Dutko and I at a fork in the Road

Here is the link to the whole playlist.
• Dutko Against All Reason
This playlist addresses Bob Dutko's sermon "Answering the Skeptic"
• Answering The Skeptic ...
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @aronra
If you like what I do, please consider supporting my efforts.
PATREON► / aronra
PAYPAL► www.paypal.me/...

[@adventurehouseauctions7730]

As a young Methodist, I was sitting in a Sunday school class, when the Pastor came in to class instead of our standard "teacher." Somehow the discussion came around to evolution. The Pastor...who I'd known all my life up to that time, as well as his adopted son, looked at our class and asked a question. "What is more intricate...a pocket watch or a human life?" Well everyone agreed that a human life is more intricate than a pocket watch. With that answer, our Pastor then told us, "Well if a pocket watch is less intricate, would you ever think that a pocket watch would wash up on shore fully formed?" HUH?!? He continued, "Then if that sounds incredible, than why can we believe that a human would wash up on shore fully formed, therefore God created humans!" If I could have stood up and walked out without creating a stink for my parents, I would have. Considering, a few years later as my dad had just died of cancer and I asked this same Pastor why God would take my dad from me at my age of 13. And his response was straight forward and simple..."God needed my dad!" WTF! I was done, and never went back.

[@thunderbird3694]

"Faith" is required to "Believe in Lies" and this is why religions demand "Faithfulness" to maintain Power and Control over their Subjects

[@kevpaulsen]

The response of young Aron's pastor reminds of my pastor's when I was in my early 20s. We had met a few times to discuss my doubts about the faith which he'd said he was OK with. But the last discussion we had he told me I'd gone too far and was throwing the baby out with the bathwater! I sat for a moment silently stunned thinking, "But there was NO baby!"

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

ROTFFLMFAO!😋

[@josephrodriguez2780]

Don't feel bad Jesus never existed so there was no bath water from the get-go. But that is a very dishonest way of trying to trick you. Was religion is basically deceptive.

[@darkshadow9291]

It was my pastor that showed me religion is a scam as well when I was 6 my father tried for the first time to kill me because I am not white enough to be part of his family the custody judge was a friend of the family when I told him he said I was a lier and he would put me in juvenile hall if I say anything about my father like that again so I went to my pastor he said my father was following gods law and had the right to cleanse his family because my mom lied about being white by not telling my father she is 1/2 native American I am 51 and have had as little to do with my father sense I was 12

[@LoisoPondohva]

Same, more or less. I've been straining the water through a fine colander by that point, and haven't caught a baby yet. Must've been a very small baby. Or one made of water.

[@stefkukla8533]

"Test everything; retain what is good." - Paul of Tarsos

[@fepeerreview3150]

3:08 "To be fair, since Lawrence was a little harsh, let me play the diplomat as I so often do, nice guy that I am." 3:18 "Faith is the most dishonest and auto-deceptive position it is possible to hold." Yes, friends, this is Aron Ra being the nice guy that he is, and this is why I never miss one of his videos!

[@IanM-id8or]

His statement about what faith is is, after all, entirely accurate

[@AuntieMamies]

I started reading that top line as soon as he started saying it. So crazy when that happens

[@toneloke7489]

🤣🤣

[@raptorcrasherinc.9823]

That is still nicer than they deserve.

[@PROtoss987]

They hated him because they didn't want to hear the truth 🙏

[@EnkiduIX]

Last time I was this early, I was forming in a can of primordial soup 🤷‍♂️

[@littleredpony6868]

Be careful with that. You don’t know who might come along and try to eat you

[@davidsmith-uw2ci]

Chef boyardee or generic brand? Lol

[@Axioanarchist]

It's primordial, that has to mean Campbell's

[@MJC19]

No, it's hinz​@@Axioanarchist

[@Truthseeker373]

Hope you took a photo for Kent

[@jlankford]

Excellent rebuttal. My wife really connected with you when you discussed “fake it till you make it”. We actually heard that at the church we used to go to. She hated it. If Christianity was real, you don’t have to fake anything. When she heard that phrase, that’s when she became disgusted with church ladies.

