I got a tattoo of a cross on my back when I was 18. I'm an atheist now, but I'm not altering the tattoo. For one, it's pretty big, but to me it represents a time in my life. I can't deny that I once believed in Jesus, and obscuring the tattoo is like trying to erase who I was. I see it and I'm reminded not to believe everything blindly, and of the dangers of youth indoctrination.
It really isn't your fault. Most children who are taught for their entire childhood to believe in things which have no evidence have really clouded judgements.
For anyone wondering, here's a bit about Andrew: 1) He doesn't actually know much about anything despite his rambling and his videos (username "Rational Belief in God"). 2) His entire argument for why minds are non-physical is "Neuroscience will never in the future be able to link every aspect of our minds to electrochemical brain states." I'm not joking. 3) On one call, we get the real reason Andrew is a Christian. He gives perhaps the worst reason I've ever heard any Christian give...he was sick and not getting better, opened a Bible because his friend told him to do so, read a random-ass passage, and claims he went to the ER because of this passage and apparently would have died had he not gone. Again, you can't make this shit up.
I don't know who'll read this but I'd just like to say that this show brings me comfort in knowing that there are forces working towards truth. It's very hard sometimes to live in a world of irrationality and a voice like Matt's or Jeff echoes my own thoughts and still manages to alter to perspective. Keep up the good work.
Wow. this was actually one of their best shows ive seen in a while. The hosts showed fantastic patience and were even able to make some of the callers concede the points being made. I applaud the Matt and Jeff and the callers who were honest.
WOW one of the best yet....this show should be on prime time on a major network like NBC but that seems unlikely but atleast you guys are doing what you can to get "The Message" out....BRAVO well done on creating one of the best programs of all time....Just great stuff. Keep up the great work.....cant wait till the next episode
you know... I watch this show all the time and I am always amazed at the information that you can provide so quickly and articulately. Right to the point as well and I love it. Keep it up guys and gals! You are changing lives! Cheers from Canada!
I am stunned. I've been watching the AE for a year, trying to catch up on every ep I've missed, and I had no idea Jeff Dee was THAT Jeff Dee. His pics in Deities & Demigods are inspired! Holy shit!
37:24 to 37:58 this statement is soooo important to me. not just for the reasons of finding out why or how come we are here on earth, but for all forms of progression. like finding a solution to hunger and diseases, instead of hopeing god will fix it. i just wish delisional theists would understand and realize the importance of this message, but unfortunetly most people dont wake up unless something tragic happens in their lives and god doesnt answer their prayers. and sadly most never wake up!
I've heard that "God is a mind" argument before. Obviously it sounds like a ludicrous semantic argument, but I never knew how to rebut it. The fact that we can not point to any mind that exists outside of a physical brain is an excellent counter-argument!
The problem with un-seeable, un-testable, etc., non-"material things", is that there are a virtual infinity of them. No way to distinguish them from fantasy/ imaginary "things"?
Caller with the 'mind existing outside a brain' was a 100% perfect example of a person showing 'Cognitive Dissidence'... [Someone who holds a belief dear to them, that on being shown new evidence that their belief is False, chose to ignore the new evidence, as to remain comfortable with their original False belief]
In neuroscience, we refer to the mind as the end product of a variety of biological substrates designed to allow to navigate within the environment. For the record, we have taken waveforms recorded by the brain after listening to music and reverse engineered these EEG signal to find out they sound almost exactly like the musical stimulus. Meaning, radio waves actually do PHYSICALLY represent the information they are carrying.
@pawnstar3 Good question. I'd been starting to think that we both needed to clarify our positions, so thank you very much for that. I am not at all advocating the abolishment of religion, and I believe I've tried to clarify that several times. I've no objection to people being religious and I haven't even really considered the idea of abolishing it. If nothing else such a thing seems extremely improbable.
@DukeTwicep Parents have a huge impact on their children's lives in all different facets of life. My parents raised me as a Catholic, but when I eventually converted, they 100% accepted that and even started to change their beliefs as well. So it really depends on the parents. The ones who are so fanatical about religion and instill that in their children are really scary.
I pledged to Jeff Dee's efforts to re-create his artwork. I remember those books back when I was 8 and my Dad played those games with his friends in early 90s! I would stare at the pictures of deities and demigods and spend hours drawing. I actually have to thank Jeff for inspiring me into art-related studies I guess.
