Please have Jenna back on! She's a great addition to the team. Matt's great as always but was nice to hear Jenna's responses. Well done Jenna, take a bow. 😌
@@jaimefernandez2624 She should be more bold but Matt has the same problem I do with stepping back when I have something to say and letting other people drive the conversation. When he does he looks like he's tuning out. Maybe he also has high functioning autism, not that I have noticed any other symptoms.
Jenna is a great addition to the team. A clear thinking strong presence. Always good to have new perspectives, especially from someone so new to atheism.
I agree. Having a host who recently de-converted, I believe, will be attractive to others who have recently awakened. Folks on the cusp of de-conversion, able to see themselves represented by an actual host, will be so beneficial! Yay Jenna!
@@wesleycurryii3341 "Well, It is proof, it describes what is inside the privacy of your mind. A Dream that you had," Certainly not one I've ever had, when did you start believing you could read minds?
@@SheikhN-bible-syndrome Oh I thought you were trying to make fun of him by saying thanks only to fail because it's atheism and therefore none to thank. My mistake. The the thing with it being plural is due to the insultive idiot above your comment, had I not mistaken you though it would be singular and in reference to him.
"I want to use a syllogism." "Do you know the difference between validity and soundness when it comes to logical conclusions?" "No." Advice: Don't use syllogisms.
I respect his honesty and willingness to understand. I don't think it's easy for someone to admit something they don't know. Hopefully he looks into it so he can have properly working syllogisms.
Just started listening last week. My dad has been following Matt for over ten years and I can't believe how much I've been missing out. I'm really impressed and excited to be apart of AEs future. Thank you all!
It's rare to hear a caller as respectful, sincere and open to the rules of debate and civil discourse as Thomas. Keep calling in, man - you allow for a better form of discussion.
My thoughts exactly, it seems He truly wants to learn and improve His reasoning. Das that he insist in starting with His conclusion and trys to proof god, instead just researching and seeing where that leads him to.
Two hours of deeply insightful commentary, and to Jenna, most Catholics I know who develop doubts, become lapsed Catholics. Deep respect to you. You threw Pascal's Wager in the rubbish bin where it belongs.
Please please please have Jenna back. She is an incredible addition to the team, and it was so refreshing to have a new face, and a new perspective, especially one so new to skepticism. A+ Jenna. Well done.
Jenna, greatly appreciate the conversation you had with a caller about prayer. I wanted to so desperately believe prayer would solve my problems. Overtime, I became painfully aware I had been betrayed by the religion I was taught to believe & people I trusted.
I like Matt too but I would like to see him allow co-hosts more time to speak. I dont like how he often ignores input from co-hosts and doesnt allow co hosts to follow a line of argument.
I'm sorry for your loss... and it gives me hope to see the fellowship in your kindness. Listening to the call I got nervous early on (I'm a crisis counselor), and I was fearful that he would keep missing the signs (easy to do) and continue to address the argument instead of the emotion there... but he did a beautiful, beautiful job. Better than I could have, and I'm a better person for hearing his particular approach.
He uses that term intentionally, knowing how uninformed/nonsensical it sounds, in order to really drive home (pun unintended) the point that he's not a sports fan. It's like I say I'm not a "giddyup horses guy" if it's well established that I'm not a follower of the Kentucky Derby. It's a comical way to address how disinterested I am.
I think there is a parallel between atheism and disinterest in sports. The more enlightened you become the more you realize that major corporations like religions of sports franchises are designed to sell you a product of nothing for huge profit. In A Bronx Tale Chazz Palminteri says in effect "What did Mickey Mantle ever do for you?" Fairly good point. It's sheep mentality to follow sports.
@@notwhatiwasraised2b Good, that's how any rational being should approach any and all claims especially extraordinary claims like being abducted or sucking Jesus balls.
Actually REALLY loved the 1st caller. He is listening, going away to learn and then coming back and still admitting he is not quite right and wants to go dig more. Thats all you can ask!
I like Jenna, keep her on! You're doing great and your way of giving the callers an alternative argument to help them see their mistakes is great keep it up!
I am loving Jenna as a host. She has been great at sort of "dummying down" to the callers's level, and keeping it simple. She does great socratic work, and she's so easy at it. Great job, Jenna!
@@wesleycurryii3341 Twelve pancakes in a canoe. Elephants playing crib. The fence posts are leaning north. Volkswagen transmissions are sometimes four and othertimes five speed. Radio tuned to 98.1. Boston cream pie, always Boston cream pie. Fuck god and all who think they worship gods as they are only worshiping the noises in their heads. Alphabet soup running down your leg. Get back on your medications Wesley! " I try to deny myself any illusions or delusions, and I think that this perhaps entitles me to try and deny the same to others, at least as long as they refuse to keep their fantasies to themselves." Christopher Hitchens
Welcome Jenna! This was one of the greatest if not the greatest shows of the hundreds I've watch so far. Your time caring and working to help Sean was one of the most heart felt honest caring I've seen. Keep up the great work guys! As a life long Atheist I learn some much still from all of you. Have Jenna back she's great
Probably my favorite episode ever Matt was so clear and well spoken! His arguments on these so all to common apologetics were one death nail after another
I really like that Jenna also interjects when Matt leads the discussion! This way you can find more ways to bring your arguments across. Also she is very polite which most of the time will also help with getting the point across and not cause the caller to instinctively build a mental wall.
Anyone saying Matt is mean is full of shit. He is a hardass when it is warranted and an absolutely awesome human when needed. Sean needed a human and he got the best one. I actually teared up here. good googlymoogly son! Jenna was great! Looking forward to hearing more from her.