[@Anglomachian]

I had a discussion of sorts with someone about whether or not god “knocks on our hearts”. I said he wasn’t knocking on mine in any discernible way, and the other guy cocked his head, plastered a smug little smile on his face and said “Are you sure you’re listening properly?” With the barest hesitation, I stared back and said “Not unless you’re suggesting your god communicates with the same energy as a dead badger.”

[@MrFringehead]

I'm told that manifesting in a column of living fire is a standing option for the Almighty. A display like that may or may not compel me to worship, but it certainly would get my attention.

[@johnboettcher1962]

One second into the sermon and the preacher is lying. Checks out.

[@Desertphile]

One cannot be an "apologist" (of any cult) and be honest at the same time.

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

i think its possible. but it requires a lot of cognetive dissonence and ignorance. thats what it requires to be so wrong but still honest. and i think some apologists match this. like ray comfort for example. i think he is actually that stupid. but yeah, most apologists with a bit of a brain are just liars.

[@wakingforbacon6439]

​@@theflyingdutchguy9870nah ray comfort is not that stupid. He knows what he is doing. Guaranteed. He only plays stupid while he lines his pockets with hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. Man making money feom others stupidity or gullability. Not sure which one.

[@raptorcrasherinc.9823]

no they cannot

[@noahsorensen7817]

I really like the way Aron Ra speaks. 😊 His way of speaking is SO CALM, SO RELAXED, AND SOOO RATIONAL !!! ❤😂🎉 It is like a breath of FRESH AIR! Damn, I wish every pastor spoke like that !! 😅 Thank you, Aron Ra !! ❤❤ Rationality is your superpower FOR SURE!! 🎉🎉

[@capt.bart.roberts4975]

Also he doesn't tell any lies, in his orations. A dangerous thing, a man who tells the truth.

[@Scanner9631]

Calmly coolly and rationally debunking lies infuriates liars.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

It was what made him stand out in the early days. No shouting, no slurs, just calm and reasonable.

[@vegasflyboy67]

I would also say be suspicious of emotional appeals and remember, the minute you believe you can't fooled, it's already too late.

[@PROtoss987]

19:35 Comparing the relationship of gods to humanity with that of a love interest who never returns a message is apt and a great way of putting divine hiddenness. And an important realisation for my atheism, because it's evident that a god who has made no attempt to get my attention does not want my attention, and so religions may as well be pixies and leprechauns.

[@Third3y3Sun]

I truly appreciate your channel. Thank you for everything you do. I deconstructed because of you.

[@raindrop5533]

Here I thought apologetics meant they were sorry they had not met a burden of proof...

[@JaniceLHz]

[@Yorker1998]

Aron looks good with that old church background, suits him for some reason

[@gageduke7652]

I'm guessing the background symbolizes the crumbling nature of Christian "truth"

[@seraphonica]

just watch out for the holy water - stagnant water is prone to bacterial contamination

[@marylandsteve5441]

thank you for all you do Aron, everything around me is religion or labeled as existing because of religion so your videos are a true breath of fresh air. thank you for helping so many of us out here in maga xtian world

[@robertmiller9735]

Yeah, sure, *every* Christian preacher was raised secular, and was an aggressive atheist until a teenage conversion. Riiight...

[@AronRa]

You noticed that trend too? ;-)

[@robertmiller9735]

@@AronRa Long ago. Gotta make them fit the Evangelical Christian narrative.

[@oliverthompson9922]

20:04 This is so true. If a god existed, religion wouldn't be necessary, we'd know about it, if it wanted us to know, and there would be no need for this faith nonsense. It's so obvious when you think about it.

[@chuckoneill2023]

"Apologist" absolutely should mean that you're apologizing for the church. Constantly, day in and day out. Considering how well paid many of them are, they shouldn't mind.

[@Vintage-Bob]

They use the word "apologist" because it rolls off the tongue easier than the more accurate "dishonest maker of poor excuses".

[@feckneddy]

It was so good to see Lawrence angry .

[@Truthseeker373]

If by “saved” he means fell into the hands of a cult with ideology based on falseness, then yeah, fair enough.

[@PROtoss987]

I was also saved from free thought and inquiry at the age of 19. Thankfully I studied maths so I was exposed to it again.

[@romazone101]

Drugs saved me from Jesus!

[@chickenpants]

He got saved from having to think for himself.

