The Atheist Experience

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity and Jim Barrows walk callers through logical fallacies, getting out of faith mindsets, and ways to learn more about evolution. Luke in AZ states that the existence of god is a rational necessity because everything will be meaningless if god doesn't exist. Why does some god’s opinion of what is meaningful have anything to do with anyone else’s? Lack of knowing what is behind everything does not mean there is a god and shows the fallacy of incredulity. Do you accept this same reasoning for anything else in the world?Art in PA regards god as the ultimate ground of existence. How do you define the “ultimate ground of existence”? Does existence have to exist and is pure philosophical nothing possible? If there was a number other than 17 frequencies to use, what does this do for your concept of god? What do we care about what theology says about science? If your god is the same as “existence”, how does calling “existence” god not lead to problems? What is the difference between Spinoza’s god and a hurricane?Jack in MD argues that the universe was created because it needs an uncaused cause, and free will is the only uncaused cause. We have not been able to rule out all the potential causes so therefore this is an argument from incredulity. What is an example of free will existing without a brain and how do you get to this being an uncaused cause? Does someone with a traumatic head injury that has lost their ability to eat have free will? We do not need to assume free will to make progress, but we do need to assume logic. Patrick in SC would like to know how to get out of a faith mindset. You ask yourself how you know things and why you think they are true. This is not done overnight but is constant because we are always learning new things. Ask yourself if you could get to any conclusion using the same method you use to get to god. Olivia in NJ asks if god was created to cope with the uncertainty of death and to explain what we don’t know. We need to make sure we are not presenting this as if the first believers were doing this maliciously. Humans like telling stories and we need to assign agency to random events. Adam in TX is looking for hardcore evidence for evolution. Start by defining what evolution is, and then must prove that either genes don’t exist, or must prove their frequency does not change over time. Watch the science journals for all the ways that evolution happens. Check out the content by Erika Gutsick Gibbon and Forrest Valkai for helpful information. You can also check out Crash Course for bit size chunks that will help broaden your understanding. Denny in MI went through conversion therapy that did not work and is considering telling his parents who he really is. Your safety and security needs to be weighed along with how hurtful it may be to your parents. Contact Recovering From Religion for help with ideas on how to deal with this. Thank you for tuning in folks! Question of the week is: What is an example of god’s sense of humor?Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

JMike and Jim Barrows discuss atheist communities and the role of oral traditions in religions. They also explore the concept of gravity and its existence. Other topics include the need for evidence in god claims, finding a community for Jewish atheists, the reliability of human thinking and reasoning, and the power of fairy tales and movies in teaching concepts.

Secular Rarity and Armin Navabi discuss practicality of turning the other cheek, consequences of coming out as atheist to Muslim parents, concept of hell as a threat, defining atheism as belief system, effective communication tips for callers, challenging assertion of eyewitness accounts, limited edition t-shirt announcement, pursuit of higher understanding in atheism.

In today's episode of The Atheist Experience, Johnny P Angel, JMike, and Kelly navigate contentious claims about biblical translations, the deeply ingrained nature of religious habits, and the ill-defined concept of eternal souls. They also grapple with the profound question of why life's meaning persists for atheists even in the face of cosmic impermanence.Mike in GA calls to clarify that the Hebrew Bible says "flying creatures," not "birds," addressing a perceived biblical error. Hosts Johnny, J Mike, and Kelly question his methodology, scrutinizing his belief rooted in his father's coma experience with an angel. They challenge the selective need for evidence, comparing it to fantastical claims, and emphasize the unreliability of trauma-induced accounts. Why demand evidence for a pterodactyl but not an angel?Mory in Brazil, a new atheist, expresses guilt over continuing "believer things" like praying, due to her deeply religious family. The hosts explore the comfort and habitual nature of rituals, noting it's common for those distancing from faith. They advise against guilt, emphasizing personal autonomy in belief and the importance of finding community that aligns with her evolving worldview.George in Europe asserts humans are "Eternal souls" inhabiting physical "suits," existing in infinite universes as a family of non-physical minds. The hosts rigorously challenge him to define "soul" and provide evidence, repeatedly asking "how do you know that?" George offers only assertions and refers to YouTube sources, leading to a breakdown in communication as the hosts emphasize the need for verifiable, foundational proof beyond metaphysical baggage.John in SC asks why it matters if people believe in God, especially if atheism is true and the universe faces heat death. The hosts explain it matters due to the societal imposition of beliefs, the potential for harm, and the intrinsic value found in human interconnectedness and experience. They argue that meaning isn't contingent on an afterlife or cosmic relevance beyond our momentary existence.Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

Welcome to 2024! Let’s kick it off this new AXP with Forrest Valki and Armin Navabi!Well, we are starting off this show with a doozy! Ronnie from Florida (why is it always Florida?)  gives Armin and Forrest a call to talk about how aliens could be an explanation for angels. The key words are “could be”. Though Ronnie would like it to be true, as Forrest points it, we don’t really know. Admitting gaps in our knowledge is true intellectual honesty which our hosts try to guide Ronnie to consider.Howard from across the pond (England) calls to ask why atheists ignore “empirical” evidence for God? We want to sin, duh! ;) Though Howard claims he has arguments atheists cannot refute according to him) that does not lead to atheists denying God. We cannot have a fear of God if we don’t believe in one. Also, there is some discussion on the scientific method and problems with flat earth claims. I just write the notes folks.Third caller in line would be Xavier from Ohio asks Armin and Xavier that if he doesn’t believe in God logically, why does he still feel His presence? Indoctrination and the brain tricking itself. Psychology, nature, and indoctrination play a three way part in this feeling which each of the hosts dive into. Feelings are not fact and it is okay if people have not let go of the emotions or sensations of belief even though logically, they know it’s wrong. Jess from Iowa is our last caller this week who is a trans-woman having to deal with her religious family members still not accepting her gender identity and laying down an ultimatum of acceptance. She asks our hosts how to have a difficult conversation with family members without being confrontational. Forrest lays down some bio-science as well for not only for Jess to use, but anyone can benefit from when discussing this issue. Armin offers perspectives on how to prioritize what your values and boundaries are and what you are willing to do/not do. This is a valuable tool for all of us to use when making decisions and finding out our motivations.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.

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.