Talk Heathen

Latest Episodes:

Talk Heathen 04.48 11-29-2020 with Eric Murphy and Seth Andrews Nov 29, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! Settle in heathens, grab that cup of velvety smooth hot chocolate or coffee, Seth Andrews and his dulcet tones joins us today. I don’t know about you, but I love his voice and I love Eric’s voice, this episode should go down as our most ASMR show ever. Combined together with Eric, this should be a fantastic show!
Let’s get to calls! Gerard from Connecticut would like to talk about to what degree can we reasonably believe and justify metaphysical claims. Unfortunately, we aren’t able to reasonably test these claims to prove them true without evidence. Using mathematics to prove this isn’t helpful, math is a language used to describe symbols, is also a scientific process, and isn’t a way to prove metaphysics.
ALERT! We interrupt this episode for a prophecy about how God exists! Just kidding, we wanted to show a clip from an episode from August about how the UN will be taking over the US in November and Trump is nowhere to be found… except this prophecy hasn’t happened. NEXT!
Sophie in Texas is up next, after experiencing a lot of loss over the years, they are seeing their mom succumbing to scams by “mediums” and isn’t sure what to do to help. Please don’t feel this is only your burden, it is not your mantle to carry, please reach out to our discord if you need any additional help working through this.
Kathy in Pennsylvania is wondering about folks calling themselves Christian and acting contrary to that. She starts talking towards the ‘No True Scotsman’ territory but stops herself. She knows all the lingo! Seth summarizes her thoughts in the amazing storyteller way that he does.
Jonathan in London is asking about how to support his theist believing wife when she says she is being punished for some spiritual infraction. He is seeking advice on how to best help her through this. Seth is able to hop in and provides some great advice.
Kevin in New York is calling back, says he doesn’t want to go down any rabbit holes. Sure you don’t… I’m a teeny bit skeptical about that. This time he would like to focus on the topic of skepticism and spiritual testimonies that people claim. Oh boy.
Tim in the Czech Republic deconverted and left his cult and is nervous about talking about how he is shunned by his family to his friends around the holiday season. Seth is able to really provide some great steps in creating your family made of friends. Family isn’t always a blood relation, the family you choose is sometimes the best.
That’s our show for this week, please continue to be safe in your area, wear your mask. The world is better with you in it. See you next week!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

