Catholic Struggles When Pressed for Good Reasons to Believe | Matt Dillahunty and Jimmy Snow

[@ZapperguyLOL]

Respect to James. He couldn't defend his positions, but he listened and acknowledged when Matt or Jimmy made a point. I look forward to his next call. ☮

[@Apostolnixx]

Yeah, that was a decent call.

[@goodquestion7915]

Me too. Amazing how Matt was happy too. MIRACLE!!!!

[@wrencestondwanson3437]

Atheism NEVER has a "point." Atheism continues to be totally debunked as there is no rational atheist explanation for reality and no atheist cause (e.g. nothing, star dust, moist rocks, mud puddles, hot rocks, moon dirt, warm ponds, oceans, primordial soup) can produce anything we observe in the world today and no atheist idea (e.g. multiverse, big bang, abiogenesis, mistakes (mutations) gaining in complexity/new information, star formation, evolution) has ever been observed or even proved to be possible. No atheist can present a rational atheist explanation for reality. That’s because there isn’t one. As you can see, I easily debunk all atheist ideas & point out the fact that the asinine, lost & clueless religious cult of atheism (we all have a faith) is INFAMOUS the world over for having ZERO ANSWERS. That's because atheism is all lies where it's patrons desperately cling to the IMPOSSIBLE. Atheism = rebellious delusion. I continue to always win & that will be the case for yrs to come on any thread or channel that I choose to enter. I promise.

[@apophenic_]

Same.

[@macmartin86]

Good call, lots of respect for James.

[@26beegee]

That callers sincerity and willingness to discuss his faith was very touching. I hope he finds the truth.

[@phoebeflanders]

Matt and his co-host didn't help.

[@DaemonVok]

​@@phoebeflanders😂😂 did we watch the same clip?

[@Kulascus]

​@@phoebeflandershow so?

[@SextusHempiryk]

@@phoebeflanders Oh, yea? So why don't you start your own channel and help?

[@christopherrussell9349]

They're not here to mollycoddle theists. It's an argumentative show, not a therapy session. @@phoebeflanders

[@amyv8416]

James was the most honest caller I have heard in a while. It was a bit frustrating hearing him so close, then his indoctrination taking over. I hope he calls back!

[@Dustin_Bins]

It IS frustrating, but we have to remember, that pastors already are familiar with (in this example) anti-Catholic arguments and would have spent many hours drilling the "answers" to whatever questions a non-believer (or believer of a different stripe) would have. It doesn't matter how nice or kind James is, he's a victim of propaganda and needs guidance from the right person who can help him walk through his thoughts and beliefs in a way that is kind, but allows for him to think about the questions his pastor shoved into a closet years ago. Sometimes people who don't know better just need a reminder that they ARE allowed to think for themselves and that they will be much happier when they do.

[@amyv8416]

@@Dustin_BinsI agree, hence why I mentioned James' indoctrination.

[@n0etic_f0x]

Yeah, the idea that it makes him a better person but he can't accept that he just is the good person already is the indoctrination. You are God's most perfect nothing.

[@ST-df5lw]

I think you have to deal with 3 layers when dealing with Christians, first use common sense, then expel a fear of hell finally since indoctrination is very strong persistent reinforcement is necessary

[@MooseMaunu]

You want to anger an atheist lie to him. You want to anger a christian tell him the truth.

[@JohnFleshman]

Truer words have not been written.

[@TheTruthKiwi]

Hell yes, I'm stealing that dude and I don't care because apparently I have no morals 😜

[@bitterroots7317]

Who got angry? Did I miss that part?

[@MooseMaunu]

@@TheTruthKiwi Never forget what Mark Twain said..."good writers borrow. Great writers steal." 😉

[@TheTruthKiwi]

@@MooseMaunu Haha, I bet he stole that from someone. 😁

[@ThorsDecree]

I hope he calls back. This dude sounds like an actually honest interlocutor willing to do some introspection and investigation.

[@brianharris7243]

That was an honest and polite session.

