The Atheist Experience

Welcome to AXP! Jenna Belk is back in the cohost chair alongside Matt Dillahunty to tackle all the calls.First up, Peter in England argues that convincing people atheism is correct is futile because books like the Bible don’t convince anyone. The Bible does convince people, even today. Some people might not change their mind, but the ACA has absolutely helped people find their way out of religion.Nicole in MD asks why we hate Jesus. We don’t hate something that there is no evidence it even existed, let alone was divine. We can’t tell if your experiences are from Jesus. Until there is evidence there is a god, we won’t believe.Alejandro in CA says atheism is just an opinion. No this is foundational, disbelief is the default until you’re convinced otherwise. We don’t just assume atheism. Convince us of your god or go away.Joe in WI asks how sound is the argument that Abraham made it all up, arguing there was not a monotheistic god until then. It seems it’s more henotheistic is the belief that there are other god

Welcome to AXP! Matt Dillahunty is joined by our special guest Ian Rowland. Ian is and expert on cold reading and has written several books on the topic.First up, Joey in The UK asks about the basics “building blocks” of reason and how to argue with presuppositionalists. Reason is the tool that we use to evaluate claims and thoughts. It’s tough, Presups tend not to change their mind, they presuppose a necessary thing that grounds all of reality.Xeno in NC argues for the existence of god and claims he gets signals that prove his god. Is there a way for anyone to detect these signals? It’s not the same thing as a blip on a radar, we can demonstrate that. You need to prove these claims rather than trash talk.Cristian in CO claims that the improbability that whatever universe does exist is a life permitting one speaks to design. Is this the reason you believe? Life is inevitable given unlimited attempts. We can think of a better version of this existence and write a better bible, backed by evidence, than this god

Welcome to The Atheist Experience. Today’s show welcomes back the man, the myth, the legend...Dave Warnock!!! Oh and Matt Dillahunty is here too, I suppose. First up, Dean in CA presents the argument that people deserving to go to hell, eternal punishment, is incoherent. We don't subscribe to an afterlife, sounds like you need to bring it up with theists. Frank in Canada argues testimonials might make Jesus’ resurrection more reasonable. No amount of testimony is good enough for us. We have no good evidence to confirm ANY resurrection but we “need” to believe this 2000+ year old myth. Steven in CO claims we are “all creators” so that proves a creator. You can’t argue that all humans are creators of something, then there is a creator of everything. It’s a waste of time to argue with fallacious arguments.David in GA claims that atheists require evidence for claims but hold a claim we don't have evidence for. Our position is I don’t know. We don't spout a god claim, we simply reject your assertion on god.CJ from

Welcome to The Atheist Experience. For today’s show, we have Mandisa Thomas joining Matt Dillahunty to field your calls.First up, Frank in Hong Kong asks advice about lying to family about his religion, he is ex-Muslim and has a strained relationship with his family. We encourage all atheists to come out, only if they are comfortable and safe.Jedidiah in WA argues god exists because concepts in your brain exist in reality. Have you heard of equivocation fallacies? There exists a concept of a unicorn in my mind, but unicorns don’t exist in reality. You are confusing the map for the place.Jake in TN argues that Christianity is a reasonable belief to hold. He goes on to claim the bible is “100% god breathed”. Uh oh, the “context” argument for slavery. Stop listening to apologists and read your bible, start at Exodus 21.Chris in OK asks if we believe the apostles were martyred. Someone dying for a belief has no bearing on the validity of that belief, just that someone was willing to die for that belief. We don’t

Welcome to The Atheist Experience. We had a last minute host changeup. Today we have Jenna Belk hosting and Kenneth Leonard’s first appearance on AXP! Welcome Kenneth, happy to have you as our guest!Up first, Arnie in WA asks if you want to believe something, are you choosing your beliefs? When some atheists leave their religion, they can WANT those beliefs to be true but not actually believe they are true anymore. Self deceit and brainwashing is a real thing, you may not realize you are “choosing” to believe without knowing why.Michael in OR is frustrated that biology is often left out of the conversation of if it's good to be alive, citing Matt and Jordan Peterson’s chat. Michael argues that there are biological drives to pass on our genes, so it's good to be alive. Some may not be well versed in biology, so they may not go there in a conversation.Kurt in OR had a falling out with a friend over his religion, citing an argument over proving god or slavery. Oof, we lost him...call back Kurt! Relationships can

