1. What exactly do you mean by "I am an Atheist"?
Having atheist in capital letters denotes a formal group. Atheists exist only because of theism. I'll expand on this point latter. To answer your question: based on my knowledge I believe that there's no higher supernatural being that governs everything.

2. What is atheism by definition?
Merriam-Webster's definition of "atheism"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheism
I would go with the second definition as the first is listed as archaic.

3. If you want the most simplified definition then go with the Greek translation. A-without, theos-god

4. I was discussing religion when a person asked if I was an atheist. I said yes, but it was the first time I'd described myself as such.

5. I've read the Bible twice completely. And I keep a Bible app on my phone.

6. One of the most morally bankrupt characters in all of literature.

7. I could but I'm not an evolutionary biologist and I don't want to give incorrect or poorly worded information.

8. I could explain the principles on manned flight which I think is an incredibly complex science which humans have perfected in under a century

9. As I said I'm not going to engage in an explanation of a field of study in which I'm not an authority.

10. Ask a biologist.

11. Ask a biologist

12. Most countries are dominated by religious populations. Those populations elect like minded public officials with a limited view of the world outside. I would feel better about my general surroundings if adults who believe in imaginary friends didn't vote people that also believe fairy tales into public offices.

13. The biblical can be either all Just or all Merciful but not both because mercy is the suspension of justice. And if a person can rape and murder then pray to God for forgiveness then that person may never be caught so justice may never be served.

1. What exactly do you mean by "I am an Atheist"?
A. I don't believe in a god or gods. I call myself an agnostic atheist because I cannot be certain of my belief.

2. What is Atheism by definition?
A. If theism is a belief in a god / gods, then a-theism is a *lack* of belief in a god / gods.

3. Can you simplify the definition of Atheism so anyone would understand?
A. I think my answer to 2 is simple enough for kids to understand.

4. What compelled you to become an Atheist? (feel free to skip this if its too personal.)
A. I don't think I had any choice, really. Btw, I was raised Seventh Day Adventist and, even though I had progressively discarded much of the theological dogma, I still believed very strongly in the God of the bible, Yahweh. Some years ago, I was studying a broad range of topics and, through all my research, I came to realise that religions are always evolving. Modern Christianity, in all its thousands of variants, is remarkably different to Christianity in the Middle Ages which, in turn, is so very different to Early Christianity. Islam is derivative of Christianity and Judaism. Judaism grew out of a polytheistic Canaanite religions which, in turn, were derivative of Ancient Near East belief systems.

My research also covered many other fields of study including archaeology, theology, paleoclimatology, linguistics, neuroscience, etc. etc. All of my reading came from academic sources. Whenever I read an article in mainstream media, I would log into my university library and search for the relevant academic literature. It was really difficult reading the scientific papers, but I developed an admiration for the rigorous work that scientists do.

When I say that I had no choice but to accept an atheist perspective, I really mean it. I think that my atheism emerged gradually over a period of a few months and, at some point, It dawned on me that I could no longer justify a belief in a divine creator. Since that moment of clarity, the world has made so much more sense to me. Prior to my atheism, there was always this aspect of my life that seemed mysterious and weird. When I saw religion as a human construct, everything made so much sense. It was an illuminating experience.

5. Do you know about the Biblical God?
A. Oh yes. I'd warrant that I know Yahweh, El, and the Elohim better than most Christians.

6. What do you know of the Biblical God?
A. Where to begin?! I think it is important to understand that the early Israelites understood Yahweh to be their *own* god. He was always one among many. Yahweh was their tribal god, much like the various Ba’als (i.e., Ba’al Hadad, Ba’al Melqart, Ba’al Saphon, Ba’al Hammon, etc.), Chemosh and a host of other tribal gods. The supreme deity of the Canaanites was El and there were goddesses too (i.e., Asherah). These gods were collectively referred to as the Elohim (plural of El). The Old Testament has since combined El and Yahweh into the one deity and, bizarrely, uses Elohim as a singular noun. The god, Yahweh is very anthropomorphic and shares many of the attributes of the Ba’al gods. The god El is much more like a distant being, a father to the pantheon of gods. The god of the New Testament is quite different again; much more loving and forgiving.

The names of the gods were used in Hebrew names. For example: 1 Chronicles 8:33 where King Saul’s son is named Eshba’al, meaning “man of Ba’al”; 1 Chronicles 12:5 where one of David’s rescuers is named Bealiah, meaning “Yahweh is Ba’al”. Scholars have noted that these theophoric names provide a window to the earliest emergence of the Yahweh cult in Canaan.

The bible itself provides some very clear indications that the early Israelites practiced polytheism or else, if they were very devout followers of Yahweh, they were practising monolatry. To support this, read Hosea, look at Ahab and Jezebel (another name associated with Ba’al worship). There are many parts of the bible that explicitly refer to distinctly different deities. Take, for example, Deuteronomy 32:8-9 where we see the supreme deity, El, dividing up the human tribes and giving Israel to Yahweh: “When Elyon apportioned the nations, at his dividing up of the sons of humankind, he fixed the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the children of Israel. For Yahweh’s portion was his people, Jacob the share of his inheritance.”

7. Can you explain evolution to me?
Wow! This is a huge topic. Incidentally, I became an atheist before I even studied evolution. My childhood indoctrination into creationism was so strong that I didn’t even question it until *after* I realised I no longer believed in God. But, I have since studied evolution in some depth. I’ve read many academic papers on the topic as well as a few books. In my view, it is the *only* explanation of living things that makes any sense.