[@JohnFleshman]

Oh James... I was also raised Catholic and when the news First came out in the 80s the church was doing this shit my parents stopped going to church and we had gone every single week and twice on religious holidays. They gave me and my brother the choice to keep going if we wanted because I was an alter boy who had mentioned becoming a priest. I did a lot of thinking with the news in my head and being half way through reading the bible. I finished as much as I could now stomach of it and gave up organized religion for over a decade before I gave up gods all together..

[@JohnFleshman]

I must say James was Much better than most believers. Very calm and polite and understanding.

[@bitterroots7317]

Perhaps he will give it up as well, everyone has a process to go through to do so.

[@bradzimmerman3171]

Good for you John 👍

[@TheTruthKiwi]

Your parents sound like good people John. Great stuff. 👍

[@joeanon5788]

Religion, as self defined, should be treated like any substance that can screw your mind up. Regulated like alcohol, so as, you cant consume it before age 21.

[@ahh_yes_mr_bax]

I respect James for his honesty. I look forward to hearing from him again

[@rickyward542]

James might not have good reasons for his beliefs but I really appreciated his honesty and willingness to answer all questions without tap dancing around them. Compared to so many theists who call in with certainty he was able to say I don't know. I hope he calls back because he seems like a really nice guy who never once got defensive.

[@DennisMK-vr6xc]

What a great guy this James is. So willingly open to an honest discussion that challenges his belief. I wish him the best!

[@goodmanmthiyane5611]

Me too

[@jaotree]

This is the most underrated channel on KZbin. What you’re doing is so important, please keep it up.

[@alanmiller7875]

I'm 10 mins in and this is one of the best/productive conversations I've seen on this show. It's so rare to see a person honestly answer the questions posed and take time to consider the issues being discussed... even if he ends up in exactly the same place he started, this is the kind of conversation that can help others deconstruct.

[@squeegeexpert]

The outsider test of faith seems to be the only thing that dislodges Theists cognitive dissonance! Well played Jimmy and Matt!!

[@24magiccarrot]

When I was a christian the catalyst for me becoming Atheist was when I considered that if I was in a conversatiom with a jew a muslim a hindu and budhist at best only one of us could be right and the odds of me being right purely because i was raised Christian were slim. And all of the other religions had similar claims of guidance and miracle claims so I knew that couldnt be a result of individual religions being correct.

[@MacLaw3084]

yeah, I’ve learned over the years that it’s hard for many theists to view themselves from another person’s perspective; like a lack of empathy or something.

[@magnetiktrax]

@@24magiccarrot I had that "but what if religion X is right and you're wrong?" argument with a very xtian family member when I was just 8 years old. He answer was "because the dead sea scrolls confirm that the bible is true", as if that was some kind of answer. I realised right then that the some people are simply too illogical for any kind of rational discussion. 40 years later she's still trying to get family members to read the book of revelation and prepare for jesus' return. Pointing out that people have been saying "he's coming back soon" for thousands of years gets you nowhere, the best thing is to ignore them.

[@FourDeuce01]

You can lead a theist to logic, but you can’t make them think.😜

[@wrencestondwanson3437]

Wrong. Test of faith? Weak faith doesn't constitute the fact that Christianity ALONE has all the facts and the asinine, lost & clueless religious cult of atheism has NONE. Atheism continues to be totally debunked as there is no rational atheist explanation for reality and no atheist cause (e.g. nothing, star dust, moist rocks, mud puddles, hot rocks, moon dirt, warm ponds, oceans, primordial soup) can produce anything we observe in the world today and no atheist idea (e.g. multiverse, big bang, abiogenesis, mistakes (mutations) gaining in complexity/new information, star formation, evolution) has ever been observed or even proved to be possible. No atheist can present a rational atheist explanation for reality. That’s because there isn’t one. As you can see, I easily debunk all atheist ideas & point out the fact that the asinine, lost & clueless religious cult of atheism (we all have a faith) is INFAMOUS the world over for having ZERO ANSWERS. That's because atheism is all lies where it's patrons desperately cling to the IMPOSSIBLE. Atheism = rebellious delusion. I continue to always win & that will be the case for yrs to come on any thread or channel that I choose to enter. I promise.

[@DrGreenGiant]

What a beautifully civil and considered discussion with humility and honesty from both sides. More of this please. Exemplary

[@The1stInterviewer]

It is so refreshing to hear that a religious person listens to reason and does not get angry and butt hurt when they find flaws in his "logic". Again so refreshing.

