Hi. I am needing to interview an atheist for a class assignment. I have four questions to ask. Would there be anyone willing to participate?
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Oh, go on then, I'm up for it. But, be warned, I shoot from the hip and NEVER take prisoners.
Okay thanks. First of all would you be an agnostic or atheist?
@Anonymous Re: "First of all would you be an agnostic or atheist?"
Ugh... *face palm*... The answer is, "Yes."
(Ummmm... Just out of curiosity, do you even know what either of those terms mean? I'm guessing your answer will be, "No.")
I am both, agnostic and atheist. Look up the words incase your "class assignment" did not actually correctly define the words.
Also know at one point in history catholics were called atheist.
Well you first need to understand both those terms, as they are not mutually exclusive. Atheism is the absence or lack or belief in any deity or deities and agnosticism is the belief that nothing is known or can be known about something, in this context a deity. I don't know about you but I don't believe claims I can know nothing about, thus if any claim is unfalsifiable, which is a scientific term, that means there is no way to falsify it EVEN IF IT WERE FALSE (important caveat), then I must remain agnostic about the claim, but would obviously not believe it, as unfalsifiable claims or assertions can't by definition be evidenced.
So I am an atheist, as I do not believe in any deity or deities, and an agnostic regarding all claims that are unfalsifiable which include most base religious claims for the existence of a deity or anything supernatural. However where claims are made by religions and apologists that are demonstrably false, denials of scientific facts like evolution in favour of creation myths, or claims for miracles like the Noah flood myth for example I would reject these as disproved by the evidence.
Why no post the questions and just wait for responses?
If someone says something confusing you can send them a PM.
@Anonymous OP
Post your questions and folks will answer as they see fit. Just make sure you really do want the answers to the questions you ask. We are not known for pulling many punches around here.
List your questions. As Far Canal said, I shoot from the scope like an assassin.
rmfr
Question 1 How do you think life came into existence?
Re: "Question 1 How do you think life came into existence?"
Ummmm.... No friggin' clue. Next question, please.
(By the way, posting all questions together at once will cut down on much confusion.)
Answer 1: No one Knows. The best hypothesis is abiogenisis. It has the most facts and evidence supporting it. Beyond that there are about 8 to 10 other theories on the origin of life and every one of them has more facts and evidence in support than does the mythology of the bible. It really does not matter how you stack them, Magic, Supernatural, and Unverifiable beings will always come in last.
For me, the most rational explanation is abiogenesis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis
@anonymous
"Question 1 How do you think life came into existence?"
Life probably came into existence by completely natural means and would not have been dependent upon a god to initiate. Until we find evidence of off-world life we will be hard pressed to narrow down the competing possibilities.
Just curious, you call yourself a Christian and this leads me to think you are probably a Protestant of some sort. Am I right?
@anonymous
Very slowly with trillions upon trillions upon trillions of chances. crude basic life probably arose and dissipated millions of times before it "stuck."
You're asking a question you know has no current objective explanation. These questions in my experience don't seek to understand atheism , as much as they are theologically loaded to try and pretend an absence of knowledge can be used as an argument for the existence of a deity. If we have no explanation for something then making any assertion based on this is a fallacy in informal logic called argumentum ad ignorantiam. Nothing is proved nor disproved by lack of contrary evidence.
The answer to your questions, as you must know, is that like science I don't know how life came to exist on this planet. Nor do I care to speculate until objective evidence establishes the explanations beyond any reasonable doubt. However I find religious creations myths to be risible, and entirely unsupported by any objective evidence, thus I do not believe them.
The diversity of life we see is both evidenced and explained by the scientific theory of evolution, which establishes species evolution through natural selection as a scientific fact beyond any reasonable doubt. However despite religious apologists forever attempting to dishonestly conflate the two, evolution makes no claims about the origins of life, it only explains the origins of species.
anonymous,
"Question 1 How do you think life came into existence?"
This theory sounds reasonable = http://www.crystalinks.com/incacreation.html
Question 2 Is there any ultimate meaning to life?
No. We are born, live our lives, then die. And while I am living my life, I intend to extract every tasty morsel, love, and be loved.
Re: "Question 2 Is there any ultimate meaning to life?"
Long walks on the beach. Moon-lit nights on the Serengeti. Poetry. Funneling a six pack of Coors Light.
(Again, put all questions in one post. Easier that way.)