Talk Heathen 04.47 11-22-2020 with Vi La Bianca and Jon Steingard Nov 22, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens!
We are switching it up a bit today, our wonderful Vi La Bianca is hosting, but please welcome Jon Steingard as our co-host today. Jon was the frontman of a Christian band and he is here to tell us his story and help others in their journey by listening to their calls and having conversations. Welcome Jon, we are glad you are here today!
Let’s get to calls! Nick in Virginia would like to get some advice when dealing with immediate family after deconverting and leaving his cult. He wants to be able to be a positive role model for his brothers and is having a tough time reconciling how they are being raised.
Ryan in Arizona is up next, he is wondering about his evolution from atheism into pantheism and back to atheism. He is also having an argument with a friend about this and keeping spiritual elements to his life and if that is ok as an atheist.
John in Texas is curious about objectivity from a subjective point of view. Jon brings it around and talks about Descartes and how he approached this. The caller’s journey with us ends with him claiming we are in the end times. Whoa, what a turn!
Big Country in Arizona is struggling with their faith because of the historical inaccuracy of the Bible and if there is real evidence of God/prophets/etc. Did Jesus/Yeshua truly exist during the Bronze Age? You’re so close BC, keep on asking questions!
Jace in Minnesota is a Norse polytheist and would like to talk about his beliefs. Vi really digs into this and asks a lot of really fantastic questions. Such as, how do you determine these beings exist, how do you show this evidence to others, or convince others they are real? This should be interesting.
Robert in Massachusetts is wondering about using “spiritual rituals” like tarot or readings in a skeptical way about it. As long as you are upfront about your intent and educational about these methods. “You don’t so much predict the future, but give them food for thought.”
That’s our show for this week, please continue to be safe in your area, wear your mask, and continue to social distance. Please stay home on Thanksgiving (for you Americans out there). It is incredibly selfish to host a large gathering with COVID spiking and overwhelming hospitals countrywide. See you next week!
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Talk Heathen 04.46 11-15-2020 with Eric Murphy and Vi La Bianca Nov 15, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! Are you ready for another episode of Talk Heathen? Prepare yourself, here it comes! In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Eric Murphy is joined by Vi La Bianca. #LaMurph
Let’s get to calls! Nick in Wisconsin would like to talk about how folks in lockdown are able to survive a lockdown financially. He keeps repeating the same question and doesn’t sound willing to go outside his echo chamber for an answer.
Jordan in California is up next, he wonders what epistemic grounding to start with and what position would be most consistent to have. Vi asks a very important question: Are you expecting to have absolute certainty about what is true in the world?
Chrys in Pennsylvania, is curious if we think Lazarus and the Bishop of Cyprus were the same person and has a thesis/script written down he would like to read. Why should we care? Why is this relevant? He uses circular logic from the Bible to justify this was a historical supernatural event.
Charles in Pennsylvania would like to share why he still believes in God. He goes into a very long story about the internet, highly unlikely things, and probability. He was thinking of his grandfather and saw a picture of him on Ebay. There was also a car… a Ford Fairlane in this post? I am so lost, but these highly unlikely things don’t mean a God is real in any way.
Brian in Georgia is curious about how to get past folks who tie their beliefs to their emotions. Eric and Vi respond how they understand the question: I am what I believe. They also equate their ideas with who they are and their identity.
Bryana in Indiana would like to talk about how her family makes fun of her religious trauma behind her back and how she is struggling with being alone during the holidays. I am so sorry, Bryana. That is definitely not ok. Good luck with what you decide to do, we are here for you.
Up next, Dizzy in California is an Atheist and can’t decide if it is ethical to attend church to challenge the other members with skepticism and questions. Ooooh, good question!
Sandra in Texas has recently disconnected from her family because of her beliefs, or lack of beliefs. She has a couple reservations about experiences in her life she would like to discuss as well. You’re awesome Sandra! Keep on keeping on!
That’s our show for this week, please continue to be safe in your area, wear your mask, social distance, and stay healthy. The world is better with you in it. See you next week!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

Talk Heathen 04.45 11-08-2020 with Eric Murphy and Vi La Bianca Nov 08, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! What an interesting and stressful week it’s been, thankfully it’s time for some heathens who talk. In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Eric Murphy is joined by Vi La Bianca. #LaMurph
First, a message from Richard Carrier in response to a previous caller on a recent episode and how there is still work to be done in the atheist community.
Let’s get to calls! Jim in Canada would like to talk about how atheists can actually know that God is not actively deceiving us into nonbelief. How do we really and truly KNOW? (this guy sounds VERY familiar…)
Jamie in Wisconsin is up next, would like to talk about the justification for abortion and whether tax is theft. But where does this intersect with atheism though? Hmmm… he seems to be a walking contradiction about some of this stuff.
John in Connecticut, is wondering about dualism, if souls exist, and materialism. Is consciousness supernatural under the dualism and supernatural definitions? Fallacies and poor arguments abound with this call. Weeee!
Elli in Germany is asking about family reactions to her personal journey to atheism. She is still struggling with how to fully understand this and how to justify her nonbelief to her family.
David in Mexico is curious about how to best fulfill a family member’s last wishes if they are atheist and their family is theist. He is also dealing with the religiosity of funerals in general. It is definitely a worthy topic of conversation and you have the right to completely lay out these last wishes that you would like to be respected.
Edgar in California would like to talk about Hitchen’s Razor and how we should approach others in conversation about religion and atheism, especially while being Hispanic. ¡Buena Suerte Edgar!
Up next, Larry in Texas is struggling with the concept (or word) atheist due to it’s somewhat negative connotation or perception. Yeah, we are actively working on this, positive atheism for the win!
That’s our show for this week. Also, WINTER IS COMING and the pandemic is still ongoing! Please continue to be safe in your area, wear your mask, continue to be socially distanced, and wash your hands! The world is better with you in it. See you next week!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