[@brock4372]

I love how people are calling in saying they're long time fans then start with "well the evidence we have for Jesus"

[@Dan_C604]

The trigger to my development to atheism was actually the realization of other religions’ claims by believers who believed and experienced the same way I did. Right on Matt and Jimmy!

[@tonyclif1]

At least James is honest enough to say "I dont know" to some things! Now, he just needs to find evidence for the things he believes

[@DrGreenGiant]

Being confident enough to say, "I don't know" is so incredibly important. Moreover, showing willingness to find out is exemplary. Huge amount of credit and respect to James

[@Jake-hb8ek]

His willingness and comfort in saying “I don’t know” is why he will be a Catholic for life.

[@emperor6]

James, you are a gentleman! So refreshing to hear a logical, respectful conversation that may very well lead to someone seeing their way out of religion.

[@wrencestondwanson3437]

STOP the stupidity. Atheism is a religion w/ tenets (e.g. big bang, abiogenesis, mistakes (mutations) gaining in complexity/new information, star formation, evolution) of which I debunk w/ ease. Any belief re the cause of this universe is a religion and you've tagged yourself an "atheist" because you believe atheist ideas re the cause of this universe (nature: time/space/matter/energy. You also believe that evolution is the "controlling power" over life, instead of God. THAT is religion. Either you have a RATIONAL POSSIBLE world view or you don't. To be an atheist and have no factual basis for your cult, is to be content to be even more lost and clueless than yesterday. Why do you cling so desperately to an asinine atheist cult that's INFAMOUS the world over for having ZERO ANSWERS? Could you be more lost and clueless? Einstein called atheism "a religion formed to reject other religions. How cute and desperate they are." I know it hurts to know that the most famous and respected scientist of our generation believed atheists to be pathetic idiots.

[@odinson6348]

Faith really is the most empty of reasons to believe something.

[@mlthornton1]

This statement is nonsensical

[@odinson6348]

@@mlthornton1 It's perfectly valid. It's called faith for the very reason that there's no good reason for believing it. It's not evidentiary, demonstrable, empirical or logical. It's nothing.

[@reefhog]

@@mlthornton1Not at all.

[@mlthornton1]

@@odinson6348 your subject and object don't agree. Faith isn't a reason for belief. It would be more like belief without scientific evidence.

[@mlthornton1]

@@reefhog good one

[@andrewvalenski921]

This video is therapy.

[@Zikiru]

Finally, a good caller.

[@MrJaster45]

Love these debates. Matt is a champion.

[@rakitakhan]

I was baptised Evengelical and raised as a Lutheran. I don't remember going to church much as my parents divorced when I was 4 in 1969. I went to church with some friends when I was 7 after we had moved to Az. Even then I questioned why. They were doing the cracker and wine stuff and I remember thinking how this represented someones body and blood and why in the hell were we eating it. I chose not to. Through the years I found myself wanting to believe but not finding a reason to. My big brother was killed in a chemical explosion in 1979 while in the USCG. He was a great guy. He had recently married and had a 18 month old little girl. WTF did he do to deserve this ? Where was this god that was supposed to be so f'ing good ? He apparently saves assholes and lets good people die. That's when I totally gave up on religion. I'm 58 now and I'm still and forever an atheist. Watching Matt and the others has greatly opened my eyes as to why god isn't worthy of any praise or worship. Thank you guys for putting into words what my mind has been telling me for yrs. If religious people would actually open their minds and listen...wait...that'll never happen.

[@lvbdevinelove2329]

I'm so sorry about your brother. I am on the exact same page as you with the rest of your story.

[@herbertgreen2824]

My father was a minister and have seen the generational indoctrination first hand. I broke free and have been a non-believer since age 6.

[@Gerryjournal]

My story exactly but at 8

[@Nosferat-Zodd]

"I'm the son of Sod" ".... Good for you."

[@jimbob3030]

...Now go take your medication.

