I can’t think you guys enough for what you do. I was raised Catholic and even as a child I kind of thought it was stupid. When they told us the host was the body of Christ I thought it was a lie they told us bad children to be respectful of it. I realized as an adult I faked faith to make my family more comfortable. Fortunately, having a kid made me realize I didn’t want to do that to my kid. People like you guys are such a necessary support for those of us who face real consequences in our families over this issue.
That is kind of how I felt about being a Mormon. I though Catholics were crazy for worshiping Mary and believing in transubstantiation. Yet I believed Joseph Smith had found golden plate containing the history of a people that have never existed. Also, somehow we believed in proxy baptisms and marriages for people long dead. Talk about wearing blinders and earplugs when it came to others people's beliefs!
I went to a catholic school in the 60s and early 70s. We were asked at assembly one Monday morning, "who never attended mass on Sunday?" Two boys came forward. They were marched off to the priest, they had committed a mortal sin. How did this effect those kids, being told that they would spend eternity in hell.
Am I the only christian here who appreciate this? Wasn’t it for the long distance to my country I would be happy to invite Seth to give a talk in my church. We would perhaps not agree on everything he says but it would surely be appreciated and lead to interesting discussions in a constructive spirit. Let me know if you happen to be in Scandinavia
You very well might be. Ive seen christians lie and say some of the most ridiculous things when discrepancies are identified in the bible. I even lost a friend when i tried to tell them the tale of noah is a myth. It can be quite sad to find most religious people can be quite rude if you don't share their opinion.
I am 82 years old and have been an atheist for about seven year. I find very few people I can converse with because I am an ex-Mormon. I have found that today I am more liberal and probably a kinder human being. I love to meet people that I once had nothing in common with because they were the others who didn't think like I thought or act like I did. I believe that I have much to share about what I have learned over the years. Should you want to know some of my views on religion, especially Mormonism, I share some of my views as a guest on Mormonismlive #54 and The Backyardprofessor #125.
I can relate, having spent about 20 years in the Mormon church. Left it all behind decades ago (I'm in my 70's) and now I'm full-on atheist. I'm not just non-religious, I'm anti-religious. I think religion (of ANY flavor) is poison and does immeasurable damage to people's minds.
I was sent to a private Christian school at 13 years old and still have PTSD from that school. I sometimes get panic attacks from thinking about it. That school in general felt creepy. And even at that age when we were studying "history" I knew that it was all nonsense. I didn't buy for a minute that there were people back in the day who lived to be 900 years old or that a man built a boat and managed to get all of the animals on earth to somehow make it to the boat and fit into it. It was so ridiculous to me. The only things that made that school somewhat tolerable is when we were occasionally let outside to go for a hike with an adult supervisor or hanging out with girls and having fun. Those were the only two things that I liked about that school.
A fine dialogue. Seth couldn't simply deconvert; he had to become an activist and humanist lodestone! Always focused and engaging. And Ms. Selbie's no slouch, either. Thanks.
This is great! I was lucky enough not to have been raised in an extreme bible-thumping home, but I did spend enough time in a very rightwing religion as a young adult to know how awful it is. Took time to extricate myself, as I think it does with most people. Life is MUCH better living in the world of reality and rationality. I'm not just non-religious, I'm anti-religious. I think it's a worthy effort, and I only hope more and more people leave it all behind. In the meantime, though, it's not just that we're surrounded by mind-warped indoctrinated extremists, but that they all have guns and hate people who tell the truth. That's scary.
I don't have a deconversion story. I was never converted. Just born sceptical I guess. I'm glad I missed that particular trauma. Glad that people are finding ways out of those manipulative, criminal, heinous cults.
I am very close to 70, I'm trans, I would identify left of Bernie. I am getting tired of people saying that this fascist state we seem to be on the edge of is because of all the old people. Many of my generation were imprisoned and died for the change to a society for all not the few. I see the pictures and videos of people rioting for a hateful ideology and there are at least as many, probably more, young people as old trying to impose their christian taliban.
Thanks for watching and sharing your insight. You make a good point - many in your generation fought against what we see now. It's not just one age group, gender, or even religion that is responsible for our current mess. Thanks for commenting, Emma.
Well, no, I'm not confused about life. The only thing I'm confused about is the line of thinking that brought you to that conclusion. But don't bother trying to explain it because I don't really care how you arrived there. End @@Mrfrancis1971
Change is possible. I certainly changed. I used to be a bigot in the name of God believing that I was right and that everybody else was wrong. I was raised as a Christian by a preacher father and Christian mother from the church of Christ. I was certainly indoctrinated as a child. I used to say I don't hate the sinner, but I hate the sin. Bull!! I hated the "sinners". I used to tell people from the LGBTQ+ community that they were living in abomination and that they would burn in hell for their wickedness. I'm so ashamed to have thought like that. I used to be a fox news watching conservative republican Christian and I was always angry at the world for being "immoral". Now that I'm an atheist, I can use logic and see the world more clearly. I am much happier now. I'm ashamed to have been a Christian and to have been a bigot in God's name. Religion poisons the world.
As the youngest of three, I have watched my sisters live such a different life than I have. I have watched them rebel against my religious parents, and go no contact, only to (after having a child) settle down in the same religious bigotry they always rebelled against. I have had to go no contact with almost all of my family because they treat me so horribly for not believing the same as they do.
💔families are complicated... im so sorry ur sisters got stuck back in religion. My family got damaged also..smh. and I'm glad we both got free and found Janice and Seth❤🩹to help us heal. great podcast!!💖💖💖
That is so painful. I hope you're finding support & community. Check out www.divorcing-religion.com/ if you need more.Thanks for watching and commenting.
