Talk Heathen

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Talk Heathen 04.38 2020-09-20 with Eric Murphy & Vi La Bianca Sep 20, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! Hope you are still being safe during the ongoing pandemic (still, sigh.) We hope to be a sanctuary for you in this chaotic world. In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Eric Murphy is joined by Vi La Bianca. #LaMurph
Let’s get to calls! Theo from the Czech Republic would like to talk about if we have hopes for the future of mankind. Interesting question, but is it relevant to atheism? What does a God add to this question? It feels good to be kind to others there doesn’t need to be a God involved.
Simon in England is up next, he asks if you can still be an atheist if you believe in ghosts. Actually yes, you can still be an atheist and believe you’ve experienced ghosts or spirits. Though as a skeptic, there is likely an explanation for the experience (such as sleep paralysis, hallucinations, embellished thoughts, shared experiences, cultural priming … etc.)
Returning caller Mark in Washington DC, is wondering about having different theories of knowledge, what do we subscribe to, and are these justifiable true beliefs. He brings up a couple premises and continues the discussion about the Kalam Cosmological argument.
Penelope in Oklahoma is asking in what way does usefulness (example: using chakras) outweigh truthfulness. What a great question, and Vi breaks it down for her.
Kevin in New York is calling back, this time wanting to talk about math. But math is descriptive like a language and doesn’t necessarily prove a God exists… and he dropped. Guess he realized why he doesn’t call in anymore. NEXT!
Chris in Canada is wondering what is next for the atheist movement because Richard Carrier said the work is done. But the work is not done yet. This guy sounds familiar and his line of questions are really suspect... You be the judge, does he sound familiar to you?
Up next, Becky in Florida is struggling with wanting the easy answer for illness and explaining death to her child. Unfortunately, easy answers are comforting and we want it because it’s easy. Parenting beyond belief may be helpful in getting through this. Love to you Becky!
Manik in Bangladesh would like to talk about how the arguments, empirical knowledge, and scientific explanations from the Quran are true. Goes on to say that we must take it on faith and that some things in the book are true and some are metaphorical. But we should believe… Yeah, no.
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!
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Talk Heathen 04.37 2020-09-13 with Eric Murphy & Vi La Bianca Sep 13, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! Hope you all are staying safe, to our West Coast friends, please know we hope you are staying as safe as possible. In today’s episode, Eric Murphy is joined by Vi La Bianca, the dynamic duo is together again. #LaMurph!
Our first caller is RAO in Wyoming, claims to have an understanding of omnipotence and it’s not God. Is it Math or something else? He is confused about the argument, math can certainly be descriptive, and is also very similar to language to describe things. And, you’ve lost me.
Next up, Lewis in Michigan, wants to talk about how he has determined that most Atheists aren’t well read on evidence proving God. Then he tries to shift the burden of proof from the claimant to the respondent as well. He tries to dance around the ad populum fallacy. Ooooh, this should be fun!
Louis in the Philippines can prove God exists. He jumps to arguments against evolution using fallacies to explain why. It definitely sounds like he is only pausing long enough to allow Vi and Eric to talk and goes right back to his script.
Next, Meercat in Utah enjoys talking to Atheists and tries to convert them during his conversations. He is wondering why Atheists say no to his condescending arguments of “why don’t they want to see the truth that God exists.” Hmmm… I wonder.