I will draw a distinction between two ways of understanding evolution. Firstly, there is the *fact* of evolution and, secondly, there is the explanation of evolution that makes sense of the facts.

The fact of evolution is so simple that I never acknowledged it when I myself was a creationist. Here it goes. Every living thing reproduces. The resulting organism is always different to its parent/s. Even when the reproductive process is asexual, the clone is never *exactly* the same as its parent (i.e., copying errors to the DNA). The simple fact that a species changes, ever so slightly, every time a member of that species reproduces lays the groundwork for evolution. Another fact of evolution is that fossils change in their morphology with respect to time. This can be demonstrated in two ways: 1) when looking at rocks from the Triassic period we never find primate fossils, when looking at rocks from the Cambrian period we never find bunnies etc.; and 2) when looking at rocks from a particular geological epoch / age we see that the morphology (i.e., skeletal structure) of species changes (e.g., the skull sizes of hominids from the Pleistocene epoch gradually increased threefold between the beginning of the Pleistocene and the end of the Pleistocene).

These facts of evolution can be summed up in one short phrase: Evolution is descent with modification. Now that we have established that descent with modification is a fact, we can move to the more difficult task of explaining *how* it happens.

The current best explanation for evolution is natural selection. I like to think of natural selection this way. The parent provides and nature decides. Within a given species, there is a great deal of variation, such as, height, strength, agility, etc. If there is any competition for resources in the environment, and / or if the environment contains predators, then some members of that species will have an advantage over others. If that advantage improves their chances of successfully reproducing, then there is a greater likelihood that the next generation will have those advantageous genes. Over a period of time, these changes accumulate. The advantageous genes are more likely to survive successive generations than the less advantageous genes. And, voila, we have evolution. Of course, this is a simplified explanation of how species evolve with time, but it is the starting point.

8. Can you LOGICALLY explain evolution to me?
A. Okay then. Children are different to their parents (descent with modification). The genetic diversity in a population, combined with environmental pressures, means that some individuals are more likely than others to live long enough to reproduce (natural selection). Over many generations, the genetic changes accumulate (evolution).

9. Tell me about the missing link in human evolution.
A. I’m not aware of any missing link. I used to think there were missing links when I was a creationist, but I now realise that this is because creationists are exposed to misleading nonsense from so called creation scientists. We have the fossils of Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, Homo Heidelbergensis, Homo Neandertalis, and Homo Sapiens

10. How did life start?
A. I have no idea, but I’m fairly certain the answer isn’t magic.

11. How do we have DNA?
A. Again, I don’t know. But it seems reasonable that the precursor to DNA was RNA.

12. If what you believe is true, that there is no Biblical God or god of any kind, then why do Atheists protest against religion so much?
A. I think it is perfectly justifiable to be angry when you discover that you have been lied to by the church. When I did my own research on evolution and then re-read a lot of the creationist propaganda I was appalled at the seemingly deliberate deception that the so-called creationists got away with. I have identified far too many bald-faced lies in the creationist literature and it makes me really mad that they are doing this and, even worse, that they are indoctrinating young minds with their bullshit.

Also, I get angry when Christians try (and, often, succeed) to impose their outdated morality on our secular society (e.g., religious instruction in state schools, abortion laws, discrimination against LGBTIQ folk). I’m mad that so many Christians are utterly convinced that “this world is not their home, they’re just a passin through” and they happily trash the planet. I want our species to last a very long time and I’m afraid that the god-belief is blinding folk to some very real problems facing our planet.

13. What proof do you have that there is no Biblical God?
A. There is no proof, but there is a distinct lack of evidence. What proof do you have that the Flying Spaghetti Monster isn’t real?

1. What exactly do you mean by "I am an Atheist"?
I do not have any belief in any deity

2. What is Atheism by definition?
Literally, A - Theism, a lack of belief in a god or gods.

3. Can you simplify the definition of Atheism so anyone would understand?
I think anyone with an I.Q. higher than an American republican will get the idea from (1) and (2).

4. What compelled you to become an Atheist? (feel free to skip this if its too personal.)
Nothing. It is not a compulsion. I was not brought up in a believing family, and the few people who did try
to convince me never had any convincing arguments.

5. Do you know about the Biblical God?
I know of many gods, including YHWH

6. What do you know of the Biblical God?
Originally he ws a very minor war god with a wife. Very similar to many other gods littering the middle east at the
time
7. Can you explain evolution to me?
External factors cause things to change over time. That's the short answer. The long answer would take rather
more time than either has at the moment and would require you to get a comprehensive education.

8. Can you LOGICALLY explain evolution to me?
External factors cause things to change over time. If you can accept this, at least as a possibility, there is a
chance I could, at least to some extent. If you can't accept this then I would be wasting my time.

9. Tell me about the missing link in human evolution.
There isn't one. This is a misconception.

10. How did life start?
I don't know. No one knows. There are a number of conjectures and hypotheses concerning the appearance of life
but to the best of my knowledge none are more compelling than any other.

11. How do we have DNA?
You will have to ask a bio-genetecist or similar expert.

12. If what you believe is true, that there is no Biblical God or god of any kind, then why do Atheists protest against religion so much?
Because some theists are determined to force their beliefs on me, by threat of law, violence or death. (Notice I
speak only of my motive, other atheists may have other motives.

