Explaining the atheist viewpoint

Over the years, I have talked to many people of different religions. Despite religion being one of those topics that you should not really talk about in polite society, I have found there is little strife as long as it is an exchange of ideas and not a debating match.

I have learned many things from the talks and hope others have learned from me as well. So I thought I would share some of the common questions I get about being an atheist, along with some brief answers.

Since you don’t believe in God, why are you not murdering people?

When I was first asked this, I was floored by the question. But the question was asked in earnest. I told the questioner that I was stopped by the same things that stopped him. After all, he could murder people, ask God for forgiveness and still expect to go to heaven.

What is your basis for morality?

Continuing from the above question quickly leads to this one. A Christian can easily answer that his or her morality is based on the Bible or on the principles of Jesus, so where do atheists get their morality? The basic answer is that it comes from the Law of Reciprocity (like the Golden Rule). We recognize that, as part of society, we have to compromise. And the best compromise seems to be that we treat others as we wish to be treated. We also recognize that we have a biological drive toward helping others through empathy, just as we have selfish desires that keep us from society’s punishments.

Why are you rebelling against God?

At first, I thought this was a really silly question. After all, I don’t believe in God, so how could I rebel? After a bit, I realized that this question comes from passages like Romans 2:15, which says that everyone really knows there is a God. So if I really know God exists and I say I don’t, then I am rebelling. The best response I have found so far is to quote from Sir Stephen Henry Roberts: “I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”

What is the purpose of life?

When I was asked this question, I immediately turned it around. The Christian replied, “The purpose in life is to worship your creator. Otherwise, life is meaningless.” My first response was that he believed that God was alive and had no creator, so was God’s life meaningless? This led to talking about the meaning of life for someone who did not worship a creator. Basically, it is a search for meaning by experiencing life. We create, explore, find happiness and sadness, live and love. Meaning, ultimately, is discovered by each individual as they experience life.

How can you deny creation?

The argument for creation can be summarized in that everything that exists must have been created. Therefore, there must be a creator of the universe. However, carrying this logic further, if God exists, he must have been created as well. An infinite regression of gods creating one another does not sit well with most people, so God is declared as the one entity that is uncaused. But if you allow for an “uncaused entity” to exist, it is simpler to say it was the Big Bang instead of going the extra step to suppose an intelligent, all-powerful being exists with no cause.

• Perspectives is a slightly whimsical look at life, philosophy, religion and politics. Scott McKinley is a scientist and a local Patterson resident. He may be reached by e-mail at msmperspectives@gmail.com.