Questions for Atheists: Arguing Against God

A few weeks ago I made a new post and asked for more questions that I could answer in this blog.  I got one more question and figured it was time to write about it.  And, as always, if you have a question or topic you’d love to see me cover please swing by my survey and leave me a question.  It’s 100% anonymous and I’d be happy to answer anything (related to Atheism and religion).

What are your thoughts about Atheists that constantly argue against God?

Admittedly I was a little puzzled by the question because there are a number of ways someone could interpret this question.  There’s no context to it so I’m not sure what the original poster is referring to.  Are they talking about supporting/denying the character of God or the existence of God?  Or are they talking about those who are more aggressive when talking about God?  I wasn’t sure so I decided to talk about all of the above.

Arguing Against God: God’s Character

Speaking for myself (since that’s all I can really do) I admit I could never worship God.  And it goes beyond the fact that I see no evidence that he even exists in the first place.  If scientists found concrete evidence tomorrow that the God of the Bible was real, I still wouldn’t worship him.  I think the God of the Bible is immoral and unjust and undeserving of worship.  In this way I would be an Atheist who argues against God.  And I’ve written many an entry talking about the things that don’t make sense about God and the things I dislike the most about God, but I never posted them because I feel it goes against my ultimate goal with this blog.  But when it comes down to it, I would be that Atheist you’re asking about.

And from what I’ve seen lots of Atheists would fall into this category.  Honestly, lots of Atheists came to be Atheists in our pursuit of learning more about our birth religions.  Most of us became Atheists because we read the Bible and saw it’s atrocities.  We looked around and saw the pain and suffering caused in the name of God.  We asked questions and got no answers.  And now we can see from the outside how dangerous and destructive the God of the Bible is.  And many of us would argue he isn’t deserving of worship and praise.

But the important thing is I (and lots of other Atheists) still respect your right to worship him.  We have our opinions about your God but we don’t parade them through the streets trying to destroy your faith.  We respect your decisions and your feelings.  So most of us don’t go out of our way to find you and insult your God to your face.  Most of us only speak up when we see someone attacking Atheists or other faiths.  I know that’s what I do.  I ONLY speak up when I see someone trying to slander Atheism or the rights of Atheists/non-religious.

Of course there are those Atheists who do feel strongly enough against him to be more aggressive about it to you.  There are Atheists who don’t respect your faith and will come at you with questions and opinions that shake your faith.  Personally, I don’t support that tactic.  I think it only does more harm than good.  I think people are going to shut down and become angry if you attack them and they will be totally unwilling to hear your opinions.  And I don’t support violating another person’s space and making them uncomfortable without their consent (which is why I hate Missionaries and street pastors too).  But I understand why they do it, just like I understand why Theists do it.  But I certainly don’t support it.

Arguing Against God: God’s Existence

This is where I have to stress for the upteenth time: Atheism isn’t a positive claim against God.  Atheism is not believing in God until evidence is presented.  I’m sure you take that stance on something in your life: Big Foot, Fairies, Giants, Santa, Astrological signs, Psychics, Ghosts, ect.  You won’t believe Big Foot/Fairies/Giants/Santa/Astrological Signs/Psychics/Ghosts/ect until you have good reason to.  The same is with Atheists but in the case of God/s.

And because of this, most Atheists aren’t arguing against the existence of God.  It’s like asking you why you always argue against the existence of Santa.  You’re not necessarily arguing against Santa, you just don’t see any reason to believe Santa exists.  It’s not an argument for or against anything.  If scientists discovered a factory in the North Pole populated by elves and Santa, then you’d be more inclined to make a statement for or against Santa.

I can understand how it might come across as Atheists arguing against the existence of God to a Theist.  Theists generally have a small list of evidence they point to in order to support the existence of God.  All of them are not founded in science and are full of fallacies.  Whenever a Theist makes an argument for God an Atheist usually points out the fallacies and lack of true evidence and it can come across as “against God”.  It’s not.  It’s just not good evidence for God and therefore we still cannot believe.

