Vi's Old Christian Journal Says What? | Skeptic Generation | Episode 47 Season 2

It might seem easy to see the flaws in other people's thinking when it comes to religion, but what happens when we don't apply that logic elsewhere? If you've found yourself deconstructing other belief structures in your life, give us a call! Whether you believe in a supernatural world, believe in exceptional metaphysics, or just want to tell me that I'm wrong... Give us a call at 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436)  OR tiny.cc/skepgen to call online!___________________TIME STAMPS & CALL NOTES 00:00 - Intro  04:31 - Jim (He/Him) OH - How did life begin?14:48 - Trent (He/Him) MO - Staying a mormon after deconstruction52:04 - Ashley (she/they) MN - Conscientious Satanism1:02:25 - Sarah (she/her) WA - I saw a ghost!1:17:22 - Chelsea (she/her) NC - Meeting in the middle1:28:06 - Pete (He/Him) CA - Deconversion tactics1:42:15 - Superchats04:31Jim feels like a hypocrite when he thinks about life in the universe, since he doesnt have sufficient evidence. They both talk about possible beginnings of life on earth and conspiracies. Ultimately, apportioning our acceptance of a claim should be tied to how much evidence we have.14:48Trent has been wrestling with the idea of holding on to religious concepts even though he knows that the supernatural pieces aren’t true. More to the point, he has found that “othering” things like anxiety and genius gives him a leg up in working through things for both him and his kids. Eric does his best to address the topics before losing his train of thought!52:04As a satanist, Ashley uses ritual in their day to day life. The problem is, they really want to make sure they’re not inadvertently appropriating other people’s culture. It’s a strange line that we need to walk when we find ways to embrace rituals as a humanist. From fetishizing others, to alt-right pipelines, the path to a “secular spirituality” is full of pitfalls.1:02:25Sarah has done the work to deconstruct her religion, but theres a problem that has been in the back of their head. When she was a kid, she distinctly remembers seeing a ghost, but how does that work?!1:17:22Chelsea wants to sort out how to really meet people where they’re at when it comes to conversations around religion. 1:28:06Pete has thoughts about it as well! From epically owning our family members, to making strangers extremely uncomfortable, an enormous amount of cringe can be had if we’re not careful. Cheers for wanting to read the room, listen actively, and not just waiting for your turn to talk!_________________Skeptic Generation is LIVE every Sunday at 11:00am-1:00pm CTCall on your phone: 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436)  Call online: https://tiny.cc/skepgenLove the show? Become a patron: https://tiny.cc/donatetoSG Join us after the show on Discord: tiny.cc/SGdiscordTo find out more, visit https://www.skepticgeneration.com Copyright © 2024 Skeptic Generation. All rights reserved.

Here's a thought: Does asking for proof beg the question that only a naturalistic worldview can answer? If so, is that unreasonable? If not, can we assume that naturalism is the de facto assumption except when it isnt?Whether you believe in a supernatural world, believe in exceptional metaphysics, or just want to tell me that I'm wrong... Give us a call at 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436)  OR tiny.cc/skepgen to call online!___________________TIME STAMPS & CALL NOTES 00:00 - Intro  04:23 - Michael (He/Him) NY - Cosmic Justice36:48 - Evan (He/They) WA - Challenging Christians on the street54:39 - Jon (He/Him) CAN - How did Eric lose his faith?1:07:42 - John (He/Him) TX - Thanks for the advice!1:18:04 - Philo-Sophistry (He/Him) USA - Atheist Atrocities fallacy?1:30:41 - Superchats04:23Michael suffered as the target of a false allegation and he’s struggling with the lack of accountability for people who acted maliciously toward him while people who believe in god can say “they’ll get what’s coming to them” and be okay with it.By the way, here’s that Madea clip Eric was talking about!-https://youtu.be/CTPzXwNVc9g?si=0fBp2hQwt5Isek8Y36:48Evan wants to talk about two Discworld characters who are witches, one of whom chooses to be good and one of whom chooses to be evil, and how these characters impacted his faith and his family. He goes on to talk about how atheists saying “I don’t believe god exists” forces people to challenge their own self worth.54:39Jon wants to talk to Eric about his journey away from faith. Eric talks to him about his journey away from faith and people from other religions he spoke to, including some key advice given to him by a rabbi.1:07:42John wants to thank Eric for advice he gave him on setting boundaries with his theist family. At first they didn’t react well, but then they realized they still love him.1:18:04Philo-Sophistry wants to know if it’s really a fallacy when theists bring up atheist atrocities? Should he push back against believers who bring this up? Eric explains that evolution is not social Darwinism.___________________Skeptic Generation is LIVE every Sunday at 11:00am-1:00pm CTCall on your phone: 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436)  Call online: https://tiny.cc/skepgenLove the show? Become a patron: https://tiny.cc/donatetoSG Join us after the show on Discord: tiny.cc/SGdiscordTo find out more, visit https://www.skepticgeneration.com Copyright © 2024 Skeptic Generation. All rights reserved.

