The Atheist Experience 705 with Matt Dillahunty and Jen Peeples

The Atheist Experience 705 of April 17, 2011, with Matt Dillahunty and Jen Peeples.
Jen and Matt examine the claim that anti-gay bullying bans in schools are discrimination against Christians.
SHOW TIME-STAMPS
00:48- Intro & Announcements - Matt Dillahunty
06:01- Matt & Jen on Christians being bullied
11:48- Luke (theist): claims to be a member of Stone Church, fear of going to hell
22:36- John: the commandments in Exodus chapter 20
26:30- Chris (atheist): the fate of non-Christians
32:58- Alon: atheists should use the Bible to show how their religion is wrong
39:07- Jonathan: are atheists motivated by not wanting to pay for what they've done, Christian rhetoric about homosexuality, the billy-goat atheist parody
50:03- John (atheist): isn't getting much from atheism, being discriminated against due to atheism
56:59- Mark (fake theist 'Mark from Stone Church'): Christian values, indoctrination, loving your neighbour
You can read more about this episode on The Atheist Experience blog:
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The Atheist Experience is a weekly cable access television show in Austin, Texas geared at a non-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.
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[@TheAtheistExperience]

11:48- Luke (theist): claims to be a member of Stone Church, fear of going to hell 22:36- John: the commandments in Exodus chapter 20 26:30- Chris (atheist): the fate of non-Christians 32:58- Alon: atheists should use the Bible to show how their religion is wrong 39:07- Jonathan: are atheists motivated by not wanting to pay for what they've done, Christian rhetoric about homosexuality, the billy-goat atheist parody 50:03- John (atheist): isn't getting much from atheism, being discriminated against due to atheism 56:59- Mark (fake theist 'Mark from Stone Church'): Christian values, indoctrination, loving your neighbour

[@johnhopkins6658]

'If I did not know about god and sin, would I go to hell?' The priest says 'No, not if you did not know' Then the eskimo says 'Then why did you tell me?'

[@annjfk]

I remember reading this many moons ago. Hehe. Still gives me a chuckle.

[@c.guydubois8270]

Catholic priests proclaim "if you're not catholic you're going to hell!" One reason I stopped believing....

[@johndavid4831]

No free mind can ever be free, from the mind shackles of christianity. So, saith the con-men.

[@onewholovesvenison5335]

Mormons have a neat belief that people who have never heard of Jesus can meet him in the afterlife and choose to accept him. The thing is, who WOULDN’T accept him after meeting him in person and being informed about his sacrifice directly from him? That would give people who were never told about Jesus a better chance of going to heaven than those who were told but just never believed it.

[@Ouja]

@Curtis Jones is the only arbiter of who is a Christian. He and he alone speaks for god. He knows the truth and the hidden secrets of the holy word. Curtis Jones is greater than god, and now you need no evidence for he is here to set you aright. You would all do well to obey him, lest he damn you to eternal torment, for he is the final judge.

[@preciouslove1802]

Slaves were also very very intolerant of their owner's beliefs regarding slavery.

[@joshporter5205]

Wilbur Jenkins Well, yes, populations kept in misery their entire lives knowing their children would experience the same with no end in sight tend to be more open to the idea that they will have another life after they die that will be better than this one.

[@judithsanders9801]

Josh Porter Plus, they came from African cultures that believed dead ancestors continued to play a role in their lives.

[@lewisneilson9003]

if your happy and you know it its a sin

[@Twentydragon]

👏 👏

[@saveusmilkboy]

*clap clap* If you're happy and you know it, and you really wanna show it, If you're happy and you know it, it's a sin! *clap clap*

[@silkiesmoove6268]

@@saveusmilkboy lmao😂😂

[@garychap8384]

I love this! Verse 2... If you like it when you do it, it's a sin *clap* *clap* If you like it when you do it, it's a sin *clap* *clap* If you like it when you do it _(and you haven't confessed to it)_ If you like it when you do it, it's a sin *clap* *clap*

[@saveusmilkboy]

@@garychap8384 This! I was trying to think of a second verse this whole time...

[@24magiccarrot]

In regards to christian's who believe that those who die never having heard about Jesus go straight to heaven, I wonder how many of them support missionary work because presumably telling people about Jesus is a negative thing to do because you have now given them the opportunity to not believe and therefore go to hell, where as previously they had no option to reject the claims.

[@amiemallich3255]

Haha, my magic carrot, that is an excellent point.

[@aklimaron7398]

that's actually a good point, so to make everyone go to heaven, we should completely get rid of christianity and don't tell anyone about it

[@shanestrickland8481]

@@aklimaron7398 Unless this God does not care rather or not you knew or did not know.

[@Nikolai508]

I'm from the UK. Is it true that they teach all that religious stuff in schools like it's fact? That's soooo strange. England is a Christian country. We are headed by the queen who is the head of the church of England. Yet we are in no way stupid enough to fuck our kids up in such a way.

[@garymurrin5175]

since when is oald izzy the head of the church?

[@TheSapphiretrooper]

jimbob jones j.r Since she was proclaimed Queen.

[@paulatiredofthisshit]

No, it depends on the school. Mostly the South tries to slip in stuff, especially in history and science. Don't group us all together.

[@Nikolai508]

Paula Catlover Ah.. perhaps the government should take a little more control on education standards so you get a good level of education quality consistently throughout the country.

