The Atheist Experience 745 with Matt Dillahunty and Tracie Harris

[@nuttertools888]

Caller: "My beliefs dont harm anyone" Matt: "Its making me sad that you're irrational, you are harming me" Classic!

[@TypographyGuru]

“Why shouldn’t I believe it when it makes me happy?”. Because you’re not 3 anymore. Grow up, Jonathan.

[@barkingmadtabletop]

First time I watched this show, my reaction was: "There are atheists in Texas?"

[@theinsanityofchristianity1251]

crazy huh!

[@polkarou3572]

I thought brockback mountain was the entire state.

[@ImGoingSupersonic]

Don't get out much dewwwwya

[@Bergzore]

You cannot prove the nonexistence of something that does not exist. This is why God cannot be demonstrably falsified.

[@hayuseen6683]

You can prove the falsehood of anything that is demonstrably falsifiable. Its nonexistence - i.e. being false - doesn't make it unfalsifiable. Any claim which is untestable, particularly that which by definition cannot be tested, is unfalsifiable.

[@theinsanityofchristianity1251]

if you think happiness is more important than truth then you are not acting with integrity.

[@larjkok1184]

Hopefully that’s true and it’s not just something that makes you happy.

[@oggyoggy1299]

I think that’s true, which makes me happy. I’m not sure how much integrity I have.

[@filthyphillyboy]

Ķķķkkk​@@oggyoggy1299

[@MrSchnitzel19]

Thanks for this show guys. You helped me make the last step from Deism to Atheism. You're doing an amazing job.

[@LemonMan91]

Anybody else think Tracie looks like Ripley from Alien? xD

[@05684984987kughpuih]

Yes kinda, or the villain in Poltergeist 2. :P

[@kwj171068]

no

[@kwj171068]

no

[@bms77]

Craig Johnson yes

[@bms77]

Craig Johnson not so much that she looks like her but she definitely reminds me of her and resembles her in a way.. I've noticed that for sure

[@dougkampe6117]

What a good discussion. I like when the hosts talk to better understand each other and this call is especially good because the caller is smart, articulate, and sincere.

[@aarrgghh]

devin as queen isabella: "i'm sorry captain columbus, but i won't finance your expedition because if you sail off the edge of the earth, i might as well hand my crown and scepter to the pope ..."

[@scalesconfrey5739]

At 38:14 "I believe it because I hope for it to be true" This reminds me of (the) Wizard's First Rule, one of my favorite quotes (slightly paraphrased): "People will believe almost anything because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true."

[@larjkok1184]

Huh? Being afraid something is true would make one WANT to believe it? How does that work?

[@ai1888]

"I choose to hang up on your ass" Ha ha ha that one had me rolling :D

[@cynt123able]

Tracy as a great way of displaying tolerance and understanding while asserting reason and logic.

[@FourDeuce01]

Jonathan: “Even non-belief is a form of belief.” A new low for religious apologists.🤤

[@oggyoggy1299]

He must think a fake Rolex is a type of Rolex.

[@bdjlo2008]

Yeah, and not having a disease is a type of disease. (a non-disease) 🤣

[@wHisperis001]

Fear of death is strong with this one, nothing to be ashamed about, but not a reason to be irrational

[@mantiskungfu728]

I always love the awkwardness at the beginning and the end of these vids... lol You guys rock! thank you so much!!!

[@drewmiestr]

Jonathan is an atheist in the making...that conversation should be the poster child argument for helping the majority of theists see past their wishful thinking and look at the world the way it is... Awesome show y'all...the best one this year by far

[@Enleuk]

I think they were missing the point of attack on the second caller. They should have continued asking "Why do you think God's existence is unfalsifiable?", "Why do you believe in a soul?" and just kept asking questions until he was forced to accept that he didn't have any evidence for any of his beliefs, upon which his belief in God is based.

[@mleonsmith]

these two have great chemistry... its obvious that they are really good friends

[@CronoXpono]

*sigh* About that...

[@notfauxnooz]

Great show - my 2 favorite hosts! Tracie is so awesome. Since Tracy & Matt both come from a theist background, can sure understand and empathize with the struggle one can go thru on their journey from theism to atheism.

[@Darkest209]

Awesome to catch the show again.