[@istvansipos9940]

he was financially saved, I think. Found a sure way to sell the g0d on the biggest, richest g0d market ever.

[@johnfox9169]

The preacher didn't dissect Christianity. He steered all "evidence " to support his emotional needs and wishes. Actually, I find the Abrahamic religions quite offensive.

[@paulgoransson9489]

If there were a god, it really would not care if we worship it or not. In comparison to a omnipotent god we are less significant than the mites living in hair follicles are to us.

[@graydanerasmussen4071]

Imagine being so petty you stomp on ants because they won't show you respect? If an ant is in my kitchen, that ant is a dead ant, whether it "truly believe in my superiority" or not...

[@merbst]

Everÿtime I am at a fork in the road, I seek the destination which says "Abandon all Faith ye who Enter Here", because I know that is where I can find my fellow freethinkers!

[@UnKnown-xs7jt]

Thanks 4 all your intelligent, useful and accurate information

[@letefte]

The word «απολογία» absolutely means to defend one’s position. Dutko should have known that. He is either uninformed about the meaning or he’s lying. These two conditions are not mutually exclusive by the way.

[@ThatGuy-ot1gt]

I love how, at the bottom of his definition, it shows apologia synonymous with excuse.

[@__-tz6xx]

16:37 What is frustrating about pascal wager is they are wasting their life on things which cannot be proven instead of living life authenticly. It is bothersome.

[@graydanerasmussen4071]

My pet problem with Pascal's Wager is, belief is not an action, it's a conviction. I am not convinced, period! If I pretend to believe in an all-knowing god solely in order to avoid unpleasantness, Wouldn't that god know, and automatically punish me anyway? :)

[@Fimbulvinter19]

What I find frustrating about Pascal's Wager is not that they are wasting their lives, they are welcome to live their life however they wish. It's that they insist that I have to live my life in accordance with their beliefs and wrap it up in a bow of 'this is the safest choice for the best outcome' that doesn't account for the possibility of we both might be wrong and it's a third option the wager doesn't allow for. With both Christianity and Islam (and many others) all able to use the exact same wager in the exact same way to argue for their own mutually exclusive god, the true safest position is to reject all of them until evidence can be presented, which is the atheist position.

[@Leith_Crowther]

What I find frustrating about Pascal’s Wager is that the odds of the biblical god existing are precisely 0%. It is not mathematically possible to place a bet which is less likely to win than betting on Christianity.

[@missk1697]

Pascal Wager may work for some deistic notion of a god, but if we wanna go into all the religions that exist then you automatically have hundreds of different possibilities instead of just two.

[@Duchess_Van_Hoof]

For me it is the issue that it falls apart when you remember other religions exist.

[@benway23]

Thank you for your work.

[@andrewede7154]

Dutko and Low Bar Bill appear to both have been convinced by Pascal's Wager at vulnerable moments in their lives. Perhaps the problem is poor parenting - raise more resilient children and they will avoid falling for flawed, but emotionally rewarding scams.

[@GizzyDillespee]

The most convincing argument is unrelated speculation followed by an ad hominem against your opposition's parents.

[@OceanusHelios]

I think it is vulnerability, fear, and a bit of guilt. If people can't see that Christianity is a way to cover up bad deeds than they are blind and deaf. Then once you join up, you can forgive yourself for whatever bad deeds, have a posse to back you up, and pretty much get away with everything without engaging the harsh realities of consequences of your actions, and then voila....a spineless adult is launched.

[@TheSkyGuy77]

It's basically cult brainwashing, but dolled up and disguised to make it seem normal.

[@ixhilkalaskiiver792]

22:10 - It is as if we already possess an innate sense of justice, without being told by lying adults that we need to believe harder.

[@secularbynature8415]

Man, my friend, you are not only an inspiration to many, but more and more you remind me of a modern-day George Carlin but without the effort of trying to be funny. Although sometimes you are hilarious for sure!

[@jarodstrain8905]

I still describe myself as a religious person though I'm at a strange point where like Jodie Foster at the end of contact I believe the things I believe because of experiences that I've had but I don't believe I have good reason for them and in fact think they are likely to be wrong. I've found that most of the friends that I've had in my life made through religious organizations have essentially written me off despite still being a believer simply because I asked too many uncomfortable questions. Having always been a socially awkward person to begin with it makes it difficult for me because I don't really make friends easily and life gets lonely.

