Greetings! Today we have the talented duo of Johnny Angel and Kenneth Leonard who will patiently present questions to callers that cause deep thinking about how to determine what is true.

First caller is Ernie from CA who has proof of Jesus. It is because the Bible, which has always been true, talks about giants and we can find fossils of giants all over the world. Then there is Nimrod, who is why we have continents and the earth no longer has Pangea. Where is the connection between all this and god? When is it time to believe something is true? Why is the Bible a reliable source of truth? How do you know what Jesus said about anything? Did you know that the Rig Veda has been around longer than the Bible?

Next caller is Sasha from OR who is exploring Reiki and Astrology as spiritual practices. Love is when you are operating through your heart chakra. How do you define spirituality, the concept of love, chakras, and energy? Can these things be measured by any kind of scientific instruments? Why is the medical industry not making money off of Reiki? How do you tell the difference between feeling the effects of these things and something your brain is doing? What is the experimental design for proving these claims? How do you know something exists other than tradition?

Mark from MS no longer believes some of the things in the bible such as the original sin, 6,000 year old earth, and the flood, but still considers himself a Christian. He believes in a creator but it should not be taught in schools. Why are you still a Christian? What does it mean for someone to be a Christian? If you don’t believe in original sin, what is the purpose of the crucifixion and resurrection? Why do you believe he died in front of his disciples? Is there independent extra-biblical evidence for this? What tools are we using to arrive at our conclusions?

Drew from WA would like to know how to respond to friends when they get offended from being told that god isn’t real. We say that we don’t believe that god exists and ask for evidence. You want to produce a conversation, not a confrontation. If friends are using slurs or hurtful terms, you do not need to hang out with them. Look at some of Anthony Magnabosco’s work and Street Epistemology for ideas on how to address this. You do not owe anyone an explanation of who you are.

Aelora in OR has a question about advice heard from witches on TikTok that is inducing abortion by taking different herbs. People who have taken this advice ended up in the hospital or dying. They want to know about this in light of Roe Vs. Wade. This is one of the effects that magical thinking has on the mind. There are people that are science educators who listen for this kind of stuff and make response videos. Look for doctors on TikTok such as MD Aware, that address this and tag them so that it can be effectively dealt with.

That is it for the show! Keep up the good work and support of our essential workers. See you next week!

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