Matt Dillahunty

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Matt Dillahunty, speaking at the American Atheists Convention 2011

Matthew Wade Dillahunty ( March 31, 1969 in Kansas City , Missouri ) is an American atheist activist and President of the Atheist Community of Austin (ACA), a role he held from 2006 to 2013. Since 2005 he has hosted the cable and webcast TV show The Atheist Experience in Austin . He was also the presenter of the radio program Non-Prophets Radio, which was broadcast live on the Internet .

Dillahunty regularly travels the United States as part of the Secular Student Alliance to participate in discussions and speak to local secular organizations. He also appears in debates and discussions outside of the United States. In the summer of 2017, Dillahunty went on a lecture tour sponsored by the Pangburn Philosophy Foundation, on which he also shared the stage with Sam Harris , Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss . He has no higher education and has never attended a seminary.

biography

Dillahunty grew up in a Baptist church in the southern United States and originally wanted to be a pastor.

The thorough study of the Christian doctrine led to the fact that he distanced himself not only from Christianity, but ultimately from all religions. Dillahunty served eight years in the US Navy before taking up a job in software design. In March 2005 he hosted The Atheist Experience for the first time . He then became a regular moderator of the program. In October 2011, he married his colleague from The Atheist Experience Beth Presswood, who is also the co-host of the Godless Bitches podcast . The couple divorced in 2018.

Dillahunty describes himself as a feminist. He is one of the protagonists of the documentary My Week in Atheism (2014) by John Christy and the award-winning German documentary Mission Control Texas (2015) by Ralf Bücheler. He also appears as a magician.

Debates and discussions

Dillahunty has discovered regulated debates as well as open discussions as effective formats for imparting knowledge: "I am absolutely convinced of my experience and the evidence that I have been able to collect over the years that they are incredibly valuable." He spoke in atheistic terms and freethinker conferences and engaged in disputes with numerous Christian apologists , such as Ray Comfort (in The Atheist Experience ) or David Robertson from the program Unbelievable on Premier Christian Radio. At the 2014 American Atheists Congress in Salt Lake City , he gave a seminar in which he introduced the guiding principles of effective debating: "Take your opponent seriously: 'The audience must understand that I fully understand their views and have rejected them.' Use logic: 'I tell them I can write a better book than the Bible. Quite simply: I copy the Bible word for word, except for the passages on slavery. ' And don't forget the emotions: 'This is theater. That's my advantage with a Baptist background over someone like Richard Dawkins, even though he knows more about science. '"He also stated that he would be willing to say" I don't know "in debates. A "threatening concept" for some of his listeners. Together with his activist colleagues Seth Andrews and Aron Ra, he traveled to Australia as a participant in the Unholy Trinity Tour in March 2015. In April 2015 he was a guest speaker for the Merseyside Skeptics Society QEDCon Manchester , United Kingdom. In 2018, Dillahunty took part in a discussion with the Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson at an event organized by Pangburn Philosophy, in which the two discussed their different views on religion, especially its relationship to values ​​and culture. The debate was published on the Pangburn Philosophy YouTube channel.

Moral views

One of Dillahunty's recurring themes is that of the superiority of secular morality over religious morality. His main criticism is that secular moral systems are inclusive, dynamic, advocate for change and serve the interests of all concerned, while religious moral systems only serve the interests of an external authority. As he said at the 2013 American Atheists Congress in Austin: “They say we are immoral even though we are the only ones who understand that morality comes from empathy, fairness and cooperation, and from the physical facts of human interaction in this universe. They have broken their moral code and sacrificed their humanity on the altar of religion. They say we are lost and broken and in need of salvation even though we are the ones who are free. ”Dillahunty believes it is“ morally inferior ”to demand endless rewards or punishments for endless deeds.