Chris in Texas would like to talk about how the Jews and Romans testimony are reliable, but not when it comes to the “miracles documented” in the Bible. Why isn’t the Bible enough? Vi breaks it down for him.
Lovely Judy in Indiana is slowly deconverting and has a couple questions about free will in heaven and other end of life questions that her pastor would never answer. This keeps pulling her back into Christianity. She’s a real sweetheart and is absolutely delightful! Keep asking questions and thinking through these, it’s definitely worth it! Welcome to the other side Judy, it’s really nice here.
Mark in Washington DC believes the Kalam Cosmological argument is a good first step to a theist’s case for God and the beginning of the Universe as we know it. But it’s not a great way to explain where and how the Universe actually began. Philosophy isn’t always the best tool to explain everything all the time.
Thanks for joining us today! Please be safe out there, especially all of you on the West Coast.
If you’d like to donate to help battle the West Coast’s apocalyptic wildfires, here’s a comprehensive link that lists a couple great ways to help: https://traveloregon.com/things-to-do/ways-to-help-during-oregon-wildfires/ and https://www.calfund.org/wildfire-relief-fund/
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Talk Heathen 04.36 2020-09-06 with Eric Murphy & Vi La Bianca Sep 06, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend folks. Today’s episode is brought to you by, when wearing a mask, make sure it covers both your mouth AND NOSE! Talk Heathen today is hosted by Vi La Bianca and Eric Murphy, LaMurph is together once again!
Brandon in Arizona is calling once again, this time asking about irreducible complexity and our view of prophecy (yet again.) Eric breaks down evolution for him in extremely general steps and Vi backs Eric up with facts. Unfortunately, this conversation goes nowhere because Brandon isn’t really listening and continues to use the argument of incredulity to prove his claim.
Sam in England is wondering what Eric and Vi think about if a God can manifest itself in our world and what that would look like. This is due to an experience they had at one point in their life. Vi gets right to the point, and explains how God could be science or advanced technology, or really anything that appears to be beyond our current understanding. Once the “supernatural” is observed in the natural world and explained, does it cease to be “supernatural?”
Next up, Andrew in Malaysia would like to talk about objective standards of evidence. What would it take for us (atheists) to believe in a God, and how many medical miracles does it take for us to believe. Eric and Vi both pose a lot of questions in response to Andrew and continue to press him on truth, evidence, and proof of his claims. The old adage rings true here: Faith is an unreliable pathway to truth.
Michael in California queries whether we can be more than agnostic (either atheist or theist.) But what does that all mean though? We need to include the gnostics in this and there are folks who are strong and nuanced in denial of God concepts. And the argument of incredulity appears again (even though Michael denies it!)
Returning caller Kathy in Pennsylvania would like to talk about the supernatural, exorcism, and some scary movie watching. She also wonders why a demon/evil spirit is religious and fearful of said religion. Even though she rambles a bit, Kathy brings up a really interesting question about exorcism and its effectiveness. This is a great call!
Jason in Pennsylvania claims he is agnostic but has trouble with evolution in terms and comparison to creation. Except it sounds like he is very confused with abiogenesis, speciation, and evolution. I would definitely recommend doing a little more research and you will find some pretty interesting museum exhibits showing the available fossil record.
That’s our show for this week! Thank you to all essential workers! See you next week!
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Talk Heathen 04.35 2020-08-30 with Eric Murphy & Vi La Bianca Aug 30, 2020

