Atheism FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Atheism.
This FAQ about atheism
was compiled and written by mathew meta@pobox.com
with numerous contributions by others.
- 01 An Introduction to Atheism
- by mathew < meta@pobox.com> ...
- 02 "What is atheism?"
- Atheism is characterized by a deliberate absence of belief in ...
- 03 "What is agnosticism then?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
- The term 'agnosticism' was coined by Professor T.H. Huxley at ...
- 04 "So what is the philosophical justification or basis for atheism?"
- There are many philosophical justifications for atheism. To find ...
- 05 "But isn't it impossible to prove the non-existence of something?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
- There are many counter-examples to such a statement. For example, ...
- 06 "But what if God is essentially non-detectable?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
- If God interacts with our universe in any way, the effects of ...
- 07 "God is unique. He is the supreme being, the creator of the universe. He must by definition exist." (An Introduction to Atheism)
- Things do not exist merely because they have been defined to do so. ...
- 08 "OK, you may think there's a philosophical justification for atheism, but isn't it still a religious belief?"
- One of the most common pastimes in philosophical discussion is ...
- 09 "If atheism is not religious, surely it's anti-religious?"
- It is an unfortunate human tendency to label everyone as either ...
- 10 "But if you don't allow religion to have a say in the running of the state, surely that's the same as state atheism?"
- The principle of the separation of church and state is that the ...
- 11 "What about prayer in schools? If there's no God, why do you care if people pray?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
- Because people who do pray are voters and lawmakers, and tend to ...
- 12 "You said atheism isn't anti-religious. But is it perhaps a backlash against one's upbringing, a way of rebelling?"
- Perhaps it is, for some. But many people have parents who do ...
- 13 "How do atheists differ from religious people?"
- They don't believe in God. That's all there is to it....
- 14 "Unexceptional? But aren't atheists less moral than religious people?"
- That depends. If you define morality as obedience to God, then ...
- 15 "Is there such a thing as atheist morality?"
- If you mean Is there such a thing as morality for atheists?, ...
- 16 "But don't atheists want to believe in God?"
- Atheists live their lives as though there is nobody watching ...
- 17 "Isn't the whole of life completely pointless to an atheist?"
- Many atheists live a purposeful life. They decide what they ...
- 18 "So how do atheists find comfort in time of danger?"
- There are many ways of obtaining comfort:...
- 19 "Don't atheists worry that they might suddenly be shown to be wrong?"
- The short answer is No, do you?...
- 20 "So why should theists question their beliefs? Don't the same arguments apply?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
- No, because the beliefs being questioned are not similar. Weak ...
- 21 "Well, if atheism's so great, why are there so many theists?"
- Unfortunately, the popularity of a belief has little to do with ...
- 22 "But so many cultures have developed religions. Surely that must say something?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
- Not really. Most religions are only superficially similar; ...
- 23 "So are you really saying that widespread belief in religion indicates nothing?" (An Introduction to Atheism)
- Not entirely. It certainly indicates that the religion in question ...
- 24 "Even if religion is not entirely true, at least it puts across important messages. What are the fundamental messages of atheism?"
- There are many important ideas atheists promote. The following ...
- 25 Adolf Hitler was an atheist! (Atheism FAQ)
- Hitler was an atheist, and look at what he did!...
- 26 The Bible proves it (Atheism FAQ)
- In the Bible it says that......
- 27 Pascal's Wager (God is a safe bet) (Atheism FAQ)
- If you believe in God and turn out to be incorrect, you have ...
- 28 Lord, Liar or Lunatic? (Atheism FAQ)
- Did Jesus exist? If not, then there's not much to talk about. If ...
- 29 What is Occam's Razor? (Atheism FAQ)
- People keep talking about Occam's Razor. What is it?...
- 30 Why it's good to believe in Jesus (Atheism FAQ)
- I want to tell people about the virtues and benefits of my religion....
- 31 Why I know that God exists (Atheism FAQ)
- I know from personal experience and prayer that God exists. ...
- 32 Einstein and "God does not play dice" (Atheism FAQ)
- Albert Einstein believed in God. Do you think you're cleverer ...
- 33 Everyone worships something (Atheism FAQ)
- Everyone worships something, whether it's money, power or God....
- 34 The universe is so complex it must have been designed (Atheism FAQ)
- The presence of design in the universe proves there is a God. ...
- 35 Godel's Incompleteness Theorem (Atheism FAQ)
- Godel's Incompleteness Theorem demonstrates that it is impossible ...
- 36 George Bush on atheism and patriotism (Atheism FAQ)
- Did George Bush really say that atheists should not be ...
- 37 I know where hell is! (Atheism FAQ)
- I know where Hell is! Hell is in Norway!...
- 38 Biblical contradictions wanted (Atheism FAQ)
- Does anyone have a list of Biblical contradictions?...
- 39 The USA is a Christian nation/state (Atheism FAQ)
- Because of the religious beliefs of the founding fathers, shouldn'...
- 40 The USA is not a Christian nation/state (Atheism FAQ)
- Is it true that George Washington said that the United States is ...
- 41 The Bible says 'Thou Shalt Not Kill'... (Atheism FAQ)
- The Bible says Thou shalt not kill, yet many Christians serve ...
- 42 What does 'xian' mean? (Atheism FAQ)
- What does the abbreviation 'xian' mean? Is it an insult?...
- 43 The Bible says pi is 3! (Atheism FAQ)
- In I Kings 7:23, the Bible says:...
- 44 Aren't atheists Satanic? (Atheism FAQ)
- Atheists don't believe in any kind of supernatural divine being. ...
- 45 Introduction (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- There is a lot of argument on Usenet; unfortunately, most of it is ...
- 46 Caveats (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- Note that I am not claiming that logic is the only way of ...
- 47 Basic concepts (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- The building blocks of a logical argument are propositions, ...
- 48 What is an argument? (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- An argument is, to quote the Monty Python sketch, a connected ...
- 49 Types of argument (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- There are two traditional types of logical argument: deductive ...
- 50 Recognizing an argument (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- Sometimes arguments won't follow the order described above. ...
- 51 Implication in detail (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- There's one very important thing to remember:...
- 52 Real life, and other things not considered (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- This document has considered logical argument as a process ...
- 53 Further reading (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- For a readable introduction to logic, try Flew's Thinking Straight,...
- 54 Fallacies (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- To delve further into the structure of logical arguments would ...
- 55 Anecdotal Evidence p1 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- One of the simplest fallacies is to rely on anecdotal evidence. ...
- 56 Anecdotal Evidence p2 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- Argumentum ad ...
- 57 Anecdotal Evidence p3 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- The fallacy of accident / Sweeping generalization / Dicto ...
- 58 Anecdotal Evidence p4 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- Complex question / Fallacy of interrogation / Fallacy of ...
- 59 Anecdotal Evidence p5 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- The slippery slope ...
- 60 Anecdotal Evidence p6 (Atheism - Constructing a Logical Argument)
- Shifting the burden of ...