Is this a crossover episode?! This week Eric will be joined by long time friend of the show and all around sweet guy Secular Rarity! This is (surprisingly!) the FIRST time we've hosted a show together and we're really excited!As always, if you would like to talk about what you believe and why, please call 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436)  OR tiny.cc/skepgen to call online!If you'd like to get some extra features, early access, member discord and more, check us out on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/skepticgeneration___________________TIME STAMPS & CALL NOTES 00:00 - Introducing Secular Rarity!07:12 - Sarah (She/Her) WA - Can I pull ideals from religions into my secular life?26:59 - Nick (He/Him) UT - Supporting public figures that tithe to harmful churches.38:30 - Red (They/Them) TX - Atheists, Pagans, and Imaginary Friends55:46 - Jesse (He/Him) WA - Should we use labels that most people can’t define?1:12:16 - Chas (He/Him) AZ - Putting the Atheo in Atheopagan1:37:58 - Steve (He/Him) NY - Antitheism VS Pluralism2:07:23 - Outro, superchats, final discussion07:12Sarah wants to know if it’s okay to find good things from religion and bring them into her secular life. Secular Rarity and her talk about buddhism and some of its practices, then SR, Eric, and Sarah talk about collecting rocks. Eric asks some questions about Buddhism and supernatural claims.26:59Nick wants to talk about Brandon Sanderson, and other public figures, being religious and whether or not it’s okay to support them by purchasing their products if we know they are tithing to organizations that lobby for harmful political policies. SR and Eric talk to him about perfect morality and ethical consumption.38:30Red wants to follow up with Eric about a previous conversation they had with him. Eric had previously recommended to them a pagan community in TX. Red checked it out and learned about atheopaganism. They want to know if they are still considered an atheist if they are talking to “gods” which are imaginary friends, and they don’t believe they are necessarily real but also don’t know they aren’t real.55:46Jesse wants to do a friendly nitpick about labels. He heard Secular Rarity identify as a theological non-cognitivist and he has a small bone to pick about using the label without actually telling people what the labels mean. Eric and Secular Rarity have a conversation with him about how the labels can be helpful. After the caller hangs up, Eric and SR have a friendly conversation where Eric is challenging theological non-cognitivism.1:12:16Chas thanks Eric for being there during a dark time. He has a different perspective of atheopaganism than Red, the previous caller, and he elucidates his perspective and how he came to this place in his religion.1:37:58Steve was the first atheopagan caller. He wants to talk about anti-theism vs pluralism, he advocates for pluralism and provides some opinions about supremacist religions and gives details about a pagan group that is run by a white nationalist.___________________Skeptic Generation is LIVE every Sunday at 11:00am-1:00pm CTCall on your phone: 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436)  Call online: https://tiny.cc/skepgenLove the show? Become a patron: https://tiny.cc/donatetoSG Join us after the show on Discord: tiny.cc/SGdiscordTo find out more, visit https://www.skepticgeneration.com Copyright © 2024 Skeptic Generation. All rights reserved.

