Question: I am not a Atheist however, I do have my doubts about God's existence and I do not mean this in any bad way atall. There are various reasons why I think this is the first place and one of them involves the big bang theory. I believe in this because there isn't really a way possible that God could have supposedly just said 'Let there be people, let there be light, etc..' surely, it must have been something to do with the Solar System that caused earth to be created? Also, dinosaurs were around before us, therefore probing what 'God' said is not true. Furthermore, we evolve from apes, therefore just adding to the fact that I do not believe God created the earth. I do not know the big bang theory properley but I just know the basics about it and I would like to know mnore about it and how the earth was created, because I do not mean it agasint 'God', but instead believing in something that I highly doubt is true I think I should investigate further into what I believe there is a high possibility of being completely true and I know this because it will be much more realistic than the whole 'God created the earth' etc, and the whole Adam and Eve business, because quite frankly, no they weren't the first living things on the earth, dinosaurs were, so it is beyond my intelligence as to whether all the different stories in the bible are true.

Iain Moal answered on 24 Jun 2010:

Hiya, I know I’ve been evicted, but I will give an answer because this is an interesting question.

Biblical stories, taken literally, cannot be reconciled with science. Adam and Eve were not the first living things, the earth was not made in 6 days and there was no worldwide flood. Different languages didn’t come about around the tower of Babel and so on.

Nobody know what triggered the big bang, or what was before the big bang, if there was anything, or even if ‘before’ the big bang makes sense. We have a pretty good understanding of how events proceeded from there. There earth and the solar system condensed out of a cloud of interstellar dust and once the earth became cold enough, life arose from non-living matter on its surface. It then proceeded to evolve, from the simple single-celled life to complex multi-celluar life, and we are one of evolutions products. Throughout all this time, there doesn’t appear to be any evidence of a god or gods being involved.

On the flip side, some people would say that god did create everything, but not how it is explained in the bible or any other sacred text: after all, having to intervene would only be a sign that god didn’t design the universe perfectly from the beginning.

Personally, I am an atheist, because I see no evidence for the existence of a god, or any other deity that cares about human affairs. I cannot imagine a loving god would look upon this earth, with tsunamis, earthquakes, people killing each other in his name and all the suffering, diseases and poverty, without doing something about it. I arrived at my position by thinking about it, and if I was presented with sufficient evidence for the existance of god, then I would change my mind.

I have, occasionally, entertained the question ‘what if I am wrong?’. Well, if I am wrong, and I do end up at the pearly gates, then I am sure that I will be judged well. My disbelief is motivated purely by open and honesty inquiry, and I strive to be a good person and make the right decisions. I have honestly looked at the evidence for god and found it full of holes. If a god or gods exist, then he/she/they would know this, and would not punish me for my intellectual honesty.

All I can suggest is that you approach the subject the way that you have just shown. Look at the evidence and make up your own mind. Don’t believe things because people tell you it is true – even what scientists say. If someone has a good reason to believe something, they will be able to back it up logically, and with evidence. Most importantly, if you don’t know, just admit it. It is more decent to admit that you don’t know something than to pretend that you do. This is as true in religion as it is in science.

All the best,
Iain