[@NotQuiteGobShite]

That last caller was all over the place. Nothing is worse than someone who just wants to argue but doesn't hold an actual position on anything.

[@benkrapf]

The look on Tracie's face at 44:03 is priceless. She's a mom listening to her four year old's run-on story of what happened during their day.

[@cifier]

"When somebody asserts a god exists, they are supporting the foundation of something that is a religion that bombs buildings." - Tracie Harris Matt has an amazing mind...BUT TRACIE FOR THE WIN!!!!

[@kwj171068]

How on earth can anyone believe something that they have no evidence for its fucking crazy

[@Jeremiah767]

"You could say that angels hold us to the ground as an explanation for gravity" That would be an interesting one because it would imply that angels have a real burning hatred for people who walk off of tall objects....

[@GreenLantern1916]

Wow, this was a great show, and Ruben was the funniest caller EVER! I hope he calls back next week :)

[@TheConstantSeeker]

OMG! Ruben is back!!! I was expecting him to say "How many creatures are on the earth? 10 billion."

[@coladict]

I like this new youtube feature to resume a long video after I've closed it once and come back to the page.

[@theman2561]

The main problem is faith: belief without evidence. If you're willing to accept something with no evidence (or something there couldn't possibly be evidence for) then what aren't you willing to accept and believe?

[@DeinosDinos]

Contrary to what the last caller said , IGNORANCE is what religious fundamentalists thrive on. Understanding the origins of the Universe (which is not inherently unknowable I've no idea how she can say that) gives us infinite power in the form of knowledge, that's where fundamentalism will die.

[@IEndeavourAlways]

Poor Jonathan of Arlington can only be described as living in cloud cuckoo land. He cannot differentiate between hope and reality.

[@cycophile]

The way Tracie describes god and soul at 7:23 was precicely how I felt before I started questioning. I just thought God is Love because it was a nice thing to think or say, and our church had it on the wall on a plaque :) Nobody was arguing about anything or getting worked up it was just a place we met and it was very relaxing. I will miss that part, but I cant today justify the overall claims.

[@VANEPS7]

When you resort to name calling you kill any argument you may have had.

[@FourDeuce01]

Jonathan:”I do care about the truth, but…” As usual, when a person says something, then puts a “but” behind it, everything before the but is a lie.😜

[@infidelcastro5129]

Everything is unknowable if you’re determined to not try to know.

[@LCTmusic683]

Lt Ripley and Captain Dallas at their stations 😅

[@DaviesMartinezBeats]

Nice one and I would very much like to see Ripley's Jones.....

[@TealSide]

Only half way through and already love this episode a whole lot.

[@c6ft2006]

one of the best shows that I've seen in a longtime.

[@chadwick0091]

My 2 favorite hosts =)

[@bagospannerz]

This was the best episode in a long time! I feel for the caller who just believes in life after death and meeting god then. He has moved away from religion, but can't seem to let go of that last lingering belief. Perhaps he is afraid. I was afraid because I wondered where my dead family members were, and it brought comfort to think I would see them again, but I realised I had no good reason to believe that. Also, no-one can disprove that me electric wheelchair isn't actually powered by invisibl

[@MrMurraypants]

I vote Tracie and Matt the best combination of hosts...thumb up if you agree.

[@danescott5149]

"as long as it doesn't harm others" I wished they'd have asked him if he is teaching his children to believe.

[@00Skyfox]

I remember it was Martin who said, "I don't _believe_ in evolution," in response to a caller asking if the hosts believed in it, because his next sentence was along the lines of, "I accept evolution to be true based on the facts and evidence." In the call with Jonathan, Tracie rejected his acceptance of a god due to being unfalsifiable by equating his stance to knowing absolutely everything and therefore knowing there is no evidence that can falsify his god. The exact same rejection can be made about the hosts' rejection of the idea of the persistence of a consciousness/soul after death. By saying they reject the notion because there is no known mechanism for the continued existence of a mind after death, they're essentially saying that it can't continue to exist after death because we know all there is to know about what makes up that mind/consciousness/soul. But the discussion of something like that continuing to exist after death, independent of the body or brain, is a discussion about something intangible, something that would have no physical presence in this physical reality that we experience. The best anyone can say about it is, "I don't know," and/or, "I don't believe it due to lack of evidence." because without the ability to experience total and complete death (ie. there is no reviving the patient) and then come back to this world to report on it, it's very likely we can't know and never will. If there is a continued existence after death, it's something that each and every one of us can only wait and see. But to claim there absolutely is no continued existence after death like an afterlife is as fallacious as to make a positive claim asserting that there absolutely is no god when it's impossible to explore and study anything outside this reality and universe that we're stuck in.

