Over the past several years a number of studies have been published which purport to show the psychological benefits of religious belief. These studies are often plagued by shoddy design, inadequate controls and overreliance on self-report data–yet even the most careful skeptics can overlook these mistakes. For this episode Dr. Galen explains 10 of the most common errors to watch for in psychology of religion research.  Also, for this episode we examine contradictions in the story of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, and we take a look at Thor for another polyatheism segment.

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Numerous passages in both the Old and New Testaments depict God as a being who actively engages in deception but apologist Joel Furches claims that these passages, seen in their proper context, reveal a God that never deceives–He simply allows sinful people to reap the consequences of their own lack of faith. A careful examination of the Bible, however, shows a God that is willing to use deception as an instrument for advancing his plan on earth. For this episode’s installment of God Thinks Like You we examine more evidence that links religious faith to an intuitive style of thinking while skepticism correlates with an analytic style of thought. We also take a look at politics in Egypt in the wake of the Arab spring and find that, while the overall picture looks grim, there may still be reason for hope. Remembering that women have the most to lose from an Islamic theocracy in Egypt, we close the episode by recounting the mythology of Egypt’s powerful goddess Isis–the subject of this weeks Polyatheism.

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Episode 101 Links:

Islamists rise to power in Egypt is scaring other Egyptians
Muslim comedian charged with insulting Islam
National Geographic article on Egypt
Foreign Policy editorial on “War on Women in Middle East”
Joel Furches‘ article “Is God a Liar”

 

The Doubtcasters would like  to thank all the RD fans from around the world who took part in our live 100th episode special. Your questions, stories and insights made this milestone for the show that much more special. But if you didn’t get a chance to listen, it’s all here. Does Jesus fulfill the biblical requirements for being the Jewish Messiah? Does the bible condone the beating slaves? What are the worst arguments you’ve ever heard for the existence of God? Why do atheists care what religious people believe? We attempt to answer these questions and many more, and in doing so we show once again that when it comes to the claims of religion there are plenty of reasonable doubts.

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Former Mormon, skeptic blogger, writer and sexual rights activist Sophie Hirschfeld discusses her past in the Church of Latter Day Saints, an abusive marriage and how she got out of both.

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints remains largely mysterious to those of us on the outside. With the help of three former Mormons, we explore the history, rituals and beliefs of the LDS including proxy baptisms for the dead, racial issues, mission trips, and a theology more uncomfortable than any “magical underwear.”

Also, Rick Santorum’s comments about the separation of church and state make us want to throw up and in God Thinks Like You we look at recent claims by Santorum and others that colleges are nothing but liberal atheist factories.

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According to the Transcendental Argument For God (TAG), the principles of Logic, inductive science and morality all depend on the existence the Christian God. In the second part of RD’s series on presuppositional apologetics the doubtcasters offer direct challenges to the soundness of the transcendental argument for God as well as several internal critiques of Christianity which show the Christian worldview to be incoherent.

 

Links:

Michael Martin “The Transcendental Argument for the Non-existence of God”

Michael Martin vs. John Frame on the Transcendental Argument for God

Mitch LeBlanc “The Case Against Presuppositionalism” parts 1, 2, 3.

Mitch LeBlanc “The Transcendental Argument for God”

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Most Christian apologists attempt to persuade the skeptic by offering rational arguments  for theism. Proof of theism may be possible, they argue, but even if it is not multiple lines of evidence support the reasonableness of the Christian worldview.  The presusppositional apologetic method abandons this approach. There is no neutral ground, they say, from which the theist and atheist can argue their claims. Gods existence  cannot be proven. We must believe in Him, however, if the world is to make sense at all. According to the Transcendental Argument For God (TAG), the principles of logic and science both depend on the existence the Christian God. Atheism is a self-refuting belief because one must  presuppose theism to even argue against it. For the first episode of this series the doubtcasters present an overview of presuppositional apologetics and discuss strategies that atheists should avoid when attempting to counter their claims. For part 2 of the series the doubtcasters will present several challenges to TAG and presuppositionalism more generally.  Also on this episode: creationism bill in Indiana, Amish renegade Johnny Mullet goes on a beard-shaving rampage, a new Pollyatheism and more.

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Fresh from a month long break the doubtcasters return do discus some of the stories they missed while away. The U.S. supreme court has ruled that religious groups have a “ministerial exception” from anti-discrimination laws. We discuss how this ruling might effect those working for religious institutions. Meanwhile, Catholic Charities are closing their doors because they are no longer permitted to receive government funds while discriminating against same-sex couples seeking to adopt children. Hardware superstore Lowes panders to Christian bigots who insist there is no such thing as an “All-American Muslim” even though recent studies suggest otherwise.  For this week’s God Thinks Like You segment we discuss how secular authority can fill that “God shaped hole” in your life and in Counter-Apologetics we debunk the “King James Bible only” crowd as our belated tribute to the 400th anniversary of that historic document. We end with props for anti-fundamentalist protests in Israel and Jessica Ahlquist who recently succeeded in getting a religious banner removed from her high school (Jessica’s scholarship fund can be found here).

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This RD extra features a sermon written by Jeremy Beahan for All Souls Unitarian Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Description:

Those who reject religion go by many names; atheist, agnostic, skeptic, freethinker, secular humanist–but please do not call us “unbelievers.” If you ask you will find there are many things we believe in. We believe that the natural world , as revealed through science, is more beautiful and inspiring than any mythology. But a world without the supernatural also confronts us with disturbing possibilities. If there is no God then the human story comes with no guarantee of a happy ending. Humanity must solve it’s own problems but it’s not at all clear we are up to the task. If there is hope, it will be found in those who reject the hollow consolations of faith and choose to press on instead of hoping for a miracle. By living with courage and integrity, pursuing truth for truth’s sake, we can make our lives and our world significant.

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