The Case For Atheism -- or, I am the Devil's Advocate!

The best way to elevate the debate to a higher level, above the name-calling, ad hominem, personal attacks, and strawman fallacies, is to present your debate opponent's argument in the strongest possible form, and argue against it in a logical, civil way.

That's what I will attempt to do here. I will be playing "the Devil's Advocate," arguing strongly for atheism.

I will make a separate blog post with my logical argument against this "Case for Atheism."

The Big Bang Does Not Prove God

If the universe must have a prior cause, then God would logically also require a prior cause. On the other hand, if theists say that God requires no prior cause, then the universe would not need one either. If God can simply exist without a cause, why can't the universe do the same?

The universe, or parts of the universe, could always just exist, exploding sometimes and transforming into a different form or type of universe.

Lack of Scientific Evidence for God

There is currently no scientific evidence for any Gods. But, even if science one day does show that the universe had a prior cause, how would we know whether this prior cause is Yahweh, Allah, Jesus, Zeus, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

Human Consciousness Does Not Prove God

If human consciousness couldn't have evolved naturally, as some theists claim, and had to be designed by an intelligent Creator, then from where did this Creator get His consciousness?

If consciousness cannot evolve naturally, or come into existence on its own, then logically, God could not have consciousness either, without a previous Designer.

On the other hand, if theists admit that God can develop consciousness naturally, then why can't human beings develop it naturally?

Human Morals as Evidence Against Yahweh

If human beings are created in God's moral image, according to theists, then our moral values should reflect Yahweh's morals in the Bible, if Yahweh is our true Creator.

So why, then, are we disgusted by Yahweh's actions that we read about in the Old Testament -- His petty vengeance, anger, and jealousy, His violent rage. Why are we horrified by Yahweh commanding the slaughter of innocent children? 

Why did Yahweh allow slavery and rapists to marry their victims? Why did He command the Israelites to slaughter entire nations, including women and children? Why did Yahweh destroy millions of people with a Flood, including innocent children? Why did He command that unruly Jewish children should be stoned to death? Our morals today tell us these things are wrong, therefore, how can we be created in the image of Yahweh?

Jesus and Yahweh are Moral Opposites

If Jesus is the perfect reflection of Yahweh, as Christians claim, then Jesus' morals should have perfectly reflected Yahweh's morals from the Old Testament.

But, instead, what we see in the New Testament, is that Christ's morals were often the opposite of Yahweh's. If Jesus is the perfect moral standard, then why was Yahweh so different in the Old Testament compared to Jesus?

How could Yahweh's morals be inferior to Jesus' morals?

The Source of Jesus' Power

For the sake of argument, let's say Jesus Christ existed and did perform miracles. If God exists and Satan exists, then how could we ever know whether Jesus' power came from God or from Satan?

How would we know that Jesus wasn't sent by Satan to get Jews to fall away from Yahweh's Law to Moses and follow after Jesus instead?

Lack of Evidence for Miracles

If you don't believe in any miracle-claims today, or any miracle-claims from other religions, why do you believe ancient miracle-claims about Jesus or Muhammad?

A Loving God Wouldn't Allow Suffering

What kind of loving parent would allow their children to suffer pain if they could have prevented it, especially if they knew it was going to happen in advance?

What kind of loving parent would ever burn and torture their children in fire for years, like many theists claim God does?

God Commanding You To Kill

If God commanded you to kill someone, would you do it? Is something morally good just because God commands it?

If you answer "No" to those questions, why did the ancient Israelites obey Yahweh when He commanded them to slaughter entire nations, including children?

Also, how can Christians condemn ISIS today for doing what ancient Israel did in the Bible?

Lack of Evidence for the Bible

Why should we accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God, but reject the Quran, Book of Mormon, or other religious holy books? What standard of evidence are you using to compare holy books?

What evidence exists that proves that any holy book was inspired by any God?

If the Bible is inspired by God, why does it contain errors?

Did Jesus Approve of Killing Your Children?

It appears that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for failing to kill their disrespectful children like the Law of Moses commanded. (Mark 7:9-13) If so, how do Jesus' moral values agree with our own? How is this not immoral?

Almost every person today would be horrified at the thought of killing your children for being disrespectful.