125: "Religion is at the intersection of everything I care about" - YouTuber & Podcaster Emerson Green - Sentientism

Emerson is the host of the Counter Apologetics & Walden Pod podcasts, focusing mostly on religion, atheism and consciousness. Both are also available on his Emerson Green YouTube channel. You can find all his links here.

In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”

Sentientism is "evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings." The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.

We discuss:

00:00 Welcome

01:32 Emerson's Intro

- Podcasting as a relationship saver :)

- Counter Apologetics (#religion & #atheism)

- Walden Pod (#consciousness & #panpsychism )

- "Religion is at the intersection of practically everything I care about"

05:01 What's Real?

- Raised as a #youngearth #creationist Christian, sheltered from science & philosophy

- Now atheist, "maybe beginning to lean #agnostic "

- Attending #apologetics Camp "this is the defence! I don't believe in god"

-  @Answers in Genesis  "they do try to give scientific & philosophical arguments"

- "Young Earth Creationism is one of the wrongest things you could propose"

- "A book from god seems like a pretty solid epistemic source"

- "The universe... is really not 6000 years old"

- Mum is a professor at an Xtian university

- "It's wrong to say they're #anti-science exactly"

- "I learned about evolution later & was blown away"

- "I was blown away by how bad the Bible was... morally"

- The failure of prayer

- #mormonism & the "Under The Banner of Prayer" film. The risks of thinking god is speaking to you

- "The mainstream Xtian narrative... is just basically incoherent"

- Hell & the #problemofevil vs. a just, good, god. #Theodicy

- Historical contingency, religious diversity

- "If they were born in India they'd probably be Hindus"

- "I was very angry for a while... felt like I'd been lied to"

- The psychological shock of deconverting

- "If I could choose to be believe I would... just for the sake of my mum"

- The distress of family & friends

- Hidden atheism within religious communities & even pastors

- Shunning e.g. "gay homeless teenagers around Salt Lake City"

- Natural #theology 

- #Fideism & faith vs. "everyone I know has reasons"

- Philip Goff & secular religion

-  @Bart D. Ehrman  

- Naturalism & the natural world as "common ground"

- Usage vs. definitions

- Conservative/scientific & moderate/abstract & liberal naturalisms vs. supernaturalism

- "Sometimes I self-deprecatingy call myself a 'spooky naturalist'"

- "Here's what we know from science - is that all there is?"

-  @Sean Carroll  

...and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info.

Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our "I'm a Sentientist" wall via this simple form.

Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Thanks Graham.