Happy Heathen Sunday for all who are joining us for today’s episode of Talk Heathen starring Jmike with the koala and Johnny Angel!

First up we have Josh in AR whose position is that free will has to exist and if it does not exist, punishing criminals is amoral since they have no control over their actions. He believes that human thought is too complicated to be attributed to just brain cells interacting. This is not an argument for belief, but rather stating what you think.
Defaulting to moral responsibility and calling when you are already angry is only clouding your judgement. Calm down bro, why are you so angry? We are not going to stop removing criminals from society if we can’t change their behavior.

Next is Andrew from Canada asking about god's grace. What good is god if we can do whatever we want? We have never met god nor do we believe in the existence of god so therefore we would not believe in the corresponding grace. Human beings can be nice or cruel to each other, and sometimes get away with being cruel. Suspiciously, god tells people to do what they already want to do, and sometimes that is cruelty. God’s grace is a cop out.

Roberto in Italy wants to learn about consciousness and what constitutes the beginning. We would like to know how you would apply this as a fundamental feature of consciousness and what utility this would have. This topic has not made a lot of progress in philosophy. This can be considered identity and is a fun thing to look at. Keep reading and thinking.

Jared in ID would like some opinions on how to talk with family about extremist groups and their symbolism. Anytime I try to bring up anything, one of my family members shuts it down. Try asking your family questions about what they think rather than stating what you believe; you will be putting them on the defensive. Open yourself up to a true conversation that takes place over a lifetime, not confrontations. Be aware of how your words are received. People will not be responsible for independent beliefs when they can’t even be responsible for their own beliefs. There are layers to it and you have to peel them and break down the walls until you get to the center.

Paul in NC would like to talk about the tale of Moses and how it lines up with the cycles of Osiris. You are preaching to the choir. Moses was most likely copy and pasted from other myths. The claims that surround the being itself do not fit. There is a substantial amount of research into the history of the Bible and the apocrypha. Thank you for the suggestions; we do read a lot of what is sent to us.

Quit complaining about the masks and get the vaccine already. Enough of this nonsense. Thank you for joining us today for these fascinating topics! Peace out and we love you.