Reasonable Doubts Podcast
173 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 8 years ago - ★★★★★ - 809 ratingsReasonable Doubts takes an informative and humorous look at religion from a freethinking perspective; offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, agnostics, humanists, courageous religious believers looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions. In addition to interviewing the top minds in skepticism (former guests include Christopher Hitchens, Susan Jacoby, Paul Kurtz, Edward Tabash, DJ Grothe) RD offers regular segments on counter-apologetics, biblical criticism, creationism intelligent design and church state issues. RD also examines the psychology of religion, reviewing recent and exciting research you won't hear about anywhere else. Tune in for a hard-hitting critique of religion balanced by plenty of humor, a fair-minded attitude and a commitment to critical thinking. Check out our website at doubtcast.org for information, episode links or to email questions, comments and challenges. Reasonable Doubts...for those who won't just take things on faith.
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Episodes
139 What's Past is Prologue
September 21, 2015 22:25 - 2 hoursHere it is�the final episode of Reasonable Doubts, featuring new Counterapologetics, God Thinks Like You and Polyatheism segments mixed with goodbyes from our fans and outtakes from the past eight years of doubtcasting. Thank you to everyone who made this show what it was. Special thanks to Jonathan MS Pearce for the spoken word introduction to the show and to Hugh McDonald for allowing us to use his song "Schrodinger's Cat" for this episode.
rd138 Interview with Shelley Segal
March 29, 2015 21:56 - 42 minutesThis podcast features a previously unreleased interview with Australian Singer and Songwriter Shelley Segal. Shelly shares about her experience growing up in a conservative Jewish household and how her music naturally turned to turned to secular themes when she decided she was an atheist. She also performs two songs from "An Atheist Album."
rd137 Je Suis Charlie with guest Dan Fincke
January 25, 2015 21:40 - 1 hourThis one is all about Charlie. Guest Dan Fincke defends free speach and the right to blaspheme. Dr. Galen examines the psychological root to religious extremism and the Enuma Elish is the subject of this episode's Polyatheism.
rd136 Freedom Isn't Free
December 15, 2014 05:00 - 1 hourDale McGowan, executive director of the Foundation Beyond Belief talks about some of the exciting ways the organization plans to put humanist principles into action in 2015. Also, statistics on the public's attitudes towards the Christmas holiday, the John Templeton Foundation donates millions of dollars to philosophers who study free will and the Norse god Oden might just be the world's first Christmas ornament.
RD Extra: Brayton v Schmig - Was the U.S. Founded on Christianity?
December 02, 2014 00:07 - 1 hourIs the US Government Founded on the Christian Religion? Ed Brayton is the founder and owner of the Freethought Blogs network and the voice behind the popular blog Dispatches from the Culture Wars. He is the co-founder and past president of Michigan Citizens for Science and the recipient of the Friend of Darwin Award from the National Center for Science Education and has appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show, The Thom Hartmann Show, and C-SPAN. Ed is also a current member of CFI Advisory Board. ...
RD Extra: Lowder v Vandergriff - Metaphysical Naturalism or Christian Theism? Where Does the Evidence Point?
November 15, 2014 13:58 - 1 hourThis RD Extra features a debate, hosted by the Reasonable Doubts Podcast, between Jeffery Jay Lowder and Kevin Vandergriff on "Metaphysical Naturalism or Christian Theism? Where Does the Evidence Point?"
rd135 Pain and Paradox
October 29, 2014 18:35 - 1 hourPhysical pain plays an important biological role, but should we expect it to in a world created by God? Also, a recent paper in the journal cognition posits distinct cognitive attitudes underlying religious belief and factual reasoning, but is the evidence from cognitive science and philosophy sufficient to support this claim?
rd134 Coming Out Atheist
October 07, 2014 01:55 - 1 hourMany non-theists keep their doubts hidden for fear of losing friends and love ones. But remaining in the closet also has drawbacks: stress, hypocrisy, the oppression of silence and fear of being found out. Despite the risks, those who've made the decision to be open about their atheism almost never regret it. Luckily, doubters do not need to make this important decision on their own. Greta Christina (FTB blogger and author of Why Are You Atheists So Angry) conducted over 400 interviews with n...
