Sacred Cows: A Lighthearted Look at Belief and Tradition Around the World

From pop culture to religious cultures, Seth takes a humorous and revealing look at belief, cherished heroes, and the true stories hidden beneath the legends. Seth Andrews, a video producer and former Christian broadcaster, now hosts "The Thinking Atheist," one of the most popular online atheist communities in the world, a site which encourages all to reject faith and embrace doubt, curiosity and reason.

Seth has chronicled his transition from believer to atheist in his autobiography, "Deconverted: a Journey from Religion to Reason," and in his weekly radio podcast downloaded 1.5 million times a month.

His second book, "Sacred Cows: a Lighthearted Look at Belief and Tradition Around the World" releases any day now! Be prepared - he just might have his new book with him! Or bring your copy of "Deconverted" from home. I'm sure he'll sign it for you!

ACSJ: Seth Andrews - "Sacred Cows: A Lighthearted Look at Belief and Tradition Around the World""



The talk tonight is entitled "Sacred Cows: a Lighthearted Look at Belief and Tradition Around the World" Did you know God forbids the tying of shoelaces on Saturday? Or that humans emit a color aura which can only be discerned with a third eye? That a bountiful harvest requires the flinging of a live goat from a church bell tower? That instead of wishing upon a star, we can wish upon a...cow? Join author and radio host Seth Andrews for a random romp across the planet...and a humorous look at some of humanity’s sacred cows.

With a mix of humor and heart, Seth Andrews speaks around the country about his former faith, the rise of reason, and why we should all pursue a personal relationship with reality.


Get to know us, the Atheist Community of San Jose

Seth Andrews - Confessions of a Bible Belt Atheist

From Arizona, 2014

Seth Andrews: The Mystery Letter

Seth Andrews shares a very personal story about his days as a fundamentalist Christian, his escape from indoctrination, and the beauty he discovered beyond the narrow walls of religious bigotry.

The Extremists?

The Southern Poverty Law Center just added Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Maajid Nawaz to a list of "Anti-Muslim Extremists." Seth Andrews gives a short video response.

Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things (with Michael Shermer)

Every day, we see intelligent people embracing unintelligent things. They're skeptical in some areas of their lives, gullible in others. They seem to shift from logical to illogical at the drop of a hat.

Maybe this refers to another. Perhaps it describes ourselves.



In this conversation, Seth Andrews speaks with Dr. Michael Shermer of Skeptic Magazine about belief, intelligence, religion, conspiracy theories, and the brain.

This interview is part of a larger radio podcast, which includes listener-submitted content and host commentary: https://youtu.be/bj9_F0B8L6Q

Seth Andrews - Confessions of a Bible Belt Atheist

Copycats: How Christianity Steals the Best Ideas

Seth Andrews, a former Christian broadcaster and believer for 30 years, escaped the bonds of superstitious thinking to embrace the more satisfying explanations that science provides. As the host of The Thinking Atheist, a podcast with 250,000 monthly downloads and one of the most popular atheist communities on the internet, Seth now uses his abilities to publicly challenge the religious beliefs that defined his youth.



Seth Andrews – Copycats: How Christianity Steals the Best Ideas (2014 National Convention)
2014

The Story of God - A Biblical Comedy About Love (and Hate)

Chris Matheson was co-screenwriter on the 1989 comedy film, "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." Chris' most recent adventure is an exploration of the Christian holy book, rewriting the "sacred" texts and releasing his synopsis of scripture as the new book, "The Story of God: a Biblical Comedy about Love (and Hate).

In this broadcast, Seth speaks with Chris about his sarcastic (yet accurate) take on the Bible, and he finishes the show by reading an excerpt from the book. Enjoy.

Skip the first 10 min. 30 sec of just rambling


TTA Podcast 239: The Story of God - A Biblical Comedy About Love (and Hate)

Who Invented Jesus? (with Dr. Robert M. Price)

Recent headlines have again prompted rabid debate over the origins of the Jesus story, the latest asserting that Christ was an invention of Rome.

In this podcast, and in advance of the holiday that celebrates Jesus' supposed birthday, we speak with Robert M. Price, a former Baptist minister (turned skeptic), professor of religion, and author of a number of books, including "Deconstructing Jesus," "Jesus is Dead," "The Case Against the Cast for Christ," and "The Amazing Colossal Apostle: The Search for the Historical Paul."



Robert M. Price's website: http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com

Sacred Cows (podcast)

In this podcast, Seth Andrews explores the notion of "sacred cows" (ideas, icons and customs supposedly sacred and immune from criticism), and he reads a full chapter from his new book of the same name.



