The Atheist Experience

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Atheist Experience 24.28 2020-07-12 with Matt Dillahunty & Seth Andrews Jul 13, 2020

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Seth Andrews. Seth is a long time friend of Matt and a friend of the show. Welcome back!
First up, we have Jonathan in MI, who claims to have solid evidence for god. For example, he takes it on faith that they found Jesus’ tomb and his cross still stands in Jerusalem. Faith is not a good pathway to truth. Work on your Google-fu, Jonathan.
Stephen in IL is up next. He was raised reform Jewish and is questioning if Jewish history and Hebrew school is right for his son, more for the culture of it. Our hosts are for religious history classes, just not the advocacy for a god.
Matthew from NC is next up. His dad had cancer and Matthew believes his father's faith gave him strength to make it through the ordeal and into experimental treatments. We shouldn't have to lie to ourselves to push through. Great topic caller!
RJ in CO is calling to argue that evolution is false and the Judeo-Christian theory is correct. He goes on to argue the origin of humans was in Sumeria. We end with an in-depth conversation about the tower of babel. Fascinating!
Jessica from VT has parents who think the world is ending and Jesus is coming back. Her parents have been trying to indoctrinate their grandchildren. Now Jessica is grappling with restricting access to her kids. Give yourself permission to set boundaries. Great advice, Seth!
The last call of the show, Mary in MN. She is terminally ill and finds people don't want to talk about death, yet she isn’t afraid to die. She has been living her best life the last 6 months. Matt looks forward to Mary calling back with updates. Great example of a rational mind facing death!
Thanks for tuning in today! Check out Seth on the Thinking Atheist YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheThinkingAtheist
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Atheist Experience 24.27 2020-07-05 with Matt Dillahunty & Jim Barrows Jul 06, 2020

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Jim Barrows. Jim is one of ACA’s own hosts and we are happy to have him today! Welcome back Jim!
First up we have Emyn in OH, who is calling in about the Monty Hall problem. Pick a door Jim! Matt is not sure how this ties to atheism and thinks the analogy is untenable. Maybe compose your thoughts in an email?
Jeury in NY is up next. He is calling to ask how to deal with conversations when there is no point. Our hosts explain that you need patience and may have to know when to walk away and regroup.
Oscar from IN is asking why Matt is an atheist and not agnostic. Matt was a southern baptist and was trying to demonstrate the belief in god and found his way out. There didn’t seem to be a point so on to more callers.
Gerard in CT is calling in to challenge Matt on believing as many true things and as few false things as possible. The caller goes on to demonstrate he wants to believe as many true things as possible.
Daniel from CA is saying that Christians don’t investigate the bible and points out the bible is a historical text. The hosts flex their Bible knowledge chops to point out it’s not historically accurate. Check out this call for a fun conversation about the Bible and Christians.
Alex in VA is up next. His father is dying and although Alex isn't a believer he asks if it's ethical to let his father think he is still a believer. The hosts relate stories of their loved ones and give some great advice in this call. Who is chopping onions in here...
Angel in NC has moved in with some atheists and has questions for us today. Angel is questioning her faith and uses a form of Pascal's Wager to stay a believer. A great call destructing Pascal's Wager and "Christianinanity" ensues.
Justin in MN says the study of comets disproves evolution. Oh, boy, 12,000 year old comets prove a young earth? The hosts point out Justin is cherry picking data and short period comets aren’t the only types of comets.
Mark in RI says you can be justified in believing that a miracle is an explanation for an event. Matt points out that you can’t appeal to the supernatural until it's been found to exist and could have explanatory power.
Luke in GA wants to tell us that some people haven't received the holy ghost but anyone can. Apparently you just have to “die unto yourself” and take up a cross. Ugh. And moving on.
The last call of the episode, Michael in San Diego, wants to know why they don’t believe in Spinoza's god. Matt points out there is no evidence for it and he doesn't care what Spinoza or Einstein believed.
Thanks for tuning in folks! Check out Jim in other ACA shows. See ya next week and wear a dang mask!
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Atheist Experience 24.26 2020-06-28 with Matt Dillahunty & Justin Looney Jun 28, 2020