rd133 Your God Detector is Busted
September 23, 2014 20:31 - 1 hourOur cognitive faculties evolved to help us detect agents in our environment and to predict the content of their minds but those same faculties also generate beliefs in supernatural minds and divine agents. While this seems to suggest that religious intuitions are untrustworthy by-products of ordinary cognitive processes, Cognitive psychologists like Justin Barrett argue the existence of these "god-faculties" in the brain should not make the atheist more comfortable with their skepticism. In ...
rd132 Euthyphro's Revenge
September 09, 2014 03:30 - 1 hourDoes God approve actions because they are good? Or is an action good because God approves it? Euthyphro's Dilemma is perhaps the oldest challenge to a theistic conception of morality, but many modern philosophers of religion believe the dilemma to be a false one. While the traditional formulation of the dilemma may have an answer, Socrates' challenge lives on in a new form.
rd131 Witch-Hunt
August 27, 2014 22:29 - 1 hourThe award-winning human rights activist Leo Igwe exposes how witchcraft accusations are used to prey upon societies most vulnerable, often with tragic consequences. He recounts how the study of philosophy emboldened him to speak out against the dangers of superstitious and magical thinking in his home country of Nigeria and some of the challenges of promoting critical thinking and humanism in Africa.
RD Extra: Kozak vs Schieber - Does the Christian God Exist?
August 19, 2014 22:33 - 1 hourThis debate on the existence of the Christian God took place at Ferris State University on October 23rd. Steven Kozak - Christian Apologist, Author (Stevenkozak.com) Justin Schieber - Atheist, Podcast Co-host (doubtcast.org)
rd130 How Jesus Beacame God with guest Bart D. Ehrman
July 25, 2014 18:21 - 53 minutesHow did Jesus, an apocalyptic prophet from Galilee, come to be regarded as a God by his followers? Bart D. Ehrman, Professor of Religious studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, joins us on the show to discuss his new book "How Jesus Became God", which traces the historical evolution of early Christian thought about the nature and identity of Jesus.
rd129 Get A New Hobby, Lobby
July 11, 2014 16:45 - 1 hourEd Brayton of Dispatches from the Culture Wars joins the Doubtcasters for an analysis of the SCOTUS ruling on the recent Hobby Lobby case. Some popular misunderstandings about the ruling and its implications are dispelled, and the true dangers of the decision are discussed. Also, Luke Galen reviews polling data on where the American public stands on the issue of birth control and offers some predictions on how the SCOTUS ruling may impact individuals and the nation.
rd128 Inside the Mind of a Religious Sexual Abuser
May 06, 2014 01:20 - 1 hourMajor League Baseball player Chad Curtis will always be remembered as the man who led the New York Yankees to victory by catching the last out of the last World Series game of the 20th century. To many religious sports fans, Curtis was a hero for taking a strong stand for Christian principles. He regularly spoke out against performance enhancing drugs and the hedonistic lifestyle of many professional athletes. He donated half of his income to charities that promoted Christian values. His frie...
rd127 God's Not Dead
April 18, 2014 01:23 - 1 hourThe Doubtcasters spend the whole hour reviewing the film "God's Not Dead." The whole hour. Seriously.
RD Extra: Does Religion Make Us Better People?
April 07, 2014 02:21 - 47 minutesDoes Religion Make Us Better People? An Empirical Critique of the Religious Prosociality Hypothesis. Does religion make us happier, healthier and more helpful? A number of popular psychology books and articles argue that religion is a positive force for enhancing the health and well-being of both individuals and whole communities. A careful examination of the social psychological literature, however, reveals a complicated relationship between religion and "pro-social" traits that defies su...
rd126 Why Would God Hide?