Welcome to The Atheist Experience. Our special guest is Andrew Seidel with Matt Dillahunty hosting. Andrew is a constitutional and civil rights attorney, activist, and author. Make sure to visit andrewlseidel.com Up first, Chris in OK speculates that large developmental leaps/inspiration might be linked to divinity. It doesn’t seem that anything human is tied to anything divine, you are skipping lots of early human development. God should have created us with that knowledge. John in TX argues that Matt uses the argument for incredulity when talking about whether god reveals himself versus if he exists. God exists or not but talking about a god revealing himself is a different argument. If your god exists, why wont your god show himself? We aren’t going to believe first.Joel from AL argues that the US Navy confirms UFO crafts act in ways that can’t be explained, those creatures are practically a god. Unidentified means NOT identified. Don’t leap from UFO to aliens/beings. You aren’t justified in saying it’s al

Happy Zombie Jesus Day!! Welcome to The Atheist Experience.Today’s show features Jenna Belk and Jim Barrows. Sadly, we couldn’t talk Jim into a bunny costume for today...Up first, David in CA is hopeful for a time where our show is no longer needed. While the goal is to make this show unnecessary, we definitely aren’t there yet. Believers born into a religion is an example of indoctrination and our show tries to help them out of it. Xeno in NC argues there is scientific evidence of god, saying you have to understand empiricism before you can get to god. If your senses can be fooled, how can you get to the “truth” with a flawed system. We agree the color red exists so colorblindness is an example of your senses being flawed. Mohammed in FL has proof that Muhammed never existed, arguing he was not mentioned in contemporary history. How can you begin to prove anything never exists? It sounds like the Jesus mythicist position. We aren’t looking to debate history, checkout facebook and discord.Ulrich in Mexico cla

Welcome back to The Atheist Experience. Today’s show features Matt Dillahunty and ShannonQ. Both hosts are on point today!!Up first, Ivan in Croatia wants to talk about the many problems with secular humanism because it advocates using reason to solve moral problems but people aren't always rational. What other system eliminates people's irrationality? Religion’s “moral system” isn't remotely good and forcing people to adhere to it is horrible and just indoctrination.Jelmer in the Netherlands argues there is a 3rd option to a dichotomy. God exists/doesn’t exist is a true dichotomy, there is not a 3rd option. The true nature of reality is a separate issue.Peter in India argues the bible has a lot of evidence for the existence of god, claiming only god can speak “Jesus said, unless a man is born again, he can not reach the kingdom of god”. Saying words isn’t evidence of anything. The bible proves the bible doesn’t fly here.Michael in MA claims god has been saving mankind from conjuring nations, as said in the h

Welcome back to The Atheist Experience. This Sunday we have Matt Dillahunty hosting with Katy Montgomerie’s debut on AXP. Check out her new show, The TransAtlantic Call-In Show hosted on The Line.Up first, Mike in the Czech Republic asks if some people are more inclined to be believers. Everyone believes for different reasons. Try working on re-rationionalizing your way through when you have these feelings and check out books on skeptically thinking. Give yourself some time.Shelby in ME encourages Matt to reread the bible because he feels the bible is true. Is 4 times enough? WAIT, you haven’t even finished it?Steve in OH made a bet with Matt and claims to have paid up. However, Matt has no idea what you are talking about.Don in CA is grieving the loss of his son and is struggling with the lack of resources for atheists. Religions have a privileged position in society but they often provide false comfort in platitudes like “God needs another angel”. That minimizes the one and only life we know we have. Check

Welcome back to The Atheist Experience. This Sunday we have Dave Warnock back with us and Jim Barrows hosting. Such a pleasure to have Mr. Warnock back, check out more at www.daveoutloud.com!Up first, Joseph from NV asks why humans can’t interbreed with humans since we share 98% DNA, given that other animals that are similar can interbreed. We recommend doing some more scientific research, you haven’t come close to proving evolution wrong. You misunderstand genetics and evolution. Even if you disprove evolution today, which you can’t, how does that prove god?Alejandro in CA asks if there is a third state other than exists/does not exist, arguing you can’t say I don’t know. There are 3 positions you can take on any claim. Accept the claim, accept the claim as false, or say I don’t know. Atheism is a response to a claim of god/s, not a statement that there is no god. No one has presented sufficient evidence to believe in a god, so our position is we don’t know until the claim is proven. Paw in FL claims he witn