13. What proof do you have that there is no Biblical God?
None. I don't need to provide proof. Theists are making the extra-ordinary claim, it is incumbent on them to
provide proof of their claim.

1. What exactly do you mean by "I am an Atheist"?
I lack the belief in a creator.

2. What is Atheism by definition?
The lack of belief in a creator and potentially deities. Most atheists would say that if they were given proper evidence which demonstrates the existence of a creator, that they would believe that a god exists.

3. Can you simplify the definition of Atheism so anyone would understand?
I think my definition was easy to understand. Simply, why should anyone believe something without proper evidence?

4. What compelled you to become an Atheist? (feel free to skip this if its too personal.)
It didn't just happen overnight. I was raised in a VERY Roman Catholic community. I totally believed religion until I visited a scientific museum in secondary school. I saw how evolution worked, and potential theories of how the universe began. Then, I remember thinking in my head right there and then, "what about Adam and Eve?". Right at that moment I realized that there is no way Adam and Eve was a true story, and therefore, if I don't believe the beginning of the Bible, why should I believe it at all? I'm sorry, but talking creatures and people living in whales are quite silly. After this, I was questioning my beliefs. I was afraid to become an atheist. I had come across Near Death Experiences. I believed them at first, and this brought me back to being an agnostic. However, after much research, it is logical to conclude that they are a product of the brain. I don't see any other evidence which demonstrates religion being correct, so therefore I don't believe it.

5. Do you know about the Biblical God?
yes

6. What do you know of the Biblical God?
He apparently created the earth in 6 days, had a son whom he sent to earth to forgive sinners and essentially act as a positive role model. Some say that Jesus is the human form of God. If that is true, then God sacrificed himself to himself for a weekend (not even as it was Friday afternoon to Sunday morning), and then he came back to earth.

7. Can you explain evolution to me?
One word: Bacteria

8. Can you LOGICALLY explain evolution to me?
You get sick. Your doctor prescribes antibiotics. He/she tells you to take the antibiotics for 2 weeks (seems long). Why for so long? because he/she knows that although the antibiotics will kill most of the bacteria (let's say 95%) within the first week, there will be some bacteria that are strong enough to withstand the antibiotics. If you stop after one week, these remaining 5% will continue to multiply other "strong" bacteria, and then they will all be able to withstand the same antibiotics in the future. Now you need an even stronger dosage to get rid of your sickness.

9. Tell me about the missing link in human evolution.
What missing link? That has been debunked. How about this, tell your religion teacher to debunk what I just said about bacteria. Call me when this happens.

10. How did life start?
I don't know. However, just because we don't know doesn't mean a god did it.

11. How do we have DNA?
refer to biology. Although this is complex for the average Joe to answer, there are billions of articles and videos which explain it. Ask your religion teacher why the female has the clitoris, and why human DNA and Ape DNA are over 95% related. If we were so special, we would be way different.

12. If what you believe is true, that there is no Biblical God or god of any kind, then why do Atheists protest against religion so much?
Religion causes many problems including war, and statistics show that religious societies have shorter lifespans, lower income, higher crime rates than atheist societies. Many of us believe it is unethical to indoctrinate innocent and ignorant children who believe everything that they are told. Let them "learn" about religion when they are 25 and see if they still believe it.

13. What proof do you have that there is no Biblical God?
What proof do you have that pixies don't exist? What proof do you have that there is no invisible monkey in your closet?
Even more specific: what evidence do you have that Krishna does not exist? What about Allah? The funny thing is Christians have no problem dismissing other gods/goddesses. They shrug them off like it's nothing and then they seem surprised when the biblical god is not believed or accepted. I keep asking God to show himself to me, and he doesn't. If that actually happened, it would be a start to me believing.

1. When I say, "I am an atheist." I mean that I lack a belief in a god, because I have not been convinced one exists.

2. A person who lacks the belief in a god or gods, because there is no eremitical evidence.

3. Yes, I just did.

4. I went to an extremely religious school for 12 years. I was told my whole life that everyone around me who was "saved" felt god or Jesus in there heart. I heard so many stories, I'm sure we all have heard. They said that god made them feel free, made them lack guilt, made them happy, made them feel connected to something more than themselves. I was then told, every time, that I was supposed to feel this way eventually. As the years went by, everyone my age started to say the same things, that they felt "saved." I tried for around six years to pray, day end and day out. I read my bible. I tried very very hard to feel anything at all that was outside myself. I spent my entire childhood feeling guilty and alone, because I felt absolutely nothing. I didn't feel better, free, or connected. I felt different and out-of-the-loop. There is no time in my life that I was ever more depressed. Then one day, I told myself that what I was doing was unhealthy. I decided to start questioning my beliefs in a way that was scientific and logical instead of just praying harder and more. As soon as I stopped trying to make my beliefs right, because I wanted them to be right, I became an atheist. There was not one thing I found in Christianity that made any logical sense; everything fell apart as soon as I stopped wanting the belief to be right. I just looked at it for what it was. I did the same logical reasoning with other religions and the same thing happened with all of it. Then, I finally became free and happy.

5. Yes, I know about the biblical god more than most religious Christians I have met. 12 years of bible class are under my belt.

