The Atheist Experience 24.51 12-20-2020 with Matt Dillahunty and Jenna Belk

Hello all you atheists (and theists) out there! Strap in, today’s Atheist Experience features Matt Dillahunty and Jenna Belk! Happy holidays!
Our first caller again is Enoch in PA asks our thoughts on why humans are different from other animals, given humans have morality/religion/philosophy. Humans' niche is intelligence but other great apes & pack animals have moral drives. We can’t communicate with other animals and we aren’t special...just different.
Joey in IN asks if we have thought how Star Trek relates to Christianity on earth, given the crew dealt with skepticism and religions on other worlds? It didn’t necessarily teach skepticism and may have helped Matt understand humanism, but didn’t really help with religion. Babylon dealt with religion better.
Kirby in IN believes in a god but thinks the Abrahamic religions are racist and controlling and feels that god is pure energy that evolved from a man. Population, not individuals, evolve. What makes you think this being exists at all? Evidence, not feelings, is the path to truth. Do you care if your beliefs are rational? If so, you shouldn't hold a belief without evidence. There is a difference in “I think there is a god” and “I think there might be a god”.
Kevin in NY believes that a secret passed down by alchemists is that the soul is an emergent property within the magnetic field of the human aura. Aura? There is no evidence of souls or aura. Try again next time.
Mohammed in Pakistan no longer believes in Islam but believes in a god, likely due to indoctrination. Why keep believing it then? We get how insidious indoctrination can be, you need to figure out what is keeping you in that fear. Sounds like you might be suffering from religious trauma syndrome, check out recovering from religion and the secular therapy project. Talking about this is the only thing that can help.
Radu in WA never believed in a god but has started thinking more about it after researching game theory. His basis started with humans being a neural network, however we aren’t a neural network. You are arguing by analogy, where is the god in what you are seeing? The time to believe something is when there is evidence for it.
Tim in ND asks why an atheist values rationality so intensely? Is there anything more valuable than rationality? We would like to be as right as possible, faith is gullibility. It’s important that others are rational because what they do has an impact on our lives. Rationality lends to survivability.
Lastly, Erica in MT is an atheist that sides with Christians on social issues, for example the right to assembly in this pandemic. Do you not think we have a duty to protect the health of others? It’s conspiratorial to think that governments would create emergencies to keep take away rights.
Thanks for tuning in, we are so glad you joined us today. Wear a damn mask and have safe and wonderful holidays, we’ll see ya next year!

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