The Atheist Experience

Join us today with the fun dual of Shannon Q and Phil Ferguson who will be looking for callers to finally present the proof of god.Clarence in Ohio would like to talk about the arrogance of anthropocentric religions leading to dangerous consequences. His perspective is that secular humanism tends to be this way where pantheism does not. This is more of a philosophy than a religion. Is there a specific list of rules with scientific pantheism that needs to be adhered to? And what did the people who made these rules call themselves before the rules were made?Next up is Shane in GA that is going to lay some math on us. He is fixing to show us something that is irrefutable. He starts with Revelations and then Daniel. He talked about Mohammed dying in 632.5. And then we are supposed to go forward 1335 years and to 1967. Abraham has two sons going back to Genesis. His feelings got hurt and started yelling and cussing. Still no math.Kevin in Canada believes miracles are proof of god because god is the only one that can make them happen. Recorded(recalled) near death experiences are proof of these miracles. Is it possible that this experience was not actually the person outside their physical body? None of these claims can be substantiated or repeated. The sigma-6 receptor prevents hypoxia by allowing DMT to be produced which is a natural hallucinogen. How are these things miracles when there is a chemical explanation? Your lack of understanding does not make it a miracle.Dominic has a way to prove that gods are real and the soul is real and the bible is of divine origin. Falun Dafa meditation practice explains about the universe and reveals things to him. He asks if not knowing something shows ignorance in the subject. If all the evidence about god has been presented, would we be ignorant? Even if ignorance meant there was a possibility of a god, even a probability is not sufficient for a belief.John in the U.A.E wants to get over his fear in hell. Think of all the other religions around the world with the different hells created by different deities. Why are you not afraid of these other hells? Be patient with yourself and the journey. Recovering from Religion has a hotline to help along the way.Mike in MI asks if one can be an atheist without god. This depends on the definition of atheism which is going to be different for each person you talk to.Kevin in GA asks how can god be demonstrated as the god he says he is? He then talks about psychic readings. Remember that psychics take the hits and forget the misses. The odds are in favor of the hits.Luke in Canada wants to know what is missing to be able to say there are miracles. Hearing second hand information is not enough to prove miracles. Ask your deity what it would take to convince Shannon that a miracle happened.Thank you for tuning in and we will see you next show!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

Welcome to another episode of The Atheist Experience. This week, Jim Barrows is joined by JMike!First up is Mark from Australia has faith that we are living in a situation. It doesn’t matter if you would prefer to have evidence and not employ faith, if you admit that you can’t back up your belief, why continue to believe it?Next is John from MO who proposes that it is reasonable to pre-suppose a God because we don’t have any other explanation and therefore we should employ common sense. The caller argues that rationality is only possible if we have enough information to examine a claim.B from VA asks who gets to name a group of people. The members of the group get to determine what they want to be called, not outsiders. It is disrespectful and offensive, especially if they continue to ignore the preferred label.Kevin from WA is calling to compare humans eating animals is akin to slavery. Factory farming does contain traits that parallels slavery, but eating animals itself isn’t on its own slavery.Next is Victor from TX who is a deconverting theist, but is still hung up on the issue of morality, specifically regarding incentives to cooperate. Life typically wants to continue living, and if that life is surrounded by others around it, cooperation has a track record of increasing the chance of survival.Next is Davion from TX who claims that it is unreasonable to not pre-suppose Deism. Why should anyone pre-suppose a by definition, non-interventive God, which is therefore potentially even less examinable than a theist God?Sean from MT wants to know when it’s time to give up trying to convince family members that their beliefs are unjustified?