I would say all of us here were ostracized by family for not believing their fairy tails. I am Cajun where family and southern hospitality is their foundation but its a lie. From my perception the reason for hating a family member for not following their dogma stems back to their faith in their family that brainwashed them in the first place. All christians become offensive when given facts that go against their beliefs because it proves their mothers and fathers were brainwashed idiots and they refuse to accept this.
I would edit the "generation that has to die off" as a SEGMENT of that generation. It's more so a geography of people who live in cul-de-sacs where no one de-conforms to Christianity and specific flavors of it. I'm a Boomer. We were the shakers and movers. And some of us still find the will to examine our lives. Some won't. That's true across generations. It IS possible to get stuck in any ideology.
Yes I agree when I hear us lumped together. I’m a boomer too! We are not all the same (though I was once a born again evangelical republican until 2009). I fully deconverted in 2020 during the pandemic when I found Seth at The Thinking Atheist and others like him and the journey to unravel the indoctrination from birth that had me in its clutches began. I will be forever grateful even though it took 58 years to be completely free.
I am a fan of Seth Andrews but in this interview, his statement that a certain generation “just needs to die” is a cheap shot - as if that alone will solve all the problems of faith.. I had to stop watching after that. We have to stop throwing all people of a certain age into the same basket. My mother is 90 and was never a believer, worked for a national union for 30 years and raised me to be an independent thinker. She is disgusted with what’s going on now on the far right and I clearly remember her rants at Jerry Falwell’s “moral majority” back in the 80s. I myself am 63 and am as disgusted with evangelical politics as anyone! There are still plenty of younger people on the planet who will continue this magical thinking and accepting what they hear from people they look up to as gospel and without question. Who does Seth think made the women’s rights progress he took for granted at one time? Women who are now in their 70s and 80s did.
Like Seth, I witnessed a negative shift in my mental state and my behavior while I was arguing politics on Twitter, which is what led me to quit that flaming dumpster permanently about two years ago. I would spend a lot of time trying to come up with witty ripostes and scathing takedowns and mostly hanging out with a crowd that had similar views to mine, leading me to inadvertently put myself in an echo chamber. When I left, I soon realized that my "in-group" weren't always right, and that I was becoming a person that I hated. And being neurodivergent, I am particularly sensitive to what is said to me and the tone of voice used, so I would be compelled to respond to every single thing I disagreed with lest I spend hours just ruminating nonstop. Severely cutting down on my social media use was the best thing I could have done for myself. Social media brings out the absolute worst of human nature, even in people like us that would frown upon such behavior if it were directed at us. Truly, no one wins.
weird to hear about all the deconversions. When I first heard about deities (at the age of 12-ish, in history lesson), I almost did not believe my teacher that the majority of mankind was and had been religi0us. It was nonsense already at that age.
@@jwsanders1214 we (our entire species) still don't KNOW what a deity is. We have CLAIMS about them. Nothing else. Sadly, this makes your bible quote and every "holy" b00k useless. W0rd salads about mythology. But feel free to give it a try. - what is the g0d? and - what was your method to test any claim about the g0d?
When you encourage the mind to accept ideas uncritically and without evidence, you condition it to believe in all manners of nonsense, and also cripple its ability to actually discern true from false. I do think a lot of what is going on worldwide relates to the death throes of these magical/mythical systems. I'm thankful for Seth and everyone fighting the good fight. Also gotta go look for him talking to a neuroscientist, I think cognitive biases explain a lot about religiosity.
Take A Moment My fellow Ape's religion affects every aspect of thought in the world. Millions of years of evolution have caused tribal war. I live in Calgary Untruedauxland I am a veteran of the RAF for 28yrs After a failed suicide attempt 6 yrs ago. I am living with 24/7 medical care in an approved home. I am 64 and a repaired 2nd vertebra cause a limp. I and many of my comrades are in their foxholes and saw no signs of gods. I am lucky to be able to tell my tale. Stay Safe Stay Free 🌐 I love this show I am in the park today, late June 2023. Share Share and share again ❤
Love Seth’s regular podcast and also the “True Stories”. Great guest, especially these days. Thank you for a great show. EDIT: I wish I was as optimistic as Seth is that we need a certain generation to die off…I’m sure I’m part of that generation, but I am progressive and always have been. But he isn’t wrong that too many of my generation IS too wrapped up in this hazy fever dream of an idealized (to them) time when the majority (white and Christian) didn’t much think about hard questions of rights and fairness and science and inclusion…They don’t WANT to think too hard except about money and possessions and looking okay for the neighbors. I hope not too many younger people haven’t been co-opted by the allure of maintaining their privileges and power.
@@margaretjohnson6259 I am tired of boomers being blamed for trump. If any generation should be blamed it is the silent generation…but I don’t think it is fair to blame any entire generation for anything. It’s magical thinking in its own way.
@@tinyshepherdess7710 it's not any particular generation anyway. it's the wealthy, the corporations, the economy that cause problems. it's greed and ambition. my parents didn't do anything, nor did my generation, or any other generation. the people with power decide how the rest of us will live.
Great podcast! I LOVE ghost stories! Please post the link to the past and future ghost story podcasts! I of course don't believe in ghosts or angels or demons or any of that stuff. Halloween is my fave holiday!
Unfortunately my sister and her significant other are caught up in the MAGA cult and they aren't as bad as the most extreme members. However it bothers me because I can't have a decent discussion with them about politics because they bring up some right wing garbage. Thank goodness for people like Seth who help me stay grounded in secularism.
Sorry to learn that family members have been swept up into the MAGA /Donald Trump cult. Thanks for watching our chat and taking the time to share your experience.