Jenna's great, she actually got some words in past Matt, unlike many other co-hosts! Love Matt, but it is nice to hear another voice in the discussion. Keep Jenna around!
'Hope keeps away despair.' - beautifully said, Matt. 💖 As self aware beings, life feels like an exercise in coping as we wait to see how it ends. Hope is one of those coping tools, as is love, dissociation, art, meditation, venting to a friend, foolish games and conceptualization, delusion and logic. Long books and nonsense; whatever sees us through this journey.
I second this. You're not alone out there, Sean. Talk to someone. Talk to more people. Talk to a therapist. And even if we may be polishing the brass on the titanic, we'll look damn fine as we go down, and that's at least something to hold on to. It's what I hold on to.
One of the best episodes in a long time. I especially liked the first two callers and I hope the last caller gets the help he needs and I hope he gets better :)
Pascals argument: Better be safe than sorry when dealing with a genocidal tribal maniac that supports, rape, murder and slavery. Just kidding. He's not that bad.
The last caller and the topic really got to me. I know the feeling of having lost hope. It's a dark place. Jenna and Matt did a good job dealing with it and it was a good reminder for me as well. Keep trying
Agreed... sometimes things seem hopeless and you honestly can't see the good in anything and absolutely everything is completely fucking hopeless... It's so hard to break the loop... professional therapy can be helpful...
I'm new to this, I've never believed in God or anything religion wise, Matt, you're giving me answers that I've been looking for, till my mind wither away, you are my resource about the truth. Thank you.
@@notwhatiwasraised2b True though Technicaly we do know the "truth" in the sense that there's no truth out there. What we know, our knowledge is an accumulate of our ability to draw hypothesis and theories on all avaliable evidence and test those to reach the most accurate conclusions. There's no knowledge out there "apart" from us and no "truth" because that's just the religious misusing terms to sell their snake oil cure for a illness of their own creation. Basically(religion) it's simple tribalism only blind and suffers all the same problems, ie in out mentality, shunning the out group etc.
That's right, it's one thing to be sure there are flaws in what some people around you believe, it's another thing to be able to express to them what the flaws are, especially when they don't want to hear it, I was once a believer myself ages ago, although I was on the way out even back then and this was one of the challenges I myself had when I was still going to church and trying to hang on to it all was that even though I could see the problems, I was unable to express them very well to other believers so that I could get them to see the problems that I could see with the whole thing. I would read the Bible and I could see all the conflicts and contradictions within it, I could see that the whole God concept had so many holes in it but at the same time, I still wanted to believe it and I needed those other Christians to reassure me, the problem (so I thought at the time) was that because I was unable to explain to them very well what I could see was wrong with it all, they dismissed what I was saying and they weren't able to specifically address the reasons I had for those doubts I was having inside. However, I guess you could say that my inability to express why I was having doubts about the Bible and the existence of God was a blessing in disguise (no pun intended) because it meant the problems I had weren't addressed by those believers in a way that would have been biased and no doubt false, they were independently addressed and I was then able to eventually find my way out of it, it took many years, first, I went through a bit of a "deist" phase, then I went through an "I'm not really an atheist I'm an agnostic" phase. I guess for a long time I was avoiding calling myself 'an atheist' because it sounded so decided and I certainly didn't feel decided,, eventually though, I began to get a lot more comfortable with calling myself an atheist and realized that it doesn't mean I can't still be open-minded, like most, I am a 'soft atheist' for lack of a better description, which is another way of saying I am not convinced a God exists but wouldn't be prepared to assert 'no God exists' either because I am not sure if it would be even possible to prove and we should never assert unless we can prove what we assert, to be honest, I've yet to meet a fellow atheist who is of the hard variety although I am sure they exist, I suspect though that if they did try to prove no God exists, they would get into a lot of trouble, I think it's best for us not to even go there, personally speaking, best wishes.
@@JohnCashin Thanks for sharing your story.) There are indeed "hard atheist" to use yours terms. However it's not necessary to prove per se a god or whatever don't exist, to make this non existing claim one really only needs to present enough circumstancial evidence to incure enough doubt for the conclusion to NE justified. Evidence don't have to be perfectly conclusive and absolute to reach an justified conclusion, especially when the evidence for is severely lacking or in this case, complete non existant. However theistic thinking in absolutes so anything but absolute conclusiveness is waved away. Per the traditional aphorism, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence", positive evidence of this kind is distinct from a lack of evidence or ignorance of that which should have been found already, had it existed, in this regard Irving Copi writes: "In some circumstances it can be safely assumed that if a certain event had occurred, evidence of it could be discovered by qualified investigators. In such circumstances it is perfectly reasonable to take the absence of proof of its occurrence as positive proof of its non-occurrence." - Copi, Introduction to Logic(1953), p. 95 So, while atheism isn't the preposition "God doesn't excist" it is completely rational to claim it by taking the absence/non-occurrence of God aswell as the consistent failure of everything else directly and or vaguely connected to God such as prayer, faith healing and miracles etc and so on as positive evidenced for his non excistance. While negative claims also have something of a burden of proof, this particular claim is a "null hypothesis", we all live without God everyday and there's still no evidence for him. Explenation time. It is the default position or a Null hypothesis that lacks a burden of proof. A null hypothesis is the best claim that can be made in the absence of any evidence. Claims of existence of a new object or a new relationship is not a null hypothesis- it requires a proof. Therefore, many times, negative claims coincide with a null hypothesis and they are free from a burden of proof. However, there are some negative claims that don't coincide with a null hypothesis and they are not free from a burden of proof. Whenever a negative claim is made as a _counter point_ to a previous claim, it needs a proof. In fact the Wiki page mentiones on the subject says : "A negative claim may exist as a counter point to a previous claim. A proof of impossibility or an evidence of absence argument are typical methods to fulfill the burden of proof for a negative claim." Let us take a simple example. To say that there is no big planet after Neptune is a null hypothesis. However, to say that Neptune itself doesn't actually exist is a negative claim but not a null hypothesis. This is not free from a burden of proof. This claim needs to be substantiated by proving that all the evidence we have for Neptune is due to something else and not the planet.