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Dave Warnock!First up is Charles from GA who wants to argue that scientists and their dating methods are incorrect. Does the caller present evidence? No. Does the caller understand the science they are proposing is incorrect? No.Next up is Brian from NY who worships demons and claims that they are supernatural gods, and that there are demonstrable mechanisms to make them manifest. The caller submits that the spirit box is one such method, but fails to demonstrate that it is at all reliable in doing what it claims it does.Next is Andrew from ME who calls to propose that everyone worships something, even Atheists. While the caller admits that they don’t claim to know what any specific individual worships, they do claim that everyone does to what they value most.Next up is Alex from Canada who objects to religious teachings that advocate for its followers to abandon all pleasures and enjoyments in life. The caller is starting to question their own beliefs and is trying to push past fears derived from their indoctrination.Jack from AZ calls to claim that no one can ever prove God because finding God is a personal experience. How do you know that these significant personal experiences are actually an answer from God, or just your interpretation of an irrelevant event?Next is Anthony from CA who wants to know where morals come from? There is no reason to assume that there is a book of absolute morals or that such hard-defined morals exist or are even possible.Stephen from CO is a questioning theist, but is still confused on whether morality applied to God due to their holiness.Our final call is Greg from Canada who calls in to provide examples of prophecy fulfillment in the Bible. It’s not prophecy fulfillment if the prophecy is knowingly being fulfilled.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Jim Barrows!First up is Kevin from Canada, who believes that coincidences are God’s way of anonymously interacting with us and therefore are convincing evidence for God’s existence. Typically, the word “coincidence” corresponds to one not having an explanation for an occurrence. Arbitrarily assigning an explanation does not make it true.Next up is Charles from GA who wanted to present historical evidence of the bible. Apparently, Noah’s Ark is in Turkey and has metal that’s only been developed in the last century. This finding by Ron Wyatt has been debunked repeatedly, and even if what was found was indeed a boat, that does not mean that it was Noah’s Ark nor is proof of God.Next up is Jon from Canada who argues that God is required for moral guidance. They claim that we are in a state of chaos because we as a society are ignoring God’s commands (i.e. rampant racism, apparently being gender non-conforming)... because those two are apparently the same.Next is Bob from TN who has anecdotal evidence for God. The caller says that they will believe claims of encounters with the Holy Spirit, but will engage “skepticism” when the hosts swap “Holy Spirit” with aliens. The caller does not know how to have an honest conversation.Next is Christian from NY who is a recently converted Catholic, and wants advice on whether they should stay in the religion and keep learning about it. The caller’s belief in the Church’s claims is founded on their process of exorcizing demons.Next is Jesus from MO who says that Atheists can’t prove that God and Demons aren’t real, so why do they get to ask theists to prove God does. In summary, the caller doesn’t understand the burden of proof.Carlton from NY calls in to see if our hosts see the increased size, duration, and number of natural disasters as signs that we are in the end times.Our final call is Raj from UK who asks if our hosts would agree that slavery assisted in progressing society forward. In some ways, maybe, but there is no way to investigate what would have happened had slavery and its side-effects never occured. Slavery is immoral, regardless of whether it benefitted society or not. The ends do not justify the means.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Apostate Prophet.Our first call for the day is King from AK who recently had a conversation with a theist regarding prophecy and whether it can be proof of God. The fact that something may have happened doesn’t tell us why it happened.Next up is Aaron from FL who wants to know if telling those struggling with severe mental health issues that God wants them to live is a beneficial technique. One of main issues with this is that their reason for living is not tied to reality, and if their belief wavers they are back to where they started or worse.Next is Jacob from NJ who wants to pick a fight with Apostate Prophet. Is this relevant to the truth of Islam? No, it's petty and fallacious.Next is Joel who believes that the universe was created by God. Since no one has an evidence based explanation yet for the cause of the