to grow up never thinking about god. There are many social media platforms available, and if you don?t find what you need, you can create one.

Katelyn in WA asks why we should trust our brains for truth when the basis is to survive. Jim explains how we know that our thinking is faulty with the pattern recognition leading to cognitive bias. This and the need to reason better is why we developed science. We build machines that do better things than we do and see that god?s design is flawed. We are most fascinated about why you believe in a god; what is the reason? Why does god not stop suffering or allow us to survive off just sunlight? Why does god not have the ability to make a world where people do not choose evil? Would the most important message in the world be shrouded with ambiguity?

Colin in the USA wonders if the religions made laws because they were easier to remember as stories through oral traditions prior to the written word. We like tales and stories, but this is not the only reason why religions made laws.

Thank you for tuning in this week! Question of the week is: Name one of god?s unpopular opinions.

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Show notes upon receipt

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

Show notes upon receipt

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

Show notes upon receipt

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

Happy New Year from The Atheist Community of Austin! This year we began a new segment called ?Share Your Experience,? or as we generically referred to as ?question of the week.? This segment is only as good as the comments we get to respond to, and you, the viewers, really rose to the challenge!

Here is a compilation of our ten favorite questions and answers.

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Dive into this year's best, most viewed calls of The Atheist Experience with 'The Atheist Experience Top 5 Calls of 2023.' Forrest Valkai, Seth Andrews ( @TheThinkingAtheist ), Johnny P. Angel, Jmike, Kenneth, and Dave Warnock in thought-provoking conversations that challenge beliefs and promote critical thinking, and in rare cases, change minds.

We're giving our valued hosts, guests and crew this holiday season off, but we still want to be able to bring you some of the moments that have made Season 27 one of the best ones so far! So from all of us at The Atheist Experience and The Atheist Community of Austin, we wish you Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. Join us in January when we resume our live productions.

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Christy Powell and Armin Navabi, meet god in a dream that tells them which gender is god?s gift before finally being told that god is in fact everything which is really nothing.

Trees in KS had an experience where they met infinite blackness in a dream and felt immense love being surrounded by faceless Grim Reapers. How do you explain what happened to you in this dream? How do you know it was some kind of god and not something generated from your brain? Calling an experience you had god does not make you a theist. How do you know the difference between an experience in your mind and actually meeting a deity? You can have the feeling of meeting god as an atheist just like you can feel like you are flying when dreaming, but those feelings do not make either of these things true.

Jon in Canada describes women as god?s gift to men. Are men god?s gift to women? How can you rectify the problematic ideas about men and women in the Bible? Are you able to provide reasoning to this 1950?s way of thinking? Do you have any data to suggest your suggestion is better than other households? If two parents are better than one, wouldn't it be true then that three parents or even four would be better than two? There is no reason to believe that the nuclear family is superior. What about two toxic parents that are fighting with each other?

Jared in KY rushes through a proposition that agnosticism?s claim is a contradiction to itself. What claim are you talking about? We are getting bored of people who think they are intelligent that put words together and then think they are winning. Watch out for theists purposely speaking in philosophical language just to be not understood.

Erasmus in CA believes that god talks to people through dreams and visions. Why is it that Muslims have Islam related dreams, Christians have Jesus related dreams, and so forth? What metric do you use to know that dreams are not from your mind? Why is it not possible for dreams to be both clear and unclear? What is your evidence that clear dreams are more than a product of the brain? Having a scientific understanding of dreams will help dispel some of these theories you have. Dreams might just be weird thought noise.

Rick, in Canada believes that atheists dodge evidence for god and that energy is god. We are not following your notion of evidence, but do see the word salad you put together. Deep emotional experiences are insufficient evidence for a supernatural claim. Where is the evidence that energy is conscious? If everything is god, then the word god means nothing and loses all utility. Is there anything that is not god? How does matter and energy being everything prove there is a god? How is any of this relevant to the existence of god?

TJ in TX asked god for less pain in a prayer and got beaten up in school the very next day. You can hate a character in a book that does not exist. Emotions do not have to be rational or true because it makes no difference to your nervous system. Don?t try to define yourself by how people see you. We are not seeking the approval of theists.

Thank you for tuning in this week! Question of the week is: What is a minorly inconvenient way that god punishes people?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Forest Valkai and Johnny P. Angel works through issues of Genesis, Unicorns, suffering, reproduction and babies hating god.


Ray in WV says that asks if the hosts believe we evolved from higher apes He then states that god is sovereign and every human hates god when they are born. The scientific argument is not if evolution happened, but how and why. Why do you think there is a god? How does a baby know there is a god to hate? How can one hate something when they don?t believe it exists? How do you know that god exists? We feel the same way about Yahweh as we do other mythological villains and fictional antagonists. Our explanations for how the universe came about are based on evidence. How much time have you spent talking with people who don?t already agree with what you think? Being a Christian does not give you the ability to have a monopoly on goodness.


Camden in NC asks if the innate response of evolutionary reproduction compliments what god says in the bible. Reproduction is one way that we classify what is and is not alive. If something did not reproduce, we would not know about it and evolution is the logical outcome of reproduction. We did not suddenly jump from a worm with no eyes to a human with eyes. Once the earth cooled from this fiery hello, life appeared relatively quick, and this can show that it is possible for life to arise without needing a cause. There are certain biological constants throughout history that have been developed through evolution and can be seen in many cultures.


Andrew in FL says religion gives meaning to suffering and that atheism makes suffering meaningless. Atheism does not have the narrative that religion does, however humanism helps reduce unnecessary suffering. What is the issue with not seeing the meaning to human suffering or existence? Religion has been used by powerful groups to convince us that we should just accept that suffering has a greater purpose. What do you think about rooting out the causes of suffering and fixing it? The current work structure is not a call from god, it is a call from capitalism. If you did not believe in a god, and you believed this is the only life you have, what would you do for your life, family, and career?