Jenna did a great job. Her questions and comments were insightful. And she managed to do what a lot of co hosts can seem to do, which is to add something meaningful to the conversation without monopolizing it by talking too much. I think y'all should have her on again!
Context: Sean - Pennsylvania A year ago my brothers eldest daughter was feeling poorly, she was tired, had headaches and would loose her balance. My brother took her to the doctor and I thought nothing much of it, millions visit the doctor every year and with or without treatment they get better. I get a call at 11pm asking me to prepare a bed for his younger daughter and to bring him a bag of stuff at the hospital. Now I'm a bit concerned but doctors can do a lot so I'm hopeful. I get to the hospital and she's in surgery because they found a mass in her brain and need to relieve pressure and take a biopsy, so my hope takes a hit. The next morning we get the results telling us she has a DIPG and 6 months to 2 years to live with treatment, my hope of full recovery was gone. 6 weeks later she had an amazing response to treatment surprising her doctors and the 2 year window with minimal suffering became our new reasonable hope. 5 months after her initial diagnoses she passed away following a short rapid decline in her health and in the time she had we packed as much joy in we could. Hope appropriate to her condition was comforting, even though she didn't make her 6th birthday by less than 3 month. As a side note, the Atheists in the family have processed her passing better than the Christians. I think something inherent in religion kept them in denial longer, adjusting for individual relation to her.
Logical Psycho he seems to be putting forward the Buddhist position, namely that there is ‘something’ than goes on after our body is finished. It’s the old ‘candle lighting another candle’ proposition.
@@Fluffykeith go watch the most recent godless bitches episode. It seems pretty evident jen and tracie (not sure about john) disagreed with the way the rationallty rules issue was handled by the ACA and many of the viewers on all sides. Also there were elections within the ACA recently i believe so the results from that may have played a role.
I'm among the thousands of people who hv a different perspective on life n belief after watching this show for the past year..thank you Matt n The Atheist Experience..thanks a lot..
Really enjoyed the show, and thanks for taking the time. I'll join the Chorus thanking Jenna, and also say I think you were great. Thanks Matt, you are a god! ;)
@@vanceelliottwright2341 - Yeah, I was expecting more from that analogy. If you 'turn off' a human the consciousness stops just like when you turn off a computer, it stops functioning.
For a first appearance I’m really impressed with Jenna’s style with callers. Great addition to the presenting gang. Looking forward to future episodes with her 👍
I am always amazed at how long it takes theists to answer questions that should be yes/no off the bat. They are always looking for a trap. "Do you believe in slavery?" silence......
In case Sean would ever see this. Don't ever take on that guilt or blame from someone taking their own life. You only get to that point when life is truly hard from the inside. And your Friend would never say you could do more. When you are at that point. You and your own pain is all you have. Cherish the memory of your Friend be sad he's gone, and live life event more yourself. You Sound like a great guy!
Thanks for just shutting down Duke when he was constantly ranting and talking over the hosts. He wasn't listening. It really bugs me when callers do that.
Dear Matt, You supposedly are this hard-cored, cold, asshole(self-admitted) atheist, but during this calm conversation with Sean at around 1:52:00 where he revealed the problem he was having over his friend's suicide, you switched to a totally supportive role, again revealing the good person you really are. I don't care if you don't have a psychology degree or are not a licensed therapist, your words were what Sean needed to hear and I applaud the reasoned humanity that you exhibited. Even the Atheist Experience audience, who had been enjoying the conversation and chuckling over what appeared to be another 'nutty' theist caller, quieted down and allowed the seriousness of your conversation to unfold. My compliments to you, and to Jenna as well for her contributions. Mark ZumMallen
With how plastic the brain is, and how pathetically terrible humans are at being rational, and how prone to biases they are, it's not really surprising that there are dozens of reasons why people hold on to such beliefs for decades even.
That means as of the last census, there are 2.3-billion Christians on the earth to surprise you. If you add the Moslems and Hindus, there are about 5.8-billion people worldwide who will surprise you. Atheists remain a fringe, whacko group. lol
@@jamesgossweiler1349 And yet the Muslims surprise the Christias the Christians surprise the Muslims, and both are appalled by the Hindus, and vice versa. It's all a shitshow - how glad I am I brought my popcorn. To me none of it is surprising, given the million years if our tribal past, and the realities I mentioned in my previous comment.
@@jamesgossweiler1349 Yeah who would believe that in 2019 we have people that believe in talking snakes and donkeys and talking burning bushes. Who knew that people believed in winged horses and people who could live in a fish or that witches should be killed along with homosexuals. Who knew that human sacrifice was reasonable and that people are so stupid they believe in zombies. Of course most of the people around the world that believe in this dirvil are uneducated dumb asses that don't have access to clean water and don't know that the earth orbits the sun. You may identify with a group of slack jawed snake handlers and be proud of your ignorance but your days are numbered. Atheists are the fastest growing group of categories when the religious question is asked.
