In today’s episode of Talk Heathen, Secular Rarity is joined by BlatantBlatheist and will wrestle with slavery, trans issues, and immorality.

First caller is Grant from ME who suggests we talk about morality in a different manner; an action is immoral only if it causes greater suffering. Do certain actions lead to greater suffering? Is the desire to minimize those actions coming from outside the person? Be careful not to try and define something into existence.

Alok from CA says the ACA goes too far with trans issues. He is concerned about being called a transphobe when he questions the issues and 72 pronouns. What are you doing at that moment to be called a transphobe? Trans people are being heavily targeted at this time and we can never talk about human rights too much. If we don’t have these discussions, how are we going to educate people about it? Bigotry is background noise baked into society. We can always take an opportunity to be better.

Amanual in TX says that people don’t understand Biblical slavery and it is not the same as was practiced in modern times. If the creator of the universe tells us that we are supposed to obey our master, the answer is going to be no. If you were the most powerful being with a message, would you say, “Slaves obey your masters” or would you say, “Don’t own people”?

Jamar in PA asks if blacks should receive reparations. The best way to do this is through systemic reparations because it is difficult to prove lineage. When the system is fixed, everybody benefits. If reparations are monetary, the money will not come because the ancestry has been purposefully erased. How do you prove something when the records have been destroyed? Look at how redlining alone has destroyed the schools in inner cities.

Bar in TN finds that people are always giving thanks to god for mundane things like finding their keys. They think about the good that happens to themselves but ignore all the bad things this god allows. Does it get more self centered than thinking the creator of the universe helped you find your keys? It is hard to see people we love put things on god when they can do things themselves to improve their situations.

Cynthia in IL and from the Non-Prophets provides some facts about reparations and proving lineage. Slavery was a capitalistic institution where money was gained. If only labor is viewed, 6.9 quadrillion dollars would be the value after inflation. No reparation program in the U.S. happens without monetary compensation. There may be a lot of barriers, but it is not impossible. The majority of people that were born prior to 1965 came through chattel slavery. Lineage can be traced in a short period of time with the right tools.

Thank you for tuning in this week! Thank you to essential workers! See you next week!

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