universe, any conclusion is premature and unfounded.Up next is Kerim from Turkey who is concerned about Turkish Muslims who give up the Hadiths in favor of only embracing the Quran. Without the Hadiths, the Quran becomes merely a compilation of secondary sources.Next is Rivalvo from Norway who presents a prophecy where Muhammad claims that a warrior won’t die in battle, and despite fighting in many, they didn’t. Just because a prediction comes true, doesn’t explain why it came true.Up next is Marlo from TX who discovered Sufism and believes that they had a supernaturally influenced spiritual experience. The caller unfortunately has no evidence that their conclusion is anything more than a feeling.Our final call of the day is Guy from GA who wants to ask if Muslims believe that only Allah can create life, or if they believe that humans may eventually become capable of doing so.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

This Sunday’s AxP has Matt returning, alongside crowd favorite, Shannon Q!First up is Hank, who says without precreation, there’s no point to life. He gets cut off after an inappropriate comment, but Shannon and Matt offer MANY reasons why life matters without babies. Keep it PG Hank.Kevin in Canada thinks scientists believing in gods is proof of their existence, and also believes in Intelligent Design. Shannon points out that many biological systems are clearly not designed well, and Matt doesn’t care what some people, scientist or not, might think. That's not proof of anything!Bob is next, who is off like a rocket with his background story of being an agnostic atheist with autism. He wants to know if folks on the autism spectrum are more likely to be non-believers. Our hosts aren’t aware of any statistics on the topic, and think it may be more an issue of visibility than tendency. I would love to have a beer with Bob.Patrick identifies as an atheist, but thinks the universe is… conscious? And also, therefore God. Shannon offers a great rebuttal, and Matt gives a great analogy for this composition fallacy. No cookies for you, Patrick. Ok, one cookie. But it’s oatmeal raisin.Anthony has worked with the mentally ill, and wonders if the delusions they suffer are present in some small capacity among all religious folk. Both our hosts agree that being religious is not a mental illness, and talk about why irrational beliefs are not necessarily an indicator for such.Susan has evidence for a soul! Wait, no she doesn’t. But AI being curious is a thing sooo, souls? Concepts aren’t evidence, and thinking about Narnia doesn’t manifest Mr. Tumnus.Richard claims that without evolution, humans could not exist. Therefore, God. Sadly, his argument is all conjecture and assertions. Any call that makes Shannon rub her temples is worth watching!Oh Will, why are you defending Biblical slavery? Will’s making excuses for the Pentateuch, and Matt’s not having it. Not today sir.Christopher thinks he’s had a divine revelation, and has a direct line to the big man upstairs. We get a real-time conversation as this feckless deity fails at guessing what card is in Matt’s hand. This is good content, people.Patrick has waited an hour to tell us that anyone popular enough is a God. Flashback to high school much? We’re moving on.Relic wants to ask our hosts if building communities with believers is worth it. Shannon thinks that as long as our goals are aligned, there’s value there, and Matt agrees. Relic tells us why he’s a druid, and this tale is worth hearing! Freya the Goddess makes a cameo, but our hosts don’t see any value in a cool story.That’s our show folks, stay safe, mask up, and get vaccinated!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Dr. Darrel Ray!Starting off is Kyle from NY who believes that they hear spirits talking to them when they pray. How do you know these are spirits? Just because you don’t have an answer to the question “what is it?” doesn’t mean that you are justified in calling them spirits. For all you know it’s a manifestation of Agent Smith trying to control your life from the shadows.Next up from KY is Eric who is calling to talk about upcoming Recovering From Religion Foundation events and volunteer opportunities! Thanks for calling Eric!Up next is JR from AR who claims to have figured out a way to detect the presence of a spiritual world using a pendulum? Why does it seem like every time one of these “techniques” is presented, they always seem to develop a humanesque performance anxiety.Next is Jessica from UT who believes Atheism is a privileged position. There is nothing necessarily privileged about asking a question or holding a belief, it's the external social and physical factors, such as being able to publicly out yourself atheist without fear of harm that make