06:00 Andrew - Meandrews all over the place. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of ... something. 27:30 Brandon - Atheists...even tattooed people might deconvert. So share. 30:00 Azar - Silver bullet counter-apologetic? 38:20 Steve - Why AXP? Moral attributes of (a)theists.
@pawnstar3 I totally agree with you. Most people who believe in some sort of god don't try to directly impose their beliefs on others, and I get along with them just fine for the most part. I shouldn't have said "most" in my last post, my apologies.
@pawnstar3 I'll definitely agree that the lack of good basic education's a huge part of the problem. Healthcare and diverse other things seem rather badly off as well. But, considering what one's seen from the Texas board of education recently, it seems the religious culture and the state of the education are tied into eachother to some degree. I'll definitely agree that there's more going on than just the religiosity. But that doesn't mean that one shouldn't deal with that aspect.
@MagnusNyborg Here's the problem though. God (according to theists) exists outside of the realm of reality. Therefore, we can never possibly completely refute His existence. An atheist's argument stems from logic. A theist's argument stems from faith and a willingness to believe that there are things that exist beyond the sphere of reality. Are you familiar with Dostoevsk'y works? He does a great job of presenting both sides.
@yourallbrainwashed Fair enough. I guess thats the prerogative of being the host, rather than co-host, AND being in control of the mute button (and not the callers)? For me, I kinda prefer it the way it is, otherwise people would just chew up air time with long speeches that have to be discarded to go back to a point at the beginning of their speech. Just my opinion - yours is just as valid as mine. Either way, the show raises some great debates.
@TheHabbadasher I live in Sweden, which is a very non-religious country (partly due to atheist arguments shifting the Overton window). We have our own societal problems, and of course we have what one might call; extremists. However, when I look at the politics that one finds in very religious cultures like Muslim theocracies, Europe in it's earlier history, and the current situation in the U.S, I definitely feel that the non-religious nature of our society is a benefit.
@pawnstar3 It's entirely right to say; "This person did thing X and is entirely responsible for that". But it's also right to look beyond that and say; "Hmm thing X seems to happen a lot more in area Y than in area Z, I wonder if there's a reason for that".
@pawnstar3 (part 4) Sure, if you change things and move past your current problems you’ll end up with brand new problems to deal with. But so what, that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth doing. In dealing with our old problems we may have ended up with new ones, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t worthwhile to deal with our old problems. The fact that new problems may arise doesn't mean that you should just ignore the ones you have..
@pawnstar3 That does indeed somewhat seem to be the case. I would like to note that in my experience, even amongst the fervently anti-religious, the idea of banning religious belief seems extremely uncommon.
@TheHabbadasher I actually discuss this a little bit in a video of mine on here - I think that Dostoevsky was a believer later in his life for practical reasons. If you read The Brothers Karamazov, I actually think Dostoevsky makes stronger cases for the non-existence of God. And yet in the end I think Dostoevsky does what most believers do - he aligns himself with belief because the alternative seems too difficult to swallow.
@blah4418 yes and yes in the earlier texts. If you read the Old Testament, you can see the Hebrews and the Old Testament itself evolve from polytheism into monotheism.
Re: the caller's "consistent arguments" argument All elephants are pink. Nellie is an elephant. Therefore, Nellie is pink. This is a logical argument that is consistent with itself. It is not consistent with reality. When you apply reality to it, you find that not only is it that not all elephants are pink, but there's no evidence that a single pink elephant actually exists. It is an intolerable presumption to then still say that all elephants are pink because the argument is consistent.
Well, thank you Matt for letting me know that you are able to see me through the screen. I will be sure to never watch the Atheist Experience on my smartphone when I am doing my business on the toilet. :p
Okay, Jeff mentioning his art sent me on a googlequest... dude's famous (relatively speaking). I guess I'm a Dee-ist now! And now on to the show... my only comment would be to Steve from Brisbane about sexual diseases being caused by sexual immorality. What about pedophile priests? They're certainly not getting any diseases from their young, virginal prey. There's another hole in your theory.
I got a tattoo of a cross on my back when I was 18. I'm an atheist now, but I'm not altering the tattoo. For one, it's pretty big, but to me it represents a time in my life. I can't deny that I once believed in Jesus, and obscuring the tattoo is like trying to erase who I was. I see it and I'm reminded not to believe everything blindly, and of the dangers of youth indoctrination.
It really isn't your fault. Most children who are taught for their entire childhood to believe in things which have no evidence have really clouded judgements.
Yeah, whatever gets you through the night.
Idiocy x 2.