6. It would take me a book to repeat everything I was brainwashed to believe. In short, the Christian god is wrathful in the old testament. He commits many genocides in the name of his chosen people, the Jews. In the new testament, he sends down himself who is also his son, Jesus. Jesus is then killed after many years of preaching by the Romans. He is the blood-sacrifice needed by god to save the rest of humanity up until this day. After opening my mind to science and logic, all of this seems so silly now.

7. Speciation is the extremely gradual change of species over time. Evolution is the result of biological life adapting to their environment through natural selection over long periods of time. The changing of the environment is what spurs evolution to take place. Speciation is the result of evolution over millions of years.

8. I just did.

9. There is no one "missing link." Every time humanity finds another fossil of human evolution, religious people tend to say that a new gap was just created in between the old fossils just found and the new one just found. No matter how many fossils are found of human evolution, extremely religious people will never be satisfied.

10. Well, it is debated among physicists whether life ever really "started." Many people believe that time is something that came into being with the other dimensions of the universe, so there never really was a "beginning." There has not been one good answer for this, because there is not enough empirical or scientific evidence to say at the current time. Not knowing something does not mean that the explanation is worse; this means that science is being intellectually honest. It is much worse to make up a bad answer and accepting it, just because there isn't another answer available.

11. We have DNA, because it evolved over time to form. It helps our survival, so over million of years, it developed and became more complex over time. We see more primitive forms of DNA in simpler forms of life today. Some organisms just have DNA floating around inside of their system. We have a complex cells with many organelles that all have functions that developed over time.

12. Religion oppresses people everywhere. I have PTSD from going to my religious school. I vomited and passed out when I visited my old school, because I was triggered by seeing the school and remembering all of the pain the school caused me. Religion stole my childhood from me. It has wasted all the time I had as a child. I have been hurt by religion, and I didn't have it too bad. I lived in a nice home with money and a nice family more or less. So, I know that their are people in much harder places and going through the same thing I went through. I want to take as much power away from religion as possible. It hurts people. Not to mention all the political influence that religion has in America, where I live. In the middle east, religion is the source of oppression for women. In Africa, the pope has spurred an AIDS epidemic that is still felt in the continent today. Religion is what people hide behind to make terrible decisions and commit horrible atrocities against human rights.

13. I lack a belief in a god. I am not saying there is positively no god. I think that a god doesn't exist in a way a person think that fairies or santa clause doesn't exist. People do not need to prove that fairies don't exist, because there is no proof they do exist. The burden of proof is placed on the person asserting a claim. I am not saying that god doesn't exist for sure; I am saying that he is as real to me as fairies.

Necromancy at work!

1. What exactly do you mean by "I am an Atheist"?
I do not believe that any supernatural entity has control of the universe.

2. What is Atheism by definition?
No belief in supernatural entities.

3. Can you simplify the definition of Atheism so anyone would understand?
I believe in one less god than I think you do. We have quite a bit in common because of this - think of all the gods we BOTH don't believe in.

4. What compelled you to become an Atheist? (feel free to skip this if its too personal.)
I was born one just like everybody else. I was NOT indoctrinated into any religion and was free as a consenting adult to choose a religion - I chose none of the above.

5. Do you know about the Biblical God?
I've read the Bible multiple times - which God in the Bible are you talking about?

6. What do you know of the Biblical God?
It appears that you are assuming that your version of the Biblical God exists - I'd need to hear about your version before I can comment.

7. Can you explain evolution to me?
Sure! How much time do you have?

8. Can you LOGICALLY explain evolution to me?
Sure! How much time do you have?

9. Tell me about the missing link in human evolution.
'Missing link" is not an actual biological term - explain more about what you want to know.

10. How did life start?
Science hasn't figured that out yet, but once life was here, it evolved.

11. How do we have DNA?
All life on Earth has DNA.

12. If what you believe is true, that there is no Biblical God or god of any kind, then why do Atheists protest against religion so much?
We tend to protest about being forced to conform to someone else's religion. How would you feel if you were forced to practice Islam or some form of Buddhism. Imagine being forced to wear a burka or to eat NO meat [although you could be a Jehovah's Witness and you already don't eat meat].
.
13. What proof do you have that there is no Biblical God?
That's on you. If you make a claim, YOU need to offer supporting evidence. Could you disprove the following statement: The universe was created 1 second ago AS IS and all sentient creatures were created with memories of a past. That statement is actually based on a CHRISTIAN argument called the OMPHALOS argument - the idea that the world was created with a past just as Adam and Eve were created with belly buttons.

If this was an actual inquiry on your part, I hope you actually use the information provided and write an accurate report for your teacher.

I will do my best to cut out any online snark that may creep into my responses. You have to understand, many of these questions are seen as rudimentary to atheists (and to educated people / people with internet). People are also skeptical of answering such base questions because similar questions are used as part of a debate to bog down the discussion to preset questions instead of debating the merits of said questions. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are asking for genuine reasons (aka homework) and it is a personal duty to give clear and concise answers (I make no promises on spelling, punctuation, and grammar).

