An interview with an Atheist & video!

Jason is the host of the Atheist Alliance International (AAI) podcast, has a YouTube channel dedicated to the history of religion and has also authored books. AAI is a global federation of atheist groups and individuals committed to educating its members and the public about atheism, secularism and related issues and supporting atheists around the world who are excluded, disparaged, discriminated against and criminalized. This discussion was recorded as well which I encourage you to listen to so you can hear Jason go into further detail with his answers. Here is the summarized Q&A below.

1. Do you consider atheism a specific belief or just no belief?

   1. Lack of belief.

2. Why are you an atheist?

   1. Just woke up one day and realized I no longer believed. It occurred sometime in 2006-2008, it was a gradual process.

3. Were you born into it?

   1. No, I was a moderate Protestant Christian growing up.

4. When was the last time you doubted it and why?

   1. Haven’t doubted it at all, if anything it is stronger than ever. I doubt religion more than ever.

5. What made you desire to join the Atheist Alliance organization?

   1. I was invited because I wrote a book that was directed against the American Christian right who were trying to push creationism into the classroom. Another atheist author who was in the organization invited me and thought I would be good to manage the blog, which is what I started doing first.

6. Where do you want to see this organization go in the future?

   1. I ask myself how can I make a contribution for somebody who is suffering? We are currently reaching out to help a lot of ex-Muslims currently because they are in a lot of cultures where it is dangerous to be non-believers. If we can help people get out of dangerous situations that would be a reward in and of itself. I don't need anything else beyond knowing that I helped somebody in this life.

7. How are your relationships with the people involved?

   1. We are friends, and I have taken trips in different cities in which I would crash with the people from the organization that lived in those cities. 

8. If God came down and said he will answer one question of yours, what would you ask?

   1. I am a huge astronomy nerd so I would ask: What happened before the big bang?

9. What is the best argument for God’s existence if any in your opinion?

   1. None.

10. Do you believe Jesus was a real person or a myth?

    1. Real person, maybe we will have more textual discoveries in the future to understand more about the historical person or a synthesis of many different first-century apocalyptic preachers.

11. Would you prefer if Christianity were true or if there was a God?

    1. No, not at all. 

12. What amount of evidence would convince you?

    1. God would have to show up, wouldn't he?

13. Have you had an overall good, bad, or neutral experience with Christians in your life?

    1. Overall good, going to Church growing up for me was about hanging out with my friends.

14. Have you had an overall good, bad, or neutral experience with theists in your life?

    1. Yes, generally I just feel sorry for their inability to see past their religious indoctrination.

15. Have you in recent years been in an aggressive debate/discussion with a theist?

    1. No, I do not tend to debate, I have had evangelical friends get upset with me trying to get them “to see the light”

16. How do you feel about death?

    1. I like to quote Epicurus, the Greek philosopher from the 3rd century BCE: “I was not; I was; I am not; I do not care.” I think about it like before you were born, you have no conscious memory of before you were born. Death will be the same thing. It's just you come out of darkness; you go back into darkness. It doesn't scare me.

17. When it comes to exorcisms, do you believe it is all a lie or some kind of natural phenomenon explanation? 

    1.  I think the Catholic Church should be brought up on charges. I believe these people need proper psychological counseling or psychology, probably like in depth psychiatric care, if not hospitalization. The other thing is, how come exorcisms only happen to Catholics? How is it that non- Catholics never get possessed? Shouldn’t that be a big telling indicator?

18. Is there any specific behavior amongst the atheist community you wish would cease?

    1.  I've seen a lot of the American atheist community complaining about the rise of woke atheism. But I am not really too aware of these things because I do not live in America.

19. If you had to abandon your worldview and adopt a new one, what would you choose?

    1. Buddhism because it tends to be more of a philosophy than a religion.

20. Do you have a favorite atheist or least favorite atheist figure?

    1. Chrisopher Hitchens definitely has a way with words that as a writer, I really appreciate. His ability to just encapsulate an idea and just bring it home is brilliant. 

21. What is it like being involved in atheist groups? Do you go to conventions too?

    1. Back when I lived in Hong Kong, we had a skeptics pub that would meet monthly. It originally was a night to drink and hangout, but then we started hosting talks each month.

22. What is something you wished religious people understood better about atheists?

    1. That we are not evil, and that we do not need religion to be moral. 

23. Thoughts on aliens?

    1. Statistically it is likely we can’t be alone.

24. Does atheism serve your purpose? Why or why not?

    1. I don’t think atheism per se has a purpose. I'm definitely freed of a lot of mental baggage that I used to have, like fear of hell and fear of judgment, things like that. 

25. What question(s) is hardest for you to answer in response to a theist?

    1. I don't think there's any specific question that I wouldn't answer, so I think I could argue pretty much any point that they try to make which I have done in the past.  I just tend to get frustrated because like you just run into this wall. They just won't listen; they are completely boxed in by, well, whatever the Bible says. You can write anything in a book but that doesn't make it true. 

26. Any final words?

    1. Yes, when are you going to join our team? (I laughed awkwardly in response to this)

Jason and I spoke for around an hour. This was probably the least I have ever talked during an interview. I figured it would make it a more peaceful experience that way and I wanted to maximize his ability to convey all of his thoughts. He was clearly a very knowledgeable person when it came to critiques of evidence for God as well as Christianity. He had a firm understanding of religious history and The Bible. I have respect for Jason because he had real reason to submit to his worldview that was not due to any type of anecdotal experiences. He definitely seemed to be the most completely comfortable atheist in his worldview that I have encountered. During our discussion (particularly question #12) I could not help but think, would God truly choose to not reveal himself to some individuals that truly seek him? The divine hiddenness of God gives me the most struggle because I do obviously believe he has revealed himself to many whether it was extremely obvious or in subtle ways. But what about those that have truly prayed and begged to see the Christian God but has never received true conviction that he is there? I know Jason’s answer was asking for God to perhaps visually appear, but I still have my worries about divine hiddenness. Lastly, since atheism can be a broad worldview in terms of individual thoughts and opinions, I look forward to interviewing several more.