[@yakojjy]

Yeah, most of the southern states have traces of religion injected into their education, but not every religion, mostly ambiguous Judeo Christian stuff, like generic creationism, you won't really find any direct scripture, just intelligent design pseudo science. Northern states and by the coasts are more secular for the most part, there was no religion anywhere in my High School (New Jersey) and we learned about evolution. I guess you could say my family is like default Christian, my mom and dad never go to church, and I stopped believing in god when I was 14 or so. It was never really a big deal in my family,like we were going along with it because of christmas and to fit in with people. I don't think I've ever really had an actually conversation about religion with either of my parents. The first time I even heard about Intelligent Design or Creationism was freshmen year of college in my Intro to Philosophy course. You honestly can't generalize America like you could with other countries, its too diverse, especially when our state governments have a lot of power.

[@ItsOver900O]

That's all religion is, fear and control.

[@lilithpowers9686]

Exactly. Sincerely an x Christian now athiest.❤

[@hippegast12]

And money

[@johnbross5751]

Not all religion is about fear,control, and money. I am a pagan and every other pagan I know doesn’t wish to control anyone either we only wish to inform people about truth and we are an earth based religion

[@GeoPePeTto]

@@johnbross5751 you misspelled cult

[@koru9780]

Believing in something just to avoid a consequence is cowardice.

[@KristenKras]

That's why I believe in every god/goddess, I'm covering all my bases ;)

[@kenhammscousin4716]

Clever girl ;)

[@mullm5375]

Matt is a vet!? Cool the service is what helped me kick my religious habits, thanks for your service Matt!

[@dangerics]

The Stone Church people all seem to do the exasperated sigh when asked a question.

[@larjkok1184]

They’re stoned.

[@aennaenn7468]

Because they're not used to questions, they're used to obedience.

[@brucebaker810]

That's their automatic Spirit Deployment System. It can be either a projectile (offensive breath weapon) or a cloud (defensive).

[@Ouja]

Because they are all the same person. They are all "Mark". He's an atheist troll. The best call in my opinion is when he calls in with the horribly fake british accent claiming to be from London.

[@randys2669]

It's funny how a lot of anti-gay preachers are often the first ones you find on their knees (not to pray), letting someone besides Jesus "into their body".

[@MyITRcom]

Yep, never have met a massive homophobe who didn't ultimately have a dick in his mouth.

[@mickeydrennan1576]

More commonly they get busted as being pedophiles...

[@ParanormalEncyclopedia]

Not that surprising we often hate most in others what we hate about ourselves.

[@jasonantigua6825]

R. Sumpter It could be medications that they may be on!

[@reyramirez5710]

Ahhhhhmen! 😝😝😝

[@jordanmuniz2161]

I'm still waiting for the day Mark becomes an atheist.

[@24magiccarrot]

he always was an atheist, it turns out he was a troll.

[@lukasrodriguez5864]

@@24magiccarrot LoL,I didn't know that, where can I find more about that? Thanks!

[@24magiccarrot]

@@lukasrodriguez5864 I don't know what episode it is but there's one when the hosts not only say he was always a troll but he's a regular audience member in the studio.

[@brucebaker810]

@Lukas Rodriguez Hi Lukas. There were many calls. There's a *Compilation of Mark's Calls* video here. And if you're really interested, they've done blog posts about it. But loong ago. It was a huge thing. Use your Search Fu at the AXP or aca blog.

[@kingjuggalo4335]

Mark is a atheist troll!!!

[@nixonwasframed]

At the end of the show, I was half expecting the crew to pick up Jen and Matt and carry them off.

[@thorshammer138]

It was beautiful when the guy at the end figured it out. He was led to water and took a drink. That's one of the best parts of the show, when someone finally figures it out and starts thinking for themselves.

[@tylerdurden6917]

@Robert Doyle right lol

[@1369Stiles]

when i sneeze, i immediately follow it with a "fuck you!" just to preempt the inevitable "god bless you". (unless of course im in a venue where saying that would be inappropriate)

[@prettycoolguy65]

+1369Stiles the word 'god' is definitely colloquial

[@bobbyduckett5465]

Shit, I'd make the point to exclusively say it in a venue where it might be inappropriate. Because fuck people, and fuck their venues.

[@SomeOtherGryph]

Heh... I stopped using gesundheit because my stupid american ass thought it meant god bless you. Then I replaced it with "you sneezed" or "something" just to acknowledge the sneeze. Thanks, commenter.

[@hexkirn]

Nah, Gesundheit is just german for "Health", so it amounts to a wish of "be healthy". It still has some superstitious roots, but the word itself doesnt invoke a god.

[@tinaspringer651]

1369Stiles it's kind of funny that I've been an atheist most of my life but still say "bless you" with no God in front of it just as a polite thing. Old habits die hard

[@exilfromsanity]

The worst phone system in the western civilized world.

[@lynettekomidar]

Without God, who is going to save the Queen??!!!! ;>)

[@Puzzleguy123]

Those tricky questions. ;)

[@rhetwylie1786]

The Ghost of Freddie Mercury

[@fuzzywzhe]

A duped population of course. Why do people even put up with royalty?

[@thetruthrover]

F*** the queen.

[@Carbide195]

fuzzywzhe In a word- Tourism. She brings a lot of tourist revenue and has no real political power, I see no problems.

[@JeffmChicago]

Oh for crying out loud! Not that Mark from Stone church again.

[@kenhammscousin4716]

Oh for Pete’s sake

[@johnnyblack4]

Jesus christ!

[@paulmadryga]

Mark finally sees the light! Took him long enough, but totally worth keeping the cameras rolling for!

