"31 Questions for Atheists

There is a list of questions for atheists at CARM ; I saw them on Godless Mom and thought I’d write up my responses.

1. How would you define atheism?

I would use the dictionary, which says “disbelief in, or denial of, the existence of God”. So the term includes both strong atheists who assert that there is no God, and weak atheists who just don’t believe in any god, but do not make the positive assertion that none exists. For myself, I am a weak atheist on gods in general, since there’s no way to prove they don’t exist, but no reason to believe they do, either. On the Abrahamic God, I am happy to assert that he does not exist as described, based on his inherent contradictions and the obvious mythical nature of the Bible.

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)?

I find the question to be nonsensical. In general, I would say I act based on what I believe, but I don’t act according to the idea that there is no god. I don’t know how to do that.

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?

It is clearly not inconsistent. Whether any gods exist or not, it’s a fact that real people believe in them. If gods do not exist, and real people believe they do, and act on it, why would it be inconsistent to tell them?

4. How sure are you that your atheism properly represents reality?

This is an oddly worded question. I am 100% sure that atheism represents reality, because even if a god exists, the universe behaves as if one doesn’t.

5. How sure are you that your atheism is correct?

The question is basically the same as above; I will assume it means “how sure are you that there is no God?” I am as sure as I am of anything that the God of the Bible does not exist as described. Anyone who has critically read the whole Bible can see that. I cannot really assess the probability that a deist, non-interventionist god exists. It doesn’t seem likely, but if I found out that one did, it would not change how I live my life in any meaningful way.

6. How would you define what truth is?

The dictionary says “conformity with reality” and that aligns with how I use the word. Most people, theist and atheist, agree that some claims (ones that aren’t opinion) have truth value. The statement “God exists as described in the Bible” is either true or false, whether or not we are capable of determining the truth of it. People who reject all truth with relativism like “It’s true for me” aren’t capable of rational discussion.

7. Why do you believe your atheism is a justifiable position to hold?

Atheism is justified because there is no good evidence of any gods. Disbelief in anything that has no evidence for its existence is a logical default. If it’s good enough for leprechauns and fairies, it’s good enough for gods.

8. Are you a materialist or a physicalist or what?

I suppose I am a provisional materialist. I do not see any reason to think anything totally detached from the physical exists, but I am open to it, if it can be shown to exist.

9. Do you affirm or deny that atheism is a worldview? Why or why not?

I don’t see how atheism could be considered a worldview in and of itself. I don’t think it would make much sense to answer the question “How do you view the world?” with “I don’t believe in any gods.” It is one word that you could use to describe a worldview, so I don’t object to the phrase “atheistic worldview” per se, though it’s usually followed by a straw man.

10. Not all atheists are antagonistic to Christianity but for those of you who are, why the antagonism?

I object to many features of many religions, not just Christianity. Many Christians use their beliefs to treat homosexuals as second class citizens, to get privilege for their own beliefs, try to teach religion in science classes, etc.

[discountbutcher.wordpress.com]