CJ in KS references a previous call where he had evidence for Eve's creation from Adam?s rib and is calling to develop the conversation. He explains that the water mentioned in Genesis is a manifestation of Jesus. The writers of Genesis did not know there would be writers of John. The people who wrote the Bible had access to earlier writings, not the other way around. The later writing does not prove the book is true, but rather develops the theme. Why do you believe the Bible is not just a literary book? How is sin anything that causes death? What about children who die from SIDS? Do you believe in a literal hell?


Thank you for tuning in! Question of the week: What is an inappropriate thing to say or do at a holiday party?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity(SR) and Seth Andrews, The Thinking Atheist, wrestle with the foreshadow of Jesus.

Christina in Canada calls to inform us that it is humans that are poisoning the earth, not god. What does people not being interested in saving the planet have to do with there being a god? If Allah speaks to you in your dreams, why do you read the prophecies of the Bible and not the Quran? Tethering these things to the real world is the concern.


Nikol in Armenia says that if we don?t believe in god, we would live better in this world than others rather than pretend we can help others. The less religious nations are the more peaceful and produce a better living. The changing of our scientific positions is a feature, not a bug. How does god allow all kinds of bad stuff if he is all knowing and all good? The belief in a divine essence produces all kinds of problems that a secular morality does not have. If you stopped believing in a deity today, why and how would you suddenly become more selfish?


James in CA describes circumcision as a foreshadow to the blood sacrifice Jesus made. Why does circumcision need to be the penis? What does our immorality have to do with this practice? Why is self mutilation as a reminder that we are not able to meet up to god's standards not a problem? Even 2,000 years ago, we would not just walk up to someone and ask to see the penis so we could cut off the tip, unless of course we had a need of 100 Philistine foreskins.


Jimmy in Texas thinks that an atheist view of god is naive and asks the hosts about what their conception of god is. SR does not have a conception of god, but uses the callers? conception of god for discussion. Seth explains how the argument for any kind of benevolent god falls apart. If a benevolent and omniscient god wanted to have a relationship with us, why would he not intervene and prove himself to us? Would it make sense for a loving parent to be confusing on purpose when clarity is the goal? Why does god need Jimmy to do the heavy lifting by calling a show? Presumptively crawling into our skulls does not mean you know our view or experience.


Harvey in Canada asks why the hosts are convinced there is not a god. Which god are you talking about? If we are not really delving into what god is, we have not moved the needle with being convinced. Keep asking questions and being honest with yourself on your journey. If you find something concrete, have your people call our people.


Jon in Canada asks what the worst part of Christianity is. Seth answers with a list of awful things and most offensive being how Christianity sells itself as a love relationship when it is in actuality abusive at its core. SR says that at best, there is no methodology for knowing what is true, and the existing method used is what has led to the worst experiences we have had.


James in Ca asks if we can demonstrate morality. The question is ridiculous, offensive and lazy. Do we need to be told not to harm in order to know the difference?


Thank you for tuning in this week. Question of the week is: What would you give Jesus for his birthday?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Armin Navabi and JMike exist only in god?s imagination as callers discover that you just can?t get to an all powerful god from the Kalem or patterns in books.

Peter in IL proposes that if god exists, then we are imaginary and are entirely within god?s mind. What is the reason that brought you to this conclusion and what argument do you have to support this? Describing more details is not the same as providing evidence. How do you know that other scenarios where god exists are not true? Are we being made imaginary to solve the problem of evil? What is the problem with two competing good things? Does god have reasons for evil to exist? It is important to spend time thinking of things that are real, and not just things that could be real. If you study how logical fallacies work and take some time to understand how the scientific method works it will help you build a stronger position.

James in MI claims there is evidence for god in the book of Numbers and that Christ, Jesus and Messiah are the three words that prove it. How are the three words evidence for your claim? How do you get from patterns in a book to an all powerful god that is the creator of the universe? If the Quran has patterns as well, why does that not make it the word of god? Why does this only work in English?

Robert in CA asks if Arabic has changed as much as English has since the sixth century, when the Quran was written. Early Arabic would be unreadable for Arabic speaking people today. The evolution of the Quran is more complicated than what Muslim narratives say, and it seems that some of it came from pre-Islamic periods and other languages than Arabic. The vast majority of Muslims do not speak Arabic and will need to read the translation of the Quran. There are many competing translators of the Quran and can be different from each other.

Roger in the UK asks why the Kalam cosmological argument is not taken seriously, and how to determine the difference between ?no evidence? and ?non convincing evidence". The difference resides within how language is used. No good evidence for something is essentially the same as no evidence. There is evidence for everything if bad evidence counts. Can you give an example of anything that has no evidence at all? What if someone dreams of a square circle and calls that evidence? What in the Kalam gives you the attributes and characteristics of god such as being all knowing? If you want to just call random things god, then anything can be god. Nothing from the Kalam will prove god based on your own definition of god.

Yeshua in the UK believes the universe only exists in the mind of god. How can you support this belief with a coherent sentence? Questioning the hosts does not support the view or produce an argument. Personal incredulity does nothing to support your claims.
Thank you for tuning in this week!

Prompt for the week is: Name a weird thing that god gets offended by.

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Forest Valkai and Jamie the Blind Limey sort through the creationist talking points while someone admits that sicking bears on kids is okay as a regular caller once again tries to prove god by using the seven day week.


Jonathon in CO asks how the hosts decide who to talk to. The hosts must consider how productive the conversation will be. They think through who they are actually talking to and what the goal is. Someone with bigoted talking points will always be debated, and it may not be pleasant. If not the caller, somebody listening may change their mind.