1 - 2. What exactly do you mean by "I am an Atheist"? / What is Atheism by definition?
The simple retort is to say "one who uses the label of 'Atheist'" but that does not adequately explain what the word means or how that meaning is different than other self labels. You can look up how the Greek use of the letter "A" before a word essentially implies "not/opposite/opposing" (That is at least what I have gathered from about a life long cumulative hour of studying Greek (I spend more time on Latin) . This is an important point because, unlike many other labels, "Atheist" does not describe something but the lack of something. I know, this seems odd for a label because it is not the norm in labels although it is frequent in the English language. We have many words that are nothing more that a prefix (dis, in, im, mis, pre) added on to a positive or negative word. So we, as speakers, are use to such words but we still do not use them often in self labels. It is not often that we would say that we do not play golf by saying we are "agolfers" or (being bald) I do not refer to my hair color as "bald". We do not do that because we have other words to refer to it but, more importantly, those other things (golf, hair, job, etc) are not as ingrained and part of a person's life, self-identification, and perception of the world like religion is and has been throughout history (in most parts of the word). Declaring yourself as not part of a theistic (religious belief) has been perceived as a giant division from others. Just think of all the time, energy, thoughts, beliefs, word choice, reactions, culture, etc. that believers take part in that those that do not believe do not take part in. Instead of saying that "I don't do this, I don't take part in that" I can use a simple word that summarizes what that stance entails. "Atheist" is a label that summarizes that division in a succinct way, although this word has been associated with other labels such as "devil worshiper", "despot", "communist".

This gets to question number two which is what the label actually means. This is also not clear cut; many people will either give one of the above mislabels or cite the current dictionary definition, "Someone who doe snot believe or worships god(s)", without understanding a little of the history of what the word means. This definition makes Atheism stand as just a shadow of theism. Some would sophomorically argue that there wouldn't be atheists without theists; this is a semantic argument that fallaciously believes that words are the things they represent (which is untrue). If there would be no theists then the label of atheist would not exist but the idea that "people don't believe in a god(s)" would still exist and it would become the norm. Here is an example; there are many animals that "breath" water even though "breath" is tied to the idea of in taking air. Hypothetically, if every creature "breathed" water would that mean breathing would not exist? No but maybe the word "breath" (the label describing the action) would be different. The same is true of "Atheism"; the word is a semantic reflection but the idea exists on its own.

Now, lets go back to giving a working definition of "Atheism". We have to look at the word "god" first as it had a different meaning back in ancient Greek. It did not just mean a supernatural entity that people worshiped but the idea of supernatural things existing or having influence the world; mythology as a whole. The norm at this time was to rely on these mythological explanations of the world. However, philosophers sought to explain the world through the processes of nature and they did not rely on mystical accounts (not that their explanations were the most scientifically sound but it was progress). This reliance on something outside of mythology, something that tries to make use of the natural world and logical processes, is the start of the philosophical stance of "Atheism" but this idea became more aligned with the term Naturalism and the term "Atheism" became more aligned with "not believing in god". Atheism came into its own right as this stance of not believing which had more real world consequences than that of Naturalism (although the two are entwined). Eventually, the world essentially fell to the wayside and became synonymous with apostates (mostly due to the major western religions). The word came back into use as "not believing" as a counter point to the power and influence of the dominate religions. To me, Naturalism and Atheism are one in the same; you cannot have Naturalism without the basic concept that supernatural actors do not exist. So, to me, Atheism is "The philosophical stance that it is assumed that there is no supernatural actors and that only natural processes (laws and forces) operate the world". I say this as it encapsulates the entirety of what Atheism is; much more than simply a "Lack of a belief". So when I say, "I am an Atheist" I am saying that I live by a fundamental stance that we live and function in an empirical word in which only empirical things exist (and therefore influence the world).

3. Can you simplify the definition of Atheism so anyone would understand?
To reiterate: "The philosophical stance that it is assumed that there is no supernatural actors and that only natural processes (laws and forces) operate the world".

4. What compelled you to become an Atheist?
"Compelled" seems like a poor word choice. I say this because it seems to imply that it was "forced upon" instead of chosen. Granted, its just a phrase but I have to point this out because of where the question comes form. I was "compelled" to seek the capital "T" truth, objective truth (as opposed to little "t" truth, subjective/personal truth). I was in a southern baptist home (in the north) and part of that was accepting the bible and god as being capital T true. My want to fully understand this Truth was through the bible (it was always pointed to as begin the bearer of Objective truth). Well, I started to read the bible and found out that there are paradoxes within the bible itself. i inquired with my parents and pastors and their answers were, lets say, lacking. I mean, if a kid of 10 can see that things don't add up within the bible its not that far of a stretch to think that it could not have been written by an all-knowing entirety. There was some back and forth about not taking certain passages literally but, while that was used to explain away the errors (but didn't explain most of the issues) those supposed "allegorical" passages were treated as facts from the pulpit. My main issue at this time was that the bible, the supposed word of god, was not logically consistent and did not align with the empirical world. I can' tau it down to what exactly was the turning point where I would meet the definition of atheist (I did not learn of that word until to after I had already accepted that stance on all but name) but I distinctly recall a time that my church attempted to challenge the science that conflicts with the bible. Honestly, it was laughable; they misquoted studies, they cited christian science "studies" (like carbon dating a newly made aluminum can), and used, what I learned later to be, logical fallacy after logical fallacy. I don't know if it was the way it was presented or my growing understanding of science but I looked up and each point they made and found out they were either misconstruing the truth or straight up lied. Combining all of this (and a growing study of religions as a whole) I realized that there was not Truth in theistic beliefs that could not also be true for any claim made (i.e. little "t" truth). With that realization I turned to a more thorough study of philosophy (where I learned all these nifty labels for ideas)

5 - 6. Do you know about the Biblical God? / What do you know of the Biblical God?
i believe i made it clear that I have a working understanding of the idea of the biblical god and how that idea varies wildly form faith to faith, and between denominations. Not only that but how that idea of a biblical god has changed over the ensuing centuries (like the creation and inclusion of a triad that was not originally part of the faith, the idea of an all loving god, the creation of hell, the shift from faith and good works to faith alone, etc). I would give a more in depth answer but, as stated, it really depends on the faith and denomination and the focus, like how included the old testament is (full integration, the "Jews for Jesus" sect, or more cherry picked). I feel this is getting long enough without me boring you with a recount of the faiths.

