Questions About the Project
The following are some of the questions I anticipate in regard to the project itself.
Why do you care what people believe in?
Simple: religious beliefs often have serious negative consequences in the real world. Extreme examples include religious wars, witch hunts and the bombing of abortion clinics. There are also less outrageous but more widespread problems such as opposition to gay marriage, promotion of creationism and instilling a baseless fear of everlasting punishment into young children. And these are just a few examples—there are countless others.
How dare you try to make people stop believing! Don't you know you're sending them to hell?
The primary purpose of this project is not to deconvert people, but rather to get them to question their beliefs. I don't want people to accept any position uncritically, because accepting a position without looking at the opposing evidence is a terrible way to arrive at truth. While I would like people to leave fundamentalism, I would much prefer thoughtful Christianity over credulous unbelief. If you're truly offended at the idea of urging people to question their faith, ask yourself this: Are you really comfortable with worshiping a God who eternally rewards a life of blind, ignorant obedience and eternally punishes one of open, honest inquiry?
Why are you focusing on Christianity in particular?
I have no reason to believe that any religions are true, but I've focused on Christianity for two main reasons. First, I was raised as a Christian, so Christianity is the religion I have the deepest knowledge of. Second, Christianity is arguably the religion that has the most impact on the world, and certainly the one that matters most in the United States, where I happen to reside.
Why are you focusing on fundamentalism in particular?
Again, I was raised as a fundamentalist, so I have a good understanding of this worldview. And while I think even liberal religion is harmful to some extent, the beliefs of fundamentalists have a greater negative impact on the world. Their beliefs are also easier to criticize, because so many of them (biblical inerrancy, creationism, etc.) are demonstrably wrong.
Even if I reject fundamentalism, is there some reason I should be an atheist rather than, say, a liberal Christian or a deist?
The default position for any claim that something exists—whether it's a god or a teapot orbiting Mars—is unbelief. It's not about what you can "get away with" believing: you need to have sufficient evidence for your beliefs. The more extraordinary the claim, the more extraordinary the evidence has to be for belief to be justified. Even a deistic god defies everything we know about the world: A massively powerful non-physical being that transcends space and time is extraordinary in itself, and any additional claims (that God is triune, that an afterlife exists, etc.) only make it harder to justify belief.
Why do you assume that I believe X in Question Y?
It's been said that there are as many versions of Christianity as there are Christians. As such, I can't possibly construct a list of questions that caters to the beliefs of every individual, but I've done the best I can to focus on doctrines that apply to a large proportion of fundamentalist, evangelical Protestants. If they don't apply to you in particular, just skip over them.
Don't you realize that Question Y has already been answered by Apologist Z?
All of these questions have probably been answered at one point or another, but that doesn't mean those answers are in any way satisfactory. Many answers from Christian apologists are logically fallacious, ignore key information or stretch credulity well past the breaking point.
You don't really think you can change anyone's mind with this project, do you?
Actually, I do. As someone who lost my faith due to introspection and logical argument, I'm living proof that believers—even fundamentalists—can be reasoned with. And there are millions of others like me, not to mention those who are still believers but have become less dogmatic after thoroughly investigating their faith.
Why 30 questions rather than, say, 20 or 40?
There are so many problems with fundamentalist Christianity that I certainly could have included many more questions—in fact, my first draft of this list included 40 of them. However, feedback from users suggested that I should shorten the list so as not to overwhelm believers. Any less than 30 would leave out too many crucial points of criticism, though, so this balance was struck.
Can I give you feedback and/or actual answers to these questions?
I welcome any feedback or answers you have to give. There's a contact form in the About section that you can use to email me. You won't necessarily get a response back, but I do read every email I get. I also reserve the right to publicly post any emails you send me.