Years ago, a Christian website posted 10 Questions for Every Atheist.
10 questions for every atheist: These questions come from http://t.co/W6G9QtGjnj I thought DU atheists would like… http://t.co/8FC4odHG2L
— Atheist Alerts (@GoogleAtheist) November 10, 2014
For some bizarre reason, this page has just now made the rounds among the atheist blogosphere.
Godless Mom did it.
Trav Mamone did it.
Deacon Duncan did it.
Kaveh Mousavi did it.
Sounds like a fun challenge; figured I’d do it too.
For the sake of brevity and focus, I hard-limited my answers to 140 characters or less. Got a little help from the @AtheistOK folks, who were kind enough to type out these questions as tweets.
@AtheistOK Reading lots of books and essays, mostly about the Bible. Bit of philosophy, as well.
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
@AtheistOK Think back to before you were born. Death is exactly like that.
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
@AtheistOK If there is a heaven, no good people will be up there. Only a psychopath would worship someone who tortures others in hell.
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
@AtheistOK Morality flows from human nature, needs, and values. It has nothing to do with mysterious overminds issuing commands.
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
@AtheistOK Your question links "do what we want" with "murder and rape" for some reason. Time for a little self-reflection, don't you think?
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
@AtheistOK If there is a God which demands your worship, obedience, and subservience, how can you possibly forge your own meaning in life?
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
@AtheistOK No one really knows, but the answer almost certainly isn't an atemporal immaterial megamind mediating by mysterious means.
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
@AtheistOK Heal a couple amputees with only the power of prayer and I'll start to take alleged miracles seriously https://t.co/FYQdbbGBGm
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
@AtheistOK None of them are nearly as charming and insightful as @DanielDennett
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
@AtheistOK Basically, humans are hardwired with dualist intuitions and worse.
Really requires a book length answer: https://t.co/VHvKBZ7xSw
— D. L. J. Torres-Reinhardt (@D4M10N) April 2, 2016
Of all these questions, only seven and ten point to the possibility of a worthwhile research program. Most of the rest make unjustifiable implicit assumptions which may be worth teasing out. Questions four and six, for example, assume that morality and meaning can only be found in service to a higher being. Questions two and three assume that dualism is true, or at least plausible. Question five, well, it just makes me despair for humanity. Who thinks that it’s a clever trap to ask someone why they refrain from sadism? Someone with an incredibly dim view of humanity, I’d warrant.
We need to develop better questions for atheists, questions that might actually lead to interesting answers. If you have any ideas, please leave them in the comments below.