[@jaxnaturals]

Great questions by both Jimmy and Matt. You could feel his world view foundation crumbling

[@wrencestondwanson3437]

Foundation crumbling? No, that's atheism. Because the asinine, lost & clueless religious cult of atheism continues to be totally debunked as there is no rational atheist explanation for reality and no atheist cause (e.g. nothing, star dust, moist rocks, mud puddles, hot rocks, moon dirt, warm ponds, oceans, primordial soup) can produce anything we observe in the world today and no atheist idea (e.g. multiverse, big bang, abiogenesis, mistakes (mutations) gaining in complexity/new information, star formation, evolution) has ever been observed or even proved to be possible. No atheist can present a rational atheist explanation for reality. That’s because there isn’t one. As you can see, I easily debunk all atheist ideas & point out the fact that the asinine, lost & clueless religious cult of atheism (we all have a faith) is INFAMOUS the world over for having ZERO ANSWERS. That's because atheism is all lies where it's patrons desperately cling to the IMPOSSIBLE. Atheism = rebellious delusion.

[@alexsdemkin]

Bro was so confident coming in and then fell a part when the topic changed

[@DaemonVok]

Id love to see the part 2 to this

[@justabloke5592]

Good call James. I'm athiest but respect to you for listening and offering your position. Interesting

[@philosophyfrog2653]

This was a great call, civil and productive and also somewhat entertaining.

[@DJMaul1031]

Why can't they just be honest? "Mommy and Daddy taught me to be religious and I never questioned it."

[@Crow-rz6cp]

So glad you're back to doing talk shows, Matt. Cheers to you, sir.

[@wrencestondwanson3437]

These 2 hosts are fools (atheists) and their less-than-worthless, asinine, lost & clueless religious cult of atheism is INFAMOUS the world over for having ZERO ANSWERS. No atheist has a RATIONAL/POSSIBLE, step-by-step atheist explanation for reality. That's because there isn't one. THESE GUYS ADMIT THAT THEY HAVE NO ANSWERS!!! The fact remains that along w/ DYING/FINITE space/matter/energy, TIME had a cause. The logical conclusion (when we follow the evidence) is that such a cause is TIMELESS. And if you're TIMELESS, do you have a beginning or end? No. We call that cause "OUR INFINITE, SUPERNATURAL GOD," who by definition is TIMELESS, CHANGELESS, BEGINNINGLESS, SPACELESS, IMMATERIAL and ENORMOUSLY POWERFUL. These topics are the most important topics known; thus, EVERYONE should have a vast understanding of the facts that frame the truth of these topics and not be so content to gulp down the false propaganda of channels such as this one. THESE GUYS ADMIT THAT THEY HAVE NO ANSWERS!!!

[@SFforlife]

That ended so wholesomely lol. I think James really started to realize some issues with his church and hopefully he starts to question and think rationally about it because with some more talking and learning I think he’d start to wake up about all this.

[@zarxog]

Nice call! Matt is always better when he, at some point, backs of and differentiate between the person and the topic.

[@garymiles484]

Great video guys. Maybe the call screeners could give James a direct path if he calls next Sunday.

[@apophenic_]

This rekindled my enjoyment of the show.

[@Mouth-of-Spaghetti]

8:30 Wow! Matt just slays the whole concept of praying for someone else during this conversation. praying for his brother would be god changing his plan and taking away free will.

[@MarkoVukovic0]

"I put money in the basket". Reminds me of the late, great George Carlin "And He needs money! He always needs money! He’s all-powerful, all- perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can’t handle money!"

[@christopherwilliams5808]

Such a legend man. Love him. RIP

[@raccuia1]

Yeah, George Carlin showed the hypocrisy and stupidity of religion. It's about time we start holding religious nutters accountable. Enough with freedom of religion. It's time to call it out for the pile of rotting, stinking, steamy pile of crap it really is and the people who believe it absent of proof are sickos.

[@padraigther0b0t]

I really hope James calls back next week. Great call!

[@goodquestion7915]

@Matt awesome line of questioning 👍

[@wilmerwalton5089]

This is a good example demonstration of confusion on the part of theists. It appears confusion goes hand-in-hand with cognitive dissonance. Confusion as a defense mechanism is deliberate.

[@JamesRichardWiley]

If the Catholic god had ever decided to visit me and perform some miracles I would still be a Catholic. As an atheist I no longer suffer the interference from someone who isn't there.

[@_Stargazer_.]

