Reasonable Doubts
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RD Extra: Etcetera debate: The Status of God in the 21st...
Last month Justin Schieber was invited by Etcetera to Traverse City, Michigan to debate/discuss with Scott Smith (CApologetics.org) the ‘Status of God in the 21st Century‘. The lively discussion touched on a wide range of topics from moral intuitions to the strength of positing a God as an explanation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3awLY6vNoh4 Download RD Extra(Audio Only … Continue reading »
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Episode 114: The Myth of Martyrdom (Part 2): Who Would...
Would anyone knowingly die for a lie? Christian tradition teaches us that many of Jesus’ disciples were persecuted and martyred for their faith. But if Jesus did not really rise from the dead why would the apostles be willing to sacrifice their lives over claims they knew were false? To many Christians, the apostle’s martyrdom … Continue reading »
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Episode 113: The Myth of Martyrdom (Part 1) with guest...
Jesus famously told his disciples “take up your cross and follow me” and the church has proudly circulated stories of Christian martyrs ever since. Stories of believers who refused to renounce their faith in the face of persecution inspire some to great acts of heroism but can also promote a spirit of victimization. In her … Continue reading »
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Episode 112: The Great Agnostic with guest Susan Jacoby
Today most Americans have never heard of Robert Green Ingersoll but in the 19th century he was considered one of the greatest orators of his age. Known as “the Great Agnostic”, Ingersoll criticized religion and championed progressive political causes with great ferocity, wit and humor. Though his writings are controversial even by today’s standards his … Continue reading
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Episode 111: Goodbye Joey Ratz
Celebrate the end of Pope Benedict XVI’s short reign with a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly of the polemical pontiff’s career. We’ll discuss all the big questions you probably don’t care about: will Benedict still be ‘infallible’? What were the real reasons for his resignation? What will he do now? … Continue reading
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Episode 110: Clever Hermeneutics
What is a thoughtful, compassionate Christian to do with all the outrageous violence and hatred in the Old Testament? Many liberal Christians will reject the notion that these texts are inspired by God but in rescuing God’s character they sacrifice the divine authority of the scriptures. Fundamentalists will often bite the proverbial bullet and accept … Continue reading
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RD Extra: Debating the Amalekite Genocide
When Richard Dawkins wrote “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction.”, he was spot on. Many Jews and Christians recognize the deep problems these texts present to their views on the most basic moral questions. Unfortunately, it’s become commonplace for some christian apologists to claim they ‘wrestle’ … Continue reading
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RD Extra: The Nativity Debate with Jonathan Pearce and...
Don’t get into heated debates with your family this Christmas without first getting your facts straight. Check out this debate between Jonathan Pearce and Randal Rauser on the historical reliability of the Nativity narratives so you can impress your family by being the most informed troublemaker at the dinner table. Merry Christmas from the Doubtcasters! … Continue reading
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Episode 109: The Biology of Religious Patriarchy
Why are religious moralists so preoccupied with sex? Attitudes on sexuality are far more predictive of religiosity than attitudes on charity, social justice or any other measure. Religious scriptures abound with rules and restrictions aimed at controlling women’s sexuality in particular. Is the current religious obsession with sex just an unfortunate result of religion’s male-dominated … Continue reading
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Episode 108: Post-Election Withdrawal
The doubtcasters collectively work through their post-election withdrawal symptoms by examining how demographic shifts are changing the American political landscape with special focus on how religious vs. secular polling locations influence voting. Also for this week’s counterapologetics Justin Schieber presents a presuppositionalist argument for atheism developed by Stephen Maitzen. Download RD108 Or subscribe and listen [...]...
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Episode 106: Moonie Madness
The Unification Church was virtually unknown in America until the 1970′s when concerned parents, anti-cult groups and members of congress raised alarm about the powerful “brainwashing” techniques used by “moonies” to lure new converts into their dangerous cult. Now that the self-proclaimed “messiah” Sun Myung Moon has died a group of sociologists are defending the [...]...
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RD Extra: The Problem of Non-God Objects
This RD Extra is a lecture delivered by Justin Schieber to CFI Michigan on August 22nd 2012 Discription: In this week’s presentation, Justin Schieber will present – and defend from possible objections – an argument against a Christian view of the divine that insists upon God’s perfection while maintaining that God alone is responsible for [...]...
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Episode 104: Religious Experience (with guest Tanya...
For many religious believers the most compelling evidence for theism is their own personal experience of God’s presence. Christians in the rapidly growing charismatic “renewalist” movement do not just talk to God, they claim to actually hear God talking back. Are these powerful religious experiences evidence that God really exists or are they the result [...]...
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Episode 103: Snakes and T.U.L.I.P.s
Members of the Southern Baptist Convention are denouncing the aggressive “new Calvinists” who have infiltrated their ranks and insist on pushing the belief that God predestined some people to hell long before the first human sinned. You know what that means? IT’s TULIP TIME! Join us as the doubtcasters give a skeptical overview of the [...]...
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RD Extra: Debunking D’Souza
Last April, secularist author Susan Jacoby and Christian apologist Dinesh D’Souza debated each other over the question, “Is Christianity Good for American Politics?” While Jacoby’s argument was more accurate, D’Souza employed a host of logical fallacies and historical inaccuracies to gain a rhetorical edge. For this RD Extra, doubtcaster Jeremy Beahan joins Ed Brayton of [...]...
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Episode 102: The Skeptic’s Psychology of Religion Toolkit
Over the past several years a number of studies have been published which purport to show the psychological benefits of religious belief. These studies are often plagued by shoddy design, inadequate controls and overreliance on self-report data–yet even the most careful skeptics can overlook these mistakes. For this episode Dr. Galen explains 10 of the [...]...