7 - 8. Can you explain evolution to me? / Can you LOGICALLY explain evolution to me?
I can explain evolution to you but where to start depends on what you know and what functioning level you are at (am I talking to a college graduate or a Middle Schooler?). Before I begin I do (again) have to point out the wording of question 8 as it presupposes that the answer to question 7 would not be logical when in fact it is. All right, lets dig in but not where most people start; lets start with viruses. You see, the issue some Christians (and it is some, not all) have with evolution is the idea that we (along with the other great apes) evolved from a common ancestor. The issues that some Christians have with this is it conflicts with the creation story in the bible and (more importantly) the idea of original sin. So I am not going to start there as it it the most contested part of evolution and will instead start with viruses and bacteria. Viruses and bacteria both replicate very fast and there are millions of them within a single creature. These two traits (large amount and rapid generations) give rise to genetic changes. this is not a point that is up for debate; there are different genes in each generation. Those changes that either do not impede creation of the next generation or assist in sustaining the bacteria/virus get passed on. This would not really matter unless there are outside forces impacting which genes help or hinder creation of the next generation. In bacteria and viruses, it is usually the immune system that acts on them. Those that stave off the attack live long enough to spread their genes on. Again, this is not a debatable issue; this is empirically shown and the reasons that things like the flu comes around every year and that being sick last year doesn't protect you. This is also why we are starting to get antibiotic resistant bacteria (a very real threat to humanity). You might be thinking, "Yeah, there is changes in their genes but that is just micro evolution, that doesn't explain macro evolution (changes in the physical characteristic of larger creatures." I would say that, yes, in fact it does show macro evolution as any physical changes would necessitate a genetic change, but instead I will just give you a real world example. There is a chain of islands that has crickets on it and, one day, a new predator was introduced into the ecosystem. This predator found the crickets by sound. Being noisy little creatures you would think that the crickets were all killed in short order but that's not what happened. With the louder crickets more likely to be eaten that gave the slightly quieter ones a chance to live and pass on their genes to the next generation. This next generation in turn had more quieter member which in turn passed that gene on. This continued and, within a decade-ish (I can't recall exactly) many of the male crickets have gone completely silent; they lack the parts to make sound. That is one example of empirical (studied first hand) macro evolution an in a very short time. There is also the nylon eating bacteria (i'll let you check that up as this is getting long enough). With just the above in mind (not even thinking about all the other evidence) it is not a stretch to think that it would apply to the rest of the animal kingdom. Now take into account all the archaeological evidence and genetic evidence of similar ancestry (the same thing we use with humans to identify parents/kids) it is a very clear cut case that the mechanisms described in the theory of evolution hold true in explaining the empirical world.

9. Tell me about the missing link in human evolution.
Again, this is a question that is worded with a presupposition built in (one that, I assume, was based on the idea that the discussion of evolution in the above questions would focus on the great apes and humans). But to the question at hand; Which "missing link are you referring to? There is/are Aegyptopithecus, Proconsul, Pierolapithecus, Ardipithecus, Australopithecus (africanus, afarensis), Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Homo rhodesiensis, Neanderthal, cro-magnon, Homo floresiensis, Homo ergaster, Paranthropus boisei, Paranthropus aethiopicus, and a few others I could not recall/find. We have quiet the record of pre-human creatures and (going back to the above) we have extremely similar DNA to the other living great apes.

10. How did life start?
That is a good question that science is still working to understand. This is a point in which some people will him and haw and try to defend the lack of scientific knowledge in an attempt to defend science at all costs but that's not science. Science will say "I don't know..." when presented with a question it doesn't have an answer to but, science will immediately follow that with "..but lets find out". There is a lot of interesting research into how life got started and (interestingly) there are recent studies that have been working with yeast and other simple organisms to try and generate "replicating molecules". i do want to warn you, jumping on this lack of knowledge and saying "god did it" is a fallacious argument and one that has been used often in history (and makes religion look foolish when it is shown to be explainable by natural causes). Keep in mind, there has never been a scientific explanation that has later been overturned by "god did it". I would encourage you to look up what hypothesis are out there and the reasons behind them.

11. How do we have DNA?
Again, it seems to have a presupposition built into it. I am unsure what this question is asking? Are you asking how did DNA come to be (see question 10) or how it became complex? I feel that this is tied to the above question and (due to a lack of clarity of what is being asked) I cannot give a good answer.