Talk Heathen 04.44 11-01-2020 with Eric Murphy and Vi La Bianca Nov 01, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens, and Happy late Halloween! Can you believe it’s already November? While 2020 has pretty much sucked in all sorts of ways, I’m glad to see the year end. Hopefully next year will bring in new and positive changes… Make sure to vote on Tuesday! In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Eric Murphy is joined by Vi La Bianca. #LaMurph
Let’s get to calls! Valentin from Romania would like to talk about his concept of how God physically affects biology and evolution. He gets a little confused about concepts and ontological statements though. Eric finally asks, how does God affect your biology? He definitely sounds incredibly confused. Vi figures it out, it’s equivocation fallacies!
Kirk in Wisconsin is up next, he is calling back asking about this statement: ‘I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ.’ What do we as atheists think about this statement? Implication and choice of words within this statement is a bit problematic.
Mohammed in Jordan is posing the idea that since Islam is the “youngest” or most recent religion of the Abrahamic religions, it is the best one and most likely true. He goes on to say that Muslims are the most happy, healthier, and live longer because of their faith. Oh boy.
Luk Vance in Canada is asking about the prime mover argument and how he is convinced by it. He would like to know what the Atheist viewpoint is on this argument. This was slightly painful and confusing to listen to. I don’t really know what was discussed. It hurts thinking about it!
Hunter in Illinois is curious about morality and where it comes from. Is it from God and is it good because it comes from God? The problem with this is it can turn into a circular argument pretty quickly. Eric breaks it down for him.
That’s our show for this week, please continue to be safe in your area, wear your mask, keep social distancing and be safe out there! The world is better with you in it. See you next week!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

Talk Heathen 04.43 10-18-2020 with Vi La Bianca and Dr. Darrel Ray Oct 25, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! Hope you all are doing well, please continue to be safe out there. In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Vi La Bianca is joined today by Dr. Darrel Ray. It’s going to be a great show!
Let’s get to calls! Caitlin in Nebraska is studying psychology and has some specific questions for Dr. Ray regarding happiness. Who as a group are the most happy, is it the religious, is it the spiritual? Dr. Ray responds, folks within a community seem to be the most happy.
RJ in Colorado is up next, claims that if you look at manmade structures, the oldest tree, and human demographics, all point to a young earth and not evolution. Why do we care and how does this prove theism is real? And he doesn’t think carbon dating is an acceptable way to gauge age. And doesn’t think it's necessary to cite sources. This is a fun call.
Jamie in Wisconsin, is curious about DNA and how it can be encoded or programs our brain development. Dr. Ray attempts to set him straight with facts!
Jacob in California wants to clear up a couple things from his previous call and wanted to call about the Atheist confirmation bias. He is just as condescending as before… but take a listen and make your own conclusions.
Amanda in the Netherlands, is wondering about the fear of hell after deconverting and experiencing some NDEs. She is hopeful we can help her with this fear and how to work through it.
Michael in Maryland would like to talk about being an anti-theist and how he is trying to not incite anger with his stance on religion. Vi breaks it down for him on how to proceed and be an ally in secular humanism to folks within religion.
That’s our show for this week, please continue to be safe in your area, wear your mask, and VOTE! The world is better with you in it. See you next week!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

