The Atheist Experience

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Have a complete atheist experience today as Armin Navabi and JMike observe the simulator rearranging the stars before being joined by Kelley Laughlin to discuss more mind stuff. Chris in Canada asks if there is any chance the hosts would change their beliefs if god were to come down and show himself to them and show some sort of miracle. We must first verify that there is a god to be able to answer the question. We can’t just assume that god is talking to us or that the miracle performed is from god. If god were omniscient, wouldn’t that god know what it takes to get someone to believe? How do we know that anything that we see is from the creator? If the stars got rearranged, we would check the water supply first to see if we were all hallucinating before assuming that a god did it. Steve in NE, has a way for the Simulation Theory to be tested by looking at the information of the particles. This sounds more like metaphysics than a hypothesis. What explanatory benefit is there for having more hypotheses? There are more than just two options. Just because something is not “A” does not mean it is “B”. How do we even falsify this? Saran in India asks about the moral standards that atheists have. The only position that atheists hold is the lack of belief in god. We have a natural desire to see each other happy and not make our fellow human beings upset. Even if theists had excuses to be moral, and atheists don’t, how does that add any points to a claim that there is a god? Do you need god to tell you that incest is wrong? What if god says it is okay? Saran then asks about the Kalam argument. The universe may have had a beginning, but that does not mean there was a cause. Daisy in CA, an atheist, is still having a hard time with the concept of free will, and is hoping for an argument against libertarian free will. This about making a choice about something, and if there is an explanation for that choice. Libertarian free will is just another way of saying randomness, and this will cause a collapse in the intention, and the outcome. How do we know that we are making choices and it is not just an illusion of making choices? What is important is if the direction is in alignment with your desires. Shoridon in AK, asks about past hosts claiming that time started with the Big Bang and not sure if the Big Bang is the beginning of time. How sure are we that this is propositional that can either be true or false? We are not making claims about this and maybe it would be good to call in when a host is present who has. Reincarnation Entertainment in the UK says that we can disprove Christianity. Either god is not all knowing, or not omnipotent. These logical arguments won’t do the trick because people chose their belief to serve different utilities such as belonging and membership. The key is to offer alternatives. Darius in CA made an easy transition to being an atheist, and has been for a few years. How has this affected your life? Some of his family is not accepting, and this seems more like their problem rather than his problem.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

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

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, The Cross Examiner and Secular Rarity explore the godliness of Superman as they explain where atheists get their morals. Crew cat helped with technical challenges before jumping into grandparents pushing agenda and the Mandela Effect messes with memory. Jim in MO uses a Superman analogy to god, and questions why Superman did not try to stop Lex Luther from doing evil. What kind of similarities can be drawn between stories in the Bible and comic books? We can easily imagine super powerful beings that are more moral than the god of the Bible. Jon in Canada wants to know where we get our morals if it wasn't from the Ten Commandments. Were there recorded civilizations before the Ten Commandments and where did they get their morals from? Laws can make society a better place, but it may not be necessary for them to be in place. Jax in UT asks if the hosts think god is evil and if so, why doesn't he kill us now? God creates all kinds of atrocities. He may not be evil, but he could be an idiot child playing with matches. How is it possible that god disobey’s his character? We don’t know why god does not kill us, he is a mysterious character. Robert in CA, shares how his parents are showing Veggie Tales to his children which caused a switch from neutral to proactive. How much do you trust your parents to honor your wishes? Studies show that if a child reaches an age where they can reason, they will be less likely to adapt to religion. Your parents don’t have to stop being who they are to not put it on the children. These are your kids and no one is entitled to pushing their agenda on them. What are your thoughts about supervised visitations? This situation is an example that answers why we do this. Religion hurts people, that is why we care.Blind Limey in TX describes a Freddie Mercury performance at a Live Aid event that was televised less than 50 years ago. At this event, there were actors as police. How many people would remember there were police present at that event? There are lots of examples of the Mandela Effect. This kind of thing happens all the time and we know this. Even if we had access to eyewitnesses from Jesus’s time who saw something, how could we rely on that? SR shares an interesting story of his memory owning Golden Retrievers and how they were really Terriers. Memory is a fascinating thing with many chemical variables floating around in our brains!Thank you for tuning in this week! Prompt is: What prayer will have you banned from saying grace?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

