A conversation about god between an Antitheist and a Christian.

 

‘Without God there is no meaning or purpose to life!’

‘I think that’s the problem Brian. The human mind is put together in a way that it looks for the answers to problems, it seeks solutions. That’s what’s made us so successful. We look for answers. We’re very good at it. That’s where all our science and technology came from.’

‘This world was created. Man was created. God created that mind you speak of, for us to use.’

‘Nope. Logic breakdown here, Brian. In primitive times our mind evolved to solve problems – predators, hunting, farming, tools. There’s no end to what we do. Our mind put us apart and gave us an advantage. The problem is that it is hotwired to solve problems. When the problem is a technical problem it is fine – we can fathom out a solution. It’s when we come up on the big things that we have a problem.’

‘God created the big things as well as the little.’

‘In primitive times man looked at the sky, the stars, sun, moon, seasons and weather and tried to understand them. There was no logic or science that he could apply so he invented a supernatural explanation. We like things to be tidy.’

‘If you don’t believe in God your life has no purpose. If God does not exist the whole universe has no purpose.’

‘Yep.’

‘But that does not make sense. How can you believe that?’

‘Well making up something unknowable to explain the unknowable doesn’t solve anything.’

‘God can be experienced.’

‘In that case it’s different. But I’ve never experienced god. Until I do I remain unconvinced.’

‘But you do experience God. You have a wondrous mind. You live in a wondrous universe. Surely you can’t believe that has happened by chance. God created it all. God created you in his image.’

‘Nope. I believe it was by chance. There is no logic in religious belief that explains any purpose. It merely puts a supernatural unfathomable layer in place. It does nothing for me.’

‘So how do you explain your mind, life, the incredible cosmic pattern and order of the universe? The incredible organisation of atoms and energy?’

‘Awesome. Majestic. Mystical. And all out of the wonders of the basic laws of physics and time. The universe is awesome. But it does not presuppose the existence of god. They are the incredible laws of nature we see at work in an infinite universe. Spectacular – but designed? No. I think not.’

‘God guides you through this wonderful world.’

‘Take the human body Brian. Did god design that?’

‘Of course.’

‘Well he didn’t make a very good job of it did he?’

‘You telling me that Naomi Campbell can be improved on?’

‘I certainly could be,’ I mused with my mind drifting to Naomi’s physique. ‘But that’s not the point. The human body is fundamentally flawed. There’s our backbone for instance. It’s not designed for walking upright. Who in their right mind would put the reproductive system and excretory system opening at the same place. Unless they had a wicked sense of humour that is. And I don’t suppose god is allowed to be wicked is he? And then there’s the respiratory tract opening into the digestive tract so you drown in your own vomit. Your brain stuck out on a breakable neck. I could go on and on. It’s not good design. If I can think of ways of improving it then surely god could have done it better? No. The reason it’s the way it is comes down to the way it has evolved and not how it was designed.’

‘God has a reason for everything he does. We can’t be expected to understand.’

‘We have evolved to come up with solutions. The solution we found for the universe and us is god. Look around at the mess the world’s in. Do you see signs of an intelligent force at work here? Guiding us forward?’

‘God is guiding people. He is there if you turn to him. The world is in a mess because so many choose not to turn to him.’

‘Well I don’t use god as a prop and I’m a positive force. I work towards making the world better without promise of a future after-life or rewards. I do it because I see it as logical. A world built of trust and love is a damn sight better than one based on hatred. I do it because it is human nature to help.’

‘God guides you without you even knowing. And it is human nature to be cruel and evil.’

‘Well shame he doesn’t sort out some of the evil bastards while he’s at it. And I believe that good and evil are human creations. They come out of our hearts. We can make the world better – ourselves! Not through some divine intervention. We create evil. It is in us. We can overcome it. Forget the mumbo jumbo. Let’s set about putting things right ourselves. That’s what we’re good at!’