Again, of course there are Atheists who say “there is no God/s”.  Those Atheists are actually making a positive claim that they need to support.  Those Atheists need to present evidence to support their claim just as Theists do.  However, they are not the majority.  And I am not one of them so I cannot speak for them.  But I don’t support those Atheists who run around saying “there is no God” and when someone asks how they know they give answers full of fallacies (or no answers at all).  They’re just as bad as Theists who do the same thing.  And, as I stated before, I don’t support them doing it in really aggressive ways.

TL;DR: Basically, most Atheists aren’t making arguments against the existence of God.  Those who do need to back up their claims with evidence, just like everyone else.  And a lot of Atheists will argue against the morality of God but most of us won’t go out of our way to aggressively attack you or your God.  I don’t support those who do any of these things aggressively and I don’t support anyone who thinks they’re somehow above the rules they set for everyone else.

Questions for Atheists: Support System

A long time ago I created a survey in hopes of getting some questions to answer in my blog.  Well, I only got one submission and was holding out for more but they never came.  So I decided to try and revive my blog again and write my response to the question I got.  Seriously, though, if you have a question you’d like me to answer please submit it here.  It’s totally anonymous and you can ask whatever you’d like, as long as it pertains to Atheism/religion somehow.

Did you have any atheist friends (real life or internet) when you were first identifying with atheism? If so how did they help? If not, do you wish you did?

When I was starting to identify as an Atheist I was living in a small town (2,000 people) that was primarily Christian.  Needless to say I didn’t feel like I had any support from my peers.  I certainly didn’t feel like I had support in the home at that time either, considering my mother was a pastor and really wanted me to keep going to church.  I was mostly keeping my opinions a secret from everyone until it was just too much to carry around.

I eventually told my mom and I distinctly remember the moment I came out to my class.  I was a Senior and realized that I didn’t need to impress anyone.  Soon I would be leaving and probably never seeing most of those people again.  We were having a debate on gay rights and, of course, I was pro-gay marriage.  One student brought up God and how I could support this when God didn’t.  And my response to that was: I don’t believe in God.  Everyone was flabbergasted.  I was petrified.  But I needed to do it.  I just couldn’t hide anymore.

I was lucky and I wasn’t met with hostility.  Most people continued to ignore me as they previously did before.  My mom still made me go to church and urged me to sing but I slowly went less and less.  Then I moved out and went to college 8 hours away from home.  But there I stumbled into the exact same world I came from.  It was supposed to be a non-denominational school but it was located in a heavily Catholic community.  All of my friends were super religious and I was often forced to sing religious music in choir.  I certainly didn’t find any support in college either.

Basically, while I didn’t have anyone acting hostile toward me I certainly didn’t feel like I had any support.  The only person who supported me was my dad but he wasn’t very present in my life.  Having his support was reassuring, though.  For awhile I was scared I’d be forced to go to a Mennonite college but he told me he supported my decision not to go.  It felt nice to have someone briefly in my corner.

As time went on I began to find people on the internet who were also Atheist.  I haven’t really had a conversation with them about Atheism but knowing they understood where I came from was a huge relief.  But I didn’t have anyone like this at the time I was figuring out what I believed.  And I actually don’t regret that.  Part of me is happy that I didn’t have anyone during that time.  It was time for me to decide what I believed on my own, without influence of any kind.  It was a chance for me to explore myself genuinely.

With that said, right after I discovered I was Atheist it would have been nice to have someone there who understood and supported me.  It’s a really scary world for an Atheist, especially when they’re surrounded by only the really religious.  It’s scary being an Atheist when you’re a teenager growing up in a religious household.  It would have been nice to have someone I could vent to during that time; someone who could reassure me that it would be okay.  Someone who could understand what I was feeling and going through.

Which is why I feel it’s important for Atheists to be open when they can be.  I realize that’s not always the case.  Sometimes coming out as Atheist could mean loosing everything: work, family, spouses, kids, your home, ect.  In those cases it’s really up to the person whether they want to put it all on the line or not.  I could not blame them for hiding their Atheism.  But those who feel they can come out and be open about their beliefs are so important.  Because there may have been peers or adults in my life at the time who were Atheists.  I just had no way of knowing because we were all too scared to say anything.  But if we are able to open up and show the world who we are, perhaps the next kid whose coming to realize they’re an Atheist will have more support and will feel less afraid.