Hi Neal! There are so many factual errors in your comments, I'm not sure where to begin. I don't have enough time to cover them all, so I'll just pick a few. There are no narratives about "zombies" in the Bible, so I'm not sure how to address this. There are no records of Jews or Christians performing "human sacrifice" in Scripture either, so I don't know how to address this either. It is true however than people before the Jews and Christians sacrificed people including children but again, this predates the Bible (search Canaanites). Atheists are not the not the "fastest growing religious group." As odd as it sounds, Wiccans and other pagans are. Worldwide atheist numbers are growing but as a percentage of the world's population it's not changing. Why not? People of faith have more children. In 50-years, the typical kid will be either Christian, Moslem, or Hindu. Search online Pew Research about growth projections in world religions. At present, there are 2.3-billion Christians alone...add the Moslems and Hindus and atheists and "nones" are out-numbered about 30 to 1.
I love you Matt Dillahunty...in the face of 15 years of beating your head against a wall you still show genuine compassion and understanding..😍😍
Please have Jenna back on! She's a great addition to the team. Matt's great as always but was nice to hear Jenna's responses. Well done Jenna, take a bow. 😌
In my opinion Jenna sounded like a good mix of Tracy and Jen, when Matt didn't dominate the time. lol
@@jaimefernandez2624 She should be more bold but Matt has the same problem I do with stepping back when I have something to say and letting other people drive the conversation.
When he does he looks like he's tuning out.
Maybe he also has high functioning autism, not that I have noticed any other symptoms.
@@rarrmonkey not zoning out he's reading the live chat comments on his computer.
Jenna is a great addition to the team. A clear thinking strong presence. Always good to have new perspectives, especially from someone so new to atheism.
I agree. Having a host who recently de-converted, I believe, will be attractive to others who have recently awakened. Folks on the cusp of de-conversion, able to see themselves represented by an actual host, will be so beneficial! Yay Jenna!
Agree 100%
Her contributions were few, but they were real zingers for sure. Good work, Jenna!
@@wesleycurryii3341 "Well, It is proof, it describes what is inside the privacy of your mind. A Dream that you had," Certainly not one I've ever had, when did you start believing you could read minds?
Wesley, Retrograde ? Sounds like you’re describing god of the old testament
Thomas is a great caller. He actually listens, and tries his best to respond honestly.
see my comment i just left
I thought he was just wasting everyone's time
He tries his best to desperately and frantically avoid answering any question or being pinned down on anything.
@@Blerrycat I don't think you understand the purpose of this show. Pretty sure every host would say the same to you.
Thomas is my favorite caller. He's honest, takes criticism & comes back for more.
Lemmy Head
He’s young and asking all the right questions
He's pretty smart!
Love how Jenna changed the dynamic! Instantly respectable and her and Matt compliment each other very well!
This show really saved my life. I really can’t thank you enough.
So this show is like Jesus to you, yeah okay.
Amennnnnnn .....oh....ummm .... I mean thank you jesssss.....crap....uhhhhh....I mean yeah me too! Haha
Great to hear it 👍😁.
Don't bother with these trolls, religion draws the recluse of humanity and these are fine examples. Lol
@@guytheincognito4186 "troll"not "trolls" I was making a joke about Christians
@@SheikhN-bible-syndrome
Oh I thought you were trying to make fun of him by saying thanks only to fail because it's atheism and therefore none to thank. My mistake.
The the thing with it being plural is due to the insultive idiot above your comment, had I not mistaken you though it would be singular and in reference to him.
"I want to use a syllogism."
"Do you know the difference between validity and soundness when it comes to logical conclusions?"
"No."
Advice: Don't use syllogisms.
These colorful fancy word arguments are proof that god wants us to get to know him.
@@JamesRichardWiley If god is an introductory logic book, then I agree.
Something is true.
Bad syllogisms are something.
Therefore bad syllogisms are true.
I respect his honesty and willingness to understand. I don't think it's easy for someone to admit something they don't know. Hopefully he looks into it so he can have properly working syllogisms.
....and Jenna's smile says it all!
👍 Jenna! Good addition to the show.
Agreed. She was a good co-host.
Matt was better,
She didn't say much and when she did,
She was only interrupting.
She has a great voice. She had unique analogies and different paths to talk to a few callers. So refreshing.
Just started listening last week. My dad has been following Matt for over ten years and I can't believe how much I've been missing out. I'm really impressed and excited to be apart of AEs future. Thank you all!
It's rare to hear a caller as respectful, sincere and open to the rules of debate and civil discourse as Thomas. Keep calling in, man - you allow for a better form of discussion.
My thoughts exactly, it seems He truly wants to learn and improve His reasoning. Das that he insist in starting with His conclusion and trys to proof god, instead just researching and seeing where that leads him to.
Two hours of deeply insightful commentary, and to Jenna, most Catholics I know who develop doubts, become lapsed Catholics. Deep respect to you. You threw Pascal's Wager in the rubbish bin where it belongs.
Loving Jenna. She's a breath of fresh air to the show.
Love Jenna! Hope to see much more of her!
Please please please have Jenna back. She is an incredible addition to the team, and it was so refreshing to have a new face, and a new perspective, especially one so new to skepticism. A+ Jenna. Well done.
Jenna, greatly appreciate the conversation you had with a caller about prayer. I wanted to so desperately believe prayer would solve my problems. Overtime, I became painfully aware I had been betrayed by the religion I was taught to believe & people I trusted.
Matt I love you you have come a long way thank you for all your work.
I like Matt too but I would like to see him allow co-hosts more time to speak. I dont like how he often ignores input from co-hosts and doesnt allow co hosts to follow a line of argument.
Totally agree, I really like Matt
He is great, it was annoying the way she kept interrupting though.
Well Done Jenna.
And to Matt, as someone who lost a child to suicide and lost hope - I say you are brilliant.