Eric is making some big changes in his life, we're gonna find out just what that means for the show!As always, if you would like to talk about what you believe and why, please call 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436)  OR tiny.cc/skepgen to call online!If you'd like to get some extra features, early access, member discord and more, check us out on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/skepticgeneration___________________TIME STAMPS & CALL NOTES 00:00 - Intro and patreon update10:02 - Steve (He/Him) - OH - How do I talk to my child about going to church?23:40 - Raphael (He/They) - Hungary - Are anti-zionists racists? (bad audio)49:59 - Chase (He/Him) - ID - How confident are you that god isn’t real?1:15:59 - Sober (He/Him) - CA - How do we find out what’s true and what do we do after?1:29:00 - Will (He/Him) - TN - What are the teleological and ontological arguments? 1:40:22 - Christopher (He/Him) - SCT - Are the gods in the Torah, Bible, and Quran the same god?10:02Steve and Eric discuss a previous phone call where Steve got some advice from Eric regarding the topic of death. Steve had to have the same conversation again. Today, he wants to talk about his child going to church and becoming absorbed into it. They go on to discuss various facets of Steve’s child going to church.23:40Raphael only hears people talk about zionism when they’re using racially motivated speech. Him and Eric discuss how he identifies with the state of Israel, whether it’s irrevocably linked to his faith, and how he feels about anti-zionism. Eric advises him to meet people where they are when talking to them.49:59Chase wants to talk about Street Epistemology and his confidence level in the god of Christianity being not true. He asks Eric how confident he is that the god of the bible doesn’t exist and does a Street Epistemology session with Eric, who returns some epistemological inquiry to Chase.1:15:59Sober wants to follow up about the earlier caller with the Israel caller and determining the truth of reports of current affairs and hard choices that someone has to make after they have the truth. Eric and the Sober talk about how people put spin on things and how everything is colored by the people telling the story and this is why it’s good to apply skepticism to things and find different viewpoints to get a well rounded understanding of things.1:29:00Will wants to know more about the teleological and ontological arguments and Eric falls on his face. The teleological argument is the watchmaker argument. The ontological argument is that a being that necessarily exists is greater than a being that doesn’t necessarily exist.___________________Skeptic Generation is LIVE every Sunday at 11:00am-1:00pm CTCall on your phone: 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436)  Call online: https://tiny.cc/skepgenLove the show? Become a patron: https://tiny.cc/donatetoSG Join us after the show on Discord: tiny.cc/SGdiscordTo find out more, visit https://www.skepticgeneration.com Copyright © 2024 Skeptic Generation. All rights reserved.

-AUDIO WARNING-The first few minutes of the call with Drew includes an echo. We are able to resolve the echo within a few minutes, but feel free to skip to 3:30 if the echo is unbearable.Personal friend and fellow YouTuber Drew aka Genetically Modified Skeptic joins the show today! Before we take calls, he shares how he has taken a scholarly approach to trans issues and has been going to bat for the community in responses to seriously bad arguments made by the religious right. Here is a link to the videos that Drew is referring to during the intro. If you haven’t seen them, check them out! They’re fantastic!https://youtu.be/ABojJ2rW6vA?si=GEOcTJ75tss5FfIAhttps://youtu.be/22W7I3yV-NY?si=BTwBYfP9wSxUN2VBAs always, getting the show started came with its technical setbacks, but we were able to get up and rolling for a fantastic show. Here are the timestamps if you’d like to skip to specific calls.___________________TIME STAMPS & CALL NOTES 00:00 - Intro  03:30 - Drew’s Echo is fixed!14:58 - Why are there so many denominations? | Ronan (He/Him) - NY30:33 - How to build interfaith community | Isaiah (He/Him) - South Korea45:41 - Where do morals come from? | Tug (He/Him) - CAN55:48 -  Reliability of the Gospels | Phil-oginy (He/Him) - USA1:06:56 - Atheists shouldn’t cohabitate | Andrew (He/Him) - FL1:22:48 - Atheism has a branding problem | Brian (He/Him) - CA1:38:46 - Faith, Community, and Smart Recovery | David1:56:07 - Understanding our religious neighbors | Connor (He/Him) - VA2:03:38 - Community building and smart recovery | David (He/Him) - NC2:10:57 - Superchats14:58Ronan was raised in a non-religious household and is really wondering why there are so many denominations even if they are all reading the same bible.For more resources, we recommend resources like:Dan McCclellan - https://www.youtube.com/@maklelanReligion for Breakfast- https://www.youtube.com/@ReligionForBreakfastDigital Hammurabi- https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalHammurabiAndEsoterica- https://www.youtube.com/@TheEsotericaChannel32:03As a believer, Isaiah is finding it harder and harder to connect with fellow religious friends and family. He wants to know, how can a Christian like himself both connect with more hardcore family members as well as find common ground to engage with nonbelievers? Speaking for the show, this is the exact kind of conversation we hope to have and applaud anyone making the effort!45:41I don’t think we’re ever going to get away from questions like what is morality, but at least we can do it serving Kant! In this call, Tug wants to know just how we develop morals and why. We ask ourselves, do we need a transcendent lawgiver to ground our morality? Does objective morality exist? Let us know what you think in the comments!55:48Stepping back from the narrative, how much can actually be taken from biblical scholarship? What about secondary sources? Lets talk about what we have, what we want, and what we can hope for!1:06:56Andrew thinks that atheists should still wait until marriage to live together. We talk about taboos against divorce, the positives of living together, and what that means with data from religious sources.1:22:48Brian sees a shift in the way atheists have talked about themselves in the last 20 years, and thinks a new label would be helpful. Drew has wondered about how useful it could be, and Eric shares the shameful history of atheist rebranding.1:38:46John has been on the path to deconstruction for a few months now, and has a few questions. Eric and Drew chime in on reading the room, setting boundaries, and atheist evangelism.1:56:07Connor wants to talk about the nature of discourse with religious folks. Drew talks about how our history informs our approach and how former believers have an easier time understanding the other side. Eric talks about respecting people vs respecting ideas.2:03:38David follows up to John’s call about secular community building and resources for recovery that don't rely on a higher power. You can learn more by going to smartrecovery.org___________________Skeptic Generation is LIVE every Sunday at 11:00am-1:00pm CTCall on your phone: 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436)  Call online: https://tiny.cc/skepgenLove the show? Become a patron: https://tiny.cc/donatetoSG Join us after the show on Discord: tiny.cc/SGdiscordTo find out more, visit https://www.skepticgeneration.com Copyright © 2024 Skeptic Generation. All rights reserved.

