The Atheist Experience

Latest Episodes:

The Atheist Experience 26.16 04-17-2022 with Jim Barrows and Forrest Valkai Apr 17, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of the Atheist experience! This week, Jim Barrows is joined by Forrest Valkai!
First up is Alex from Israel who wants to talk about lucid dreaming and its possible naturalistic explanatory power for out of body & near death experiences.
Next is Nate from CA who identifies as an atheist, but takes a 50/50 confidence stance on the true/false claim that a God exists.
Next is Brett from MO who asks us if Atheism is an objective position or subjective?
Up next is Matthew from SC who doesn’t understand what makes someone biologically transgender, versus someone just “choosing” to identify as a sex they weren’t born as.
Next up is Theodore from PA who reasons that after death, our consciousness continues onward via the consciousness of others. So is consciousness like an organic version of distributed computing?
Next up is Jay from TX who claims to have had a near death experience, and believes it to be evidence of the afterlife.
Finally, Jay from MO is calling in to present the standard “it’s just a theory” gish gallop. The call comes with such great quotes like “Life can’t come from nothing,” and “Where does electricity come from?”
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The Atheist Experience 26.15 04-10-2022 with Matt Dillahunty and Shannon Q Apr 10, 2022

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Shannon Q!
First up is Dominic from CA who claims to be able to prove the existence of God using the concepts of “Objective Morality” & “Karma.”
Tim from CA is calling to see if our hosts agree with their assessment that religious belief is a psychological disorder.
Next up is John from Sweden who wants to know what motivates someone who does not believe in a God or afterlife, why care about creating a better world if we are just going to die and not get to experience it?
Isaiah from NV is calling to present a definition of spirituality. I am convinced that spirituality is necessarily first person at this point because I’ve yet to hear a single, consistent definition for that word. “The Mind is everything...” O_o
Next is Anthony from VA who wants to take a crack at arguing for intelligent design via a hypothetical, and an appeal to probability.
Anthony from FL is calling to argue that there is a proto-consciousness within all matter in the universe that when combined, emerges as a base-level consciousness throughout the universe.
Finally, Don from OH is calling to argue that secular morality allows for people to create their own personal morality and do whatever they want.
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The Atheist Experience 26.14 04-03-2022 with Matt Dillahunty and Apostate Prophet Apr 03, 2022

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Apostate Prophet!
First up is Samuel from UT who is calling to suggest that Matt’s chess model of secular morality is incomplete and needs to be expanded on.
Anthony from VA is calling back to present a new and “improved” argument for intelligent design.
Next is John from Sweden who wants advice from AP on how express their dwindling faith in Islam to their close family.
Javier from IA calls to ask our hosts why they are called transphobic & islamophobia by others. I think we can figure out why.
Next is Nikki from OR who was formerly an Atheistic Jew who found Jesus, but won’t tell us what the experience was or at least where Jesus was hiding.
Henri from Estonia believes that God doesn’t physically exist, but exists metaphysically within humans?
Patrick from FL claims that Matt caused them to develop faith, but they don’t know what the God they believe in actually is.
Jacob from TX claims that they were once an Atheist, but was convinced later in life by credible evidence that Christianity was true.
Ben from TX is an ex-Muslim who is wants to call out the lies of Muslim apologists spread about the Quran regarding the subject of child mariage.
Next up is Robert from ID who admits that it is impossible to prove a God, but it's reasonable to believe in one anyway.
Our final caller is Jaime from AL presents the concept of the “elevation” emotion as a naturalistic explanation for the feeling theists associate as the holy spirit.
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The Atheist Experience 26.13 03-27-2022 with Matt Dillahunty and Captain Dadpool Mar 28, 2022

Show notes

First up is Mark from PA who recently lost a loved one and is struggling with the typical Christian belief that God is loving when such suffering is allowed to persist.
Next up is Anthony from PA who claims that intelligent design is philosophically sound. Can the caller demonstrate the truth of intelligent design without being fallacious? Find out now!
Next is Bob from TN who calls to read us bible verses, specifically John 4:10, that somehow demonstrate the truth of...itself? Start the clock.
Tru from TX is calling to ask for advice on dealing with extremely religious family members who act hurtfully whenever the topic is broached.
Next up is Patrick from FL who wants to know why many skeptics deem extrasensory perception as “hooey” and dismiss it out of hand.
Next up is Matthew from England who believes that explicit (capable of assessing evidence), weak (not claiming certainty) atheists have a burden of proof. How?
Next is Jack from FL who presents a “simple” syllogism to prove God. Typically, syllogisms are not 1000+ words.
Mr. Warlight from AK calls to present the single greatest argument for the existence of Ghosts. Check-mate skeptics! Flawless victory!
Finally, Noah from OR wants some clarification on the objective and subjective components of a secular moral system.
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The Atheist Experience 26.12 03-20-2022 with Matt Dillahunty and Apostate Prophet Mar 20, 2022

