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.
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.