Because that’s my true goal.  By writing in this blog and opening up about my Atheism I’m not trying to convert anyone. I’m not trying to “win” the religious argument.  I’m simply trying to normalize Atheism.  I’m trying to be there for anyone who might be going through what I did.  I’m trying to educate people so the world can be a safer place for Atheists.  I’m just trying to make a small difference in the world.  I’m trying to be that person that I didn’t really have.

10 Questions for an Atheist (via facebook community)

It shouldn’t be surprising but I follow a few Atheist community pages on facebook and one of them (I’m proud to be Atheist) has been posting questions recently that I thought would be fun to answer here.  Keep in mind, these are my own personal answers and don’t reflect the Atheist community as a whole.  (By now you should know that there’s no such thing as an opinion that reflects the Atheist community as a whole but it’s worth giving the disclaimer)

The idea to answer these questions here prompted another idea.  What if I gave people (religious and non-religious) the opportunity to ask me whatever they wanted and I could talk about it here?  So I created a way to do that.  It’s completely anonymous and completely open.  I only request that the questions pertain to Atheism/religion in some way.  If you’d like to submit some questions for me, please visit this link.

Okay, onward now to the questions from facebook!

“Atheists: Inside the World of Non-Believers” Break Down

A few days ago CNN aired a special report entitled “Atheists: Inside the World of Non-Believers“.  It was a documentary peeking into the lives of us Atheists, presumably for a Christian audience.  I had found out about it through the American Humanist Association facebook page and decided to watch it.  I got about 10 minutes in when I knew I had to write a blog post about what I was watching.  CNN tried but I feel like they failed in fundamental ways; adding to the stigma they were claiming to try to clear up.

The documentary opens with the lines, “Americans loosing faith everyday, they say there is no God” which is problematic to begin with.  I’ve covered this several times in past entries but it’s worth bringing up again: there are two types of Atheists.  There are Strong Atheists who declare that there absolutely is no God and there are Weak Atheists who don’t claim to have answers but see no evidence for God.  This documentary’s first assumption is that all Atheists are Strong Atheists.  Most of us are not.  Most of us don’t say “there is no God”.

To me, that already shows lack of research and knowledge on CNN’s part, which is important when you’re trying to investigate the “world” of Atheists.  This is a stigma that shouldn’t be continued, in my opinion.  It does more harm than good.  It creates an “us vs. them” mentality and I don’t see it as helpful.  And, honestly, this whole documentary wasn’t helpful.  It certainly didn’t represent Atheists the way we truly are.  It continued stigmas and assumptions about us in subtle ways while pretending to be an accurate representation of us and our lives.

But scattered throughout the documentary were grains of truth and reality for Atheists.  I’d like to talk about them both.

False Wars and Privilege

It’s time for another entry “inspired” by facebook memes!  It’s actually inspired by several incidents on facebook within the last few months, but recently I came across this meme that I thought would be a good introduction into my topic.  First thing’s first, let’s share the image, shall we?

Honestly, when I saw this meme all I could think was “LOL”.  Because it’s so ridiculous.  I don’t know how many times I can say this: the only war on Christmas is a fantasy created in the minds of Christians.  There’s no actual “war” on anything.  Nobody’s trying to take “Christ” out of “Christmas”.  There are currently two different versions of Christmas (most of which have stemmed from numerous ancient cultures such as the Norse, Romans, and Pagans; it’s not actually solely the Christian’s holiday): a secular version and a religious version.  And there are also several other religious holidays that fall around the same time as Christmas (such as Hanukkah).  Those who celebrate the secular version and/or the non-Christian holiday are in no way trying to rid the world of the Christian version.  We simply don’t want that version shoved down our throats.