Talk Heathen 04.42 10-18-2020 with Eric Murphy and Vi La Bianca Oct 18, 2020

Show notes

Grab that beverage Heathen fans, it’s time for another episode of Talk Heathen! In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Eric Murphy is joined by Vi La Bianca. #LaMurph
“Jimmy” from Canada would like to talk about the dishonest use of the term Atheist. First let’s talk about the definitions of dishonesty and Atheist. Eric puts it bluntly, it seems like Jimmy is gatekeeping a word. Hmm…. His voice sounds familiar, what do you all think?
Chris in California is up next, he asks about spirituality and how the brain actually works within reality. For example deja vu, which is a purely a “misfile of information into long term memory instead of short term memory and we think it’s an experience from long ago.”
Richard in California is wondering about the Atheist position on a few topics including the existence of God or Gods. First let’s talk about definitions...
Geno in California is asking about free will (and eventually racism and thought crime.) Eric responds, Free will in regards to what and then goes on to say that it doesn’t really make sense within reality. It’s a really interesting thought experiment if anything.
Catanin in Romania believes that the bible exemplifies empathy, compassion, and love and is calling in to talk about it and it’s usefulness. But does it really prove a God exists? Does being religious benefit society?
Kirk in Wisconsin would like to talk about what Lutherans believe and how different it is from other sects of Christianity. He’ll be calling back next week to really dig into it.
Up next, Laura in Arizona is wondering what we know about Tulpas. A Tulpa is a concept in mysticism/the paranormal of a being which is created through spiritual or mental powers. How is this different from an imaginary friend? Can they be beneficial to mental health? This is a tough one and approaches the realm of therapy and psychology.
John in Colorado, the sacrifice of Jesus doesn’t qualify as atonement for sins according to Jewish law. For example, He wasn’t blemish free, he was a he and not a she... Interesting! Sending to discord!
Frank in Belgium would like to know how to talk about how religion can be toxic to children. While we would love to help, there are factors at play that may be important to be aware of. Definitely reaching out to the community would be a good first step.
That’s our show for this week, please continue to be safe in your area, wear your mask. The world is better with you in it. See you next week!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

Talk Heathen 04.41 10-11-2020 with Eric Murphy and Thomas Westbrook Oct 11, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! It’s another Sunday, time for more talking with heathens. In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Eric Murphy is joined by The Holiest of Koolaids, Thomas Westbrook.
Let’s get to calls! Itto from Arkansas would like to talk about how suffering is not good evidence for one’s faith or evidence for a god. Yep, we agree!
Christian in Wisconsin is up next, he would like to talk about Thomas’ video about the perception from Theists that Atheism will be the downfall of nations and society. Thomas really gets into summarizing his research and how interesting it is. Go check it out!
Chris in California, is wondering about how to label himself and claims he is an agnostic theist. Relies upon his “gut” feelings to rationalize a God belief and is also claiming he is convinced that a God exists.
Kevin in New York, is wondering about prophecy and the book of Enoch. Luckily Thomas loves this sort of conversation and jumps right in. Eric finally asks, are there physical giants in the world today and were they around historically. Kevin keeps talking about and pointing to the Bible to justify his faulty claims. Except we don’t accept the Bible as an authority for this claim though. This is a really interesting conversation, it gets a little heated.
Sven in Washington would like to talk about how he is also an agnostic theist and how morality is defined from a humanist perspective.
Dayana in Lebanon is curious about experiences she has had that seemed supernatural. How can we explain these occurrences? Thomas talks about science and how these minor hallucinations can happen because of our flawed biology. Interesting!
Kelly in California would like to talk about logic as a construct. Here we go… Eric loves this sort of conversation and really excels at talking about it. Check it out if you’re interested in a more philosophical talk about the laws of logic.
That’s our show for this week, please continue to be safe in your area, wear your mask. The world is better with you in it. See you next week!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

