1. How would you define atheism?
Atheism is nothing more than the lack of belief in any god hypothesis.
2. Do you act according to what you believe (there is no God) in or what you don't believe in (lack belief in God)?
My actions and decisions have nothing to do with my position on the existence of any deity.
3. Do you think it is inconsistent for someone who "lacks belief" in God to work against God's existence by attempting to show that God doesn't exist?
Way to fuck a question up. No. I will never "attempt" to show that any god doesn't exist unless you challenge me. Then I will express my knowledge on your ass.
4. How sure are you that your atheism properly represents reality?
100%. Until there is one iota, one tiny shred of evidence to the contrary, I will take the negative position.
5. How sure are you that your atheism is correct?
I feel like you asked the same dumb question twice. See #4.
6. How would you define what truth is?
Truth is that thing which represents reality accurately.
7. Why do you believe your atheism is a justifiable position to hold?
Why wouldn't it be? I literally do not believe that beings like Zeus and Jupiter exist.
8. Are you a materialist or a physicalist or what?
Naturalist.
9. Do you affirm or deny that atheism is a worldview? Why or why not?
Deny. Secular Humanism is a worldview. Atheism is a stance on one question.
10. Not all atheists are antagonistic to Christianity but for those of you who are, why the antagonism?
Not all Christians are bigoted asshats who attempt to discriminate against anyone who doesn't believe what they do, try to impose their beliefs on everyone who passes by, and attempt to stifle scientific progress and undermine science education, but for those that do, why the dumbassery?
11. If you were at one time a believer in the Christian God, what caused you to deny his existence?
Never was. Saw through the bullshit immediately.
12. Do you believe the world would be better off without religion?
I truly do not know. Probably.
13. Do you believe the world would be better off without Christianity?
Yes.
14. Do you believe that faith in a God or gods is a mental disorder?
No. I think indoctrination is a very strong force.
15. Must God be known through the scientific method?
Why not. If you claim that your god has an effect on this world, then that effect should be testable and observable, and produce predictable results.
16. If you answered yes to the previous question, then how do you avoid a category mistake by requiring material evidence for an immaterial God?
The same way you avoid special pleading by defining your god in such a way that this question makes sense to you. I don't define your god that way.
17. Do we have any purpose as human beings?
Sure. To express our genes via progeny.
18. If we do have purpose, can you as an atheist please explain how that purpose is determined?
Our genes are somewhat selfish.
19. Where does morality come from?
Society determines morality. This is why it was moral and godly thing to do to hang a black man from a tree for glancing at your wife 100 years ago. Or to sell your daughter into marital bondage 300+ years ago. Or mutilating your child's genitalia today.
20. Are there moral absolutes?
Yes.
21. If there are moral absolutes, could you list a few of them?
A person should never offer his innocent daughters up to be raped by an angry mob. A person (or deity perhaps) should never slaughter a bunch of innocent women and children because they belonged to the wrong tribe. A person should never have sex with his own family members.
22. Do you believe there is such a thing as evil? If so, what is it?
Evil is not any sort of force. There are actions that are terrible, there are people who do terrible things.
23. If you believe that the God of the Old Testament is morally bad, by what standard do you judge that he is bad?
See #19.
24. What would it take for you to believe in God?
Just a smidge of evidence. Verifiable, testable evidence that has no simpler explanation.
25. What would constitute sufficient evidence for God’s existence?
Have it show up in front of a crowd. Literally the same things that would constitute sufficient evidence for the existence of any thing ever. It's pretty easy.
26. Must this evidence be rationally based, archaeological, testable in a lab, etc., or what?
Any of the above.
27. Do you think that a society that is run by Christians or atheists would be safer? Why?
Atheists. Atheists are statistically smarter, more rational, and more accepting of all types.
28. Do you believe in free will? (free will being the ability to make choices without coercion).
Sure.
29. If you believe in free will, do you see any problem with defending the idea that the physical brain, which is limited and subject to the neuro-chemical laws of the brain, can still produce free will choices?
Those neuro-chemical processes are still governed by input. Sensory input and autonomic input. We still don't understand the process of consciousness, but we have discovered nothing that says that the "self" is not some arbitrary thing. But, guess what? If such evidence ever shows up, wonder what would happen to my answer to #29?
30. If you affirm evolution and that the universe will continue to expand forever, then do you think it is probable that given enough time, brains would evolve to the point of exceeding mere physical limitations and become free of the physical and temporal and thereby become "deity" and not be restricted by space and time? If not, why not?
This is a ridiculous hypothetical. There are an infinite number of hypotheticals like this that we could ponder. #1, we don't know that the universe will expand forever. I don't know the limitations of the human body/mind. There is nothing in what we have determined about the physical universe that suggests that matter can exist outside of space and time.
31. If you answered the previous question in the affirmative, then aren't you saying that it is probable that some sort of God exists?
I did not. And way to lead the question.