Seth Andrews love you friend, your the fuking greatest,dude. Love all of your content. You Matt Dillahunty, Aron Ra, there's a few more I love as well. Your at the top with the other two I mentioned. Keep on keeping on keeping on. ❤👍🏻👍🏻🖖🏻
@@ComeToCORT I try my best to encourage people to question themselves in their beliefs and research it. Ex southern baptist so I know how it can poison the brain. Take care, stay well and keep on keeping on. 😁✌🏻🖖🏻
@@TAKINGACTION-j9e Maybe you will see reality and stop imaging supernatural nonsense exist DUDE. ASSERTING THINGS WITHOUT EVIDENCE CAN BE DISMISSED WITHOUT EVIDENCE. HITCHING's RAZOR LOOK it up and do yourself a favor. I want belief the most true things as possible, obviously you don't give a shit like all religious people. If you can prove what you believe is true, then you have no good reason to believe it. Faith is something you need when you can't prove what you believe is true. Fact Been there done that. ( I have no GODDAMN heroes only good humans doing the right thing. Spreading BS you can't prove is true is not a good thing.
17:20 I have read both the Old and New Testament. After I was finished I did not want any parts of it. All religions are man’s creation. Religion is not needed anymore. Time to move on.
Ohio here, issue 1 women's rights voted in with a double digit margin Nov 2023. Same with the legal marijuana bill issue 2, we passed that too and that MUST be a reference to Genesis and god said let the earth bring forth grass, amen! Both are "democrat" wins but a win for everyone who voted either way as your vote counts. The two issues passed for a reason! 😊
It seems fair to ask a loving god for a rules update every few hundred years. Maybe somebody needs to send Trump up mount Sinai to get some rules that are less opposed to where humanity is at in this century.
Atheist philosopher Luc Ferry asserts that human rights stem from the Judeo-Christian idea that each human is made in the image of God, and therefore has dignity and rights.
Janice: Is it "partreon" or "patreon?" You have it listed with an "r" after the "pa," yet I've seen it listed without that. If you made a typo, you might want to correct that. :)
I was thinking about this the other day and isn't it 2 sacrifices? The first body died on the cross and 3 days later it was reanimated back to life. Doubting Thomas was able to put his fingers in the holes from the nails and spear. Then when he rose to heaven the body had to die again because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. So was it a zero sum game - Jesus wasn't really raised from the dead because his body was killed again. So what was the point?
@@margaretjohnson6259 have you ever read the book Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice? This point is raised in this book. The Vampire Lestat (from Interview with the Vampire) is approached by the Devil, who asks him to be his right hand man. He takes him to heaven and hell. He shows him creation and the evolution of the universe and life. He then takes him to see Jesus preparing to be executed. He was the one who challenged god to become human so that he could experience human life and suffering. God told him how great a sacrifice he was making, and the Devil Memnoch told him that he was God, he knows that he will immediately be in heaven and be God for eternity. What kind of bullshit "sacrifice" is that?
@@cullenarthur8879 yes, i read that book. enjoyed it thoroughly. might be where i got the idea that jesus didn't sacrifice anything. i read a lot. a lot. so many ideas and concepts in the world.
I'm not sure that i agree with the whole generation dying off, as if this will solve our problems. I hate to say it, but it isn't just old people who are believers. There's still plenty of die hard younger believers, who will eventually replace the older ones. And if our recent history has proven anything, it's really easy for our society to regress. We are most definitely not at a point where this is the last desperate gasp by Christians. First off, Christians are still the majority by a huge margin. And when or if it ever gets to the point where they are in a desperate last gasp situation, I promise it will likely involve violence. There will be even more mass shootings, bombings and death. Those last few zealous believers will not simply go away without a fight or simply getting revenge on their "oppressors".
At what point in our future do we expect the entire population of humanity to suddenly become well behaved, shedding our nefarious alter ego for good. I posit, that nature will never produce such a species. I wish it weren't so but to believe it's a real plausible eventuality seems naïve. Criminals don't operate by laws, so we can regulate gun ownership to the end of civilization as we know it, but we can't rid the planet of sticks and stones or amputate everyone's hands in hopes we can eradicate violence. Violence is in us because violence is an intrinsic part of this natural order which we can observe in practically every other species. We are not the only animal that exhibits both predator and prey characteristics, many species murder their own kind.
Please don't confuse extreme right with bring religious. I'm 60 ex Christian now atheist. I don't just jump on the bandwagon about everything. I do believe in being conservative about money 👍
Trump blew the dog whistle ...and that wasn't surprising....but what was surprising....is how many dogs there are. ....and I am in the need to die off generation...but many many of us agree with you guys...so don't be so eager for us to die off. Look at the generation of proud boys...they are much younger...and...they're having a lotta lotta babies. You've called that one wrong.
I can't bring myself to read The Handsmaids' Tale. It just seems far too real to me at this point. What are these liars trying to do ? Preaching politics from the pulpit, tax free, yeeh'allah.
The human mind, no matter how highly trained, cannot grasp the universe. We are in the position of a little child, entering a huge library, whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of the human mind, even the greatest and most cultured, toward God. We see a universe marvellously arranged, obeying certain laws, but we understand the laws only dimly. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that sways the constellations. I am fascinated by Spinoza’s Pantheism.
You still revert to the Bible in spreading the word of god. It is not easy to let go of the past in it being part of you in how you do what you do. You are still keeping this religious lifestyle alive. The rest of all you say is just basic secular reality problems caused by one's ignorance.
Simply reality problems not exclusively and specificity secular reality problems. Shouldn’t have been labelled as secular reality problems when they are fundamentally just problems that both theists and atheists will face, I appreciate you probably wanted to make a difference between the problems specifically caused by religion and problems not specifically caused by religion but your wording implies problems caused by being secular…
As an conservative atheist I enjoyed watching your videos. But now I you also did a 100% jump including politics. Getting on guns subject. I'm pro gun. Well, good luck with your videos. Adios'
Yes, I do get into politics sometimes due to the rise of Christian Nationalism. As for gun ownership, I'm sure there are many responsible gun owners in the USA - but there is also a toxic aspect to what appears (to the rest of the world) as an obsession that is killing innocent children.