James ... Respect buddy !

[@tristen_grant]

Hes trying.

[@cutlasssupreme6984]

I truly think that this caller never was asked these type of questions. A light bulb popped up in his brain when asked about the church cover up.

[@lreactor]

Well done James.

[@GoogleSucks-i1d]

6:35 "Can you demonstrate one of them?" "I cannot." 😅😂🤣😂😅 At least he's honest.

[@LuminesBreezer--]

When Matt mentioned Mother Teresa, he took me back to my elementary days and how heavy this woman was worshipped after her death throughout even my city. And to instill so many influences that this woman was indeed an _influential_ person is pretty insane.

[@Gerryjournal]

Vile creature that she was

[@spankduncan1114]

"If there's one thing you should do for your kids, it is, keep them as far away from a church as you can". Frank Zappa. I left on my own at age 17. I'm fine...

[@mxamumt]

Did he ever call back? I did a quick search for James in the videos and did not find a show.

[@ronthered138]

Speaking as a former Catholic, once I got out of it, and educated myself about Classical Antiquity, I saw the huge influence of paganism on the Catholic Church. They literally worship idols! Statues everywhere with candles in front of them. This was lifted directly from the Greek/Roman religion of the time. How can everyone not see it?

[@jamesupton4996]

So- what's wrong with that? I'm a Catholic, and have certain favourite saints, and of course there's a crucifix on the wall, a statue of the Virgin on a bookcase, and various images of the saints, around my flat, some I've drawn or painted myself. I cannot see the point of your complaint - no religion develops in a vacuum.

[@ronthered138]

@@jamesupton4996 Exodus 20:4-5

[@kissit012]

⁠@@jamesupton4996Your bible explicitly says not to and to murder and persecute those that do (Which the Catholic Church definitely has done). The Bible also preaches against witchcraft yet all of gods prophets and even Jesus committed witchcraft at every chance they got (necromancy, soothsaying, divination, ritual sacrifice, etc). Catholicism is blatant hypocrisy to Christianity. Christianity is blatantly hypocritical towards everyone else. I’m willing to bet you’ve never actually read your holy book in it’s entirety or considered it with any real thought to it’s effects in reality The fact that you can’t see that and are still calling yourself a Catholic is proof of your cognitive dissonance and willingness to commit to a disgusting, backwards idea, and your lack of actual morals.

[@FrikInCasualMode]

@@jamesupton4996 Exodus 20:4 ""You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline." You don't see any problem with doing something Bible explicitly forbids? How do you excuse it to yourself in your own mind? Are you even familiar with this verse - and if not, why an atheist has to bring it to your attention?

[@jamesupton4996]

@@FrikInCasualMode Of course I am familiar with it, but what the Jewish people did back in the second millennium before Christ, and continue to do, and what we Catholics do are two different things. For instance in Catholicism and other Christian denominations we have priests; Judaism does not and for that matter, neither does a great religion like Islam. So, lifting a verse from the Bible does not establish what you might think. There are divergences and developments across the centuries, whilst remaining true to our heritage.

[@visforvegan8]

Wow, an honest interlocutor. Rare but nice for a change.

[@seandonahue8464]

He is struggling. A good guy trying to maintain his view he thinks allows him to be a good person. He needs to know, he already is a good person.

[@AngryBoozer]

10:30 -sounds of gears grinding to a halt.

[@mikedunningham9614]

James is at least an honest man

[@selim6033]

Nice call.

[@keithulhu]

If you need God to be a better husband and father, you're definitely not a good husband and father.

[@petyrkowalski9887]

Yea… you need a big sky daddy and a 2000 year old book of fairy tales to be a good person.

[@Nymaz]

For God so loved the world that he caused a tiny subset of it to be born into the exact right geographical location and the exact right parents to pass on the exact right version of religion out of the thousands of others, while screwing the vast majority of the remainder. John 17:20-23

[@craedonbwroten6693]

Not even close. Intellect overrides the teachings of youth; thus, it doesn’t matter where you were born. There are millions of Christians in the Chinese underground. There are thousands of daily conversions to Christianity in Muslim nations and there are actually atheists in the Christian nation of the U.S. Go figure.

