This is to help the christians. A RESPONSE TO "HARD" QUESTIONS CHRISTIANS ASK ATHEISTS.

How do you explain the high degree of design and order in the universe if there is no God?

Have you ever seen an implementation of Conway's Life algorithm programatically? Patterns emerge based even off of the most rudimentary of inputs and natural laws. Now imagine that times, well, the universe.
[link to en.wikipedia.org]



How do you account for the vast archaeological documentation of Biblical stories, places, and people?

You account for it the same way the religious texts in the pyramids of egypt account for stories, places and people of that era. Because they were written in that era.



Since absolutely no Bible prophecy has ever failed (and there are hundreds), how can one realistically remain unconvinced that the Bible is of divine origin?

There is no proof for the assertion that every bible prophecy has been realized. ZERO.



How do you explain David's graphic portrayal of Jesus' death by crucifixion (Psalm 22) 1000 years before Christ lived?

Psalm 22??! Where does it say anything about the messiah and crucifixion? In fact, the text of it repeatedly uses the first person singular pronoun "I". Was the person who wrote Psalm 22 jesus? Furthermore, there are millions of people who felt that psalm 22 was referring to themselves and their own human plight. It is not specific. [link to www.biblegateway.com]



How do you explain that the prophet Daniel prophesied the exact YEAR when the Christ would be presented as Messiah and also prophesied that the temple would be destroyed afterwards over 500 years in advance (Daniel 9:24-27)?

There is no way to prove that ANYONE born the same year as christ was the messiah. There is no way to determine the exact year Daniel made that "prophecy" with which to count backwards. Furthermore, this method of keeping track of time is the same flawed method states the earth is only ~6000 years old. Also, any person born on the year that the Messiah was supposed to be born would likely have a pretty decent shot at claiming he was the messiah. If only david koresh was born on the same date. Note, no exact year is given in that passage.



How could any mere human pinpoint the birth town of the Messiah seven full centuries before the fact, as did the prophet Micah?

This assumes that jesus was the Messiah. Obviously, atheists don't believe in god so the argument is a fallacy.



How do you account for the odds (1 in 10 to the 157th power) that even just 48 (of 300) Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus Christ?

Atheists believe don't believe in god. Therefore, they believe that the people writing the new testament gospels some 20+ years after the fact were doing so with an agenda in order to legitimize a person they wanted to prove was the son of god. While atheists do recognize the historical aspect of the jewish people, they think that the writings of miracles, etc, are no more credible than sumarian, navaho, or egyptian writings.



How was it possible for the Old Testament prophet Isaiah to have predicted the virgin birth of Jesus (Isaiah 7:14) 700 years before it occurred?'

Atheists don't believe in a virgin birth. They don't believe the person considered the messiah in the new testament was actually the son of god. Furthermore, they believe that the writings of the new testament were made with an agenda to prove the "holiness" of jesus of nazareth several decades after the fact. The believe the thing about any religious group, mormons, etc.



How can anyone doubt the reliability of Scripture considering the number and the proximity to the originals of its many copied manuscripts?

Atheists believe that the first person accounts were themselves stories that were made up. The fact there were good scribes or an oral tradition is no different than any number of other religions and people/groups.



In what sense was Jesus a "good man" if He was lying in His claim to be God?

I am quite sure that a fuck-ton of atheists would disagree that Jesus was a good man.



If the Bible is not true, why is it so universally regarded as "the Good Book"?

Again, I am sure that many atheists disagree with the idea the bible is a "good book". Also, on a per capita basis, christianity has fewer followers than many other religions. If your argument was sound, then it could be used to argue that the koran is a "good book" or that buddhist writings constitute a "good book".



Did you know that the Bible has been the number one bestseller almost every single year since the 1436 invention of the Gutenberg printing press?

Atheists would not see this argument as having any bering on whether or not it "proves" god exists. Moreover, they would argue that it is a result of societal impositions on people and cultures. ie: the Spanish Inquisition, etc.



If God does not exist, then from where comes humanity's universal moral sense?

You could either argue that no such moral sense does exist. Or that any care people have towards others and their community is a trait/instinct generated from a need for social hierarchy and stability. Sociologists believe that the human species was able to adapt and thrive in part due to social innovations which led to language and writing. If that is the case, then a instinct for taking care of ones group/family/countrymen/fellow humans makes sense. To reiterate, your argument exists entirely on the premise that there is a "universal moral sense" which is quite debatable.



If Jesus' resurrection was faked, why would twelve intelligent men (Jesus' disciples) have died for what they knew to be a lie?

Again, this is based off the assumption that jesus even existed - atheists would likely disagree. That said, other more elaborate fakes have been accomplished. 12 men and women thought OJ was not guilty. I have no idea how several hundred believed Jim Jones was the messiah, but they did. Heavens Gate Cult, Mormons, etc..



How do you explain the fact that a single, relatively uneducated and virtually untraveled man, dead at age 33, radically changed lives and society to this day?

Mohammad, Buddha, Abraham, Krishna, etc. All peole radically changed the lives of people and society. Arguably more so than christianity.



Have you ever wondered why thousands of intelligent scientists, living and dead, have been men and women of great faith?

There have also been thousands of intelegent scientists that are atheists. It could also be argued that today, more scientists are atheists than who believe in faith or religion.