Show notes

Today we’re joined by Justin Looney, who helps the ACA by answering the e-mails you, the fans, send us! After some regular announcements, he offers some tips about e-mailing (or voice mailing) the ACA, its shows, or members. Then off to calls!
Our first caller, Michael in Pennsylvania calls in to say he doesn't want to publicly label himself an atheist "because atheism is too close to communism." He won't budge from the position that America is inherently tied to theism due to particular words in its founding documents.
David in Mexico City wants to call nature "God" for what he claims are pragmatic reasons when talking to theists. (AKA: It's easier to talk to theists about stuff if you just say you believe in God.)
Next up, Steve in Ohio wants to bet $1,000 the following prediction is accurate: Trump will lose the election in November, refuse to give his position over in January, and become a military-backed King of the U.S...We'll see you in January, Steve.
Questions...and agreements?! Josh in Israel doesn't buy Matt's claim that Judaism wasn't originally monotheistic, and has to have it explained...and accepts the explanation, seemingly! Yay!
Comin' in hot! Chris in Tennessee assumes Matt wants Bibles removed from schools by law, not even realizing Matt actually wants Bibles and comparative religion courses in schools. The hosts also explain to Chris what the separation of church and state issues inside schools are, and what "secularists" want in that regard.
Kevin in Oregon calls in to ask about specific comments from Matt about free will. He's quickly hung up on after seemingly refusing to listen.
Here's an interesting one: Paulo in Boston has some ideas about why it is that moralities rooted in God belief are so incredibly appealing to people...and the truth is that it removes the thinking and makes morality seem easier to deal with.
Our next caller, Cory in New York supposedly has a real reason to call, but immediately shows himself to be dishonest and uninterested in listening. Through that, Matt and Justin STILL try to help him understand...and he just doesn't want to understand.
Seemingly questioning believer, Elijah in New Mexico seems to be thinking Christians don't have any hope if the resurrection myth turns up false, or if they stop believing it is true. The answer is a little more complicated than replacing faith with something else, because de-conversion is a hard, complicated process.
Our last caller, Tory in Illinois is an "ex-JW" (ex-Jehovah's Witness) who disassociated, which inside of the JW organization means his family is intended to consider him dead. This means Tory may have to accept never speaking to his family again, and the hosts go over some useful resources for Tory and ex-JWs like him.
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Atheist Experience 24.25 2020-06-21 with Matt Dillahunty & Shannon Q Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Shannon Q. Shannon is a longtime friend of the ACA and we are glad she is joining us today! Welcome Shannon!
First up we have Earl in New York, who has proof of the nephilim (aka giants.) He claims his “evidence” comes from the bible. It could be confirmation bias and very likely internet hoaxes or conspiracy theories. Shannon puts it best: “Advocate for your own understanding. Go and find your sources, seek out the information, do the research.”
Will in Washington is up next, claims the ability to perceive beauty is proof and evidence of God. Will sounds a little confused about his thoughts and comes off a bit hostile. Dude, chill and maybe email us! Or not.
Victor from New Mexico claims to have had a demon inside him and the only remedy was Jesus. Goes on to say that a lot of this could very well rooted in anger and hatred of others. Shannon gets to the core of his issues. And he hasn’t listened to a word Shannon has said. Sigh.
Ivan in Russia is calling in to tell us that he has a message from God. The message is that God loves us, very very very much and God is Love. Also thinks God wanted him to call in to express himself and provide us this message. Shannon breaks it down for him.
Joseph from Nova Scotia is wondering if both hosts are materialists. There is some philosophy in this call, listen in and watch Matt flex those amazing philosophical muscles. It’s something to behold, definitely.
The last call of the episode, Sy Garte in Maryland, wants to talk about how DNA is a code (aka pseudoscience) and this is the atheist view. He goes on to say that Atheist activists/influencers should use their clout to downplay memes and pseudoscience. Ok, cool, lets add that to their already busy schedules.
Thanks for tuning in folks, Shannon Q will be back, yay! Stay safe out there folks, we’ll see you all next week!
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Atheist Experience 24.24 2020-06-14 with Matt Dillahunty & Lloyd Evans Jun 15, 2020

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Lloyd Evans. Welcome back to the co-host chair Lloyd, I quite enjoyed your last appearance on the show and have since added ‘an onslaught of nutters’ to my lexicon.
Let’s get to calls. The first caller is Dave in Austria. He would like to invite us to question slavery in a different way, one that shifts the question. Matt has OPINIONS about this.
Next up, Sawyer from Australia would like to talk about becoming an atheist activist after leaving Jehovah’s Witnesses. Lloyd has a fantastic perspective and whether this is the right path for him.
Kevin in Arizona claims Matt has a flaw in reasoning on whether it was rational to believe in god. He also says essentially god exists beyond our reality. “I have a cognitive bias and I don’t care if it’s flawed or an argument for personal experience.” Sigh.
Douglas in Georgia is up next wanting to prove the existence of a soul. He talks about the argument for the existence of a soul and that a soul is possible in a logical sense. Lets see how this plays out...
Malcolm is calling from California. He has NEW evidence for the existence of god. Lloyd is skeptical. Malcolm claims: a species that at one time that looked like a snake or eel carries the proof and meaning of god. Oh and pronunciation, linguistics, and patterns!
Nathan in Idaho is seeking help, he ran away from his religious home and is concerned about his brother. Lloyd recommends being very cautious about this and to tread lightly with this situation.
Next up, condescending Kevin in Oregon has questions about infinity and it sounds like he wants to catch Matt in a conundrum. Good luck with that Kevin.
Justin in Minnesota, has the evidence for Demons. It was in Time Magazine! There was a study measuring brain waves and prints. Every individual has a unique brain print under normal circumstances. EXCEPT when they think are possessed. Um, how does this prove the supernatural?
Chris in Idaho, there are derivatives of god’s nature all around us, in us, and proves his existence. The problem is that this depends on a belief in god. But we don’t, so how does this work? Why should we believe it?
Andy in New Mexico used to be an atheist, did some drugs, and is now a hard solipsist. He also claims to be a deist and possibly believes in all gods because of his experiences on drugs.
Carlos in Peru would like to talk about a specific argument they saw in a video. The argument they are wanting to talk about is the argument from contingency.
Up next, Sebastian in Belgium. Has noticed himself being more and more of an angry atheist and would like to figure out how to be more calm.
Greg in Ohio doesn’t agree with Matt on the general goal of life. What reason do we have that there is any life goal generally?
Kim in California would like our opinion on a couple verses talking about the creation of Israel being formed is a prophecy and Damascus is a pile of ruin. Except Israel is not a prophecy and Damascus is a thriving city.
That’s our show folks! See you next week!
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Atheist Experience 24.23 2020-06-07 with Matt Dillahunty & Phil Ferguson Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Phil Ferguson. Phil has been a long time and recurring co-host on the show. Welcome back to the co-host chair Phil! Also happy birthday Phil!
Let’s get to calls. The first caller is David from Georgia. He claims that 100,000 years ago, the magnetic field was decaying and caused the Earth to… all of the what? I am not following this caller at all. Phil puts it succinctly: “Wow, that was… profound.”
Next up, a different David, this time from New York would like to talk about prostitution and has reasons for believing it is morally wrong. He provides these reasons and doesn’t provide evidence or provide justification for these reasons: 1. Self value (“selling oneself”) 2. Harmful/damaging to one’s self/spiritually/psyche. It sounds more like he has a personal problem with it and seems to be projecting.
Paul wants to know why atheism is a better default position than theism. It’s real simple, Paul. We have no evidence for the existence of a god (any god), much like we also have no evidence for the existence of Thor, Odin, Zeus, et cetera. Oh… here comes the argument from experience and god of the gaps. And here comes the intelligent design argument.
Todd is an atheist and is wondering how to approach the argument of intelligent design provided by friends and family. ‘I don’t know’ is a legitimate answer to this sort of argument and saying so shouldn’t be seen as a weak position.
Tom in Ohio, is hearing voices and claims they are mystical/natural in origin. He has heard these voices since the 70s and have increased in intensity lately. Oh, I feel for you Tom. Please seek and find the professional help you so desperately need.
Pack it up folks, we are done being atheists! Miner is up next. He says the story he has is very powerful and says once people hear this story, we won’t be atheists anymore. Are you ready? His story: Some helicopters scared some bobcats off while he was playing guitar on a mountain with a friend. That’s it... Just checking, I’m still an atheist.
Mallory from Oregon is up next. Recently deconverted after most of her life passionate about religion. She is having trouble finding joy or interest at the same intensity as religion anymore. Matt provides some really great advice on this. You definitely don’t have to figure this out today, best of luck!
RJ claims he can prove god with the mathematical progression argument and statistics. No it won’t. He claims that static growth models and population science gives more relevance to the bible. Claims the current count of human population is impossible. You didn’t do the math right RJ. Stop Googling and go talk to anthropologists and scientists.
Jesse from California claims that the brain has a high level of consciousness… then changes the subject when he is actually on air. Dude, that’s really dishonest. Next!
Steve has facts and evidence to back up his opinion about god and prayer. Um, ok. How did god lead you to Daniel 8? And you’re done!
That’s our show for today folks, stay safe out there! Even though it looks like the shelter-in-place orders are being lifted, please try to continue to keep yourself safe and healthy out there.
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Atheist Experience 24.22 2020-05-31 with Matt Dillahunty & Don Baker Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by the wonderfully amazing Don Baker. Before we get to calls, we have a topic to discuss from Don: ‘Are Christians Lazy?’
Let’s get to calls. Andrew from California wants to discuss something that has never EVER been discussed on the show… Are you ready for it?
Julian from Canada would like to break down (in a nonreligious way) that a god or deity or higher power exists. Are we ready to get dizzy? When pressed on the definition of god, he responds with “god created himself and creation.”
Keyon from Utah is wondering how we had the first babies and how they came about. Ummm… they came from their moms? He also tries to argue against evolution, talk about divine human intervention through “visions” at church, and we are just denying god. Wait. what!? O.o
Caller Dave is next wanting to talk about Christian laziness with Don. This will be great! Don asks for examples he would like to talk about and Dave claims it’s the atheists’ burden to bring those examples to the table. Hmmmm… how about no, you called us... right?
Next up, David wants to convince us that the god particle actually proves god. Oh yeah David also says he's an atheist. That's a bold move, Cotton. Let's see how it plays out..
Miner in Arizona claims to have an argument against atheism. Um, ok. Go on... He claims that because there are so many people on the Earth, there has to be a god. Correlation does not equal causation and I’m not following Miner’s line of thinking. Is this an argumentum ad populum?
Oscar in Mexico would like to discuss the spiritual meaning of life if you’re an atheist. Is there a drive to do anything if there isn’t anything spiritual to inspire you? Matt tried to speak Spanish during this call!
Ben in California asks about Jesus’ existence and is wondering why Matt doesn’t claim he doesn’t exist. How will Matt handle this one?
Our last call, Cory in South Carolina believes in a god but is worried this god is an evil god. He claims he did some research and is calling back to talk to Matt and Don about what he has discovered.
That’s our episode for today, please be safe and healthy out there folks. The world is way better with you in it. See you next week!
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Atheist Experience 24.21 2020-05-24 with Matt Dillahunty & Johnny May 25, 2020