[@SignOfTheTimes008]

Paul Madryga Its nice to see him get through :-)

[@xevious1538]

Paul Madryga until you learn that Mark was fake. He has called under different aliases and they caught him.

[@SignOfTheTimes008]

Xevious 1 Yeah he's a known atheist, that likes to mock creationism.

[@Defhrone]

Paul Madryga I agree, I don't know what was going on in his mind, but from an outside perspective, I can only guess at the scope of the epic struggle.

[@mack7963]

Why?

[@xsixdouble5321x]

lo.l So you mean to tell me, I don't need the bible to know the difference between right and wrong? Such a hard concept for a Christian to come to terms with. But that goes against everything I've ever believed. i'm still going to church, cause even though it's obvious this book isn't the word of god and I can't trust anything in it, I'm still scared of the place it talks about for not believing in the rest of the book. Fear of hell is what the church uses to keep people from abandoning them. If the churches don't have members then they don't get money. I doubt half the preachers even really believe what they tell people.

[@mark1A100]

a sugesstion to any athiest or person considering their faith i suggest reading one book before any other. it is the book i recommend to all atheists and theists. the skeptics online bible. it is the international translation of the bible with side notes highlighting all the crazy things in the bible. its a great read. there is a paper version

[@suneuf]

Ab Cd thanks!

[@suneuf]

TA A wow what a coincidence! I used to say that exact same thing

[@notimmortal9738]

TA A Aw man you commented this on every comment chain? It’s gonna take a long time to make fun of all of these

[@SaltyRamen.]

Also for the believers out there. Stop using the word "humble", when you are throwing your god in an argument and smash evidence and logic. You are actually misusing the word and being very arrogant. God is a trump card you use in an argument, and till you prove god, don't use it. Circular reasoning gets you no where, stop the mental masterbation and have an honest argument, more can be learnt that way. and

[@mybeautifulearth]

Stop throwing in the sheeple "theory" of evo-illusion then until you can prove it! There's no evidence or logic in evolution as we have infact de-evolved! Stop listening to text book lies, you have been duped! LOL Athiests make me laugh, you say we believe in God (creator) yet you lot believe we started from nothing, wow miracle! hahaha and you say we are the idiots smh!

[@RebeccaSmith-tk4zy]

Debra S Bless your heart, you haven't a clue, have you?

[@TheHelper151]

Debra S www.livescience.com/474-controversy-evolution-works.html Here's evolution. Have fun reading that full internet page.

[@jamesk1027]

Rebecca Smith you have no proof. God is fake news. Rejoice. The evil god who committed genocide, punished women who were raped and approved of slavery. Moral bankruptcy.

[@john-oh9cr]

Debra S , there are many Christians that are forced to accept evolution . They accept it cause They understand evolution . It's not a choice , evolution is a system of constructed thought . In other words , you are not intelligent enough to understand evolution . Why do so many Christians accept evolution because they understand it once you understand it and its mechanisms you cannot deny it your brain will not let you .

[@TheHelper151]

@Christian Brotherhood Go Google search the Scientific theories that disprove religion. Then tell me about your little book and how you think its true when there is no evidence to support it.

[@jakemauger8377]

Wow, I am so proud of the guy at the end, and how he comes to that conclusion. I sincerely hope he continues to use his critcal mind to examine his faith, among other things. It's inspiring to hear him realize that his own ability to decide is worth more than some ancient book, and I hope others have taken heed, and have decided to apply their ability to reason to the dogma that they've been fed. Congradulations, Matt, Jen, and the rest of the team, for helping this man to see what his mind is capable of. You truly provide a necessary service to humanity, and I applaud you all.

[@stormthrush37]

50:10 How Christians bully and exclude others then play the victim

[@notimmortal9738]

TA A I love the tooth fairy.

[@bluetrilobite]

I feel sorry for mark. he sounds like such a nice person but he is just so lost into his indoctrinated belief

[@bfdidc6604]

Don't feel bad for Mark. He called the show for a long time and it turned out he was a troll.

[@jss302]

Bfdidc how was he discovered a troll? I'm really curious I can't tell

[@stickiedmin6508]

@@jss302 He admitted it. Most of it played out on the blog.

[@notimmortal9738]

TA A It’s only boring if you dismiss every point that’s being made without considering it at all, like you clearly are. Unless you’re just a troll, which is also a very real possibility

[@FourDeuce01]

ALL laws discriminate against somebody. That's what laws are for, to discriminate against the people who violate them. If religious apologists bully people, the laws will punish them, just like they punish anybody who bullies people.

[@twanyapeach9585]

FourDeuce01 That’s not what discrimination means..smh

[@richdandanell2911]

Who's laws ? Gods ? First you need to prove that a god actually exists to administer these so called laws . If you can't prove a god even exists how you can assume it's dealing out some cosmic justice ? It's more rational to do our best to administer justice in the here and now in this life . Not hope people will receive justice in some imaginary afterlife fantasy world . That kind of thinking ensures that bad people can escape the only justice we're sure exists . Religion is very foolish .

[@LucianCorrvinus]

Not when its touted as religious belief, not when they support and give money to politicians,not with the propaganda they spew....

[@richdandanell2911]

@TA A Awww...... You have an invisible friend , how cute .

[@notimmortal9738]

TA A “It’s cool to be Christian!” Lol

[@olive2ree29]

What always strikes me as interesting about Pascal’s wager is if god was real and he was as all powerful as they believe, he would know the motives of there belief and likely, would not approve of there reason.

