This podcast examines, page by page, the ideas proposed by Christian writer Ross Douthat in his book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious.
In his book, Ross Douthat claims that religious belief in general, and Christian belief specifically, is the rational choice. Do his arguments hold up to scrutiny?
Why make this podcast? Well, not everyone believes. We want to know why Ross Douthat thinks that’s so terrible, and why he’s using his power as a member of the media elite to try to get everybody in America to believe the same thing.
Ross Douthat Admits He Loves Catholicism For Its Abusive Power
Ross Douthat urges his readers to conform to authority, and not think too hard about religion. Then he explains that the abuses of his Christian church are don't matter because the church is so beautifully powerful.
Why Should We Let Ross Douthat’s Church Control Our Sex Lives?
Ross Douthat ends chapter 6 of his book Believe by presuming that allowing celibate priests to control the details of people’s sex lives is a normal thing that people should have no trouble agreeing to. How does Douthat not see how weird that is? Ross Douthat ends chapter 6 of his book Believe by presuming that allowing celibate priests to control the details of people’s sex lives is a normal thing that people should have no trouble agreeing to. How does Douthat not see how weird that is? Does he think we don't remember how the Catholic Church helped its priests to sexually abuse little children?
Fascism And Christianity Are Intertwined, Ross Douthat
In Chapter 6 of Believe, Ross Douthat argues that Christianity is morally great, because Communism and Fascist Nationalism were awful. That's an illogical argument, but it also ignores the fact that Fascist Nationalism was and is to this day a Christian political ideology.
Ross Douthat Worships A God Of Cruelty
In the latest chapter of his book, Ross Douthat twists and turns to justify suffering as a good thing, because it comes from his god. He runs away from a confrontation with the brutal cruelty of the Christian deity, making excuses without any moral clarity.
Following Magical Omens Is Not Rational, Ross Douthat
Following omens is the opposite of building a logical line of thinking. In chapter 5 of his book, Ross Douthat is advising his readers to presume that they should choose a religious path on the basis of vague intuition, not by thinking about the choice rationally.
The Flawed Logic In Ross Douthat’s Arguments For Christianity
Ross Douthat promised to provide readers with a reasonable, logical argument in favor of religious belief, but his writing frequently blunders into profound failures of simple logic.
Truth Isn’t Proven In An Ideological Deathmatch, Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat argues that religions with the most members must be the most cosmically true. What if members of one religion just use violence to kill of members of other religions? Is that Truth?
The Work That Demons Do For Ross Douthat
Demons are no more real than the Christian god is. Nonetheless, Ross Douthat has summoned demons to do his dirty work.
Why Not Believe God Is Bad And Demons Are Good, Ross Douthat?
Ross Douthat is drowning in irrationality. He expects readers to accept on faith that God is good, even though the Bible shows God being evil over and over again. God is wicked, so why should we believe that demons are all that bad?
Why Should I Let A Church Tell Me How To Live, Ross Douthat?
On page 117 of his book Believe, Ross Douthat suddenly announces that people should submit themselves to the moral commands of Christian churches. Why? Ross Douthat has provided no rational reason to think that religions have any moral authority. He just takes it for granted.
Why Join A Christian Church If You’re Not Hot For It, Ross Douthat?
Ross Douthat says that God will torture us for being only lukewarm about religion, but then he says that we shouldn't worry about the Catholic Church, because a lot of Catholics don't even believe what the church says, and that's cool. Which is it?
Christianity Is A Map Into Fantasyland, Ross Douthat
On page 114, in chapter 4 of his book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, Ross Douthat argues that if everyone else is jumping off a cliff, you should do it too. Also, Douthat writes that he has a map that takes you from Bangor, Maine to an invisible city that doesn’t exist. Yes, Ross Douthat’s book is that kooky.
Violent Demands To Close Our Minds Are Not Rational, Ross Douthat
In chapter 4, Douthat is now making unsubstantiated claims that people should be tortured if they don’t close their minds and fully commit to believing the right religion. Douthat also cites a chapter in the violent Book of Revelation that was used by Nazis to justify the genocide against Jews under the Third Reich.
A Summary Of Ross Douthat’s Failed Arguments For Religion
At the beginning chapter 4 of Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious, an overconfident Ross Douthat boasts that religion is the obvious choice because he has articulated multiple rational arguments in favor of religious belief. This chapter is meant to be Douthat’s victory lap, a preparation for his argument in favor of Christianity. Actually, it’s where his book falls apart into complete disaster.
Ross Douthat Won't Face Facts Of Faith Healing And Near Death Experiences
In chapter 3 of his book Believe, Ross Douthat completely ignores the deadly consequences of faith healing, and doesn't bring up studies that find that only a tiny minority of people bring up even the most banal reports of lights or sounds in near death experiences in non-biased research.
Sloppy Writing Isn’t Rational, Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat’s book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious is full of factual errors and dishonest partial quotes that break trust with intelligent readers. Ross Douthat couldn’t even get the year of his favorite Catholic miracle right, and didn’t do research into a well-known electrical problem that provides a rational, materialist explanation for smoking bicycle lights.
Questioning Religious Authority Isn't Embarrassing, Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat argues that scientists and atheists are to blame when religious people discover that what Christian preachers tell them isn’t true. Douthat is angry at skeptics embarrass people by pointing out the crazy lies of religion. Why isn’t he angry at the religious lies?
Repaired Radios That Play Music Are Not Proof Of God, Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat and Michael Shermer alike are completely unable to provide any reason to believe that dead people can turn on radios to communicate with living people. Douthat once again cannot justify his belief in religion.
The Foreskin Of Jesus Isn’t Magic, Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat's church has preached about miracles performed by the head of St. John the Baptist, and the foreskin of Jesus, which is miraculously supposed to be held as a holy relic by 31 different Christian churches.
Humans Learn From Experience, Not God, Ross Douthat
Ross Douthat tells a weird story about science being like a secret book written by God in a coded language that little kids invented to avoid being listened to by their parents. That is the unhinged fantastical kind of thinking that Ross Douthat claims is “rational” in his book Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious.