Answering questions about atheism

   Yesterday, I posted a series of questions I found at the blog The Friendly Atheist. Below are my answers to those questions, as well as some response to the discussions in the comments thread of that entry.

Why do you not believe in God?

   I recognised very early on that all of the Bible stories were no different than any other myths, legends and fairy tales we were told as children. Just as I knew that there really wasn't ever a witch with a house made of gingerbread, I knew that there really wasn't ever a seven hundred year old man sailing a boat containing two of every animal in the entire world.

Where do your morals come from?

   Exactly the same place yours do. You just don't recognise where that is. Morals are a construct of society. They evolve over time and are based entirely on empathic understanding of ourselves and those around us. How many times did your mother say to you, "how would like it if...?" She was imparting moral lessons to you. Did you learn them? I did. Weren't no god involved.

What is the meaning of life?

   Why do you feel life must have a meaning? What is the meaning of potato? What is the meaning of happy? On a more serious note, life holds what meaning you give it. You don't need any outside agency to give your life meaning. You can do it for yourself.

Is atheism a religion?

   No. Is sobriety an addiction? Atheism is a freedom from religion. It is a casting off the psychological bonds of oppression religious thought imposes upon us. It is a sudden revelation (sorry) that one is a good person in and of oneself, not out of fear of divine retribution. It feels good.

If you don’t pray, what do you do during troubling times?

   Just because I don't pray doesn't I mean I don't hope. I just don't rely on a magic man in the sky to solve my problems for me. I rely on myself, and I rely on my loved ones and my friends and family for support. If I need help, I ask for it. From real people.

Should atheists be trying to convince others to stop believing in God?

   Should religious people be trying to convince others to start believing in God? Goose, meet Gander. As an atheist, I believe I am doing good by attempting to help spread the "word" that God doesn't exist. I believe that if people are able to let go of the illusion of God's existence, they will be happier and healthier. Isn't that an admirable goal?

Weren’t some of the worst atrocities in the 20th century committed by atheists?

   All of the worst atrocities of the past thousand years were committed by human beings. Do you want to play 'Top That Atrocity'? You name one committed by an atheist, then I'll name one committed by a believer. Who would run out first? I don't know, but I think we'd both be at it for a good long time.

How could billions of people be wrong when it comes to belief in God?

   The same way billions of people could be wrong when it came to belief that the Sun revolved around the Earth. Many years ago it was supposed that the Sun, the stars, and each of the planets were affixed to the surfaces of immense crystal spheres surrounding the Earth. There was never any evidence that this was so, yet the idea was dreamed up, and presented, and many people believed it for a long time. Why did they believe it? Simply because they were told it was so by someone they looked up to as an authority. However, there are no crystal spheres holding up the stars and planets, and never were. The belief of millions of people did nothing to change that fact. The fact that no one believes that today is due entirely to the workings of science, in spite of the resistance of religion to abandon the idea.

Why does the universe exist?

   Because it does. See answer to meaning of life question above. I mean, really, why is it so important to you?

How did life originate?

   I don't know, and neither do you. It is possible that I might one day find out, but as long as you accept the fictionalized account presented in The Bible, you never will.

Is all religion harmful?

   At its most benign, religion is still asking people to believe in an imaginary, invisible, magic being. We are taught from an early age to stop asking the tough questions and just accept what we are told. "Yes, I know you can't see him dearie, just take my word for it, OK?"
   At its widest demographic, it exists to entitle a ruling class, and subjugate others - foreigners, women, scientists...
   At its worst, it allows acts of terrorism, like shooting doctors, just because one disagrees with how they practice medicine. (You thought I was going to say something else, didn't you?)

What’s so bad about religious moderates?

   See above. By their very existence, they allow religious extremists to exist. Usama Bin Laden (however the hell you spell his name) could not have convinced all those people to give up their own lives in the destruction of others if they didn't believe in Allah. They were religious moderates before they became religious extremists.

Is there anything redeeming about religion?

   I can't think of a single thing religion offers that we cannot have without it.

What if you’re wrong about God (and He does exist)?