I'm sorry for your loss... and it gives me hope to see the fellowship in your kindness. Listening to the call I got nervous early on (I'm a crisis counselor), and I was fearful that he would keep missing the signs (easy to do) and continue to address the argument instead of the emotion there... but he did a beautiful, beautiful job. Better than I could have, and I'm a better person for hearing his particular approach.
Jenna is smart, intelligent, and quick.
I would thoroughly enjoy knowing her.
i would thoroughly enjoy her too
@@ToadrixAce
;-) I see what you did there.
Yeah.
@@guytheincognito4186
I knew some juvenile dicks would do this.
@@johnlopperman2161 lighten up dude
"I'm not a sports ball guy."
That right there is definitive proof that Matt is not lying about not being into sports. :)
He uses that term intentionally, knowing how uninformed/nonsensical it sounds, in order to really drive home (pun unintended) the point that he's not a sports fan. It's like I say I'm not a "giddyup horses guy" if it's well established that I'm not a follower of the Kentucky Derby. It's a comical way to address how disinterested I am.
Zoolander: *cough cough...."Who's winning the match, pop?"
I think there is a parallel between atheism and disinterest in sports. The more enlightened you become the more you realize that major corporations like religions of sports franchises are designed to sell you a product of nothing for huge profit. In A Bronx Tale Chazz Palminteri says in effect "What did Mickey Mantle ever do for you?" Fairly good point. It's sheep mentality to follow sports.
@@csabo1725 And I don't accept your claim until and unless you can persuade me it's true...with evidence and rationality.
@@notwhatiwasraised2b
Good, that's how any rational being should approach any and all claims especially extraordinary claims like being abducted or sucking Jesus balls.
Actually REALLY loved the 1st caller. He is listening, going away to learn and then coming back and still admitting he is not quite right and wants to go dig more.
Thats all you can ask!
I like Jenna, keep her on! You're doing great and your way of giving the callers an alternative argument to help them see their mistakes is great keep it up!
I like that Thomas guy. He is always honest when he calls and obviously puts a lot of effort in researching and trying to learn.
Jenna was fantastic, she jumped without fear. It was great to see uniquely that she came from a catholic background .
I am loving Jenna as a host. She has been great at sort of "dummying down" to the callers's level, and keeping it simple. She does great socratic work, and she's so easy at it. Great job, Jenna!
🎶Duke, duke, duke
Duke is wrong,
Duke, duke,
Duke is wrong... 🎵
Duke, Duke, Duke... (you) goose.
Jenna is awesome! Hope to see/hear much more of her!
@@wesleycurryii3341 Twelve pancakes in a canoe. Elephants playing crib. The fence posts are leaning north. Volkswagen transmissions are sometimes four and othertimes five speed. Radio tuned to 98.1. Boston cream pie, always Boston cream pie. Fuck god and all who think they worship gods as they are only worshiping the noises in their heads. Alphabet soup running down your leg. Get back on your medications Wesley!
" I try to deny myself any illusions or delusions, and I think that this perhaps entitles me to try and deny the same to others, at least as long as they refuse to keep their fantasies to themselves." Christopher Hitchens
omg, that last call with Sean is exactly what I needed to hear.... I'm glad I took the time to listen completely through....
1:50:09 The sound he made was cringeworthy! What the hell was that?
Powerful ending Matt, and Jenna, well said.
Welcome Jenna! This was one of the greatest if not the greatest shows of the hundreds I've watch so far. Your time caring and working to help Sean was one of the most heart felt honest caring I've seen. Keep up the great work guys! As a life long Atheist I learn some much still from all of you. Have Jenna back she's great
Probably my favorite episode ever Matt was so clear and well spoken! His arguments on these so all to common apologetics were one death nail after another
*knell
Thanks
Jenna seems honest, sincere, and funny. I hope she had a good experience co-hosting, and wants to do more shows.
I really like that Jenna also interjects when Matt leads the discussion! This way you can find more ways to bring your arguments across. Also she is very polite which most of the time will also help with getting the point across and not cause the caller to instinctively build a mental wall.
Anyone saying Matt is mean is full of shit. He is a hardass when it is warranted and an absolutely awesome human when needed. Sean needed a human and he got the best one. I actually teared up here. good googlymoogly son!
Jenna was great! Looking forward to hearing more from her.
First time I ever read a comment with a Grady reference!
@@MafiosoGame hahaha I actually heard it first on the kyle kulinski show
Jenna is a solid choice and can relate well to those who call in.
Jenna's great, she actually got some words in past Matt, unlike many other co-hosts! Love Matt, but it is nice to hear another voice in the discussion. Keep Jenna around!
"Hope is just something you want to happen."
Can't argue with that.
'Hope keeps away despair.' - beautifully said, Matt. 💖
As self aware beings, life feels like an exercise in coping as we wait to see how it ends. Hope is one of those coping tools, as is love, dissociation, art, meditation, venting to a friend, foolish games and conceptualization, delusion and logic. Long books and nonsense; whatever sees us through this journey.
Note to self:
Don't use analogies with stupid people, they don't get the concept to begin with.
That would be like trying to teach calculus to tree moss. (No one gets sarcasm anymore...)
COUGH *clint* COUGH.
Damn, that final call was so real. Hang in there, Sean. The data says there's at least some good things in store. Keep on keeping on.
I second this. You're not alone out there, Sean. Talk to someone. Talk to more people. Talk to a therapist. And even if we may be polishing the brass on the titanic, we'll look damn fine as we go down, and that's at least something to hold on to. It's what I hold on to.
@@GodForHire I mean, maybe, but I doubt it. The thoughts he was expressing can do that to you.
I like how Clint bursts into nervous laughter whenever he realizes he's been checkmated.