[@sandorski56]

Religion is often the Easy Button. Questions are not Easy enough.

[@fepeerreview3150]

Enjoy the journey! It sounds like you're on a good path.

[@GizzyDillespee]

That's what bugged me about "the emperor's new clothes". When the kid points it out, the believers wouldn't celebrate him. He'd be written off, right to the guillotine, unless the peoples' lives were so miserable that they were just looking for an opportunity to revolt.

[@MrFringehead]

As an atypical thinker, one of the hardest concepts for me to "grok" is the idea that we ought to profess and live by beliefs that we're also expected to, deep down, understand are fictional. We're supposed to "compartmentalize" the truth so that we can espouse a belief system that contradicts the facts of everyday life and mediate between the various truths we hold based on self-interest. Christianity is 100% real, and at the same time, is also merely an identity when it comes to the most cynical and pragmatic concerns.

[@michaelpudney]

That elation you felt when you were young and in a 'Christian" situation and a person said fake it till you make it etc. is the key to understanding all this. In the beginning of this video you have equations that have phi in them, and phi is where the elation comes from. Our bodies have phi relationships all through them in many different ways, phi geometry is simply the most efficient way nature has to utilize energy, so the phi geometry is everywhere in nature. Now the elation feeling comes about when we feel the efficient use of energy in our bodies. We can practice meditation and quiet everything down to feel the elation or bliss, the phi based efficient use of energy or we can get exited and put more energy into the system and feel the elation that way. I don't believe in anything but I practice meditation by just sitting quietly and observing my thoughts , the elation and bliss will often show itself with this simple practice but not always, particularly if my mind is over active or creating a lot of noise and over whelming the phi base signal of efficient use of my bioenergy.. The elation and bliss is labelled as God's presence and this is where all the nonsense comes from, Feeling the elation and bliss is very good for mental and physical health because it's tuning into efficiency rather than noise,

[@Apreeyle]

I cringe when I hear people preach now. Once you know it’s all fake and made up it’s really hard to not laugh. 😅

[@cartmanrlsusall]

I find it hard not to shout at them when they start question begging and strawmaning

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

If you want to connect to someone, I'd say step one would be to introduce yourself.

[@ericashmead4049]

Hi, Im Eric and I like to connect with people

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

@@ericashmead4049 Well, it's a weird introduction that would probably put people off but at least you're not watching people from afar.

[@ericashmead4049]

@@PaulTheSkeptic Great......now what is step two?

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

@@ericashmead4049 I don't know. Get to know them a little? Step 1 was the important part in making my point. Can you really form a connection with someone who's never seen you and can't say with certainty you exist?

[@ericashmead4049]

@@PaulTheSkeptic So whats your favorite snack? Do you play any musical instruments? Whats the weirdest dream you've had in the past month? I think we're connecting here.

[@rustkitty]

Aron Ra's inept former pastor is the real unsung hero of this story.

[@duanejohnson9798]

Just because nobody knows how to universe began, doesn't mean a God made it. Earth has a iron core but iron chariots defeat God. Explain that. 😊 HI Aron!

[@brunozeigerts6379]

I've often thought of a story idea where someone meets a being of incredible power. 'Are you God?" the character asks. The being replies, 'What do you think you mean when you ask me that? What answer are you expecting... and would accept?' 'But ... is there a God?' 'If I answer in either the positive or negative... would it affect your beliefs in any way?'

[@scottthomas3792]

Something I saw years ago as a teenager in the '70s...one of my cousins asked a ( self proclaimed) religious expert at a family reunion where God came from? A basic honest question. She got her face slapped over it, and a long lecture that proved the " expert" didn't have an answer, and thought piling on BS was an acceptable alternative.. If something is true, and I ask about it, I should get an honest answer, even if that answer is " I don't know, let's find out"...

[@TheReaverOfDarkness]

They have to constantly explain their reasons for believing their positions because and specifically because their reasons are not reasonable and fall flat.

[@toneloke7489]

3:12 Diplomat.....Nice guy that you are!!!🤣Love It!!!!!!!

