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).

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(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 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.

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(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

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.

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

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.

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(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. 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.

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(42 minutes, 33 seconds, 20.43 MB)

Stephen Law

Stephen Law Discusses His Interesting Thoughts on Morality, His “Evil God Hypothesis,” and His Views on Religion

Philosopher Stephen Law challenges theists to explain, “. . . why the hypothesis that there exists an omnipotent, omniscient and all-good god should be considered significantly more reasonable than the hypothesis that there exists an omnipotent, omniscient and all-evil god. Theists typically dismiss the evil god hypothesis out of hand because of the problem of good – there is surely too much good in the world for it to be the creation of such a being. But then why doesn’t the problem of evil provide equally good grounds for dismissing belief in a good god?” Law is the editor of the Royal Institute of Philosophy journal THINK. He has published several books and is senior lecturer in philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London. His books include Believing Bullshit, The Philosophy Gym, Humanism, A Very Short Introduction, and The War for Children’s Minds. During our conversation, Law shares his interesting views on morality, discusses how science relates to morality, and challenges both theists and non-theists to think.

Jerry DeWitt

Jerry DeWitt Discusses His Difficult Odyssey From Sermonizer to Skeptic

In 2011, Jerry DeWitt, a Pentecostal preacher for 25 years, committed “identity suicide.” DeWitt, a successful pastor and respected community member of DeRidder, Louisiana, lost his faith after a difficult struggle. After friends and family discovered his nonbelief, he lost his job, was ostracized by many peers and relatives, and he and his wife separated. He found help on the internet, and started communicating with the vast wealth of freethinkers online. He is now executive director of Recovering from Religion, a nonprofit organization providing support and encouragement to individuals leaving religion. He’s also the first graduate of The Clergy Project, a private, invitation-only “safe house” community of current and former ministers who no longer hold supernatural beliefs. He talks about his past, why he became an atheist, and his upcoming biography, Hope after Faith, which will be published in June, 2013.

Massimo Pigliucci

Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci Combines Science and Philosophy While Discussing the Meaning of Life

Most people consign the discovery of facts about our universe to science, and the navigation of values and meaning to the domain of religion. Massimo Pigliucci, a professor of philosophy at the City University of New York, has a better idea: Combine science and philosophy to explore the subjects that give our life meaning, such as love, friendship, morality and justice. This approach is the subject of his new book, Answers for Aristotle, How Science and Philosophy Can Lead us to a More Meaningful Life. In this podcast Pigliucci and I discuss his book, and how he views scientific research through the lens of philosophy to provide a strategy to live the best life possible.

Katherine Stewart

Author and journalist Katherine Stewart chronicles the toxic spread of Christianity by fundamentalist evangelical organizations in her 2012 book, The Good News Club, The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children. In it she describes the duplicitous tactics and divisive nature of these religious legal and educational groups. Intent on controlling – and even destroying – the public school system, these organizations peddle a destructive agenda with a goal of controlling American education, politics and culture. Before you sound the cry of “Alarmist!” listen to this podcast or read her book: Like a good student, Stewart has done her homework, and like a good journalist, she has done her footwork.

D.J. Grothe

D.J. Grothe on the Value of Skepticism, or, ‘Protecting Yourself From Quacks, Crooks & Cons’

This podcast could also be titled, “The Easiest Person to Fool: You.” One skill we Homo sapiens are adept at is fooling ourselves. Charlatans, frauds and cheats depend on this, and make a very good living at taking advantage of our flawed human nature and our propensity to believe some really goofy things. D.J. Grothe, President of the James Randi Educational Foundation, discusses how we can protect ourselves from these liars and scam artists, and explains why science and skepticism are so important.