Just say its a Celtic cross. They look cool.
For anyone wondering, here's a bit about Andrew:
1) He doesn't actually know much about anything despite his rambling and his videos (username "Rational Belief in God").
2) His entire argument for why minds are non-physical is "Neuroscience will never in the future be able to link every aspect of our minds to electrochemical brain states." I'm not joking.
3) On one call, we get the real reason Andrew is a Christian. He gives perhaps the worst reason I've ever heard any Christian give...he was sick and not getting better, opened a Bible because his friend told him to do so, read a random-ass passage, and claims he went to the ER because of this passage and apparently would have died had he not gone. Again, you can't make this shit up.
HAAA..... yup, good summary of this deluded and confused dude.
He has less brain power than a banananana.
I believe the argument is that you CAN make that shlt up.
Jeff Dee you are dearly missed!!!
I'm enjoying my personal relationship with reality. I believe in life before death. I'm an atheist. I'm happy.
The older I get, the more I realize how poisonous religion really is.
+michael mathena I couldnt have said it better myself.Respect Michael
+aretwo deetwo The older I get, the longer I haven't died.
Life before death,you mad man!
Andrew from PA... he couldn't point to a mind without a brain but he sure proved there can be a brain without a mind...
I love Jeff.
Me too...except when he gets in the way of Matt doing serious work on the deranged caller.
My eyes got tired from watching that first guy do mental gymnastics trying to prove God.
Mason Nunya
Scored a 9.5 from the Russian judge lol
I feel sorry for Andrew.
Poor misguided fool.
"If you could reason with religious people, there would be no religious people" Dr. House :-P
I don't know who'll read this but I'd just like to say that this show brings me comfort in knowing that there are forces working towards truth. It's very hard sometimes to live in a world of irrationality and a voice like Matt's or Jeff echoes my own thoughts and still manages to alter to perspective.
Keep up the good work.
lol. I love Jeffs personality! "Let's move on! This guys got nothin'!" xD
That was funny.
@@GuardianofClevelandHeights lol
you guys have the greatest patience ever!!
yay! My favourite host duo!
Jeff Dee's eyebrows look like the Joker's. That's my revelation.
"Is there a difference between maybe and i don't know?"
"I don't know"
"maybe"
They should be stand up comedians :)
24:21 - he's trying to say "i have no brain"
Jeff is awesome
Gotta love those Jeff Dee's Jack Nicholson eye brow's
I live in Montréal, Québec Canada and i love this show.
When I get that feeling, I want secular healing. :P
I think that superman wears his underpants on the outside.
I can't prove It, but it does seem logical.
Jeff just gained so much more respect from me :)
have you ever tried to watch an episode of TAE looking only at Jeff's face, especially between calls? That in itself is a show within the show!!
For the entirety of the first question, I had my face placed firmly against my palm.
Glad to see Jeff Dee in the mix more often.
Wow. this was actually one of their best shows ive seen in a while. The hosts showed fantastic patience and were even able to make some of the callers concede the points being made. I applaud the Matt and Jeff and the callers who were honest.
WOW one of the best yet....this show should be on prime time on a major network like NBC but that seems unlikely but atleast you guys are doing what you can to get "The Message" out....BRAVO well done on creating one of the best programs of all time....Just great stuff. Keep up the great work.....cant wait till the next episode
you know... I watch this show all the time and I am always amazed at the information that you can provide so quickly and articulately. Right to the point as well and I love it. Keep it up guys and gals! You are changing lives! Cheers from Canada!
@TheHabbadasher it is an immense benefit and i admire your society greatly for this decision. cheers from san diego
I am stunned. I've been watching the AE for a year, trying to catch up on every ep I've missed, and I had no idea Jeff Dee was THAT Jeff Dee. His pics in Deities & Demigods are inspired! Holy shit!
I have been told, that Universe Creating Space Pixies are metaphysical. They must be very shy, because nobody has ever seen them.
"A different logic would apply, such as the unity of our position..."
This isn't a "different logic", my theist friend. This is a "double standard".
37:24 to 37:58 this statement is soooo important to me. not just for the reasons of finding out why or how come we are here on earth, but for all forms of progression. like finding a solution to hunger and diseases, instead of hopeing god will fix it.
i just wish delisional theists would understand and realize the importance of this message, but unfortunetly most people dont wake up unless something tragic happens in their lives and god doesnt answer their prayers. and sadly most never wake up!
I am starting to like Steve. He is better informed and had better questions than last week. Learn Steve, learn!