[@PlntPeace]

I love how Christians will lay out Pascal's Wager (What if you're wrong?), then get ALL the reasons/answers behind and why that's a REALLY bad argument for why I should believe... and continue to go on as if the answer didn't REGISTER in their mind. If they would only listen to and understand JUST those few simple and reasonable explanations that are given, they would be much more enlightened on our wide views. I often know right away, when I'm asked that question, the response I get will determine the amount of time I'm willing to spend. Sadly it hardly ever gets past that point.

[@n.presley917]

wise triage. I strive for that in comment volleys especially. mixed results.

[@WeaponXXIV]

It seems that the Stone Church has a different atmosphere than the rest of Austin. Mark and Luke both exhale frequently while talking on the phone.

[@starmorrison310]

One day marks balls will descend, hair will grow around his bits and his need for an invisible friend his momma taught him about will fade.

[@politicsequalsgarbag]

Only after a full-throttle lobotomy

[@paulatiredofthisshit]

politicsequalsgarbag It took me till I was 45. Stop assuming it's stupidity or a mental disorder. It won't get anyone to listen to you.

[@politicsequalsgarbag]

Paula Catlover people accepting truth and reason is not my problem. Sorry it took you so long?

[@paulatiredofthisshit]

politicsequalsgarbag Stop assuming it's stupidity or a mental disorder. That's what I said and that's what you and politic spaghetti monster needed to hear.

[@dlevitt0508]

politicsequalsgarbag Oh but it is your problem wittingly or unwittingly because there are decisions being made daily that affect your life by people that do not accept evidence and reason, good luck with truth, as the method for their political or ethical determinations. The next generations as well as this planet's future relies on decisions that are made today so let's hope somebody can get through to them.

[@Nubyrc]

Knowledge is the most powerful force in the universe. Those who control it control you. When you are told there are no other answers to the big question of existence you are being told to lay down and be controlled.

[@RoganJericho]

It's hard to tell... You're talking about theism, yeah? "There is a god, don't question it!"

[@B2BCreditandCollection]

RoganJericho Great. Prove it. Provide evidence... you know, testable, repeatable, verifiable evidence for your god's existence

[@RoganJericho]

Michael Dennis Er... Sorry, you may have missed my sarcasm (we desperately need an emoticon for that). I personally can't tell which side Nubyrc is coming from. He has accurately described theism, but he has done so using terms typically heard from theists who don't understand what science is.

[@3dge--runner]

i really hope mark has busted through the bubble by now. i would be so happy for him. you can hear that he is right on the edge,

[@mikemantonya6666]

Pretty sure he turned out to be an atheist troll who was unhappy with the number/quality of Christian callers. He and his accomplices eventually came clean, and threatened to keep trolling unless the calls "got better" (as if the hosts had any control over who called in).

[@3dge--runner]

***** really? that makes so much more sense. thanks for the info

[@Goettel]

+Who am I? atheistexperience.blogspot.nl/2011/09/open-letter-to-markchrislanganfan-et-al.html

[@3dge--runner]

propoetide thanks for this. i saw at the bottom that he was protesting for more theist callers. i have to agree with him on that 100%.

[@Xiao6996]

That ending, man I'm so glad they didn't stop recording because that was beautiful. Mark actually learned a very serious and powerful lesson. Now lets hope it sticks.

[@yankinCanada]

I'm guessing that Mark is gay. If he is good for him for trying to work out of the self hatred inflicted on him by the teachings of his church which is impressed on him and not natural in him by his own epiphany here on the show. Bravo Mark!

[@brucebaker810]

"Mark": But I am Mark. I'm from Austin Stone." "Paul": And you'll know this is me, Paul. writing because...er...well dammit. Don't I sound like me?

[@soulman71901]

Crap. I missed recruiting one more hetro...Well,maybe I will get my chance at winning the free toaster next week.

[@AZOffRoadster]

I'm god... praise me... and send your paychecks to PO Box 666 in Jesusville AZ. My old jet is dirty, so I need a new one.

[@LucianCorrvinus]

What does God need with a jet plane....?

[@jacopman]

and......if the bible was literal history it left out most of Christ's life from 12 to 33yrs old....................why? While apparently it wasn't spiritually important.................hence the gospels are not a historical book but used for spiritual reasons...... So why isn't there any evidence of his life at that age anywhere? Because its all made up to begin with and selected which stories would work in a canon with the population.

[@osmosis321]

This was an epic episode, especially the after show.

[@briangarrow448]

Why do religious people spend so much time trying to make everyone else's lives harder? Worry about yourself, not what other people are doing. I don't want to know what you are doing in your bedroom. MYOB, and I will do the same.

[@uparangi7933]

Sadly they believe it is their obligation to interfere. They have to spread the gospel everywhere, including inside bedrooms. They make me sick.

[@namelessrose3859]