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Apostate Prophet!
First up is Padraic from Ireland who calls in to claim that belief in a god is more reasonable than atheism. A great many claims are made...
Next is David from AZ who wants to convince the hosts to adopt their theology using “logical” premises only. Oh, if only that were true.
Joseph from MD calls into ask what motivates an Atheist to act morally without a God? Queue a presentation on secular moral systens.
Next up is Abu from England who was kicked out of their home and lost man family connections when the deconverted from Islam. The caller wants to know if something similar happened to our host AP when they left.
Next is Noah from OR who believes that the laws of logic and nature were created, much in the same way that societal laws are created, and that this is evidence of a creator.
Next is Patrick from FL who called to ask why our hosts are atheists rather than pantheist. While the caller’s audio dropped, our hosts provide a straight to the point answer to their question.
Next up is Drew from AZ who calls to ask if the pros of coming out as Atheist to religious family are enough to outweight the cons.
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The Atheist Experience 26.11 03-13-2022 with Shannon Q and Phil Ferguson Mar 13, 2022

Show notes

Join us today with the fun dual of Shannon Q and Phil Ferguson who will be looking for callers to finally present the proof of god.
Clarence in Ohio would like to talk about the arrogance of anthropocentric religions leading to dangerous consequences. His perspective is that secular humanism tends to be this way where pantheism does not. This is more of a philosophy than a religion. Is there a specific list of rules with scientific pantheism that needs to be adhered to? And what did the people who made these rules call themselves before the rules were made?
Next up is Shane in GA that is going to lay some math on us. He is fixing to show us something that is irrefutable. He starts with Revelations and then Daniel. He talked about Mohammed dying in 632.5. And then we are supposed to go forward 1335 years and to 1967. Abraham has two sons going back to Genesis. His feelings got hurt and started yelling and cussing. Still no math.
Kevin in Canada believes miracles are proof of god because god is the only one that can make them happen. Recorded(recalled) near death experiences are proof of these miracles. Is it possible that this experience was not actually the person outside their physical body? None of these claims can be substantiated or repeated. The sigma-6 receptor prevents hypoxia by allowing DMT to be produced which is a natural hallucinogen. How are these things miracles when there is a chemical explanation? Your lack of understanding does not make it a miracle.
Dominic has a way to prove that gods are real and the soul is real and the bible is of divine origin. Falun Dafa meditation practice explains about the universe and reveals things to him. He asks if not knowing something shows ignorance in the subject. If all the evidence about god has been presented, would we be ignorant? Even if ignorance meant there was a possibility of a god, even a probability is not sufficient for a belief.
John in the U.A.E wants to get over his fear in hell. Think of all the other religions around the world with the different hells created by different deities. Why are you not afraid of these other hells? Be patient with yourself and the journey. Recovering from Religion has a hotline to help along the way.
Mike in MI asks if one can be an atheist without god. This depends on the definition of atheism which is going to be different for each person you talk to.
Kevin in GA asks how can god be demonstrated as the god he says he is? He then talks about psychic readings. Remember that psychics take the hits and forget the misses. The odds are in favor of the hits.
Luke in Canada wants to know what is missing to be able to say there are miracles. Hearing second hand information is not enough to prove miracles. Ask your deity what it would take to convince Shannon that a miracle happened.
Thank you for tuning in and we will see you next show!
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The Atheist Experience 26.10 03-06-2022 with Jim Barrows and JMike Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to another episode of The Atheist Experience. This week, Jim Barrows is joined by JMike!
First up is Mark from Australia has faith that we are living in a situation. It doesn’t matter if you would prefer to have evidence and not employ faith, if you admit that you can’t back up your belief, why continue to believe it?
Next is John from MO who proposes that it is reasonable to pre-suppose a God because we don’t have any other explanation and therefore we should employ common sense. The caller argues that rationality is only possible if we have enough information to examine a claim.
B from VA asks who gets to name a group of people. The members of the group get to determine what they want to be called, not outsiders. It is disrespectful and offensive, especially if they continue to ignore the preferred label.
Kevin from WA is calling to compare humans eating animals is akin to slavery. Factory farming does contain traits that parallels slavery, but eating animals itself isn’t on its own slavery.
Next is Victor from TX who is a deconverting theist, but is still hung up on the issue of morality, specifically regarding incentives to cooperate. Life typically wants to continue living, and if that life is surrounded by others around it, cooperation has a track record of increasing the chance of survival.
Next is Davion from TX who claims that it is unreasonable to not pre-suppose Deism. Why should anyone pre-suppose a by definition, non-interventive God, which is therefore potentially even less examinable than a theist God?
Sean from MT wants to know when it’s time to give up trying to convince family members that their beliefs are unjustified?
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The Atheist Experience 26.09 02-27-2022 with Matt Dillahunty and Dave Warnock Feb 28, 2022

