1. What facts about the real world does your personal worldview account for that mine as a Christian doesn’t account for?
My worldview (weltanschauung) is derived from my experiences, education, secular society and indigenous culture. I have advanced degrees in biology and decades of field experience on different countries. From my perspective, Christianity has been a complete failure at explaining the authenticity of native people's religious experiences. And the divided opinions on the different branches of Creationism tells me its failed to explain the diversity and distribution of life on earth.
Nonetheless, I don't know what your particular Christian worldview holds, but if it subscribes to some of the more popular science-denying branches, I'm good sticking with mine.
2. If your definition of atheism is merely that it's a lack of belief in God, and you're just waiting to be convinced, but then you speak of Him as though He's in some way synonymous with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or Fairies, doesn't that at least send the message to your listeners that you actually believe that there is no God?
I let people who call themselves atheists, define atheism for themselves. I don't expect agreement with any others. Personally I have concluded that deities do not exist, that yours was concocted very late in human history by a minor ancient Near Eastern tribe, before it got promoted to the chief deity of a slave-owning society. For me atheism is not "a lack of belief in deities" but I don't assume that's the same for all.
3. Do you see why supporting things that believers see as sin upon becoming an atheist might make those believers think that played some role in your adopting an atheistic worldview?
4. Exactly what probability do you assign to the proposition that gods or God in particular exist?
My Bayesian prior is 0. Humans lived as hunter-gatherers for about 200,000 years. Over much of the time we were animists (my own indigenous culture still has a strong grounding in animism). Deities really do not appear until after the human agricultural revolution and both High Gods and Moralising High Gods take centuries to appear. Deities are thus an outgrowth of our hardwired beliefs in animism. Nothing I've encountered about Christianity has caused me to revise upward this prior.
5. Does it bother you or worry you that non-theistic cosmologies offer unlikely-sounding or poorly specified explanations of the origins of the universe?
9. Can you name the last three academic books by theistic authors you read on the subject? How long ago did you read them?
2. If your definition of atheism is merely that it's a lack of belief in God, and you're just waiting to be convinced, but then you speak of Him as though He's in some way synonymous with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or Fairies, doesn't that at least send the message to your listeners that you actually believe that there is no God?
I let people who call themselves atheists, define atheism for themselves. I don't expect agreement with any others. Personally I have concluded that deities do not exist, that yours was concocted very late in human history by a minor ancient Near Eastern tribe, before it got promoted to the chief deity of a slave-owning society. For me atheism is not "a lack of belief in deities" but I don't assume that's the same for all.
3. Do you see why supporting things that believers see as sin upon becoming an atheist might make those believers think that played some role in your adopting an atheistic worldview?
I disagree that there is an atheistic worldview. Atheism is a product of worldview that often, draws on knowledge of your religion's past and comparative religion, a preference for acquiring knowledge via scientific methods rather than revelatory and the support of secular moral philosophy over religious dogmas. From this worldview, atheism is often the result. After all, it encompasses only one issue whereas a worldview encompasses far more.
I didn't become an atheist. There was never a transition. Your deity never seemed any more real than my native Atua (dieties) or the gods of ancient Greece. And was a lot less interesting to be honest. I've always been an atheist.
I might add that the Christian conviction in sin, drove them to suppress many of our pre-colonial beliefs and practices as these were regarded as sinful. So I am not bothered by what Christians now think of my support of these things.
4. Exactly what probability do you assign to the proposition that gods or God in particular exist?
My Bayesian prior is 0. Humans lived as hunter-gatherers for about 200,000 years. Over much of the time we were animists (my own indigenous culture still has a strong grounding in animism). Deities really do not appear until after the human agricultural revolution and both High Gods and Moralising High Gods take centuries to appear. Deities are thus an outgrowth of our hardwired beliefs in animism. Nothing I've encountered about Christianity has caused me to revise upward this prior.
5. Does it bother you or worry you that non-theistic cosmologies offer unlikely-sounding or poorly specified explanations of the origins of the universe?
I disagree that say, a quantum perturbation acting on a super-hot, super-dense, minute particle is poorly specified. Nor does it seem unlikely, especially relative to a virgin-mating bloodgod conjuring it into existence.
6. Of the arguments for God’s existence, is there one that to you seems more interesting than the rest? Do any of them weigh in favor of theism?
6. Of the arguments for God’s existence, is there one that to you seems more interesting than the rest? Do any of them weigh in favor of theism?
None. Gods are the invention of ancient peoples and have earned no more credence than any other fantastic ancient creature from this period.
7. What sort of evidence, if any, would be enough to convince you? (Let’s take experimental reproducibility off the table.)
7. What sort of evidence, if any, would be enough to convince you? (Let’s take experimental reproducibility off the table.)
There's two tests that come to mind. The Thomas test- a physical manifestation of Jesus in a personal encounter, down to being able to examine the wounds on his body or the Bruce Almighty test- a temporary gift of some of your deity's divine powers.
8. To what extent did social and moral issues start you down your path to atheism?
8. To what extent did social and moral issues start you down your path to atheism?
Creationists often force biologists to take a position on deities. It was clear I couldn't be neutral in the face of their rank dishonesty.
9. Can you name the last three academic books by theistic authors you read on the subject? How long ago did you read them?
What do you mean academic book? Last book that has any impact on me was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Letters from Prison.
10. If you knew that Christianity were true, would you accept God’s authority, repent of your sins, and trust Jesus as your king?
10. If you knew that Christianity were true, would you accept God’s authority, repent of your sins, and trust Jesus as your king?
That's quite the loaded question and irrelevant! There is no overt act of rebellion going on here. I consider my own nature gods more plausible than your Near Eastern god of blood and death, and I know my deities don't exist. Gods are human constructs.
If you want people like me to conclude your deity exists, then you need less loaded or leading questions. Try accepting that people have carefully considered your religion's claims and honestly found them unconvincing.