Talk Heathen 04.40 10-4-2020 with Eric Murphy and Vi La Bianca Oct 04, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! It’s another Sunday, we are glad you are here joining us. In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, a young Aron Ra (No Wait! It’s Eric Murphy with flat-ironed hair!) is joined by Vi La Bianca. #LaMurph
Let’s get to calls! Jonathan from Arizona would like to talk about Pascal’s Wager. Could we be wrong? Can it be rationally justified? Eric breaks it down for him.
Kevin in New York is up next, don’t worry, this is a different Kevin in New York. He is wondering about morality and his conversation with Matt. Ok…Now he has a list of questions and ends the call with: No no no I’m NOT DONE… Oops!
Returning caller Kevin in New York, yes that Kevin, is wondering about the tools to use to determine whether or not God is real. He wants to talk about Math again. Here we go!
Tony in Canada is asking about “before time” in the universe, “before time” doesn’t really exist nor make any sense. Claims that something that can’t be measured can’t exist and how can we measure time? Is he actually questioning if time exists? Eric would love to dive into this, but we don’t have TIME. LOL!
Shad in Connecticut is wondering about if it is worth having debates with theists and whether it matters in the long run. Should we just let people believe what they want? All this seems so fruitless. Definitely take time off if you need to, but your voice is valuable.
Up next, Alphonse in New Zealand is calling about what the definition of Atheism is and follows up with asking about being alone when questioning faith. Eric and Vi also give their take on their definitions.
Derek in the UK would like to talk about how he believes ghosts are real but he is an atheist. Is he a skeptic? He continues and tells a riveting and spooky ghost story from 1966. Even though this was a great story, it’s likely to have been something explainable and is purely anecdotal.
Simon in Australia wants to talk about how life is what it is and doesn’t need to be complicated. We are in total agreement with you! This sort of discussion is best left for the discord server. See you there Simon!
George in Virginia is up next, as a pluralist theist is wondering how to approach really bad apologist arguments. Eric and Vi discuss this and guide him to a great conclusion.
That’s our show for this week, please continue to be safe out there, wear your mask. The world is better with you in it. See you next week!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

Talk Heathen 04.39 2020-09-27 with Eric Murphy & Vi La Bianca Sep 27, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! Grab that beverage and get ready, it’s another episode of Talk Heathen! In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Eric Murphy is joined by Vi La Bianca. #LaMurph
Let’s get to calls! Jordan from North Carolina is struggling with residual belief that the Christian God is real. She is also wondering if while questioning her belief, if it is the right time to enter into a relationship with someone else.
Todd in Alabama is up next, he would like to talk about alien technology from the future. It says so in the Bible. Oh it does?? Please prove it! He moves on to so many non sequiturs it was hard to follow, but includes Thoth wrote the Bible, the Koran, and other ancient religious texts … There was an attempt.
Johan in Sweden is trying to defend his understanding and definition of theism. Eric asks about his inner monologue, and if he believes that it is intricately tied to his definition of God.
Tony in Oklahoma is responding to AG Barr’s false statement that Atheists can’t be moral. She would like to rewrite his bait statement that Atheists and secular people want religion out of public life. Hmmm… sounds like Tony may be questioning some things while she works this out.
Jacob in California is wondering if we believe that rape victims were forced to marry their rapists and was it outlined in the Bible. Eric responds yes and explains why. Vi also agrees and adds that the culture of the time views women as property. But it seems like Jacob isn’t willing to listen, misunderstands the culture of the time, and is incredibly condescending. Being a rape apologist is a really bad look dude.
Minh in California is wondering about what best tool to use while interpreting the Bible and how to determine what is a good tool and what is a bad one.
Up next, Chris in California would like to talk about definitions, and claims to be neither atheist nor theist (it doesn’t really work that way… but ok.) He would then like to talk about faith and hope.
Kildigs in Virginia would like to talk about a hypothetical, if God revealed themselves today, would we feel obligated to praise them. Eric says maybe, Vi says no. What an interesting question!
Our last caller of the day is Victor in Florida, his parents believe that people with tattoos are children of Satan and he would like advice on how to approach them. Vi really helps him go through the thought process on how to protect himself.
That’s our show for this week, please continue to be safe in your area, wear your mask. The world is better with you in it. See you next week!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

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