March 24, 2014 18:06 - 1 hourJesus said "seek and you will find" but for many spiritual seekers, clear evidence for God cannot be found no matter how hard they search. If He really exists, why would God reveal himself only to some people and not to all? For this episode we examine "The Argument from Divine Hiddenness" which assumes that a perfectly moral being would want to enter into a relationship with His creation. But If that is true, theism faces some trouble in explaining how genuinely "non-resistant" seekers of Go...
rd125 Nye Smokes Ham with guest Jordan Fett
February 14, 2014 02:57The doubtcasters, along with friend of the show Jordan Fett, share thoughts and analysis (scientific, philosophical and psychological) on the debate between Creationist Ken Ham and Bill Nye the Science Guy. Also we discuss some of the psychological barriers to understanding evolution that both creationists AND evolutionists share, for this weeks "God Thinks Like You." Also, learn about the Babylonian Ark Tablet and what it means for Biblical literalists in this episodes "Skeptics Sunday School"
rd124 The Role of Religion in Global Conflict
January 27, 2014 22:40 - 1 hourNew data from the Pew Research Center shows religious violence is on the rise world-wide. Religiously motivated sectarian violence, harassment of women, mob-violence and terrorism have increased steadily and dramatically over the past 7 years in every region except the Americas. Still, many of these conflicts erupt in areas plagued by disputes over land and political control, so is religion really to blame? For this episode we review empirical research that attempts to understand the role re...
RD Extra Hallquist vs Rauser
January 18, 2014 19:17 - 1 hourIn late 2013, Chris Hallquist (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/hallq/) and Randal Rauser (http://randalrauser.com/) participated in a debate on the rationality of belief in God. This debate was not a live debate, rather it was a series of audio exchanges that took place in late 2013.� The exchanges were according to agreed upon time limitations on each section. For each of their several sections, the debaters were given at least a week to analyze, script and record their entries before submit...
rd123 Rules vs. Concequences
December 19, 2013 17:17 - 1 hourFor the second part of our "Winter of Morality" series, Dr. Galen examines the psychological factors that make a deontological (rule-based) approach to morality more appealing to most religious people than a consequentialist approach. Meta-ethical questions aside, does adopting a deontological perspective over a utilitarian ethic actually make any difference in real-world measures of moral behavior? According to new studies it might. Fundamentalists, for example, tend to adhere rigidly to a r...
rd122 a Deluge of Stupidity
November 27, 2013 15:58 - 1 hourKen Ham is trying to raise 24 million Dollars to build a life size replica of Noah's Ark for the Ark Encounter theme park and zoo. Ham hopes that the park will convince people that Noah really could have fit two of each of the worlds animals on a 450 foot wooden boat. While apologists like the Creation Research Institute's John Woodmorappe argue it could have been feasible for Noah to build an ark, investors are not as confident in Ham's Ark project. Which is why the young earth creationist...
rd121 Divine Deception with Erik Wielenberg
November 05, 2013 21:31Philosopher Erik Wielenberg joins us on the show to discuss his upcoming paper on Skeptical Theism and Divine Deception. The evidential argument from evil concludes that the existence of God is unlikely given the many cases of gratuitous suffering we witness in nature. Some theists have responded that we cannot grasp the mind of God and have no reason to assume these instances of suffering may not work out to some greater good. Wielenberg argues that this skepticism, if adopted, would undermi...
rd120 Church for Atheists? with guest Jerry Dewitt
October 19, 2013 20:51After 25 years of ministry, Pentecostal preacher turned atheist, Jerry Dewitt, finds himself behind the pulpit once again. He's still singing, teaching and calling upon his congregation to share testimonials...but this is no ordinary "church." The Community Mission Chapel, where Dewitt now serves, spreads a humanist message to a congregation of atheists. But do atheists really need a church? Dewitt joins us in the studio to tell us about his church, the challenges of ministering to atheists a...
