Questions Atheists Are Sick Of Answering

Something interesting I saw on the web today:

 

Questions Atheists Are Sick Of Answering.

 

 

1.  Why do atheists hate god?

 

They don't.  Atheism is the rejection of belief in the existence of deities.  Hatred of gods is misotheism.  Atheists don't hate gods, the loch ness monster or bunyips, they just don't think they exist.  Your being pissed off by this doesn’t imply a particular emotion on my part.

 

 

2.  Why do atheists bash god but not satan?

 

No atheist bashes any deity, because no deity exists to bash.  Nobody is trying to make public policy based on belief in satan, so what is there to address?  I've also never had some annoying prick knock on my door while I'm trying to relax on a Sunday wanting to discuss satan with me.

 

 

3.  Atheists, how did the universe start?

 

How anyone can live in the 21st century and believe in creationism over the fairly well proven big bang theory confounds me.  Science doesn't claim to have all the answers.  Yet.  What it doesn't claim is that the universe just winked into spontaneous existence one day, or was found fully formed in the navel of a giant earwig at four-thirty one Vroonday afternoon.  Which do you think sounds more likely?

 

 

4.  If a god didn't make the universe, who did?

 

The more you keep ascribing anything science can't explain to an act of god, the smaller god keeps getting.  At what point do you admit that irrelevance has kicked in?

 

 

5.  Do atheists think murder is wrong?

 

Is god telling you not to murder people the only thing stopping you from doing it?  Personally I don't need to ascribe something to a statement in a fictional story to agree with the general concept.

 

 

6.  How can an atheist have morals?

 

If morals only matter because your god is telling you to follow them, they're not morals - they're instructions.  Morality and ethics are about respect for others, which has nothing to do with worshipping an imaginary friend.

 

 

7.  Isn't it better to believe in god and be wrong, than not believe in god and be found wanting?

 

According to Wikipedia, there are currently around 4,200 religions observed on earth, which can be loosely grouped into 21 major religions.  If this seems extreme, try getting representatives of Islam and Judasim together at the same time to discuss how incredibly similar their religions are when compared side by side and see what happens.  (Hint: 1967.)  Every religion decries the worship of any god other than their own, so the reality is that the vast majority of people have it wrong anyway.  Given the odds, I think I'd rather be a conscientious objector rather than make the Great Green Arkleseizure angrier every time I worship a false god.

 

 

8.  Isn't atheism a type of religion also?

 

Only if you believe "bald" is a hair colour.

 

 

9.  Why can't atheists just let people believe what they want to?

 

I'm sure they'd be pleased to, if everyone else would do the same.  I've yet to have an atheist bother me in my home wanting to explain to me their lack of belief in a random deity, and I've never been asked to take on oath on a science textbook either.  Nor do atheists have a hissy fit that the diet at a function doesn’t accommodate the restrictions of their imaginary best friend, or ask to take a couple of hours off on a Friday afternoon to sit in the corner and talk to thin air.

 

 

10.  Atheists idolise Stalin and Hitler, they were both atheists.

 

Do you drink water?  I believe Stalin and Hitler both did too.

 

 

11.  Why can't atheists just have faith like everyone else?

 

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" - Carl Sagan.  Faith by default requires suspension of disbelief.  It's astonishing that most moderately intelligent person won't believe a used car salesman, but yet a proportion of them claim that their lives are directed by the benevolent wishes of an imaginary best friend they can’t demonstrate any component of existence of.

 

 

12.  Aren't atheists relying on faith because they can't prove god doesn't exist?

 

Does it take more faith to disbelieve claims about yowies, or to believe them?  Faith means accepting something with no proof, and in the case of religion, in fact actively disbelieving all the science disproving creationism.  Atheists don't claim to have all the answers, just that believing in Snuffleuffagus isn't the answer.

 

 

13.  Why do atheists celebrate christmas?

 

I can only answer personally, but I don't celebrate christmas any more than I do Labor day (I don't believe in unions) or the Queens's Birthday (I hold the monarchy to be irrelevant and outdated), or easter (which is at least funny when known as zombie jesus day).  However, if society wanta to give me a paid day off, or pay me double time and a half to do a fraction of the work I would normally do on the day, that's good with me.