Atheist FAQ

Curiously enough, I was partly inspired to start my own blog by the atheist blogroll which I read a lot at work. Somehow delving into complex issues such as religion feels more meaningful than scheduling meetings.

However, I haven't written many atheist themed posts so I figured I'd start by tackling a challenge from Friendly Atheist who has asked bloggers and readers to provide very short answers to some common questions theists have of non-believers.

So are my answers. I've tried to keep it mostly snarky and sarcastic but some may drift towards sincerity and earnestness. I apologize.

Why do you not believe in God?
Every inclination of my rational mind forbids me from believing in anything unsubstantiated by evidence. Also, because people attend Gwar concerts.

Where do your morals come from?
Reason leads me to Utilitarianism. Compassion leads me to the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule leads me to trouble when I take people's fries whom I don't know very well.

What is the meaning of life?
There is none. It's up to individuals or societies to provide their own. It's possible that as a people we could declare the meaning of life to figure out a way for everyone in the world to be healthy and happy. Or we could just go with control of natural resources.

Is atheism a religion?
Atheism isn't anything.

If you don’t pray, what do you do during troubling times?
Whine to my friends, have a couple drinks. Then I figure out what I can do to make the times less troubling. The first steps of which usually involve eating something unhealthy.

Should atheists be trying to convince others to stop believing in God?
Only if those others are using that belief in God to affect non believers in a negative way.

Weren’t some of the worst atrocities in the 20th century committed by atheists?
There are always going to be good and bad people. Religion is the only thing that will make good people do bad things. I would like to attribute that quote to it's rightful owner but I'm not sure who that is at the moment.

How could billions of people be wrong when it comes to belief in God?
I don't think more than a billion people believe in the same God.

Why does the universe exist?
The closest we'll probably ever come to answering this question is finding out how the universe came into existence.

How did life originate?
From my understanding, aproximately 4 billion years ago a chemical reaction created an organic compound that was able to replicate itself and evolution took care of the rest. The truth is probably similar but more complicated.

Is all religion harmful?
All religion has the potential to be harmful since it contradicts rational thought.

What’s so bad about religious moderates?
Moderates enable the extremists by not directly condeming them.

Is there anything redeeming about religion?
Sure--religion can inspire people to do tremendous acts of good. Unfortunately, it's always for the wrong reasons.

What if you’re wrong about God (and He does exist)?
If I spent my days mulling over the thousands of what-if scenarios that each decision I make creates, I would be paralyzed by inaction.

Shouldn’t all religious beliefs be respected?
No belief should be respected if a sound argument can be made as to why it shouldn't.

Are atheists smarter than theists?
I don't know. I would be interested to see the results of a study that try and correlate beleif in God to IQ test results. I'm betting there would be no correlation.

How do you deal with the historical Jesus if you don’t believe in his divinity?
The same way I deal with the historical Alexander the Great, Prophet Muhammed, Alexander Graham Bell, etc: I don't read about them as much as I should.

Would the world be better off without any religion?
Yes, because more decisions would be made based upon a rational evalution of our current environment and circumstances.

What happens when we die?
Our bodies decompose and hopefully some people miss us. If we're lucky, we live on through a wikipedia entry.