Mr. Le Cook in Canada uses several premises including the seven day week to claim the Bible proves god, as usual. You know the seven day week dates back to hundreds of years before Jesus, right? Did this become a global practice because of divine intervention? Or was it that one culture steamrolled accross the earth committing genocide against those that disagree? Is the seven day week the only power your god has? Trying to continue to sell your show to other hosts and constantly repeating yourself does not get through. If we changed to an eight day week would you stop believing in god? The only cultural religious practice that matters is yours, just like how your condescending seven day special dish is undercooked, contains empty calories, and lacks any kind of seasoning or reasoning. You are serving us something that is deeply weird and your position is irrational.


David in CA asks what the hosts consider to be knowledge and what they consider evidence. We think we know where this is going. Something that is verifiable in everyday life is knowledge, and beliefs can be more subjective. If god exists, then that creature would know what it takes to get someone to someone and present that as evidence. If Jamie?s eyes were to be fully healed, how do you know what god to attribute that to? How did you come to the conclusion there is only one god? If you were born in Saudi Arabia, would you have the same beliefs you have today? How do you deal with the inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and atrocities contained in the Bible? If you derive your faith from the Bible, why do you not practice all of it? Would it be cool for Jamie to sick bears on children who laugh at him being bald? If you think so, we are deeply disturbed by this and are not taking you seriously.


CJ in KA claims Genesis 1 contains evolution and that Genesis 2 is scientifically accurate. There are problems with birds coming from water and insects coming from earth. Why are things coming from the wrong places? Why is there no mention of fungi and why are these things in the wrong order? This sounds a lot like post hoc rationalization. How is making a person out of a rib scientifically accurate and not just magic? Did birds come from water like in Genesis 1 or did they come from earth like in Genesis 2? Why should we believe myths of people being made out of clay written by a bunch of goat herders? How do you explain what does not line up with scientific reality such as the timing of day and night? Why is the creation story not made to be something more understandable? Justifying a book is not the same as asking questions.

Thank you for tuning in to this crazy show! Question of the week is: What is a modern sin that god did not know about 2,000 years ago?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Jim Barrows and Armin Navabi battle the problem with evil, as they commit blasphemy right after discovering that only men have the breath of life because ideas must be real.

Mike in SC asks about free will and the problem of evil. Is violating someone?s freewill the only way to prevent someone from doing something bad? Is it rational to believe in things for which you have no evidence? How do you know that the eyewitness testimonies presented in the Bible are not just part of the story? If god is omnipotent, why do people have to burn for not believing? How is the Bible a guide for life if it can?t even get the answer for what we can and can?t eat right? Can you provide evidence without just repeating what you are saying? Are all the ancient gods that changed cultures and performed miracles real?

Michael in GA asks why atheists say that a baby is not a person before it takes its first breath. He also believes that only men have the breath of life since god breathed into a man, not a woman. Your Bible does not even use masculine terminology until after Eve so Adam is gender neutral. Nobody has the right to tell you how to use your body, otherwise we are creating slaves. Bringing up the race of the fetus will do nothing to further your case. In fact, take a wild guess of what that kind of trolling will do for you. Bye!


Rami in Hawaii reads out of the Bible as evidence of the holy spirit?s presence. Why do you need the holy spirit to attain positive qualities? Why is it okay to blasphemy against Islam by not believing that Mohammed is the profit, but not okay to blasphemy against the holy spirit? We are all going to hell in somebody?s religion. You know that right? If god is real, he is a narcissistic monster and should be jailed for crimes against humanity. Is it good or evil to create an organism that is spread by mosquitoes and kills billions of people? Did god create everything including malaria? If we are good people, and do not believe in Jesus, what happens to us when we die?

Oliver in the UK asks what right atheists have to question someone else's reality, if ideas are real. Just because an idea is real, does not mean that it is true. What makes you think atheists don?t have the right to ask questions? Why would Muslims have the right to say that Allah is real, but don?t think that atheists have the right to say that Allah is not real?

Thank you as always for tuning in this week. Question of the week is: Why is god really mad at Satan?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Forest Valkai and JMike hoped to experience miracles as they wrestled with miracles, animals, morality, failed preachers, gender, and apes.

Ben in Utah has seen some miracles such as praying and fasting for a person to come back to church that worked, and the person came back. How do you know this happened supernaturally? How do you know there was not something in their life that happened to cause this? If this god is real, what is it doing and why is it useful to us? Apply the same rules of logic that you would for everything else when it comes to god.


Levi in Canada asks why it does not undo the concept of morality when atheists believe we are no different than animals. Non-human animals have plenty of morality such as empathy, grief, fairness and equality. The desire to obtain human well being is a source of morality for some, ?Survival of the Fittest? causes more harm than good, falls into Social Darwinism, and is complete BS. If there is a being that has the ability to stop harm, wouldn?t you expect the being to prevent the harmful action? If god knows the future and everything that is going to happen, how can we have free will? If god is infallible, then it logically follows that god wants evil to happen.


Rick in Canada calls to challenge JMike?s position that Jesus is a failed apocalyptic preacher. Luke and John had to reinterpret what was being expressed in Mark?s account. It is not enough to cite the proof text. How do you know which red lettering in the Bible are the words that Jesus said? Early Christians had apocalyptic messages like Paul, and later believers had to re-interpret that as a spiritual notion. Reality exists outside of the Bible and we can check what happened.


Mike in Canada asks if Forest believes that genders are categories that we invent, and inquires about his earlier statement about nature fuzzy that we draw boxes around. Gender varies culturally and generationally so it is impossible to say how a man or woman should behave. Gender is something that we do, and not something that we are. Can you give us a definition of man or woman that is exclusively and solely based on physical characteristics? Just because nature is fuzzy, does not mean Biblical lines can be drawn to classify humans differently than animals. Based on the available data at hand, humans are primates, mammals, and animals. Also, sex and gender are two different things. This is not comparable to the arbitrariness of using the Bible.

James in California explains that if god did intervene, he would have to punish all of us because we became immoral. Could you freely not have sinned the last time you sinned? Was it logically possible for Adam and Eve to make the right choice? Could they have freely chosen good over evil? Is god a being that can instantiate any state of affairs that does not contain a contradiction? How are we not just tools for the end?


