00:00 Intro
10:34 Eduardo - (BR) | Spiritism Is Better Than Science Or Religion
41:49 Robert - CA | Experience With The Holy Spirit
1:01:42 SB - (IN) | Atheist Morality On Abortion
1:24:13 Shaquille - (UK) | Why Would God Be Okay With Money?

SHOW NOTES

Thanks for joining us for this episode of Talk Heathen! Today, Scott Dickie, Dr. Ben, and Richard Gilliver tackle spiritism, the experience of the holy spirit, and the morality of abortion.
Eduardo in Brazil calls to say that spiritism offers the stability of religion and the openness of science and is a third option besides the two. He says that science is incomplete and is sold to people as a belief. But doesn’t that mean that science isn’t the problem, the people who represent it are? Eduardo has a hard time articulating what spiritism offers to get to the truth and what convinced him to believe the books he read about spiritism? Eduardo appeals to personal experiences, but says he knows that that’s not a good reason to believe in something. The hosts urge Eduardo to sit down and really formulate his argument so that they can have a more productive call in the future.

Robert in California says that the hosts put doubt about God in his heart, but God won and we all lost. What was the big thing that convinced him to stay a theist? On TikTok, Christians said that whatever questions you have about the bible, God will show you in heaven. The next day, he felt a renewed faith. He attributes this to an experience with the holy spirit. How did the holy spirit manifest itself? What was the sensory experience? How does he know that it was a certain god that did it? Robert continues to say that it was an experience that cannot be explained and you just have to believe that people who claim they have an experience with the holy spirit actually did so.
SB is an atheist but is still torn on the morality of abortion. He understands the bodily autonomy argument, but isn’t convinced. Doesn’t the right to life apply to the autonomy of the baby? If the baby or parent is at risk of serious harm, then abortion is moral. It’s not about the state of the fetus, it’s about the state of the pregnant person. Is it other people’s business what you’re going through medically? The argument for bodily autonomy is that no one besides the pregnant person and the doctor should have a say on what medical steps are taken. Pregnancy is incredibly dangerous even with a normal pregnancy.

Shaquille calls from England pondering why God would be okay with the concept of money at all if it’s the root of all evil? When it comes down to it, money is something that’s used in trade. Rather than trading goods, it acts as an intermediary. I don’t see why a God wouldn’t want to facilitate trade among the people. The “root of all evil” perspective may be similar to a concept in Buddhism where money and wealth becomes an attachment that prevents enlightenment. It could also be referring to the hoarding of wealth rather than simply the concept of money itself. 
Thanks for joining us this week! Talk Heathen to us in the comments: What is a smarmy reply to a cashier’s indignant “Merry Christmas”?



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