[@comingatchu]

I wish that Tracie and Matt would host every episode of The Atheist Experience. They do the best job across the board.

[@fluffykeith486]

Little point to Devin... Georges Lemaitre...the Priest that Devine mentioned, was also a trained Physicist, and he formulated his theory based on Scientific Evidence, not the Genesis account, and he actually rejected the idea that there was any connection between the Big Bang Theory and the Biblical account of Genesis...and he even tried to get the Pope to STOP trying to link the two.

[@Flayed221]

Please someone put Rubens call up as a clip!!!! That was the funniest call ever!!

[@TodayzTomSawyer]

That Devin guy doesn't seem to realize that if the big bang thery was found to be not true in the scientific community, it would probably be because there was a much better and more proveable explanation.

[@Evilsoupkitchen]

I find it funny that Matt sometimes glances down at his two favourite buttons on that control panel of theirs, the hold and the hang-up button, whenever the caller wont shut up : D

[@TheAndyVegan]

I think we got somewhere with these calls. But this episode was amazing.

[@kilian254]

great episode. my two favourite hosts, and my favourite type of calls - the ones where they disagree with the callers are more fun. delighted ruben's still around - matt's exasperation with him is a treat. the last caller's attitude was bizarre, but it was an interesting call because hers is a position i haven't heard expressed on the show before - and one weakeness in TAE is that it goes over the same ground a bit too much. id like that caller to ring back and flesh out her thoughts a bit more

[@JackeShanTwo]

One of the better episodes. Matt completely destroyed Jonathan's "arguments".

[@lcceo22]

Ah, the "Unfalsifiable Nightmare" episode. Good lord was that guy exhausting.

[@AK48smoker]

lolololololol, "i will hang up on u in 10 secs i swear to your god" best line ever

[@itsuptoyou3526]

So glad matt became an atheist rather than a preacher. He would have been very very good at preaching religion and collecting sheep

[@markymarkbb]

I have the same story as Tracie has I was indoctrinated into it. I was baptized at the point to when I questioned religion, then I questioned others beliefs on the sabbath and other things. It just really put me in a spot to where I would not like people based on their belief. After taking anthropology in highschool and my understanding of evolution really drove me out. Fortunately it didn't take me 10 years.

[@yourallbrainwashed]

its aking me sad the youre irrational, you are harming me! hahaha fucking hilarious.

[@Eraserheaddf]

When Matt hangs up on a caller, he does so like a boss

[@marsrover0]

It's so funny when you can hear people laughing in the background

[@twostepRMX]

That was the most circular argument I've ever heard

[@DisWldFrk90]

I love what Matt said about religion and politics because I totally agree. I don't have a problem with a religious president. Where it becomes a problem for me is when their religion is going to affect every decision they make even if it would have a really bad outcome. That I would have a problem with. A president that's religious, but understands they're running a free country and not a church I have no problem with.

[@stiimuli]

this was a great episode. Really good calls and good discussions.

[@SlimStrongStudios]

44:39 - 44:45 is the best part of this show

[@ozpowermo]

It's exhausting! The mental gymnastics that these religionauts go through, when they call in, are just painful!

[@angeloiannitelli6589]

Jonathan watches nascar for 2 hours and says this has the possibility of going round in circles.

[@BrendanBeckett]

LOL it's been too long since we had a caller as amusing as Ruben

[@lukeism2]

I believe that skeletons roam the world hiding in shadows.. It makes me feel good

[@RodesLaw]

I love Tracie. Matt and Tracie are my favorite hosts.

[@GrecoWrestlerNJ70]

The second caller demonstrates a textbook example of "picking and chossing"

[@MrMurraypants]

best part: Math: "I'm saying you're wrong, in this case." Reuben: "exactly"..Matt: "exactly" nodding head......hilarious.

[@colubrinedeucecreative]

This episode is fire!