[@Josh-mh3kl]

Will you be posting the clip of Father Tom? i'd like to post it on my social media in hopes that my Catholic friends and family will view it. cheers

[@therealivydawg]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@qnaline]

Yes, it’ll be up this week on Jimmy Snow’s personal channel and in a couple months on this channel

[@lizzieh5284]

Matt is exactly right about the Catholic church being a criminal organisation.

[@johnmccombe6342]

Omg this one was so hard to watch. I genuinely feel like James is a truly nice and sweet guy. I feel like he was just wanting to have a discussion and I feel like Matt could have tempered his statements just a little bit. This one hurt my heart because I feel like James truly knows on the inside that he was just in it because of family and not necessarily through his own choices. It's the first caller I've felt for and truly cared about.

[@lizzieh5284]

It amazes me that people dont think for themselves.

[@TheDahaka1]

Hearing a religious person criticize other religions is so weird. Like two pigeons playing chess against each other XD

[@patchso]

Interesting call.

[@andrewtaylor681]

Rougarou sounds like something Scooby Doo would say.

[@xjarheadjohnson]

Old Mark Twain quotes describes this conversation perfectly.... _"The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also."_ *- Mark Twain* _“Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain...”_ *- Mark Twain*

[@Imperial-Socialist]

Not a mythicist, but am of the opinion that the Jesus character is the amalgamation of several itinerant rabbis.

[@Mauricekaip]

Where did Matt get Catholic hospitals host two funerals?

[@BlessYourHeart254]

Jesus: likely fan fiction gone awry whether he existed or not 😂

[@brucebaker810]

The oily foot massage scene. The typical "how can I ever repay you" bits after the miracles. And when he saved that adultress in Daniel. (Or Daniel in the adultress?)

[@Julian0101]

Or as i say to certain trolls who like to appeal to bart ehrman "A poor sap whose name got hijacked by a death cult"

[@Dvovsky]

What day did James call in? (Where is the follow up if there is one

[@canderson1955]

At 14:35 the best way to answer this is….. if that was the best way I’m sure glad he didn’t give his worst way. 😂

[@artistjoh]

I want to know if he calls back and what his list says.

[@curiojeff]

First thing I would ask every religious caller: Were you taught this as a child?

[@FourDeuce01]

Harry Truman was nicknamed “Give ‘em Hell Harry”. When someone asked him about that nickname, he said “I don’t give them hell. I just tell them the truth and they believe it’s hell.”😈

[@freakishuproar1168]

To be fair James seems like a perfectly decent sort of person, it's just that his and my world views are (ironically) worlds apart. I obviously don't believe in the power of prayer, but even so the idea that God can just suspend your free will because someone who sucks up to them more than you asked him nicely to do so, really squicks me out. GET OUT OF MY BRAIN GOD, GO FIND YOUR OWN P.S. Thank you for pointing out that Mother Teresa wasn't actually a particularly good person Matt. I grew up in England within a very secular upbringing and environment, but even here back in the 90's Teresa had this mainstream public image as an unassailably saintly individual, about as much a personification of selfless good a living person can be perceived to be. Turns out in hindsight that she was nothing of the sort. Christopher Hitchens surmised it best in an essay he wrote about her; _"This returns us to the medieval corruption of the church, which sold indulgences to the rich while preaching hellfire and continence to the poor. Mother Teresa was not a friend of the poor."_

[@alvinemaina]

Christopher then adds "She was a friend of poverty"

[@ShadowveilFox]

when this guy said he has noticed effects from his prayers, my brain jokingly went to "I prayed to have a good day at work because my job is bad and it's a busy and stressful time of the month", and he literally mentions praying for someone that had a bad job and then they probably went out ON THEIR OWN and looked for a new job because I'm quite sure it didn't just come to him out of nowhere. that's evidence of prayer being answered? wtf. pray to see a congo line of squirrels perform ballet in the street and tell me if that happens because then I'll believe prayer is real for sure.

[@d.f.4511]

He was a good sport.

[@jimbob3030]

The mythicist position is the one supported by all evidence and our vast history of myth making and making up thousands of religions.