[@saltybob8667]

According to the whole once saved always saved belief, wouldn't you still be saved Aron? 😜

[@patrickg7109]

"He never truly believed!!" - insert theist name here

[@ericashmead4049]

Sounds like a curse, not a blessing

[@thefisherking78]

YES 🎉

[@thekwjiboo]

You and Dutko found a fork in the road...and he probably lied about it

[@GizzyDillespee]

Maybe he mistook the fork for his tongue...

[@HT-io1eg]

I was raised Christian. Never gave it much thought. It’s just what we did. Go to church on Sunday, do the god thing. To be honest it was more a cultural thing. 2 things stopped me. First - I was a pretty insular teen, neurodivergent as it’s called these days- I read my Gideon bible. The handy section, verses to read when you’re … … sad, angry, etc. They didn’t fix anything. I was rational and logical. Headache = aspirin. Appendicitis = surgery. Broken arm = plaster cast. Verses = nothing at all. Second, my godmother, an actual nun, who spent her life in India, actually caring for the poor, sick and homeless (not mother Theresa style) retired home to the U.K. within 2 years, was dead of cancer. Ok, so she was called to the kingdom of heaven. But why not let her enjoy 20 years of retirement, then kill her painlessly in her sleep. . Nah, cancer is a must for this bride of Christ. It made no sense. And rational logical sensible me realised there was no god. It took about an hour’s contemplation and I became an atheist. I’ve never looked back

[@DonLoco3]

I too was raised in the faith but once I was old enough to understand what I was reading, the Bible was enough for me to become an atheist. Combo that with getting kicked out of my moms church for asking the Cain and Able question, said I was mocking the word of god. He didn't have the answer do he got mad.

[@GizzyDillespee]

That doesn't necessarily prove that there's no god... it leaves open the possibility that there's a cruel psycho god. Highly unlikely... but still not disproven.

[@DonLoco3]

@@GizzyDillespee "Extraordinary claims require extortionary evidence." The burden of proof is not on the non believer but the believer to provide evidence of any god. In all of modern history has there been no verifiable proof of any god/demon/whatever and tons to the opposite.

[@harrywompa]

Hell is the thing that got me out of the faith, late teens, same as Aron and Dutko mentioned. I'd dealt with crushing guilt my whole life, then on a long car ride home from the funeral of my holocaust surviving Jewish great grandfather, my parents spent the whole 3 hour drive home talking about how sad it was that so kind a man was burning forever in Hell. I'd always asked hard questions about the problem of evil, got kicked out of sunday school a couple times for being disruptive, so this wasn't new... but this prompted me to dig and dig for a way to settle the cognitive dissonace of hell and a good god. I went to a private christian college on my own dime (and loans), flirted with christian nationalism, etc. It only ever made less sense, and since I was also a theatre major, basically everyone I was close to was hell bound. Studying the bible seriously in that context, I learned that not only is our cultural version of hell not in there... the books themselves were never even meant to be treated as a textbook. It's a collection of cultural artifacts, not a foundation for anything materially true. Dutko was never a critical thinker or a skeptic of any kind. I'm barely a critical thinker, I'm lazy as shit, and even someone lazy and thick as me could see that this stuff doesn't work, just by reading the damn book.

[@drokus]

my wife just told me this joke: what is the difference between atheist and evangelicals? atheist are honest about not following Jesus

[@pansepot1490]

😂 That’s a great joke.

[@BrianDk1x]

​@@pansepot1490It's not really a joke, just the truth 😄

[@cartmanrlsusall]

Aron ra is the cowboy Hitchens ❤

[@IanM-id8or]

Apologists SHOULD apologise

[@laurajarrell6187]

Aron, I found this after watching the debate with you and 'Lady Lilandra ' last night! I must have missed it when my phone was being fixed! These have been excellent. And he says the more he studied it, the more he believed. That goes opposite for myself, and so many others! I think if he's a paid speaker, he might just be lying. And he said he's an idiot. And I still think, even more than fear of our own deaths, we don't want to lose our loved ones. We want to think of them hearing and seeing us, still. Though that's kinda creepy, lol. 🙄👍🏼🌊💙💙💙🌊🥰✌🏼

[@Fletch.]

