We have a guest, Reap from Reapsow Radio and The Angry Atheist.
PURITY BEAR SEZ: KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS, Pope warns of ‘radical secularism’, Atheist Temple: Nonbelievers To Get Place Of ‘Worship’ In UK, Rick Santorum: Left uses college for “indoctrination”, Rick Santorum On Opposition To Abortion In Cases Of Rape: ‘Make The Best Out Of A Bad Situation’, Santorum Promises To Outlaw Gay Civil Marriage Because It Does Not Reflect ‘God’s Will For Us’, Oklahoma GOP Introduces Bill That Attacks Evolution And Climate Change, Nigeria’s “witch children” find refuge at center, Tennessee Rep. Says It’s ‘Virtually Impossible’ To Contract AIDS Through Heterosexual Sex, North Carolina GOP Lawmaker Calls For Bringing Back Public Hangings, Starting With Abortion Providers, Yes, the Romneys Converted Mitt’s Dead Atheist Father-in-Law to MormonismClips used: Rick Santorum – Meet the Press, Book of Mormon at Tony Awards, Jesus Camp, “Just Nasty” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com),
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When you guys started talking about this atheist temple, I suspected you were being punked. I can’t see how any atheist organization would even put this kind of thing on the agenda.
But after looking into it, it looks more plausible. Apparently it’s just one guy’s plan, Alain do Botton. He’s independently wealthy, having inherited over 200 million euros, and he’s an architecture enthusiast.
So it makes sense that one filthy rich guy might think up a plan along these lines. I guess we’ll see whether he actually follows through on it. But I’m with you, I also have trouble imagining what use he could possibly put this building to that would be specifically for atheists.
Building a 46m tall thingy to commemorate the earths approximate age of 4.6 billion years? Come on guys, the meaning is fairly obvious. Every cm would stand for an epoch (aka 1 million years). And yes, building a temple for atheists is retarded, if it’s really a temple.
Burning in Mormon hell? I don’t think you guys know too much about mormonism f you think the LDS stance on non-believers is that they burn in hell.
The Mormon hell comment was a joke, in this case the use of obvious hyperbole meant to highlight the absurdity of a situation. It was not meant to be taken too seriously, much like our show. My understanding is that the Mormons believe that there is a hell, often regarded as a place where the unrepentant are sent for suffering after rejecting the opportunity to reconcile with god after being given this choice in the spirit world. It strikes me as insane then that there would even be a baptism of the living, much less the dead, if everyone gets a chance in the spirit world to convert. What does the baptism then accomplish? Is it a cosmic line jumping technique? The LDS church talks about being saved. Saved from what if not some kind of punishment? I can only be saved if I’m in some kind of danger, otherwise there’s nothing to be saved from. I think Cecil and I are the first to admit we don’t know much if anything about Mormonism. I will also admit to a dearth of knowledge regarding the latest in bigfoot and yeti research, or the intimate details of local beliefs in Scandanavian Elves. Listeners will find that my not knowing something about the absurd, ridiculous, unproven, or impossible will rarely stop me from making a good joke. Or a bad joke. Or an off color comment. Anyway, thanks for listening.
If my understanding is woeful and lacking nuance and depth, which I admit is EXTREMELY likely, please feel free to enlighten me regarding the subject.
Tip: make the note page more organized.
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Otherwise, awesome!
Hey! I love your podcast! I’ve been a big fan of several other podcasts in the past (Radiolab, for instance) and I’m always on the lookout for new programs to listen to at work that aren’t stupid, awful, or boring… somehow, your show manages to not be any of these things. I’m absolutely hooked.
By the way, I love your skeptic’s creed. I would get it tattooed on my back if that wasn’t a stupid and ridiculous thing to do. Besides, how often are people going to be staring at my back? What kind of a life would I have to be leading to be constantly shirtless and walking away from people… hmmm…
While I completely agree with the tiny quibbles you have re Santorum’s position on all that is rational and pro-human, I must take exception to your characterization of his position on abortion, stem cell research, etc. as “pro-life”. In no way is it pro-life to insist that a rape victim, or a woman who will die of her pregnancy continue with her pregnancy. Every study of the matter shows that outlawing abortion leads to more abortions and to more pregnancy related deaths. Much better characterizations of these self-proclaimed “pro-life” assholes are anti-freedom, pro-theocracy, or pro-misery. The stem cell research “controversy” is even more ridiculous (if that is possible) than the “life begins at conception” bullshit. Here we have a clump of cells which could be used to cure all kinds of horrible diseases. We can either use them for research to come up with such cures, or we can throw them away as medical waste. There is no other way in which these cells can be dealt with. So how is it pro-life to throw away these potentially very valuable resources instead of using them to help save lives?
Yes, I know, this comment is a bit late, but I’m working my way back through your excellent podcasts while keeping up with the latest and greatest.
Keep up the good work.