And that’s the problem I see happening on numerous issues: people in the United States want to level the playing field for people of all different faiths and, because Christians have the power, they are quick to victimize themselves to sustain that power.

I have numerous examples of this, to help clarify what I mean:

1. The War on Christmas.  By wishing people a “happy holiday” we are attempting to be inclusive of everyone.  Holiday is a broad term that can be applied to numerous versions of celebrations during November/December (as I mentioned before).  By saying “happy holidays” we are not trying to stamp out “Christ” or “Christmas”.  We’re being respectful to the fact that not everyone celebrates the Christian version of Christmas (or Christmas at all).  But some Christians don’t see it that way.  They see it as some kind of attack on their “right” to celebrate their version of the holidays.  Because if “Christmas” isn’t plastered all over the country and being shoved down everyone’s throats, that means the poor Christian right is being trampled on.
2. The Fight for Birth Control.  Most recently Hobby Lobby has been the center of focus for this issue.  During the trial many religious organizations were claiming that by allowing women to access birth control using the company’s health insurance (that the employees are paying for) the company’s “religious rights” were being trampled on.  The thing is, nobody is forcing all women in the entire country to get and use birth control. (If they were I’d comfortably say the religious rights of individuals was being trampled on.  But they’re not.)  If your faith forbids the use of birth control, then don’t use it.  But other women using it (who may or may not be in your same faith group) is NOT a violation of your rights.  You are not a victim if your co-worker utilizes birth control.  You are not a victim if your employees utilize birth control.  And by imposing your personal beliefs onto others is doing EXACTLY what you’re screaming about: someone else imposing their personal convictions onto other people’s life choices.
3. The War on Prayer.  As I recently talked about, there is no war on prayer.  However, some Christians think there is.  Why?  Because school officials cannot hold and/or lead prayers.  Why?  Because school officials have authority over their students.  And not all students are Christian (though I would argue no child is anything because they are not old enough to make these decisions for themselves).  And by not allowing officials to lead prayers in schools we are creating a safe environment for everyone.  But, yet again, some Christians see this as an “attack” in their right to pray in school.  Nobody’s taking that away.  If a child wants to pray before a test or before a meal, they can.  But, yet again, if prayer isn’t allowed under all circumstances everywhere, there must be an attack in their religious right.

What do these three examples have in common?  They are all attempts at giving human beings the same rights in the United States, regardless of faith.  And because Christianity is the dominant religion in the United States, any time someone tries to level the playing field a little bit of power is taken away from them.  And they see that happening.  And they cry fowl.  They claim their right to religion is being taken away.  But there is a huge difference between having your rights taken away and loosing power so that others may have the same rights you do.

I’m sorry but Christians are not victims right now in the United States.  Of course, their lives may not be perfect, but they are not the victims in this society.  They do not know what true oppression feels like.  They don’t experience fear in coming out Christian to their families because they may find themselves disowned and alone.  They don’t experience restrictions in job opportunities simply because they are Christian.  There are no laws restricting their rights simply because some other major religious group doesn’t like their choices as a Christian.  They don’t live in fear of experiencing harassment simply because they are Christian.

So it’s really frustrating to be part of an actual oppressed group and see the group in power claiming to be victims. And I’m not writing this entry to “pick on Christians”.  Not at all.  I wanted to give some perspective on the issues.  Because all I see is a group in power trying to dominate me through false wars and an infusion of their beliefs in the law and the second they are denied their right to dominate me they think they are the victim all the while ignoring the true victims.  And I realize not all Christians are like this (hence my statement of “some Christians” throughout this entry), but we can’t deny that there’s a large movement guided by Christians attempting to force the people of the United States to follow their convictions simply because they think they are “moral” and “right”.

I want people to realize the difference between oppression and fear of loosing power.  Those who find themselves loosing power so that others may be equal are not oppressed.  And pretending to be the victim to hold onto that power is doing a disservice to everyone.

