Reasonable Doubts Podcast

Barack Obama has been president for barely a week, yet the religious right has already ramped up their rhetoric to hysterical levels. For this episode we examine their claim that Obama’s reversal of the "Global Gag Rule" on family planning funding represents an assault on human life. Also we look to the New Testament and ask whether Christianity is more compatible with capitalism or socialism for another installment of the Skeptic’s Sunday School. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

According to the American Family Association's new documentary "Speechless: Silencing The Christians" Homosexual advocates are using sophisticated propaganda techniques to manipulate the public into accepting the homosexual lifestyle as normal and harmless. As a result Christians are now being stereotyped by the media as being intolerant bigots clearing the way for persecution at the hands of homosexual advocates who use hate speech laws to silence Christian's free speech rights and suppress their freedom of religion. For this episode the Doubtcasters set the record straight by exposing the exaggerated claims, cherry-picked evidence and anti-gay pseudoscience in the film speechless. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Having argued for determinism, the doubtcasters now turn to its implications. Is moral responsibility possible in a deterministic universe? Could justice and self-knowledge still be achieved if free will is just an illusion? Tom Clark, Director of the Center For Naturalism joins us on the show to explain how adopting a consistently naturalistic worldview would transform our view of society and ourselves. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Does every person possess a immaterial soul capable of making free choices or are we all just electrified meat--slaves to brute causality? For this episode, the doubtcasters draw upon arguments from philosophy and psychology to make the case for determinism. But if a naturalistic outlook rules out freedom of the will is morality still possible? Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Nica Lalli Author of "Nothing: Something to Believe In" joins us in the studio to talk about art, the holidays and raising freethinking children. Also in this episode are holiday editions of the "props/s***list" and "stranger than fiction" segments.

Does the New Testament provide a clear and accurate portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth? If the gospels provide the testimony of four independent witnesses who overwhelmingly agree on the details, as apologists claim, then we would have reason to trust these accounts. But modern biblical scholarship paints a radically different picture of the gospels, their origins and historical accuracy. In this, the second of a two part series, the Doubtcasters consider and respond to recent counter-arguments offered by prominent Christian apologists. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Does the New Testament provide a clear and accurate portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth? If the gospels provide the testimony of four independent witnesses who overwhelmingly agree on the details, as apologists claim, then we would have reason to trust these accounts. But modern biblical scholarship paints a radically different picture of the gospels, their origins and historical accuracy. In this, the first of a two part series, the Doubtcasters draw upon the insights of biblical criticism to challenge the reliability of the gospel narratives. For part two of the series, the Doubtcasters will consider and respond to recent counter-arguments offered by prominent Christian apologists. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Embryonic stem-cell research, assisted dying, human enhancements and genetically modified foods. Is it possible to have a constructive moral and legal dialogue about such controversial bioethical issues without being derailed by religious and ideological dogmas? Ron Lindsay, author of Future Bioethics: Overcoming Taboos, Myths and Dogmas joins us on the show to explain how we could resolve these controversies without presupposing either a religious or non-religious worldview.Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Zombies, demons, Satan, witches, ritual abuse, Mel Gibson and more...this episode's a nightmare. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

