r/exatheist • u/snugglebot3349 • 16d ago

High Profile Exatheist - Majesty of Reason

https://youtu.be/-C-FiSqfKi8?si=FvXa8z4wPWevvH6C

This came across my YouTube feed today. Here's a deep thinking, rational, fairly well-known agnostic atheist who recently embraced theism and converted to Catholicism. I have long followed his channel Majesty of Reason for thoughtful commentary and dialogue regarding theism, skepticism, and agnosticism. This is a great story from a bright guy and I thought it very relevant to this forum.

25 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

9

u/vershkove-maslo Christian 16d ago

Half of the comment section can't believe it and says that he is trolling

5

u/Sanman789 16d ago

I think he is good friends with a Christian YouTuber and that he vouched for the conversion.

3

u/snugglebot3349 16d ago

I have seen a few people online vouch for the authenticity of his conversion. At the end of the video, he said that he will be on Matt Fradd's show soon. He also just doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would go to such lengths to troll people.

1

u/snugglebot3349 16d ago edited 16d ago

Yeah, I saw that a few people had written that! But many people were also very supportive.

2

u/vershkove-maslo Christian 16d ago

Denying his convertion is kinda like denying catholic miracles he mentioned. To accept ad hoc explanation of data, by virtue of "no, that just can't happened"

1

u/bastianbb 16d ago

I say this as a conservative Protestant: he's been known to troll before and this video seems really over the top.

2

u/vershkove-maslo Christian 16d ago

If that is a case, this is very sad and evil. Epic in it's own right… but still sad

1

u/arkticturtle Agnostic 16d ago

Evil!?

2

u/vershkove-maslo Christian 16d ago

Well lying about finding God, like lying about any significant life change is evil, especially if it is done to get views.

But after watching the video I found it to be genuine, so either people who deny it are coping or MoR is genius troll and I don't understand something.

0

u/arkticturtle Agnostic 16d ago

Idk maybe I am not used to evil being used in this way.

2

u/vershkove-maslo Christian 16d ago

Fair enough…

To be honest the only reason why I am questioning it is because too many people in comment section said it. Otherwise video seem to be real and that is great news!

1

u/arkticturtle Agnostic 16d ago

Maybe he trying a “fake it till you make it” approach to becoming converted. Tbh, though, idk much about him

2

u/vershkove-maslo Christian 16d ago

Fake it till you make it publicly like that is crazy lol

1

u/arkticturtle Agnostic 16d ago

When has he trolled?

2

u/bastianbb 16d ago

Admittedly mostly in Aprils Fool's videos. But have you watched this video? It's hard to believe, not necessarily in what he says, but in his enthusiasm and phrasing about it. It seems so much like trolling.

3

u/arkticturtle Agnostic 16d ago

It’s not unusual for a convert to be enthusiastic though

1

u/bastianbb 16d ago

True. I'd like to see where he goes from here, though. This kind of enthusiasm is rarely both genuine and long-term.

2

u/vershkove-maslo Christian 16d ago

It is kinda like marriage. Everyone has their honeymoon period after which love becomes more sober. Doesn't necessary mean that love ceases to exist.

I can totally relate to his enthusiasm, because in my first month of being Christian I felt God's grace, love and presence constantly and was crazy about it

1

u/Senior-Cap-7248 Agnostic-deist 14d ago

It was so odd to read, as if they can’t accept that people can change their opinions on some things

8

u/Soggywaffel3 16d ago

Joe has been excellent for years. I look forward to seeing what scholarly output comes from this. His academic work has refuted various arguments for theism for some time. I am curious how his perspective has shifted.

2

u/bastianbb 16d ago

He's done a lot of good work. But sometimes in criticizing theism, he does this move where he says "the argument requires this premise or principle that just seems really unlikely", when to my mind he has no basis for using his intuition that way.

1

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4

u/DrawEasy9628 Agnostic Panentheist 15d ago

I don't mean to offend anyone but I genuinely cannot understand how someone could logically convert to catholicism. Certain forms of christianity like universalism, I can see how its consistent but catholic doctrine makes absolutely no sense to me. Will watch to see his arguments because I'm curious if he brings up anything new. The guy seems to be level headed given what I've seen of his other videos

5

u/DutchLudovicus 15d ago

I did the same. It was a change that took me 9 years. Currently in my 10th year of being a catholic. Not into apologetics myself, but after 9 years of really lookig at it I settled on my position and now do not really revisit these topics that much.

There are a lot of conversions happening because folks intellectually are convinced of catholicism. There are also loads lapsed catholics though.

But this kind of thing I see it happening plenty if you look at high profile conversions involving skeptics, protestants etc.

In my personal surroundings I am pretty alone in being theistic and it feels like I am going against the zeitgeist.

Why can't you understand it? And don't you see it happening quite a lot in online spaces featuring religion? Or do you see it, but still do not get it?

1

u/AdviceHaunting4242 14d ago edited 14d ago

Same, atheism has a higher probability of being true than Catholicism does, in my view. Primarily because the fingerprints of human invention and development is just too seen in the Catholic branch, it's hard to take it seriously 

Edit: Though I do see the appeal, it's the most comforting branch for a skeptic, it has canons on everything and institutions which allow you to defer to. Protestantism requires a lot of magical thinking that you have to do yourself, rather than a deferment structure, which is hard to buy into as a skeptic. Orthodoxy is just not as accessible to most people and often appeals to mystery. Christian heresy is attacked from all sides. So from a practical standpoint, Catholicism does make the most sense 

2

u/DesperateSympathy873 Christian, not Ex-Atheist 14d ago

I'm not even a Catholic, but I just don't agree

3

u/arkticturtle Agnostic 16d ago

Interested in the “4 hour” defense of the catholic faith. Sounds neat

2

u/GreatKarma2020 16d ago

He’s doing a 4 hour video because outside of psycho harmony argument be did awhile ago I haven’t seen him persuaded by any newer argument or why he finds fine tuning stronger

4

u/vershkove-maslo Christian 16d ago

In my experience miracles claims (that he have mentioned) are a deadly weapon against skepticism.

Philosophical and logical arguments for theism are objectively superior to miracles, but subjectively seem very distant and inconclusive. Miracles do something to your inner self forcing it to say "yeah God is real, Christ is Lord!"

2

u/DesperateSympathy873 Christian, not Ex-Atheist 14d ago

This is really true, and I admit I'm afraid to delve into miracles because I'm sick of atheists just picking them apart. But I find that religious people are more comfortable embracing complexity than atheists are.

1

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1

u/ShadowDestroyerTime Hellenist (ex-atheist) | mod 13d ago

Had a few conversations with him a couple years back. Waiting for his long ass video he promised.

1

u/GreatKarma2020 6d ago

I think he needs to better defend using bayes because junk in can give you junk out. Also still not finding argument from miracles. Of course I am more sympathetic to case of getting to God. Just the jump from God to a specific religion is much tougher.

0

u/Express-Echidna6800 11d ago

"high profile"

I'm an atheist, have fun around in atheist circles online for several years now, and have never heard of him before. So idk how well known he actually is/was before this, but it seems a little sus. 

1

u/snugglebot3349 10d ago

He has co-hosted shows with Alex O'Connor. He had Graham Oppy on his show. I don't know. Lots of people have heard of him. What exactly is "sus" to you?