- Was atheism at the core of stalinism and these other regimes?
Why can we as Christians take the blame when it comes to the Crusades, but why do atheists not take the blame for Mao, Pol Pot, Castro, Kim Jong Il, Joseph Stalin etc. ?
And if atheists say they are more moral than Christians then why were 250+ million killed in these regimes?
Atheism was at the core of these regimes, insofar as it was inseparable from their doctrine. Robert Conquest, in his authoritative work
The Great Terror, states, if I recall correctly, that fifteen million Christians were killed by the Soviet regime during the Great Purge and the Second World War.
- Does religion justify violence?
“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that takes religion.” Steven Weinberg.
Religion can justify violence, but historically, the bloodiest wars have been caused by nationalism, not religion (think of the Hundred Years’ War, of the two World Wars, etc); besides, on what basis can a non-theist judge an action as being evil, since he does not believe in objective morality?
- Is morality defined by our biology and shaped and guided by the prevailing culture?
There is indeed a morality common to all men, the natural law “written in their hearts” (Romans ii, 15), which can be accounted for by biology, given that God used biological processes to inscribe it in all members of mankind; additionally, our morals are also, to some degree, “shaped and guided by the prevailing culture”, as you say. But that in no way implies the impossibility of the existence of an objective morality.
- Is it true that Conservative Jews now officially don’t believe many of the stories in the Old Testament? Is this because the historical evidence contradicts what the Bible says?
It would appear that Conservative Jews may hold that position:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Judaism#Revelation
By the way, historical evidence does not contradict what the Bible says, properly understood!
- Is it extremely arrogant to think that the universe was created for us?
There are billions and billions of stars in the universe. Most of them seem to be uninhabited. Persons are pretty rare in the universe
It is not arrogant at all; in fact, I would say that it is the most rational conclusion, given the fine-tuning of the initial conditions of the universe. William Lane Craig’s work on the
existence of God include some enlightening developments on this subject (read his articles on the teleological argument, starting with the last listed on that page, listen to his
debates with atheists, then get his book
Reasonable Faith!).
- Are their any independent confirmations of any supernatural event described in the Bible?
Thallus comes to mind:
tektonics.org/jesusexist/thallus.html
christian-thinktank.com/jrthal.html
tektonics.org/qt/thallcomp.html
But what is the problem with, for instance, the early, independent, multiple attestation of the facts (the empty tomb, the
post-mortem apparitions and the origin of the Christian faith) by far best explained by the historicity of the Resurrection, which attestation can be found in the books of the New Testament approached solely as historical documents?
- How do I respond the claim to atheists who make the claim that religion is just a survival mechanism?
Do you mean the claim that religion is just a vain, fanciful hope, invented by men impelled by the fear of death?
Firstly, I would argue that such is simply not the case, given that the Christian religion, for instance, was clearly not formed on such a basis, and that many of those who come to adhere to it do so on account of the plausability thereof, not because they were seeking some sort of escape from non-existence after death, which they had not a care for. I was quite comfortable with atheism, ignorant as I was of the riches of the Faith, not even suspecting what a treasure it might be. The great apologist C. S. Lewis once said: “I was brought into Christianity kicking and screaming.” Not exactly a desperate assent to whatever might promise eternal life!
Besides, even if it were true that men came to hold religious beliefs because of fear of death, to say that this demonstrates the falsity of these beliefs would be to commit the
genetic fallacy.
- Thank you! I would just like to let everyone know that I’m a devout Catholic. I just want a good response to these questions.
I hope that my answers will be of help to you.
