# Dear Atheists, Questions From A "believer" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 29, 2003, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-atheists-questions-from-a-believer/210159 "2003-10-29T03:14:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![IWLN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5ac83/32.png) [@IWLN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IWLN)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2003, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-atheists-questions-from-a-believer/210159/1 "2003-10-29T03:14:02Z")
I have a few questions that I’m sure have been asked before, but since I’m new here, I didn’t get the answers. This is not part of a quest for me to answer, prove on disprove anything about God. I have no doubts about him. I know what I believe, but it has become really obvious I don’t know what you believe or why. This is not any sort of challenge. I promise I won’t try to “witness” to you. I respect your right to believe what you do. The first one I’ve asked in one or two of my posts, but don’t think anyone answered. 1. What is the harm in believing in God (pick a God, any God) if it gives the believer comfort. Do you think it’s right to try and convince them that their comfort is a sham? Do you think it implies, gullibility, less intelligence or less growth? 2. How do you explain, not just the origin of man, but the origin of all. What was before that. I realize you don’t have the answer to that and you only really believe what is proved, so I guess I’m asking for your best guess scenario. You can give me the short version. Real short. 3. If you’ve brought up evolution at all in the previous sentence, when you got to the origin of man part, how is it explained that there are no true remains of mixed species (part way through some transition), or are there? I don’t think evolution as I know of it disproves or proves a creator, but I’m sure my information on it has had a religious slant. 4. When you look into your children’s eyes, does it ever cross your mind that they’re just going to be dust in a few decades. Does all of that lost brightness, joy, potential, just gone, seem sad or just matter of fact or doesn’t it cross your mind? 5. Not really going to go here, just barely. Doesn’t there being no life after this one make abortion even more horrible, since this little person’s one chance for life is being snuffed. Or does it matter? 6. Does an atheist ever wish God were true, provable? 7. When you’re in the depths of sorrow or pain, with no one to pray to or hold you up; what do you do? 8. I realize there are a lot of people out here hedging their bets and saying they believe in God and it has about the same meaning as I believe in eating right. For the people you’ve come across who truly do seem to believe, do you see any difference? More at peace? Happier? Or just more irritating? 9. Have you ever understood why a lot of “believers” talk so weird (almost a Christian version of baby talk) when they’re discussing religion. Okay, I threw that one in for me. Irritates the hell out of me when someone takes on that weird “do you know Jesus” voice. I’ve always wondered why they do it, when it is so likely to clear a room in under a minute. 10. When I’ve heard so many universe theories and explanations about time, space and everything having different rules than we understand; why when we say you can’t really apply man’s laws of nature to God does it seem to irritate the non-believer. When so much about the universe is unexplainable, why do you think God should have to be proven or rationalized? 11. Do you ever look around at the beauty of nature, how complex even the function of our bodies are and think, how could this be some unplanned event? 12. Do you think non-believers tend to be more pessimistic? Don’t get your panties into a bundle over that one. I just mean since I believe I have something really awesome to look forward to; I have some of that I get to go to Disneyland feeling. Ceasing to exist just doesn’t have the same ring to it? Okay, I’m going to stop for now. I realize some of these should be their own topic, so I’m just looking for the condensed version. Remember I’m not trying to step on anyone’s toes. Just want to know what you think. Respectfully (really), IWLN --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-atheists-questions-from-a-believer/210159)._