https://www.ftsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2024-08-Past-Two-Question-Answers-with-Herb-Silverman.pdf
Some questions I have been asked about religion over the years, and my answers
Jesus
If God doesn’t exist, why do most scholars believe Jesus was an actual person and was crucified?
Lots of people were once crucified, but none were turned into gods or resurrected.
Where did the people go who died before Jesus came?
The same place we all go—nowhere. They are just dead.
Why don’t you believe in Jesus? Don't you want everlasting life?
Believing something does not make it true.
How do you explain the Trinity?
By saying that 3=1.
What about the Holy Ghost?
He reminds me of a comic-book character worthy of laughter and derision.
Have you heard that Jesus desires you?
I’ve heard that from Christians but not from Jesus, because Jesus (if he existed) died a couple thousand years ago.
Isn’t Jesus a positive force for good?
More people have been killed in the name of Jesus than any other person in the history of the world.
How do priests get assigned to different churches?
Some may be good people, but sometimes they are sent where there is no evidence they molested anyone.
Are there any advantages to celibate clergy?
Yes, it might suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.
How has gay marriage affected the Church for the better?
It made it less likely that gay men would join the priesthood to have sex with children.
Does it make sense to you that Jesus died to save the world?
According to the story, God is one of the biggest child abusers because he killed his son, who accepts the abuse silently as a form of love. If the Church can’t see God as a child abuser, it is no wonder that they don’t see priests as perpetrators of child abuse.
Have you been born-again?
I was born once and will eventually die once. Why be born again, when you can just grow up?
Do you know that Jesus died for your sins?
Then I better get busy committing them so his martyrdom is not meaningless.
Are you a typical atheist who just refuses to believe in Jesus?
Disbelief in gods doesn’t describe typical atheists any more than disbelief in the divinity of Muhammad, Krishna, and Zeus describes typical Christians. Everybody disbelieves in some gods. I just disbelieve in one more than you do.
With wars and famine, as the Bible predicted, the end-times are near. Are you prepared for Jesus’s return and the rapture?
According to your Bible, Jesus should have returned a couple thousand years ago. See Mark 9:1:
“Verily, I say unto you. There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”
Do people really receive the gift of speaking in tongues when receiving the Holy Ghost?
Yes, if you consider gibberish speaking.
Can you mention a part of the New Testament that you like?
1 Corinthians 13:11: “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” One of the childish things I put away was a belief in God.
When you did a good deed, why did you get upset when I said it was a Christian thing to do?
I know you meant well, and I thank you for that. But you falsely equated goodness with Christianity. It was also an atheist thing to do.
Some questions I have been asked about religion over the years, and my answers
Jesus
If God doesn’t exist, why do most scholars believe Jesus was an actual person and was crucified?
Lots of people were once crucified, but none were turned into gods or resurrected.
Where did the people go who died before Jesus came?
The same place we all go—nowhere. They are just dead.
Why don’t you believe in Jesus? Don't you want everlasting life?
Believing something does not make it true.
How do you explain the Trinity?
By saying that 3=1.
What about the Holy Ghost?
He reminds me of a comic-book character worthy of laughter and derision.
Have you heard that Jesus desires you?
I’ve heard that from Christians but not from Jesus, because Jesus (if he existed) died a couple thousand years ago.
Isn’t Jesus a positive force for good?
More people have been killed in the name of Jesus than any other person in the history of the world.
How do priests get assigned to different churches?
Some may be good people, but sometimes they are sent where there is no evidence they molested anyone.
Are there any advantages to celibate clergy?
Yes, it might suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.
How has gay marriage affected the Church for the better?
It made it less likely that gay men would join the priesthood to have sex with children.
Does it make sense to you that Jesus died to save the world?
According to the story, God is one of the biggest child abusers because he killed his son, who accepts the abuse silently as a form of love. If the Church can’t see God as a child abuser, it is no wonder that they don’t see priests as perpetrators of child abuse.
Have you been born-again?
I was born once and will eventually die once. Why be born again, when you can just grow up?
Do you know that Jesus died for your sins?
Then I better get busy committing them so his martyrdom is not meaningless.
Are you a typical atheist who just refuses to believe in Jesus?
Disbelief in gods doesn’t describe typical atheists any more than disbelief in the divinity of Muhammad, Krishna, and Zeus describes typical Christians. Everybody disbelieves in some gods. I just disbelieve in one more than you do.
With wars and famine, as the Bible predicted, the end-times are near. Are you prepared for Jesus’s return and the rapture?
According to your Bible, Jesus should have returned a couple thousand years ago. See Mark 9:1:
“Verily, I say unto you. There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”
Do people really receive the gift of speaking in tongues when receiving the Holy Ghost?
Yes, if you consider gibberish speaking.
Can you mention a part of the New Testament that you like?
1 Corinthians 13:11: “When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.” One of the childish things I put away was a belief in God.
When you did a good deed, why did you get upset when I said it was a Christian thing to do?
I know you meant well, and I thank you for that. But you falsely equated goodness with Christianity. It was also an atheist thing to do.