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Johnny Angel. Welcome back to the co-host chair Johnny! We loved having you on with us a couple weeks back, glad to see you again!
Let’s get to calls. The first caller in the queue is a returning caller, Javier from Florida. He would like to discuss how he had a street discussion with a preacher against theism and it had him in a bit of a fluster. It sounds like he is almost on his way out and clinging to religion it seems. Good luck to you Javier!
Next up, Dormand from New Jersey claims that he can prove a god and this god is all powerful. He’s called before and we’ve gone over this before with him. But this time he claims he can prove it with mathematics and philosophy! Show your work then, I’m waiting for the equations and eventual fallacies.
Nathan is up next, claiming he has good reasons to believe in god, and it’s FAITH. It’s our problem we don’t believe because we are atheists, man. C’mon dude, give us something to work with here. You’re not providing us with anything to discuss here. FYI, faith is NOT a good enough reason.
David had a vision in 1994! The room turned a hue of pink and was visited by someone (maybe Jesus) who was 10 feet tall. This person spoke and he provided instructions to not cut their hair and to meet them on a mountain in 2011. Hmmm… Was it drugs and alcohol? Why didn’t he explore this further? Sounds like an argument from personal experience… What the heck is in the water in Colorado???
Next up, Zachary in Alabama wants to talk about how incorrectly atheists assess evidence and have an inherent presupposition against believing that Christianity is true. He continues to say that it is “totally true.” It isn’t true until it is proven to be true and faith on it’s own is not a reliable path to truth. Oh boy and we end on the morality of slavery, Matt’s (so not) favorite topic.
Our last caller of the day, Raul from Texas. He claims he can prove intelligent design. Look at the stars, especially the constellation Orion, The Big Dipper/Ursa Major, and Scorpio! We are blind to these constellations being figures that were constructed by god. Wow! Humans time over time look for patterns and this is definitely one of those times. Sigh.
Have a great week folks, we’ll see you next week!
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Atheist Experience 24.20 2020-05-17 with Jenna Belk & Anthony Magnabosco May 18, 2020