[@donnyh3497]

There have been so many charismatic prophets though history that I can't help but think that the jews believed that their religion was true for so many centuries that some of them were extremely desperate for their prophecies to be fulfilled and they subsequently pinned their hopes and dreams on some apocalyptic prophet that had gained massive popularity before getting himself crucified. People just hate being wrong so much and they want to fit in so bad. And basically people are idiots 😄

[@jimbob3030]

@@donnyh3497 A person could think that, until they learn all the evidence needed to determine if that is true or not. When you compare the life of jesus in the bible with the military campaign of titus as described in Antiquities' of the Jews using a method of comparison called typology, you will learn the life of jesus as told in the bible is just a respun version of the military campaign of titus as described in Antiquities of the Jews. They're not talking about an actual man that lived here, they're making up this man jews expected but turning him into a savior for gentiles to appeal to a wider audience. The concept of the savior figure was turned on it's head from a savior that freed the slaves like moses did into a savior that says render unto ceasar what is ceasars and slaves obey your masters. The way he became a savior that doesnt' free the slaves but serves the interests of rome really gives it all away. That and the fact it's just typical throughout history for religious deities to be entirely fictional. The yahweh is the same way as well as the thousands of other gods man has made up, it's par for the course to make religious dieties up entirely from peoples imagination.

[@roqsteady5290]

How much would a Jesus candidate have to do to qualify as the real Jesus, rather than a mythical one?

[@jimbob3030]

@@roqsteady5290 Have you read all the canonical and *non canonical writings* about jesus from the time? It's clear if you just read them all they are not talking about any one real person that existed in real life. They're all contradictory and vastly different views about what a coming savior would be like from people who obviously knew nothing about him and didn't agree at all on what to expect.

[@Desanna]

Indeed. And I find it interesting that no one has a problem with the idea that, for example, Herakles wasn’t based on a real person. Could there have been some real person that the Hercules myths came from? Just like with Jesus, it’s possible. There are some ideas. But even if he was based on a real person, all that remains of that real person in the myths and legends that were created of him is personhood. There’s nothing meaningfully real about the character. Same with any other gods. And yet in countries steeped in christianity, even people who become atheists have a really hard time letting go of the idea that there must have been an actual person at the core of the Jesus story. Because there are infinite ways to be wrong and only one way to be right, the best way to maximize your odds of believing as many true things and as few false things as possible is to say that nothing is true until you have a good reason to think otherwise. I don’t have a good reason to think Jesus was meaningfully based on a real person, so until I have one, I must conclude that he was not.

[@haraldschuster3067]

Is it just me or do a lot of the callers have a southern accent?

[@jamesstoute7297]

Very sad.

[@JohnnysCafe_]

"give me a prayer you think was answered?" "well my brother was in a bad marriage and ......😂😂😂

[@tranquilthoughts7233]

I tend to phrase it like this: The mythical jesus, meaning the jesus as described in the bible, did not exist. However there very likely was one (or several) jewish apocalyptic preachers (possibly even called jesus as this was a very common name at the time) on whom the stories about jesus are based.

[@cederickforsberg5840]

Did he call back with the two sided paper good reasons?

[@salohcin1013]

Damn apparently I need to read up on mother Theresa

[@thomaserickson568]

These poor guys who call in, I feel for them. They really struggle and they're trying, but these hosts just seem to beat up on them. I hope they get some good bonuses for contributing to this show.

[@lenbones7940]

the experiment all theists are scared of is the whole "instead of prayer make a wish and cut a fart" when some finds out prayer can be substituted with that it forever mind Fs them and people refuse to bring cake to u on ur birthday... sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire..

[@Cawd217]

What?

[@Nymaz]

I'd like to get some feedback on my position regarding historical/mythicist: So first off I don't have a strong objection to the idea of there being a person in that general time period and area named Yeshua of Nazareth who was an apocalyptic street preacher that gained a following, was killed by the Romans via crucifixion, and later had stories built up around him. BUT I don't consider myself to hold the "historical Jesus" position. Why? Because the name "Jesus" carries so much baggage to it as to be obviously mythological. The way I see it is this way - say I could find evidence of the existence of a teenager living in the 70's New York named Peter Parker who was a photographer for a newspaper. Would you then consider yourself a "historical Spider-Man-ist"? Or would you say that the idea of Spider-Man the webslinging wallcrawling superhero is so much more than simply a person named Peter Parker living in New York that it reduces that fact to mere coincidence.