Have the ultimate Atheist Experience today with Johnny P. Angel and John (Godlessengineer)! They wrestle with an argument from popularity right before diving into another theist argument from ignorance with all the chemical gaps being filled with no other but god himself.  Bernard, a theist in NYY, presents two options for the writing of the Old Testament: god or human. What is your criteria for determining this is actually the word of god? How did you rule out these scriptures are not just from people telling each other stories that describe how they thought the world exists? Why do you accept that this book is accurate? How do you explain all the different ways god is referred to such as Yahweh and Jehovah that indicate different writers of the first five books? Why is it supposed to be persuasive if a book references history? Large amounts of people believing in something has no bearing on how true it is. Mike, a theist in SC believes that because of the complexity of DNA, that it had to be designed, and proceeds to lay out his argument using chromosomes as a start. How do proteins come together? What is your definition of information as it pertains to DNA? Why are we replacing chemistry with magic? Why does any of this require a divine intelligence? When was the last time you looked up how many possible life supporting planets there are? What is the nature of the supernatural existence responsible for this design? If god is all powerful, why do genetic disorders exist? God has some explaining to do for this shoddy craftsman work. How is it fair that a kid dies of leukemia and why can’t god intervene to prevent this? Is it because he doesn't care or he doesn't exist? We think you are better than your god. Rachel, a skeptical agnostic in AZ, was told by her friend that she can only accept advice from other Christians. Why do Bible thumping folk think they cornered the market on correct action? It can be helpful to ask the person how they reconcile the genocides mentioned in the Bible such as Numbers 31,  with moral actions. Thank you for tuning in this week!  Prompt for the week is: What should you NOT say to a friend that is trying to deconvert?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

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

Have an Atheist Experience today as Secular Rarity (SR) and Armin Navabi, sort through questions of “creation”, differences in Quran scriptures, and ponder the unfalsifiable simulation claim. Jasmine, a theist in Ohio, says that all of existence including us, is part of god and that everything is created through god. How can everything be created through god and be god at the same time? How can something that does not make sense be convincing? Is there a way you can build a claim without using language that is so vague? Rick, a theist in TX, asks how atheists explain the creation of the universe and the world. There are people dedicated their lives studying how this happened and their explanation does not include a deity. The framing of this question assumes there is a creation and that we as atheists have an answer. Why do atheists need to come up with an explanation when we are not making any claims? Even if things did have a beginning, does not make it true there was a creation. We do not have to have any justification for not believing something. Why do you think the scriptures such as the Bible or Quran will have any validity with atheists? If you were to be shown something that shows how the universe got here, and that does not include a god, how would that change your beliefs and certainty there is a god? If justifiable evidence were to be provided for the existence of god, we would believe, however, worshiping that god will be a another story. Armin and SR have a different opinion on this. Abdur Rahman, a Muslim in NY, has laid out three criteria: logical theological framework, preservation of the original text of the Quran, and miracles. There is a ton of evidence showing the Quran has not been preserved perfectly. How do we explain the different versions of the Quran that actually differ in the commandments of Allah? If there were Quranic verses in two separate versions that were so radically different that it changes the commands of Allah and can’t be harmonized, would that make you no longer accept that the Quran is perfectly preserved? Why do we need the opinions of the scholars to make this harmonious? How do you explain these differences without changing the commandment of Allah and committing a sin? Steve in NE wants to talk about the collapse of the wave function, how things will exist in the fuzzy quantum state until they are observed, and the Second Law of Infodynamics which requires information entropy to remain constant or decrease overtime. He wonders if these things are indicators of a simulation program. How are you connecting these things? It doesn't really matter if we are in a simulation or not because our reality is indistinguishable from a base reality. We don’t believe there is anything that can rule this claim out, making it unfalsifiable. Thank you for hanging out with us today and remember the prompt of the week is: Create the next god!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

