10 Christian Questions Answered by an Atheist

Hemant Mehta of The Friendly Atheist found a list of 10 questions asked of Christians by David Hayward. As an exercise, Hemant posted the same questions and asked them of atheists. You will find the questions [in italics, and with a '*' at the end to denote those asked by Mr. Mehta] and my answers to them below the fold.

1. Do I truly believe that everyone has the right to their own beliefs or lack thereof?

Yes. Beliefs are internal, and up to the person. Whether you consider them to be wrong or right should only be addressed if the person publicly voices their beliefs.


2. Can I respect the person, even though I may not respect their ideas?

Yes. If a person holds what I percieve to be a negative belief but doesn't take action in using that belief to harm others then I can respect the person.


3. Do I have the capacity to recognize my own fallacies?

I hope so.


4. Will it kill me if I were wrong?

I'm assuming that "kill" in this sense refers to great emotional stress. In that case, I don't think so. During the time that I was gradually coming to understand my atheism it wasn't a major crisis for me, and that is arguably the most life altering realization that I've ever come to.

But I could be wrong.


5. Am I able to hold what I believe is truth lightly in the interest of dialog?

Absolutely not. The truth is too important to be treated lightly, even in the interest of dialog.


6. Can I overlook and maybe even appreciate the idiosyncrasies of others in order to hear what they have to say?

Of course, I've tried to do so for nearly my entire life. Additionally, I always attmept to, not only hear but, listen to what they say.


7. Am I willing to discern the deeper currents rather than being distracted by the surface ripples?

Ooohhh... someone wrote a deepity. As a kayaker I'll further this analogy. Looking at the surface will often tell you what the deeper currents are like if you know what to look for. The trick is drawing on past experience with those currents.

So, in effect yes. I won't be distracted by the surface ripples, because I'll be using them to give me a greater idea of what is underneath.


8. Can everyone play? In other words, will I not ostracize someone because of their beliefs or lack thereof?

I hope that my answer to question #2 would give you some idea of my answer to this. I'm willing to converse, associate, or "play" with anyone, regardless of their beliefs. I will however avoid or confront someone who takes a negative action against me or another person.


9. Is personal harm to others the only prohibition I am willing to make?

Absolutely not.


10. Do I love all beings, and if not, am I willing?

By my definition of love, no and no. Love, like respect, has to be earned, but love takes a deeper involvement in order for a person to earn it. If you were to love everyone, then you would truly love no one.


11. At what point is being right more important than being approachable/likable?*

Being approachable/likeable isn't imporant to me to begin with. I try to conduct myself in a way that others won't find condescending, intimidating, or threatening but there are some people that you just can't deal with.


12. Is there any time it’s ok to cede “points” to the other person just to keep the relationship strong?*

If you have to "cede points" to someone to keep the relationship going it doesn't sound like there is a strong relationship to being with.

I'm hoping someone will develop a similar set of questions without the esoteric meanings that are in this one. While I agree that getting both sides to answer questions is a good way to get a dialog going, if the questions aren't clear to both sides then they are all but useless.