[@magnetiktrax]

I recommend Ken Humphries "jesusneverexistd" (spelling is correct) YT channel where he goes into important topics such as how Nazareth wasn't even a town in the time jesus supposedly was born.

[@ivanl.6797]

It's odd that sometimes the caller's voice changes drastically. For example, like around 10:34, for less than a second. I thought I heard it before during the video. Anyone noticed? Probably nah. 3:16 , 4:40 , 13:02

[@kissit012]

Peoples voices change with excitement or emphasis to a point. It’s normal if you talk to people regularly

[@joekerby6330]

Good Catholic's are in a Shamanic-Trance, I was there as a kid.

[@atraxisdarkstar]

If there were as many cities named Jesusia scattered all over places that had entirely different cultures and spoke as many different languages as the many examples of Hellenic Alexandria, not only would I be more confident in the existence of Jesus, but I'd also know he was a skillful conqueror.

[@markdoughty8780]

A Catholic with an open mind - now there's a thing...

[@Ardith50]

To be fair having an open mind lead me out of Catholicism.

[@captflint0718]

I like the fact that he admitted he had no evidence. Most theists either change the topic or get angry and throw a tantrum

[@lizzieh5284]

Matt is brilliant at clarifying what is wrong with the Catholic church. I was broughtu up a Catholic and as an adult was practising. I was always questioning and finally left when I studied Christianity at university and realised that all we had been told was BS.

[@wrencestondwanson3437]

Yes, Catholicism is a known cult. For example, there is no such thing as "The Virgin Mary." Jesus had at least 5 siblings. There's no such thing as "Purgatory" where you pay the church to have your dead loved ones ushered from there to heaven - a total scam. But atheism is also an asinine, lost & clueless cult: Atheism continues to be totally debunked as there is no rational atheist explanation for reality and no atheist cause (e.g. nothing, star dust, moist rocks, mud puddles, hot rocks, moon dirt, warm ponds, oceans, primordial soup) can produce anything we observe in the world today and no atheist idea (e.g. multiverse, big bang, abiogenesis, mistakes (mutations) gaining in complexity/new information, star formation, evolution) has ever been observed or even proved to be possible. No atheist can present a rational atheist explanation for reality. That’s because there isn’t one. As you can see, I easily debunk all atheist ideas & point out the fact that the asinine, lost & clueless religious cult of atheism (we all have a faith) is INFAMOUS the world over for having ZERO ANSWERS. That's because atheism is all lies where it's patrons desperately cling to the IMPOSSIBLE. Atheism = rebellious delusion.

[@josephbelisle5792]

Their is a reason bible study isn't about studying the sources and truth of the bible. If they did their would be very few theists.

[@gktdasme]

@@josephbelisle5792as I’ve been out of all that stuff, I see my self going back to bible study to ask the questions I should have asked back when I was going. Just to see the answers or non answers I would get. Cuz if we gonna study. Ok let’s study. I’d prob get put out.

[@brianw.5230]

I'm an ex-atheist. Catholicism is true.

[@andyjones4785]

I wonder who clicked the thumbs up icon@@brianw.5230

[@RikRiorik]

George Steinbrenner phones in.

[@Yakkityyak248]

Why do they call in?

[@TheToscanaMan]

Interesting. A Catholic asking God to help his brother out of a bad marriage. What?

[@diogeneslamp8004]

You caught that too.

[@kissit012]

It’s ok for men to do things in the abrahamic faiths that blatantly contradict their own rules. It’s their specialty

[@BlackICMenace]

His method is blind faith. The Keyword is blind.

[@LettersAndNumbers300]

Reupload…?

[@HidingFromFate]

Either that or I've heard this same conversation from a longer segment uploaded weeks or months ago. I wonder if James ever called back.

[@lizzieh5284]

Appolinus'story was the same as Jesus' - born of a virgin, performed miracles, rose from the dead. Why not follow him?

[@FourDeuce01]

James:”I can’t draw a straight line to god.” He can’t draw any line to god.😈

[@Username34823]

"You could keep your God believe and ditch the catholic church " LMFAO