This week, ObjectivelyDan and Amanda Bonanza delve into reincarnation and spiritism, “preaching” atheism, and ethical questions of space travel.
Eduardo calls in from Brazil to talk about spiritism. He discusses the existence of local gods/spirits for each culture or region and says that our purpose is to grow in knowledge and morality. But if we think that humans just tend to be spiritual and build beliefs and myths, how do we know which claim is true? Eduardo says that they compliment each other because spirits are reincarnated in people. It seems like he is coming up with more ideas to try to reconcile the two claims. But how do we get to reincarnation if we don’t know if it’s a real option in the first place?
Amanuel from Texas wonders what atheism’s selling pitch is? Why do we “preach” atheism? The hosts explain that the truth is the truth. It exists whether people believe it or not. Religion seems like the better deal for most people, but if it isn’t true, then you’ve been wasting your time, and even worse, you could be harboring prejudices because of it. Prejudice is baked into the cake in Christianity. There are plenty of Christians that don’t have prejudices and aren’t bigots, but the idea that God tells you what rules you need to follow and if you don’t, you're going to hell for eternity and are a bad person. Amanuel asks what prejudices Christians have against atheists. Jesus and God specifically say that they atheists are fools and that they aren't allowed in heaven. And that’s just in the bible and excludes the broader current culture of the world. There are currently people being killed around the world because they are atheists. In America, there are many people who believe you can’t be an American if you’re not a Christian. Amanuel says we need god, but why? Why does he need god? He says that he doesn’t believe we’re bad people, but we’re not going to heaven solely because we don’t believe. They aren’t more sinners than he is, they just don’t believe in God. God is his best friend but also his worst enemy. That sounds awful man. The hosts can’t just choose to believe in God so they can go to heaven if they aren’t convinced God even exists.
Dan from Canada calls to talk updates on the drone situation in New Jersey. Unfortunately, there’s no new stories about them since the last time he called. He brings up an interesting moral thought experiment. Would it be moral if, for the good of the species, we sent an intergenerational colony ship into space? Is the good of the species worth more than the good of the individuals who would be on that ship? If we don’t have interstellar travel or cryogenics figured out yet, is it ethical to send a sustainable ship to just go out and explore until we do figure it out? Is it ethical for kids to be born and grow up on a ship since they didn’t consent to it?
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