The Atheist Experience 25.26 06-27-2021 with Matt Dillahunty and Hemant Mehta

In today’s episode of the Atheist Experience, Matt Dillahunty is joined by Hemant Mehta.Our first caller today is Marlon from the Philippines who believes that a local baptist pastor has received divine powers from God because the pastor appeared to spontaneously set his hands on fire with a snap. The “miracles” described by the caller sound a lot like the result of store-bought magic tricks rather than powers derived from a God.Our next caller is Pete from TX who asks if our hosts believe that The Atheist Experience and other online atheist programming provides a measurable benefit to society. Let’s have a strawman party!Up next is David from CA who claims that God cannot be proven through science, but through history and anecdotes. Please answer the questions!Next is Danny from FL who believes he triggered the depression in his girlfriend by converting her to Atheism. It was the conversion to Atheism that caused the depression. It was the realization of the lie that her religion told to her throughout her life. The best thing to do is to show her support, and encourage her to interact with other non-believers so that she knows that she isn’t alone.Next up is Richard from CA who believes that water has a collective consciousness. The caller claims that water molecules react to certain words being placed nearby. Whataboutisming other known pseudosciences is seriously not helping your case, trust me.Next is Mark from CA who claims that anyone who isn’t saved, by having faith in God, is going to hell. How is it possible to demonstrate to another person that you are saved?Next is Sharon from IL who asks why atheists believe that consciousness is merely the product of a material brain. Until such time that it is shown that something other than the material is necessary for consciousness, it is not reasonable to conclude that the immaterial is involved at all.Up next is Leo from WI who believes that it is possible to sell your soul to the devil. How do we know whether someone has actually sold their soul to the devil versus someone who is merely claiming to.Next is Sohaib from Canada who asks our hosts what they think about the Islamic version of hell. If you found out that God didn’t exist, what would you do?Next up is Tanner from UT. They are a former mormon whose father admits that he doesn’t care whether his beliefs are true or not.Our next caller is Brian from NZ who has a question about freewill and God as a puppeteer. There is a difference between having the freedom to make certain choices, and the freedom of choice.Our final caller is William from OH who is asking for advice on how to raise their child while being surrounded by believers. The best thing to do is to encourage your daughter to ask questions about their beliefs and ask her probing questions.

Om Podcasten

The Atheist Experience is a weekly show in Austin, Texas geared at a non-atheist and atheist audience. The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin.The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.We define atheism as the lack of belief in gods. This definition also encompasses what most people call agnosticism.