Sexual Abuse Prevalent In Institutions Across Major UK Religions  Content Warning: This podcast contains content such as Child Sexual Abuse, Paedophilia, Abuse by Clergy/Priests, which some viewers might find distressing.  A report was released on Thursday which courted quite a bit of media attention in the UK which looked at the unacceptable level of child abuse in the within religious organisations.  The report said that there are "shocking failings" and "blatant hypocrisy" in the way major UK religious groups handle child sex abuse allegations. The report examined evidence from 38 religious groups with the UK including Jehovah's Witnesses, Baptists, Methodists, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and non-conformist Christian denominations.  In this podcast we look at the way religious institutions cover up this abuse and how that has enabled child abuse to be perpetuated just to protect the image of those religious institutions.  We welcome comments and any information you have regarding these issues.  

Links: The FULL report can be found on The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse website -   https://www.iicsa.org.uk/ .  Here is a link that goes directly to the report: The Report:  https://www.iicsa.org.uk/key-documents/26895/view/child-protection-religious-organisations-settings-investigation-report-september-2021.pdf Recovering from Religion: https://www.recoveringfromreligion.org/ This is a great organisation that can help if you have been affected by religion. They have contacts within the UK  Interviews with Dr Darrel Ray from Recovering from Religion: Interview with Andy Phillips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wSQJSNbKVg

Interview With John Richards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2coPbQGPHE 

Atheism UK Website: https://www.atheismuk.com/ 

Media: BBC News: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58420270

Sky News: https://news.sky.com/story/faith-institutions-accused-of-moral-failing-as-report-finds-child-sexual-abuse-prevalent-in-major-uk-religions-12397393

Video Version On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2MXMDsjap4&t=114s

Most Christians believe there is only one God, who is experienced as three persons, also known as the Trinity. These three persons are the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The only source of authority for the creation of the Trinity is the Nicene Creed, which is a statement of Christian belief put together by the church itself. The trinity is not biblical - There is nothing in the bible that describes this supposedly important doctrine. It has been developed over time by men. The Theology of the Trinity took 300 years of development through church council to create The Nicene Creed.  It seems, religions can not agree what god is, and within the same religion, there is disagreement on the nature of god. If god existed, surely there would be no doubt. Could this lack of coherence demonstrate that no one religion knows anything about any god concept, and point to religion being a wholly constructed ideology?

Take a look at our website at: https://www.atheismuk.com/

Video Version On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGi_fE582WI&t=128s

In today’s podcast we look at the idea and validity of debating and specifically debating with believers. Some of us in Atheism UK have taken part in organised and ad hoc debates on many different subjects including the existence of god, the resurrection of Jesus or the Holy Trinity..   Let us know what you think about the concept of debating, do you think it’s worth it or do you do it yourself.   More information:  The Atheism UK Website: https://www.atheismuk.com/

Video Version On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7D98Q3lT9U&t=1059s

Arguments For God? - The Teleological Argument  Hey, welcome to the Atheism UK podcast. This week we look at another classic theist argument, The Teleological Argument which suggests that the world displays elements of intelligent design. This idea goes under a number of names such as the 'argument from design' which is again an argument for the proof of gods existence, or at the very least proof that the universe and everything in it was designed by a cosmic creator.  The word Teleological is derived from two Greek words, telos meaning purpose or goal and logos meaning reason or explanation, in other words, Teleology is concerned with the reason for the purpose of things.  More information:  The Atheism UK Website: https://www.atheismuk.com/ Driven Beyond Belief: The Teleological Argument Or The Argument From Design https://www.drivenbeyondbelief.com/on-the-existence-of-god-the-teleological-argument/

Arguments For God? - The Cosmological Argument  Hey, welcome to the Atheism UK podcast, this week we look at one of the apologetic arguments for god. The one we discuss today is ‘The Cosmological Argument’ for god.  Religious Apologetics is not new. One of the most common philosophical arguments for the existence of god is called 'The Cosmological Argument,' which can be traced back to Aristotle and beyond.   It was further developed in the early Christian period, then during the 9th to 12th century through medieval Islamic theology and then revived in medieval Christian theology in the 13th Century by Saint Thomas Aquinas, an Italian Dominican friar and Catholic priest.  There are a couple of versions of the cosmological argument worth noting, one stronger than the other. The Cosmological Argument (promoted by Thomas Aquinas) is a philosophical argument which is inductive, meaning its aim is to persuade rather than prove that the cause of the universe is what we call God. In its simplest form it goes something like this:  1 - Everything that exists has a cause. 2 - The Universe exists. 3 - The Universe therefore has a cause 4 - The cause being God.  We look at the flaws in this argument. We also go into the Kalām Cosmological Argument and the extension of that same argument popularised by William Lane Craig  More information:  The Atheism UK Website: https://www.atheismuk.com/

Driven Beyond Belief: The (Kalām) Cosmological Argument: https://www.drivenbeyondbelief.com/on-the-existence-of-god-part-3-the-kalam-cosmological-argument/

Debate between William Lane Craig and theoretical physicist at Caltech Sean Carroll: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5iiHV4yo7M&t=0s

The BBC's Religious Bias - Atheism UK Podcast - For decades the BBC has promoted religion to an ever increasing secular audience. In this podcast we discuss the continual normalisation of god belief and the religious bias exhibited by the BBC.  We also look at the way people of faith think that their moral foundation is rooted in religion, which implies that without that belief, you have no moral foundation.  We highlight a recording from the Today program on the BBC aired on the 13th of July 2021. This was picked because we wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment of the message, but it’s delivery from the speaker implies that thinking in that way requires or is based on belief in god or devotion to Jesus.  The truth is, belief in god is in no way necessary to take a stance on a moral issue. Christians, or any religion has no monopoly on empathy or moralistic views on society  We think it’s time for the BBC to stop normalising god belief…  We also had 5 minutes on Christmas, for some bizarre reason. Anyway, enjoy the podcast and let us know your views.  Website: https://www.atheismuk.com/

Video Version On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3fL2HKblck&t=35s

This week.. The Bible… Fact Or FICTION?  - Welcome to the Atheism UK podcast. Today, Andy Rich and Embers are joined by Author, Historian and prolific blogger Jason Sylvester A.K.A. Diogenes of Mayberry.   Is the Bible the inerrant word of God or a politically motivated, mystical and historically distorted mythology?   There is no doubt that the bible is an important ancient document but should you base the way you live your life on it?  Please subscribe to the channel, and of course like and comment.   Take a look at our website at: https://www.atheismuk.com/

Welcome to Atheism UK - Join Andy, Rich and Embers to look at the concept of Atheism, from an Atheists point of view.   many people (especially theists) have a very slanted view of what an atheist is. We've been called a few choice things in our time and so we thought we'd have our say.  Please subscribe to the channel, and of course like and comment.   Take a look at our website at: https://www.atheismuk.com/ So if you think we have no moral foundation, think we eat babies or worship Satan, then listen to the podcast the video..