If you were an atheist...?

1. This particular world is an accident, but worlds that are habitable are inevitable given the nature of the universe and the numbers involved. And given the nature of the carbon atom, and perhaps the silicon atom, with these probabilities life is almost inevitable.

2. Be happy, do no harm. This is all we get.

3. Nothingness is a statistical improbability. There can be only one type of nothingness, but an infinite manifestation of somethingness: whether that be matter, energy as we know it or any type of unimaginable exotic manifestation. The trouble with the creator idea is what created the creator. I've heard that old mumbo jumbo,"god exists outside of space and time", but how do they know that. And from what we know now, it is doubtful whether there is anything but some form of space or time, you cannot be outside it because there is nothing but space and time. It is a far more reasonable assumption that the simple comes before the complex: and the Christian god has been the ultimate in complexity.

4. Yes we are an animal, our DNA tells us we are the same as any other animal, but most of us have the ability to reason.

5 Of course there is a right and wrong, it is imposed upon us by our nature not our culture, culture only modifies the manifestation of our nature. Everyone, unless they are damaged, brought up in the right loving, rich environment will turn out as decent people. Humans are not born bad, they are made bad.

6. There are many reasons why people are religious; for some it's just cultural inertia, they do follow it blindly, never thinking about it or testing it. For others it is a genuine conviction that there are gods. Yes some people do need it as a security blanket. And in the past I have known some very bright theists, they were just unwilling to challenge the central assumptions of their beliefs, probably for the same reason as I do not like cabbage, there is no logical reason why I just don't like it. The idea of there being no gods is their cabbage'.

Firstly, I have to point out that these are my opinions. Atheism has no doctrine further than scepticism. Other atheists may think differently.

1 is a bit inaccurate, but close enough. RNA came first, well before cells.

2 is correct.

3 is a question that is yet to be answered. We still don't know the full story of the big bang. Eventually we will.

4 is almost correct. Fingers make us technological, not our brains. Dolphins, bonobos, octopuses, and lots of other animals may be just as smart as us.

5 is not correct at all. We can instinctively tell right from wrong in most cases, and have to make judgement calls in the rest. Religious people seem to believe that animals are horrible monsters that are only held back from fear of God - if I were a priest, I would probably tell the same lie. (Consider it - do you find you constantly want to rape and murder, and not do it because you want to go to Heaven, or do you just think of those things as wrong from the start?)

6 is a bunch of statements:

> Religion has been created by people who are weak, naive and stupid in order that they might find a purpose for life.

- Religions started by humans trying to deal with a complex natural world, and finding it easier to think of humanish beings than complex ecosystems and bacteria and precipitation patterns etc.

> 'Religious' people need that 'security blanket' when things get tough.

- Probably. Many evangelists prey on people who are going through hard times in their lives.

> There is no logic to the idea that the world has been created by a God.

- True

> 'Religious' people are uneducated...they don't know anything about science.They blindly follow the 'religious' fairy story like sheep.

- Fundamentalists, yes, but religious people cover a wide spectrum, and some are educated and rational. Here's a test:

Q. Does the story of Noah's Ark sound plausible?

If the answer was yes, you are probably in the less educated category.

Hope I could help.

Sigh. Nooooooo............

1. The world is so old and nobody was around when it was formed so theories are all we have to go on about how it came to be as it is today.

2. The Purpose of Life is to leave the world a better place. That's a philosophical, poetic purpose not set down by anyone in particular, but most humans discover it feels better to be good and loved than the opposite.

3. All matter is made up of energy.and the Universe is truly so old there is no way any of us puny little humans could know how it originated. Making up gods won't cause that fact to be any less true.

4. We are all animals. Humans have a larger brain and only use part of it. Human babies are the most dependent and least likey to care for themselves, in the whole animal kingdom. Our limited use of our brain, however, still makes us able to think more intelligently, while our opposable thumbs allow us to tear the planet apart everywhere other animals used to call home.

5. Right or wrong is a subjective concept. However, societies have created laws to keep massive groups of humans living in close proximity ... civilized. We step out of line ... we go to jail. Simple.

6. Religion was created by simple, uneducated, primitive humans and is becoming unnecessary in this 21st century. Educated people see that a god has never come to Earth and never will. Still, some religious hold on to old traditions.

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1. Basically yes, every living thing came from a single celled organism over billions of years. Except that to call it an accident is an oversimplification; let's just say it was unplanned.

2. Yes. Make the most of it and try to leave the world a better place than you found it.

3. No. Matter appeared shortly after the Big Bang. Time also began at the Big Bang so nothing is infinitely old. There all kinds of problems with an infinitely old creator.

4. Yes, absolutely. There is nothing that humans do that is completely unique to us, with the possible exception of crying.

5. To some extent we have inherited our concepts of right and wrong from our pre-human ancestors. Social animals must have rules, like "help other members of the group", "protect children", etc. Human societies have formalised and added to those basic rules. There are right and wrong ways to behave in society. I would reject the concepts of good and evil.

6. What you outline there is the extreme anti-theist viewpoint. Like many atheists I can find positive things in religion: it gives people a sense of purpose and motivation, its emphasis on good works, its inspiration and patronage of great art and architecture, etc., I just do not accept its core belief, that there is a God.