Welcome back to The Atheist Experience. This Sunday’s show features Matt Dillahunty and Jenna Belk tackling your calls and arguments!Up first, Chris in CA asks if something willed the universe into existence or if it was just random chance. Why assume god as a default? Try starting out with “I don't know” and go from there. There doesn’t seem to be a way that anything could exist out of time and space. There is nothing about god that necessitates creation of the universe. What if god simply does not exist?Jackson from LA asks if being an atheist means you hate lots of things? Nope, it simply means you don’t believe in any gods. Atheists aren’t necessarily bad nor are they primarily gay. You need to interact with more atheists, check out some online communities. Dane from Australia asks if we think there is order in the universe, asserting that god is the creator of order? There is evidence of some order but none for a god. Repeat caller, Michelle in UT claims beauty wouldn’t exist without god. Complain all yo

Welcome back to The Atheist Experience. Today, we have Matt Dillahunty and ShannonQ teaming to answer your questions!Up first, Michelle in UT claims she saw god in creation even before she started reading the bible. We have evidence to explain how houses were created, we have no other universes for comparison. Appealing to creation as common sense is a fallacy called argument from incredulity. Have you heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect by chance?Alejandro in CA claims “I don’t know” or “I don't believe” does not correspond to reality.Asaf in Israel argues we perceive many things but actually there is only 1 thing in existence. Please define what the “one thing” that exists? Bad arguments for theism...Xeno in NC claims that there is scientific evidence for god. “Could be something” is not a definition of god. NEXT!Seth in OR claims religions all came from the same place, the first civilization, Atlantis. What evidence is there for Atlantis. Call Truth Wanted if you want to argue Atlantis.Charles in The UK cla

Welcome back to The Atheist Experience. Today, we have Truth Wanted’s ObjectivelyDan joining Matt Dillahunty to tackle your calls! Up first, Travis in PA recounts a story of a paranormal experience of something flying around in his room. He now feels people can be justified in concluding the supernatural. Why couldn’t it just be a bat flying around? Right now, the best you can say is that you don’t know what it was.Alex in MO asks why Matt holds the “hard atheist” position, meaning believing there are no gods.. The world doesn't look like the world created by a god. As far as we can tell, people made up every god and only evidence will change our mind. If a god is “hiding” from view, from our perspective it's indistinguishable from a non-existent god. Heath in SC thinks there is good evidence for god, but not scientific evidence as he is supernatural. Since there is no way to prove the supernatural, how is there good evidence for a god? Faith and reason are not the same thing, faith is the excuse when you don

Welcome back fellow Atheist Experience lovers. Today Matt Dillahunty is Jim Barrows, such a great duo! Our first caller, Sarah in OR is an atheist but believes in reincarnation and argues that e-meters work to show past lives. There is no scientific basis behind e-meters, it’s complete BS. Sarah has no other evidence than personal experience. We don’t believe in something without any evidence. Duke in IN claims to be a skeptic but retains belief in god, arguing peculiar experiences with a ouija board opened his mind. We wouldn’t know the cause of a ouija board getting every answer right, let alone less impressive examples. Being skeptical means refraining from belief until the claim is demonstrated. Manuel in OH asks why atheism is better than any other religion. It's not a religion, it's a label for people who do not accept the religious claim. If religions aren’t true and you believe it was a limitation on your life, all belief has a consequence. Noah in OR is a believer that became a skeptic but argues tha

Welcome back fellow Atheist Experience lovers. Today Matt Dillahunty is joined by Dr. Josh, known as Digital Hammurabi. Check out more videos at https://www.youtube.com/c/DigitalHammurabiOur first caller, Ayham in Toronto grew up Jehovah Witness and was diagnosed with schizophrenia and asks our take on if Jehovah is god. Why would that god speak to you if it can be written off as a medical issue? We can’t prove one way or another if the voice you hear is god. If your medicine makes the god visions go away, is god less powerful than your meds?Michael in Germany asks if claims of religious experience is reason enough for atheists to look into it. It depends on the claim, it may make us look into it more but it's not evidence of their claim. Regarding “gods morality”, we can’t evaluate what the god says but we can evaluate what the bible says.Mickey in NY argues that theists are rationally justified in believing in god. Your 4 premise argument does not prove god and can be rejected out of hand. You are rushing t

