1. How Did You Become
an Atheist?
Okay, so
right out of the gate, we can see that the poster isn’t taking this seriously.
Is his claim really that atheists
cannot honestly answer this question? The only possible way he could make that
claim is to assume right off the bat that we’re lying no matter what we say. I
would ordinarily have taken this as a sincere question, were it not for the
author’s assertion that atheists cannot answer any of these honestly.
But, to treat
the question seriously, I became an atheist because I never had any real reason
to believe in a god. My parents tried to convince me to believe in a version of
the Christian one, and when I was young and more insecure I tried to believe
for them. But it never really stuck. By my late teens, I had stopped trying to
pretend I believed it.
2. What happens when we
die?
Decomposition,
mostly. Depending on circumstances, perhaps mummification or some other
form of physical preservation. If we have loved ones, they will likely mourn
for a time. Hopefully, they will carry positive effects from my influence on
their lives, and will go on to be happy in their own right without me.
I suppose,
though, that the thrust of the question is more about what happens to us, by
which I mean our thoughts, memories, and personalities. Well, so far as I know,
they end. All that made me a person will be gone. I could be wrong about that,
and I’m perfectly willing to change my mind should someone be able to
demonstrate convincingly that something else happens. But I don’t have any
reason to believe it yet.
3. What if you’re
wrong? And there is a Heaven? And there is a HELL!
If I’m
wrong about the existence of a god, I’d be interested to know which one(s) I’m
wrong about. But given that this list came from a Christian site, I assume the
author is talking about Yahweh. And if I’m wrong about his existence, I still know nothing about what will
happen to me because there are so many contradictory interpretations of what
the Christian god proposes to do with us all that it just amounts to random
guessing anyway. I suppose it’s possible I’ll go to hell, but it seems like
such a remote and unknowable possibility that it’s just not worth rearranging
the life I know I have over it.
4. Without God, where
do you get your morality from?
The same
place you do: a combination of moral precepts taught to me when I was younger,
my innate empathy for other people, and my observations and reasoning about the
consequences of certain behaviors.
5. If there is no God,
can we do what we want? Are we free to murder and rape? While good deeds are
unrewarded?
That
depends on what you mean by “free.” Most interpretations of the Christian god
suggest that we’re free to do what we want anyway. There’s just some ultimate
reward/punishment system for those actions that is claimed to be perfect but is
conveniently removed beyond the ability of any living person to ever verify
that it functions. Many interpretations suggest that we are free to commit any
atrocity whatsoever with absolute abandon, since the only determinant between
eternal bliss or torment is asking God to handwave the badness away.
Meanwhile, in
the real world, there are consequences for our behavior. People don’t like
getting murdered or raped, so they tend to fight back. And societies tend to
set up systems of mutual support to help more people avoid having those things
done to them and to punish the people who commit the crimes. Sure, they’re not
perfect and the results aren’t always in perfect accord with the severity of
the offenses, but at least everyone can see that they exist.
Plus, I don’t
know about the author, but I don’t want to murder or rape anyone. And I
don’t necessarily expect to get rewarded for behaving decently, or carry around
a load of resentment when I don’t get rewarded.
6. If there is no god,
how does your life have any meaning?
Because I
choose to give it meaning. Because it means something to the people whose lives
I affect. What more do you need?
7. Where did the
universe come from?
I don’t know. I
just have no reason to believe that it had to come from an infinitely powerful
being who somehow doesn’t need to have come from anywhere, and who is obsessively
interested in the sex lives of a miniscule percentage of the biological
products of a single planet orbiting a single sun among the hundreds of
billions present in a galaxy that is itself only one among hundreds of
billions.
8. What about miracles?
What all the people who claim to have a connection with Jesus? What about those
who claim to have seen saints or angels?
What about
them? Thus far, I have little to suggest that any of these things are more than
delusions, or unfounded interpretations of natural phenomena and unusual brain
states. And since they are reported within pretty much every faith, they
certainly aren’t evidence in favor of choosing any one religious belief over
any other.
9. What’s your view of
Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris?
Okay, once
again I can see that the author is not taking this seriously. He is making the
claim that I cannot give an honest answer to a question about my opinion. Or
he’s making a claim that I cannot have an opinion at all, which would be even
more asinine. But, again, I will treat the question as if he had asked it in
good faith.
My view of
Richard Dawkins is that he is highly intelligent, witty, well-spoken, a
wonderful communicator of science (particularly biological evolution), but possibly
a bit of a dick. I wouldn’t mind meeting him, but I suspect we wouldn’t choose
to hang out with each other socially. I could be wrong.
My view of
Christopher Hitchens is that he was also highly intelligent, witty, and a great
communicator. A bit more strident and intense than I’m comfortable with, and
more politically hawkish than I’d like, but altogether I think we’re better off
for having had him around than if we hadn’t. It’s a shame he died so young.
I don’t really
know enough about Sam Harris to have much of an opinion. On some subjects we
seem to agree, and on some we don’t, but I haven’t invested a lot of time in
getting to know about him.
All of those
opinions are subject to change. Also, I should point out, I don’t know a whole
lot about any of those men beyond their public statements (and in some cases
not even much about those). My atheism is in no way founded on what I think
about any of them; I had already been an atheist for years before I ever heard
any of their names or their arguments. Which kind of makes me wonder what the
point is to this question in the first place. Does the author think atheism is
founded on these people? Or that atheists are somehow obligated to support
everything about these guys just because we happen to agree with them about the
nonexistence of gods? If so, it just shows that he doesn’t really understand atheism
or atheists.
10. If there is no God, then why does every
society have a religion?
If there is a God, why have no two
societies independently discovered and worshipped the exact same one? And why
is it that many religions, while they may feature a vast array of spiritual
beings, don’t actually reference anything really identifiable as a god?
People are curious and crave answers
to their questions. People are fearful, and crave a sense of control over
circumstances they don’t necessarily understand. People encounter situations
for which they have no ready explanation all the time, and in the absence of
the tools necessary to find the physical reasons they often default to
superstitious ones. And people, especially children, are kind of wired to trust
what other people tell them, especially if it’s expressed confidently.
Religions also serve a socialization and organizational role that can be quite
powerful. All of these are just universal parts of being human beings, so it’s
hardly surprising that religions should be the outgrowth. It’s really, really
not hard to think of reasons why religions would form in the absence of actual
gods. But since I’m not an anthropologist, they’re pretty much just conjecture
on my part.
Incidentally, check out these guys. They’re an Amazon tribe that has
no concept of a god or gods. Be careful with the word “every.”
So that’s it. I’ve answered all ten
questions. You’ll just have to take my word for it that I did so honestly. In
many cases, the answers I provided here are just pocket notes versions of
subjects I’ve covered elsewhere in this blog. If you’re unsatisfied with any of
them, you’re welcome to ask for clarification; I’m happy to oblige.
By the way, if you’re interested check
out Godless Mom for another set of answers to the same questions. Her blog is
where I first found out about this list, and this blog post is kind of my way
of accepting her invitation to readers to give our own answers. Just be warned
that she has a somewhat more colorful writing style than I do.
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