Rule books: The Bible quotes: You are dust and to dust you shall return. “You are dust. . . .” These are the words that God said to Adam (Genesis 3:19), recalling how earlier the Lord had “formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7). I have major problems with that particular verse. Well, lol, I have a problem with every single verse in the Bible but I’m choosing this particular one for now. Let’s go back roughly 3000 years. The beginnings of the newer found fake religion: Judaism ✡️. They did not cremate their dead they buried them. Jewish law: Jewish law ("Halachah") is unequivocal that the dead must be buried in the earth. The ancient Egyptians knew this. In the pre-dynastic period, they wrapped their dead in linen and buried them directly in the sand. Decomposition of a the body takes place, has been taking place and will continue to take place whether or not the Bible tells you so. I’m afraid the “historical “ evidence outweighs any and all biblical nonsense. Lol, I sure as hell don’t need a Bible to tell me that all these newer found religions, founded by man to serve man are just as fake as the fake religions that came before them. Man, so damn primitive at one time, say 30,000 BC and still chooses to be just as primitive. What’s worse, is they choose to be and remain ignorant and stupid. If I chose to pick up a gun and kill someone or take a large hunting knife and repeated stab someone 1000 times until dead, or take a small full knife and behead someone (the way that Muslims do), and that bullying is wrong, I don’t need a book, a Bible, medical profession, nor a fairytale imaginary friend to tell me I was wrong in doing so. Those of you who are past the age of 10 and still rely on a book to dictate the difference between right and wrong, common sense, reasonable and critical thinking should think about going back to pre-k and starting all over again. Even then, I believe for you, all hope is LOST!!!! The chaos in the world today is not what gods, Satan, nor demons brought with them but instead it is what you, the religious psychos have spread amongst yourselves and the rest of what once was peaceful about this world. Religion is the chaos no matter what religion it is!

[@tonydavid7950]

Religion founded on an appeal to our survival instinct. It actually works in (too) many cases.

[@gagaoolala9167]

That guy at the end... wow. Fantastic. That was really amazing. That made my day.

[@anttuber]

Bravo to Mark! Questioning your beliefs is a huge milestone! Then slowly going through de-conversion is the life changing decision for the rest of your life. The pressures of being “rejected” and “displaced” by your family and social circles needs heavy evaluation. Mark gets my applause.

[@unit0033]

the end of the world preachers must feel stupid when their dates come and go! lol

[@ziul123]

Nah they don't feel stupid because they know they're lying

[@LucianCorrvinus]

You wish...

[@donmiata8731]

what i dont understand, like this guy you had here first he believes mainly because hes afraid to go to hell, does'nt he know that the allmighty god knows everything so god knows hes faking, and when god finds fakers he send them to hell before anybody else, , and that you dont tell him that surpises me even more? a proud third generation atheist age 73

[@Tasarran]

That is the real core of hard-held religious belief; fear of one's own mortality. It's one of the reasons its so hard to break through to these people; they are in denial about the scariest thing they can imagine...

[@clawsryan6100]

It's always the same arguments and the same bad justification on the side of belivers. How could you call a show like this and not be ready to defend and prove rationally your belief?

[@ljalexi]

I absolutely love Mark. He's so kind and sincerely afraid that what he's been told since he was three, might be totally incorrect. As long as he keeps converting people to his understanding of what religion should be, it helps keep him from realizing his entire life has been a lie. I hope he eventually learns to question his religion but I also fear that realizing what reality is, will only lead to suicide. May humanity bless him. He's lost, but, he's still a good person.

[@jimmorgan21]

He was a troll.

[@euripidiesupman9755]

He's called in a bunch of times, gotta give him credit for that at least. You can see, over the course of his calls, that his basis for belief is slowly crumbling away. I bet he's scared to death of that, but when he finally becomes free he'll be very happy.

[@zombiewhitegirl]

I like Mark at the end lol, I cant help it. Every time he calls in he sounds like a misled, but earnest and well meaning young guy who just needs someone to yank him out of that church of his, and show him the real world.

[@SandraLovesSun]

My question: if you never heard about a god, if you were in a situation where there was no cultural influence on a religion or any form of mythology, would you even come up with this idea of a god? I don't think so.

[@troyevitt2437]

"Nature's God" was a Deist, not Christian, concept. An impersonal Creator Who has since moved on, heedless of man's prayers and affairs.

[@noonesnameishere8924]

Praise Cthulhu! :P

[@JohnCashin]

How I see the Bible, the Quran and other such writings that claim to be divinely inspired is exactly as the late Christopher Hitchens described them all, basically, they were early mans first attempt at understanding life and the universe around him, in that sense they are not to be despised or thought of as something we could have done without, they were our necessary mistakes that we made along the way as we continued to make efforts to gain knowledge, remember, ancient man didn't know what we know now so it's easy for us to say we didn't need to go through all that now, yes, of course, in hindsight, it wasn't really needed but we didn't know that at the time, we had to learn this through trial and error, in their time, religious ideas had a place and gave human beings an explanation, however, we have moved on a long way since, we have learned so much more about everything, the problem is that there are still far too many who want to hold onto these first attempts instead of moving on to the much better understanding which should have replaced them and resigned them to the museum a longtime ago, the best analogy for this I can think of is to say that it's a little bit like when man first made attempts to fly, many failed attempts were made, some laughable when you look back on them but each attempt eventually led to the successful flight that the Wright Brothers made and which led to planes as we know them today, so of course, those early attempts are in fact far from something to be laughed at, they are to be commemorated on that level, imagine though if people refused to use modern planes and instead they were using the flying machines from the early 1900's to get about?, wouldn't you think they were nuts?, of course you would and you'd be right, who in their right mind would want to use something worse when theirs something much better available to them? Lol, yet, oddly, this seems to be exactly what people are doing philosophically by holding onto the Bible, Religion, God etc, I'm not meaning to be disrespectful and I actually used to be a believer myself, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of why so many still hold onto it, perhaps sentiment plays a part it in, even though we know there is something better we sometimes want to hold onto the thing we have because we've had it for so long and just can't stand the thought of letting it go?, when I got my first mobile phone for example, I thought it was the 'bees knees' and then when much better phones came out I knew they were much better than the one I had but for a longtime I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of that old phone and get a knew one, is that kind of what it is for many people holding onto the Bible etc?, just a suggestion.