Show notes

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Heathen! We are joined again by our hosts Eric Murphy and Vi La Bianca. Thanks for tuning in!
Up first, Patricia in NM, asks Vi about their secular witchcraft practices. Vi explains how secular rituals can “hijack” one’s brain to affect your mindset. “Spiritual” experiences can be secular, rituals do not need to invoke the supernatural to be meaningful.
Logan in CA asks how Christians can rationalize the nature of hell.. Vi reaches back to their Christian roots explaining the theology and why they no longer believe those teachings. Thanks for calling and we’ll see you in Discord at tiny.cc/ACADiscord!
Elli in Germany discusses moving past Christian behaviors. The hosts discuss religion “programming” these behaviors and how to break down automatic reactions and rewire better thought patterns.
Bridget in TX asks how to deal with her mother’s religious beliefs that conflict with reality. The hosts share how to pick your battles and show empathy for a loved one with whom they disagree.
Jay in VA is no longer a theist, but suspects there is a supernatural component to our existence. Eric breaks down the concept of consciousness and how it relates to our existence. This call takes a turn and ends up in Deep Space Nine.
Rande in CA asks about faith, reason, logic, and indoctrination.... This call has it all. Rande shares how declaring his atheism has led to all sorts of conversations. Our condolences for your loss..
Moldred in NY talks about pantheism and how god is the Big Bang. Our hosts are not convinced of that claim. Convince us of your convictions, Moldred! Better luck next time!
Mike in CO discusses his conversion to Judaism, and how he appreciates more of the culture and history than the theology.
Doug in AZ talks about living a deconverted adult life with religious family members. Our hosts have some conversational methods to soothe over those tensions while also realizing that we can’t deconvert others.
Jason in PA talks about beliefs, agnosticism, and responding to christians who want to know the truth. Vi explains how biblical “knowledge” is often intersected by myths and exaggerations, and how to convey that to Christians.
Thanks for watching everyone, thank you to our crew and supporters that keep this ship afloat! We’ll see you next week!!
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Talk Heathen 04.34 2020-08-23 with Eric Murphy & Vi La Bianca Aug 23, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens! Today’s episode is very special, it’s Vi’s Birthday! Happiest of Birthdays, Vi! We love and adore you! In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, the dynamic duo are together again, Eric Murphy and Vi La Bianca.
Let’s get to calls, our first caller is Robert in New York. He is calling about the religious and “repeatable” proof of a paradigm shift with the use of DMT. Now he claims he can achieve this same effect through yoga. Everything is connected, man!
Jeff in Pennsylvania wants us to play Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You” on the show! ...but not really. He is really calling again to tell us God and Christ loves us and this love doesn’t come from him. What is Love? Baby don’t hurt me! Eric again breaks it down for him.
Next up, Chuck in Michigan has gotten over his first time caller jitters and has called again claiming he has an argument against natural selection and evolution. Oh good! As usual, Eric and Vi help him through these arguments and make their case for evolution.
Brandon in Arizona calls in talking about original sin and the goodness of God. Also claims that our DNA changed in the garden of Eden. But how did it change and who changed it though? Oh, it was sin? So an apple changed our DNA way back when…and we are born with Satan’s DNA. Oh, that’s delicious. Brandon, is doubt a problem and why?
After that wild call, Jonathan calls about conversing with his family after leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses. Walk into any conversation with family members still in that cult, make sure to set boundaries and terms and leave if they cross the line.
Kenneth is also an Ex-JW and calls in to say that the fact there is no afterlife paradise sucks. Religion definitely does a disservice here because it doesn’t equip us with how to deal with death.
That’s our show for today, thanks for tuning in! Essential workers, we appreciate you! Please keep being safe everyone! See you next week!
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Talk Heathen 04.33 2020-08-16 with Eric Murphy & Trae Crowder Aug 16, 2020

Show notes

Greetings, Heathens! Hope your week is off to a grand start. We have a very special guest in the co-host seat today, comedian and activist, Trae Crowder! Welcome to the show Trae, we are glad you are here! Here’s his Youtube channel, check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTHsQd-vRXK1bp4vpifl6yA
Let’s get to calls! Returning caller Phil in North Carolina has issues with our choice of thumbnails and the term “cafeteria Christians”. He continues to talk about the problems with ad populum and “people want their God.” Eric moves on to ask, is it true and pragmatic, though?
Next up, Chuck in Michigan calls in to talk about speciation, evolution, and how Aristotle’s unmoved mover fits into it all. He also starts to set up his argument by basically giving us the history of life on Earth and how the Cambrian explosion of life happened too quickly (it didn’t, it took MILLIONS of years) and doesn’t fall in line with Darwinian evolution. “I don’t know, therefore God,” doesn’t work in this example (or any example). Will Chuck get to the explanation of the Aristotle’s unmoved mover argument without help from Eric? (Nope.)
PJ in North Carolina is wondering about the cherry picking that Christians use to justify their behavior, and how to basically accept their beliefs after a childhood of religious trauma and abuse. Eric speaks from experience about this specific issue and how to better approach this problem. Eric then asks: “Why is your recovery (from religious trauma) requiring other people?” PJ, perhaps contacting Recovering from Religion may be helpful to you: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org or the Secular Therapy Project: https://www.seculartherapy.org/
Ivi in Florida is next, she recently deconverted from a Pentacostal church where they “spoke in tongues” and still has a fear of Hell. The call drops, but Trae and Eric talk a bit about this fear of hell and how many new atheists handle it.
Next in the queue is Kathy in Pennsylvania is calling about moral relativism, she starts out talking about being worried about going to Hell and moves onto the topic of moral relativism. She finally gets to the question: Do we believe there is an absolute morality or can morals be relative?
Dak in California said he was cursed on July 27th! He was supposed to be afflicted with illness and it hasn’t happened! Wow, and Eric’s curse is going on 5 months and nothing has happened. At the end of the day, this call is about someone’s random internet fight...and maybe not that useful.
Thanks for joining us today, Trae! Thanks to you viewers, mods, and crew as well, this was a fantastic show. Please continue to be safe out there, this world is only better with you in it! See you next week!
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Talk Heathen 04.32 with Eric Murphy and Vi La Bianca Aug 10, 2020