12. If what you believe is true, that there is no Biblical God or god of any kind, then why do Atheists protest against religion so much?
So many presuppositions. First, people that do not believe in god(s) do not, the world over, protest against religion. China, Japan, and some Northern European countries have high rates of "Atheists" and they don't spend their time "protesting" against religion. Second the idea that atheist "protest" religions is a loaded word in itself. I would ask you what do you mean by "protesting" and what specifically you are referring to. I have an inkling but I am not sure exactly what is being inferred. I will say, in a general sense, that I fight and argue against any decision or conclusions (especially when it is an attempt to enforce said conclusion into law) that is reached by faulty reasoning or application of dogmatic principles.

13. What proof do you have that there is no Biblical God?
And one more presupposition to end the questions. First, you cannot presuppose that a things exists and then ask for proof that it doesn't exist (but I am sure that this has been covered by other posts, I hope). So with that out of the way, lets talk about the proofs that there is not a biblical god. Its a great question because, just by adding the word "biblical" you have closed off any deistic arguments for "a god". First, there is the bible itself; as mentioned, there are countless errors, inaccuracies, and paradoxes for the supposed word of god. You also have the issues of translations, reworking of the books, omissions ,changes in the Torah, etc. that lead to the bible as you know it (based on the NKJ). Second, you have the historical evidence for the idea of the biblical god. That's right, there are records of the proto-Jewish belief that came before the old testament god (the proto-god was part of a pantheon, like Zeus) and some of the issues in the old testament are resolved by this "pantheon". Third, you have the paradoxical nature in the traits that your idea of a god has. This issue is succinctly summed up by the euthyphro dilemma and many, many other works by great thinkers throughout the ages. Lastly, you have the issue that the only "proof" of a biblical god is one's personal faith. I mention this because in any debate I have ever had the last line of defense is "its my faith / i just believe". That, right there, is the greatest proof that there is no biblical god; a supposed all-knowing and all-powerful entity would know exactly what kind of evidence would be required of it to show its existence as being more capital "T" truth than any other creature whose proof of existence is faith (such as the 3,500 hundred other gods, all the other supernatural creatures that are believed to exist, and the endless host of ideas that are exist solely in the mind of the believer).

Sorry if I rambled; this took me longer that I had thought and I am lacking sleep. I hope this answers your questions but, more importantly, I hope this generates more questions.

1. What exactly do you mean by "I am an Atheist"?
I don't believe there is any God. I believe in the power of nature disagreeing with any opinion that says there's some kind of a superpower called God.
2. What is Atheism by definition?
Atheism is believing you were not created by any kind of God. it's simply believing that the nature is where you came from by the theory of evolution.
3. Can you simplify the definition of Atheism so anyone would understand?
It's simply not believing there is a God who created the earth and the people, or controls the life events we have, or having to be punished after death for what you've done during life. It's believing that death is our end which allows us to get the best of our lives.
4. What compelled you to become an Atheist? (feel free to skip this if its too personal.)
I was a Christian back in time but my mind started to grow up and feel something wrong and not logical in religion so i looked and searched about other religions and found that none of them makes sense to me, that's what encouraged me to become an atheist who totally believes in evolution of people.
5. Do you know about the Biblical God?
Yes, and i think i know more than many Christians or religious people.
6. What do you know of the Biblical God?
A person doesn't need to know anything about the Biblical God except for that he claims to have created the earth in a very short time, created plants, animals and people and claims he knows everything that's going on earth the whole time and controlling it (when he wants to). Besides that he's gonna "burn" the bad people in hell and let the good ones live in heaven for eternity.
7. Can you explain evolution to me?
It's a theory that says creatures evolve the whole time to become better and adapt with the environment around them.
8. Can you LOGICALLY explain evolution to me?
Creatures from the beginning were primal before they started to evolve and become different.
9. Tell me about the missing link in human evolution.
We didn't find (yet) the way the first gene was on earth but we believe in the future we're gonna be able to.
10. How did life start?
It started with one DNA/gene that evolved to a single-cell creature and evolved to other kinds of creatures until it led us to humans.
11. How do we have DNA?
You can simply read about it, it's a whole science which can't be explained in just a few words.
12. If what you believe is true, that there is no Biblical God or god of any kind, then why do Atheists protest against religion so much?
We don't hate religion or religious people for what they believe. But having to live in a religious environment, not being able to express our opinions to the world, being hated by Christians etc.. that's exactly what made us stop respecting religion because it does not respect us in any way and nobody does. Sometimes we have to pretend we believe in God because we can't simply get a job, or talk to people or anything that you have. And when we admit our atheism (which is something i personally tried) people start to tell us to shut up and keep our opinion to ourselves. Well, isn't expressing opinions one of a human's rights? and if we have to hide ours, why don't you do it either? why are we forced to commit religion when it comes to marriage? why do they let us pray at schools etc? if you want us to keep our atheism out of your lives then keep your religion out of ours!
13. What proof do you have that there is no Biblical God?
We (atheists) ain't gotta have a proof. All of us were human beings who were born knowing nothing about how they were found, knowing nothing but nature.. then religion came to tell us there is someone who created us and controls us. Who has to have a proof then?! The Atheist or the religious? if you give me a LOGICAL reason why there is a God then you win! but i, i just gotta explain the theory of evolution and nothing else.

Woo! Answering in 2017!

My Answer to Questions About Atheism:

So I have a few questions about Atheism for a project I'm doing. Can anybody answer any/all of these??? Thanks!!