[@shookreeseeree4]

John..best explanation I've heard..I just hope u are still around to see my reply 5 yrs later..I'm trying to catch old episodes since I hv been watching since a few mths ago..tq bro for your comments..stay safe during this trying times.

[@JohnCashin]

@@shookreeseeree4 Yes, I'm still around. Thanks, Shurkri.

[@osomartinez]

now it’s 2023. hope Mark is still thinking for himself

[@kylelynn1276]

I hope that Mark actually took this to heart.

[@thetruthrover]

Achoo! "You are so good lookin'."

[@osomartinez]

why do christians call an atheist show to have their bible questions answered?

[@jerrywatson2596]

I prefer the hell that Janis Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix went to.

[@notimmortal9738]

TA A How do you believe in one religions heaven and hell but not other religions heavens or hells. Sounds like you are a bit ignorant

[@666Maeglin]

Mark will get there in the end.. just 3-5 years more and he will see the light of reason.

[@greeny202ab]

Perhaps not. He sounds to me as though he already accepts that the whole Yaweh thing is bullshit but the people around him are just reinforcing it. The only difference between religions and cults is SIZE.

[@c.guydubois8270]

Mark has many names...his UK/Scotsman accent, Soo fake....

[@gextvedde]

My favourite bumper sticker reads "focus on your own damn family". Love it.

[@galendulac]

That honestly brought tears to my eyes.

[@brucebaker810]

Galen DuLac What did? You're not responding to something someone mentioned. And the vid is an entire episode (hence you could be referring to just one caller).

[@brucebaker810]

*****

[@brucebaker810]

***** Yeah, I (mostly) enjoyed the Mark calls. Til I found out it was a deranged fan just dressing up in a "Mark from Austin Stone" outfit. Outed himself. Then made demands that they guarantee at least 60 percent theists calling in...

[@TheGrahamBrechin]

I love my neighbour ,, she's hot!

[@TheYknuf]

Mine was ugly... so I stoned her to death.

[@notimmortal9738]

TheYknuf If she committed adultery, then you’re doing gods dirty work. Sad that that’s a well known passage of doctrine, and people ignore it

[@spencergundersen429]

Mark is awesome but he sounds like he's from the Stoned Church

[@madmartigan4077]

I hope Mark hasn't backslid since that monumental moment.

[@mullm5375]

Hawkeye4077 Lol, I hope he did. Then he can finally start living this life and stop worrying about an afterlife that will never come.

[@sarcipious3]

An atheists view of reality is of a Universe nearly 14 billion years old, astonishingly complex, fearsome even, but full of awe, we are but sparks in the vastness, energetic, bright but transient, brief, we are humbled before its grandeur and beauty, but against all the odds we are alive and in that life we are greater than even the most powerful Star, for we are a part of this Universe that has become conscious, we are a part of this Universe that can open its eyes and gaze upon its self in wonder, this view is more majestic, with more breath and depth than a dogma that states the Universe is younger than the original stories that describe its creation by a Bronze Age Deity, we are not the playthings of a petulant God, a God who shrinks as we grow, let go of your fear, let go of your superstitions, shake off the shackles that keep your spirit in bondage and join us, we are free to live our lives, to do good because its right, not out of fear of eternal punishment, you have one life, its yours, take responsibility for it, live, do not fear Death, the matter you are made of has been on its journey for billions of years, it has been forged in Stars, blown on Stellar winds, flown the skies and swam the Oceans and will continue after you have gone, you are unique in the Cosmos, but brief and transient, a spark in the void.

[@everwhat013]

+Sarcipious A I know! To me, the fact that we exist in a natural world in a natural universe under our magnificent sun, within other planets and asteroids and even our own world-oceans and animals and plants, viruses, bacteria-that is simply AMAZING to me. We are made of star stuff and I think that's much more magical than just to say god put us here.

[@LadyGub7]

Ironically , many might describe GOD as being what you have tried to describe. Don't confuse organized Religion with God and the World would be a better place. If we use compassion and tolerance to all we'd cut our losses to a great degree. Unfortunately our lower nature would rather fight and argue and want to be right and point out how others are wrong.

[@lancethrustworthy]

Having worked professionally in video production, many of the TAE shows make me cringe. It seems the people behind the scenes are only barely functional.

[@vickitabygrace7]

The day one person proves the bible to be false, I will walk away from my faith. Til then it is very sad to see the hatred against a group of people who you do not know in person and could easily be your neighbor , your co worker or even a close friend. Each one of us is valuable , no matter race or religion. That's what we tend to forget God loves us and in the midst of his agony he prayed for us.

[@cycophile]

Keep watching this show, they talk about biblical inconsistincies and falsehoods all the time that most just dont think about.

[@vickitabygrace7]

I want fact, not theory or sarcasm. Mocking Christianity doesn't debunk it

[@MrCoulurfull]

vickitabygrace7 Theory in the scientific sense is only an explanation of various facts. EVERYTHING you learn in science is THEORY. Causes of diseases, natural disasters and why stones fall is THEORY. All you hear about various theories are based in different facts. All science teaches you is theories. How we get airplanes flying and boats to float is thanks to theories. How we cure diseases and builds skyscrapers is thanks to theories. You accept that science but when you hear the theory of evolution? A scientific theory supported by numerous scientific disciplines, grounded in facts, generally accepted worldwide, is it too much?