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Episode 101: Is God a Liar?
Numerous passages in both the Old and New Testaments depict God as a being who actively engages in deception but apologist Joel Furches claims that these passages, seen in their proper context, reveal a God that never deceives–He simply allows sinful people to reap the consequences of their own lack of faith. A careful examination [...]...
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100th Episode Live Special
The Doubtcasters would like to thank all the RD fans from around the world who took part in our live 100th episode special. Your questions, stories and insights made this milestone for the show that much more special. But if you didn’t get a chance to listen, it’s all here. Does Jesus fulfill the biblical [...]...
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RD Extra: The Ties That Bind – Sophie’s Story
Former Mormon, skeptic blogger, writer and sexual rights activist Sophie Hirschfeld discusses her past in the Church of Latter Day Saints, an abusive marriage and how she got out of both. Download RD Extra Or subscribe and listen in iTunes or any podcast client: Podcast...
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Episode 99: Formons
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints remains largely mysterious to those of us on the outside. With the help of three former Mormons, we explore the history, rituals and beliefs of the LDS including proxy baptisms for the dead, racial issues, mission trips, and a theology more uncomfortable than any “magical underwear.” [...]...
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Episode 98: Presuppositional Apologetics (part 2)
According to the Transcendental Argument For God (TAG), the principles of Logic, inductive science and morality all depend on the existence the Christian God. In the second part of RD’s series on presuppositional apologetics the doubtcasters offer direct challenges to the soundness of the transcendental argument for God as well as several internal critiques of [...]...
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Episode 97: Presuppositional Apologetics (part 1)
Most Christian apologists attempt to persuade the skeptic by offering rational arguments for theism. Proof of theism may be possible, they argue, but even if it is not multiple lines of evidence support the reasonableness of the Christian worldview. The presusppositional apologeticmethodabandons this approach. There is no neutral ground, they say, from which the theist [...]...
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Episode 96: Better Late Than Never
Fresh from a month long break the doubtcasters return do discus some of the stories they missed while away. The U.S. supreme court has ruled that religious groups have a “ministerial exception” from anti-discrimination laws. We discuss how this ruling might effect those working for religious institutions. Meanwhile, Catholic Charities are closing their doors because [...]...
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RD Extra: An Atheist’s Sermon
This RD extra features a sermon written by Jeremy Beahan for All Souls Unitarian Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Description: Those who reject religion go by many names; atheist, agnostic, skeptic, freethinker, secular humanist–but please do not call us “unbelievers.” If you ask you will find there are many things we believe in. We believe [...]...
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RD Extra: Interview with Jeremiah Banister
Breaking his silence on the subject of religion after more than a year, a former apologist, conservative activist and Christian radio show host discusses his rejection of religion in this exclusive interview. Jeremiah Bannister has served as a preacher, worked with anti-gay groups, been a presuppositionalist, Calvinist, sedevacantist, and soon will be returning to the [...]...
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Episode 95: “180″
The Doubtcasters take a look at Ray Comfort’s film “180″ that equates a woman’s right to choose with the atrocities of the Holocaust. In God Thinks Like You, Dr. Prof. Luke discusses a new study that finds people view atheists as being as untrustworthy as rapists. The Aztec god Huitzilopochtli will rip your heart out [...]...
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Episode 94: The Gospel of Positive Thinking
Who says you can’t serve both God and Money? Certainly not the 17% of American Christians who believe in the Prosperity Gospel. They think God will reward their faithfulness with great material wealth and a clean bill of health. Millionaire evangelists like Joyce Myer and Joel Osteen offer tips to help you “manifest” Gods blessings [...]...
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Episode 93: No Atheists Allowed
While on tour promoting his new book the Magic of Reality Richard Dawkins found himself banned from a book signing at a Detroit area country club after the owner learned that Dawkins was an atheist. Dawkins called the last-minute cancellation of the event an act of “sheer bigotry” but some insist that a privately owned [...]...
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Episode 92: Atheists in the Pulpit with guest Dan Barker
Leaving religion can be difficult. It may lead to conflicts with family and friends and the loss of social support–and the more one is involved the deeper the loss. Clergy who silently doubt often feel trapped in a double life. They cannot continue to preach with conviction but they have come to depend on their [...]...
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Episode 91: View From the Watchtower
Join us for an interview with a former Jehovahs Witness as he recounts his experiences as an elder within church. Listen Here: [audio http://www.doubtcast.org/podcast/rd91_view_from_the_watchtower.mp3] Download RD90 Or subscribe and listen in iTunes or any podcast client: Podcast...
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Episode 90: Disgust Discussed
Ten years have passed since the 9/11 attacks but a large number of Americans still have negative impressions of Muslims. While much of this distrust seems to be related to political ideology and misinformation in the media there are also deeper psychological forces at work. For many Christians, simply reading a passage of the Koran [...]...
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Episode 89: Genocide (part 2)
For the second part of RD’s Summer Genocide Series the doubtcasters turn to recent findings in archeology which indicate that the genocides in the book of Joshua probably never took place. But if the conquest of Canaan is just legend, what was the real reason for the fall of Canaanite civilization? Where did the ancient [...]...
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Episode 88: Genocide (part 1)
RD kicks off it’s “Summer Genocide Series” with a critical review of Paul Copan’s book “Is God a Moral Monster?” Copan argues that the holy war waged against the Canaanites was not the blood-soaked genocide that critics of the Bible make it out to be . It was a limited, relatively humane campaign that was [...]...
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