[@brucebaker810]

Christopher Harper Just curious. Is "fire" the new "money" or "sweet" or "phat"? ie jargon for "superlative compliment".

[@colubrinedeucecreative]

Bruce Baker Haha indeed it is. Purity, or grace, or power, or fire, like souls on fire...No let downs, no back offs, no rests, just blazing. Great callers, great conversations, great answers. It is recent jargon indeed. =)

[@brucebaker810]

Christopher Harper Thanks. I'm in my fifties. Not exactly "trying to stay current". But I enjoy words. Using them. Understanding how others use them. Observing the ebb & flow. Cheers, mate.

[@AKSBSU]

@Donal111 You sound like a deep thinker. I ponder these words of wisdom. Thanks for your contribution to this topic.

[@WayOutWesley]

My experience was similar to Tracies... My exit from 'fundyism' was early, but my exit from 'god' was a long hard struggle. I was repulsed from fundyism towards mysticism and sprituality. I was convinced that the 'mystics' of all times and climes..had the true picture of god. I even had my own 'spiritual' experiences for self confirmation. But in the end the neuralogical explanations made more sense than the mystical. Ironically, it was the unceasing search for truth that freed me.

[@ubermons]

I'm so happy every time these guys pop up in my subscription box n_n

[@Ahsharya]

That was a perfect answer Traci...in the beginning of the show

[@johngolden5257]

WOW! Ruben was certainly ill-prepared!

[@dorsk188]

Love love love that the full eps are going up on KZbin. Navigating blip.tv is a chore and the podcast is lacking in "wtf are you talking about" faces when the callers are idiots.

[@LordSlag]

I feel bad for Jonathan's baby. "Now, son/daughter, here's something that will make you happy. Believe it, whether it's true or not, evidence or no, just because it will make you happy! YAY!!" Fuck....and he can vote...and reproduce.

[@NarLiv]

Lmao at 20:23 matt coughed out the words, "bullshit"!

[@ShnackaCracka]

Devin:"but, look at who worked on the big bang theory..." Matt:"Bill Prady...." Good ol' Matt! Haha! Great episode, guys!

[@TheUltimateRage]

Solid episode, solid performance by Matt & Tracy. I fuckin' love this shit; I could watch it allllll day (and I have lol)

[@TheDaizYo]

Love the work guys =)

[@IoEstasCedonta]

43:10 ...oh, for fuck's sake. I love the look that comes over their face when they hear him start to talk...

[@JDillaDudas]

I love how Traci can barely hold back the laughter during the ruben call!

[@BrainGuy45]

Good show, Matt and Tracie!

[@bellicose100x]

i was watching them too.. all the the way through last 15 seconds.. silently...

[@zeefrag]

I love these ! :D I would LOVE to see you talk to someone from the Westboro baptist church ^^

[@Draginvry2]

Matt is on a roll in this episode.

[@EnigmaHood]

Ruben was obviously a prank caller, hilarious. XD

[@Scarletpooky]

Seeing Matt and Tracie makes me feel like such a fangirl lol

[@paradigm71]

Good show guys.

[@Judicial78]

Oh god not Ruben AGAIN. This is like his 100th call to the show.

[@TitenSxull]

@horbergus On point is a figure of speech. In this usage it likely means that he was quick witted, intelligent, and handled the callers really well.

[@DrMichaelHfuhruhurr]

`There'll be another show next week, and I'll be here, goodnight!` *uncomfortable silence*

[@TheJbirddude867]

TAE has come a long way from just a cafeteria

[@TheMadFoxes]

40:56 lol he always finds things in the last place he looks, but then he continues to search for it lol dude found his keys last week, but damned if he ain’t still looking lmao

[@KalliDavale]

Haha the awkward silence in the end :D

[@SynthMusicWorld]

This is the second time now that I have heard Jonathan defend a position that's unwarranted. I can hope one day that a magic geni will give me three wishes some day. Because it feels good! I know it's unfalsifiable, but who cares, it makes me happy.

[@unit0033]

rubens been on the crack pipe!!! lol

[@nikolajrasmussen9573]

He is a prankcaller.

[@Jadbgjoka]

Good ol'Rubin!!!!

[@IoEstasCedonta]

@BillKiernan This guy has been calling in every so often longer than Matt's been an atheist, and this is one of his better days. He deserves it at this point.