In this article I will attempt to answer the questions posed by Evelyn Simon in her 2007 article “Do Atheists Rule America?“
How did human beings get here?
They were born by their mothers. The tribe Hominini split into two genera: Homo (the descendants of which includes modern humans) and Pan (which likewise includes modern Chimps). There are a number of species which arose from Homo, but only one is extant: us, Homo sapiens sapiens.
Who created the birds, the fish, all the animals that roam the earth?
Who created the creepy crawly things?
No one. They evolved from a common ancestor, just like all life on Earth. There was no individual who poofed them all into being.
Can a human cause lightning and thunder to perform all at once?
Yes. A Tesla coil is a spectacular example of this.
Why do some people live when struck by lightning?
For the same reason some people survive car crashes. Each case is different, and not everyone has a fatal combination of these differences.
The performance of conception. What urges the sperm of a man to swim towards an egg in a woman’s womb to cause conception?
Biochemistry. The tail makes it move, and the environment of the cervix, uterus, and fallopian tubes, as well as chemicals exuded by the ovum itself, all serve to point the sperm in the right direction.
If there is no God:
Why do most people find it easy to treat others with respect?
Why do most people obey the laws of their country?
Why do most people have compassion for their fellow man?
Why are there some people who give to the needy?
Because people don’t do these things out of a belief in God. They do it to help their fellow man, because most people are compassionate and sympathetic to the plight of other humans.
You may say there are people who don’t believe in God and have done those things. You’re right, however the people who had done those things without the love of God in their hearts, were doing it to be recognized.
What you don’t see at the end of the day, is their tears, and anger when all that they’ve done had gone unnoticed.
If you don’t see it, how do you know it happens? What possible recognition could a non-believer get by putting a few quid in a homeless woman’s hat?
Atheists also don’t believe there is a devil.
If there isn’t a devil, why do people do bad things?
Because the Devil doesn’t cause people to do bad things. Some people just aren’t full of sunshine and lollipops. They do bad things because they want to, because no one can stop them, and, sometimes, because they truly believe that what they’re doing isn’t wrong (suicide bombers, for instance).
How do you know things like murder, grown men having sex with two-year-old babies, stealing from others, committing adultery, drinking while operating a motor vehicle, lying under oath, committing fraud, using, and selling illegal drugs, are wrong?
Because these things all cause harm, which in our modern, Western society is deemed immoral. But this wasn’t always the case, of course: what we consider gross and immoral today, was seen as perfectly acceptable back in the day (segregation, withholding the vote from women, lynching blacks and homosexuals, etc).
In other cultures, even murder and pedophilia become acceptable: Muslims typically accept that Muhammad’s consummation to his nine-year-old wife is perfectly acceptable; indeed, it was not uncommon for older men to marry prepubescent girls in the seventh century ce.
What are atheist’s views on marriage?
As long as everyone gives informed consent (thus ruling out the invalid, the underage, and the non-human), it’s simply a public declaration of love and commitment.
Why do atheists get married, when it is the law of someone he or she doesn’t believe in?