Facebook Memes: Prayer

It’s been a long time since I’ve updated anything and that’s mostly due to the fact that I have so much to say but am not sure how to appropriately say it.  It’s difficult to talk about such a personal topic without being offensive or abrasive.  But I have come to realize that sometimes I’m going to come across as offensive and/or abrasive and I need to be okay with that.  I need to speak my mind and not worry so much about hurting someone’s feelings.  But I hope those who have decided to read this blog, with full knowledge that it’s written by an Atheist, understand that there’s a good chance I may offend you and are okay with that.  So I’m planning on writing more and putting myself out there.  This entry is certainly one of them.

To kick things off again, I was inspired by facebook.  And by inspired I mean enraged.  There are a few people on my facebook list who love to post religious memes, which is fine.  Posting about your faith is whatever.  You have every right to do that and I have every right to ignore it if I don’t like it.  But every so often I’ll come across a post directly pointed at Atheists.  Recently, one of these facebook friends did just that.  But the worst part is: she posted this exact picture a few months ago to which I left a comment explaining my view on the topic as an Atheist.  She blatantly ignored my comment and lo and behold, a few months later she posts the same picture AGAIN:

It makes me mad because she obviously has no intention of actually learning about Atheism but rather seeks comfort in bashing us (as if it somehow justifies her beliefs?).  But since she decided to ignore what I had to say, I decided to take it to this blog…

So let’s talk about prayer

There’s a lot going on in this meme that I need to address:

The first (and most important) thing I need to address is that I actually DON’T care if you pray to God or Allah or Zeus or anyone.  I’m not in the business of taking away your right to pray.  Pray whenever you want to whomever you want, I don’t care.  With that in mind…

1. There is no war on prayer.  Recently the issue of prayer in schools has come to light and a lot of Christians are upset about it.  But they’re creating a war that doesn’t exist.  If your child wants to pray before their school lunch, they have every right to.  If your child wants to take a moment before a huge test to pray, they have every right to.  The problem is when schools endorse prayer; for example: when teachers gather the class to pray before a big game or concert.  Schools are supposed to be safe for everyone of all backgrounds and faiths.  And I can tell you high school was not a safe place for me.  My high school was very small and a majority of the student body and faculty were Christian.  Because of this I was roped into participating in group prayers led by teachers before concerts, plays, or musicals.  I was not comfortable.  I did not feel safe.

Prayer is fine in school, as long as it’s not endorsed by the school.  Not many Atheists are looking to banish all prayer from schools forever.  Rather, we’re looking to create a safe place for everyone: Christians included.  Because the moment you say it’s okay for schools to endorse prayer, you’re opening up a whole can of worms you may not be comfortable with.  If it’s okay for teachers to lead their students in prayer, then it’s okay for teachers to lead students in Satanic prayer as well.  Keep schools neutral and allow the students to privately pray to whomever they wish.  That’s all we want.

2. Yeah, I have a few problems with prayer.  While I honestly don’t care if you pray to God, there are lines that can be crossed to which point I DO care.  For example, if you are the type of person who believes prayer will heal you better than any medication will so you refuse to give your child proper medical care, then I have a problem with your prayer.  If you put someone’s life in danger because you’re convinced prayer will solve everything, then I have a problem with your prayer.  Praying does nothing to alter reality; it’s there to help people cope with reality.  Regardless of whether there is or is not a God, reality will happen for and against your desires.  Refusing to give your child medicine because you think praying will heal them will not change the reality that they have cancer and will die without treatment.  THAT is when I care about prayer.

It’s also worth mentioning that I take issue with prayer when children are forced into it.  It’s worth mentioning since the meme features a child supposedly writing this on his easel (he didn’t, if it wasn’t obvious).  I’m not one to tell parents how to raise their kids.  And I’m not going to.  But I am uncomfortable when kids are forced to pray.  To me, it’s indoctrination and that always makes me feel uncomfortable.  Indoctrination isn’t about teaching kids to ask questions and open their minds, it’s about teaching them that X is truth and you are never to question X.  So what happens to those children who grow up and break away from the family’s religion?  I can tell you from experience, they will not feel safe or supported.  It will be scary and lonely for them.  And that is why it makes me uncomfortable.

