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

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

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

Atheist guests Johnny P Angel and Forrest Valkai discuss issues of Genesis, Unicorns, suffering, reproduction, and babies hating god. They explore the misconception of hating God when not believing in its existence. The hosts engage in a lighthearted conversation about discussing fictional characters. They also touch on topics like evolution and reproduction, the concept of suffering in an atheist worldview, and life without belief in God or an afterlife. They address the conflict between Genesis and the theory of evolution and explore the differences between Judaism and Christianity.

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

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

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

Secular Rarity and Armin Navabi join the hosts to discuss the validity of Jesus' claim about moving mountains through prayer, the impact of prayer on well-being, the problem of evil and unanswered prayers, the existence of God, strange behavior and scientific explanations, the intersection of mental health and religious beliefs, mass hysteria and demon possession, belief in infinite genders and criticism of atheism, the definition of gender, finding common ground in conversations, and the correlation between religion and mental health.