something privileged.Andrew from ME is calling to ask if mental health diagnoses are subjective, and if so, does that make the conclusions of experts in those fields less valuable?Dave from FL is coming in hot with currently unanswerable questions. Since we have yet to develop time travel, we have no idea if there was an infinite past. Like with the first caller, a lack of information isn’t a blank check to insert whatever indemonstrable assertion you feel makes sense that day.Next is Duke from CA who recounts an argument they had with a theist regarding possible tenable positions for a given proposition. Make sure you read up on the material you are discussing so that you can adequately defend your position and have a productive conversation.Steve from CA is calling in to talk about the possible connection between specific mental health illnesses and religious belief. That connection may or may not exist, or each case could be different making such generalizations unjustified.Alvin from NC wants to know the difference between atheism and agnosticism. While definitions can be good educational starting points, when having a conversation, address the person's actual position, not what you want them to defend.Next is Jason from SC who is arguing for the existence of an objective morality by comparing God to a sports referee.Up next is Jason from Canada who thinks that atheists should find common ground with deists & theists regarding morality. Has the caller never interacted with anyone who isn’t them?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

Welcome to another episode of AxP. Matt and Jim are back together again!First up is Mr. Warlight, who claims to have a test for souls. Sadly, it involves desecrating a statue in a cemetery, so we’re gonna move on.Mike in Texas has More (-mon) bad arguments for God. The universe is a big place, and therefore, a universe creating entity is possible. Matt and Jim point out that possibility is not probability, and this is as good an argument for gods as it is for butt monkeys. Just listen, it’ll make sense.Next is Jasmine who’s going to take us from the Bible to… entropy? Jim reminds us that the Bible is the claim, not the evidence, and gives our caller a quick lesson in thermodynamics. Matt points out that just because order came from chaos, that doesn’t mean God did it.Brazilian Bruno is next, who takes a very long time to say… God could prevent evil, but doesn’t, so HIS God is a neutral one. Jim gives a great Hell metaphor, and Matt tries to show Bruno where he’s erred.Lightning round with Earl, who had a dream that convinced him God has updated… his own mind? We’re not gonna waste time on dreams today.Justin in New York asks our hosts for tips on engaging in constructive debates in social settings. Matt and Jim both agree, pick your battles Justin, you don’t need to die on every hill! Using the Socratic method is always a good start to any conversation Justin.Jonathan in AZ seems to want to back Matt into a corner by saying he’s equated theism with believing other wacky stuff, flat earth, science denial, etc. He cites some calls from other past shows, but Matt is quick to shut down this attempt at verbal chicanery. Admiral Ackbar sniffed this out from 12 parsecs away.Next up is Monsters (not the kind with scary teeth). He believes in limited deities with tremendous power…? Concepts can have power, but that doesn’t mean they actually exist. Spiderman is a great moral example, doesn’t mean he’s real.Anon in Texas doesn’t see the harm in holding beliefs that aren’t true, and doesn’t see why it should matter. Beliefs inform actions, and a flawed process can lead to more dangerous views. Anon seems like a good guy, just a bit mixed up.Joe hasn’t got a grasp on the burden of proof. Matt gives a courtroom analogy, and Jim explains the null hypothesis. I don’t think Joe has passed the bar exam.AJ grew up as a JW, and is seeking advice on coming out as an atheist. Matt advises a cost/benefit approach to these conversations, and Jim offers a few resources, like the Secular Therapy Project.Paul wants to talk about how energy shows the possibility of God, but also doesn’t think it matters. You waited two hours for this?Finally Tim wants to know why Jesus didn’t write anything down! Dad did! Matt is less concerned about the late Bronze Age, and asks why isn’t he contributing now? We list a few absurdities from Christian theology, and give Tim a quick e-hug.That’s the show today folks, hasta la vista!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