Defense of reproduction rights

Matt Dillahunty speaking about debating at the American Atheist National Convention 2014

Dillahunty is committed to reproduction rights. After learning that the secular anti-abortion group, Secular Pro-Life, was organizing a round table at the American Atheists' 2012 Congress, he challenged one of its representatives to a public debate. The debate with Kristine Kruszelnicki took place at the 2012 Texas Freethought Convention. Dillahunty used physical self-determination as the main argument against abortion bans. In March 2014, Dillahunty debated with Clinton Wilcox, who is not a member of the Secular Pro-Life, even though the debate was advertised on their blog. This led to a falling out with the organization and Dillahunty announced on Facebook that he would no longer publicly debate with them. Commenting on the events on Amanda Marcotte's podcast RH Reality Check, he and Beth Presswood said that "the appearance of a cis-man without a womb" who advocates women's rights is not what they wanted to advocate and others will in the future Should leave the stage in the public debate on the topic.

skepticism

Dillahunty at QED 2015, a skeptical conference in Manchester

Dillahunty promotes a skeptical attitude. At the American Atheists' Congress in Austin in 2013, he said that what comes closest to a life motto for him is "to believe as many true things as possible and as few false things as possible". He was inspired by David Hume . In the same lecture, he admitted that he was most likely to identify with the role of a skeptic. Skepticism would have something to say about unchecked religious claims, and philosophical skepticism would lead to atheism. He sees atheism as part of skepticism and doesn't see why skepticism shouldn't also examine religious claims - which is controversial in the skeptical community. Dillahunty posed the rhetorical question “How popular would clairvoyants or ghosts be if it weren't for this monumental idea among 70-80% of the population that an immortal soul lives in each of us that leaves the body after death and either goes to an afterlife comes in or continues to wander here on earth? ... If you explain to people what will most likely happen with death, they will make an effort to treat each other better while they are still alive and their grief will also decrease because they understand reality better. ”He admonished“ do not be skeptical with the goal of being right, but with the goal of no longer being wrong. ”In an interview with the Human-Ethical Association of Norway (Human-Etisk Forbund, HEF) he said that he could not see why religious claims about the Reality should be treated differently by skeptics than conspiracy theories or claims of alien visits.

Chewing gum ball analogy

Dillahunty explains the philosophical burden of proof clearly through his chewing gum ball analogy: If a glass is filled with an unknown amount of chewing gum balls, any statement about whether their number is even or odd must be considered suspect in the absence of evidence. It follows that one does not automatically believe that the number is odd just because one does not believe an unsubstantiated claim that the number is even. Similarly, the doubt about the statement "There is a God." Does not automatically mean that one must believe that there is no God. This way of thinking serves to expose the usual reply “What is your proof that there is no God?” As an inadmissible reversal of the burden of proof.

Awards

In 2011 Dillahunty von Staks Rosch received Examiner.com's Atheist of the Year award, named after Christopher Hitchens as Hitchie . The award was given by Rosch's readers to nominees he had selected for this category.

In 2012 he received the Catherine Fahringer Freethinker of the Year award from the Central Texas Freethinkers Association.

Web links

Commons : Matt Dillahunty  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Board of Directors. Atheist Community of Austin, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Matt Dillahunty. In: Texas Secular Convention. March 1, 2015, accessed on March 21, 2020 .
  3. ^ Mike Rosen-Molina: Public Access TV Fights for Relevance in the YouTube Age. In: Mediashift. December 17, 2008, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  4. ^ John Salazar: Research Shows Christian Population in Decline. In: Spectrum News. Charter Communications, May 18, 2015, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Lloyd Miller: On Atheism . In: Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges (Ed.): Teaching Anthropology: SACC Notes . tape 18 , no. 1 , 2012, ISSN  1537-1751 , p. 23 ( online [PDF]).
  6. ↑ 2012 Conference Speakers !, Secular Student Alliance , Retrieved 2012-07-12
  7. ^ Matt Dillahunty: I've been told there's a reddit discussion about my credentials. Easy. I have none. No degrees. No seminary. Doesn't matter. February 19, 2014, accessed November 7, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Dana Kimmelman, “Mom, Dad: I'm an Atheist,” says Dillahunty. In: Onward State. April 1, 2009, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  9. ^ Atheist Experience: Matt Dillahunty. Retrieved March 21, 2020 .
  10. ↑ USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). In: Unofficial US Navy Site. Retrieved March 21, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Matt Dillahunty: Matt Dillahunty: Reflections on a "'lifetime" as ACA President. In: The Atheist Experience. Atheist Community of Austin, August 13, 2013, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Tolulope Igun: Matt Dillahunty. In: www.ffrf.org. Freedom From Religion Foundation, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  13. ^ Matt Dillahunty - The Feminist Atheist ; The Skeptic Feminist ; August 11, 2015
  14. ↑ Anugrah Kumar: Christian Filmmaker, Atheist Activist Release Their New Movie 'My Week in Atheism'. In: The Christian Post. February 18, 2014, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Nikolaus von Festenberg: 3sat documentary "Mission Control Texas" War of God in the Bible Belt. In: Der Tagesspiegel. June 13, 2015, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  16. ↑ Matt Dillahunty. American Atheists, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  17. ↑ a b c d Matt Dillahunty - The Value of Debates. June 28, 2014, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  18. ↑ Bas den Hond: Onder ongelovigen. In: Trouw . De Persgroep , June 3, 2014, accessed June 3, 2014 (Dutch).
  19. ↑ Heather Adams: MU skeptics group brings big-name atheists to campus. In: KBIA 91.3 FM. March 17, 2014, accessed on March 21, 2020 .
  20. ^ Pub talk with an atheist and an anglican. In: Eternity News. Bible Society Australia, March 22, 2015, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Al Lee: Guest post: The Mancunian Way. In: Freethought Blogs. April 27, 2015, accessed on March 21, 2020 .
  22. ↑ a b Jordan Peterson vs Matt Dillahunty (CC: Arabic & Spanish). In: YouTube. Retrieved August 14, 2019 .
  23. ^ Collin Boots: The superiority of secular morality. In: The Daily Pennsylvanian. University of Pennsylvania's independent student media organization, April 30, 2014, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  24. ↑ a b AACON 2013 Matt Dillahunty - Skepticism And Atheism. April 17, 2013, accessed on March 21, 2020 .
  25. ^ JJ Dyken: The Divine Default: Why Faith is Not the Answer . Algora Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-1-62894-008-4 , pp. 94 ( online on Google Books ).
  26. ^ Abortion Debate at Texas Freethought Convention, Matt Dillahunty vs. Kristine Kruszelnicki. October 22, 2012, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  27. ^ Debates, Delusions and Dishonesty - Why I have no respect for Kelsey Hazzard and SPL. April 3, 2014, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  28. ↑ Amanda Marcotte: Is Secular Anti-Choice a Thing? In: Reality Cast. Rewire News, April 14, 2014, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  29. ↑ Even Gran: Tåpelig av å skeptikere frede religion. In: fri tanke. Human-Etisk Forbunds, October 9, 2014, accessed on March 21, 2020 .
  30. ↑ Armin Navabi: Why There Is No God. Simple Responses to 20 Common Arguments for the Existence of God . Ed .: Atheist Republic. 2014, p. 9 (English, online on Google Books [accessed March 21, 2020]).
  31. ↑ Jarbas Aragão: Ex-evangelista receive o prêmio de “ateu do ano”. In: Gospel Prime. January 8, 2012, accessed March 21, 2020 (Portuguese).
  32. ↑ Leah Libresco: What Makes a Great Atheist? In: Patheos. January 5, 2012, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  33. ↑ Greta Christina: Tokenism Is Not Inclusivity. January 5, 2012, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  34. ↑ Orphelia Benson: Token women. In: Freethoughts Blogs. January 5, 2012, accessed March 21, 2020 .
  35. ↑ Freethinkers of Central Texas honors Matt Dillahunty. Atheist Community, November 14, 2012, accessed March 21, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Dillahunty, Matt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dillahunty, Matthew Wade
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American atheist activist
DATE OF BIRTH March 31, 1969
PLACE OF BIRTH Kansas City (Missouri)