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Dave Warnock!
First up is Charles from GA who wants to argue that scientists and their dating methods are incorrect. Does the caller present evidence? No. Does the caller understand the science they are proposing is incorrect? No.
Next up is Brian from NY who worships demons and claims that they are supernatural gods, and that there are demonstrable mechanisms to make them manifest. The caller submits that the spirit box is one such method, but fails to demonstrate that it is at all reliable in doing what it claims it does.
Next is Andrew from ME who calls to propose that everyone worships something, even Atheists. While the caller admits that they don’t claim to know what any specific individual worships, they do claim that everyone does to what they value most.
Next up is Alex from Canada who objects to religious teachings that advocate for its followers to abandon all pleasures and enjoyments in life. The caller is starting to question their own beliefs and is trying to push past fears derived from their indoctrination.
Jack from AZ calls to claim that no one can ever prove God because finding God is a personal experience. How do you know that these significant personal experiences are actually an answer from God, or just your interpretation of an irrelevant event?
Next is Anthony from CA who wants to know where morals come from? There is no reason to assume that there is a book of absolute morals or that such hard-defined morals exist or are even possible.
Stephen from CO is a questioning theist, but is still confused on whether morality applied to God due to their holiness.
Our final call is Greg from Canada who calls in to provide examples of prophecy fulfillment in the Bible. It’s not prophecy fulfillment if the prophecy is knowingly being fulfilled.
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The Atheist Experience 26.08 02-20-2022 with Matt Dillahunty and Jim Barrows Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Jim Barrows!
First up is Kevin from Canada, who believes that coincidences are God’s way of anonymously interacting with us and therefore are convincing evidence for God’s existence. Typically, the word “coincidence” corresponds to one not having an explanation for an occurrence. Arbitrarily assigning an explanation does not make it true.
Next up is Charles from GA who wanted to present historical evidence of the bible. Apparently, Noah’s Ark is in Turkey and has metal that’s only been developed in the last century. This finding by Ron Wyatt has been debunked repeatedly, and even if what was found was indeed a boat, that does not mean that it was Noah’s Ark nor is proof of God.
Next up is Jon from Canada who argues that God is required for moral guidance. They claim that we are in a state of chaos because we as a society are ignoring God’s commands (i.e. rampant racism, apparently being gender non-conforming)... because those two are apparently the same.
Next is Bob from TN who has anecdotal evidence for God. The caller says that they will believe claims of encounters with the Holy Spirit, but will engage “skepticism” when the hosts swap “Holy Spirit” with aliens. The caller does not know how to have an honest conversation.
Next is Christian from NY who is a recently converted Catholic, and wants advice on whether they should stay in the religion and keep learning about it. The caller’s belief in the Church’s claims is founded on their process of exorcizing demons.
Next is Jesus from MO who says that Atheists can’t prove that God and Demons aren’t real, so why do they get to ask theists to prove God does. In summary, the caller doesn’t understand the burden of proof.
Carlton from NY calls in to see if our hosts see the increased size, duration, and number of natural disasters as signs that we are in the end times.
Our final call is Raj from UK who asks if our hosts would agree that slavery assisted in progressing society forward. In some ways, maybe, but there is no way to investigate what would have happened had slavery and its side-effects never occured. Slavery is immoral, regardless of whether it benefitted society or not. The ends do not justify the means.
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The Atheist Experience 26.07 02-13-2022 with Matt Dillahunty and Apostate Prophet Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Apostate Prophet.
Our first call for the day is King from AK who recently had a conversation with a theist regarding prophecy and whether it can be proof of God. The fact that something may have happened doesn’t tell us why it happened.
Next up is Aaron from FL who wants to know if telling those struggling with severe mental health issues that God wants them to live is a beneficial technique. One of main issues with this is that their reason for living is not tied to reality, and if their belief wavers they are back to where they started or worse.
Next is Jacob from NJ who wants to pick a fight with Apostate Prophet. Is this relevant to the truth of Islam? No, it's petty and fallacious.
Next is Joel who believes that the universe was created by God. Since no one has an evidence based explanation yet for the cause of the universe, any conclusion is premature and unfounded.
Up next is Kerim from Turkey who is concerned about Turkish Muslims who give up the Hadiths in favor of only embracing the Quran. Without the Hadiths, the Quran becomes merely a compilation of secondary sources.
Next is Rivalvo from Norway who presents a prophecy where Muhammad claims that a warrior won’t die in battle, and despite fighting in many, they didn’t. Just because a prediction comes true, doesn’t explain why it came true.
Up next is Marlo from TX who discovered Sufism and believes that they had a supernaturally influenced spiritual experience. The caller unfortunately has no evidence that their conclusion is anything more than a feeling.
Our final call of the day is Guy from GA who wants to ask if Muslims believe that only Allah can create life, or if they believe that humans may eventually become capable of doing so.
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