The Atheist Experience 30.38 with Thinker and Fe

In today's episode of The Atheist Experience, Thinker, Fe, and The Beard of Empathy examine whether Christianity is a scam, the problem of divine attribution, and when beliefs become harmful.Andrew argues Christianity isn't a scam because there are no customers or payments. But believers do pay costs: tithes, sacrifices, obedience, all in exchange for salvation. That's a transaction. When you promise eternal reward for compliance and eternal punishment for refusal, how is that not a protection racket? What makes this different from any other pay-to-play scheme?Yolanda in MD credits God's voice for saving her life during a brain aneurysm, telling her not to lie down and to call 911. Why didn't God just heal the aneurysm? Why give cryptic instructions instead of preventing the crisis? If God intervened, why did you still need surgery? How do you distinguish God's voice from your own survival instinct?Heresy in Canada asks whether we should respect comforting beliefs or prioritize knowledge. Personal beliefs are fine if kept private, but they become harmful when imposed on others or used to shape policy. Comfort doesn't make something true. When does your right to believe what you want end and someone else's right to live free from those beliefs begin?Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today's episode of the Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity, Godless Engineer, and Kelley Laughlin tackle biblical gender equality, Quranic slavery, and the emotional aftermath of deconversion.Loveisthewayfr on TikTok insists Genesis isn't a dating tool and the Bible teaches gender equality. The hosts point to Leviticus 12, where a woman's purification after birthing a daughter takes twice as long as for a son. If men and women are equal in the Bible, why does childbirth gender determine ritual impurity duration? What other passages might reveal this claimed equality isn't quite so equal?Salahuddin Ayyubi on TikTok argues Quranic slavery differs from American chattel slavery and compares Islamic prisoner treatment to modern secular systems. The hosts counter that the Quran explicitly permits owning people as property. If you can own, buy, sell, and inherit a person, how is that fundamentally different from chattel slavery? Does rebranding ownership make it moral?David in the USA shares he misses the comfort of belief, especially about death and the afterlife, even knowing it's not real. The hosts suggest death cafes and therapy to process these feelings. Is it possible to find peace with mortality without supernatural promises? Can secular communities offer the same emotional support religion once did?Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today's episode of the Atheist Experience, Godless Engineer, Jim Barrows, and Jamie The Blind Limey confront the uncomfortable truth about Jesus and Old Testament atrocities!Albert in MA argues the Bible should be read allegorically, not literally. The hosts challenge him on Old Testament violence and slavery laws, pointing to Matthew 5:18 where Jesus explicitly affirms all Old Testament law remains valid. If it's all allegory, why did Jesus say not one letter of the law would pass away? What moral lesson justifies selling your daughter?Emanuel in Sweden questions whether Jesus actually taught Mosaic law. The hosts walk through Matthew 5:17-18, Leviticus slavery laws, and dietary contradictions, demonstrating Jesus affirmed Old Testament law including morally problematic commands. If Jesus fulfilled the law, why does he say it all still applies? How do you reconcile loving Jesus with endorsing genocide?Jock from Earth claims the Bible has esoteric or inner spiritual value beyond the literal text. The hosts press him to provide biblical support for his mystical interpretations. He cannot cite chapter and verse, only vague spiritual concepts. If the Bible requires secret knowledge to understand, how is anyone supposed to know what it actually means?Quincy in TX accuses the hosts of sending themselves to hell. When confronted with God's command to beat children in 2 Samuel 7:14, he admits it's wrong but says he'd obey God anyway, then references The Chosen TV show as his Bible source. If you'd beat a child because God commanded it, what does that say about your morality?Milton from Earth argues the Orthodox Church, not the Bible itself, is the ultimate authority. The hosts point out this doesn't address biblical commands like selling daughters. Milton becomes circular and confrontational, unable to explain his position clearly. If the church is the authority, why appeal to the Bible at all?Parker in VA, an atheist, seeks advice on handling presuppositional apologists on campus who claim logic requires God. The hosts and Jamie suggest slowing the conversation, demanding definitions, and asking how God actually grounds logic rather than accepting assertions. What would a world without logic even look like?Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today's episode of The Atheist Experience, Secular Rarity, Godless Engineer, and Kelley Laughlin tackle miracle claims, biblical slavery, and the cultural legacy of colonialism.Larry in Poland insists that miracles at Fatima and Coptic churches prove God exists. The hosts challenge him on mass hallucinations versus actual miracles and compare his claims to Hindu miracle reports. When pressed on animal consciousness and pain, Larry struggles to defend his positions. Why should we accept Catholic miracles but reject all others?Jim in MO calls with a tongue-in-cheek argument for Carlinian sun worship based on George Carlin's comedy bit. He explains it's a parody showing how absurd belief systems can be. The hosts agree it's satire, not serious theology, and appreciate the humor.David in TX asks what if both camps are correct about God's existence. The hosts explain the law of non-contradiction: God either exists or doesn't. David struggles to engage seriously and lists his pronouns as human being, leading to a tense exchange. Can something both exist and not exist?JayFame in TX, a former Satanist turned believer, claims he saw two angels while incarcerated. The hosts challenge him on biblical slavery passages in Exodus 21:7 and ask him to distinguish satanic from godly acts. Jay deflects, preaches, and cannot defend scripture. What makes selling your daughter into slavery moral?Jesse in MI, an atheist of indigenous and Latino heritage, shares frustration about being a minority in his own culture due to Christianity's colonial legacy. The hosts offer support, discuss resources like Recovering From Religion and therapy, and encourage community involvement and activism.Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today's episode of The Atheist Experience, Godless Engineer, Sofia Spina, and Kelley Laughlin tackle divine command theory, biblical atrocities, and the question of whether God's treatment of children can ever be justified.Quincy-TX argues the Bible proves God because it's a physical book, just like maps prove locations exist. The hosts challenge whether a book's existence proves its supernatural claims. Does the Quran prove Allah? What about biblical contradictions and commands to harm children? Quincy insists atheists choose hell, but can't explain why divine command theory makes genocide moral.Jeff-PA asks why the hosts won't repent and defends Old Testament commands. The discussion turns to Numbers 31's sex trafficking of virgin girls and Deuteronomy 21's war bride laws. Jeff claims the New Covenant supersedes these commands, but struggles when asked if God's nature changed. Why would an unchanging God order child harm in one era but condemn it in another?God's Son-MD claims stabbing babies can be merciful and rape builds character and individuality. He argues God intentionally created suffering to develop human traits. The hosts challenge whether a being who commands evil can be called good. The call ends when the caller pivots to anti-LGBTQ bigotry.Steven-CO insists previous callers were pagans, claims God is balanced rather than purely good, and refuses evidence beyond scripture. He repeatedly makes racist claims about Edomites being white people. When asked for evidence, Steven deflects. Why should anyone accept claims without demonstration?Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today's episode of The Atheist Experience, Thinker and Godless Engineer tackle the question of whether the God of the Bible is a moral monster, examining divine command theory and the justifications believers offer for biblical atrocities.Maddi in LA agrees that the God of the Bible is a moral monster and explores how morality exists independently of divine command. She discusses how moral values are passed down through generations and vary across cultures. If morality comes from God, why do we see such dramatic differences in moral frameworks around the world? The hosts examine how secular humanism provides a foundation for ethics without requiring supernatural authority.Tariq in GA defends biblical atrocities by arguing that God makes tough choices for the ultimate good, invoking divine command theory. The hosts challenge his circular reasoning and press him on whether he would harm others if commanded by God. If morality is whatever God commands, does that mean anything becomes moral simply because God says so? What happens when divine command conflicts with our deepest moral intuitions about harm and suffering?Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today's episode of the Atheist Experience, Jim Barrows and Kelley Laughlin dive deep into philosophical arguments, information theory, and the limits of knowing God!Donald in LA presents an argument for an 'unactualized actualizer' using information, actuality, and potentiality. What exactly does 'information' mean in your framework? The hosts challenge his definitions and question whether the law of identity supports his premises. If everything that changes requires an actualizer, what actualizes the actualizer? Donald's complex terminology raises more questions than answers about whether his argument proves what he thinks it does.Bob in NY attempts to discuss the contingency argument and thermodynamics but spends most of his time complaining about the previous caller's airtime. After repeated warnings about staying on topic, Bob is disconnected. Sometimes the most revealing part of a call is what the caller chooses to focus on instead of their actual argument.Allison in MO offers a thoughtful perspective: if God exists, humans could never truly know God's nature because all information would be propaganda from an all-powerful being. The hosts agree this is a genuine epistemological problem. How would we distinguish God's truth from God's manipulation? Without empirical evidence and measurable properties, any claim about God's nature becomes unfalsifiable. This raises profound questions about what it would even mean to 'know' God.Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today's episode of the Atheist Experience, ObjectivelyDan and Seth Andrews tackle the problem of evil, epistemology, and whether math could be God!Darth Dawkins from the East Coast challenges Seth on how anyone can know what a maximally benevolent God would allow. The conversation escalates as Darth repeatedly accuses the hosts of dodging his question and being abusive when muted. If this is the best defense of God's benevolence, what does that say about the argument itself? Can you really claim to know what an all-good deity would permit without defining your terms?Aaron in TX explains how evolution completely undermines the concept of original sin and the entire Christian narrative. He also explores how religious obedience can lead to financial exploitation and poor personal boundaries. If Adam and Eve never existed, what happens to the foundation of Christianity? How does blind obedience to religious authority make people vulnerable to manipulation?Allison in MO proposes that math is the only thing that could be considered God, as it exists outside time and space and governs all physical laws. The hosts struggle to understand the premise and suggest workshopping the argument. Does math exist independently of minds, or is it a tool we invented? If math is God, what does worship even mean?Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today's episode of The Atheist Experience, The Cross Examiner, Godless Engineer, and Kelley Laughlin tackle biblical slavery, religious privilege, and the lengths believers will go to defend the indefensible.Julie in CA shares a text exchange with a Christian friend about slavery in the Bible that ended a 50-year friendship. After Julie removed illegal religious signs from public property, her friend accused her of attacking Christianity. The hosts explore how the Bible explicitly endorses slavery while mandating trivial ritual details, and why believers reinterpret these passages only after secular humanists forced moral progress. Why does an all-powerful god fail to prohibit owning humans as property?Stumpy Nubs on TikTok argues that Mark 14:51-52 proves Jesus owned a young slave based on Greek translation and connections to Dionysian rituals. The hosts challenge this interpretation, noting the passage mentions neither ownership nor slavery. Is this careful scholarship or reading your conclusion into the text? The difference between exegesis and eisegesis matters when making extraordinary claims about biblical figures.Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.

In today's episode of the Atheist Experience, Thinker, Godless Engineer, and Kelley Laughlin tackle divine command theory, biblical atrocities, and mystical claims about reality!Andrew in NJ argues that evil is anything outside God's purpose. If God commanded murder, would that be good? The hosts challenge his inconsistent definitions and ask if he'd condemn selling daughters as slaves. When divine command becomes your moral compass, where does accountability go?James in OK claims morality requires God, not human consensus. The hosts confront him on Exodus 21:7 and his rationalization of biblical slavery. Why does God's law permit owning people as property? If God is the source of morality, why does scripture endorse cruelty?Georgi in Bulgaria presents a New Age view that God needs humans for experience and claims ancient structures like Machu Picchu prove supernatural involvement. The hosts explain the known construction methods and redirect him to Truth Wanted for alien topics. Why assume the supernatural when human ingenuity suffices?Juan in Columbia presents a panentheistic view where God is a non-materialistic basis for reality and consciousness. He struggles to clearly define his concept of God. What does it mean to say God is the basis of reality if you can't articulate what that basis is?Thank you for joining us this week! We will see you next time!Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.