In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Secular Rarity is joined by Student Doctor Ben who will both discuss issues with callers ranging from antinatalization to messages from god.

Michael in CA is our first caller who is a proponent of zero population growth and asks the hosts what they think is important about this topic. We know that if we continue to expand consumption, the ramifications will be bad. Is it moral to strive for zero population growth? If we knew the ideal number the population should be, how would we go about striving for that? How would we achieve minimizing bad outcomes when focussing on zero population growth? What policies would be put in place for this? If we could get rid of the negative consequences of population growth, yet still increase the population, would that be okay? Who gets to have children and who doesn’t?

Josiah from MO wants to discuss ways to deal with people telling him that he was never a true Christian, once they find out he is an atheist. Ben describes his story and mentions that it is oftentimes difficult for people to understand this news of change. When this happens, it is not a reflection of you, but rather their own thought process. You are the same person, but in their eyes, you violate what they perceived you as. Is your goal to convince your family and friends that you were a true Christian? Or is your goal more about being at true peace? When people state that you were never a true believer, sometimes it is a defense mechanism. Try to be patient with them; you might be the first person they have met who has deconverted. The best way to engage is with empathy. There are people that know what you are going through and are here to support you.

John from India would like to talk about creation and believes that god created human beings, and humans created other humans through reproduction. He wants to know what justification people have for bringing people into the world. You don’t need to believe in magic to bring someone into the world. If humans need to justify their reasoning for bringing a human into the world, is god bringing people into the world of suffering?

Tom in MI, a deist, has some thoughts about ontological evidence or consciousness. He asks if the hosts think this is a good reason for god. He says there are two groups: atheists and theists. His philosophy teacher taught that we can’t talk about something that we know nothing about. We can talk about something whether it is material, physical, or just a concept. Talking about a story is different than talking about a car in the driveway.

Icon from Canada wants to know how to proceed getting a message to the world from god. The message is, “All religions are man made.” How do we know it was a deity that gave you this message? How did you receive this message and what were you doing at the time? Did anything meaningful or memorable happen in your life during that day? What was your mindset as you were doing this?

That is all folks! Thank you for tuning in and be sure to thank our essential workers!