1. What exactly do you mean by "I am an Atheist"?

Hi! I am Jonathan Sprayberry, and I am quite the irreligious heathen. That is a great question to begin with, very direct and to the point.

When I say "I am an atheist." what I am conveying with that statement is that I have not found sufficient evidence to merit or compel placing my belief in the existence of deity.

2. What is Atheism by definition?

Another great question! This one is good for more than one reason; on the one hand, this simplifies the discussion by bringing everyone to the same speaking terms, but on the other hand I am afraid that the dictionary definitions sometimes miss out or come up short

Webster ably defines "atheism" as: "a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods :  one who subscribes to or advocates atheism."

Oxford, however, states "Disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods." - more clearly clarifying it as a "mass noun", meaning it has unnumbered definitions from which to draw, and this is true as atheists come in many types.

3. Can you simplify the definition of Atheism so anyone would understand?

Sure!

Atheism in a nutshell is the absence of a belief in deity. Don't ascribe to a deity? Then you're an atheist!

4. What compelled you to become an Atheist? (feel free to skip this if its too personal.)

I don't mind answering this at all.

For me, the first question that rocked my faith was finding out that there was a dichotomy between faith and reason. Such a thing has never occurred to my then-16 year-old brain.

I rejected faith as a way of coming to knowledge almost instantly when I read about how faith is not equivalent to knowledge, nor is it a reliable means of coming to knowledge.

From that point of rejecting the use of faith as a prefix to belief, it was only a matter of time until I realized that I was an atheist at 25.

Due to my isolated and cloistered situation, I had actually not even heard the word "atheist" until I found the Dogma Debate podcast. By the time I finished the first episode, I knew that I was an atheist, because nothing else made sense, and the absence of gods in the universe did make sense to me.

5. Do you know about the Biblical God?

Yes, I am intimately familiar with Abraham's god Yahweh.

6. What do you know of the Biblical God?

It is described in multiple ways, but a summary is that it is an magical anthropomorphic immortal creator-deity.

7. Can you explain evolution to me?

Sure!

Evolution is summarized as "descent through inherent modification". Meaning that every time a DNA-based living thing reproduces, during and part of that process is not only the passing on of genetic material, but also the changing of that material.

These changes are entirely incidental, with no guiding process whatsoever except the increased chance of passing along specific material based on ancestry; meaning that the more a trait is successfully passed on, the more dominant it becomes in a gene pool.

Over time, certain traits make cousin groups distinct from one another as they change from their basal forms, grow apart geographically, and inevitably differ genetically until they can no longer produce viable offspring. That is called "speciation".

8. Can you LOGICALLY explain evolution to me?

I certainly can.

The Logic of Evolution is as follows:

-DNA lifeform
-Must reproduce to survive.
-During reproduction, unguided changes occur
-Genetic changes accumulate over time
-Different genetic changes in different lineages of same basal groups results in speciation.

9. Tell me about the missing link in human evolution.

Fantastic question!

In short, the "missing link" is no longer missing. It just isn't; and it has been filled in since before Charles Darwin even died, in the form of the discovery of the Lucy skeleton. Genus "Australopithecus afarensis".

Scientists have successfully filled in enough of the gaps between modern man, our contemporary ape cousins, and our ancestral basal divergence point that we no longer need anymore information in order to rationally come to that satisfied conclusion.

10. How did life start?

Wonderful!

The beginning of life is a relevant discussion to, but is not necessarily the same subject as evolution. Put simply, evolution is not a definition designed to explain the origin of life in the same way that a hammer is not the appropriate tool for a screw.

Biogenesis is still not fully understood, we aren't quite there yet, but we are very, very close.

11. How do we have DNA?

The simplest answer is that we have DNA because we ARE DNA. Without DNA we would not exist!

How DNA formed is still a matter that has not been concluded by science, but again, we are close.

12. If what you believe is true, that there is no Biblical God or god of any kind, then why do Atheists protest against religion so much?

Because religious people run religious groups and institutions that seek to control the world in accordance with the doctrine of their faith, and in so doing, they violate the freedom from religion.

13. What proof do you have that there is no Biblical God?"

I am afraid that marlin of an answer is far too long for this post, but suffice it to say that critical examination of the positive claims OF Yahweh do not pass evidentiary scrutiny in the ways one would expect to see if the existence of deity were true, and as Christopher Hitchens said:

"Positive claims require positive evidence, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and what can be asserted without evidence can do be dismissed without evidence."

Thank you for submitting your questions to Atheist Republic, your sincere inquiry is greatly appreciated!

1. I do not believe in God.

2. The lack of a belief in a god.

3. How much simpler can you get than the actual definition?

4. I was in 4th grade at the time and went to a Catholic school. Instead of doing my bible study like I was suppose to, I read through the bible and noticed several things that didn't seem right to me, such as contradicting sentences and things that are either frowned upon or illegal in our current society. From that point on, I renounced my religion and became an atheist.

5. See #4.

6. I know that he's pretty much a bad tempered serial killer that millions of people worship.

7. Over time, the genes of a species mutate. Sometimes it benefits the species, sometimes it hinders it, and sometimes it does absolutely nothing.

8. See #7

9. Google exists. Use it if you want to know that badly.

10. No idea.

11. I'm not a biologist. I don't know.

12. Because religion has a habit of imposing on those who don't agree with it.

13. The burden of proof lies with those making the claim. I'm just saying that I lack belief.