Welcome to Truth Wanted! Yay, Dan is back and we’re happy he is doing better. Our special guest this week is Blantant Blatheist, joining us from Japan! First up tonight, Phil in TX keeps getting blocked from outlandish videos/channels. He has taken to posting more outlanding comments to avoid getting blocked. There isn’t one simple way to deal with these outlandish claims. Consider your target audience, you are more likely to affect people on the fence. Rich in NY has problems with a previous call about animals suffering too much. He argues that we shouldn’t judge how animals are better off. Wildlife conservation and veganism is a tough and multifaceted topic. There are sustainability, moral, ethical, and economic arguments to just get started. Fact is dogs, pigs, cows, etc have near equal to human capacity to suffer. Andrew in FL claims secular families are more likely to lead to divorce. To double down, he says secularism is causing divorce. Ok, there is a trend showing more secular couple’s divorce. Is that a bad thing though? If someone is unhappy in their marriage, shouldn’t they be able to get out of that marriage? Divorce isn’t a solve-all but it’s necessary in some cases. This week's “We Want The Truth” segment is: Make a prediction for 2024 that no one would see coming.

Show notes will be posted upon receipt.

Show notes will be posted upon receipt.

Welcome to Truth Wanted! This week we have ObjectivelyDan and Phil Ferguson taking your calls. We get into prayer, why crypto is a scam, and other issues. First up is Coop the Coop-Cooper in NY is perplexed why Dan would tell them they could continue praying while deconstructing their belief. Sure, you can pray to anything, anyone, or no one, who cares. Phil brings up the argument that why are believers praying to a god to change the plan created for them. If prayer makes you feel good or helps with life’s stress then go for it. Just don’t mistake it with action, prayer doesn’t help others. Keith in NJ thinks there may be some legitimate crypto currencies. He gives the example of his friend giving free wifi devices that pays you in crypto for time kept online. Interesting concept but Phil would need to know more about the device and company before advising to join. Who knows, they could be stealing peoples data to sell it. James in VA, an ex jehovah witness, asks for advice for people leaving religion that you donated all your profits. Thanks for joining us for the special episode. This week's “We Want The Truth” segment is: What is REALLY in the Egyptian pyramids? Put your answers in the comments to possibly be read on air!

Welcome to Truth Wanted! This week we host two of The Non-Prophets team, Kelley Laughlin and Cynthia McDonald. Maybe we’ll finally figure out the meaning of “spiritual but not religious”. Chris in WI continues the “Humpy the ghost” story. (I thought Chris was saying HumpTy, oops) You are equating the ghost experience to energy but can’t seem to define what you mean. The points you bring up are questionable and seem to infer electricity to energy. Try to keep an open mind, if you conclude it’s a ghost you aren’t going to be open to other explanations. Rich in NY thinks we spend too much time arguing specifics regarding miracle claims. He thinks we should challenge theists with praying for “real” miracles. People do accept things too easily. Use the socratic method to suss out if their claim holds up. Confirmation bias is frustrating. AJ in WA claims he has seen UFOs, sasquatch, ghosts, and other cryptids. Aj goes on to delve into the different tribes of bigfoot. Interesting call, and do call back, but these are just recounting stories. Top G in TX wants to clarify what people mean by spirituality and says starting by looking into the neuroscience of religion would help. We want to know what people are experiencing when they claim they did something spiritual. Top G defines spiritual as “an inner potential in your consciousness”. The examples you gave don’t point to the supernatural, more so to physiological. Consciousness is a property of the brain, how is that spiritual? Thanks for joining us! This week's “We Want The Truth” segment is: Write a fortune cookie that is oddly specific.

Show notes will be posted upon receipt.

In today’s episode of Truth Wanted, our super host Objectively Dan is joined by our esteemed guest Aaron Jensen! Caller #1 is up! Cooper is calling from New York to ask our hosts, how does someone deconstruct without losing hope and dealing with distressing emotions. Dan and Aaron talk about their own process when leaving faith and how to build community and purpose without the trappings of religion. In the words of Aragorn “there is always hope”. Baked Alaska also coming to us from New York is caller #2! He inquires what compelled us atheists to not believe in a God and what evidence (or lack thereof) shows God does not exist. Baked Alaska does some logical fallacies (appeal to population for example) to prove his point, when as we know dear listener, we need more than opinions and emotions to show something is real, esp. when it comes to a God claim. Welcome R, caller #3 from the unknown void! He posits that Newton and other scientists of his time, especially during the Enlightenment, had to hide their anti-theist opinions. Perhaps, but we have no proof. Dan and Aaron push back against this opinion based on his own writings and opinions. When it comes to great minds who came before us, unless they state otherwise, we can only wonder what their true position was in regards to a deity existing or not. Caller #4! Sumartono gives our hosts a ring to discuss atheists vs. theists morality, what does it mean to be moral without a God which leads down the epistemological path of the watchmaker’s argument. To round out the show, Steven from Mississippi has fallen down the YouTube ancient alien conspiracy rabbit hole. Steven's mind is blown! Though our hosts walk him through obvious questions and encourage Steven to give some pause before concluding aliens made such wonders like the pyramids. He isn't saying it's aliens….

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