"Vaikeita" kysymyksiä ateisteille

Jumala kurkistelee noista aukoista vähän samaan tyyliin kuin linnanmäen myyränmätkintä pelissä :)

Sivu sisältää kysymyksiä joihin ateistit "eivät ole vastanneet"... :)
Vain niin... Ainakin itse olen useasti vastannut kyseisiin kysymyksiin ja lukenut useita vastauksia muidenkin vastaamana.
Valikoivaa vastaustenkäsittelyä?

Jos tuolle sivulle lähettää vastineen, niin lähteekö tuolta niitä kysymyksiä pois?

"Morality: Why do people feel guilt? Why are monogamy, altruism and humility regarded as virtues, if morality is the result of evolution?"

Itse epäilen, että syyllisyydentunto on juontuu empatiasta. Empatia taas on lajin säilyvyyden kannalta suotavaa, etenkin jos laji on sosiaalinen sekä yhteisöllinen.

Yksiavioisuus on ihmiselle tarpeellista, koska syntyvä jälkeläinen syntyy hyvin avuttomana sekä keskeneräisenä. Tämä ihmisjälkeläinen tarvitsee apua monien vuosien ajan selvitäkseen, joka on todennäköisempää kahden kuin vain yhden vanhemman kanssa. Tosin, eihän moniaivoisuus ole täysin tabu ihmisten keskuudessa, onhan yhteisöjä joissa moniaivoisuus on täysin luontevaa ja hyväksyttyä.

Altruismi parantaa yhteisön selviytymistä ja yhteisö parantaa siitä koostuvien yksilöiden selviytymistä.

Nöyryys ja sen vastakohta ylpeys ovat oikeastaan molemmat hyveitä, kunhan ne ovat tiettyjen rajojen puitteissa. Muta tuossakin kulttuurilla on paljon tekemistä.

Moraali on evoluution tuotos. Moraali on edistänyt yhteisöjen selviytymistä.

"The universe: How did the universe begin? How did life arise from non-living matter? The claims that the universe always existed or had a "natural" cause and that life spontaneously arose are just as extraordinary as the claim that an intelligent being created both the universe and life. If the universe is in its present state because of the Big Bang, what caused the Big Bang, and where did the matter that exploded come from? If the universe has always existed, why is there such a large quantity of mass and energy, not to mention intelligent life?"

So, if there's God as Christians and other believers argue, where did he come from? Which of the thousands of gods mentioned in the myriad religions is the proper God?

"Science: Science exists because the universe operates in a consistent way and has phenomena that we can describe as "laws," such as the law of gravity. If the universe and/or things in it were formed by chance, why should the behavior of the universe be predictable instead of random?"

No. Science exists simply because it is part of the human culture and because it is something that we practice. Why does the law of gravity exist? Because of God? Then which god?

If the universe was formed by chance, why should it logically follow that its behaviour should be random?

"Nature: Why do people uniformly admire nature? Why do we see so much beauty in it? It's no longer our natural surroundings, for we live in urban areas surrounded by pavement and man-made structures. Why do we prefer nature to what we ourselves have made? Why do we prize window offices and decorate walls with landscapes, instead of being content with our climate-controlled environment?"

Some do some don't. And so what if we admire nature. How should this prove that God exists?

"Psychology: Why do people seek for meaning and purpose in life - why are we not content simply to live in the moment? Why do we keep trying to explain how and why the universe came into existence? Why would evolution have given us this need for a purpose, when the instinct to survive would suffice and when lack of a purpose leads so many into despair and self-destructive behavior?"

Why shouldn't we? Evolution has not "given" us anything - evolution does not "think" or have a purpose as such. Our purpose is to live and procreate - it's that simple.

"Religious experience: If there are no gods and nothing spiritual or supernatural exists, how can religious experience be explained, and why do the vast majority of people believe in God and/or spiritual and supernatural things? If religion is a placebo for the weak-minded, why do even intelligent, committed atheists convert - and why do people have a need for religion in the first place?"

Vast majority? Many people, particularly in the modern western countries, "inherit" religion; they do not actively practice it and they are not "true" believers in the strict sense of the term.
Why do intelligent believers convert to atheism? Besides, people belive in many non-religions things. Even more simply, we have the ability to think about the future and the past - we have imagination, which is much more fundamental than simple religious experience.

"Morality: Why do people feel guilt? Why are monogamy, altruism and humility regarded as virtues, if morality is the result of evolution?"

Guilt and altruism are good for maintaining social relations. Besides, monogamy is not a universal virtue - it is relative to ones cultural environment.

"Love & emotion: From an evolutionary standpoint, emotions (except fear and possibly paternal feelings) are a waste of resources. Other creatures only need instincts to survive; why should we have the capacity to love and feel happiness? More to the point, why should we be able to feel emotions like annoyance, grief and hopelessness, when they only retard our ability to survive and reproduce?"

Do they? After all, human race is at the top of the evolutionary "food chain". Feelings are basically biological in nature, they are based on our hormonal functions. That is, they are not something inexplicable and beyond biological explanation.

"Art & music: Why do we spend so much time and energy in making our surroundings attractive rather than merely functional? Why should we have an appreciation for art and music at all?"

Why not? The appearance of our environment and surroundings has direct effects on our well-being and quality of life.