Aug 21, 2017
Can a Christian and an Atheist have a cordial dialogue about religion, worldview, and hot political issues? Probably not normally, but Dan and Adam are superhuman! Well no, but seriously we gave it our best shot - here's an in-studio dialogue about our two different worldviews, and how we might apply the atheist hypothesis to the issues of race. I did my best to be fair and welcoming to my guest. Our goal was to seek as much neighborly common ground as we could find without necessarily jamming into a debate. I wanted to make my case that atheism necessitates a type of non-moral human society wherein racism makes perfect sense. Dan later wrote to me to reply to this contention (which he heard raised by Jonathan Fisk in episode 29). Here's his message:
"Just listened to the podcast with Rev Fisk. I think I'm just starting to understand your approach to race. I hope that in our discussion I provided some diversity of opinion from a secular / progressive / left / liberal perspective. Although I don't call myself a social justice warrior, I think they have some legitimate concerns even as I share some of your complaints about a certain dogmatic approach to radical egalitarianism. But let me offer a response to a question posed by Mr. Fisk, “If Christ is not being preached as being risen from the dead, what reason do you have for not being a racist?” Because cooperation is a critically important adaptation for human survival. If you consider racism as an irrational antagonism toward those that are different, then it clearly hinders cooperation between groups. This may not be the reason that you reject racism, but I'm grateful that you do."So there you have it. We continue to try to understand each other's worldview, and hopefully set an example for the audience in how two men of very different beliefs might converse and explore for the truth. There is much more to be said between Christian and Atheist camps, and perhaps Dan and I will have that opportunity. If you enjoyed this show, please donate, leave feedback, and review us at the podcast service you use (iTunes, Google Play, or whatever). Thanks, Adam