1. Well i'm not an atheist but not all atheists believe the world is here accidental.

2.An atheist would not say such they too value there lifes as theists do.however many theists choose to gamble their life around superstition. Most atheist live and enjoy their life because they know there only going to get one.

3.Well like i said i'm not an atheist, but let me ask you this! does the creator have to be all powerful? how do you know if the matter was always here or or it was not? no one knows!

Religion does not know either!<<<Big Bang Theory! look it up

4.No i don't think any atheist would say such! i believe they would agree that we are a bit more unique physically and mentally then other mammals.

5.Well i don't think an atheist would say such! they are much as aware of right and wrong as a theist. They also can distinguish good from bad. You have a choice to do either right or wrong.

# 6 is actually multiple questions.

6.I don't think an atheist would say such! but i believe religion was created by silly middle eastern primitive men. who wanted to control other people's lifes and they are doing one hell of a job at it.

And yes most religious people would give credit to god for everything alot of them can't face reality for what it is.

Well the mysteries of the universe to an atheist is pretty much like the mystery of a god to a theist.

Not true a lot of religious people are very educated and smart that would be a generalization statment, pretty stereotypical. And yes religious people do blindly follow the religious fairy tale stories. That i must agree

Some good questions here. Editing.

1) Billions of years, not millions - but yes I agree in essence.

2) 100% agree.

3) First, the question of infinity. I don't believe anything is infinite, and least of all time. Time/space was created at the moment of the Big Bang - they are not separate entities. As such, I don't necessarily believe that whatever was before the Big Bang has always been there, and nor do I beleive that 'something coming from nothing' is necessarily impossible. In quantum mechanics, particles fizz and pop into existence all the time from nothing.

4) Not quite true. Our intelligence and the ability of complex communication are the two key elements which set us apart from the animal kingdom.

5)

6) I don't agree.

1. The state of our world is the result of a serendipitous confluence of events. Life on this planet has evolved over billions of years from one or more simpler forms of life.

2. Life, for men and for women persons, means exactly and precisely what they think it means and what I think doesn't count. (George Burns as God in "Oh! God")

3. Let's not get into a chicken and egg scenario. If you conceive of a creator, who created the creator? If you can't have life without an intelligent creator to organize the system, then where did the creator come from who created the creator of our system of life, since you can't have organization without a creator? The need of an intelligent creator, creates a infinite logic loop. Seems to me the serendipitous confluence of natural forces is a lot more plausible. So, yes, the matter and energy of the Universe has, for all we can tell, always existed.

4. How interesting that you group all animals as being alike, without unique attributes, with the exception of homo sapiens. Our species brain, opposable thumb and upright posture, give us certain advantages. Our basic cellular nature and function do make us "like other animals."

5. In essence, this is true. This can be seen in the variations of practices from culture to culture on the planet. There is also a great commonality of certain behaviors as well. We, as a population, set the rules.

6. People have always sought answers to their origin and to why things are as they are. Religion in its earliest forms was the best effort of the brightest people to make sense of the human condition, given the technological resources of their time. As science and knowledge have grown, certain beliefs from religion (e.g. The Earth is the center of the universe.) have fallen away. Other beliefs have been more resistant to change, despite the lack of evidence to support their validity.

Human beings tend to cling to beliefs very tenaciously. They accept most easily information that reinforces that which they already believe and resist that which runs counter. This has been demonstrated time and time again through research. It is perhaps one of our greatest weaknesses as a species. That old adage, "My minds made up, don't confuse me with the facts.", strikes too close to home.

There is no empirical evidence to support the idea that our universe was created by a "God." Evidence is heavily to the contrary. However, the ancient teachings of the Bible and other sacred texts have resilience because of their prominence for such a long time. Science itself is very young and has yet to make deep in roads to the reasoning processes of many people.

Many people do find comfort in the belief in a paternal, benevolent father who looks out for the "little guy." Who, even if it isn't apparent to us, has a plan, that in the end run provides for fairness and balance.

As long as someone's beliefs contribute to making them a better person and contribute to society in a positive way, I have no argument with them. It is only when beliefs, being passed off as facts, are used to restrict the rights of others through legislation, that I lose patience with them.

Ah we can tell your a one sided Christian can't we !! well all we have to do is look at how many lines you write to keep up your end of the debate !! and you even number them , and as a matter of fact it was a single celled animal that produced life as we know it ,can you prove beyond a shadow of doubt that it wasn't and that Christ and God did CREATE human kind as the Christians know it ,do this without getting it from within the bible and just maybe i will believe you MAYBE ,but there is another argument to this turn of events ,what would happen if it was another being that made the human race and in saying that i am talking about the UFO aliens .

You do believe in flying causers and little green men don't you !!

That's from a Christian perspective.

1. It may have been fate not accident

2. Life has purpose. If we was miserable u would say we need God.

3. Religion does not explain that either. What did God do before creating earth?

4. Human body is amazing, we have never said we r pieces of crap.

5. Without religion u still have feelings such as regret, pain, etc

6. Well only 1 religion is correct so 99% of that last statement is true.

2. I do thing life has a purpose, so that I can live to fulfill something.

5. I do think there is right and wrong in the sense of morality, action, and the way people see each other.

6. I totally don't think that way...