PvI#111: God Smites Elijah Dann

PvI#111: God Smites Elijah Dann

From Philosophy vs. Improv by Mark Linsenmayer

February 8, 2026 · 54 min · Season 5 · Episode 111

About this episode

Elijah Dann discusses his journey from evangelical Christian to atheist and the implications of belief in God.

Elijah is a philosophy prof (and PhD theologian) in Vancouver who was a die-hard, evangelical Christian but gradually became liberal and then atheist. In light of his latest book that collects all your favorite arguments for and against the existence of God, called UnBelieving God: A Skeptic’s Guide , Mark and Mary chat with him about his journey and about the degree to which we should care about others’ beliefs in this area so as to engage them in debate. In the course of this, as you’d expect, God makes a personal appearance (with Mary), and there’s an aborted sketch about a brainwashing service. Hear more PvI . Support the podcast ! Sponsor:  Visit  squarespace.com/LINSENMAYER  (code LINSENMAYER) for a free trial and 10% off your first website or domain. You can choose to watch this unedited on video : Image Note: Today’s MidJourney prompt was “god smiting a cowering, bearded philosopher, as drawn crudely in crayon by an 8-year-old.” For some reason all of the results showed only one figure, making God INTO the bearded philosopher, but I liked one of them, so here we are. I’m particularly intrigued by what the…

People in this episode

Host: Mark Linsenmayer

Guest: Elijah Dann

Topics covered

  • philosophy
  • theology
  • belief systems
  • debate
  • atheism

Keywords

  • God
  • philosophy
  • atheism
  • debate
  • beliefs
  • Elijah Dann
  • theology

Sponsors

Squarespace

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: UnBelieving God: A Skeptic’s Guide

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