13 Questions

[tavarish]

1. What evidence would convince you of God’s existence?

Define a God, then establish a clam regarding said God. The evidence that would be necessary to convince me of this God's existence would have to be readily demonstrable, verifiable, and not subject to bias or faulty reasoning.

2. You see the words, “I love you” written in the sand at the beach. Is this man-made? If so, how do you know?

Language is man-made. We have a mountain of evidence supporting this, and none supporting a naturally occurring "I love you" written in sand dunes. Unless there is other information other than the phrase, there isn't much reason to think it wasn't written by man.

3. If the God of the Bible were real, would He set the rules or would man set the rules?

If Santa Claus were real, would he make the presents, or would he let the elves do it? What does it matter? If the God of the Bible were any good at creating people that follow rules, I'm pretty sure that would negate the entire purpose of Christianity.

4. Do moral laws exist? If so, do they exist independent of humans? How do you know what they are?

Yes, moral laws exist. Yes, they exist independent of humans. Nearly every mammal on the planet expresses a sense of morality, many with societal structures that rival our own. The reason we know right from wrong in most cases is because the morals we have promote survival, procreation, and genetic diversity. There's a lot that can be said about this, but this video sums it up pretty nicely:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XtvWkRRxKQ

5. If everyone on earth believed that rape were morally right, would it still be morally wrong?

No. If absolutely everyone believed in a moral that relied on evaluating interactions between people, and those same people considered rape to be a correct course of action, rape would necessarily be morally right.

6. What is the most dangerous religion on Earth?

Dangerous to who?

7. Where did the laws of logic come from?

The laws themselves are transcendent, they didn't come from anywhere, they simply are. Logic isn't a thing to "happen". Our understanding of these laws, coupled with our descriptions make up a concept, and we are responsible for that bit.

8. How did non-rational events and processes lead to a rational human mind?

What's a non-rational event?

9. Why do some atheists such as Carl Wieland and Alister McGrath become Christians?

I have no idea, perhaps you should ask them. Why do some Christians become Muslim? Why do goats faint? Why do fools fall in love?

10. How do beliefs and thoughts differ?

You arrive at a belief by way of thought. In order to change a belief, you need to think. Simply put, thought is the highway, belief is the destination.

11. Do you believe that God does not exist?

If you're talking about the Christian God of the Bible, then yes.

12. Do you think that God does not exist?

If we're talking about the God of the Bible, then yes.

13. How do you think life began on Earth?

I'm not sure. There are many interesting theories available, but the most promising ones seem to point to abiogenesis.