Everything that Aron says, you could put on a t-shirt 😅

[@martinurbani]

I want this phrase on a t-shirt 👆👆

[@Leith_Crowther]

I want ​​⁠@@martinurbani‘s phrase on a t-shirt 👆👆👆

[@gustavoabate6242]

You both got to the same fork and went different paths... this guy is like an anti Aron, an Aren'tRa, you better don't touch or may explode hahaha :)

[@KickassUncle]

Pastors provide (good or bad) pastoral care. Etymology: from Anglo-Norman French pastour, from Latin pastor ‘shepherd’, from past- ‘fed, grazed’, from the verb pascere . Keep your pastor if they 'feed' you well, but when they make you ill, order a pizza. Almost all pizza is good, because the basis of it is right.

[@gregreich7238]

I appeared on Bob's show four or five times when I was part of Michigan Atheists.

[@newgoldgeneration]

Hello aron ra im an ex Muslim from the arab world i saw some of your debates with Muslims and i saw some of them miss interpret words or verses from the quran i like to see you engage with arab atheist and maybe collaborate with them i suggest you hasan al badri he is an atheist and Phd in physical cosmology his English is perfect ❤❤❤ much love sir

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

He wants it to be true SO bad.

[@graydanerasmussen4071]

He wants the listeners to believe it to be true, for sure. Whether he counts heads and adds up book sales and paid speeches, or he truly believes he is "saving them from hell", I can't tell. -I can guess, though :D

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

@@graydanerasmussen4071 I'm mainly commenting on the ability for apologists to reason along such specific lines that always lead to, they were right about what they thought. It seems like they don't take the time to ask themselves if they could be wrong. Or to wonder what the truth actually is. It's more like "Assuming I'm right, think this way being careful not to think about this, this and this."

[@graydanerasmussen4071]

@@PaulTheSkeptic True, it could be an honest self-deception, or it could be a lot more down-to-earth cynical ploy.

[@PaulTheSkeptic]

@@graydanerasmussen4071 I can't divine those sorts of things but I know religious people will go through just about any cognitive leap or mental gymnastics to hold on to their beliefs. Having lost my own faith many years ago, it was at the time a very difficult and emotional period.

[@Kelley_X]

@@PaulTheSkepticwhere dafuq is this “devine” spelling coming from? Are there people pronouncing “divine” as “deeeeevine” and so spelling it with an “e” instead of “i”? I’m starting to see this more often now and it’s discombobulating.

[@neilforbes416]

7:30 He who walks by faith, not by sight, shall walk off a cliff and be dashed to pieces on the rocks below!

[@mpagirobin3805]

I Find it almost poetic how the atheist seems to hold God to a much much greater standard than the theist does. It's almost as if the trick here is about one being honest to ones self.🤔 From what i have read from the scriptures, it's as if the theist is damned for pretending to know and understand that which he can't know and the atheist is saved for he was honest enough to admit that which he can't know. Am i coping here or does this make more sense every time i think about it.?

[@TheSkyGuy77]

Even if a god existed, it would be fine with atheists not believing and being honest good people. Considering how wrong theists are about everything, how they literally lie, cheat, steal, commit adultery, etc while pretending to believe just so they get a "get out of hell" free card, I'd think the deity they keep "blaspheming" won't be too happy with their behavior. 😂😂

[@romazone101]

Well, if there is no god it follows that no one is saved or damned. As for the "scriptures", they say a lot of things (often contradictory) but Mathew 5:3 comes to mind "Blessed are the poor in spirit (aka dimwitted) for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"

[@jake90052]

As a Christian (I'm not gonna mention that again on your vids). Screw it I'm subscribing. If not only for awesome guitar shred at the beginning

[@ixhilkalaskiiver792]

19:00 - Alan Watts says things like, 'someone once said, they arise mutually.'

[@chuckoneill2023]

"Let me play the diplomat, nice guy that I am...." In context, that's quite funny. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😅😂🤣😂😅🤣😆 Honestly, though, you definitely are kind and patient, when you are dealing with "The deceived". When you take the metaphorical gloves off, is when you deal with "The deceivers". In any case, I don't think this particular apologist will get offended; he likely isn't going to confront Aron.

[@F_N_Inquisitor]

It's funny. Dutko says it's his birthday in this video, and your video Aron released on my birthday

[@AronRa]

Happy Birthday-day.

[@johnfox9169]

Thanks!