Answer 2: The only meaning life has is the meaning you ascribe to it. Life exists to perpetuate life/ Life feeds on life. Life needs life to continue living. Any goal you ascribe beyond this is just a fantasy you have made up until you prove it. Your question then is ill formed/ The proper question is "What meaning do you bring to life. " "Now that you have life what will you do with it?" Life does not care about you. If you exist, you exist to perpetuate life. Life feeds on life.
@anonymous
"Question 2 Is there any ultimate meaning to life?"
I agree with Cognostic's answer to this question.
Tell us more about yourself and about this paper. I have never before encountered someone who claimed to be writing a school paper on atheism. What grade level is this for and what course? You don't sound like someone researching a college paper, though that would be interesting.
In my opinion:
Probably no ultimate meaning to life, which is pretty cool honestly, because that means you can make your own meaning to life.
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That's 3 not 2, you asked whether we are atheist or agnostic, and the answer (for me) was both, you asked how life originated and the answer for me was I don't know as science has yet to evidence this, and you now ask if there is an ultimate meaning to life.
Do you mean all life, or just human? I see no objective evidence that all life has an overarching purpose, no. The idea human life as separate from all other animals has an ultimate purpose is risible in my opinion, given that life has been evolving for billions of years, and humans have only evolved in their current form around 150k to 200k years ago.
Anonymous, you are only one of many who have come here wanting atheist answers to questions. The usual result is that after members of the Atheist Republic have expended their time and supplied learned answers, the questioners rudely disappear and never supply any feed back or any copy of their finished work.
I am happy to answer any of your questions, as all the AR members, but I want to know a few things first.
Firstly, would you be prepared to treat us here in AR with some consideration and politeness by answering just three simple questions:
What subject are these questions for?
Do you attend a Christian or Islamic, or other religious school/college? No names, no location, I am only interested in the background of these questions.
Answering these first two will make me interested in answering, but if you agree to the following I will definitely supply answers.
And are you prepared to supply a copy to this forum thread of your completed enquiry including any of your opinions, thoughts or findings regarding those answers?
In the past year we have had dozens of similar queries and I think I speak for some fellow forumites that it tends to get a little tiresome to have drive by questioners drop in, ask questions and then just leave as if we are just some public information service as if we are not at all important after we have supplied their needs.
If you would be prepared to do those simple, polite things, then I will answer your questions honestly
Answer my requests and then post your questions right here in this post.
Added Damn not quick enough...these Atheists just love to answer questions...its why they get treated like door mats by drive by questioners LOL.
I am still withholding my interesting brilliant answers until conditions outline above are met. (flourishes sulphur crest, folds wings and waits haughtily, tapping a taloned claw.)
Thanks for your time. This is for an apologetics class I am taking at a Christian Bible College.
1. Origin-- How do you think life came into existence?
2. Purpose-- Is there any ultimate meaning to life?
3. Morality--How can we know what is good and evil?
4. Destiny--What do you think happens when we die?
If you can give your insight into these four questions I would greatly appreciate it. Just here to listen.
@anonymous
Answered 1 and 2 above.
3) All we can do is try to come to a consensus we can agree upon for the area. But we dont really know, it changes all the time.
4) We die. Our consciousness fades away as our brains do not get the vital oxygen and nutrients it needs to function. It actually happens mercifully pretty quickly.
anonymous,
"3. Morality--How can we know what is good and evil?"
The penalty for breaking the first 9 of the 10 Commandments is death. Do you classify that as good or as evil?
dup.
anonymous,
"1. Origin-- How do you think life came into existence?"
Who says that we are alive and that our reality is real? If there is a God we could be just some of his dreams. What did the biblical God do in the dark? If he existed there was nothing before he went on his creation binge. So maybe there is still nothing but his imagination and we are just his dreams. Sure, we think that we exist but why would it be beyond a God's power to make his imagination seem real to the things that are in it?
Life isn't real, it is just God's dream and will disappear when he wakes up in the dark.
https://www.mememaker.net/api/bucket?path=static/img/memes/full/2015/May...
1. I don't know.
2. For all life no, and for humans alone the idea is risible.
3. Good and evil are subjective terms, we can only understand these terms as we understand all else, by using our own reasoning.
4. What do you mean by "me". My personality along with all my memories will cease to exist with the death of my brain. My physical remains which will start to decompose will have to be disposed of, hopefully given to science so they can make some use of what remains.
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