Welcome to another episode of AxP. Matt’s guest this week, on loan from Truth Wanted, is MD Aware!Dan in Indiana asks how absurd a claim has to be before one can summarily dismiss it. MD points out that scientists don’t use a yardstick of absurdity, they do experiments and test claims!John is a believer, he states that since the existence of gods can’t be proven or disproven, atheists and theists are in the same position. He then says he CAN prove gods are real in a different way, but, sadly, he doesn’t. MD and Matt remind him that you can’t write deities into existence, real life isn’t a screenplay.Michael in Florida asks our hosts about a psychiatrist who claims to also be an exorcist. Matt doesn’t think demons have been shown to be real, and MD Aware reminds us that psychiatric diagnoses aren’t quantitative, and offering a hidden entity as a cause of mental illness is irresponsible.Next up is Allen, who suggests that Christianity is an atheist religion, because their god died. We’re not sure if you’re familiar with the dogma Allen, this character’s still kickin! Our hosts make it clear that atheism is incompatible with belief in Jesus, be he dead or alive.Another Michael? This one’s from Texas, and thinks a planet-spawning alien is probable. Also, God. Umm… neither has been shown to be real Michael, and our huge universe doesn’t guarantee that everything you can conceive of must exist.Eran in Israel wants some help in sussing out definitions of gods from theists. He’s tired of them saying what God isn’t, he wants them to make a positive claim. Matt and MD agree that what we don’t know about God isn’t as useful as what we do.Next up is Bryan from Utah who thinks Matt’s standards of evidence are off, and that his approach leaves the door open for mysticism? Turns out Bryan’s just frustrated that people are allowed to make wild claims, we’re sympathetic, but we’re gonna move on.Abby asks when our hosts think religion will die out. Matt doesn’t think it will, MD Aware thinks it’s more likely to take a backseat in the form of cultural habits, rather than actual belief in gods. Matt points out that many religions have died out, and its current iterations will too. Abby asks for advice on how to start teaching critical thinking, and our hosts encourage cautious activism in dangerous places.Issa wants to know why our hosts don’t believe in god, and offers the complexity of an iPhone as a metaphor for why the universe must have been created. MD Aware replies that the universe isn’t necessarily complex, what emerges from the laws of physics is. Matt asks what information Issa has that cosmologists don’t, but Issa wants to play dodgeball.Alex wants to talk about a study that he thinks shows evolution can’t be real. Mutations in enzymes would have taken too long, so therefore, God did it. MD Aware reminds Alex that proving one explanation wrong doesn’t mean yours is true, Matt uncovers the bias that the experimenters had. MD Aware offers to have a look at the study, perhaps we’ll have a chapter two on Truth Wanted!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Jim Barrows is joined by Dave Warnock! Happy 2022!Our first caller is none other than Matt with a post-surgery and recovery update! Good luck with the rest of your recovery!Next up is Aidan from IL who was diagnosed with MS last year, and has concerns with their religious family member’s position regarding death with dignity.Up next is Paul from PA! Paul, first off...if you want to advertise your book, go and pay for ad space on (insert popular social media platform) or something. Next up, narrative sequels act as a continuation of an existing work. Sequels, by themselves, do not IN ANY WAY serve as evidence for the truth value of the original story. You can’t use the original work to prove the truth of the sequel, or vice versa.Next is Nick from CO who asserts that “fine-tuning” is justified by physics. This call quickly becomes 2022’s first case of the argument from incredulity. Just because we aren’t able to investigate before Planck time, doesn’t mean that a creator pulled the trigger.Up next is Michael is MD who, after three minutes of gish galloping while they attempt to pick a topic, finally settles on “catholophobia?” Apparently criticizing the Catholic church’s criminal actions regarding moving pedophiles around is somehow catholophobic. Wow, that word is fun to write. Thanks for inventing that one caller.Next is Sliew from Australia who has an issue accepting evolution because they don’t understand the definitions of mutation and how it differs from alleles. Open a biology textbook or at a bare minimum watch a well-researched documentary to educate yourself on the subject you clearly do not understand.Finally, Patrick from FL presents the watch-maker argument. How did you conclude that everything around you was created by a God? What evidence do you have to support the existence of said God?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.