If you'd like to pre-order an autographed copy of the book (shipping in April and May 2015), check out the website: http://www.sacredcowsbook.com

TTA Podcast 205: Sacred Cows
Show date: February 4, 2015 by The Thinking Atheist.

The Unitarians (TTA Podcast)

Unitarian churches are essentially promoted as houses without walls, places were diverse opinions and cultures can converge in safety and without judgment. But how can churches not have doctrines, specific holy books and/or dogmas?

Does the Unitarian church have merit as a place of respectful discussion on topics relating to belief, purpose and truth?



What are the colors, cultures, branches, sects and flavors of Universalist churches out there?

Michael Werner's book "Regaining Balance: the Evolution of the UUA"

10 Women Christian Men Shouldn't Marry

A New York City pastor promotes the biblical ideal of a marriageable woman, and it's tragic. Seth Andrews responds.

TTA Podcast 199: 2014 - The Year in Review

It's our annual wrap-up of the best (and worst) of 2014. What are the things that made the headlines? Scientific breakthroughs? Best films? The most iconic figures? The biggest successes and failures of the year?

What You Don't Know About Religion (but should) - with Dr Ryan Cragun

Dr. Ryan Cragun is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Tampa, and he specializes in the sociology of religion. A former Mormon (now atheist), Cragun has released his new book for which this show is titled. Join us as we talk about religion around the world, its claims versus reality, and the stuff about religion which isn't known (or being taught), but should be.



TTA Podcast 197: What You Don't Know About Religion (but should) - with Dr. Ryan Cragun
The Thinking Atheist, December 2014

TTA Podcast 196: Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria

Cara Santa Maria has dedicated her life to improving science literacy by communicating scientific principles across media platforms. A North Texas native, she currently lives in Los Angeles. Prior to moving to the west coast, Cara taught biology and psychology courses to university undergraduates and high school students in Texas and New York. Her published research has spanned various topics, including clinical psychological assessment, the neuropsychology of blindness, neuronal cell culture techniques, and computational neurophysiology.



Cara previously worked as a co-host and producer on the Pivot TV nightly live television show, "TakePart Live." Before that, she was the senior science correspondent for The Huffington Post and co-starred in "Hacking The Planet" and "The Truth About Twisters" on The Weather Channel.
She has made appearances on CNN, Fox News, TLC, Current TV, BBC America, G4, SundanceTV, Travel Channel, and Nat Geo WILD.

Cara currently hosts a weekly science podcast called "Talk Nerdy."


TTA Podcast 196: Talk Nerdy with Cara Santa Maria

The Thinking Atheist, December 2014

If The World Ended Tomorrow

Imagine this. You receive the news that today will be your last day on earth. Your last day anywhere. How would you populate the final hours of your life? What people would you see? What foods would you eat? What things would you do? Would you react with fear and panic, or would you bask in the warm glow of inevitability?

This show allows us to think about what we might do if we realized that our finite lives were approaching the final ticks of the clock. What would you do if the world ended tomorrow?



Christmas video "Christmas: Behind the Curtain

TTA Podcast 195: If The World Ended Tomorrow
The Thinking Atheist, December 2014

Christmas: Behind the Curtain

Is Jesus the reason for the season? Seth Andrews takes a look at the origins of the Christmas holiday in this 14-minute special produced for AtheistTV (http://atheists.org/atheisttv)

No Longer Quivering (podcast)

The Quiverfull Movement is a lifestyle among fundamentalist Christians which believes that an abundance of children is in compliance with God's perfect will. Contraception equals abortion, a heinous sin against God, so the only "family planning" that's done is a prayer to the sky that His will be done. The Quiverfull Movement is highly patriarchal and often has a dark side in relation to the rights of women and children.

In this episode, we explore The Quiverfull Movement, we speak with Kathryn Joyce, author of the book: "Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement," and we speak to some who once experienced this culture inside its walls, including Vykie Garrison, who hosts the online community, "No Longer Quivering."



TTA Podcast 193: No Longer Quivering
The Thinking Atheist, November 2014

The Copycats: How Christianity Steals The Best Ideas

In this September 2014 speech at Apostacon, Seth Andrews explored the tactics that Christianity uses to borrow/steal from secular music, film, literature and pop culture in an attempt to stay relevant.




USA Today story: Some in $4.6B Christian industry copy designs, logos


Seth Andrews - The Copycats: How Christianity Steals The Best Ideas

TTA Podcast 192: Testing 1...2...3...

Killing some time. Testing some new gear. Talking about whatever. It's a casual evening among friends, and a very loose "unscheduled" radio podcast for the TTA audience.



TTA Podcast 192: Testing 1...2...3...
The Thinking Atheist, November 15, 2014