Many people hold personal and private religious beliefs which can provide them comfort as they deal with problems they can’t solve. I would not deny them that. Most of the problems religion causes result from people using their religion as a reason to criticize, look down on, and control others. Too many of the various forms of Christianity unfortunately are inflicted with a great deal of this malady. I am reminded of the statement attributed to Gandhi - I like your Christ. I don’t like your Christians.
You keep saying the extreme right the extreme right the extreme right? Really there's extreme leftist 2 that does this so let me ask you something who decides who gets to have their religion? Who what part of the government says hey you can be a religion who gets to decide that I don't think it's the right or left. I'm an atheist but it's always extreme right you never hear anything about the string left I don't get it. What about the liberals?
Old white guys? I don't support racism ever. Done with your channel. I'm disappointed. I enjoy everything but hearing racism. Sorry. I'm done with you. Racism has diminished your message.
It's very possible that you were the exception. It's possible that you supported equal rights in the 50s and 60s. It's possible that you weren't racist and were against segregation. If you were against segregation and supported equal civil rights, I thank you for that. But if that was the case, you were the exception. Back then, white people, especially in the south, hated people of color and didn't want anything to do with them based on the color of their skin. I live in Texas, and I've met old boomers who talk about the good old days when black people knew their place and it disgusts me to hear that.
@ComeToCORT I don't think y'all missed the mark. Perhaps a slight exaggeration. I mean, it's true that most old white boomers wish to live in a Christian theocracy where gay marriage is illegal and I'm sure that if they had it their way, we would go back to segregation, but not all boomers are like that. The great majority, especially in the south, are that way, but not everyone. Some people from my generation, I was born in 1996, are also racist homophobic bigots, such as the proud boys who, in reality, are young racist neonazis. But I think that the world is advancing. Like Seth said, when the baby boomer generation naturally dies out of old age, the world will probably be a lot better than it is now.
The logic of using racism as an argument for anything fails repeatedly, but works because no one ever calls it for what it is - straight bullsttt 👉: I see it in this conversation too. "Old white guys" equals racism, .. Err... Not true, and ridiculous. "...white boomers wish to live in a Christian theocracy...". No. They don't. Theocracies of any flavor, are simply Totalitarian govts attempting to prove that god is on their side. Don't work. Never will. And goes against human nature to be free. ..just for starters.
6:30 l think you guys are talking down to your audience. of course politics effects everything. We just want to hear something else sometimes.... politics politics politics.
good stuff. thing about the short stories series by Seth...maybe they are past due date. they're not as relatable as stories about and by people alive today. i heard a few of those short stories, and some are ok but, some are not that good. subjects need to hut very close to home. barely know the name Johnny Cash, let alone listen to country music
I can’t think you guys enough for what you do. I was raised Catholic and even as a child I kind of thought it was stupid. When they told us the host was the body of Christ I thought it was a lie they told us bad children to be respectful of it. I realized as an adult I faked faith to make my family more comfortable. Fortunately, having a kid made me realize I didn’t want to do that to my kid. People like you guys are such a necessary support for those of us who face real consequences in our families over this issue.
Thank you for watching and for your encouragement. I'm glad you saw through the religious lies.
That is kind of how I felt about being a Mormon. I though Catholics were crazy for worshiping Mary and believing in transubstantiation. Yet I believed Joseph Smith had found golden plate containing the history of a people that have never existed. Also, somehow we believed in proxy baptisms and marriages for people long dead. Talk about wearing blinders and earplugs when it came to others people's beliefs!
I went to a catholic school in the 60s and early 70s. We were asked at assembly one Monday morning, "who never attended mass on Sunday?" Two boys came forward. They were marched off to the priest, they had committed a mortal sin. How did this effect those kids, being told that they would spend eternity in hell.
Wow! That is awful. I hope both of them (and the priest) finally saw through that belief system.
My experience was exactly the same.
Am I the only christian here who appreciate this? Wasn’t it for the long distance to my country I would be happy to invite Seth to give a talk in my church. We would perhaps not agree on everything he says but it would surely be appreciated and lead to interesting discussions in a constructive spirit. Let me know if you happen to be in Scandinavia
Thank you for watching and commenting from lovely Scandinavia!
You very well might be. Ive seen christians lie and say some of the most ridiculous things when discrepancies are identified in the bible.
I even lost a friend when i tried to tell them the tale of noah is a myth. It can be quite sad to find most religious people can be quite rude if you don't share their opinion.
I am 82 years old and have been an atheist for about seven year. I find very few people I can converse with because I am an ex-Mormon. I have found that today I am more liberal and probably a kinder human being. I love to meet people that I once had nothing in common with because they were the others who didn't think like I thought or act like I did. I believe that I have much to share about what I have learned over the years. Should you want to know some of my views on religion, especially Mormonism, I share some of my views as a guest on Mormonismlive #54 and The Backyardprofessor #125.
Thanks for watching, Barry. I'm glad you made your way out and hope that you are able to interact meaningfully with other atheists.
I can relate, having spent about 20 years in the Mormon church. Left it all behind decades ago (I'm in my 70's) and now I'm full-on atheist. I'm not just non-religious, I'm anti-religious. I think religion (of ANY flavor) is poison and does immeasurable damage to people's minds.
Ex-mo here too. Used to hang out in apologetics so knew Kerry back in the day. Life certainly can send you in different directions.
@@bgroesser Thank you for responding, Barry. I'm here if you ever want to talk.
Thank you for your comment. I am a 28yr veteran of the RAF living with PTSD in Calgary Untruedauxland
Thanks again
Stay Safe and Stay Free 🙏
I was sent to a private Christian school at 13 years old and still have PTSD from that school. I sometimes get panic attacks from thinking about it. That school in general felt creepy. And even at that age when we were studying "history" I knew that it was all nonsense. I didn't buy for a minute that there were people back in the day who lived to be 900 years old or that a man built a boat and managed to get all of the animals on earth to somehow make it to the boat and fit into it. It was so ridiculous to me. The only things that made that school somewhat tolerable is when we were occasionally let outside to go for a hike with an adult supervisor or hanging out with girls and having fun. Those were the only two things that I liked about that school.
Sounds like a disturbing experience. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Always fight religious dogma - much love to Seth. I love all your videos!
Seth is terrific! Thanks for watching.
A fine dialogue. Seth couldn't simply deconvert; he had to
become an activist and humanist lodestone! Always focused
and engaging. And Ms. Selbie's no slouch, either. Thanks.
Very kind, thank you!
Great show. Seth is always good to listen to.
Agreed! He's a treasure.
What do you do when you know the ONLY reason your parents want to talk to you is to ‘build a relationship’ so eventually you’ll go back to church.
That is a sad reality for many. Accepting it for what it is places you in a position of power. Reach out to me if you're interested in 1:1 support.
This is great! I was lucky enough not to have been raised in an extreme bible-thumping home, but I did spend enough time in a very rightwing religion as a young adult to know how awful it is. Took time to extricate myself, as I think it does with most people. Life is MUCH better living in the world of reality and rationality. I'm not just non-religious, I'm anti-religious. I think it's a worthy effort, and I only hope more and more people leave it all behind. In the meantime, though, it's not just that we're surrounded by mind-warped indoctrinated extremists, but that they all have guns and hate people who tell the truth. That's scary.
Thanks for watching!
I don't have a deconversion story. I was never converted. Just born sceptical I guess. I'm glad I missed that particular trauma. Glad that people are finding ways out of those manipulative, criminal, heinous cults.
You are fortunate, indeed! Thanks for watching.
@@ComeToCORTI will pray for you.
I am very close to 70, I'm trans, I would identify left of Bernie. I am getting tired of people saying that this fascist state we seem to be on the edge of is because of all the old people. Many of my generation were imprisoned and died for the change to a society for all not the few. I see the pictures and videos of people rioting for a hateful ideology and there are at least as many, probably more, young people as old trying to impose their christian taliban.
Thanks for watching and sharing your insight. You make a good point - many in your generation fought against what we see now. It's not just one age group, gender, or even religion that is responsible for our current mess. Thanks for commenting, Emma.
I am sick of it too. It is not fair and not true. At 63 I have been for social Justice and liberal causes my entire life.
@@tinyshepherdess7710 That's great! Thanks for watching.
so you are 70 years old and still confused about life?
Well, no, I'm not confused about life. The only thing I'm confused about is the line of thinking that brought you to that conclusion. But don't bother trying to explain it because I don't really care how you arrived there. End @@Mrfrancis1971
Change is possible. I certainly changed. I used to be a bigot in the name of God believing that I was right and that everybody else was wrong.
I was raised as a Christian by a preacher father and Christian mother from the church of Christ. I was certainly indoctrinated as a child. I used to say I don't hate the sinner, but I hate the sin. Bull!! I hated the "sinners". I used to tell people from the LGBTQ+ community that they were living in abomination and that they would burn in hell for their wickedness. I'm so ashamed to have thought like that.
I used to be a fox news watching conservative republican Christian and I was always angry at the world for being "immoral".
Now that I'm an atheist, I can use logic and see the world more clearly. I am much happier now. I'm ashamed to have been a Christian and to have been a bigot in God's name. Religion poisons the world.
Wow! What a tremendous journey! Thanks for watching and sharing your words of encouragement that change is possible.
As the youngest of three, I have watched my sisters live such a different life than I have. I have watched them rebel against my religious parents, and go no contact, only to (after having a child) settle down in the same religious bigotry they always rebelled against. I have had to go no contact with almost all of my family because they treat me so horribly for not believing the same as they do.
💔families are complicated... im so sorry ur sisters got stuck back in religion. My family got damaged also..smh. and I'm glad we both got free and found Janice and Seth❤🩹to help us heal. great podcast!!💖💖💖
That is so painful. I hope you're finding support & community. Check out www.divorcing-religion.com/ if you need more.Thanks for watching and commenting.
Thanks, Carol! I'm glad you found us, too. It's true, religion can be very damaging.
I would say all of us here were ostracized by family for not believing their fairy tails. I am Cajun where family and southern hospitality is their foundation but its a lie. From my perception the reason for hating a family member for not following their dogma stems back to their faith in their family that brainwashed them in the first place. All christians become offensive when given facts that go against their beliefs because it proves their mothers and fathers were brainwashed idiots and they refuse to accept this.
I'd like to hear their side of the story.
Great. Thank you.
You are welcome! Thanks for watching.
Great talk.🎉 Respect!❤ Keep it up you excellent people 💪😊
We shall do our best! Thanks for watching!
I would edit the "generation that has to die off" as a SEGMENT of that generation. It's more so a geography of people who live in cul-de-sacs where no one de-conforms to Christianity and specific flavors of it. I'm a Boomer. We were the shakers and movers. And some of us still find the will to examine our lives. Some won't. That's true across generations. It IS possible to get stuck in any ideology.
Great point! Thanks for watching.
Yes I agree when I hear us lumped together. I’m a boomer too! We are not all the same (though I was once a born again evangelical republican until 2009). I fully deconverted in 2020 during the pandemic when I found Seth at The Thinking Atheist and others like him and the journey to unravel the indoctrination from birth that had me in its clutches began. I will be forever grateful even though it took 58 years to be completely free.
