I need a lttle help with a few questions please

[Crossless2.0]

At OP: A better question for you to pose would go like this, "Mom, Dad, why do you think so lightly of my education that you would send me to Liberty University? I thought you loved me."

[JesusHChrist]

At OP: A better question for you to pose would go like this, "Mom, Dad, why do you think so lightly of my education that you would send me to Liberty University? I thought you loved me."

lol - too true.

Although I do know of Christians around my parts (the more...woodsy parts) who think edukashun is a tool of the Devil, and no one learns nothin' in college 'cept how to make God mad. There is nekkidity, drinkin', whorin' and WORST of ALL - book lernin'. And none o' those there books is the Bible. Techin' yougin's they's man-monkees! Mankees! As if.

Satan! Where are you? Come out and FIGHT!

[Simon Moon]

“Hi I am taking Willmington School of the Bible which is a part of Liberty University. I was hoping you might be able to help me with a homework assignment I have for my course. The assignment requires that I interview 4 people regarding their worldview. Any feedback or help would be greatly appreciated.
The questions are:
<snip>

Atheism is not a worldview.

Atheism is simply the response to the claim that a god or gods exist.

Secular humanism, for example, is a worldview.

[KevinM1]

“Hi I am taking Willmington School of the Bible which is a part of Liberty University. I was hoping you might be able to help me with a homework assignment I have for my course. The assignment requires that I interview 4 people regarding their worldview. Any feedback or help would be greatly appreciated.
The questions are:
<snip>

Your questions were eaten by the mods, but here's some general thoughts:

Like others have said, atheism isn't a worldview. It's simply unbelief in a god. You are an atheist regarding Allah, Vishnu, and all the rest.

Self-described atheists don't believe in any deities, and that unbelief can run the gamut from "I'm not sure if a god exists. I'm not going to devote my time on the matter when there are more pressing things to address" to "I know there are no gods. That's stupid," with a bunch of variations in between. Just as there are ~40,000 different denominations of Christians, there are a whole bunch of different kinds of atheists. The only thread that connects them/us is a lack of belief in deities.

Regarding the universe and life, I believe the universe was created by the Big Bang. The chemical components for life were likely deposited by meteors striking the earth and depositing their ice (see the following link for more info: http://www.space.com/28266-deep-space-su...8_38920547). Life then evolved over millions of years to what we see now.

The value and meaning of life comes from our actions. What we do, how we act, etc. Our morality ultimately stems from evolution. Man has always been a social animal. Our survival has always depended in being organized in groups and tribes. Biologically, we developed the theory of the mind (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind), which allows us to understand how our actions can affect others. It's the basis for empathy. And that empathy allowed our primitive groups to act together for common goals. That's why not murdering one another, not stealing from another, etc. are 'common sense.' We understand how it would affect others, and how it would ultimately hurt the tribe. Nothing divine about it.

I don't think that I, personally, could ever be convinced in any god. For one, the stories in the various religious texts are full of contradictions and circular logic. And, second, I don't think anything claiming to be divine would be able to meet my criteria for validity. Reality tends to favor simple answers, and while divinity may be easy to speak of, the implications are far more complex than biology, physics, technology, etc. Plus, what would the control group for god be, anyway?

Regarding Christians, I don't broad brush hate them. Many of the closest people in my life are Catholic to varying degrees of devotion. I do hate group think. I do hate the active dumbing down of society through religion (see: intelligent design in the classroom). I do hate bigotry in the guise of religion (see: homosexuality 'conversion'). I do hate violence in the name of religion (see: abortion clinic bombings). And I hate those that engage in such actions directly, and those that support them indirectly whether through their words or deeds. And that's regardless of religion. Whether it's Christianity, Islam, or anything else, those that seek to harm society are on my shit list.

I hope this helps your assignment, if you're still reading this thread.

[downbeatplumb]

If we went to Christian forums and asked similarly leading questions pretending to be from an atheist school.......
Tempting.

[Cato]

If we went to Christian forums and asked similarly leading questions pretending to be from an atheist school.......
Tempting.

In this case, the assignment appears to be genuine:

E. Apologetic Interviews Project
The student will interview 4 individuals who do not consider themselves to be Christians. The interviews will consist of prescripted questions regarding the individual’s personal worldview and view of Christianity. The student must follow the instructions and the template provided. This assignment should be 7–10 pages in length.

http://www.liberty.edu/media/3415/course...llabus.pdf

It appears to be a correspondence certificate program. You might get a chuckle from the course description:

COURSE DESCRIPTION
A survey of the evidences for the central truths of Christianity: the existence of God, the deity and resurrection of Christ, and the authority and truth of the Bible.

[Alex K]

And one piece of evidence for that is how atheists are depraved and without hope, I'm sure. And if they are not, they obviously secretly believe. QED!

[Natachan]

I thought it would be fun to answer the last two.

1. What is your opinion of Christians in general?

I think this question is far too broad. My parents and family are catholic or episcopal. They are moderates, and well educated people. They don't ostracize people who don't share their beliefs and are rather open and accepting people. Meanwhile there is a nutjob preacher who comes to campus, shouts misogynistic and racist slurs, all while quoting bible verses to justify his bigotry. He thinks the earth is flat, and literally put his fingers in his ears and shook his head when presented with evidence that contradicted his views.

Both of these are Christians, and I have very different views of them. I have no problem with the first, while the second I view with a mix of disgust and amusement. Really it's a call I make on an individual basis.

2. If a Christian were to sit down and talk with you about their faith, what would it take to convince you that it was worth looking into or accepting?

Some reason to think their view had some validity. Some reason that their beliefs were justified, more so than other religions.