Welcome back, the ladies have taken over this episode of The Atheist Experience! We have Jenna Belk and ShannonQ talking to our callers, this is going to be good.Our first caller, Hugh in The USA asks the definitions of Theism/Atheism/Antitheism. Theism/Atheism deal with truth beliefs about a deity, whereas antitheism is a supplemental belief about religion and religious practice. Hugh believes deities are imaginary proclaims himself an antitheist. Kenny in CA want’s to tell us that he believes in the biblical god and why he believes it. He can’t seem to describe god but stating he is the self existing Yahweh. “All of history supports it” is not evidence, that is a ridiculous reason. Mike in Austria claims he can use mathematical logic to prove the unprovable, arguing if you have a set of axioms, arriving from those axioms you can never get all true statements. To what end are we having this conversation? How is asking for proof illogical?Solomon in WA argues that abortion should be illegal becuase it’s takin

Welcome back to The Atheist Experience. Today Matt Dillahunty is joined by Jim Barrows! Today’s show is going to be a good one, get ready!Our first caller, Bo in MT is surprised we would respond that we wouldn’t worship god if proven real. We don’t have the baggage of “god is good” and, if real, has a lot to answer for. The god of the bible has acted atrociously toward humans and does not deserve reverence. Raphael in Sweden asks, hypothetically, if Hitler would have been correct in wiping out a race of humans if it did the world good? Was he correct though? Rafael asks who defines morality. It’s not a matter of who, it's a matter of maximizing happiness and wellbeing and applying that across society. Kaden in WA asks what is the value of morality if this world is all we’ll get? That’s like asking what good are the rules if we are only playing 1 game. Is it better to be polite to someone or punch them in the face upon first meeting them? Kaden thinks he is a psychopath without his god belief. Good luck, get s

Welcome back to The Atheist Experience. Today Matt Dillahunty is joined by Johnny P. Angel! Strap in for a good show today!Our first caller, Murri in IN was diagnosed with Parkinson's and is tempted to go back to her faith. We are sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Religion/Church isn’t the sole source of comfort, support, or community. Give yourself some time to come to grips with how you feel about your diagnosis. Look into the secular therapist project Austin in WA asks if the scientific method is the best way to truth and how do we evaluate whether things are more or less true? We have yet to see any more reliable method to evaluate evidence. A consensus of opinion is a horrible method to ascertain capital T truth. Science deals with the natural world, not “spirits of the jungle”. Kaden in WA asks what is the value of morality if we are going to die anyway? Acting morally is beneficial to you and the people around you. Stealing a loaf of bread may be the most moral thing you could do, given certain scena

Welcome back to another Atheist Experience. Today Matt Dillahunty is Joined by Mandisa Thomas! Mandisa is the founder and president of Black Nonbelievers and they are having their 10th Anniversary Celebration in New Orleans and online January 15-17. Make sure to attend!Our first caller, Enoch in PA asks if we would become christians if the bible was all proven true. That’s a hard no, there are too many horrible things in that book. Do you not see how abusive it is that you would rather serve an evil god than suffer in a hell? Your god should denounce the immoral crap in the bible. Neil in ID claims it’s morally repugnant that a god would allow someone to live apart from all goodness and there are supernatural things. Supernatural is not synonymous with unexplainable. If you imagined something under duress, how is that a supernatural vision? If there is a god, we wouldn’t have to argue the existence of the supernatural. Leeroy in MN claims to have been an atheist but experienced god and changed his mind. His e

Happy New Year and welcome back! Get ready for today’s Atheist Experience: The Canadian Invasion! Today ShanonQ is joined by Paulogia to tackle a new year's set of arguments and apologetics. Find more Paulogia content at:http://www.youtube.com/c/PaulogiaOur first caller, Tim in KS how does atheism better account for the world as we find it than his Christianity does? Atheism isn’t a worldview. Biblical interpretation is not a way to look at the real world. We can argue about morality all day but your personal experience does not hold any explanatory power for us. Brian in MD is doubting everything and asks how can any human prove science is reliable? Science has predictive power and It’s the best model we have to investigate the world. So many of us go through a heavy doubt phase, it is completely normal. A god is not needed for a moral system. Good luck on your journey!Enoch in PA asks our take on a story he heard in bible school. Is it probable that a story you were told was prophetic? We have our doubts. W