It has been a helluva week! At least we get to have some awesome conversations. Let's do this!If you'd like to help us secure the licenses to stream, feel free to buy us a coffee! It gets delivered immediately and allows us to purchase time in callinstudio & pay for the program fees.If you'd like to get some extra features, early access, member discord and more, check us out on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/skepticgeneration___________________TIME STAMPS & CALL NOTES 0:00 - Eric announces a special guest next week and does some housekeeping. 5:08 -  Mitch - Skepticism is RUINING society! (Troll Call)14:38 - Amanuel - Atheism doesn’t work31:02 - Ameet - Being an Indian Atheist43:29 - Tug - How to disagree effectively50:58 - Isaac - The paradox of tolerance1:02:01 - Alda - What are YOU reading?1:12:10 - Eric reads superchats5:08Mitch calls in to talk about how society has progressed DESPITE skepticism. Has industrialization been a tool of non skeptics? Is our world polluted because of the socratic method? Or is Mitch gonna troll the show yet again?14:38Banned on all other shows, Amanuel calls in. This caller says that all things come from the supernatural. Eric and Amanuel wind up talking about what Atheism means and how we ought to interact with each other.31:02Ameet calls in to talk about how the Indian atheist community is so very different from the American one! As an Indian ex christian, Ameet is wondering how he should interact in ex hindu spaces. If you have experience with other non-believing communities, tell us about it in the comments!43:29Watching call in shows and getting active means figuring out how to be heard. Eric shares some tips and tricks of the trade!50:58Isaac thinks that human experience removes the paradox of tolerance. Eric has made a video in the past about this subject, but has shifted opinions since then. What do you think of this apparent paradox?1:02:01Alda wants recommendations for philosophers to learn about.___________________Skeptic Generation is LIVE every Sunday at 11:30am-1:00pm CTCall on your phone: 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436) Love the show? Join us after the show on Discord: https://tiny.cc/SGdiscord To find out more, visit https://www.skepticgeneration.com Copyright © 2024 Skeptic Generation. All rights reserved.

It's been a LONG year! It's time for Eric to shake off those cobwebs and get back into the show! Please feel free to call and say hi! This episode probably won't have a bunch of callers, so this is the weekend to call up uncle Joe and get them to call in!If you'd like to help us secure the licenses to stream, feel free to buy us a coffee! It's gets delivered immediately and allows us to purchase time in callinstudio & pay for the program fees.If you'd like to get some extra features, early access, member discord and more, check us out on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/skepticgeneration___________________TIME STAMPS & CALL NOTES 00:00 - Intro09:35 - Javier - Walking Away From the Discussion22:27 - Bree - Welcome Back!28:49 - Vi - Good Luck, and What’s Next?36:51 - Steve - Life Without Meaning?47:50 - Dan - When Will It Stop?!1:00:17 - Maria - Can Objective Morals REALLY Exist?1:17:57 - Roy - Finding your footing. (22 year old trans person)1:33:24 - Red - Can a non believer celebrate religious holidays?1:48:33 - Christian - How Do You Get The Pronouns Right?Skeptic Generation is LIVE every Sunday at 11:30am-1:00pm CT Call on your phone: 412- SKEPGEN (412-753-7436) Love the show? Join us after the show on Discord: https://tiny.cc/SGdiscord To find out more, visit https://www.skepticgeneration.com Copyright © 2024 Skeptic Generation. All rights reserved.