27:40 Bit disappointed that Jeff didn't find that amusing.
Great show. Jeff and Matt are my favourite hosts.
matt, your argument until 19:45 was seriously awesome!
I've heard that "God is a mind" argument before. Obviously it sounds like a ludicrous semantic argument, but I never knew how to rebut it. The fact that we can not point to any mind that exists outside of a physical brain is an excellent counter-argument!
That was one of the better shows. Matt and Jeff rock!
Awesome.
Now prove it.
The problem with un-seeable, un-testable, etc., non-"material things", is that there are a virtual infinity of them. No way to distinguish them from fantasy/ imaginary "things"?
I always love the awkward silence at the end of shows
And he is still kicking ass
Jeff Dee is my hero !!!
"Indirect evidence". Hilarious, kinda like that one guy that said "a faith-like probability" lol
Call starts at 6:01
I might not be in the position to question Andrew's knowledge of the brain, but he sure knows how to hurt mine...
Caller with the 'mind existing outside a brain' was a 100% perfect example of a person showing 'Cognitive Dissidence'... [Someone who holds a belief dear to them, that on being shown new evidence that their belief is False, chose to ignore the new evidence, as to remain comfortable with their original False belief]
Jeff Dee was awesome before I found out he worked for TSR, and now he went up a few steps.
also wanted to say that your scenarios like the chess one give me alot of ammo when discussing these topics with my puers
In neuroscience, we refer to the mind as the end product of a variety of biological substrates designed to allow to navigate within the environment.
For the record, we have taken waveforms recorded by the brain after listening to music and reverse engineered these EEG signal to find out they sound almost exactly like the musical stimulus. Meaning, radio waves actually do PHYSICALLY represent the information they are carrying.
Great show as usual.
@pawnstar3 Good question. I'd been starting to think that we both needed to clarify our positions, so thank you very much for that.
I am not at all advocating the abolishment of religion, and I believe I've tried to clarify that several times.
I've no objection to people being religious and I haven't even really considered the idea of abolishing it. If nothing else such a thing seems extremely improbable.
@DukeTwicep Parents have a huge impact on their children's lives in all different facets of life. My parents raised me as a Catholic, but when I eventually converted, they 100% accepted that and even started to change their beliefs as well. So it really depends on the parents. The ones who are so fanatical about religion and instill that in their children are really scary.
I pledged to Jeff Dee's efforts to re-create his artwork. I remember those books back when I was 8 and my Dad played those games with his friends in early 90s! I would stare at the pictures of deities and demigods and spend hours drawing. I actually have to thank Jeff for inspiring me into art-related studies I guess.
06:00 Andrew - Meandrews all over the place. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of ... something.
27:30 Brandon - Atheists...even tattooed people might deconvert. So share.
30:00 Azar - Silver bullet counter-apologetic?
38:20 Steve - Why AXP? Moral attributes of (a)theists.
Had no idea Jeff did artwork for D&D in the 80s, very cool. I am an avid DM and also do my own D&D-inspired artwork (digital).
Be excellent to each other.
The look on Jeff's face: Priceless!
@pawnstar3 I totally agree with you. Most people who believe in some sort of god don't try to directly impose their beliefs on others, and I get along with them just fine for the most part. I shouldn't have said "most" in my last post, my apologies.
When they talked to each other in the beggining its really funny for some reason haha
Show me that you are not with an illusion? Perfect
sweet artwork Jeff!
@pawnstar3 I'll definitely agree that the lack of good basic education's a huge part of the problem.
Healthcare and diverse other things seem rather badly off as well.
But, considering what one's seen from the Texas board of education recently, it seems the religious culture and the state of the education are tied into eachother to some degree.
I'll definitely agree that there's more going on than just the religiosity. But that doesn't mean that one shouldn't deal with that aspect.
Arguing with Theists is like arguing with Kids. They keep over thinking and that results in them not being able to grasp simple principles...
@MagnusNyborg Here's the problem though. God (according to theists) exists outside of the realm of reality. Therefore, we can never possibly completely refute His existence. An atheist's argument stems from logic. A theist's argument stems from faith and a willingness to believe that there are things that exist beyond the sphere of reality. Are you familiar with Dostoevsk'y works? He does a great job of presenting both sides.
30m 15 seconds, Matt slips something in his mouth very smoothly.
Steve sounds like a nice guy. He sounds like he's inquisitive from his heart. I like that. Ad his timing was perfect.