Show notes

Greetings heathens! It’s Sunday, so that means it’s time for ‘Coffee Topic Sunday Show.’ Otherwise known as Talk Heathen! We’re glad you’re here!
Let’s get to calls. The first caller is Bashar from the Middle East, who has a personal dilemma that he would like to discuss: How does he help with others’ deconversion and beginning stages of atheism? Great query Bashar, but hopefully you don’t feel as though you are taking on their burden.
Next up, Nick in Tennessee calls about how amazing nature is and is wondering about Pagan practices. Practicing these rituals can be beneficial, just be careful you’re not propping them up to being anything other than fiction and fun.
Derek is wondering about courtroom witnesses and how different they are to personal testimony of the bible. He counters and asks, “How did the story of the Bible get told?” Because stories are fun and we like to gather and tell fantastical tales?
Hayden calls in saying that comments on atheist channels are vindictive and horrible. Here’s a protip Hayden: DON’T READ THE COMMENTS. It’s not helpful at all at further conversations.
Alex claims God is as real and tangible as a coffee mug or speaking in tongues. Eric moves on to say that anonymous and unknown authors don’t make for compelling evidence of claims. Alex doesn’t really like to listen, he rambles, and only waits for his turn to talk…
Phil in North Carolina calls in asking about “theological pretzels” and diving into the ad populum argument. He also claims that people by and large will always believe in something.
Kendall in Washington calls back! This time he asks what evidence helped make the hosts atheists. He also says at the end of the call he wants to talk to Matt about slavery. (Hey folks: Talk to the hosts of the show you’re calling, not other show hosts.)
Merissa is next, and she feels behind educationally after deconverting. Oh Merissa! We all felt that way, the best way forward is to find some really great and communicative channels here on YouTube and have fun on your new adventure!
That’s our show today! We’ll see you next week!
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Talk Heathen 04.31 2020-08-02 with Eric Murphy & Vi La BIanca Aug 02, 2020

Show notes

Greetings, Heathens! Please continue to be safe, wear your mask, and social distance when possible. We are not out of the woods yet! In today’s episode, it’s the dynamic duo once again, Vi La Bianca and Eric Murphy!
Let’s get to calls. The first caller is returning caller Hadi from North Carolina. Continuing the conversation from previous calls, where we spoke and asked questions about the nature of truth; this time we question the afterlife and religious promises. The answer is 42, btw.
Next up, Vera from Colorado calls about her 2 cents on theism. She definitely seems to be close to the edge of deconversion! Eric gives Vera a challenge, try to see if you can find a purpose for yourself and your life without pinning it on God.
Hermer is up next, calling about prophecy and how it relates in today’s world. He also incorrectly stattes Revelation was written before Christ…except it wasn’t. Hermer is fascinating, and he lets us know that Vi is an atheist sorcerer!
Kendall calls back, continuing a conversation about objective morality and personal preference. He moves on to ask if God was true, would we repent? Kendall goes on to say, all that needs to be proven that God is omnipresent, is to prove God. Kendall, well, we are waiting for this proof…will it come in hula hoop form?
We have a first time caller, and he is a theist! He also claims to have a copyright on the Bible. Um, ok… Joe from Oklahoma also seems to be a presup (aka: presuppositional apologist). Whew, this one is a live one!
Next up, Aaron in Texas wonders when we figured out morality in our evolutionary timeline, how and when did we figure out that individual suffering was bad for our species.
WEAR A MASK! Thanks for tuning in! Please be safe and healthy out there, we appreciate you and when the pandemic/quarantine is lifted, we love to see you all in person at the library!
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Talk Heathen 04.30 2020-07-26 with Eric Murphy & Vi La BIanca Jul 26, 2020

