The Atheist Experience 28.01 with Forrest Valkai and Armin Navabi

Welcome to 2024! Let’s kick it off this new AXP with Forrest Valki and Armin Navabi!Well, we are starting off this show with a doozy! Ronnie from Florida (why is it always Florida?)  gives Armin and Forrest a call to talk about how aliens could be an explanation for angels. The key words are “could be”. Though Ronnie would like it to be true, as Forrest points it, we don’t really know. Admitting gaps in our knowledge is true intellectual honesty which our hosts try to guide Ronnie to consider.Howard from across the pond (England) calls to ask why atheists ignore “empirical” evidence for God? We want to sin, duh! ;) Though Howard claims he has arguments atheists cannot refute according to him) that does not lead to atheists denying God. We cannot have a fear of God if we don’t believe in one. Also, there is some discussion on the scientific method and problems with flat earth claims. I just write the notes folks.Third caller in line would be Xavier from Ohio asks Armin and Xavier that if he doesn’t believe in God logically, why does he still feel His presence? Indoctrination and the brain tricking itself. Psychology, nature, and indoctrination play a three way part in this feeling which each of the hosts dive into. Feelings are not fact and it is okay if people have not let go of the emotions or sensations of belief even though logically, they know it’s wrong. Jess from Iowa is our last caller this week who is a trans-woman having to deal with her religious family members still not accepting her gender identity and laying down an ultimatum of acceptance. She asks our hosts how to have a difficult conversation with family members without being confrontational. Forrest lays down some bio-science as well for not only for Jess to use, but anyone can benefit from when discussing this issue. Armin offers perspectives on how to prioritize what your values and boundaries are and what you are willing to do/not do. This is a valuable tool for all of us to use when making decisions and finding out our motivations.Call the show on Sundays 4:30pm-6:00pm CT: 1-512-991-9242 or use your computer 💻 http://tiny.cc/callaxp and tell us what you believe and why!We request pronouns as part of the call screening process on our shows, and we display the pronouns our callers provide. If you see a caller with no pronouns indicated, this is because they chose not to provide us with any, and we respect that decision.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-atheist-experience--3254896/support.