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as asked by an unnamed teenaged atheist.

Religious diversity

1. Why are you a Christian and not a Hindu/Muslim/etc.? There are thousands of different religions and gods out there to choose from. Do you believe the way you do because of your parents / upbringing?

- Upbringing, culture to begin with. Then religious experience, faith and commitment to Jesus, whom I believe to be the son of God.

2. Why is your religion correct?Once again, there are thousands of different gods and religions to choose from. The majority of them condemn unbelievers - meaning all unbelievers are going to hell. That constitutes every single person except for the “one true religion”. What makes you think yours is? And what about the people that simply never heard of your religion?

- I would not dream to claim my religion to be correct for anybody but myself. If others think they can believe as I do, fine. If not, that’s fine too. I think God needs to present him/herself personally. It’s not my job to convince anybody.

3. If you were born in ______, would you believe in ______?If you were born in India, wouldn’t it be likely that you would be a Hindu? Or if you were born in Turkey, wouldn’t it be likely you would be Islamic? There are hundreds and thousands of options and variants.

Probably.

4. What makes your “evidence” so compelling?Why do so many people of different religions claim to have personal experiences in relation to their God(s), and why are they false, and yours not? What makes yours right? Why do you believe in your God, other than indoctrination as a child?

- I believe that my world view is one that I inherited as a child and developed as I grew older. I think that I experience God within my worldview. I do not presume my worldview superior to others, but I do think that there are individuals who are better persons than I am and worse than I am (morally, personally, intellectually), regardless of their worldview.

5. Why are there so many denominations in most religions?For example, in Christianity - there are over 38,000 different denominations - all interpreting the Bible differently and with different laws and teachings. Which one is right? And why are so many of them contradictory?

- Faith is a personal phenomenon. I think that people should adapt their faith to their personality, not the other way around. That being said, if faith does nothing to better the believer, it is without worth.

Religious texts________________ 

6. Why is the Bible inconsistent?The Bible is incredibly inconsistent. For example, at one point in the Bible - it claims that seven of every kind of animal were brought on board the Ark. A little bit later, this turns to two of every kind.

- Many authors and many stories were compiled into the Bible. The editors allowed inconsistencies because of their respect for the religious stories they worked with. They preferred to have inconsistencies rather than miss out a story that might be part of Gods word.

7. Why does the Bible order you to kill so many people? And why does it support things like slavery?For example, Liars, Homosexuals, people who work on the sabbath day, girls that have sex before marriage, etc., should all be killed, according to the Bible. Why would a book inspired by an infallible and benevolent God focus on trivial and immoral orders and passages in the “Holy Book” and condone slavery, whilst leaving out simple things like equality? My answer would be that the Bible only reflects the social context of the time - and if a God did indeed intervene in its writing - it would not be so imperfect and immoral.  

- I don’t think that God compels people to go against their will or abilities. I agree that the Bible reflects the social context of the time but also shows us the direction in which God would want to lead mankind. It’s up to us to follow the lead and work towards a just and merciful society.

8. How do you decide what parts of the Bible to take literally?For example, many Christians accept evolution - but that requires them to not accept creationism, which is a fundamental part of the Bible. How do you decide which part to take literallyand which part to accept as “parable” when the Bible does not differentiate from the two?

- The Bible is neither history nor science. It’s a narrative of how believers react to God. I look for the meaning of texts such as the creations story. I can see that it talks about mans stewardship and responsibility towards all creation. That man’s responsibility to God is to be creative, just, and an enabler of ongoing creativity in others (which is one of the meanings of the hebrew word Shalom, peace).

Injustice_______________

9. Why is there suffering?Why would an all loving, omniscient and omnipotent God allow for such brutal and unfair suffering in the world? Why are there countless natural disasters, starvation, brutal diseases etc.?

- You cannot have life without death. Death and suffering challenges us to better ourselves and provide community and safe havens for those who suffer. I do not believe in an omniscient and omnipotent God, but I do believe in a loving God. How I reconcile this with classical Christianity, I cannot say. I don’t worry about that.

10. Why is there a Hell? And how does an never ending punishment justify a finite crime?Why would God design people to be a certain way, and then condemn to an eternity of suffering and torture for breaking his rules, when he knew what they would do in the first place? Why would a simple unbeliever be forced to spend an eternity in Hell, by a supposed loving, merciful and forgiving God?

- I think that people make their own hell. I don’t believe in a punishing God, but that people punish themselves by removing themselves from their own humanity, from society, from those who would help them develop into whole persons. I do believe that God does not have a deadline for mercy, but that accepting mercy becomes more difficult the longer a person is alienated from his or her humanity.

11. Why do so many prayers go unanswered?This is self explanatory.  

- I do not think that God is a vending machine. Prayer often is self-reflection but also a way of communicating with God. I think that I sometimes hear or feel God communicating back, but cannot know for certain.

Miscellaneous________________ 

12. What would falsify your beliefs?Would any evidence falsify your belief? Or are you 100% based on pure and blind faith?

- I do not think that scientific evidence need falsify my belief. Disappointment  over and cruelty from believers can go a long way to falsify my belief.

13. Why is God conveniently defined as immeasurable?

- As soon as you can define or measure God s/he ceases to be creator and becomes creation. You cannot objectify God and one should not objectify any person.

14. Why does God not make any appearances, now that we have the technology to record and measure it?  

- I do think God makes appearances, to those who seek.

15. Why are Adam and Eve punished for doing something before they knew the difference between right and wrong? And why is every human punished for their sins?I could also ask why God planted that tree in the first place. Seems to do nothing but add trouble.________________ 

- I think the story of Adam (man) and Eve (life) is a parable. It’s a description of what life is all about and not a story of what happened once upon a time. I think that temptation is part of human life and that humans are challenged daily to “do the right thing”. 

I’m a theologian and teacher, former minister in the Lutheran Church of Iceland.