   Which one? Maybe they all exist. What if you're wrong about whichever God you worship, and some other God is going to shit on you for all eternity because of it? Why do you think there are only two alternatives?
   I have to say that I was amused by Barbara's comment about Pascal's wager in the comments of my previous entry. She said that if she was wrong about the existence of God, she'd be disappointed. That statement shows that she is incapable of truly comprehending my point of view. Barbara, if you are wrong, you will never know it. The other part of Pascal's wager that is a problem is the suggestion that it's Ok to believe just to "hedge one's bets." Anyone who is conversant with Christian theology will recognise the fallacy in that statement. If there is a God, there's no way he's going to accept that kind of provisional belief.

Shouldn’t all religious beliefs be respected?

   Do you respect other religions' beliefs? Why should I respect yours? Should I respect a teacher who tells my son that 2+2=5? Should I respect a doctor who refuses to treat me unless I admit that the world is flat? I respect other people - individuals - unless, and until they give me reason to withdraw that respect. That's all.

Are atheists smarter than theists? 

   No. However, I do think that in general - though there are always exceptions - religious people have willingly handicapped their critical thinking processes. They've put blinders on to cover one little area of doubt, and many of them don't notice that those blinders are prone to slowly grow over time.
   It's like a man who claims there is no moon, then steadfastly refuses to look at the sky at night. Eventually, he stops looking at the sky during the day as well. At some point, he fails to notice the sun, the clouds, an occasional rainbow...
   The other thing that occurs to me here does so because I am reading the Harry Potter book right now. My sister is very religious, and there was much discussion, thought, and concern in her household over whether her children would be allowed to read these books. Some of her friends were appalled that she was even considering it, and I don't understand why. For me, it's easy. I simply sit down with my child, and explain to him that these are works of fiction, and that magic, and witches and wizards don't actually exist in the real world. But if one believes in a God, one - almost by definition - must believe in magic. It's silly, really.

How do you deal with the historical Jesus if you don’t believe in his divinity?

   There was this guy named Jesus. He pissed off a lot of people. They nailed him to a tree. He died. Life's a bitch. Why must there be a problem there? I have no doubt that a man named Jesus rallied a great number of people behind him, and completely changed the world. I see no reason to assign him divinity.

Would the world be better off without any religion?

   Would the world be better off if religion had never existed? No, I don't think so. Would the world be a better place today if the majority of the religious came around to reality? I do believe that to be the case.

What happens when we die?

   People grieve for us. (Actually, they grieve for themselves, don't they?) We don't notice.


   I touched on Barbara's comments above, in my reply to the whole Pascal's wager question. She also asked, "why try so hard to convince others there is no God, if indeed there is no God?  Why fight something imaginary?"
   Well, Barbara, you are right that it would be silly to fight against something imaginary. However, we are not fighting against "God," because we do believe him to be imaginary. What we are fighting against is belief in God. The God is imaginary, but the belief is real. Just as I fight against belief in Homeopathic medicine, which is imaginary, or belief in psychic phenomena, which are imaginary, because I believe them to be harmful to people.

   Jennyp51 asked a few questions as well. First, she asked, "Why do athiests say that science and the bible are incompatable?"
   Jenny, I can't pretend to speak for all atheists here, but this is my take on the subject. I don't claim that science and The Bible are incompatible. I claim that they are unrelated. It doesn't make any sense to talk about them in the same discussion, just as it wouldn't make any sense to talk about dessert recipes and toenail cleaning strategies in the same discussion. The two have no impact upon one another.

   "How do you explain archeological finds that consistently go along with what the bible says?"
   Jenny, I am unfamiliar with any such finds. Perhaps if you pointed to a specific example we could discuss it.

   "Lawyers have studied the evidence of Christ's trial, death and resurrection and said it would stand up in court as true.  How would you answer them?"

   Jenny, on this question I must claim stupefaction. I have no idea what you mean by it. Can you point me to a website that describes this particular claim, so I may better understand it?

   There you have my answers to the questions provided by Hemant Metha, as well as others asked by commenters. I look forward to further discussing these topics, as well as answering any other questions you may come up with. This entry is now thrown open for comments.

Tags: skepticism, religion, atheism, questions, answers