3. Assuming I did care, that doesn’t mean I secretly believe in God.  I think that’s the point this meme is trying to make, maybe? (Is that what the smug smiley at the bottom is for?)  That if I actually cared about people praying to God that means I’m somehow angry at God and actually secretly, deep down, believe he exists.  I’m not entirely sure?  Because the point is, I actually don’t care.  I’m not mad that you pray.  I’m not mad at God.  I’m not trying to stop you from praying.  It would be nice if you actually asked an Atheist how they feel about prayer rather than just assuming we’re all mad at God and decide to take it out on your ability to pray to said God.  That’s not what’s happening.  At all.

Basically, if you see this meme (or anything like it) please don’t re-post it if you have even a shred of respect for Atheists.  It takes absolutely no account into how Atheists actually feel nor does it actually seek answers to the question it asked.  It’s insulting because it assumes so much of us without any intention of listening to us.  But for those who actually do care and didn’t see the problems with something like this before, I really hope you see them now and refrain from posting anything directly pointed at Atheists.  Just…ask us.

Misconceptions: Atheism and Trauma

Welp, it’s finally happening.  I’m beginning to hear the very frustrating misconceptions about Atheists being applied to me.  Just recently I was told that someone in my life is convinced (and insists) that I’m an Atheist because I had a “traumatic experience”.  And it left me completely flabbergasted.  I had not covered this misconception in my “Common Misconceptions about Atheism” post but I was aware of it (I actually have it in a second Common Misconceptions about Atheism post that I was working on but never finished). And since this misconception is out there and I now have a personal tie to it, I thought I would go into the reasons it’s a misconception (ie: it’s NOT TRUE) and why it’s harmful/infuriating/frustrating.

People become Atheist because they’ve had a traumatic experience in life/with the church

Let me first preface this by saying that, this person who made these claims about me is not a close friend nor have I ever opened up to him about any significant part of my life.  They would have no way of knowing whether or not I actually have experienced something traumatic in my life.  This was purely an assumption about me based on the fact that I am an Atheist.  And let me clarify by saying that I personally would not say I have experienced something traumatic in my life.  I have gone through some rough times, yes.  But I have not experienced trauma.  And I certainly haven’t had any traumatic or awful experiences within the church either.  My Atheism is grounded in years of honest self discovery, questioning my faith, trying to find answers, and exploring spirituality.

And, yes, there are some people who become Atheists because they have had a bad experience with the church.  Some people may have even had a traumatic experience within the church.  Some people have had traumatic experiences in life and could not see how a God would allow it and thus began their journey to Atheism.  But these experience does not apply to ALL Atheists.  Not EVERY Atheist is an Atheist because of some traumatic experience.  And it’s insulting to insist that we do.  Why?

1. It implies that we are Atheists simply because of some strong emotional reaction toward the church/God.  It doesn’t take into account that many of us actually thought about our past beliefs and analyzed them and came to the conclusion that they simply didn’t make sense.  It doesn’t take into account that many of us spent YEARS exploring different religious ideas and philosophies before identifying with Atheism.  It doesn’t take into account that many of us had to undergo a lot of honest discussion with ourselves to ultimately come to this place.  And it’s insulting to assume we are all Atheists because of some negative emotional response because it throws out ALL of those honest moments with ourselves, those questions, those years of exploration…it takes something we worked hard to discover and throws it into the “flighty emotion” category.  It completely disregards our journey.
2. Frankly, it’s insulting to those who HAVE actually experienced something traumatic and ultimately decided Atheism made the most sense.  Why is it insulting?  Because it’s tossing out THEIR journey too.  It’s implying that their reason for “turning against God” because of “a traumatic experience” isn’t a valid reason.  And no only that, but it’s assuming they made this decision ONLY because of that experience.  Perhaps it was.  But you can’t just assume that.  Perhaps their experiences had NOTHING to do with their journey to Atheism.  Perhaps their experiences began the process of questioning their faith.  But the fact that you’re dragging that experience into their Atheism and then using it to devalue their reasons for becoming Atheist is disgusting.
3. When you toss out this accusation against Atheists it’s supremely frustrating.  Why?  Because you’re essentially saying YOU know this person’s motivations, experiences, and perspectives BETTER than they know it themselves.  Regardless of what position you have in their life (close friend, relative, spouse, acquaintance, stranger) you do NOT know their journey better than they do.  And you certainly don’t have a right to claim that you do.  And you don’t have the right to attempt to impose your own motivations, experiences, and perspectives onto the lives of other people.  YOU CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR YOURSELF.  You do not have the right to speak for anyone else, let alone a group of people.

