Faith Fails; Use Skepticism To Appraise Religion, Find Truth

May 7, 2013
By
John Loftus

John Loftus

Believers Should Be Skeptical of Their Religion – And Worried, An Interview With John Loftus

Minister-turned-atheist and author John Loftus and I consider how to appraise religions skeptically and fairly. We talk about issues raised in his new book, The Outsider Test for Faith: How to Know Which Religion Is True. In the 1980s Loftus earned three masters degrees in theology and studied under the tutelage of prominent Christian apologist William Lane Craig. He spent 14 years in Christian ministry, and in the 1990s experienced a full-blown crisis of faith. In 2008 he published a book titled Why I Became an Atheist: A Former Preacher Rejects Christianity. After my discussion with Loftus I’ll refute some arguments I recently discovered while visiting Christian apologetic websites. These claims are directly related to Loftus’ book and our conversation. That is at the end of the podcast (at the 33:15 mark).

MP3 File
(43 minutes, 36 seconds, 20.93 MB)

Here are some links mentioned in this podcast:
Faith: ‘wishful thinking’? by Steve Wilkinson at the Christian Apologetics Alliance
Common Objection #19- “Why Won’t God Heal Amputees?” by Chad at Truthbomb Apologetics
Can Science Lead to Faith? by Gary Marcus at The New Yorker

Author, Skeptic Opens Dialogue With Christians

April 15, 2013
By
Author Guy P. Harrison

Author Guy P. Harrison

Guy P. Harrison Seeks Mutual Understanding and Honest Conversation With His New Book

I’m pleased to welcome author Guy P. Harrison back to the podcast to talk about his new book, 50 Simple Questions for Every Christian. I spoke to him a year ago about his previous book, 50 Popular Beliefs That People Think are True. Harrison’s writing focuses primarily on science and skepticism. He’s held numerous positions in the news industry, including editorial writer, world news editor, sports editor, photographer, page designer, and columnist. His new book is not intended to be argumentative or disrespectful, but to promote dialogue and understanding. Harrison asks questions such as, “What is the born-again experience?” “Why would God want to sacrifice his only son for the world?” “Do miracles really happen?” “How reliable is the Bible?” “What is the rapture?” and, “Why isn’t everyone a Christian?” Harrison follows each question with thoughtful analysis. Throughout the book Harrison takes care never to condescend or treat the reader poorly.

MP3 File
(55 minutes, 50 seconds, 26.33 MB)

Listen to my audio commentary titled, Islamohysteria: The Misguided Attacks on Sam Harris, at the end of this podcast starting at the 41:22 mark.

Click here to read On Islamophobia and Libels, by Sam Harris, and here to read Greenwald and Hussain on Sam Harris and Racism, by Robby Bensinger

Author Suggests Neural Mechanism for Transcendence, Beauty

March 19, 2013
By
Joshua Fost

Joshua Fost

Dr. Joshua Fost Posits a Naturalistic Basis for Divine Experience and Aesthetic Appreciation

In his 2007 book, If Not God, Then What? Neuroscience, Aesthetics, and the Origins of the Transcendent, Dr. Joshua Fost connects our recognition of beauty, the ascetically appealing and certain types of religious experience with our desire to find order in our world. He further proposes a neural mechanism for this human feature, using ideas from scientific literature. Fost’s project is, in part, a naturalistic attempt for an explanation of transcendent religious experience. Fost is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and University Studies at Portland State University. His primary research interests are in neurophilosophy and the public understanding of science, critical thinking, and methodological naturalism. He has lectured and written extensively, and his work has been published in many scientific journals. He’s published two articles in Free Inquiry, the first in 2005 titled Fight dogma, not religion, and the most recent in the 2012 October/November issue, titled On being a scientist.

MP3 File
(37 minutes, 23 seconds, 17.95 MB)
For Fost’s blog page and more of his writing, please click here.

Dan Barker Reveals a Busy 2013 for the FFRF (IRS Beware!)

February 19, 2013
By
Dan Barker

Dan Barker

Advocating for the Non-Religious Through Growing Pains & Good Humor

Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation with Annie Laurie Gaylor, joins me for a humorous and informative interview. Barker discusses current church and state lawsuits, examines issues concerning nonbelievers, and reveals the foundation’s growing pains. We even share a few jokes. The foundation, based in Madison, Wisconsin, is a non-profit organization that advocates for non-theists, promotes separation of church and state, and educates the public on atheistic, agnostic and nontheistic issues. Barker is a contributing editor of Freethought Today, a newspaper published by the foundation, and is involved with the foundation’s state/church lawsuits. He regularly travels the country and the world giving lectures, performing concerts, and participating in debates with theists, many at college and university campuses. Both Barker and Gaylor co-host Freethought Radio, a national weekly talkshow on the Air America network.

MP3 File
(28 minutes, 53 seconds, 13.87 MB)

To read about the “parsonage exemption” lawsuit, click here. To read about the “religious electioneering” lawsuit, click here. To read about the lawsuit filed against the IRS by the American Atheists, please click here.

Chris Stedman Asks For Civility in Theist-Atheist Debate

February 4, 2013
By
Chris Stedman

Chris Stedman. Photo by Alex Dakoulas.

Assistant Humanist Chaplain’s Book ‘Faithiest’ Recounts Past Hurts & Future Hopes

Faithiest is the title of the recently published book by Chris Stedman, an assistant humanist chaplain at Harvard. The book is a well-written memoir of his life as a young Christian teen who realizes that he’s gay, and whose struggle with religious homophobia led him to the lowest point in his life. After discovering his journal and learning of his plight, Stedman’s mother took him to see a Christian pastor more accepting of his homosexuality. Despite the relief he felt, Stedman eventually became an atheist, whereupon he discovered a different kind of intolerance within the community of nonbelievers. The book is not just a memoir of Stedman’s struggle with his religious and sexual identity – it’s a call for civility in our discourse. The book has sparked conversation, comments and criticism. Stedman fields questions about his past as well as his hopes for the future.

MP3 File
(42 minutes, 33 seconds, 20.43 MB)

Next Podcast

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

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