Laughter is a reaction to new information which is not as you expect.
It's why jokes work, and why they don't work as effectively the second time.
I respect that he can laugh at himself at least.
Jenna is awesome. She should do an episode with Tracie Harris 💚🌱
Sadly, that's unlikely, since it's my understanding that Tracie is no longer with the show. Same goes for Jen Peeples and John.
Hi Jenna
I’m also a recovered catholic and feel free from fear
You have an enchanting smile
Love from Melbourne Australia ❤️❤️❤️
One of the best episodes in a long time.
I especially liked the first two callers and I hope the last caller gets the help he needs and I hope he gets better :)
-Geniuses are human
-I am human
-Therefore I am a Genius
Imagine if that was how logic worked
Is this not the argument Trump makes?
@@gnoxycat gottim
gnoxycat Hilary is still using it
@@SNORKYMEDIA Who is Hilary?
@@gnoxycat
She was our last hope...
Clint is presenting a Pascal's wager argument on steroids
Pascals argument: Better be safe than sorry when dealing with a genocidal tribal maniac that supports, rape, murder and slavery.
Just kidding. He's not that bad.
Woody Rooper There is only one God and His name is Allah. ☝️
@Woody Rooper Proof?
@Woody Rooper You haven't put anything to debunk
@Woody Rooper Then what have you put that can be debunked?
oh my god, He actually face palmed with clint. that was great
I missed it :'-o care to give the time it happened if you can spot it from memory? (I often listen to the show with the browser in background)
42:55
@@MehYam2112 My man :'-) Thank you!
I face palmed at the same time.
Jenna is most welcome. Very knowledgeable.
Jenna is an excellent addition to the show, I hope she becomes a staple.
Jenna well done! a breath of fresh air and great addition to the team.
Keep Jenna, she’s good. I was just thinking of the “off computer” analogy and she said it.
The last caller and the topic really got to me. I know the feeling of having lost hope. It's a dark place.
Jenna and Matt did a good job dealing with it and it was a good reminder for me as well. Keep trying
Agreed... sometimes things seem hopeless and you honestly can't see the good in anything and absolutely everything is completely fucking hopeless... It's so hard to break the loop... professional therapy can be helpful...
I'm new to this, I've never believed in God or anything religion wise, Matt, you're giving me answers that I've been looking for, till my mind wither away, you are my resource about the truth. Thank you.
Matt doesn't know 'the truth' either, but he is pretty good at identifying fallacious reasoning.
@@notwhatiwasraised2b
True though Technicaly we do know the "truth" in the sense that there's no truth out there.
What we know, our knowledge is an accumulate of our ability to draw hypothesis and theories on all avaliable evidence and test those to reach the most accurate conclusions.
There's no knowledge out there "apart" from us and no "truth" because that's just the religious misusing terms to sell their snake oil cure for a illness of their own creation.
Basically(religion) it's simple tribalism only blind and suffers all the same problems, ie in out mentality, shunning the out group etc.
That's right, it's one thing to be sure there are flaws in what some people around you believe, it's another thing to be able to express to them what the flaws are, especially when they don't want to hear it, I was once a believer myself ages ago, although I was on the way out even back then and this was one of the challenges I myself had when I was still going to church and trying to hang on to it all was that even though I could see the problems, I was unable to express them very well to other believers so that I could get them to see the problems that I could see with the whole thing.
I would read the Bible and I could see all the conflicts and contradictions within it, I could see that the whole God concept had so many holes in it but at the same time, I still wanted to believe it and I needed those other Christians to reassure me, the problem (so I thought at the time) was that because I was unable to explain to them very well what I could see was wrong with it all, they dismissed what I was saying and they weren't able to specifically address the reasons I had for those doubts I was having inside.
However, I guess you could say that my inability to express why I was having doubts about the Bible and the existence of God was a blessing in disguise (no pun intended) because it meant the problems I had weren't addressed by those believers in a way that would have been biased and no doubt false, they were independently addressed and I was then able to eventually find my way out of it, it took many years, first, I went through a bit of a "deist" phase, then I went through an "I'm not really an atheist I'm an agnostic" phase.
I guess for a long time I was avoiding calling myself 'an atheist' because it sounded so decided and I certainly didn't feel decided,, eventually though, I began to get a lot more comfortable with calling myself an atheist and realized that it doesn't mean I can't still be open-minded, like most, I am a 'soft atheist' for lack of a better description, which is another way of saying I am not convinced a God exists but wouldn't be prepared to assert 'no God exists' either because I am not sure if it would be even possible to prove and we should never assert unless we can prove what we assert, to be honest, I've yet to meet a fellow atheist who is of the hard variety although I am sure they exist, I suspect though that if they did try to prove no God exists, they would get into a lot of trouble, I think it's best for us not to even go there, personally speaking, best wishes.
@@JohnCashin
Thanks for sharing your story.)
There are indeed "hard atheist" to use yours terms.
However it's not necessary to prove per se a god or whatever don't exist, to make this non existing claim one really only needs to present enough circumstancial evidence to incure enough doubt for the conclusion to NE justified. Evidence don't have to be perfectly conclusive and absolute to reach an justified conclusion, especially when the evidence for is severely lacking or in this case, complete non existant.
However theistic thinking in absolutes so anything but absolute conclusiveness is waved away.
Per the traditional aphorism, "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence", positive evidence of this kind is distinct from a lack of evidence or ignorance of that which should have been found already, had it existed, in this regard Irving Copi writes:
"In some circumstances it can be safely assumed that if a certain event had occurred, evidence of it could be discovered by qualified investigators. In such circumstances it is perfectly reasonable to take the absence of proof of its occurrence as positive proof of its non-occurrence."
