“Apologist Sean McDowell posed as an atheist to teach Christian students how to debate atheists. It wasn’t a good idea. Here’s why.
Sean has been role-playing as an atheist for christian students for a while, but he recently stepped up the act, telling students in an apologetics class in a christian high school that he really is an atheist. He then held a Q&A where he discussed the multiverse and fine-tuning, biblical prophecy, consciousness and many other subjects related to theology and apologetics. The discourse between Christians and atheists is already strained, and while I think Sean wants to improve that discourse, acts like these are not the way. If we want to understand how someone thinks, we need to talk to them, not someone impersonating them.”
“Once again, I’m chatting with Erika, the primatology student behind the Gutsick GIbbon channel. We both debated the same convicted fraud, and now we’re talking about why professional scientists should not platform such bad faith actors. Young Earth Creationist pseudoscientists do not care what the truth is and they will not argue in good faith. We should counter these flim-flammer/scammers of course, to publicly expose their dishonesty for the common good, but be prepared for the games these grifters have to play.”
“A woman who has rejected her family — infamous for its hateful fundamentalism — is interviewed on the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s “Freethought Matters” TV show this Sunday.
Megan Phelps-Roper is author of the book “Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church.” She bade goodbye to the church, founded by her grandfather Fred Phelps, in 2012 and now educates on topics related to extremism, religious extremism and how to communicate across ideological divides.
“I’d spent more than two decades of my life on this Earth, targeting people and antagonizing people, believing that it was the right thing to do — and believing that I was showing love to people in doing so,” she tells “Freethought Matters” co-hosts Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor about her “epiphany.” “Suddenly, it felt impossible to come to terms with the harm that we had wrought. It was like, and I’ve used this analogy before, like cradling a beautiful jewel in your hand, and then suddenly it turns to ash and dust, and realizing that you have dedicated your life to this thing.”
Learn more about the Freedom From Religion Foundation at https://ffrf.org/“
“On Monday, February 11, Arizona State Rep. Athena Salman — an openly atheist lawmaker — delivered a secular and inclusive invocation to start the legislative session. Afterward, Republican State Rep. John Kavanagh asked to speak and used his time to mock Salman’s invocation by introducing his special guest “God.”
Rep. Salman did not back down. The next day she rose to protest the denigration and belittlement of her invocation, calling attention to the mockery of nonreligious people that has become routine in the Arizona state legislature.
We want to applaud Rep. Salman for her courage and determination. Atheists, agnostics, humanists, and nonreligious Americans have every right to serve as lawmakers and be afforded the same recognition and respect as their peers.”
Seems to me…one of the most repugnant things people get most excited to aggressively do online…is to take peoples words and intentions, and twist them to the point that they can damage the person expressing them…
…But do they honestly know what they are talking about, when they frame another persons words “just so”, in the least charitable interpretation possible?
All the worse…we know for a fact, that many of the people who do this sort of thing are bad faith actors…who’s own integrity level comes straight out of the sewer…They, and their own words, should never be trusted at all…A lot of them are manipulators, slanderers and habitual liars…So, how can we trust them when they start accusing another person?
Looking at Richards tweet…it looks to be questioning the aggression against asking honest questions…I don’t see how it is likened, to dehumanizing trans people.
I am astonished anyone thinks there are no social structures outside of religion, to push people into conformity…
…As a literal pedophile, I grew from child to adult being constantly threatened and demonized by countless sources.
I know far better than to believe, that you get what forms you and keeps you conformed solely from religion…or that only religion can impose conformity.
Humans in groups do this on their own.
I am also astounded that some people actually believe, that atheists are naturally bad people.
“In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Peter Singer, Francesca Minerva, and Jeff McMahan about the newly launched Journal of Controversial Ideas.
Released: April 12, 2021
SUBSCRIBE to gain access to all full-length episodes of the podcast at samharris.org/subscribe.”
“I was recently introduced to an interesting website that has a variety of philosophy quizzes on it. I thought, after realising the questions were quite interesting, that I would make a video going through some of them, and explaining my thinking!
– Atheist Media Links