I am a fan of Seth Andrews but in this interview, his statement that a certain generation “just needs to die” is a cheap shot - as if that alone will solve all the problems of faith.. I had to stop watching after that. We have to stop throwing all people of a certain age into the same basket. My mother is 90 and was never a believer, worked for a national union for 30 years and raised me to be an independent thinker. She is disgusted with what’s going on now on the far right and I clearly remember her rants at Jerry Falwell’s “moral majority” back in the 80s. I myself am 63 and am as disgusted with evangelical politics as anyone! There are still plenty of younger people on the planet who will continue this magical thinking and accepting what they hear from people they look up to as gospel and without question. Who does Seth think made the women’s rights progress he took for granted at one time? Women who are now in their 70s and 80s did.
Thanks for watching.
33:15 i only wish my family could see how far fetched , hypocritical and contradictory this whole insititution really is
The problem with many people in my family especially is tackling everything from the perspective that people are broken and need to be fixed
And my knowledge and understanding of scripture must be flawed despite being objective and rational in my analysis of things
I think he meant the generation that believes in the white Christian ideology.
Great show! Thank you!❤
You're very welcome! Thanks for watching.
@@ComeToCORT I’ve been following you since tiktok!! I love you!
@@amyeck3870 Aunty Glo says "Thank you, Sweethawt" 😉
Like Seth, I witnessed a negative shift in my mental state and my behavior while I was arguing politics on Twitter, which is what led me to quit that flaming dumpster permanently about two years ago. I would spend a lot of time trying to come up with witty ripostes and scathing takedowns and mostly hanging out with a crowd that had similar views to mine, leading me to inadvertently put myself in an echo chamber. When I left, I soon realized that my "in-group" weren't always right, and that I was becoming a person that I hated.
And being neurodivergent, I am particularly sensitive to what is said to me and the tone of voice used, so I would be compelled to respond to every single thing I disagreed with lest I spend hours just ruminating nonstop. Severely cutting down on my social media use was the best thing I could have done for myself.
Social media brings out the absolute worst of human nature, even in people like us that would frown upon such behavior if it were directed at us. Truly, no one wins.
Excellent insights, thank you for sharing.
I don't believe in conspiracies. I believe in incompetence.
LOL! Thanks for watching.
weird to hear about all the deconversions. When I first heard about deities (at the age of 12-ish, in history lesson), I almost did not believe my teacher that the majority of mankind was and had been religi0us. It was nonsense already at that age.
Very glad you did not share in the religious indoctrination experience!
@@jwsanders1214 we (our entire species) still don't KNOW what a deity is. We have CLAIMS about them. Nothing else.
Sadly, this makes your bible quote and every "holy" b00k useless. W0rd salads about mythology.
But feel free to give it a try.
- what is the g0d?
and
- what was your method to test any claim about the g0d?
This was very refreshing to hear. I always thought religion was a bit silly-even as a kid. I’m absolutely horrified by what’s happening in the US.
Yes, it is very concerning. Thanks for watching.
When you encourage the mind to accept ideas uncritically and without evidence, you condition it to believe in all manners of nonsense, and also cripple its ability to actually discern true from false.
I do think a lot of what is going on worldwide relates to the death throes of these magical/mythical systems. I'm thankful for Seth and everyone fighting the good fight.
Also gotta go look for him talking to a neuroscientist, I think cognitive biases explain a lot about religiosity.
Thanks for watching!
Love me some Seth🤙
So do I! Thanks for watching.
Take A Moment
My fellow Ape's
religion affects every aspect of thought in the world.
Millions of years of evolution have caused tribal war.
I live in Calgary Untruedauxland
I am a veteran of the RAF for 28yrs
After a failed suicide attempt 6 yrs ago.
I am living with 24/7 medical care in an approved home.
I am 64 and a repaired 2nd vertebra cause a limp.
I and many of my comrades are in their foxholes and saw no signs of gods.
I am lucky to be able to tell my tale.
Stay Safe
Stay Free 🌐
I love this show
I am in the park today, late June 2023.
Share Share and share again ❤
Thank you, Jestermoon! Glad you are a survivor.
love you guys
Awwww... Thanks so much! You just made my day.
Love Seth’s regular podcast and also the “True Stories”. Great guest, especially these days. Thank you for a great show. EDIT: I wish I was as optimistic as Seth is that we need a certain generation to die off…I’m sure I’m part of that generation, but I am progressive and always have been. But he isn’t wrong that too many of my generation IS too wrapped up in this hazy fever dream of an idealized (to them) time when the majority (white and Christian) didn’t much think about hard questions of rights and fairness and science and inclusion…They don’t WANT to think too hard except about money and possessions and looking okay for the neighbors. I hope not too many younger people haven’t been co-opted by the allure of maintaining their privileges and power.
Interesting insights, thank you. And thanks for watching!
i'm a boomer and i have always been progressive. that will not change.
@@margaretjohnson6259 I am tired of boomers being blamed for trump. If any generation should be blamed it is the silent generation…but I don’t think it is fair to blame any entire generation for anything. It’s magical thinking in its own way.
@@tinyshepherdess7710 it's not any particular generation anyway. it's the wealthy, the corporations, the economy that cause problems. it's greed and ambition. my parents didn't do anything, nor did my generation, or any other generation. the people with power decide how the rest of us will live.
Great podcast! I LOVE ghost stories! Please post the link to the past and future ghost story podcasts! I of course don't believe in ghosts or angels or demons or any of that stuff. Halloween is my fave holiday!
Thanks for watching! Here's a link to Seth's Ghost Stories: th-cam.com/video/JvYd7n5yLAc/w-d-xo.html
Unfortunately my sister and her significant other are caught up in the MAGA cult and they aren't as bad as the most extreme members. However it bothers me because I can't have a decent discussion with them about politics because they bring up some right wing garbage. Thank goodness for people like Seth who help me stay grounded in secularism.
Sorry to learn that family members have been swept up into the MAGA /Donald Trump cult. Thanks for watching our chat and taking the time to share your experience.
