[irrelig]Although listening to it I’d hate to go out this way. It’s basically a beta version of the Loftus interview. I’m a huge fan of Dan Barker, but I seem less engaged in this one even though it was done way back in February. Leighton actually has a clue who Barker is since I loaned him my copy of Losing Faith in Faith in preparation for the E4F debate, but he’s still Leighton.

I need a break. But I am toying around with the idea of doing another episode gently critiquing Kirk Hasting’s magnum opus What is Truth? (since I’ve already finished half of the work on it) maybe with expert Hovindologist Matt Wakefield as cohost. That might be a more fitting exit for Irreligiosophy than a poorly-done interview — although come to think of it, poorly-done interviews are what we’re known for.

No matter what happens, the site and existing podcasts will remain up and available.

[irrelig]In this episode we talk to John Loftus, atheist extraordinaire, author of “Why I Became an Atheist” and editor of “The Christian Delusion” and now “The End of Christianity” anthologies. We discuss Loftus’s trip from believer to atheist, his encounters with theists, and his “Outsider Test for Faith.”

With this episode, we’re going to start our Halloween hiatus early this year — but given the pace of the episodes thus far, I wonder if anyone will notice.

[irrelig]Chuck’s sources: Q, the Earliest Gospel by John Kloppenborg and Jesus: According to the Earliest Witnesses by James Robinson
Leighton’s source: unknown, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say Wikipedia

For this episode, we discuss the hypothetical document Q, theorized to explain the near-verbatim similarities found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark. We give some brief history about the theory and then quickly delve into what the Q community, which very likely was early, rural, and Galilean, had to say about the teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

And although we’re a little late to the party, we take a moment to discuss the very serious issue of Elevatorgate.

[irrelig]We return with an interview with the inimitable Bob Price, who has recently written an eBook called “Latter-day Scripture,” which is all about Price’s look at the Book of Mormon as a work of pseudepigrapha, or “false writing.” Price compares Joseph Smith’s 19th century work with some of the pseudepigrapha in the Old and New Testament, such as Daniel or the Pastoral Epistles, and emerges with a new appreciation for an old hoax.

No Skunk Dickery this week, unless you count what goes on inside the podcast.

[irrelig]In this episode, we break from crazy Mormon stories and instead take apart the Ten Commandments: what are they, where did they come from, why do we care, and what do they mean? Do they actually form the basis for American jurisprudence? Should they be engraved on monuments everywhere? Do we even have the right ones?

We also give a shout out to fellow Irreligiosophite podcasters Joemma and the Second Law, as well as the Mormon brothers +1 and their anticipatory plagiarizin’ Church of Awesome. And we do some Skunk Dicks, too.

Joemma, go to hell. We get fired up, hot and heavy and discuss where we will
eventually get to meet each other, Hell (we are both definitely going – see you
there). Unfortunately, by then we will be transformed into immortal giant worms,
only be able to eat puree, and may be tickled for all eternity by Satan and his feather
duster of evil. All jokes aside, a critical examination of the photographic, auditory and
historical evidence that we present undeniably proves the existence of Hell under
your very feet, fool. Your carcass will be shaking in its boots, for 12 quintrillion years.
You really should take this shit very serious – Jesus does. It’s one Hell of an episode.

JoEmma