Show notes

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Jenna Belk is joined by Anthony Magnabosco. Here’s his channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/magnabosco210/ and here is his website: https://streetepistemologyinternational.org/ Ready for round two Anthony? We are so glad you are here. It should be a good show!
Let’s get to calls. The first caller is Trudy from Texas. She is all over the place on this call and super difficult to follow; babies are miracles, she has an Atheist best friend, she experienced an NDE. Listen in and challenge yourself to figuring out what her point is because I’m totally lost.
Next up, Debbie in New England is calling in with her son Eric who was on a mission trip in Australia and is now home. He was encouraged to call in with his mom as an update from their last call. He talks about his reconversion and his experience within the LDS church. He was convinced of these two things: The LDS church and their message/teachings made sense and was appealing to him. Ooooh boy.
Adam calls in saying he is about to be kicked out of his home due to watching the ACA shows. Our hearts go out to you Adam, please stay safe and take care of yourself first, then work on coming out. Also, please reach out to the Recovering from Religion, they may have some great resources for you.
Jack is coming in hot with a huge amount of claims about the Bible, Jesus is real, Evolution is false and we Atheists are wrong. Dodging and deflecting left and right. We first try to establish who is an expert and Anthony tries to figure out his confidence level on his “studies.” We dropped the call because Jack refused to listen and have a dialogue. Call back (or don’t) when you’ve calmed down. And NO, we aren’t scared, you didn’t “own” us, and you didn’t provide anything close to a good argument.
Next up, Jack in London claims that truth is something we experience first hand, and belief is something we don’t but we think it to be true without evidence. Umm… I’m a bit lost here. That doesn’t sound quite right.
Dean in North Carolina ponders the strengths and weaknesses of street epistemology. The strength that Anthony could see is that it is something that everyone can use. A weakness in this method is two willing participants. If one isn’t willing to interact in this way, it can become a difficult conversation.
That’s all folks for today! Thanks for tuning in, stay safe and healthy out there!
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Atheist Experience 24.19 2020-05-10 with Matt Dillahunty & Shane Isgrig May 11, 2020

Show notes

Welcome back to The Atheist Experience! Today’s show is hosted by Matt Dillahunty & Shane Isgrig. We have a little pre-show chatter, but most important is we have Secular Survey results! https://www.secularsurvey.org/executive-summary
Charles is curious whether our hosts accept any sort of supernatural phenomenon, then explains that God is as clear as the cause of a scraped knee!
David wants to talk about Aristotle’s reason for believing in God, assuming we care specifically about Aristotle’s opinion.
Andre has an argument from quantum mechanics. The call ends quickly and Matt and Shane discuss these odd “proofs for God” from quantum mechanics.
What an interesting follow up from quantum gods. Michael says God exists, doesn’t exist, is mathematics, and is reality. Uh...what?!
Brian believes Matt’s position on how likely a god is to exist changed, and Matt clarifies this misunderstanding of his own positions.
Glenn says the whole show is pointless, because God doesn’t exist and no one will ever call in with evidence of God!
Vladimir has proven God: a creation needs a creator. He’s got us. Pack it up.
Matt in Indiana has an equation that MAY prove god, he thinks. I have an idea on which side of “MAY” the answer will end up.
Kanyon is saying she’s had a lot of unexplained things happen to her, and for that reason she thinks “something” must be behind it.
Daniel in Toronto insists that, since there are so many alien abduction stories, some of them must be true! He also says that there is evidence of alien technology on earth. Ooh, aah!
That’s our show today! If you want to support the show you can check out https://www.patreon.com/theatheistexperience for a monthly subscription to podcasts with NO ADS, or https://tiny.cc/aenmerch for ACA merch! Matt is on Twitter @Matt_Dillahunty and Shane is on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/shanemysterio).
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