rd119 Quivering Part 2 with guest Vyckie Garrison
October 04, 2013 21:35Ex-quiverful mom and activist, Vyckie Garrison, joins us in the studio to talk about the aftermath of her decision to leave her husband and religious community and to share what she is doing to help women like her to escape abusive patriarchal households. Also on this episode we take a critical look at Bill O'Reilly's new book "Killing Jesus". We also explore the new Atheist Mega-Church "The Sunday Assembly" and debate just how closely secular communities should emulate religious congregatio...
rd118 Quivering Part 1 with guest Vyckie Garrison
September 20, 2013 03:24A disturbing trend is catching on among Christian fundamentalists across the nation. Couples are abandoning birth control and encouraging women to view their “wombs as weapons� in America's culture wars. Dubbed the “quiverful� movement, these families come from different denominational backgrounds but are united in the hope that by out breeding the competition they might stem the tide of secularism. Vyckie Garrison once made her living promoting this extreme patriarchal view of the fami...
rd117 Why Are Atheists More Intelligent?
August 31, 2013 07:55The Doubtcasters return from their ridiculously long, unannounced break to dissect the research behind the much reported headline that non-religious people are, on average, more intelligent than the religious. While the available data makes it clear that religion is negatively correlated with intelligence, the reasons behind this relationship are less clear. We will review some of the best theories advanced to explain this relationship for this episodes "God Thinks Like You" segment. Also, a...
RD Extra: Andrews vs Schieber Debate - Does the God of Christianity Exist
August 03, 2013 20:38This debate was not a live debate, rather it was a series of audio exchanges that took place through the months of June and July of 2013. The exchanges were according to agreed upon time limitations on each section. For each of their several sections, the debaters were given at least a week to analyze, script and record their entries before submitting it to their opponent. Each submission, has been edited together in the agreed upon order for your listening interest. As one speaker ends, t...
RD Extra: A Skeptical Review of Religious Prosociality Research
July 19, 2013 00:42This RD extra features a lecture by Luke Galen "A Skeptical Review of Religious Prosociality" delivered to CFI Michigan June 26th 2013 It is often suggested that religion leads individuals to be more prosocial, that is, more cooperative, generous, friendly, and happy. A commonly held belief is that "religion makes better neighbors". However, a closer examination of the research supporting these claims yields important qualifications to this relationship. Dr. Galen will offer some common exam...
rd116 The Outsider Test For Faith
June 21, 2013 04:55How can one accept the Bible at face value but reject the Quran's teachings? How can one accept Christian miracles as evidence but reject Hindu miracles? John Loftus, author of the Christian Delusion and God or Godless, joins us on the show to discuss the Outsider Test For Faith, which challenges believers to thoughtfully consider why they reject the claims of other religions and then apply the same critical standards to their own beliefs. Also on the show, its the Gospel of Superman! Why ...
rd115 The Myth of Martyrdom part 3
June 07, 2013 21:04The doubtcasters wrap up their "Myth of Martyrdom" series by discussing the evidence of others (non-apostles) who supposedly witnessed the resurrection, other miracle claims from antiquity and the false dichotomy at the heart of the "die for a lie" argument. Also, the Dr. Professor makes up for lost time by reviewing numerous studies on the psychology of religion, including: religious rationalizations of criminal behavior, cognitive overlap between deontological and consequentialist moral rea...
RD Extra: Smith vs Schieber - The Status of God in the 21st Century
May 17, 2013 19:04Last month Justin Schieber was invited by Etcetera (Etcetera.org) to Traverse City, Michigan to debate/discuss with Scott Smith (TCApologetics.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. For video of the debate go to www.doubtcast.org
rd114 The Myth of Martyrdom part 2: Who Would Die for a Lie?
May 03, 2013 23:05Would 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 apostles martyrdom is compelling confirmation that the message they preached was true. But is there any reliable evidence that the apostles actually were martyred for their faith in the re...
rd113 The Myth of Martyrdom Part 1 with guest Candida Moss
April 19, 2013 03:33Jesus 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 new book "The Myth of Christian Persecution" Candida Moss argues that the martyrdom stories from the first centuries of the Christian church have been exaggerated, and in ...
rd112 The Great Agnostic with guest Susan Jacoby
March 29, 2013 00:27Today 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 personal charm was so disarming that people would travel miles for a chance to hear him speak. Susan Jacoby, author of Freethinkers and the Ag...