How can something as small as a brain understand extremely complicated aspects of the universe, even though it is (supposedly) just a bunch of chemical reactions and electrical signals? But at the same time, this brain can’t create another brain like itself, so how can nature, that has no brain, create a brain?

Who says that humans will not at some point create intelligent life? Have you looked at the rate of scientific advance in the last 1000 years? Also, consider that ever single work of science and literature exists in an infinite string of random numbers. Atheists believe very strongly that the universe and a set of constants gave rise to humans and quite possibly other intelligent life.



How do you account for the origin of life considering the irreducible complexity of its essential components?

Don't have space to list all the explanations. Suffice to say there are many theories and quite a several branches of science that deal with the study. See evolutionary biology. Note, just because you have not yet been able to explain something, does not mean that a magical man in the sky is the cause. 500 years ago science would not have been able to explain electro magnetic waves or the ability to transfer data through "the air".



How can the Second Law of Thermodynamics be reconciled with progressive, naturalistic evolutionary theory?

It states that entropy will occur after stimulus or input has been removed. All mainstream theories in physics agree with this model and postulate that the universe will eventually end formless.



How do you reconcile the existence of human intelligence with naturalism and the Law of Entropy?

An event, such as the creation of the universe (big bang, aliens, whatever) will result in patterns and form. Given no further input, all mater will naturally become more and more formless and chaotic. If the universe lasts for another 10 or 20 billions years, this is exactly how it will end given no further input. There is no need to reconcile human existence with this anymore than you would have to reconcile the formation for ice crystals. Eventually, do to the second law of thermodynamics, those ice crystals (with form and shape I might add) will sublimate as energy is lost and be no more.



Why does the Bible alone, of all of the world's holy books, contain such detailed prophecies of future events?

Thats a fallacy. There are other religions that have as many prophecies as listed in the bible.



Is it absolutely true that "truth is not absolute" or only relatively true that "all things are relative?"

You're playing mental gymnastics now.



Is it possible that your unbelief in God is actually an unwillingness to submit to Him?

Anything is possible. An atheist, or a scientist for that matter would ask for proof of this statement.



Does your present worldview provide you with an adequate sense of meaning and purpose?

Unrelated to the topic and provides no proof to dissuade atheists.



How do you explain the radically changed lives of so many Christian believers down through history?

The lives of atheists have also been changed radically, as have people of other non-christian religions.



Are you aware that every alleged Bible contradiction has been answered in an intelligible and credible manner?

That's some wild eyes BS if there ever was some. True, the contradictions have been answered. Just not credibly.



What do you say about the hundreds of scholarly books that carefully document the veracity and reliability of the Bible?

They have all been written with an agenda and without any scientific evidence or repeatable results. You can't prove the existence of God with science.



Why and how has the Bible survived and even flourished in spite of centuries of worldwide attempts to destroy and ban its message?

You have asked the same basic question before and it was answered. See above.



Have you ever considered the fact that Christianity is the only religion whose leader is said to have risen from the dead?

That is a fallacy. That said there is no proof that he actually did so.



If Jesus did not actually die and rise from the dead, how could He (in His condition) have circumvented all of the security measures in place at His tomb?

No proof that the event even occurred. See above for statements that new testament gospels were written several decades after the fact and with an agenda.



If the authorities stole Jesus' body, why? And why would they have perpetrated the very scenario that they most wanted to prevent?

See above.



How can one realistically discount the testimony of over 500 witnesses to a living Jesus following His crucifixion (see 1 Corinthians 15:6)?

See above.



Is your unbelief in a perfect God possibly the result of a bad experience with an imperfect church or a misunderstanding of the facts, and therefore an unfair rejection of God Himself?

Anything is possible, but that does not prove the existence of god to atheists.



How did 35-40 men, spanning 1500 years and living on three separate continents, ever manage to author one unified message, i.e. the Bible?

No one said that they did. Statement is a fallacy.



Because life origins are not observable, verifiable, or falsifiable, how does the theory of "evolution" amount to anything more than just another faith system?

Evolution can be tested. Drug resistant bacteria and naturally mutating fruit flies are examples of evolution in the laboratory. Speciation fits with scientific evidence in the fossil record. Bible literalists believe the fossil record was placed into the earth by the devil to trick mankind. They also believe that methods of radioactive dating are flawed, but offer no proof other than fringe spokespeople to back up claims.



What do you make of all the anthropological studies indicating that even the most remote tribes show some sort of theological awareness?

See above relating to evolution of instinct/need for social "morality". A belief in god could have been an evolved instinct that aided in social and human survival.



If every effect has a cause, then what or who caused the universe?

Science is studying this and will find an answer the same way an answer was found to why the moon rises, and why the sun shines.



How do you explain the thousands of people who have experienced heaven or hell and have come back to tell us about it?

Woa. That's just batshit crazy right there. But LSD provides some pretty crazy experiences that I would like to share as well. Suffice to say, I spoke to a Dolphin with gigantic breasts that emitted warm golden milk.



How do you explain the countless people who have received miracles from God?

No proof.



Is there any evidence that would satisfy you and persuade you to become a believer, or are you just going to believe what you WANT to believe?

You can believe ANYTHING you want to believe. It's a free country. Just don't fucking tell me what to believe, asshole.