- Copi, Introduction to Logic(1953), p. 95
So, while atheism isn't the preposition "God doesn't excist" it is completely rational to claim it by taking the absence/non-occurrence of God aswell as the consistent failure of everything else directly and or vaguely connected to God such as prayer, faith healing and miracles etc and so on as positive evidenced for his non excistance.
While negative claims also have something of a burden of proof, this particular claim is a "null hypothesis", we all live without God everyday and there's still no evidence for him.
Explenation time.
It is the default position or a Null hypothesis that lacks a burden of proof. A null hypothesis is the best claim that can be made in the absence of any evidence. Claims of existence of a new object or a new relationship is not a null hypothesis- it requires a proof. Therefore, many times, negative claims coincide with a null hypothesis and they are free from a burden of proof.
However, there are some negative claims that don't coincide with a null hypothesis and they are not free from a burden of proof. Whenever a negative claim is made as a _counter point_ to a previous claim, it needs a proof. In fact the Wiki page mentiones on the subject says :
"A negative claim may exist as a counter point to a previous claim. A proof of impossibility or an evidence of absence argument are typical methods to fulfill the burden of proof for a negative claim."
Let us take a simple example. To say that there is no big planet after Neptune is a null hypothesis. However, to say that Neptune itself doesn't actually exist is a negative claim but not a null hypothesis. This is not free from a burden of proof. This claim needs to be substantiated by proving that all the evidence we have for Neptune is due to something else and not the planet.
I hope my last comment makes sense, sorry to all for it being somewhat long winded, it couldn't really be helped. :-P
Jenna is fantastic. A young Tracie in the making. Matt was right bringing her on ACA and AXP 👍🏼
Those are two beautiful hosts right there
i agree half heartedly with u
@@RunAround7510 me too. 😝
Jenna is a great addition. I love how vocal she is.
This was a great show. I like how it dealt with people existential crisis instead of debating a book. Well done.
Jenna did a great job. Her questions and comments were insightful. And she managed to do what a lot of co hosts can seem to do, which is to add something meaningful to the conversation without monopolizing it by talking too much. I think y'all should have her on again!
Thomaaaas!!!
Cutest little guy on the show.
So, so hopeful!
So I guess my sylogism is not sound or valid. Breaking my heart, man!!!
😂😂😂
Right?! He is such a sweety. Bet he is a super nice company.
Good job Jenna! Hope to see you in lots of future shows on this channel.
All dogs have legs.
I have legs.
Therefore I am a dog.
All dogs have four legs
My cat have four legs
Therefore my cat is a dog.
@@sgtlucifer6883 I live in my house.
My hamster lives in my house.
Therefore I am my hamster.
Context: Sean - Pennsylvania
A year ago my brothers eldest daughter was feeling poorly, she was tired, had headaches and would loose her balance.
My brother took her to the doctor and I thought nothing much of it, millions visit the doctor every year and with or without treatment they get better.
I get a call at 11pm asking me to prepare a bed for his younger daughter and to bring him a bag of stuff at the hospital. Now I'm a bit concerned but doctors can do a lot so I'm hopeful.
I get to the hospital and she's in surgery because they found a mass in her brain and need to relieve pressure and take a biopsy, so my hope takes a hit.
The next morning we get the results telling us she has a DIPG and 6 months to 2 years to live with treatment, my hope of full recovery was gone.
6 weeks later she had an amazing response to treatment surprising her doctors and the 2 year window with minimal suffering became our new reasonable hope.
5 months after her initial diagnoses she passed away following a short rapid decline in her health and in the time she had we packed as much joy in we could.
Hope appropriate to her condition was comforting, even though she didn't make her 6th birthday by less than 3 month.
As a side note, the Atheists in the family have processed her passing better than the Christians. I think something inherent in religion kept them in denial longer, adjusting for individual relation to her.
Good first show for Jenna - may there be many more :)
Thumbs up for Jenna! Quick, sharp and witty. She's a great co-host!
I'd love to move to Austin. If only it wasn't in Texas.
Having lived in Texas for a year and a half, I can stand behind that comment. No offense AXP, I still appreciate the shows and ideas.
Trump is only up 3 points in Texas.
@@greyeyed123 The fact that he is up at all gives me no hope for Texas.
ABC News now has him up only 2 points. There is hope for Texas!
Isn't Texas one of the best red states to live in? Even with lying Ted in it.
Jenna is great!! Bring her back again.
The poor butler will be going to jail because of the dude like this...
The butler did it
Fantastic episode, thank you for what you do
Listening to the end I realized this man is very very depressed, Good on you Matt. His question was actually more complex than I originally thought.
Thanks aca for another great show!
Excellent first show, Jenna! :-)
You guys are doing amazing job and very necessary job, I do appriciate that there's a show like this
Thomas is suffering from politician's logic.
Something must be done.
This is something.
Therefore, this must be done.
They call that baby the transitive property 🤙
Logical Psycho he seems to be putting forward the Buddhist position, namely that there is ‘something’ than goes on after our body is finished. It’s the old ‘candle lighting another candle’ proposition.
Jenna is a great addition!! Really looking forward to hearing more of her.
That first call was fantastic.
Sad about tracie leaving, but jenna seems like a great addition! Welcome!
Tracie left???
@@Fluffykeith apperantly so. Her, jen, and john left the ACA.
@@jordandrake9822 Ouch....that's a bit of a shock...any idea why, or where I could find out why?
@@Fluffykeith go watch the most recent godless bitches episode. It seems pretty evident jen and tracie (not sure about john) disagreed with the way the rationallty rules issue was handled by the ACA and many of the viewers on all sides. Also there were elections within the ACA recently i believe so the results from that may have played a role.
@@jordandrake9822 Thanks for that, appreciated
I'm glad you tried to help Clint but he is beyond help
You cannot be an atheist and be afraid of a god at the same time. Something has to give.
@@JamesRichardWiley exactly
@Ranger Man and the great profit of pasta
I'm among the thousands of people who hv a different perspective on life n belief after watching this show for the past year..thank you Matt n The Atheist Experience..thanks a lot..
Duke was trying to kick ass AND chew bubble gum, but doesn't know how to multitask.
He was rambling and blathering, that's two things at once
Really enjoyed the show, and thanks for taking the time. I'll join the Chorus thanking Jenna, and also say I think you were great. Thanks Matt, you are a god! ;)
About the question where consciousness 'goes'. Was it not Tracie who once asked: when you blow out a candle, where does the light go?
Mary Hunter I think she said "fire" but same point
I thought He was gonna say I you turn off or unplug the computer, where does the power or electricity go...
@@vanceelliottwright2341 - Yeah, I was expecting more from that analogy. If you 'turn off' a human the consciousness stops just like when you turn off a computer, it stops functioning.
Whoa! Where DOES the light go ?
The first conversation turned out really well
They work well together. Jenna seems to have a calming influence on Matt. But please bring back Jeff Dee, just loved his hell rants.
For a first appearance I’m really impressed with Jenna’s style with callers. Great addition to the presenting gang. Looking forward to future episodes with her 👍
I like Thomas, the caller. He's honestly trying. That means he'll realize he's an atheist in no time.
Jenna is great! She brings a nice warmth to the show!
Thomas was a great caller... very honest and thoughtful
So glad to see a "newbie" so recently released from the chains of religion. Totally new perspective...Welcome Jenna! All the Best!!!
I am always amazed at how long it takes theists to answer questions that should be yes/no off the bat. They are always looking for a trap. "Do you believe in slavery?" silence......
Great show to the both of you, great job Jenna, welcome to the family.
Jenna A+
Very good show and Jenna is a welcome new co host
Jenna=way too cool!
In case Sean would ever see this. Don't ever take on that guilt or blame from someone taking their own life. You only get to that point when life is truly hard from the inside. And your Friend would never say you could do more. When you are at that point. You and your own pain is all you have. Cherish the memory of your Friend be sad he's gone, and live life event more yourself. You Sound like a great guy!
Last caller Sean is like finding that fresh gallon of milk you put in the fridge yesterday went sour over night.
Jenna is really great, have her back OFTEN
Thanks for just shutting down Duke when he was constantly ranting and talking over the hosts. He wasn't listening. It really bugs me when callers do that.
Dear Matt,
You supposedly are this hard-cored, cold, asshole(self-admitted) atheist, but during this calm conversation with Sean at around
1:52:00 where he revealed the problem he was having over his friend's suicide, you switched to a totally supportive role, again revealing the good person you really are. I don't care if you don't have a psychology degree or are not a licensed therapist, your words were what Sean needed to hear and I applaud the reasoned humanity that you exhibited. Even the Atheist Experience audience, who had been enjoying the conversation and chuckling over what appeared to be another 'nutty' theist caller, quieted down and allowed the seriousness of your conversation to unfold. My compliments to you, and to Jenna as well for her contributions.
Mark ZumMallen
I am always suprised at the people who believed in God past the Santa Claus years.
With how plastic the brain is, and how pathetically terrible humans are at being rational, and how prone to biases they are, it's not really surprising that there are dozens of reasons why people hold on to such beliefs for decades even.
That means as of the last census, there are 2.3-billion Christians on the earth to surprise you. If you add the Moslems and Hindus, there are about 5.8-billion people worldwide who will surprise you. Atheists remain a fringe, whacko group. lol
@@jamesgossweiler1349 And yet the Muslims surprise the Christias the Christians surprise the Muslims, and both are appalled by the Hindus, and vice versa. It's all a shitshow - how glad I am I brought my popcorn.
To me none of it is surprising, given the million years if our tribal past, and the realities I mentioned in my previous comment.
@@jamesgossweiler1349
Yeah who would believe that in 2019 we have people that believe in talking snakes and donkeys and talking burning bushes. Who knew that people believed in winged horses and people who could live in a fish or that witches should be killed along with homosexuals. Who knew that human sacrifice was reasonable and that people are so stupid they believe in zombies.
Of course most of the people around the world that believe in this dirvil are uneducated dumb asses that don't have access to clean water and don't know that the earth orbits the sun.
You may identify with a group of slack jawed snake handlers and be proud of your ignorance but your days are numbered. Atheists are the fastest growing group of categories when the religious question is asked.
Hi Neal! There are so many factual errors in your comments, I'm not sure where to begin. I don't have enough time to cover them all, so I'll just pick a few. There are no narratives about "zombies" in the Bible, so I'm not sure how to address this. There are no records of Jews or Christians performing "human sacrifice" in Scripture either, so I don't know how to address this either. It is true however than people before the Jews and Christians sacrificed people including children but again, this predates the Bible (search Canaanites). Atheists are not the not the "fastest growing religious group." As odd as it sounds, Wiccans and other pagans are. Worldwide atheist numbers are growing but as a percentage of the world's population it's not changing. Why not? People of faith have more children. In 50-years, the typical kid will be either Christian, Moslem, or Hindu. Search online Pew Research about growth projections in world religions. At present, there are 2.3-billion Christians alone...add the Moslems and Hindus and atheists and "nones" are out-numbered about 30 to 1.
Great job Jenna, and Matt too as usual.