#71 Matthew Sitton-Atheism: What You Didn’t Know

Show Notes  Let me begin our show today with a question? Consider this rather long list of names: Woody Allen, Isaac Asimov, Kevin Bacon, George Carlin, Jodi Foster, Joyce Carol Oates, Brad Pitt, Ayn Rand, Oliver Sacks, Kurt Vonnegut, James Baldwin, Charles Bukowski, Ursula K LeGuinn, Pablo Neruda, Virginia Wolfe, Stephen Hawking, Sir Richard Branson, and Bertrand Russell. What do all these famous and intelligent people have in common? When I add the name Sam Harris to the list you might know: they are all atheists. And all of them have also contributed significantly to the value of the value of society and the world. They have made huge impact on the poor and disenfranchised as well as initiated critical thinking about the state of life and the universe.  So, today I am choosing to go off my normal grid and talk curiously about the subject of Atheism. I am genuinely curious. I ‘d like to know what atheism is and even more important what it isn’t, why a person would adopt a-theism over theism. My hope today is to simply understand a general overall perspective of the atheism. Many very bright and compassionate people have come to the atheistic conclusion through deep study, listening to their “moral compass,” and have often suffered some sort of restrained cynicism about what they believe and don’t believe. My very special guest today is Matthew Sitton. Matthew is a thoughtful man, fluent in conversational Japanese, and spent one year in Japan teaching English.   Matthew Sitton is a Southern California native who is openly atheist. Matthew grew up a Christian but found himself leaving religion in his early adult life. A combination of time abroad, self-reflection, and extensive reading lead Matthew to find that he could live a progressive and moral life without theism or other supernatural beliefs. Matthew believes that a worldview without these attachments affirms our ability and responsibility to live meaningful, ethical lives—lives capable of adding to the greater good of humanity. Matthew now identifies himself as a humanist and tries to live his life [I really like this part] tries to life his life informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. I have been looking forward to this time for about three weeks now. Finally we get to talk on air about the fascinating topic of atheism.  FOR ALL MY LISTENERS PLEASE NOTE: MY PURPOSE WITH THIS SHOW IS TO SATISFY MY CURIOSITY ABOUT ATHEISM; NOT TO GET INTO ANY DEBATE OF THEISM VS A-THEISM. I WANT TO LEARN AND I HOPE YOU DO AS WELL.