Unbelievers Radio: Complete Content

Our first Sunday School’d episode for 2015, Spencer and Forrest discuss several problems with defining atheism as a mere “lack of belief”. This non-traditional definition has become popular on the internet, but a critical examination of a few of the common arguments for it turn out to be problematic. Be sure to check out Spencer’s recent posts on the Definition of Atheism and Aron Ra’s Philosophical Mistakes. http://unbelieversradio.com/2014/12/definition-of-atheism/ http://unbelieversradio.com/…/aron-ras-philosophical…/

Lori Fazzino joins the crew to talk about sexism and the necessity of the feminist movement

The guys at Unbelievers Radio discuss the tragic murder of 11 people at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris and the larger issue of the use of violence to limit free speech and offensive statements made about religion. Submission, by Theo Van Gogh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGtQvGGY4S4 Update: The original broadcast audio for this episode contained unexpected noise and distortion. The audio for this episode has been replace with the back-up recording, free of the extraneous and distracting noise from the broadcast recording.

Our first LIVE broadcast was a huge success, in no small part due to our wonderful guest, Jerry DeWitt. Jerry DeWitt, the author of "Hope After Faith" joined us to discuss his journey from religion to atheism, and the Community Mission Chapel, where he is the community leader in Lake Charles, Louisiana. More information: Jerry DeWitt's Bio http://jerrydewitt.net Community Mission Chapel (Podcast) http://dogmadebate.com/cmc/ "Hope After Faith" http://www.hopeafterfaith.com "Hope After Faith" Audiobook http://atheistaudiobooks.com/hope-after-faith-an-ex-pastors-journey-from-belief-to-atheism/ Support Jerry DeWitt http://www.patreon.com/jerrydewitt

This week, Forrest and Spencer discuss the value of philosophy and some common reasons why people dismiss the discipline. Special attention to Bertrand Russell's "The Value of Philosophy," which can be read here: http://skepdic.com/russell.html .

Aron Ra joined the show to gives a crash corse on creationist arguments and explaining evolution to evolution deniers. My Week in Atheism - Documentary http://www.myweekinatheism.com Clarifying the Various Human Species https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzuKlZf1qXU 15 Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGmLDKQp_Qc&index=17&list=PL126AFB53A6F002CC

Spencer and Forrest discuss the burden of proof, which could also be called the burden of evidence. Both theists and atheists have a burden to demonstrate their claims, and often times both sides will try to avoid their burden by shifting it onto the other person. Spencer and Forrest discuss claims like, “you can’t prove a negative” and “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence”. Please enjoy this smashing-ly good episode responsibly. Listen closely after the 25 minute mark and you'll hear Andre slamming his face into the studio door after tripping while fighting a bed sheet.

"I’d like to take a moment as many people have to just acknowledge the void that is left by the death of our friend hitch. While it might be possible to guess what he might have thought about a number of the topics raised here, its almost impossible to imagine how well he would have expressed those thoughts. The man had more wit, and style, and substance than a few civilizations that I could name. There’s nothing to do but just take another moment to miss him." - Sam Harris

Spencer and Forrest discuss a few common logical fallacies, and offer a few examples of common mistakes in reasoning. Previous episode on "Logic and Reasoning": http://unbelieversradio.com/2014/07/logic-reasoning-introduction/

Is there a "war on Christmas"? The short answer is "NO". JT Eberhart joined Andre, Spencer, and Forrest on the show to explain why! We had a blast recording this episode, our most unprofessional (FUN) episode yet! About our Guest: When not defending the planet from inevitable apocalypse at the rotting hands of the undead, JT is a writer and public speaker about atheism, gay rights, and more. During his more than two and an half years with the Secular Student Alliance, JT built the SSA’s high school program and oversaw the development of groups nationwide. JT is also the co-founder of the popular Skepticon conference and served as the events lead organizer during its first three years. As a writer he has contributed to Atheism Resource, ShitZombiesSay.net, and numerous other sites. JT currently writes a regular column for American Atheist Magazine and is a gaming columnist for the feminist/geek site The Secular View. JT maintains a regular speaking schedule and has appeared at the American Atheists national convention, Apostacon, Skepticon, the SSA Leadership Conference, the American Humanist Association’s national convention, the Pennsylvania Atheist/Humanist convention, and many, many more. In his personal life, JT is a trained opera singer who has worked under the directorship of two-time Grammy award winner James Billings. He is also an avid gamer who can often be found playing League of Legends or Guild Wars 2. Send complaints, praise, hate mail, marriage proposals, offers for cheap Viagra, and all other non-comment material to wwjtd21@gmail.com. Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/about/#ixzz3L8zXEtDo Follow JT's his blog here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wwjtd/ If you are enjoying Unbelievers Radio and would like to support future shows, visit the link below: http://unbelieversradio.com/one-time-donation/

Does logic come from God? If so, what would this look like? How could God be a ‘necessary precondition’ for logic? This week, Spencer and Forrest tackle logic and the transcendental argument for the existence of God. The boys discuss several problems presuppositionalists face when trying to ground logic in God. Spencer presents a Euthyphro-style dilemma for what this would look like, and explains why each option is either insufficient or incoherent. Also check out Spencer’s article: Can Logic Be Grounded in God? http://unbelieversradio.com/.../can-logic-be-grounded-in.../

John Collins joined us for a discussion on Homosexuality and the church. John is the Young Adult Rep. for the Grand Canyon Synod and Vice President of First Lutheran Church in Mesa, AZ. As an openly gay member of a progressive church, John offered a perspective we don't often hear from Christians on homosexuality. Visit the link below for for information on the LGBT Center of Los Angeles mentioned during the break: http://www.lalgbtcenter.org/donate_main

The gang at Apologia Radio responded to Spencer's article 'Apologia Radio Cherry Picks the Bible for Feminism'. In this episode, Spencer and Forrest examine their response. Topics covered include the Biblical standard of morality, examples of sexism found the Bible, and the presuppositional apologetic method of internal verses critique. Apologia Radio's response show: Atheism and Feminism http://www.apologiaradio.com/?p=957 Apologia Radio Cherry Picks the Bible for Feminism http://unbelieversradio.com/?p=2862 Jeff Durbin’s Apologetic Inconsistency http://unbelieversradio.com/?p=3016

Aron Ra, the Texas Director of American Atheists and host of the "Ra-Men" podcast, joined us in the studio to discuss the fight for secularism in Texas. The show starts with musical quote mining, had a brief break for "Bible News with Jim", and ended with a chat on evolution! Aron's analogy for the Cambrian Explosion was too good to leave out. This clip, and preview for the after show can be found here: http://unbelieversradio.com/?p=3127 Sign in at www.UnbelieversRadio.com to listen to the after show.

This week Spencer digs into the various methods of apologetics. Christian apologists will often take drastically different approaches when arguing for the truth of what they believe. Evidentialists tend to consider the evidence from the natural world and view Christian theism as one of many possible hypotheses, while presuppositionalists assume the infallible truth of their worldview as a starting point of argumentation. Spencer explains two important distinctions to identify in an apologist: the first is their direction of argumentation; that is, do they start with their conclusion? Or do they attempt to show evidence as their way to reach their conclusion? And second, are they open to being wrong about what they believe? Or are they closed-minded? Hopefully this episode will clarify some of the deeper philosophical differences found within Christian apologetics and help you understand a few of the many problems found within. For further reading: See Spencer's blog posts on Arguments From Personal Experiences and Uniformity of Nature Argument. http://unbelieversradio.com/.../personal-religious.../ http://unbelieversradio.com/.../presuppositional.../