Thank you for tuning in! Question of the week: What is the real definition of the soul?

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show notes upon receipt

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Jim Barrows and JMike have fun with antinatalism, and most importantly, blasphemy!

Kirsten in TX asks about the benefits of religion providing community, and how secular communities can provide the same benefits. We now have many choices on social media where you just can find your community. You can even start your own group! You can use words like ?critical thinker?. If we do not do this ourselves, it is not going to happen.

Samuel in Canada asks how to talk with a pastor that believes there is no evidence for creation or evolution and to just decide based on faith. There is more evidence for evolution than there is gravity. Everything in biology and in medicine is related to evolution. Changes in allele frequencies in a population over a period of time is already a fact that evolution occurs, and we haven?t even got to natural selection yet.

Jon in Canada believes that evidence for god is that people have faith. Does the number of people who believe something have any bearing on whether it is true? If we have evidence that god exists, we will believe in god. We do not have anything against something that does not exist.
Queue in IL asks about the hard atheist stance with the belief that god does not exist and needing to provide the burden of proof. You can give a strong inductive case of why god is not probable. Every theist tends to make deductive cases for their god. Every phenomenon that we know of has a natural explanation or we just don't know how it happens. Even in places where naturalism might be improbable, it is just as improbable under theism with extra ontological baggage.

Amanuel in TX says there should be a restriction on freedom of speech or expression because of an experiment of his that showed panic caused when some hosts tore up the scriptures. What kind of experience do you have setting up these experiments and was there a control group? How is bias not built into your study if these were people you knew? Stating a position of non god belief is not blasphemy or causing harm. Your irrational fear that should not be someone else's problem is used to justify atrocities such as gay conversion therapy. How does a blasphemous meme harm you? Look at how the Islamic world goes nuts for drawing on magazines. Restricting freedom of speech and what artists can portray is the totalitarian way and downright wacky.

Andrew in FL calls to state that atheists tend to lean towards antinatalism and how they are damaging the population. Where do you get this claim? If this is true, why is atheism the fastest growing segment? If correlation is causation, then the increase of ice cream would increase the crime. Up until the last 10 years, the US was 90% Christian. The No True Scottsman fallacy does not work with the Baby Boomers messing up the population.

Thank you for tuning in this week and the question of the week is to capture the image shown on the screen by giving us a caption!

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, ObjectivelyDan and Jamie the Blind Limey are live in studio wrestling with callers who believe the Bible is scientifically accurate and a progressive document.

Josh in FL asks about the Bible being taken literally. Do Christians literally heal people by laying on of hands? People make incredibly important decisions about their life, health and family by this flawed way of thinking. What positivity comes with prayer? How do you explain replacing people?s medical care with prayer? It is the secular values that have corrected Christianity, not the other way around. The atheists in this country did not fight to take away rights from people; can you guess what group has?

Somber in WA postulates that god is not real if the universe can be reduced to a non-dimensional point because there is no outside space and time for god to exist. A physical universe requires physical things to happen.

Sir Le Chef in Quebec believes the Bible is 100% true because there is nothing we can disprove that is in the Bible. How do you know this? Of course, he knows this because of the seven day week! You don?t get to just call into the show and say this without proving it; that is not how logic works. The seven day week existed before Jesus so we do not accept your premise. Is the creation narrative the word of god or not?

Rick in Canada says the Bible is 100% accurate because Jesus says that only the sick need a physician. How do you explain people who have cancer with no symptoms? If the disciples had magical powers, is every other Christian who claims to have these powers a liar because only the elite can do it? So the people who prayed for Jamie?s eyes(not faith) were not part of the special 144,000? There are people who pray to get better daily and we have never seen evidence that it works. Isn?t it interesting that cancer can go into remission, but blindness can?t? Can prayer regrow a hand that has been cut off? Can you find someone who can heal Jamie?s retinas through prayer?
Jose in TX says that god created a ?snowglobe with a dome?, not the universe, and that theists try to make the myth work. Many cultures explained the world without knowing what was happening. The problems with Genesis are a mile high!

Andrew in FL says the Bible is a progressive document and just because it is not scientifically accurate that doesn?t mean god doesn't exist. We hope the god that inspired that book is not real because he is obviously not a nice person. Do you believe that god changes himself to suit the times? Does the Bible have literal falsehoods? Why do we even look at the Old Testament in the first place if it is so bad? Why should we care about Christianity any more than Islam or another religion? If cancer does not have intentions, why do you think it is evil? If you believe that god made us, why were we made with the capability of having cancer?

Thank you for joining us with these fun callers! The question of the week is: The hardest part about being an atheist is what?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Johnny P. Angel and MD Aware work through questions from callers that range from evolution to morality.
Louis in FL says that scriptures are a revealed message from god to Moses that support evolution. How do you explain god creating plants before creating light? Call back when you are not driving or distracted.
Beast in CO describes how he was harmed by the church by sexual abuse among others, and how the pastor did not do anyting about it. What we end up seeing, is there are no reparations needed in this religion because of confession and the forgiveness of Jesus. Voices that report abuses are downplayed and diminished because the church has too much at stake. This is because if people start to ask if the church is wrong, then they will ask if its interpretations are wrong. Check out Recovering from Religion and the Secular Therapy Project for help and support.
Joseph in GA reads something to us that says atheists put too much trust and can limit the imagination. What do you think about how a healthy understanding of science can spark imagination? Imagination is key with science because we are trying to figure out the explanations for things, once we know the basics. If atheists are putting too much trust in science, what would be the alternative? How does atheism limit the imagination?
Ely in TX believes the historicity of the Bible is what makes it true. If the Bible is not true, does that mean that someone made it up? Could the people who wrote the Bible have been wrong? What is to be said about a useful character such as Jesus being used to tell stories that are trying to educate people about morality or ethics? We know that the Jewish people existed for a long time, but we don?t know that the fantastical claims such as the Red Sea parting happened. What evidence matters most and where is it found? When a book predicts something that happened that is in the same book, there is a problem. Are the witnesses that verified Joseph Smith and his magical seeing stones and golden tablets correct, are they mistaken, or are they liars? Just because brimstone is found in a location does not mean the mythical story is true. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Alok in CA says that the slow growth of atheism in the US is due to people on the fence not understanding where we get our morality, and people looking for some higher purpose that atheism does not offer. People made up the rules to both secular and Biblical morality. The spiritual journey that atheists sometimes pursue involves humans, animals, and plants and can take a lifetime.
Michael in FL asks if morality is supposed to be thought of in a social and psychological context, very much the same way we see health. Our sense of fairness, justice, and right or wrong has evolved with its base level in biology.