RD Extra: Orme vs Schieber Debate - Does The Christian God Exist?
March 17, 2013 20:14For this RD Extra, we give you a lengthy debate on the existence of the Christian god. Arguing in the affirmative is apologist Jared Orme of Conversion Points Radio and in the negative, Justin Schieber. Reasonable Doubts wants to thank Jared for the time and effort he put into this exchange
rd111 Goodbye Joey Ratz
February 28, 2013 18:59Celebrate 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 resign? What will he do now? Who will be the next pope? Also, a brief history of Papal resignations before Benedict and we turn to Stephen Greenblatt's book "The Swerve" for a surprising connection between a former Pope ...
rd110 Clever Hermeneutics
February 14, 2013 01:36What 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 that God really did command these atrocities but how can one give any intelligible account of God's holiness if He commands such evil deeds? Ar...
RD Extra: Debating the Amalekite Genocide
January 31, 2013 23:13When 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� with these difficult passages when, in reality, they are rewriting them. Recently, Justin Schieber was invited to debate God�s command t...
RD Extra: The Nativity Debate
December 24, 2012 03:20Don'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!
rd109 The Biology of Religious Patriarchy
December 15, 2012 03:29Why 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 history or are there deeper forces at work? On this episode the doubtcasters review recent studies which il...
rd108 Post-Election Withdrawal
November 20, 2012 21:52The 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.
RD Extra: Is Abortion Murder? (Debate)
November 14, 2012 16:49Contrary to what we hear shouted from both sides of the pro-choice/pro-life divide, abortion actually is a complicated issue. Is it possible to make progress on an issue that seems to straddle the line of our deepest philosophical differences? If it is, it certainly won't be done with pictures of dead fetus' or insisting that a women's right to choose is the only morally relevant factor to consider. This RD extra is a debate between Justin Schieber and John Barron on the issue of abortion. ...
RD Extra: Remembering Paul Kurtz
November 04, 2012 23:17The following is a rebroadcast of the doubtcasters 2007 interview with the late humanist philosopher, author and activist Paul Kurtz.
rd107 Are We Born Depraved?
October 11, 2012 22:39The discovery that children have a natural inclination to believe in invisible, immortal, super-knowing agents has some religious apologists boasting that science has found the sensus divinitatis. Despite possessing this inner sense of the divine, John Calvin declared children to be morally corrupt by nature. This doctrine of total depravity has served as a justification for authoritarian child-rearing practices aimed at instilling obedience in strong-willed children. But a close look at th...
rd106 Moonie Madness
September 18, 2012 22:50The 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 Unification Church. While their beliefs and practices may strike most as odd they are hardly the predatory cult some have made th...
RD Extra: The Problem of Non-God Objects
August 29, 2012 18:02This 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 intentionally creating non-god objects.The Christian scriptures seem clear; John 1:3 says 'All things came into being through him, and without him not one ...
rd105 Are We Born to Believe?
August 10, 2012 02:02Some atheists have argued that children are naturally non-believers. Were it not for indoctrination at the hands of parents and clergy children would never pick up supernatural beliefs on their own and religion would wither and die. But a growing body of research in developmental psychology suggests just the opposite. Children have a natural inclination to believe in invisible, immortal, super-knowing agents who are responsible for design in the natural world. For this first part in a series ...
RD Extra: Polyatheism - Modern Lessons From Ancient Myths
July 20, 2012 19:42This RD Extra features a lecture by David Fletcher, delivered to CFI Michigan on July 11th 2012 Lecture Description: There are many lessons we can learn from the myths of ancient and modern cultures, ranging from the profound to the absurd. In this presentation we will explore the mythologies of various cultures around the world and get to know some of the many gods and goddesses worth not believing in.