“This is the kind of dialogue that one craves and looks forward to as opposed to the sort of snarky comments that one often gets on Facebook or other social media. This is the way civil and intelligent discourse should be done.”– William Lane Craig on Real Atheology
Founded in 2015, Real Atheology is a project aimed at encouraging a more philosophically attentive approach to the popular-level discourse between atheists and theists. To that end, the team at RA draws on the insights and arguments found within the contemporary analytic philosophy of religion and related fields. Those insights and arguments are then explored in interviews, public debates, videos, and blog posts. While the individuals upon whom the RA team ontologically depends are atheologically inclined, not all of those whose insights they value are.
Our past guests have included a variety of Theist and Atheist philosophers such as Josh Rasmussen Kenny Pearce, Wes Morriston, Paul Moser, Dustin Crummett as well as Erik Wielenberg, Graham Oppy, Quentin Smith, Evan Fales, Alex Malpass, and many more. Topics we’ve explored range from skeptical theism to modal skepticism, the Euthyphro dilemma to cosmological arguments, from divine hiddenness to gratuitous evil, to Thomism and petitionary prayer, and from the physical dependency of minds to Hume’s argument from Miracles as well as a host of subjects relevant to the analytic philosophy of religion. Our philosophy is that of Friendly Atheism which is the position that although God does not exist, some (intellectually sophisticated) people are rational in believing that God exists. The term Friendly Atheism was originally coined by William Rowe who was an advocate for the position and worked to encourage better dialogue between Theists and Atheists. Many leading defenders of Atheism, such as Quentin Smith, Paul Draper, J.L. Schellenberg, Jordan Howard Sobel, Erik Wielenberg, and others have expressed sympathy and support for “Friendly Atheism.”
Justin Schieber: Justin is the former co-host of the Reasonable Doubts Podcast and recently returning founder and co-host to the Real Atheology podcast. Justin has lectured on the philosophical arguments for and against the existence of God and has participated in many public debates throughout the United States and Canada. December 2016 saw the publication of An Atheist and a Christian Walk into a Bar, a conversational exploration on the merits of theism co-authored with Canadian theologian Randal Rauser and published through Prometheus Books
Ben Watkins: Ben was raised as a Christian in a Quaker-like faith in the Deep South of South Carolina though he is currently an atheist. His undergraduate degree is in mechanical engineering from the University of South Carolina, and he currently resides in Norfolk Virginia where he works as a Nuclear Engineer for The Department of Defense. Additionally, he is currently pursuing his Master’s Degree at Old Dominion University in quite a different direction: philosophy. His main areas of interest are in the philosophy of religion, moral philosophy, and the philosophy of mind. Though he no longer considers himself a believer, he still finds great value in studying, discussing, and reflecting on deep questions about God, religion, and reasons for belief about both. Ben’s commitment is to pursuing truth for its own sake and making an effort to engage with theists charitably and with their strongest arguments. Ben has conducted debates with leading apologists such as Fr. Gregory Pine and Trent Horn. An interview on Ben’s journey from Christianity to Atheism can be viewed here.
Ben Bavar: Ben was raised a Baptist and a young-Earth creationist in St. Joseph County, Indiana (known for the University of Notre Dame). After hearing of a close family member’s deconversion, he began to investigate the defenses of the Christian faith that were available. Eventually finding these apologetics to be inadequate, he lost his own faith, becoming a nontheist. He has since remained a nontheist, but his worldview continues to evolve. He was President of Philosophy of Religion Club at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a B.A. in philosophy. His interests, apart from philosophy of religion, include scholastic philosophy, metaphysics, metaontology, philosophy of language, epistemology, metaethics, and philosophy of science.
Ryan Downie: Ryan Downie is a Mathematics Lecturer at Eastern Washington University with research interests in contemporary cosmology, philosophy of science, epistemology, probability, and eschatology. He also has a Masters Degree in Bible Studies. A discussion of Ryan’s journey to Atheism can be found here.
Research Contributor & Social Media Manager: Due to personal, professional, and geographic circumstances, our research contributor & social medial manager contributes in strict anonymity. Along with managing our Twitter and other platforms, this individual works behind the scenes in terms of engaging in research, developing content, organizing interviews, and helping things run smoothly for the project in multiple different functions. Their Twitter can be found here.
Former contributors include John Lopilao: John was a Christian until he was 28 years old and had been an active trustee and sound team volunteer at his church for 8 years before becoming an apostate while working abroad for an extended assignment. John turned to Christian apologetics to try and salvage his faith due to family pressures, which only strengthened. John blogs at Counter Apologist.