[@cycophile]

Take it easy, guys. Now, I wasnt mocking Christianity. Im saying that they debunk much of religion on this show. You can also google search many of the logical fallacies, inconsistencies and falsehoods that religions have. The problem is that you cannot prove something is false when there is no data to hinge a disproof on. Likewise a lack of data cannot be used to prove something exists, which is the major argument the show makes. What do you belive and why do you belive it is true?

[@vickitabygrace7]

Cycle phile Even though I disagree with the atheist stand, I like that you're respectful of others differences in opinion and that you have a softer tone. That's cool.

[@tedgrant2]

Mark calls in under different names and there is one programme where he says he's an atheist.

[@prettycoolguy65]

"reasons not to date or be friends with an atheist" lol no skin off my bones bros and sis'

[@charlesmpanduki7991]

wooow KZbin deleting videos to save hard drive space?? Im from 2019 the future and ive never heard about that.

[@michaeldurham4812]

Neither has anyone else

[@atee12321]

Am I the only one who felt real sympathy for the caller who said he believed because he was afraid of hell?

[@Allazander]

I've read comments calling Matt mean, rude, hyper critical and condescending, yet here he obviously took even more of his personal time (since he's a volunteer and not paid for the show just like the other hosts it's all his time), even after the show has ended for the week, to talk to a person and work with them on accepting their doubts and learning to reconcile them with reason. Both he and Jen were extremely kind to give up their time to talk to him. I loved Jen's smile at the end.

[@DarrenWallace3d]

Check out Jen's shirt at 1:16:32 . It's a sign from baby Jebus!

[@babyshambler]

I can only speak for myself (as an atheist) as atheism is not a set of beliefs, rather the rejection of one particular one. I do understand what Jesus supposedly preached, the same as I understand what many fictional characters talk about. I just reject the claim that he actually said and did these things as there's zero reason to believe it.

[@williezar2231]

I don't understand how people think someone can make themselves believe in God. At best it seems like someone can pretend to believe but wouldn't God know they were only pretending and maybe even be madder because of it?

[@n.presley917]

repetition is fairly powerful stuff. 'fake it 'til you make it' does actually work* for some people. the beliefs aren't all of equal strength or certainty, and for some they are merely built on habit. *Dan Dennett makes a crucial distinction here. his compelling conclusion is that most theists simply "believe in belief" - in the sense that it's just a web of mental 'lip service', and the whole thing never has critical reasoning applied to it. so when i use the phrase "does actually work" i mean: some people who are only going through the motions because they want to avoid hell "just in case" will eventually reinforce enough habits of thinking/behavior that they will for all [naturalistic] intents and purposes Be Believers.

[@Longtack55]

Mark at 59:38 is painfully stupid. Fer God's sake strike him wiv a fundabolt NOW.

[@ursidae97]

Thank u 4 dat

[@StrikaAmaru]

I don't deny the law and the theory are very tightly connected; as I said, separate, distinct, and complementary. But they're not identical, or interchangeable; "theory" and "law" are very well defined terms in science, both in the general sense and in the particular example. The law of gravity is the one with the math, the theory of gravity explains why the math is the way it is.

[@StrikaAmaru]

"[science is] based on faith" Potential answer: "So, by your own standards, doesn't that make it unassailable? Either that, or you consider faith a flaw, an error of logic, and not a virtue as your beliefs mandate you should think of it." This isn't an argument against science, it's an argument against faith. And if I may indulge in a bit of cold reading, it's also the sign of someone who, on some subconscious level, no longer believes; it's just that the rest of him/her hasn't caught up yet.

[@StrikaAmaru]

A small mistake: theories do not graduate to laws; theories are a separate category from laws. A law is an expression of a mathematical relation (F=ma, E=mc^2, the 3 laws of thermodynamics, etc). A theory explains how a phenomenon occurs, and why if you start with these events, you end up with these outcomes. Example: the theory of gravity (all objects attract each other) is never going to graduate into the law of gravity ( F = Gm1m2 / (r^2) ). They're separate, distinct, and complementary.

[@republican13guard]

Edited20, atheism is a single position on a single issue. The claim is that a god exists and the default position is not to believe without demonstrable evidence. It is a logical fallacy to claim that 'god did it' when attempting to explain things we do not have sufficient evidence. You might also want to learn about what the big bang theory is saying based on the only evidence we have. Inserting a supernatural cause traps your argument as well.

[@JosephNordenbrockartistraction]

I'm totally OK with being corrected. My views are governed mainly by my own personal experience. It's hard for me to fathom a more twisted book than the old testament people put there hand on to indicate their testimony in a court of law will be truthful. I just don't understand how such an old book of superstition can remain so popular in the modern world that we know now is a rotating planet.

[@JosephNordenbrockartistraction]

The bible is a book that says believe the book or an almighty spirit will punish you after you die forever. The many unknown authors of the bible expect the reader to be just as superstitious as they are. You just can't find a more screwed up book and so many people call it "The good book" and call themselves forgiven sinners with a holy message that will SAVE you from an eternity of fire in HELL.

[@jacopman]

Dvsyetsky lived at a time before we understood the evolutionary inheritance of moral behavior based on a highly cognitive social species Good is empathy and care for each other, evil is sociopathic behavior or the lack of empathy for others, it is not from a supernatural source but a biological one from natural selection of a social species. Being good is the cooperation of a social species for the well being of all. A sociopath is a dysfunctional genetic/environmentally fueled behavior.