Atheism is nothing more than the lack of belief in any god hypothesis.
2. Do you act according to what you believe (there is no God) in or what you don't believe in (lack belief in God)?
My actions and decisions have nothing to do with my position on the existence of any deity.
3. Do you think it is inconsistent for someone who "lacks belief" in God to work against God's existence by attempting to show that God doesn't exist?
Way to fuck a question up. No. I will never "attempt" to show that any god doesn't exist unless you challenge me. Then I will express my knowledge on your ass.
4. How sure are you that your atheism properly represents reality?
100%. Until there is one iota, one tiny shred of evidence to the contrary, I will take the negative position.
5. How sure are you that your atheism is correct?
I feel like you asked the same dumb question twice. See #4.
6. How would you define what truth is?
Truth is that thing which represents reality accurately.
7. Why do you believe your atheism is a justifiable position to hold?
Why wouldn't it be? I literally do not believe that beings like Zeus and Jupiter exist.
8. Are you a materialist or a physicalist or what?
Naturalist.
9. Do you affirm or deny that atheism is a worldview? Why or why not?
Deny. Secular Humanism is a worldview. Atheism is a stance on one question.
10. Not all atheists are antagonistic to Christianity but for those of you who are, why the antagonism?
Not all Christians are bigoted asshats who attempt to discriminate against anyone who doesn't believe what they do, try to impose their beliefs on everyone who passes by, and attempt to stifle scientific progress and undermine science education, but for those that do, why the dumbassery?
11. If you were at one time a believer in the Christian God, what caused you to deny his existence?
Never was. Saw through the bullshit immediately.
12. Do you believe the world would be better off without religion?
I truly do not know. Probably.
13. Do you believe the world would be better off without Christianity?
Yes.
14. Do you believe that faith in a God or gods is a mental disorder?
No. I think indoctrination is a very strong force.
15. Must God be known through the scientific method?
Why not. If you claim that your god has an effect on this world, then that effect should be testable and observable, and produce predictable results.
16. If you answered yes to the previous question, then how do you avoid a category mistake by requiring material evidence for an immaterial God?
The same way you avoid special pleading by defining your god in such a way that this question makes sense to you. I don't define your god that way.
17. Do we have any purpose as human beings?
Sure. To express our genes via progeny.
18. If we do have purpose, can you as an atheist please explain how that purpose is determined?
Our genes are somewhat selfish.
19. Where does morality come from?
Society determines morality. This is why it was moral and godly thing to do to hang a black man from a tree for glancing at your wife 100 years ago. Or to sell your daughter into marital bondage 300+ years ago. Or mutilating your child's genitalia today.
20. Are there moral absolutes?
Yes.
21. If there are moral absolutes, could you list a few of them?
A person should never offer his innocent daughters up to be raped by an angry mob. A person (or deity perhaps) should never slaughter a bunch of innocent women and children because they belonged to the wrong tribe. A person should never have sex with his own family members.
22. Do you believe there is such a thing as evil? If so, what is it?
Evil is not any sort of force. There are actions that are terrible, there are people who do terrible things.
23. If you believe that the God of the Old Testament is morally bad, by what standard do you judge that he is bad?
See #19.
24. What would it take for you to believe in God?
Just a smidge of evidence. Verifiable, testable evidence that has no simpler explanation.
25. What would constitute sufficient evidence for God’s existence?
Have it show up in front of a crowd. Literally the same things that would constitute sufficient evidence for the existence of any thing ever. It's pretty easy.
26. Must this evidence be rationally based, archaeological, testable in a lab, etc., or what?
Any of the above.
27. Do you think that a society that is run by Christians or atheists would be safer? Why?
Atheists. Atheists are statistically smarter, more rational, and more accepting of all types.
28. Do you believe in free will? (free will being the ability to make choices without coercion).
Sure.
29. If you believe in free will, do you see any problem with defending the idea that the physical brain, which is limited and subject to the neuro-chemical laws of the brain, can still produce free will choices?
Those neuro-chemical processes are still governed by input. Sensory input and autonomic input. We still don't understand the process of consciousness, but we have discovered nothing that says that the "self" is not some arbitrary thing. But, guess what? If such evidence ever shows up, wonder what would happen to my answer to #29?
30. If you affirm evolution and that the universe will continue to expand forever, then do you think it is probable that given enough time, brains would evolve to the point of exceeding mere physical limitations and become free of the physical and temporal and thereby become "deity" and not be restricted by space and time? If not, why not?
This is a ridiculous hypothetical. There are an infinite number of hypotheticals like this that we could ponder. #1, we don't know that the universe will expand forever. I don't know the limitations of the human body/mind. There is nothing in what we have determined about the physical universe that suggests that matter can exist outside of space and time.
31. If you answered the previous question in the affirmative, then aren't you saying that it is probable that some sort of God exists?
I did not. And way to lead the question.
"There remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded on wish-thinking." ~Christopher Hitchens, god is not Great
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