Seth Andrews love you friend, your the fuking greatest,dude. Love all of your content. You Matt Dillahunty, Aron Ra, there's a few more I love as well. Your at the top with the other two I mentioned.
Keep on keeping on keeping on. ❤👍🏻👍🏻🖖🏻
Those guys are all great! Thanks for watching and passing along your encouragement.
@@ComeToCORT I try my best to encourage people to question themselves in their beliefs and research it. Ex southern baptist so I know how it can poison the brain.
Take care, stay well and keep on keeping on. 😁✌🏻🖖🏻
@@TAKINGACTION-j9e Maybe you will see reality and stop imaging supernatural nonsense exist DUDE. ASSERTING THINGS WITHOUT EVIDENCE CAN BE DISMISSED WITHOUT EVIDENCE.
HITCHING's RAZOR LOOK it up and do yourself a favor. I want belief the most true things as possible, obviously you don't give a shit like all religious people.
If you can prove what you believe is true, then you have no good reason to believe it. Faith is something you need when you can't prove what you believe is true. Fact
Been there done that. ( I have no GODDAMN heroes only good humans doing the right thing. Spreading BS you can't prove is true is not a good thing.
Twilight Zone episode "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street."
Ironically there was a religious advert at the begining of the video! 😂
Oh, no! LOL
the courage through the indigestion was inspiring lol
Thanks for watching.
@@ComeToCORT enjoyed it!
17:20 I have read both the Old and New Testament. After I was finished I did not want any parts of it. All religions are man’s creation. Religion is not needed anymore. Time to move on.
Agreed!
Ohio here, issue 1 women's rights voted in with a double digit margin Nov 2023.
Same with the legal marijuana bill issue 2, we passed that too and that MUST be a reference to Genesis and god said let the earth bring forth grass, amen!
Both are "democrat" wins but a win for everyone who voted either way as your vote counts.
The two issues passed for a reason! 😊
Glad to hear it! thanks for watching.
It seems fair to ask a loving god for a rules update every few hundred years. Maybe somebody needs to send Trump up mount Sinai to get some rules that are less opposed to where humanity is at in this century.
Not a bad idea. Thanks for watching.
How many stone tablets do you think Trump could hold in his tiny hands? And let's not forget that he doesn't like walking down slopes either.
❤
Thanks for watching.
Comment for the TH-cam 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Thanks, Chris!
Fabulous intelligent and articulate observations about the crisis this country is contending with these days. Bravo!!
Thanks for watching.
Atheist philosopher Luc Ferry asserts that human rights stem from the Judeo-Christian idea that each human is made in the image of God, and therefore has dignity and rights.
Thanks for watching.
If any of the above is true, then god is tran!s.
Janice: Is it "partreon" or "patreon?" You have it listed with an "r" after the "pa," yet I've seen it listed without that. If you made a typo, you might want to correct that. :)
Thanks, Linda! Definitely PATREON.
I was thinking about this the other day and isn't it 2 sacrifices? The first body died on the cross and 3 days later it was reanimated back to life. Doubting Thomas was able to put his fingers in the holes from the nails and spear. Then when he rose to heaven the body had to die again because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven. So was it a zero sum game - Jesus wasn't really raised from the dead because his body was killed again. So what was the point?
Interesting thought. Thanks for watching.
plus, jesus knew he wouldn't actually die and would be in heaven unlike all the people he preached to according to myth.
@@margaretjohnson6259 have you ever read the book Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice? This point is raised in this book. The Vampire Lestat (from Interview with the Vampire) is approached by the Devil, who asks him to be his right hand man. He takes him to heaven and hell. He shows him creation and the evolution of the universe and life. He then takes him to see Jesus preparing to be executed. He was the one who challenged god to become human so that he could experience human life and suffering. God told him how great a sacrifice he was making, and the Devil Memnoch told him that he was God, he knows that he will immediately be in heaven and be God for eternity. What kind of bullshit "sacrifice" is that?
@@cullenarthur8879 yes, i read that book. enjoyed it thoroughly. might be where i got the idea that jesus didn't sacrifice anything. i read a lot. a lot. so many ideas and concepts in the world.
I'm not sure that i agree with the whole generation dying off, as if this will solve our problems. I hate to say it, but it isn't just old people who are believers. There's still plenty of die hard younger believers, who will eventually replace the older ones. And if our recent history has proven anything, it's really easy for our society to regress. We are most definitely not at a point where this is the last desperate gasp by Christians. First off, Christians are still the majority by a huge margin. And when or if it ever gets to the point where they are in a desperate last gasp situation, I promise it will likely involve violence. There will be even more mass shootings, bombings and death. Those last few zealous believers will not simply go away without a fight or simply getting revenge on their "oppressors".
Sadly, you may be correct. Thanks for watching.
Progress happens one funeral at a time.
Thanks for watching.
Great!!
yeah, boomer here. waiting for the old guard to die off was what i was looking forward to back in the day. the old farts just linger forever.
It feels that way some days! Glad there are also Boomers like you, Ann. Thanks for watching.
God needs saving? Got your point; just another example of religious hypocrisy and bigotry.
Thanks for watching.
At what point in our future do we expect the entire population of humanity to suddenly become well behaved, shedding our nefarious alter ego for good. I posit, that nature will never produce such a species. I wish it weren't so but to believe it's a real plausible eventuality seems naïve. Criminals don't operate by laws, so we can regulate gun ownership to the end of civilization as we know it, but we can't rid the planet of sticks and stones or amputate everyone's hands in hopes we can eradicate violence. Violence is in us because violence is an intrinsic part of this natural order which we can observe in practically every other species. We are not the only animal that exhibits both predator and prey characteristics, many species murder their own kind.
Thanks for watching.
Please don't confuse extreme right with bring religious. I'm 60 ex Christian now atheist. I don't just jump on the bandwagon about everything. I do believe in being conservative about money 👍
Thanks for watching.
