Common Arguments for Religion

by Bill Carson

Numerous people feel that religion is a good thing even if it is not true.  Good has come from many different religions, but perhaps the world would be better off with no religious beliefs.  Many people have suffered or been killed because of those who follow the teachings of the Bible and the Koran.   A human being is probably less likely to want to hurt another person unless there is a book they think comes from the word of God that tells them to kill people that have different religions or work schedules that require work on Sunday, etc.  Some argue that only radicals have done bad things in the name of religion.  Are you a “radical” or an “extremist” if you are just doing what the Bible said to do?

Here is a common point in favor of Christianity. Something had to have created all this.  That may be true.  Maybe something did create this world.  But, how do you know anything after that premise?  Maybe this world was created by a few gods working together.  Maybe the god or gods that created this are not interested in being worshiped.

Worshiping is kind of a strange concept.  If you had the power to create an earth with human beings, would you require that they all had to worship you?  Also, to give severe punishment to those who do not worship you is a scary concept. Maybe whatever created the earth is not paying much attention to us anymore.  Even if it is true that something created all this, we know virtually nothing about how this something wants us to live our lives. 

The Bible is certainly not a consistent, moral or practical guide to live by.  There are so many problems with the Bible that it is unlikely an all-knowing and all-powerful god had anything to do with it.  It is difficult to respect this something if it has the power to stop really bad things from happening and does not bother to do it.  Why don’t the creators or creator make it easy for a rational thinking person to know they are around?  Is it maybe because they are not involved here on this earth or maybe do not exist at all?

Another common argument is “what if you are wrong?”  If you want to believe in a religion just in case it might actually be true, how do you decide which one to believe in?  Should I believe in the Greek gods just in case they might be true?  How can people pretend to believe in a religion if deep down they really do not think the religion is true. 

What are the chances that the religion someone chooses to follow is actually truthful?  Out of the thousands of religions that have been started throughout history only one could be completely true, and probably they are all wrong.  No one really knows what created all this and what happens after we die.  It is amazing how many religions are flourishing when there is so little evidence that any of them are telling the truth.

Bill Carson  October 16, 2008