No, you read that correctly. This is the last live show of 2022, and we will be going on hiatus after that to figure out what's next for us and for SkepGen. This episode is a 2.5-hour long extravaganza, with many familiar voices calling in to say hi. We also lifted all previous bans on topics and callers, which makes for some interesting (and heated) conversations before we say goodbye. If you would like to provide $1/month to support the show as we are on hiatus, please make sure to become a Lifelong Skeptic on our Patreon: https://tiny.cc/donatetoSG Check out our official “SG Hosts DESTROY Callers!” playlist by visiting our YouTube home page or following this link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgAFtcRCck1woYD2zC8z4DePc7m6Q4aH6 ___________________TIME STAMPS & CALL NOTES 00:00 - Intro - So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish! 11:07 - Should You Sacrifice Yourself for the Greater Good? - Javier (he/him) - SC20:45 - Thanks For All You’ve Done! - Steven (he/him) - AZ 26:22 - Should We Be Skeptical of Whiteness? - Steve (N/A) - NY 41:25 - This Vegan Caller Says He’d Eat People! - Chase (he/him) - ID1:04:54 - Merriam-Webster Is LYING About Christmas?? - Sunny (she/they) - IN 1:12:41 - Would You Ever Eat Engineered Meat? - Chris (he/him) - CA 1:22:19 - Repeat Theist Caller Tries ONE MORE TIME… - Connor (he/him) - TX 1:31:26 - “God Is The Answer!” - Xeno (he/him) - SK 1:54:30 - Secular De-Colonization and Spirituality - Rosy (she/they/it) - CAN 2:05:06 - Another Thank You for the Show - Jim (he/him) - OH2:09:12 - Should We Start a Santa Claus Religion? - Chris (he/him) - SCT2:13:11 - What Would Convince You of Miracles? - Dean (he/him) - VA 00:00 Eric and Vi discuss the hiatus, address concerns, and talk through what happens next. 11:07Repeat caller Javier returns to discuss altruism and self-sacrifice. Are they overrated? Are they actually selfish? Why would someone ever sacrifice themselves for the greater good if we only have one life to live? 20:45 Steven calls in to wish us well and tell the hosts how much the show meant to him. We appreciate it, Steven! 26:22 Repeat atheopagan caller Steve asks about how to approach the social construct of whiteness, especially if you enjoy discovering your own cultural heritage as a white person. Vi points out the validity of the concerns around neo-Pagan use of ancient cultures to promote white supremacy, but insists there is a healthy way to learn about yourself while using that knowledge to help others. 41:25 We lifted the subject ban, and we have our first vegan caller! This conversation gets heated and contains a lot of loaded language and appeals to emotion. The hosts call this out, attempting to steer clear of strawmen while getting to the heart of the issue: are honeybees people too? 1:04:54 A dictionary has a really shocking entry and this caller wants to talk about it! Vi says this call both made and ruined their day at the same time. 1:12:41 Another vegan caller appears, and this time the hosts are asked what their thoughts are on lab-grown meat. Eric and Vi are both down with some test tube chicken, and offer their understanding of why some vegans might still be against it. 1:22:19 Repeat theist caller Connor tries one more time to talk about how he came to his Baha’i faith. Eric points out the difference between “faith” and “trust,” and Vi says that a testimony might be riveting but doesn’t hold the evidence they’re looking for. 1:31:26 Yes, we let him back on. Xeno wants to make sure the hosts have the correct takeaway from their multiple calls with him: “God is the Answer!” To what? Everything, of course! The question remains: will we miss Xeno? Well, if we’re being totally honest… God? 1:54:30Why do so many people use religion and spirituality as a way to “connect to their culture”? Are there other ways of reaching into the past that are more secular? This caller discusses their own experiences trying to reconnect with their Indigenous culture as a secular person. 2:05:06 Jim calls in to thank the hosts for their time on the show and to offer some suggestions about where they might go next. Thanks, Jim! 2:09:12 Repeat caller Chris from Scotland is wondering if we should ditch Christianity and make a Santa Claus religion instead. He seems nicer than God, anyway. Eric advocates for a non-omniscient deity instead. Vi suggests Hermey the Dentist Elf. Hail Hermey? 2:13:11Finally, we end on a classic: the argument for God from the existence of miracles. Repeat apologist caller Dean is wondering what would make us believe in miracles, and if those hypothetical miracles would then be good evidence for God? Vi points out that if miracles were proven, they’d no longer be called miracles. Eric gets Dean to admit he hates babies.___________________Copyright © 2022 Skeptic Generation. All rights reserved.