[@geico1975]

I enjoy watching Ra, because he's dynomite against the evangelical type of "fire and brimstone" Christian. The type of Christians I've only known and understood for the most part, but the problem is whenever any Atheist, and not just Ra, in their own way suggest, hint at, or insinuate in a manner that the book of Genesis is entirely believed wholeheartedly as a literal book of history and science by Christians; without ever saying those exact words.

[@johnfox9169]

When you come to a fork in the road

[@andrewb9590]

“Bear left.” “Right frog!”

[@bipolarminddroppings]

It was my understanding was that apologetics and apologies both share the same root, to give an apology once meant to defend yourself, and it slowly morphed to be used as we do now, meaning to apologise. In the same vein, apologetics was to defend your faith, and now it means to defend your faith dishonestly. Seems to me the ancient Greek expert agrees with this!

[@zoranocokoljic8927]

I don't think Bob's the kind of guy who would understand that "if a girl doesn't answer your calls" rgument.

[@drewharrison6433]

Apollo, Gia. A divine love story.

[@biogopher]

3:07 ...righhhht 3:18 yeah, thats what I thought 😂

[@DrewsModels]

I really want to go to Valhalla.

[@cinderbeserk]

I am reminded of the very first time I heard, lean not on your own understanding, That’s when the lightbulb went off granted, I’ll say that it took me a long time to understand. How can a person think about these religious claims without using your thinker your brain? It’s really that simple folks if there’s any thing that tells you to turn off your brain and don’t think and not to use your thinker ,that thing is not helpful it is hurtful to you simple as that. If you allow your thought process the ability to expand and go beyond the the pay wall of faith, faith will shatter to the reality that can be found in this Bible verse Ecclesiastics which reminds god that who knows where things go, all beasts of the fields die the same way and who knows where they all go when they die and also that life is to be lived and enjoyed for all will meet this in the end. So god says to himself….. Who knows ? Yeah 😂

[@arboreusmcclane1672]

of course an apologist will lie about what an apologist is...they lie about everything else. since faith is the belief in a proposition with no supporting evidence, it is undefendable....

[@pencilpauli9442]

Came to the conclusion that I had belief because I wanted it to be real. But then that is the only conclusion that was possible.

[@kvozart8437]

Who forgot to close the gates to labyrinth? Lawrence is escaping!

[@MilwaukeeAtheists]

Recorded just outside the labyrinth too!

[@franciscosustek7249]

"Here I am, 63 yrs old and never had to work for a living thanks to my gullible flock"

[@MrFringehead]

I would like to hear, at least once, an apologists' testimonial that went along the lines of: "You know, the more I scrutinized my faith, the more troubling issues I uncovered. However, I choose to live by the compassionate words of Jesus and humbly follow His guidance when approaching others. Together we can show the world that love is powerful even when it seems unreasonable." As a firm advocate for freedom of conscience, I would feel like a hypocrite if I tried to tear apart a statement like the above. However, when apologists present this shared fiction that the intellectual case for faith is so strong that disbelief is an act of rebellion by default, I must object to that case just like any other baseless argument. Jesus told his followers to seed his message into fertile ground. Bringing faith into the marketplace of ideas is like attempting to sow those seeds on a New York sidewalk.

[@Scarletpooky]

Why am I not surprised that Ditko is lying about being the first Christian in his family? He was raised in the Worldwide Church of God, now called Grace Communion International, a Christian denomination. Just like so many other preachers his 'conversion to Christianity' was just swapping from one denomination to another. But because they're in the 'real' denomination, and the old one was a 'false' denomination they pretend that they weren't really Christians.

[@2854Navman]

"Nice guy that I am". LOL, did hell just freeze over? J/k ya there, dude......

[@rocketrudolf3854]

The facts I found to make Christianity true, he said, please share and put all atheists to bed with no supper, safe money on Not Happening

[@roarinfireball]

I met Satan at the crossroads; it’s time for me to pick my fate, and my next route in life. I really respect the Haitian Voodoo interpretation of Satan.

[@ixhilkalaskiiver792]

wut?

[@roarinfireball]

@@ixhilkalaskiiver792 Look up the Les Zepplin curse. It is interesting fiction.

