Irreligiosophy

79: Baptism For the Dead

Chuck — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:22:28 +0000

For this episode, we cover the strange LDS practice of baptizing corpses just in case they change their mind and want to become Mormons in the afterlife. We cover the roots of the practice, why it’s done and what scriptural justification Mormons give for it, and the various controversies surrounding it. Also, we actually brought on a listener named Jessica to share her creepy experiences as a young Mormon dragged into the Temple to be baptized for two or three dead people by proxy.

Plus, more Skunk Dicks than you can shake a skunk at in episode 79.

78: Missionary Experiences 2

Chuck — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:00:25 +0000

The second part of the interview strikes a more personal note. Find out more about the culture shock missionaries experience, how the LDS Church treats those who gave up two years of their life to serve it, and the exit interview experience. Once again, Mike comes to the rescue by editing our massive conversation down into a slightly less massive podcast. Thanks, Mike!

No Skunk Dicks this week but we did stick in something very special for the fans, right around the middle of the podcast.

77: LDS Missionary Experiences, Part 1

Chuck — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:07:54 +0000

Take a trip down missionary lane with everyone’s favorite ex-LDS brothers, Mike and Chris. Learn all about LDS indoctrination, patriarchal blessings, priesthood ordination, the Missionary Training Center, and early field experiences of a typical LDS missionary. And that’s just part one.

Huge kudos to Mike, who’s slaved away for the past week or so paring down the audio from some 5 or 6 hours of discussion into two 90 minute episodes because I was far too lazy to do it myself.

Check it out, along with an extended Skunk Dick segment, since, hey, we were running long anyway. Might as well bloat the thing out more.

76: Religious Podcast Takedown II

Chuck — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:33:29 +0000

Yeah, I know we promised an episode on the Mormon involvement in Proposition 8, but we lied. In this episode, Leighton finds some religious podcasts and takes them apart while I sit back in a state of thorough confusion.

Also, some Skunk Dicks and a really bizarre episode in the ongoing Allred saga. It’s all in episode 76.

75: Religious Podcast Takedown!

Chuck — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:35:44 +0000

In this special episode we courageously venture into the dark heart of iTunes’ Top Ten Religious Podcasts, tackling the ever-charming, ever-gleeful Joyce Meyer as well as everyone’s favorite evangelical idiot, Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill. We also have a very special installment of “As the Allred Family Turns,” and a surprising announcement about the fate of the Mims H. Carter Skunk Dick Award.

It can all be found in episode 75, released on time even!

74: Atheists and Moral Language

Chuck — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:18:08 +0000

Today we discuss the New Atheist movement in a wide-ranging conversation with philosopher-in-training Seth, who complains that the loose moral language that is typically used needs to be grounded in rigorous philosophical arguments instead of merely taken for granted. Also, Leighton chimes in with his usual high-brow, professorial commentary.

It’s all in Episode 74.

73: Early Christian Heresies, Part the Second

Chuck — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:33:10 +0000

After discussing one final heresy, I hand the podcast reins over. Brace yourselves, it’s another Leighton-filled podcast, complete with all the stellar research you’ve all come to expect from Irreligiosophy.

Or at least, have come to expect since Leighton’s Hinduism podcast.

New Forum

Chuck — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:29:23 +0000

UPDATE: New new forum. Register at your peril.

I gave bbpress a try because it integrated with WordPress so nicely, but it just didn’t have enough features to be a “real” forum. So I converted to phpbb, but of course there isn’t a conversion pathway from bbpress to phpbb, so I had to do it manually. You’ll probably have to reset your passwords in order to post.

Post in this thread if there are any issues, and I’ll try to resolve them. Or you can email me at irreligiosophy@gmail.com if you’re too lazy or shy to post here. Unlike Job, my patience isn’t infinite. If this doesn’t work, or if there are too many problems, I’ll dump the forum and start from scratch. That means that everyone would have to register again, which is what I was trying to avoid with bbpress in the first place.

72: Early Christian Heresies, Part One

Chuck — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:46:10 +0000

Today we talk about early Christian heresies like docetism and adoptionism, and how they influenced both the formation of the canon and the texts within it. It may not surprise you to learn that during the decades-long course of the argument over whether or not Jesus was fully human, fully divine, or both, scribes made alterations in the text so that it would more fully support their viewpoint. Because if you can’t win the argument with the texts you have, by all means make some shit up. And when that fails, simply kill people (as we’ll get into in the next episode).

Leighton’s Source: Wikipedia
Chuck’s Source: “Misquoting Jesus,” by Bart Ehrman, although “Orthodox Corruption of Scripture” goes into more detail

71: More New Testament Plagiarism

Chuck — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:50:30 +0000

We’ve caught those wily NT rascals at it again — this time plagiarizing not from pagan sources but their own Old Testament! In this episode we discuss various portions of the Gospels that were obviously cribbed from OT sources like Psalms or Isaiah. Now why would God be plagiarizing himself?

All this and an extended Skunk Dick section awaits.