Show notes

Greetings Heathens, welcome to a brand new week! It’s the 117th day of March… (Anyone else having weird time dilation this year?) Today’s episode of Talk Heathen is brought to you by keeping your mask over your nose and mouth. It’s totally pointless if it’s not over your nose, peeps, get it together! Today’s hosts are Vi La Bianca and Eric Murphy (aka: LaMurph or MurphVi!
OUr first caller is returning caller Jeff from Pennsylvania. He wants to talk about how we use faith as a figure of speech and that everyone believes in or has faith in something. I for one am working to use confidence or truth instead of using “I have faith...”. Unfortunately, Jeff attempts to only use his definition of faith and force this definition on the hosts. Come on Jeff, don’t be dishonest!
Next up, Daniel in Tennessee wants to prove that since objective moral values exist hence a God exists. He’s a Theist On the EDGE!
Dawit in Washington is up next, asking how science can help transition theists into atheists and how to continue scientific research on your own. Further discussion moves into how this informed research can be political. Make every effort to utilize the scientific method into researching these concepts, look into articles that utilize peer review, and be skeptical of what you do find. That’s a good beginning. Oh and Vi’s “How to Skeptic” project! https://bit.ly/3f97Thm
Link in Washington would like to talk about lingering beliefs, hell, and Pascal’s Wager. He would not like to burn eternally for no reason. Eric asks, “How many different hells are you afraid of?” All this fear is due to religious trauma and we’re sold faulty information through religion. Link gives us some gold: “If God created Hell, then the only person/one who deserves to go to Hell is him because that’s the only infinite crime.” MIC DROP!
Next up, Kendall in Washington wonders if Christianity is proven true, would we repent?
Ulf from Norway was raised religious (fundamentalist Baptist) and realized he suffered from PTSD due to it. Nothing in religion made sense to him and he was ostracized because of it as a child. We are happy you are with us Ulf! Keep on working through this, it gets better!
Robert in Canada wants everyone to know that everything in your head doesn’t necessarily match reality all the time. Nice!
That’s our episode for today! Please note, 2020 is a gap year from life, it doesn’t count! Please continue to be safe and healthy out there!
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Talk Heathen 04.29 2020-07-19 with Eric Murphy & Vi La BIanca Jul 19, 2020

Show notes

Greetings, Heathens! Today’s episode of Talk Heathen is brought to you by WEAR YOUR DAMN MASK! It’s very important, still. The dynamic duo are back together in today’s episode, and they have an announcement for us all. #LaMurph! It should be a great show! Also: Happy First Anniversary on the show Vi. We’re all so glad you’re here!
Let’s get to calls! The first caller is Nav from New Zealand, who recently deconverted and is wondering how to talk to his religious family.
Next up, returning caller Hadi from North Carolina would like to talk about how truth corresponds with reality. A belief being beneficial doesn’t always make it true.
The following caller named Shawn from Colorado wonders about subjectivity that we are born into and the conception of objectivity. This reminds one a bit of hard solipsism and so much navel-gazing bullshit, just trying to use cool words to prove faith is a sound epistemology.. Eric and Vi dig in and work through some of this philosophy. Down the rabbit hole we go!
Link in Washington wants to discuss his discomfort with his own cognitive dissonance and is curious about using epistemological tools to get to the truth. He also feels as though cherry picking and being a “cafeteria Christian” can hook you and provide tools that aren’t helpful in finding truth in the world.
Next up, our last caller is Ruby in Germany, who would like to know why the Western countries see the hijab as a symbol of protest or freedom, and worries this perception may further oppression in Muslim dominant countries. She goes on to say it is an illusion of choice in these countries. The problem here is that in Western countries, we are free to decide how we dress and how we wear our hair. Once it becomes a requirement, that is when it is closer to oppression.
That’s our episode for today! Thanks to all the essential workers out there, we appreciate you! Thank you to the peaceful protesters still making noise, you are also appreciated! Wear your masks and stay healthy! See you next time! And always remember, #LaMurph
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/talk-heathen--3195702/support.

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