We are talking about New Year's resolutions this week, since it's officially December! Call toll-free at 585-526-8774 or tiny.cc/callSG. ___________________Skeptic Generation is LIVE every Sunday at 11:30am-1:00pm CTCall on your phone: 585-LA-MURPH (585-526-8774) Call online: https://tiny.cc/callSG Love the show? Become a patron: https://tiny.cc/donatetoSG Buy our new Class of ‘22 merch: http://tiny.cc/SG22MerchHelp with our studio: https://tiny.cc/SGwishlist Join us after the show on Discord: https://tiny.cc/SGdiscord To find out more, visit https://www.skepticgeneration.com

Vi leads this show solo and reads from their old Christian journal from nine years ago. What was their deconversion process like? Is it similar to yours? Call toll-free at 585-526-8774 or tiny.cc/callSG to share your story or just vent about the holiday season. ___________________TIME STAMPS & CALL NOTES 00:00 - Intro - Vi Is Solo This Week02:23 - Can People Choose Their Beliefs? - Javier (he/him) - SC18:13 - Vi Reads from An Old Deconversion Journal 25:44 - My Family Doesn’t Believe I’m An Atheist - Cameron (he/him) - MN38:16 - What Kind of Culture Should Atheists Build? - Mark (he/him) - CA 55:53 - Why Is It So Easy to Believe In God? - Steven (he/him) - AZ 1:07:04 - My Friend Thinks God Is Punishing Her… HELP? - Caleb (he/him) - MD1:15:30 - Jesus Wants Us To Be Mean to Atheists - Jim (he/him) - OH1:22:16 - How Do I Deal with Street Preachers? - Chris (he/him) - SCT 02:23Can people choose their beliefs? Vi says that answering “Yes” or “No” are both wrong: this is a “yes, and” situation. People both have the ability to choose what beliefs they strengthen, and are ultimately not in charge of the moment one belief wins out against others. That’s why it’s always dangerous to hold harmful beliefs, even if you don’t act on them. 18:13 Vi has brought an old journal that they wrote almost a decade ago. “The Quest for God” laid out how 20-year-old Vi was struggling with belief, parsing apart what was true and untrue about what they’d been told, and trying to figure out what next steps were. A raw, real moment that hopefully resonated with others. 25:44 This caller is having trouble with his family after coming out as an atheist. They are telling him he’s broken, they are unfollowing him on social media, and generally making him feel unwelcome. They also happen to be in an MLM, which makes things even worse! Vi gives this caller permission to kick these folks out on their ear: “Jesus said to avoid you.” 38:16Now that atheists are growing as a demographic in the US, what should we be focusing on to make sure we aren’t repeating the problems we are seeing with a Christian majority? Repeat caller Mark is wondering what next steps are, and Vi says something shocking: We need to stop talking about religion. 55:53This caller points out that God is easy to believe in because the idea of God is so baked into our culture. Vi agrees: this is why apologetics work. You have to believe in God already in order to be convinced by any of the major arguments for God. We need to eradicate the idea of a maximally great God before we can truly be free. 1:07:04What do you say to someone who is convinced that God is punishing them? Vi points out that it’s actually scarier to imagine that things happen for no reason than to imagine a god is punishing you. At least you’re still kind of the main character, and not just an incidental casualty of the universe. Also, landlords suck. 1:15:30 We talked about some atheists having trouble with their families this episode, but isn’t that exactly what Jesus said to do? Didn’t he tell Christians to desert their families, even end things violently, in order to follow him? Vi once again says “Yes” and “No.” If we’re looking at the historical context of Jesus’s words, he’s actually talking about a political rebellion! 1:22:16 Repeat caller Chris asks how to deal with the street preachers that he’s seeing everywhere. He’s tried reasoning with them and he never makes any progress! Vi says it’s a lost cause to try and debate with them, but what this caller CAN do is make them seem utterly ridiculous. ___________________Skeptic Generation is LIVE every Sunday at 11:30am-1:00pm CTCall on your phone: 585-LA-MURPH (585-526-8774) Call online: https://tiny.cc/callSG Love the show? Become a patron: https://tiny.cc/donatetoSG Buy our new Class of ‘22 merch: http://tiny.cc/SG22MerchHelp with our studio: https://tiny.cc/SGwishlist Join us after the show on Discord: https://tiny.cc/SGdiscord To find out more, visit https://www.skepticgeneration.com Copyright © 2022 Skeptic Generation. All rights reserved.