Thank you for tuning in this week! Our question of the week is: What do you think the last words of Jesus really were?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Jim Barrows and Secular Rarity take on calls about divorce, single parents, trans women, and technology before Armin Navabi flies in to help.

Andrea in FL calls to claim that atheism leads to higher divorce rates and that Christians have more satisfactory sex lives than atheists. How do you explain the Pew Research Center studies that contradict this claim? Is it more important to stay married and be miserable for the children or is it better to teach them about happiness? What is it specifically about being married and not getting a divorce that makes people better?


Otari in the nation of Georgia proposes that children of single parent households are more likely to be delinquent. What studies do we have that single parent households are radically problematic? Could the problem be linked to only one income for the household and poverty? Other than income, how are two parents raising a child better than one? Is the real problem divorce, or is it socioeconomic status? Would abortion cut down on single parent households?


Nate in CA asks if trans people competing in sports would have a physical advantage, and what the difference is between sex and gender. Some cis women can have naturally higher levels of testosterone than other cis women. In sports, why are we testing women for testosterone levels but not men? People can be born intersexed, and also be born with different gendered brains. We would rather be on the side of inclusivity to give everyone a chance to participate.


Corey in TX asks how technology changing our environment affects our evolution, and is it causing it to speed up. We may be able to evolve to handle higher levels of pollution, but how rapidly do the pollution levels change? There can be a new species of hominids that evolves alongside homo sapiens.


Theist in the USA claims that theists have better lives than atheists. There is nothing about community building that is better with religion, and there is no link of intelligence to either atheism or religion. There is no data to demonstrate that atheists are more likely to go down a bad path. If an action increases the overall happiness, then it is good. The evangelical stance on LGBTQA increases the number of suicides in that community, and that is a bad thing. Do NOT Google dolphins having sex with blow holes.


Mr. Porter from IL asks what the worst evidence for god is. Jim mentions to look at the trees and Armin says it is the argument for chicken.


Kathy in IL calls as an atheist attending the Unitarian Universalist Church, and explains how their model is not conversion, but cooperation. Compared to other religions, this may be good, but secular humanism is a better instrument. When a church seems loving and tolerant, but accepts bad ideas, we must oppose that.


Thank you for tuning in this week! Question of the week is: What should the Norse have had a god of, but didn?t?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, our hostesses with the mostess are Forrest Valki & Armin Navabi.

Let?s welcome our first caller is Alan from Wisconsin, who as an atheist, is dealing with the all too common issue of a theist?s view that bad things happen to people due to their lack of faith. He discusses wanting to have that frustrating conversation with as much respect and tact as he can. Our hosts share what has worked for them and how this is a common misperception.

Second caller up to the proverbial bat is Dave from Connecticut. Now Dave gives his explanation of why faith is the only access we can have with God and ?smart? people know this where those of ?less? intelligence cannot understand what faith is and needing it to access God. Does this sound a little bit egotistical? A mental gymnastic game? You are right! Let?s listen to Armin and Forrest break this down and how silly that is.

Caller number three gives a ring, his name is the Monkey King, and he doesn?t know anything.

Ohhh boy! Michael is the fourth caller and he tries to give God a pass on biblical slavery. Do you need any more detail than that? Yeah, I didn?t think so. Oh! And some antisemitism to boot!

Moving to a more productive topic, Carlos in Puerto Rico calls in dealing with the title of being an anti-theist. Forrest explains his hostility against religious teachings, the harm it does, and how he identifies as an anti-theist. Armin adds on explaining why we as activists, care for religious people as they are the victims of theism and pushing against the bad ideas that actively hurts our fellow human beings.

Caller number 6 comes from John living with our friendly neighbors of the north, Canada. Now John brings up Pascal?s Wager which is easy to refute, but then takes a hard right turn to God creating the USA, as the greatest nation? Dear reader, if you belong to another country, I do apologize for this idiotic opinion. Oh! And a touch of trans-phobia. This call goes a little all over the place.

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Today?s Atheist Experience is live in the studio with Forest Valkai, JMike, and Johnny P. Angel! They operate as a triple host power team to help us work through pubic angles, Biblical interpretations, more pubic angles, bad design, and casting off religious weights.

Evan in VA knows Jesus is true because the Bible says so, and asks the hosts how they know if something they believe is true. Simplicity works for philosophy and evidence works for science. If there is not a good reason to know something, we either stop believing, or look for evidence to see what we should believe. Functionality works if we are not trying to shoehorn something into our beliefs. The perceived reality that we live in has facts that are true and can be tested. Which version of the Bible is true? How do you know that the red lettering are the words of Jesus?

Amanuel in TX says that the teachings of the Old and New Testaments are consistent with each other. In Judaism, was the Messiah a concept of a dying and rising god? How do you know what parts to believe and what to not believe? Was there a talking donkey? Other than the book, what raises the probability that this is true? Do you understand the difference between something being evidence based and something being book based? What use is a mental model that will allow you to believe absolutely anything?

An audience member asks how we change our brain space to recognize our own power and ability to cast off religious weights. The biggest deconversion manual is the Bible. Exploring and analyzing your faith with a critical eye is a start.

Otari, in the nation of Georgia, asks how evolution accounts for bad design in humans like the way the fall of man does and why homosexuality does not lead to extinction. Recent evolution in humans explains this because we can make testable predictions. According to the Bible, god told the very first lie in history to explain bad design. The reason why homosexuality does not lead to extinction is because they are not 100% of the population. This has been observed in over 1,500 species and something that is this ubiquitous, clearly has some sort of benefit.

Jimmie in TX feels there is no contradiction in scripture, Forrest?s interpretation is outrageous, and we should listen to Joseph Campbell when interpreting the endemic myth. Do you have access to god?s intentions and know what he wants you to interpret? How do you know that god did not want us to interpret the Bible literally, or a different way? When you criticize another?s view, you have to beg the question.

Thank you for tuning in this week! Question of the week is: What is the best comeback for when someone says, ?A fool says in his heart, there is no god.?

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show notes upon receipt

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Johnny P. Angel and Hemant Mehta work through calls of free will, the supernatural, and morality.

Art in PA says god is believable because people have seeked thousands of gods over thousands of years and you still have to believe in god to give up the Bible. Just because people were looking for something does not mean they were on the right track for what they are seeking. Wanting something to exist does not make it true. Why would an appeal to popularity make something true? If you care about truth, what is the best thing to do?

David in Ireland asks how to deconstruct supernatural beliefs when using things such as Tarot cards or crystals. Going through a ritualistic process can put yourself in a different mental state of focus, but does not mean the items used in the ritual have any special powers. How do you know these items are helping more than any other practice? If all these tools you use disappear, would you end up in the same place? The power is within you and you do not need magical items.

Tyler in NC does not believe god exists, but is not sure about free will. The idea of free will or not free will is a false dichotomy. How can a circumscribed universe of limited choices be considered free will?

Sam in NY says that if people don?t pray, they are incomplete. Are people who believe in a different god from you incomplete? What is the feeling of the power of prayer? How did you become complete? Is god?s power limited to that of sight? Why do you believe the Bible is true? What if something is in the Quran but not the Bible? Are people who pray that use other books than the Bible or Quran?

Shinobi Sheran in the USA believes a woman should have the right to choose all around. Who should make medical decisions on people?s behalf? Once a politician starts making these decisions, it can be a slippery slope.

Jon in FL does not believe religion is needed for morality. Why do you believe this? Countries that have the smallest belief in religion are arguably the most moral. How do you define morality? If you Google Phil Zuckerman you will find some interesting information on this. It will be hard to find anything that shows religious people are more moral when the playing field is even. The differences between secular morality and religious morality reside in the goals of each.

Dave in India asks if god is the government?s way of controlling people and part of the military industrial complex. What version of these beliefs would get people to think a certain way? The belief in a higher power has been around before nations had militaries and leaders may sprinkle the fairy dust of religion on their mission. This does not mean it is part of a conspiracy. When politicians use religion as a weapon, it backfires.

Thank you for tuning in today! The question of the week is: What is the weirdest Bible story?

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity(a.k.a. "Schmike") and Jmike get philosophically fun as callers discuss deconstruction and free will.

Devon in CA calls to discuss how worshiping in two religions at one time does not make sense. Some religions have beliefs that are mutually exclusive, but there are also some that are not. How often do you run into people who have dual beliefs? When you see this, analyze the two and compare the contradictions. What is the criteria used to pick these two different beliefs? It is important to have consistency to help not hold two contradictory beliefs.

Austin from TX informs us that Alex Grey is building a Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in NY, and this work of art encompasses all the theist ways of being. How do you arrive at this being what your religion is about? What are they doing to demonstrate their truth claim of there being a god? How do you determine what is true from religions to incorporate into your world view? How would this be independently verified?

Alan in TX believes we have choices with consequences so therefore we all have free will. Do you believe that if you were given the ability to rewind life, that you would not make the same decision you did five minutes prior? If you chose A over B, is there something that explains why? Are there agents in your brain that can break the causal chain? Where does the free will sneak in? How do you demonstrate that free will exists without referring to things that are predetermined? Do you think your thoughts before you think your thoughts?

Jason, a former megachurch pastor in CA, asks how to latch on to something larger than the self to find new purpose when in the state of post deconstruction. Secular Rarity explains there is nothing that is needed if one already knows how to connect with other people. There is no space to be filled because all you have is the beauty of the world around you, and no longer have the need for added magic. There are lots of systems out there that are incredibly worthwhile in terms of understanding the world and giving us a framework of what we should be doing next. When you step away from the supernatural, you get to discuss the big questions in life. The Clergy Project and Recovering from Religion are two great resources for people that are deconstructing. Love and grace from some religious communities might be conditional.

Dustin in WI believes we have free will because language informs decisions. Free will is not defended by being defeated. How do you demonstrate that something does not work out the same way if we go back in time? Just stating that you can move your arm, does not tell us that the movement was your own free will. Where does the free will come from if it exists?

Thank you for tuning in! You are pre-determined to consider the question of the week: What would be a red flag on a religious dating app? We will see you next week because you don?t have a choice in the matter.

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Today?s Atheist Experience has Objectively Dan and Christy Powell in the studio take audience questions in between wrestling with concepts from callers.

God?s Sign in CA calls to say that Christianity is not immoral because it teaches one to be selfless. Why does this need to be Christianity and not the Boy Scouts or some other organization? Many people have a moral problem with the scriptures, including the words of Paul from the New Testament. If Jesus was god, was the crucifixion really a sacrifice? How do you feel about the extortion threat of hell?

Gene in TX brings up Matthew 10 where Jesus tells the disciples to not preach his message to anyone but the people of Israel, and that some of them will still be living when he returns. There are weird differences in each of the gospels. Gene also tells us about Southern Baptist groups called the Royal Ambassadors(RAs) and Girls Auxiliary(GAs) that seem to be somewhat of a mystery.

Lee from the audience asks why it takes some people longer to figure things out with their beliefs. It is not the individual brain power; it is about how you grew up. Being smart and believing in god are not mutually exclusive ideas.

PG in TX wants to know why it seems like atheists switch from the supernatural god to the god state because they leave religion and become authoritarian. People are leaving Christianity often because of political issues. There are a lot of atheists who lean left, but why do so many people on the right have a god belief?

Omar from the audience asks if there are Bible verses or ideas that contradict the possibility of aliens. This world was supposed to be for people made in his image and if it is only 6,000 years old, aliens don?t factor into that.

Jay in IL claims that god is life and life created everything. Is cancer in children and war from god too? Why should we believe the Bible is true without using the Bible as a reference? If we all have ?common sense?, why do we need the Bible? Would you have the same notion of god if you have been born in Japan where less than 2% of people believe in god?

Figgy in NY brings up that sometimes callers are questioning their beliefs. If your belief system can?t hold up to scrutiny, that is something you need to be questioning.

Jose in Honduras asks the hosts what caused them to lose their faith. Christy explains the reasons as logical errors in the bible and how LGBTQIA people would be rejected by Christ. Dan realized there were man made parts in the Bible and god has never contacted him.

Robert in TX has a dilemma because science can?t really explain the origin of things. There is a human desire to fill in any question we don't have an answer for with something else. Have Christians proved the origin?

Thank you for tuning in! The question of the Week: Where did the Catholic Church really get all their money? (Wrong answers only).

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Welcome to The Atheist Experience! Our hosts Secular Rarity and David Warnock are looking for proof of God. Or Allah. Or Jesus. Or even Thor. Will they get it? Probably not, but you will be entertained!

Peter from MA wants to talk about blasphemy, having humility, and where does that come from. Our hosts discuss how human beings need to be ?checked?. That science shows us where we are wrong and to learn from being wrong. We all have limits in our knowledge, and that?s a good thing. We are all human after all.

Mason from Florida is asking why we care for animals, children, each other, etc? Unless some God or other outside entity gives us that love? Does this sound like circular reasoning? Yes reader, you are correct, it is.

Lisa from CO is on the journey! YAY! And like many, has had these thoughts, moments, feelings that feels ?outside? their own thinking/experience/perspective. So, how do we differentiate between what is our own minds and something ?outside? of our minds? The hosts walk through the philosophy and the psychology of how we process information, how we learn, and how it manifests into our consciousness. Our brains are amazing! (though very flawed)

Yoel from NY tells our hosts what he believes. Now, can God be the creator of everything and be everything? Confusing isn?t it? Listen in folks, this is gonna be good!

Ultimated Judeo Christian from Australia calls. He is saying words about his belief in his God and wants our hosts to convert. How does he do this? This show notes? writer is not sure, as he sounds like a random word generator. The hosts tried to get UJC to make sense. They tried.

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Let?s welcome our first caller Michael, whose limited understanding of quantum mechanics somehow equals consciousness and that leads to God existing. Now, if this seems like a leap in logic, well because it is. This also has something to do with abiogenesis and life wouldn?t be likely without a God? Well dear audience, this seems a bit confusing & a bit of a gish gallop. Let?s watch our hosts walk Michael through the flaws in his thinking shall we?

Hey Arnold from Texas! Our number two caller brings to our hosts the probability of God due to the predisposition of human beings to believe in a God. Emma gives a great response on the flaws in evolution, animals having supernatural beliefs, and how socially we used religion/beliefs to form cultures still doesn?t prove a God/Gods.

Jimmy, our third caller from the great state of Texas asks our hosts, does rationality lead to an atheistic perspective? The hosts argue that rationality and intelligence does not mean atheism comes afterwards, nor is it a perfect tool, and in some cases may lead to flawed thinking and logic. Jimmy also explains how a ?spiritual? experience informed his beliefs and our hosts question how that proves a God exists.

John from Canada calls to argue (terribly) for the ?merits? of being anti-choice. Though he agrees the government shouldn?t be involved in making decisions when it comes to his own body, but if you own a uterus? Nah! Hypocritical much? This show notes writer could go into why this is silly, but our hosts do a fantastic job. Listen in!

Otari from Georgia wants to have a conversation about how it seems illogical to think the Universe came into being without a creator. Johnny and Emma bring up certain logical fallacies such as the entropy principle and the randomness of the universe as a way to counter that thinking.

Nick from New York calls in asking for help and a new perspective on the gospels, specifically that the authors would knowingly lie to say salvation comes through Jesus. Emma and Johnny bring up that the Bible can be used as a historical and mythology book for the people at that time, but still cannot be used to prove divinity or anything supernatural. This moves into a conversation of morality, God?s role to the believer, and the arguments how God, even if he existed, is not needed for morality.

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In today?s episode of the Atheist Experience, Christy Powell and Jimmy Jr., are live with fun words of encouragement!

Darius in CA asks about how to have a conversation with believers at his grandmother?s funeral. This is the time to be with family and get through this rather than discuss beliefs. How upsetting are ideas of the afterlife or lack thereof for you? Be mindful of your own experiences and how painful this can be.

Arthur in NY asks how religious extremists and atheists can get to a place where they can harmonize. It takes these conversations to move the needle. There will always be diversity which means conflict, but we are getting better by working together as a species. We can create a more harmonious society in part by having these discussions.

JR. in WA asks about private revelations leading to public revelations, and if god is pushing towards the model of prophets. Which god would it be that is pushing this model? How can you tell the difference between a visit from your god or something that was made up? It would be good to understand what your own thoughts sound like and how to figure out how to differentiate between those thoughts and god?s revelation.

Frank in NC does not believe in the god that commands violent actions, but the god that is about love and freedom. Who is the god you believe in and how do you know it wants love and freedom for everyone?

Christian in MI has changed beliefs and come out to his wife and this is causing problems with the in-laws and asking for advice about raising children. Alongside the magical stories your children are receiving, teach critical thinking. This can be a conflict heavy situation, and there will be sacrifices made, just don?t harm yourself in the process.

Christian in GA asks why the hosts think the gospels are unreliable. We can start with the four contradicting each other, and then look at how they tend to progress in a mythical way. Why would something contradict itself if it is inspired by god? How is Christianity consistent with the message we are supposed to receive in the New Testament? How is this stone age poetry that is supposed to be the perfect word of god not perfect? If the four gospels are not the word of god, then what makes them so special?

Ellis in Canada asks if there is any value in a person not identifying with social stereotypes and the usage of pronouns. A lot of these ideas are about functionality so we should be descriptive and not proscriptive. If one were to lose a bunch of weight, we don?t like people giving commentary on how we express ourselves.

Felix in GA states that human corruption is the problem and not religion, and that religion is a tool to reduce anxiety. How does the crime that is done in the name of religion factor in with this concept?

Thank you for tuning in this week. The question of the week is: What is an inappropriate thing to say at the crucifixion?

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show notes uploaded when recieved

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In today?s episode of The Atheist Experience, for the first time ever, Johnny P. Angel and Armin Navabi discuss what makes Johnny face-palm, the hypocrisy of atheists accepting trans experiences but not claims about Muhammad, and the existence of religious characters.

James from CA claims that homosexuality is physically harmful and should be banned in the same way that environmentally damaging actions are banned.

Xavier from FL claims that the hosts are hypocrites for accepting the experiences of trans people and not the supernatural claims of Paul or Muhammad.


Ahmad from OH is shocked that the hosts don?t believe that Paul and Muhammad existed in their religiously claimed form.

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In today?s episode of The Atheist Experience, Jim Barrows wrestles with multiple callers that trigger the best Forest Valkai science rants ever.

First caller is Art in PA who says that atheists are quitters because they skip a step. We are at a point where the god explanation is no longer needed. The first attempt to explain the natural world is oftentimes the worst attempt. Atheists have one less assumption than theists do.

Mikal in CO asks how to reply to someone that says atheists must have faith for what they believe. Faith and belief are not the same things and we proportion our beliefs to evidence. Not believing someone does not require faith. Atheists do not have the TV on any channel; it is simply off.

Elias in TN asks how to respond to people when they claim that sex is binary since gametes production determines sex. What if someone does not have gonads? Does that mean they do not have a sex? This is not new science and is undergraduate level stuff. This has only recently become a hot topic issue that is controversial. The model of sex is useful and helps explain nature, and nature does not care about our explanations. Binary for lack of a better word, is just not good enough.

Dan in Canada asks why the Laetoli footprints were huge when Lucy was supposed to be small, and not bipedal. No part of Lucy?s skeleton tells us she was ever a knuckle walker. The size of the foot does not change much about the big picture or disprove evolution. What the footprints tell us is that 3.5 million years ago there was something like us walking in this area. It is recommended you go to https://humanorigins.si.edu/ to learn more. Humans are apes, primates, mammals, and animals! Do you believe any part of the Bible is wrong? Were humans created before or after animals? In the Book of Genesis, is Chapter 1 correct or is it Chapter 2? When you try to justify the many things in the Bible that are not true, it is like carrying around a miltone. Would you use faith based thinking for anything else? Why would you not use faith to start your car?

David, an educator in AZ, asks how to respond when students ask about his beliefs. When in a public setting, it would be unethical to talk about religion or politics in any capacity to a captive audience. This would be a misuse of public funds and trust. Answering these questions will change the way the students see you and can take away their objectivity.

Thank you for tuning into the show and never stop learning! The question of the week is: What did the caller say to make Johnny P Angel look distraught?

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SHOW NOTES
Today?s Atheist Experience is the ?show of hair? with Jmike and Secular Rarity. They sort through philosophical naturalism, because morality changes when god creates evil that is spoken through the unfalsifiable Quran and the all inclusive Catholic Church.

First caller is Matt from CA who tells us about The Secular Student Alliance Convention. Vist Secularstudents.org to register before it closes on Wednesday.

Rogue Show in SC calls to clarify Jmike?s position on philosophical naturalism. Natural sciences exhaust natural reality. The simplest theory is the one with the least amount of axioms, commitments, and predicates. Unjustified assumptions do not hold up to stacks of evidence.

Kevin in GA asks why we think we do not get morality from god and if morality changes over time. We see more benefit and less harm when looking at other moral systems compared to god?s system. Do you think that what is good is in virtue with god?s commands? Will the basics of mathematics be the same in the future?

Slave of Christ in TX asks about the problem of evil and says that god is all good for only the chosen ones. Does god intend there to be evil? How do you believe in an irrational god that creates evil? Either god permits the impermissible or there is not anything that is impermissible. How do you resolve this contradiction? Why would you take commands from a villain? If a view is contradictory, would you agree that the view is false?
Jamal in Ca does not know if the hosts are really atheists, and asks the hosts what proof is needed to believe god exists. How is what the Quran says about embryology true? There is nothing in this book that is novel. We are going to be tortured in hell for eternity under Allah?s view and so will you unless you can provide some evidence to convince us because our sins are yours now. The Quran places other people?s burdens on you.

Mary in FL asks about the difference between ought and is and had some general questions about logical fallacies. Ought and ?is? are unrelated except for when the premise contains both an ?is? statement and a value. Descriptive premises do not follow value statements, and we can?t get prescriptions from descriptions. There must be more work put in to fill in the gap. Search for intro books about logic, inference rules, formal and formal fallacies, and propositional logic.

Xavier in FL wants to know what is wrong with the Catholic Church. The church puts aside money that is specifically used for fighting against holding people accountable for abusing children. Enough said.

Thank you for tuning in everyone! The question of the week : If it weren?t for ____________, I would still believe in God.

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show notes upon receipt

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