[@pjosephlthewonder5082]

I guess that at thirteen I was given a better trip as they called me a heretic. I wanted to become an alter boy at eleven, but even then I was having issues with the miracles and magic they talked about and yet told us that these did not exist. I quickly learned that when you question them they don't like you. To this day I still have not gotten a proper answer to the last question I asked before being banished. I do now have one and it is cheapy. Peace

[@TheodoreDiep]

Aron often gets criticism from people extremely meticulous with their words (Matt Dillahunty included), specifically on how he is always making sweeping generalization about faith and its practitioners. In a sense, their criticism is valid if we are talking about pure logic. However, in a more casual and colloquial setting, Aron's statements are not wrong and act as a more effective tool in combating irrationality and superstition than any atheists who love to play with sophistry and abstract philosophy. He is grounded in his wordings, and that is very important to get people on our side than being pedantic.

[@ErrantMasa]

Looking back , that's actually quite the common pitfall; the overemphasis on tailoring arguments to highly-educated audiences in formal venues.

[@SuperStrik9]

I was turned off by religion the first time I encountered it at age 13/14 at a religious hockey camp. So I'm pretty much a lifelong atheist. Even at that age I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I was going to hell if I didn't accept Jesus Christ as my lord and saviour. Why? I had done nothing wrong but I'm going to be condemned to an eternity of torment if I don't accept this person who I don't even know as my lord and saviour? I don't react well to threats 😉.

[@jonnawyatt]

I feel so fortunate that I never took to the religion. I was not smart, but something made me question it. Not out loud though. Didn't want the cane.

[@tomokolovecraft3792]

Concerning the dog, I think it could be considered 1 of three. The dog could be never found, found, or discovered.

[@rebeccazegstroo6786]

I'm becoming fond of Egyptian religion. For them, the pre creation state of the world was watery chaos. The chaos is fertile, divides into opposites which gives birth to the creator. Reminds me Lawrence Krause talking about Nothing. The ancient Egyptian view might have been less resistant to scientific discovery. Alas, it was stomped out by Greeks, Christians, and Muslims

[@johnboettcher1962]

If there is a just god, it’s only going to send to hell those that have threatened others either it.

[@theflyingdutchguy9870]

i dont think a just God could be capable of creating a hell at all. there is no crime that asks for eternal torture. a just God would have equal punishments compared to the crime. and there are no eternal crimes that require eternal punishment.

[@johnboettcher1962]

@@theflyingdutchguy9870 They’d have sent themselves there.

[@jake90052]

And "is God a cosmic Rod Serlng" is one of the best things I've heard this week haha. That's brilliant. Yes, the church is an absolute money making cult

[@BobbyBrewers]

Good evening everyone

[@blumoon131]

Loving how his looking into other beliefs already started from a place of personal bias. He already had belief in Christianity, so his "dissecting" of other religions wasn't done from an honest place.

[@brunozeigerts6379]

Given the number of religions out there, the question of faith seems to be multiple choice.

[@Chris-op7yt]

yes, well, since apologetics is snakeoil, you might as well just pull a rabbit out of a hat and call it a day. smiles all round.

[@johnfox9169]

Take it!!

[@mimszanadunstedt441]

Faith is like 'its healthier to believe I am at peace, than know the truth that I am in danger'. Its like a 'letting go' of responsibility. But thats part of why the world is getting messed up. The other half, is greed. And, it just happens to support greed, just not their own. Sometimes its true, faith is healthier. But, only in a closed context, of 1 detail at a time, cherry picked. Like, its only valid against existential horrors that leave mind's running when they ought not (if prone to types of rumination for example). So it is a social defense mechanism. But it keeps them trapped in-system. Then they disown themselves of responsibility, and higher philosophical decisions. And that is how they get used by those 'above' them.

[@mimszanadunstedt441]

Actually it might not even stop all rumination anyways, it promotes other kinds.

[@Yakkityyak248]

As soon as he threw in his birthday I was done. Why are they so slimy?

[@ntrpk7296]

Bump!

[@mazikeensmith2606]

Count Dooku Boy strikes again!!! He's only fueled by LIES!!! PS: Aron, you and Lorence Rock!!!🤘🥰

[@OpEditorial]

When you bring up the time you were told "just keep telling yourself its Jesus until you believe it" it is amazing how much this one random, not particularly noteworthy (misinterpreted) bit of poorly worded advice you got decades ago has completely shaped your worldview.