The irony always seems lost on religious people when i tell to take evolution on faith.
Jeff Dee and Matt Dillahunty my 2 favorite hosts...Caveman Table Top RPG? Sounds like a friggan blast
@yourallbrainwashed
Fair enough. I guess thats the prerogative of being the host, rather than co-host, AND being in control of the mute button (and not the callers)?
For me, I kinda prefer it the way it is, otherwise people would just chew up air time with long speeches that have to be discarded to go back to a point at the beginning of their speech.
Just my opinion - yours is just as valid as mine.
Either way, the show raises some great debates.
I can hear typing yet i dont see them typing. You cant explain that! Magic!
@TheHabbadasher I live in Sweden, which is a very non-religious country (partly due to atheist arguments shifting the Overton window).
We have our own societal problems, and of course we have what one might call; extremists. However, when I look at the politics that one finds in very religious cultures like Muslim theocracies, Europe in it's earlier history, and the current situation in the U.S, I definitely feel that the non-religious nature of our society is a benefit.
@pawnstar3 It's entirely right to say; "This person did thing X and is entirely responsible for that". But it's also right to look beyond that and say; "Hmm thing X seems to happen a lot more in area Y than in area Z, I wonder if there's a reason for that".
Jeff Dee is my favorite guy on the show next to Matt.
@pawnstar3 (part 4)
Sure, if you change things and move past your current problems you’ll end up with brand new problems to deal with. But so what, that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth doing.
In dealing with our old problems we may have ended up with new ones, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t worthwhile to deal with our old problems.
The fact that new problems may arise doesn't mean that you should just ignore the ones you have..
Matt burning the last caller was funny.
After listening to Andrew, my 'mind' just left the planet and went metaphysical.
@pawnstar3 That does indeed somewhat seem to be the case.
I would like to note that in my experience, even amongst the fervently anti-religious, the idea of banning religious belief seems extremely uncommon.
@TheHabbadasher I actually discuss this a little bit in a video of mine on here - I think that Dostoevsky was a believer later in his life for practical reasons. If you read The Brothers Karamazov, I actually think Dostoevsky makes stronger cases for the non-existence of God. And yet in the end I think Dostoevsky does what most believers do - he aligns himself with belief because the alternative seems too difficult to swallow.
Jeff Dee has one of the best jobs ever
ALL Communication occurs within a PHYSICAL medium.
OMG!!! Jeff did art for TSR?!!!
Haha i LOVE how Matt sneaked in his Swedish snus at 30:10 xD. I just quit snusing, but i do know how amazing it feels. Go Matt!
@blah4418 yes and yes in the earlier texts. If you read the Old Testament, you can see the Hebrews and the Old Testament itself evolve from polytheism into monotheism.
really starts at exactly 6:00 :)
@Darkeons Yeah. He was just joking. It was me.
jeff's nerdy tshirts should have their own facebook page.
Atheist call-ins are so boring. Give me the nuts.
Jay Wendt bahaha. Har har. Nice one good sir. Har.
I still can't figure out whether Andrew believes in trees or not..
Re: the caller's "consistent arguments" argument
All elephants are pink.
Nellie is an elephant.
Therefore, Nellie is pink.
This is a logical argument that is consistent with itself. It is not consistent with reality. When you apply reality to it, you find that not only is it that not all elephants are pink, but there's no evidence that a single pink elephant actually exists. It is an intolerable presumption to then still say that all elephants are pink because the argument is consistent.
one thing is for sure , all religions can't be right but they could al be wrong !!!
One Theist could not exist without a Posse. It's a Herd Mentality.
The last caller was the best. LOL
Cant blame him as he waited an hour while other callers had 10+ minutes each.
would've been nice if Jeff chuckled at that at the least, but never mind.
First caller at 06:00
Thumbs up for time saving =)
@Zentz29 I was the last caller and, yeah, I was joking.
Well, thank you Matt for letting me know that you are able to see me through the screen. I will be sure to never watch the Atheist Experience on my smartphone when I am doing my business on the toilet. :p
Okay, Jeff mentioning his art sent me on a googlequest... dude's famous (relatively speaking). I guess I'm a Dee-ist now!
And now on to the show... my only comment would be to Steve from Brisbane about sexual diseases being caused by sexual immorality. What about pedophile priests? They're certainly not getting any diseases from their young, virginal prey. There's another hole in your theory.
@bigmike4758 - That's just it. Actual learning would mean realizing how wrong they are... and when that happens, there's no more need to call.