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We’re Thinking About God All Wrong – Rainn Wilson

Alex O'Connor | December 11, 2025



The full episode with Rainn Wilson is available now for Substack subscribers: https://www.alexoconnor.com/p/rainn-wilson-on-god-consciousness

To donate to my PayPal (thank you): http://www.paypal.me/cosmicskeptic

– VIDEO NOTES

Rainn Wilson is the actor and comedian best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the The Office (US), for which he received three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

He is also the host of @SoulBoom, a podcast discussing spirituality, and authored a book of the same name exploring how we can use spiritual tools to help solve some of life’s problems.

– LINKS

Buy Soul Boom (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/4imTxLO

– CONNECT

My Website: https://www.alexoconnor.com

SOCIAL LINKS:

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TikTok: @CosmicSkeptic

The Within Reason Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/within-reason/id1458675168

– CONTACT

Business email: contact@alexoconnor.com

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Written by Alex O'Connor

Comments

This post currently has 43 comments.

  2. @monkeyknifego4008

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    Another thing that is fun is you said people worship images in their head instead of what that thing is.
    This is true too. Most people worship a God they do not know. Many claim to love this God, but they love an idea of a God they create within themselves. This would be an Idol.

  3. @monkeyknifego4008

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    The flies within a glass quote, reminds me of The Book of Lies. The Book of Lies was meant by the author to be writings as close to truth as it could be, because language is of itself a lie.

  8. @ausun9102

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    Organized, humanised, and hierarchical religons and God followers are essentially atheists because they are so arrogant and state they can represent, interpret and manipulate God using their own understanding. Ultimately, it's a human invention, an attempt to hijack God. True believers will not allow themselves to be swayed by these so-called organizations and individuals representing God. The nature of God and how God communicates with all beings are beyond our current level of understanding; we keep God to ourselves, trying to build the connection sometimes we can, sometimes we cannot, and we reserve this as our private domain. Any organized religion created by humankind and its scriptures are too arrogant, believing they understand God's will; they are essentially atheists. True believers never interpret God's will or use God to criticize others.

  10. @moreboar

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    The use of the term "horned" to describe Moses can be traced to the Greek Jewish scholar Aquila of Sinope…

    Wow, I’m so shocked that a Jew misconstrued this in a demonic way (sarcasm).

  11. @sulijoo

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    It's funny how atheists and sceptics are happy to downplay the biblical miracles, and yet when you consider everything that had to have happened for us to be even having this conversation at all, isn't that the greatest miracle of them all?

  12. @InSearchOfSin

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    @CosmicSkeptic, another great video. I’m curious, what’s your thoughts on the book of Titus? I read it, and it seems to imply that you shouldn’t believe in the old testament, and it’s highly critical of Jewish people.

    Titus, book 1, verse 14 “Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.”

  14. @alcoholler

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    The Greeks gave their gods human attributes, like jealousy. Modern Christians do the same thing. They say, "God loves you, and you need to love god." But a god, if he/she exists, doesn't fucking care. God got the ball rolling, and left us to our own devices. But the religious make God human, and insist that you MUST love God. A real God wouldn't care whether you did or didn't. It's merely a way for humans to attempt to control other humans. God wouldn't give a shit, either way.

  16. @fomorians

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    Rainn mentions positive/pleasant experiences like music and love and the concept of "unity" as being of a divine nature. That's a subjectively positive perspective. But what about the the worst of existence – is that not also God? What about the forbidden ecstacies, the power of will, self-realisation? I just see yet another belief system that pits the ego as the enemy of the self and preaches a supposedly utopian hivemind. The part of humans that seeks co-operation and peace is just as instrumental in our survival as a species as territorialism and violance.

  19. @GregZawatski

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    Words can never describe anything real. Humans literally made them up. It is completely illogical to believe you can define anything that’s real with something that is inherently fake.

  22. @carlgranados7106

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    I find it so hypocritical about these types of discussions over God is that it excludes Gods. Why because they like, or were raised on, the mythology of the Old Testament but it ignores the mythology of many other religions. In other words it gives preference to one type of religion which shows a bias right off the bat. Of course there is no evidence for a God or Gods but it shows that certain believers (without out any evidence) are not interested in the truth but only trying to prove because their favorite fantasy makes them feel better that it most be true while the fantasies of others which does the same for them is not.

  23. @Brainchains

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    I know Rainn means well, but I feel how he conveyed sin leads to a lukewarm interpretation by most. It is both something we can recover from with effort, and a smack in the face of God, just as disobeying your father would be. Sin shouldn't be taken lighty, it should weigh on conscience, but only enough to bring about real change. Anything beyond that – punishing yourself forever, using drugs and alcohol to cope, hurting yourself, and considering suicide – that all is giving into demons within. It's hard to strike a healthy balance, because sometimes tearing yourself apart and putting yourself back together is the only way to come to light in a meaningful way. I've been to hell and back multiple times before I found God. I'm a better man for it, but I barely survived myself. There was a lot of trauma in my childhood, which hardwires behavior. I imagine those who had healthy childhoods can go through softer transformations.

  29. @ballardradio

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    Love Rainn! Love that he compares God to music, especially live music! (Love Radiohead!) I'm surprise, however, that he says he can't do psychedelics due to his addictive nature. I believe the opposite is true of psychedelics. In fact, I believe some people have used them to overcome addiction.

  32. @ExtravaLuxe11

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    God is sentient. Nothing in this universe or other galaxies would have life without God. Our DNA literally spells out YHWH in Hebrew. God is a being that you can experience. Stop putting your limits on God please. God is nothing like a simple man or thinks like a humans fleshy brain. God thinks beyond your understanding.

  36. @sharkamov

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    My atheism over nearly 7 decades, has been modeled after what Sagan actually championed—namely:
    Curiosity without credulity.
    Doubt as a virtue.
    The Universe as being sufficient.
    and not one iota of evidence for ridiculous claims . . . 🥱

  37. @Arman_KB

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    I don't know if Rainn does not know this or is afraid to bring it up because he does not want to be judged;

    BUT the quote from AbdulBaha is literally in a context where he's basically saying that since we cannot know the classic God in any possible way, we should only look towards God's primal reflection on earth;

    which basically would be Manifestation's of God (prophets) at any given day and age.

    Hence, although all the love and music and experience, as Rain said, can be closer to God than the "Old Dude God", but AbdulBaha was pointing to even a deeper level of understanding that brings God from a "subjective" state to an "objective" one, where you witness the light of God, maxed out, in an earthly human being.

  40. @blkshprd

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    Beautiful conversation, but sad in what it reveals, ultimately. The arguments presented by Rainn are so limp and secular that it illustrates clearly why so many modern faith traditions naturally lead to Alex' sort of skepticism and atheism. He simply cannot illustrate why one would follow a religion, let alone his, when it all sounds like analogy: love, radiohead concerts etc…

  43. @christopherbusby2243

    December 11, 2025 at 3:45 am

    I always like to believe that the devil was a metaphor for our animal dumb selfish side. The beast. Not literally an evil beast that wants to get us, but our own undisciplined selves that we should seek to control with reason and morals. Maybe early theologists understood this and used religion to try and mainstream morality.

Comments are closed.

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