[@wraith168]

Actually you referred to it as the Big Bang singularity, so you yes you were referring to it. Also the big bang is the theory for the universe beginning. As I said, the evidence that science currently has that points to that. If you are looking for me to list out the evidence for that here, sorry that's not going to happen. This is to small of a space and I am by no means an authority.There are plenty of places you can find to explain this to u much better than I can if you choose to actual look

[@SeanLynchXY]

Evolution is a theory supported by many lines of evidence in geology, paleontology, biology and genetics. Belief is a strongly held opinion and unlike theory belief doesn't have to be supported by evidence. Science is the body of knowledge gained through repeatable observation and measurement of reality that uses a specific methodology. Theory provides not only explanations of observations but predictions of the result of experimentation. Science is not a matter of opinion or belief.

[@lonestarhermit6758]

Your Comment sadly shows your ignorance of what a scientific theroy is. Considering science doesn't deal in absolutes, only sith do, then a Theroy is the closest thing to a proven fact in scientific terms. Evolution, which im assuming it the "theory" your talking about, has tons of evidence supporting it. I'd ask you to watch any of Richard Dawkins videos and start educating yourself.

[@Narutoisawesum]

Question! Why does God so need to exist? Nothing is forbidden. Sure...that isn't proof for him to exist. Unless you're saying he doesn't exist, but we need religious morality (though...we don't.) so we may as well believe anyway. Also, just because someone said it, doesn't mean it's real. We have secular morality. Also, humanity denies it, because there is not a shred of evidence.

[@wraith168]

Science is always an ongoing process. We are always learning and looking for answers. Science looks at the evidence and comes up with the explanations that the evidence supports. If good evidence comes along to show something is wrong and there is a better explanation that fit something then the old idea is replaced with the new one. Right now, the evidence at had points to the big bang. Do you have some better evidence for something else?

[@jimmo42]

Ummm..All that does is demonstrate further your ignorance of American history. In the 1800's the position of the Democrats and Republicans was pretty much the opposite of what it is today. Republicans were the progressive liberals and and the Democrats were the conservatives. Trying to compare the two parties then with now is downright stupid. Since you believe in miracles, why not at least try and learn about the subjects *before* you post?

[@emman1185]

I finally gave up my religion about 2weeks ago after about a year of research and investigation into all the major religions and asking intelligent questions about a lot of the concepts. The fear of hell kept me in check for the last year until recently when I finally broke free of that thinking. Religion whilst it looks pious, holy and pure on the outside is rotten at the core. It uses fear and intimidation of hell to retain its power and influence at all costs.

[@Tasarran]

Well, I personally think religion should not be, but in the interest of freedom... It's all about the money; whatever is publicly funded needs to stay religion-free. Private enterprises, its up to whoever's paying for it. So: Sport? Up to the team owner/league Police, Navy, Airforce: No, public, should be impartial in every way Voluntary groups: Sure, you don't like the policies, don't join Not sure what you mean by financiers? But anyway, any private company can associate with a religion...

[@matthewsmith4512]

qt 1:03 the caller makes it clear why people that have held onto theism into adulthood are trapped into it. It's extremely embarrassing to admit that a belief they've clung to for so long is a silly one and they feel like admitting that would some how mean they're dumb. This is the trap religious adults find themselves in when they didn't give up the silly belief in childhood like santa. So the real question is how do we provide a non-embarrassing way out of this trap for them?

[@sickofwashington]

Gotta do it though. Ridiculous ideas deserve to be ridiculed. The lack of ridicule could be, and has been in the past, mistaken for agreement. I try to only ridicule the ideas, not the people themselves, but sometimes their defense just forces one down that path. I haven't heard from him in a few days, so maybe he finally got the idea, but more likely he just got tired of my refuting every point he tried to make. It's almost impossible to reason with the unreasonable. Peace

[@sickofwashington]

Congratulations, you just got your answer. How a person's actions affect themselves and others. Not right and wrong. Right and wrong are arbitrary. What is right for you may not be right for anyone else. Everyone has a right to their own opinions, but not FACTS. Everyone DOES NOT have the right to their own facts. A fact is true even if you don't believe it. A company has the right to set a dress code. When a company deals with many nationalities and religion, they can't promote one over others.

[@sickofwashington]

No, that's where you are wrong. SOCIETY determines what is acceptable. Always has, always will. Where do atheist's get their moral compass? From how our actions affect ourselves and others. Religion could take a lesson there. We don't force our beliefs on anyone, but we sure aren't going to stand by while you guys trample on everyone else's rights by promoting any one over the others. Secular morality>Religious morality Why? Because secular morality is unbiased by religion, race, or politics

[@Salop2223]

Our church has a strong work ethic. Many have Phd's in science subjects, in the States I know plenty of doctors, surgeons, dentists, ect as well as CEO's and so on. The best performing schools in the UK are church schools per the independent monitoring. The atheists here are looking to do things like prevent display of crosses, to ban Christmas etc and frankly viewed as a little insane. The US used to be a good leader of Western culture, now its just sad..

[@sickofwashington]

(cont) it's not hard to see a correlation with what is happening with Christianity and science today. Any time any religion inserts itself into the education system, that system goes stagnant. If any religion is thought to be the "end all" of knowledge, why would anyone research or innovate? The Muslims have been dragging behind the rest of the world in science since that fatwa was issued, and I don't want to see the Christians do the same thing with science that Islam did with Mathematics.

[@Salop2223]

I agree that education is an answer especially in those countries where people are manipulated by scrpulous imams to perform acts of terror in the name of God. The most wicked of crimes. I think you will find that theft is often caused by a desire to get cash for drugs, or to buy food. Also in courts criminals like to present as good upright citizens (so being religious looks good). Reaf The Prince by Machievelli, gives an insight into human deviousness. Its not black and white.