The podcast discusses how religion is an almost universal instinct of humankind, an evolved instinct of human beings, and how it's evident through history that religion is a commitment to action with insight to follow through the actions that are practised, crafted and instinctual in the way our brains function.
The foundation for the Ten Commandments may have been laid in Egyptian wisdom literature, which does not imply a contradiction with the Christian faith as all religions may be telling the same story. The story of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai may be traced back to his knowledge of Egyptian royalty's rights and wisdom literature.
Comedian Pete Holmes discusses personal faith journeys and the transitions made by his own family members, including his father's shift to Orthodox Judaism.
Despite the push towards secularism, religion plays a vital role in providing the foundation for humans to create their own meaning and set of morals. While pleasure can motivate actions, it is not enough to consistently drive individuals to do the right thing.
The Church of the SubGenius is an absurdist religion created in the late 1970s as a joke about consumer culture by two like-minded guys. Bob Dobbs, the world's greatest salesman, is the prophet of this religion that pokes fun at mainstream religion and consumer culture.
The speaker reminisces about his desire to fight and his religious curiosity.
This podcast episode discusses the concept of religion and its association with nationalism and other beliefs like being a fan of a football team. The speaker also examines whether atheists can be more theocratic than religious people and talks about the origins of religion according to anthropology.
A group is being accused of making members sign lifetime vows of obedience and giving collateral to join. One young woman was excitedly told by her master that she had to give collateral to join.
The future of religion involves an open source, decentralized system where people can fork it and store value in new assets, similar to how cryptocurrency is used today. The leaders will also dress casually, like Supreme streetwear style pastors.
This essay recounts the history of the Unification Church's (aka the Moonies) business ventures, including the founding of the American Tuna fishing company, and reflects on the author's personal experience with the church's influence in his family's life.
Sam Harris and David Wolpe discuss the difficulty of having a conversation about religion without arousing strong emotions and how differing beliefs can lead to challenging discussions.
A discussion about the mental gymnastics involved in using God as a justification for extreme actions, including murder and child marriage, as well as claims of divine revelation about game show appearances.
The podcast explores the crossover between declaring oneself God's son and the spontaneous declarations of a national prophet.
The speaker describes the negative feelings and belittlement experienced when facing control of one's personal relationships due to the influence of religious communities, and highlights the importance of personal responsibility.
Tracy, a woman charged with prostitution, has been barred from using a religious freedom defense in her trial. The judge ruled that her beliefs cannot be used as a justification for breaking the law, even though she's still allowed to bring up her beliefs on a case-by-case basis.
The human concept of an all-powerful, omnipotent being is limited by our own physical form and perspective, making it impossible for us to truly comprehend what it means to be God-like.
The speaker discusses the possibility of a religious school not wanting to be associated with the undead and uses the example of a gym without crosses in it.
Punishing children with religion may give them a negative image and cause spiritual trauma, defeating the purpose of the religion.
The reason why the fallen angels rejected God is implicit in their temptation to Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3. This decision was a free choice made by these created spirits.
The guest speaker shares how her Jewish mother's lack of religious guidance led her to eventually become involved with the church.
Native peoples took on some religious beliefs of the Christian settlers. A woman who lost her partner to death due to frigid weather was afraid of becoming a windigo if she ate his flesh, and she left him in her shelter due to her beliefs.
A woman shares her custody battle experience and how her husband didn't want their sons to attend any religious services, which led to a court allowing supervised visitation for a certain timeframe while she was at church.
The speaker reflects on their experience as a church leader, likening it to handing out pizza, singing, and looking after people. They also express uncertainty about whether they will be admitted into heaven.
Comedian Joe Rogan and his guest discuss various religious views on bestiality and the consequences of engaging in such behavior.
Despite financial challenges and personal obstacles, Jim, a pastor in a low-income community, puts his heart and soul into his church with the help of his dedicated partner.