You will have the ultimate Atheist Experience today as JMike and Darante’ Lamar discuss the moral standards of not throwing babies off roofs. They jump right into a discussion about Moses writing the Old Testament and then they have a short wrangle with Satan Incarnate. Daniel in NC responded to a video where JMike and the caller were discussing if throwing a baby off the roof is wrong in a world where there is no god, and a world where there is a god. Daniel agrees that this action is wrong in both worlds. What is the logical contradiction in a world where there are moral facts? It does not make sense to describe a world with independent obligation. What is the standard for god’s absolute morality? How do you explain the morality that people have who don’t hold a god belief? God has to be defined and shown to exist before you can prove that morality flows through god. Claims that are snuck in such as god being the creator need to be proven as well. Why is there a different standard of morality for god than there is for us? Why is it morally acceptable that god tells people to kill their children?Bernard in NY attempts to demonstrate that god wrote the first five books of the Bible through Moses, who he says also wrote the Old Testament. Where is the scripture that says this?  This call just did not get anywhere. Devon in PA relied on the Bible during a tough situation and references the verses that name, “Philadelphia”. This verse helps clear his name because he is Satan incarnate with black curly hair and a star under his eye. Dude! Why do you think this? Calum in Canada had two near death experiences as a teenager and saw an afterlife that was identical to what his mother described that included a “split” with a choice of where to go. Why did this experience not convince you there was an afterlife? It is rare that we hear this perspective from an atheist. Keith in OR asks what the hosts think when someone is healed at the same moment as the person who did the arm is asking forgiveness. We would ask for evidence of this taking place and would also be intrigued.  Could god create a backdoor to allow for such things to happen just so we can ask for forgiveness? Compares the story of Job to the 1919 World Series with the Chicago Black Sox. If god is omniscient, why would he not bet on Job? God does come down, talk to Job, and stack the bet, just for the record. Thank you for tuning in this week! Have a fun week thinking of why it is wrong to throw babies off roof, and make sure to think about our question of the week: What NOT to say if you meet Jesus.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity and Johnny P. Angel contemplate how numerology proves everything (in specific situations)Moses in FL goes right into a classic…how do you prove love is real. Secular Rarity gives us some examples like past relationships and medical technology can scan your brain to see brain activity during these love feelings. Sure, the bible says god is love but it also contradicts that fact by wrathful acts. What's loving about eternal damnation? Moses then moves onto proving god is everything we experience is god's love, for example The White House is in between Virginia and Maryland so mash those names together and you get Virgin Mary. So what if there are weird coincidences James in MI needs more evidence to not believe in god because god exists in maths and grammar. He claims Christ Jesus revealed himself in numbers, for example April 17, 4 was the day Jesus was conceived. You can find examples of patterns giving different messages but it's useless if it only works on the english translation. This is just remembering the hits and ignoring the misses. The message should be universal and not just a very cherry picked pattern.Zatoichi444 in MI claims that our world is made by a lesser god, one reason is that everything can be mathematically plotted and explained and a real god would do better. DMT, a powerful hallucinogen, is not a way to find truth. Why won’t you accept that different people have contradictory experiences on DMT so it can’t be a good methodology for finding truth. We don’t doubt you had this experience or that you came away with this belief.Mike in NY says that god existing is a moot point as he can’t be discovered in the natural world. We should stop wasting time arguing about religion. There are real people affected by these ideologies and their actions matter in the real world.Steve in Nebraska introduces us to the WOW signal of terrestrial genetic code, a study claiming to prove intelligent design in our genetic codes. Steve dives into some numerology to prove a pattern in the genetic code. The paper is based on the WOW signal SETI discovered in 1977, they compare that signal to our genetic code and fudge some numbers and voila, intelligent design. The WOW signal is very interesting but you should research more into the comparisons of that pattern and try debunking your numerology, it doesn’t seem to hold up to scrutiny.Thank you for joining us this week! Question of the week is: Why do people REALLY hate atheists?Call the show on Sundays 4:30pm-6:00pm CT: 1-512-991-9242 or use your computer 💻 http://tiny.cc/callaxp and tell us what you believe and why!We request pronouns as part of the call screening process on our shows, and we display the pronouns our callers provide. If you see a caller with no pronouns indicated, this is because they chose not to provide us with any, and we respect that decision.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, The Cross Examiner and Kelley Laughlin unravel the meaning to life, count marbles that can’t be seen, ask who gave us all these instructions and discuss mangos with a caller led by god.Moses in FL feels like god has led him to send the message of how god is trying to manifest himself in our lives and is hidden in our hearts. If he wants us to know him, why has he hidden himself? How do you decide who hears the message? What is the mechanism of being “led”? Would it be cool if I asked you for $10K to invest in a bank account that will grow to $10M if you just believe it, yet you will never see it? How do we tell the difference between magical, invisible things when they all offer the same promises? If the Christian God reaches people through different religions, why is there a need for different messages? What happens to logic when you believe conflicting things within a religion at the same time? We need measurable evidence, not reasons or stories, that supports your belief in god.Landy in FL says that Genesis 1:29 are instructions that prove vegetarian diets are part of the answer to increased mutations and can be medically beneficial. What makes you think there are tests in Egypt that predate the Summerian texts in Cuneiform? Why can’t you tell us who gave the instructions contained in the Bible? Why do you want to rush through points rather than have a genuine conversation? What do we infer or conclude from god instructing us to have a vegan diet that is medically beneficial? What if it were shown this is actually bad for you and how do you feel about all the bad medical advice in the Bible?Andrew in India does not believe that people can be both atheist and agnostic. Atheism is simply not being convinced there is a god where being agnostic is not truly knowing if there is a god. What is the point about these terms knowing that language can evolve? Belief and knowledge are just points on a scale and don’t necessarily support one another. Can we be wrong about our beliefs? Agnostic is not the same as anti-gnostic and the two are commonly conflated.Gene in TX uses a jar full of yellow marbles with one red marble that we can’t see to describe the possibility of god. Possibilities need to be demonstrated before we can accept them.Mike in SC just went to a funeral that caused the question of why atheists don’t find meaning in life if atheism is true. Why would we look for meaning if we already found it? Where would you be in a life that lacks a belief in god? Are you looking for a meaning in life or are you looking for meaning in an afterlife? What does the meaning of life mean and how do you obtain this? What happens if the relationships that give you meaning to life end? We might find more similarities in how we see meaning to life than it seems.Thank you for joining us this week! Question of the week is: (Wrong answers only) What was god’s motivation to flood the earth?We request pronouns as part of the call screening process on our shows, and we display the pronouns our callers provide. If you see a caller with no pronouns indicated, this is because they chose not to provide us with any, and we respect that decision.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.