SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.lootcrate.com/sethandrews

The U.S. Department of Education says that over 1.7 million children in the United States are homeschooled.  But what happens when homeschooling stops being about education, and instead becomes insulation?  Isolation?  Inodctrination?

This broadcast isn't a referendum on the concept of homeschooling.  It's an exploration into some of the more extreme religious homeschool environments, and into the lives and personal stories of those who experienced them.

This is part 2 of a two-part broadcast. 

Homeschoolers Anonymous:  https://homeschoolersanonymous.org

Vyckie Garrison "No Longer Quivering:"  https://youtu.be/EGiv_o6YGKU

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

The U.S. Department of Education says that over 1.7 million children in the United States are homeschooled.  But what happens when homeschooling stops being about education, and instead becomes insulation?  Isolation?  Inodctrination?

This broadcast isn't a referendum on the concept of homeschooling.  It's an exploration into some of the more extreme religious homeschool environments, and into the lives and personal stories of those who experienced them.

This is part 1 of a two-part broadcast. 

 

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

"God's Not Dead" is a film produced by PureFlix which released in 2014.  With a budget of only $2 million, GnD grossed over $60 million.  It's not hard to see why a sequel film has just been introduced to theaters.

The premises of both films are essentially the same.  Christianity is under attack in the United States, and brave God Warriors must stand up against the evil atheists to defend their faith and their savior.  

Are these movies rooted in any shade of reality?  And how do they speak to another, larger phenemenon within many religious cultures: the manufacturing of martyrdom?

Seth Andrews shares a recent article by (former Christian) Neil Carter, as we examine the Christian Persecution Complex.

YOUTUBE VIDEO "Gods Not Dead (Again!): https://youtu.be/hwffbQiUwLc

Neil Carter's article, "Persecute Me, Please: God's Not Dead 2 and the Evangelical Lust for Victimhood:"  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2016/04/01/persecute-me-please/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

A November 2015 Pew Research Center survey revealed that the United States is becoming less religious overall, and "especially the youngest Millennials, who have entered adulthood since the first Landscape Study was conducted {a few months earlier} - are far less religious than their elders."

Admittedly, these "nones" aren't necessarily atheists, and many may consider themselves "spiritual" on some level.  But what's driving this exodus from the formal structures of religion, and what do these young people think and say about the often hugely religious climate they see all around them.

This show focuses on youth, how they view the world, and how their exit from the church is impacting the United States and the world.

Secular Student Alliance:  https://secularstudents.org

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

Watch the video of this podcast HERE:  https://youtu.be/YxRdJGqTeXA


Callers submit their own comments and questions for this show.  We highlight the proposed "Genocide & Incest" counter-billboard to The Ark Encounter's grand opening.  And we spend more than half of the show discussing the recent prison beating of convicted sex offender Jared Fogle and the proper response(s) to the violence carried out against him.  An interview with Sarah Morehead caps the broadcast.

Funraising page for Tri-State Thinkers "Genocide & Incest" billboard campaign: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/genocide-incest-park#/

Sarah Morehead's blog:  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/03/17/sex-offenders-can-be-nice-guys-how-making-jared-fogle-a-monster-encourages-abusers/

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:   http://www.hellofresh.com (promo code thinkingatheist)

It's a topic we've addressed in various forms, but this is an entire show dedicated to medicine.  Science-based medicine.  Alternative medicine.  The names and claims of many so-called "natural" cures.  And the charge that medical science should be distrusted in favor of unlicensed "healers" who operate outside the checks and balances of regulatory agencies, and who - in so many cases - are making a pretty penny.

Joining us for the show are Dr. Harriet Hall (the "SkepDoc") of Science Based Medicine: https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org, and Dr. Stephen Barrett of QuackWatch.com.

Dr. Hall's 10-course lecture series:  http://web.randi.org/educational-modules.html

BOOK:  "Inside Chiropractic:"  http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Chiropractic-Patients-Consumer-Library/dp/1573926981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458131680&sr=8-1&keywords=inside+chiropractic

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.naturebox.com/thinkingatheist

No theme or topic.  Just a full show of listener comments and questions.  Enjoy.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

Sponsored by The Phil Ferguson Show:  http://polarisfinancialplanning.com/polaris-blog/the-phil-ferguson-show-podcast/

Matt Dillahunty is one of the hosts of The Atheist Experience television show, he is a frequent speaker and debater, and he hosts the Atheist Debates YouTube channel.


Matt and Seth Andrews are friends who often enjoy long conversations on the freethought convention circuit.  This time, they decided to record the conversation for the podcast audience, touching on topics ranging from religion to atheism to Star Wars.

THE ATHEIST EXPERIENCE:  http://www.atheist-experience.com/

ATHEIST DEBATES:  https://www.youtube.com/user/SansDeity

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.evolvefish.com

Science has proven the Big Bang.  So why is it so difficult for the everyperson to communicate the how/why of that event?  Perhaps, it's because the universe is a mind-bogglingly huge thing for us to grasp.  Overwhelmed, we sometimes check out of necessary conversations about cosmology, our origins, and the observable, natural world.

Dr. Dan Batcheldor has a Ph.D in astrophysics and is Head of Physics and Space Science at the Florida Institute of Technology.  He's a user of NASA's Hubble telescope, and he studies heavy subjects like supermassive black holes.  

He is also eager to provide resources to the rest of us that can be understood and explained, making us better educated, and making us more effective in our discussions with creationists and pseudoscientists who claim that our universe bears the mark of a Divine Hand.

There's a video of this exchange on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/Z5-AdCAVgE4

Support Dan's book via his website:  http://www.danielbatcheldor.com

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:  http://www.naturebox.com/thinkingatheist

Dan Barker's new book (titled after the famous Richard Dawkins quote) doesn't exactly cast a flattering eye at the biblical god.  Truth be told, the Bible itself doesn't flatter God, either.  Not-so-hidden inside the pages of scripture is the profile of a deity so ugly, brutish, bloodthirsty and petty, he would be condemned by the faithful as a monster in another context.

Join us, as we speak with Dan Barker about his own personal story, and we examine The Most Unpleasant Character in All Fiction.

VIDEO VERSION:  https://youtu.be/comqy3lQNVM

Dan's book on Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/god-daniel-barker/1122409434
On Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/God-Most-Unpleasant-Character-Fiction/dp/1454918322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455027296&sr=8-1&keywords=the+most+unpleasant+character+in+all+fiction

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/thethinkingatheist--3270347/support.