Friendly Atheist Podcast

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode. Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our Discord server! — Nebraska Sen. Megan Hunt helped defeat an anti-abortion bill with an incredible speech. (4:45) — A school prayer case from 1999 was cited to derail an honor for a historic Black judge. (14:15) — Mubarak Bala was sentenced to 24 years in jail for blasphemy. (27:48) — The Pledge of Allegiance may have been plagiarized from a child. (35:15) — No deciding your sexual orientation until you're 21, says conspiracist Rep. Lauren Boebert. (49:59) — Most Americans know religious objections to the COVID vaccines are bogus. (53:44) — Christians can't hijack a football stadium's PA system to promote Jesus, said a judge. (57:07) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this solo episode (Jessica will be back next week), Hemant interviewed Thomas Smith, host of multiple podcasts that discuss science, atheism, philosophy, and the law. They include "Serious Inquiries Only," a show that goes in-depth on topics concerned science and skepticism, "Opening Arguments," with co-host Andrew Torrez, which takes complex legal issues in the news and breaks them down in an accessible and entertaining way, and "Philosophers in Space," which uncovers and explains the philosophy behind your favorite works of sci-fi. We spoke about the right-ward shift of big-name atheists, why so many skeptics seem to be pushing conservatives arguments, and what the best strategies are to counter that misinformation. Because we spoke about so many different issues, timestamps were a bit tough to mark, but I hope you find this conversation as worthwhile as I did. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode. Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our Discord server! — Ketanji Brown Jackson was grilled about her religious beliefs by Lindsey Graham. (6:30) — A pastor claimed he could endorse candidates in church because they weren't beholden to the IRS. He's wrong. (18:05) — Brian Houston, the founder of Hillsong Church, finally resigned after additional revelations about his inappropriate behavior. But the whole church is in chaos. (28:55) — NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who is vehemently anti-abortion, apparently paid for an abortion. (43:55) — The Babylon Bee was booted from Twitter for making the only "joke" it knows. (56:05) — The largest gathering of atheists in America occurred ten years ago. Have things improved? (1:05:10) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode. Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our Discord server! — Senate candidate Herschel Walker proudly denied evolution. (1:38) — There's a $100 million ad campaign for Jesus. It will fail. (16:48) — Christianity Today reporters documented allegations of sexual harassment at... Christianity Today. (41:55) — Raif Badawi was finally released. (53:33) — A Kansas teacher sued school officials for requiring her to address students by their preferred names, saying the policy violates her religious freedom. (1:02:28) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode. Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our Discord server! — Why is a newspaper printing anti-atheist slander? (1:15) — Creationist Ken Ham has a new list of societal ills. (4:08) — A woman who killed three siblings at a school bus stop got out of jail early after taking a Bible study class. (9:12) — A Christian hate group found a way to blame "wokeism" and Black Lives Matter for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (19:15) — Dave Silverman, the former American Atheists leader who's now advising a right-wing atheist group, is going after a new audience... on InfoWars. (24:01) — SPONSOR: Check out Paint Your Life and get 20% off by texting FRIENDLY to 64-000. (59:23) — It was the 100th anniversary of the first anti-evolution bill getting defeated by lawmakers in Kentucky. (1:00:42) — Missouri lawmaker Mary Elizabeth Coleman wants to make it a crime to help women travel to neighboring Illinois to have an abortion. (1:04:21) — Convicted felon and MAGA cultist Michael Flynn says the word "Creator" appears four times in the U.S. Constitution. He's off by four. (1:08:29) — Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and a Putin ally, says Russia invaded Ukraine because some nations like to hold gay pride parades. (1:11:49) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode. Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our Discord server! — After saying God already "appointed" her to a State Senate seat, Bianca Gracia lost her GOP primary. (1:29) — Pat Robertson came back to The 700 Club to claim Putin was "compelled by God" to invade Ukraine because‚Ķ Israel. (16:39) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson doesn't need to thank God for her success. (20:15) — Dr. Ben Carson says supporting church/state separation is a form of "schizophrenia." (30:59) — Atheists are virtually non-existent in the federal prison population. (38:24) — What does "The Trojan Horse Affair" tell us about Humanists in the UK? (54:32) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode. Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our Discord server! — Hold your sympathy for the Alabama high school basketball team whose faith led to them forfeiting their playoff chances. (1:25) — Christian sex predator Ravi Zacharias was effectively aided by the corrupt leaders at his ministry. (30:25) — The share of Americans who are absolutely certain God exists has dropped below 50% for the first time ever. (49:03) — The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case involving an anti-gay Christian website designer who doesn't want to make sites promoting same-sex weddings. (1:01:35) — Conservative Christian Nebraska State Senator Mike Groene resigned after allegations that he took "objectifying" photos of a female aide without her consent and shared them with other people. (1:09:33) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode. Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our Discord server! — Greg Locke says he's going to expose six "witches" in his church. (1:09) — Why won't anyone give Kevin Sorbo the money he needs to make his movies? (22:26) — Why is the Catholic League's Bill Donohue getting paid a million dollars a year? (27:24) — A Baptist preacher whose daughter died in a car accident last year had his future son-in-law arrested for putting flowers on her grave. (41:44) — Five leaders at a Christian school were arrested for allegedly not reporting a sexual assault to authorities. (55:09) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please support the show at https://www.patreon.com/friendlyatheistpodcast. Donors now get access to a new BONUS episode. Jessica and I sat down to talk about several stories from the past week involving religion and politics. — Please join our Discord server! — A Catholic priest resigned for the dumbest (but strangely consequential) reason. (2:17) — LDS leader Brad Wilcox's racist comments have caused chaos among Mormons. (8:13) — A public school Bible teacher in TN told students "how to torture a Jew." (18:52) — WV teachers told kids to attend a religious revival during the school day. (31:41) — The evangelical ‚Äòdissenters' trying to ‚Äòsave' the faith have their own problems. (42:26) — Missouri's governor said he only nominates people with "Christian values" to positions of power. (57:36) — A Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate urged rape victims to be "heroic" and give birth. (1:01:19) — A nun was sentenced to prison after stealing $835,000 from Catholic school to go gambling. (1:05:21) See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this solo episode (Jessica will be back next week), Hemant interviewed Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of the New York Times bestseller "Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation." The book attempts to explain why white evangelicals overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, despite all the non-Trumpy values they claimed to hold dear before he came along, by looking at the history of evangelical culture. 2:40 Why did you write this book? 5:00 The subtitle of your book is who white evangelicals corrupted a faith and fractured a nation. And I sometimes wonder did they corrupt the faith or did guys like Donald Trump expose the faith for what it's always been? 7:02 Are you cherry picking bad actors, like Mark Driscoll, who exist in every tradition, or do guys like Driscoll fairly represent this strain of conservative Christianity? 10:20 How much blame should we place on moderate Christians who platform these toxic people? 14:38 Is there a good definition of evangelicalism that outsiders would agree with? 18:28 Are your students more receptive to your ideas than your colleagues? 20:35 Are white evangelicals uniquely bad with toxic masculinity or is this just a problem with Americans at large? Or all of humanity? 23:32 Is Jerry Falwell, Jr. making a comeback? 25:25 Is there going to be a backlash to Trumpism that affects evangelicals? 30:06 SPONSOR: HelloFresh! https://www.hellofresh.com/friendlyatheist16 31:19 Is the impending end of Roe v. Wade good or bad for evangelicals on a strategic level? 34:12 Are white evangelicals really hypocrites about Trump considering he kept his anti-abortion promises? 37:55 Is evangelical Christianity a force for good? 40:55 What is your reaction to Girl Defined and other young Christian women who promote Christian patriarchy on YouTube? 42:00 What would you say to a megachurch pastor who comes to you for advice? 46:35 How come Christian stereotypes include both manly patriarchs as well as hipster skinny jean pastors? 49:45 Are you unfairly painting lower and middle class white men in the worst possible light? 52:30 Are white evangelicals really as powerful as you suggest they are? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.