Atheism
68 conversations where the hosts get into atheism.
68 conversations
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Simeon's question: 'what made God?' and the case against scientism
- What made God? How can a being have no beginning?
Guest Simeon Clawson names his recurring faith question: what made God, and how can a mind process a being with no beginning?
From No. 556 · A Christian Mid-Life Crisis
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Why people ditch God
- Why do people ditch God?
Reading a Christian Post article by Robin P. Shoemaker, the hosts work through three reasons people leave faith: bad events that wreck a life, bad representatives of the faith, and bad morals that collide with sexual freedom.
From No. 505 · Because of Fussy and Fuzzy
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Dear LFTP: the significant other who hijacks every religious discussion
- How do I get my significant other to stop hijacking religious discussions with hostility?
A woman writes in that her significant other, nice in every other respect, injects sarcasm and hostility into any religion or spirituality discussion and always ends with 'show me proof.'
From No. 454 · Read, Protect, and Complain About Your Husband
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News: Kentucky man's 'I'M GOD' license plate lawsuit
- Should my dating daughter choose the nearby college and move in with her boyfriend, or take the scholarship school three hours away?
A Frankfort, Kentucky man — atheist Ben Benny Hart, who had the plate in Ohio for over a decade — is suing Kentucky (backed by the ACLU and the Freedom From Religious Foundation) after being told the 'I'M GOD' plate is inappropriate; a judge let the case proceed.
From No. 345 · Grammys and Cheeseburgers
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Proof 50 from godisimaginary.com: 'Ask Jesus to appear'
- Why doesn't Jesus appear to everyone today like he appeared to Paul and the 500?
- Is 'blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe' just a cover for a long con?
A host reads aloud proof number 50 from godisimaginary.com at length: Jesus would appear to everyone today if he had truly risen, since he appeared to hundreds after the resurrection (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20-21, 1 Corinthians 15:3-6).
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Dear LFTP: an atheist with an alcohol problem
- I have an alcohol problem but I am an atheist and AA does not seem right — do you have any ideas?
A Dear LFTP letter: the writer knows she has an alcohol problem; AA does not seem right because she is an atheist; her doctor had no suggestions.
From No. 283 · When Totems Fall
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Pastor Ryan Bell tries atheism for a year
- Can a pastor 'try out' atheism for a year?
The hosts read and react to a CNN story: pastor Ryan Bell of a Seventh-day Adventist congregation in Hollywood resolved to live a year as an atheist - no prayer, church, or Bible…
From No. 174 · Trying Atheism for a Year
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Proof #51: Think about God and Baal
- Does the Elijah-and-Baal story in 1 Kings 18 prove that God is imaginary?
The hosts walk through proof #51 from godisimaginary.com: think about God and Baal. A host reads the 1 Kings 18 account of Elijah confronting Baal's prophets on Mount Carmel, then reads the site's argument that God's failure to show himself today proves he is imaginary.
From No. 148 · Now Serving Seven
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Reading proof #49: look at who speaks for God
- If God is real, why doesn't he silence the lunatics who speak in his name?
A host reads proof #49 from godisimaginary.com verbatim from the site: since God is silent, his only spokespeople are people, and many of them are lunatics (citing clips like Westboro's 'thank God for dead soldiers' and a 'holy spirit enema' video).
From No. 146 · Ask Jesus to Appear
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Proof 46 read aloud: Pascal's wager
- Is Pascal's wager a sound argument for believing in God?
A host reads proof 46 from godisimaginary.com, 'ponder Pascal's wager': believers argue 'I have nothing to lose, you have everything to lose,' and the site rebuts that thousands…
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Rebutting proof #44: the Christian housewife's mustard-stain prayer
- Is God imaginary because He supposedly answers trivial prayers, like removing a mustard stain from a blouse, while great suffering goes unanswered?
The hosts read proof #44 from godisimaginary.com, which argues God is imaginary because believers pray trivial prayers — a Christian housewife in Pasadena who believes God removed a mustard stain from her blouse — while terrible suffering goes unanswered.
From No. 140 · The Mustard-Stain Prayer
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Proof 41: 'Flip a Coin' read aloud
- Does unanswered coin-flip prayer prove that Jesus is imaginary?