Trump blew the dog whistle ...and that wasn't surprising....but what was surprising....is how many dogs there are. ....and I am in the need to die off generation...but many many of us agree with you guys...so don't be so eager for us to die off. Look at the generation of proud boys...they are much younger...and...they're having a lotta lotta babies. You've called that one wrong.
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts.
I can't bring myself to read The Handsmaids' Tale. It just seems far too real to me at this point. What are these liars trying to do ? Preaching politics from the pulpit, tax free, yeeh'allah.
After years of hearing the name, I finally watched a couple years of THT. It is shocking how it looks like a plan for operations today.
Agreed, it is disturbing in light of recent politics in the USA.
Yes, it's eerie given politics in the USA currently. Thanks for watching our interview.
@@ComeToCORT Perhaps I'll share some more of my bleak visions with you soon xD cheers
The human mind, no matter how highly trained, cannot grasp the universe. We are in the position of a little child, entering a huge library, whose walls are covered to the ceiling with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written those books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written.
The child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books, a mysterious order, which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects. That, it seems to me, is the attitude of the human mind, even the greatest and most cultured, toward God.
We see a universe marvellously arranged, obeying certain laws, but we understand the laws only dimly. Our limited minds cannot grasp the mysterious force that sways the constellations.
I am fascinated by Spinoza’s Pantheism.
Thanks for watching.
I had higher reality-based priority traumas in life to be affected by a fantasy based trauma.
Thanks for watching.
Seth sounds like Paul Harvey...Good day!
He sure does! Thanks for watching.
You still revert to the Bible in spreading the word of god. It is not easy to let go of the past in it being part of you in how you do what you do. You are still keeping this religious lifestyle alive. The rest of all you say is just basic secular reality problems caused by one's ignorance.
Thanks for watching.
Simply reality problems not exclusively and specificity secular reality problems.
Shouldn’t have been labelled as secular reality problems when they are fundamentally just problems that both theists and atheists will face, I appreciate you probably wanted to make a difference between the problems specifically caused by religion and problems not specifically caused by religion but your wording implies problems caused by being secular…
As an conservative atheist I enjoyed watching your videos. But now I you also did a 100% jump including politics. Getting on guns subject. I'm pro gun. Well, good luck with your videos. Adios'
Yes, I do get into politics sometimes due to the rise of Christian Nationalism. As for gun ownership, I'm sure there are many responsible gun owners in the USA - but there is also a toxic aspect to what appears (to the rest of the world) as an obsession that is killing innocent children.
Many people hold personal and private religious beliefs which can provide them comfort as they deal with problems they can’t solve. I would not deny them that. Most of the problems religion causes result from people using their religion as a reason to criticize, look down on, and control others. Too many of the various forms of Christianity unfortunately are inflicted with a great deal of this malady. I am reminded of the statement attributed to Gandhi - I like your Christ. I don’t like your Christians.
Thanks for watching.
You keep saying the extreme right the extreme right the extreme right? Really there's extreme leftist 2 that does this so let me ask you something who decides who gets to have their religion? Who what part of the government says hey you can be a religion who gets to decide that I don't think it's the right or left. I'm an atheist but it's always extreme right you never hear anything about the string left I don't get it. What about the liberals?
Thanks for watching.
Sweet, everyone should smoke weed,yum.
I was about ready to subscribe to your channel, until you launched into your anti-gun diatribe!
Sorry that difference of opinion on one topic led you to reject the other content. I wish you well and thank you for watching this episode.
Old white guys? I don't support racism ever. Done with your channel. I'm disappointed. I enjoy everything but hearing racism. Sorry. I'm done with you. Racism has diminished your message.
It's very possible that you were the exception. It's possible that you supported equal rights in the 50s and 60s. It's possible that you weren't racist and were against segregation. If you were against segregation and supported equal civil rights, I thank you for that.
But if that was the case, you were the exception. Back then, white people, especially in the south, hated people of color and didn't want anything to do with them based on the color of their skin.
I live in Texas, and I've met old boomers who talk about the good old days when black people knew their place and it disgusts me to hear that.
Sorry to hear that we missed the mark.
@ComeToCORT I don't think y'all missed the mark. Perhaps a slight exaggeration. I mean, it's true that most old white boomers wish to live in a Christian theocracy where gay marriage is illegal and I'm sure that if they had it their way, we would go back to segregation, but not all boomers are like that. The great majority, especially in the south, are that way, but not everyone.
Some people from my generation, I was born in 1996, are also racist homophobic bigots, such as the proud boys who, in reality, are young racist neonazis.
But I think that the world is advancing. Like Seth said, when the baby boomer generation naturally dies out of old age, the world will probably be a lot better than it is now.
Thanks for your input.@@Johnmhatheist
The logic of using racism as an argument for anything fails repeatedly, but works because no one ever calls it for what it is - straight bullsttt 👉: I see it in this conversation too.
"Old white guys" equals racism, .. Err... Not true, and ridiculous.
"...white boomers wish to live in a Christian theocracy...". No. They don't.
Theocracies of any flavor, are simply Totalitarian govts attempting to prove that god is on their side. Don't work. Never will. And goes against human nature to be free.
..just for starters.
6:30 l think you guys are talking down to your audience. of course politics effects everything. We just want to hear something else sometimes.... politics politics politics.
Thanks for watching. In this day and age, it is vital that people understand the heavy role religion takes in politics in North America.
good stuff.
thing about the short stories series by Seth...maybe they are past due date. they're not as relatable as stories about and by people alive today. i heard a few of those short stories, and some are ok but, some are not that good. subjects need to hut very close to home. barely know the name Johnny Cash, let alone listen to country music
Thanks for watching. I really enjoy his stories.
Anyone know about the study where ppl talking about what god wants just so happens to trigger the same brain activity as what they like personally
No, but it sounds about right.