By popular demand, the Doubtcasters present their critique of Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga's Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism (EAAN). This celebrated argument attempts to demonstrate that natural selection, if unguided by god, could not produce beings with reliable cognitive faculties capable of discerning the truth. But is EAAN all its cracked up to be? Also on this episode: The Doubtcasters consider William Lane Craig's rebuttal to Euthyphro's Dilemma, answer listener e-mails, and discuss Bill Maher's new movie Religulous. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Physicist Victor Stenger joins us on the show to discuss his book God The Failed Hypothesis. Stenger challenges Christian apologists who argue that modern physics point to a creator. He also defends the more aggressive approach "the new atheists" use when critiquing religion as well as his own controversial claim that a proper understanding of science actually proves that no gods exist. Also on the show… the Doubtcasters outline the reasons why every American, regardless of their politics, should be terrified at the prospect of a Palin presidency.Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Reasonable Doubts departs from its usual format to bring you an audio-documentary about the importance of friendship and community amongst non-believers. Recorded at CFI Michigan's Second Annual Long Lake Retreat, the episode traces the history of how the group evolved and the friendships that developed along with it. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Visions, weeping statues, speaking in strange tongues…even in modern times believers have appealed to seemingly miraculous events as evidence for their supernatural beliefs. But is there any evidence that miracles really happen? Paranormal investigator Joe Nickel joins us on the show to discuss how to scientifically investigate claims of the miraculous. Also for a "God thinks like you" segment the doubtcasters discuss the psychological basis of supposedly supernatural phenomena such as glossolalia or "speaking in tongues" Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Reasonable Doubts Bonus Episode: Jeremy's interview with the Reason Driven Podcast. RD co-host Jeremy Beahan joined Danny and Mikyle from the Reason Driven Podcast to help the duo with a follow up to their debate with Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias. The interview portion of that episode is included here, but you can get the entire episode as well as the Debate with Ravi from their website www.reasondriven.blogspot.com Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Paranormal investigator Jim Underdown discusses skepticism, faith healing and the Ten Commandments. Also: Messiahs before Jesus? Join us for another Skeptics Sunday School where we examine Israel Knohl's suffering servant of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Also the doubtcasters review new research on the relationship between different forms of religiosity and retaliatory violence for the most recent installment of "god thinks like you." Dave, Jeremy and Luke would like to thank everyone who has supported this podcast over the past year. Reasonable Doubts Podcast will be taking the month of August off to make improvements to the show. During the break please keep the emails coming to doubtcast@gmail.com. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

"As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion…" These words taken from Article XI of the United States treaty with Tripoli in 1796, provide a clear and direct answer to historical revisionists who claim America is a "Christian Nation." The doubtcasters discuss this document and others for a special Independence Day episode of RD. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

One of the most dangerous entanglements between Church and State is seldom witnessed by the average American civilian. Yet from the Air Force Academe to the Pentagon, the United States Armed Forces have been infiltrated by evangelical Christians who believe their purpose is to "raise up a Godly army." For this episode the doubtcasters examine this trend and its connection to Christian apocalypticism. This episode also features the comic short "This Humanists Army" as well as a counter-apologetic segment debunking the "70 Weeks" passage in the book of Daniel which is thought by many apologists to be one of the strongest examples of a fulfilled prophecy. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Polygamy, eschatology, scientology…there is no shortage of religious craziness in the world today. On this episode the doubtcasters wander (more or less) aimlessly through recent headlines. The Church of Scientology, John Hagee and the fundamentalist Mormon church receive special attention. Also listen for an unusual shitlist and a public service announcement on behalf of www.youvebeenleftbehind.com. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.

Alarming developments at the UN now threaten freedom of expression world wide. Austin Dacey, philosopher and Center for Inquiry's representative to the United Nations joins us to explain how the core principle of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been abandoned by the very council that is charged with upholding it. How did the UN, which was founded on humanistic principles, come to this? And why are so many unaware or unconcerned about these developments? In his book "the Secular Conscience" Dacey argues that western liberal secularism "lost its soul" when it began treating claims of conscience as purely subjective matters that do not belong in the public sphere. By privatizing conscience, secular liberals sought to keep religion separate from politics but only succeeded in placing a gag order upon themselves thus giving up the language of morality to religious conservatives. Now is the time for secularists to reclaim civic moral dialogue and defend a free and open society. For inspiration, Dacey

Religious right commentators have referred to the ACLU as the "Anti-Christian Lawyers Union" which targets the rights of Christian citizens. Ed Brayton, author of scienceblogs.com's popular blog Dispatches From the Culture Wars joins us on the show to expose the blatant misinformation behind such accusations and to share the important contributions religious believers have made to defending liberty. In the end, Brayton argues, we should honor those who defend freedom of expression as the true American heroes they are. Also in this episode, RD discusses possible evolutionary advantages to religiosity and the hype behind "the God gene" for another installment of God Thinks Like You. Reasonable Doubts: Your skeptical guide to religion offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, humanists, apologists looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.