A host reads proof 41 from the godisimaginary website's '50 proofs', cleverly entitled 'Flip a Coin': pray to the sun god Ra to make a coin land heads 50 times and note that…
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Proof 38 read: Christian divorce rates
- Why do Christian divorce rates match the general population, and does that prove God is imaginary?
A host reads Proof 38 from an on-air list of proofs that God is imaginary. The proof argues: Christian weddings invoke God as witness, the Bible forbids divorce (citing Matthew…
From No. 136 · The Divorce-Rate Proof
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Proof 35 read aloud: notice Jesus' myopia
- If Jesus were God, why didn't he use his power to end slavery, sexism, disease, poverty and war?
A host reads the full text of proof 35 from godisimaginary.com. The argument: if Jesus were God, he would have used omniscience and omnipotence to end slavery, sexism, racism,…
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Proof #33: contemplate the crucifixion
- Does the crucifixion story make sense, or does it prove God is imaginary?
The hosts read and rebut proof #33 from godisimaginary.com, which calls the crucifixion absurd: an all-knowing God who designed human nature, foresaw every sin, and then had himself crucified to feel better.
From No. 130 · January 21 2013
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Proof 31 read-through: 'Understand that religion is superstition'
- If God answers trivial prayers, why does he not stop massive evils like murder, rape, and starvation?
The host reads proof 31 from godisimaginary.com aloud: the Pasadena housewife who believes God removed a mustard stain versus the world's unanswered suffering, a long checklist of…
From No. 129 · January 14 2013
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GodIsImaginary proof 29: communion as cannibalism
- Is communion ritualistic cannibalism?
The hosts walk through proof 29 of the GodIsImaginary.com 50-proofs series, which argues communion (Mark 14, Luke 22, John 6:53) looks like ritualistic cannibalism.
From No. 127 · December 17 2012
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Rebutting proof 28 and a preview of proof 29
- How do you know your God is the right one?
The hosts answer proof 28: the counterfeit-dollar analogy (one true answer among 20 wrong ones isn't disproven by the crowd), the category error of lumping the biblical God with…
From No. 126 · December 10 2012
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Proof 27: 'Think about life after death' read-through
- Is the soul real, or are humans just chemical reactions with no afterlife?
A host reads godisimaginary.com proof 27 in full: bacteria, mosquitoes, mice, chimps, dogs, and humans are all just chemical reactions, so nothing has a soul; the soul is as imaginary as Santa Claus, and Allah and the Quran get the same verdict.
From No. 125 · December 3 2012
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Proof 25 read-aloud: understand evolution and abiogenesis
- Does accepting evolution mean rejecting the creation story and the soul?
The hosts work through Proof 25 of the 50 proofs on GodIsImaginary.com, which argues that accepting evolution means rejecting the Genesis creation story and the soul, and that abiogenesis explains the origin of life without a supernatural being.
From No. 123 · November 19 2012
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God is Imaginary proof 24: does religion cause problems?
- Does religion cause more social problems than it solves?
- Why do kids who grew up in church leave it around age 18 and come back in their late twenties?
The hosts take on proof 24 from godisimaginary.com: 'ask why religion causes so many problems,' citing a Journal of Religion and Society article correlating religious belief with homicide, STDs, teen pregnancy, and abortion.
From No. 121 · November 5 2012
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Proof 23 'Listen to the Doxology': the proof and first rebuttals
- If all blessings flow from God, why are his blessings so unevenly distributed?
Proof 23 from the GodIsImaginary.com author's 50 proofs is read aloud: since 'Praise God from whom all blessings flow' implies all blessings come from God, the uneven distribution…
From No. 120 · October 29 2012
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GodIsImaginary proof #20: church wealth
- Who is the GodIsImaginary.com author, and is his proof site sincere?
- Does the wealth and ornamentation of churches disprove the existence of God (proof #20)?
Week 20 of the 50 proofs: the site quotes Matthew 6:19, Luke 14:33, Matthew 6:24, Matthew 19:21, and Acts 2 to argue churches must sell everything and give to the poor, then…
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Proof #17 read aloud: think about leprechauns
- Is God imaginary like leprechauns -- is there no evidence for God's existence?
A host reads the full text of proof #17 from godisimaginary.com, which argues God is imaginary the same way leprechauns are imaginary: no physical evidence, no answered prayer by…
From No. 114 · September 10 2012