Why is it harmful?

Because misconceptions like these perpetuate the idea that Atheists are “below” Theists.  It perpetuates this idea among the religious that they are better than us; that their reasons for their faith are much more grounded than ours.  It keeps that wall up between Theist and Atheist.  It prevents Atheists from progressing within society without fear or backlash.  It prevents Atheists and Theists from existing together without this silent war brewing within our minds.  It perpetuates this “us” vs “them” mentality which has proven to be extremely damaging throughout history.

These misconceptions need to stop.  Because we are people, just like everyone else.  We are complex.  Our perspectives are complex.  And I refuse to let someone boil this complexity down to “negative emotion” because they refuse to understand us.

Questions for Atheists

I recently stumbled across several websites that have a list of questions for Atheists from Theists.  And I feel like it’s important that I talk about a few different types of questions Theists throw at Atheists and explore why they’re good or why they’re bad.

Free Will

In my entry, “Why Did You Let this Happen?” I made the statement: “We’ll pretend this [free will] is a valid argument (it’s not, but that’s for a completely separate post)”.  Today is the separate post!  Huzzah!  And I’m going to go into why the argument of free will is actually NOT a valid argument from the standpoint of Christianity (and any other religion that makes the same claims about God, which I have listed below).

Just to clarify, for those who missed my entry explaining the free will argument and who are not going to click the above link to my previous entry, let me go into what the free will argument says.

The free will argument states that God bestowed free will upon all human beings.  We are completely free to make our own choices for our own lives.  However, free will back fires sometimes.  Because there are bad people in this world and because of their free will, bad things happen to good people.  God doesn’t want these things to happen to His beloved children, of course, but he loves us so much he gave us the freedom over our own lives.

It’s a nice sentiment for us Americans, since one of the basic principals of our culture is freedom.  But there are huge holes in the arguments that Christians make.  HUGE holes.

Let’s begin my examining a few claims that Christians (and a few other religions) make about God:

Why Did You Let This Happen?

Reason #1 I gave up my faith: Why would God let this happen?

I woke up this morning and found an article on yahoo news that struck me.  There was a fire in a family’s home and this eight year old boy rescued 6 of his family members before dying beside his disabled uncle.  And I couldn’t help but think, “Where was God?  If God was real, why would he let this happen?”

This would be one of those questions that many people would pull the, “God works in mysterious ways” cop out, but that just doesn’t work for me.  What decent God and his all powerful self would be sitting up in heaven watching this little boy run through his home saving everyone and then decide to let the child and his disabled uncle die?  It doesn’t make any sense.  Because I’ve been taught that God rewards the good and punishes the bad.  I’ve been taught that God loves everyone.  I’ve been taught that God is all powerful and all knowing.  I’ve been taught that God gets the credit when good things happen.  I have been taught that God is love.

So where is he when the bad things happen?  Where was he to protect this boy and his uncle?  Why are people so easy to praise God when they get a promotion or make it through an illness or when they get a new car but the second a fire kills a whole family or a flood wipes out a whole nation, people sit back and say, “We don’t know why God would allow this to happen.”

And I can’t accept that.  You can’t throw around claims as certainties (God is all powerful, God is all knowing, God is all loving) and the second you don’t have the answers (why would God let disgustingly bad things happen) you suddenly stop speaking for God and he is “beyond you”.  That doesn’t work for me.  I need answers.  If you’re going to make a claim, I expect answers.

So I went looking for some arguments that people give to answer this question.  Here are a hand full of arguments I found: