The Disappointment of God

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The God of the Old Testament is strange. He has his reasons and I don't like questioning him, exactly. In a universe of electrons and selfish genes, blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt; other people will get lucky. You won't find any rhyme or reason to it, nor any justice. The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference. And so let's talk about that when we come back. But I be asking us motheribus sh Next to us, When I be asking you is my best

Does life have meaning if there is no God? Why should I be a good person if there's no reward or punishment waiting for me in the afterlife? Why does religion seem to make people happier and healthier? Dave and Tamler heroically try to answer these questions without being stoned. Other topics include Dave's paralyzing fear of death, bad times on mopeds, and the pros and cons of naming your daughter Chlamydia. They almost get through the episode without having to censor something--but not quite.

Links

Woody Allen's "Love and Death"

Paul Bloom- Does Religion Make You Nice? [Slate.com]

Follow-up reading on religion and health (for the slightly academically inclined)- Powell, L. H., Shahabi, L., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Religion and spirituality: Linkages to physical health. American Psychologist, 58, 36.

Pascal's Wager [wikipedia.org]

Albert Camus [Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

The Problem of Evil. [Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]

"Yes but subjectivity is objective."

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