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The material that we see in the universe today was created from pure energy in the moments of creation. One of the things Einstein has shown us is that matter and energy are the same thing. How do you get matter from nothing? Good question! Nobody knows the absolute answer to that but perhaps...

The traditional response to the question, "what happens when we die?" has either been, "you go to Heaven if you've been good or Hell if you've been bad" or, "you rot in the ground, Son. Harsh but true!" On the face of it this seems to be all she wrote. Either Christians are correct and we...

If a person does this because they believe that God has commanded them to then the mystery has been solved as clearly, they assume the rewards will be waiting for them in Heaven. If a commited Atheist decides to do this then, well...I guess it depends on the individual circumstances. I know of...

Darwinian explanations for altruism are wholly satisfactual. Yes, I take your point that Darwin's doctrine of, "survival of the fittest" is at odds with the definition of altruism. However, altruism in humans can still manifest itself within the parameters of traditional dog eat dog Darwinian...

As far as I know, nobody has committed themselves to the view that "nothing" caused the creation of the universe. Christians say that God was the cause while the rest of us claim not to know the cause. Of course, not knowing what caused the big bang is not equal to saying that it was caused by...

I have to agree with you here, this guy assumes an awful lot. The "beauty" of the sunset is a perfect example. To you it might be beautiful but to me it could look ugly. As for morals, mercy, altruism and so on...I believe that there is a reasonable Darwinian explanation for these things where...

This "stuff" is moving in this way because the space itself is expanding in all directions and the "substance" is clinging on to that space. Imagine I had a balloon and I blew it up until it was the size of an orange. I then, using a felt tipped marker, dabbed some dots over the surface of this...

Nice question! It's a head scratcher, that's for sure. I think the answer may lie in the fact that space and time are the same things. If I move through space at a high rate of speed I can actually cause the rate of expansion and therefore the flow of time to pass by me more slowly than it would...

I do not believe that life after death need only be explainable by supernatural means. Perhaps we just need a new way of looking at things. Maybe we are reborn in a paralle universe but, because we need experience and a flow of time in order to form memories we never remember that part of time...

I sympathise with this view. I used to struggle with the idea that we had gotten everything from nothing and I still do to a certain extent but there are certain aspects of nature which, when examined and thought about, go some way towards explaining how it could have all happened. For example...

The idea of the infinate roulette wheel creating all possible sequences was something I struggled with too, until I read about the coin flip theory (can't remember where I read it.) It basically goes something like this; Image you flipped a coin ten times in a row and wrote down the results...

Touch'e salesman. Although, nobody here has conceded their point past conjecture...one way or the other.

A yes or a no to what? To whether I believe in life after death? I guess it's a yes...ish. The point is, are we here through chance or are we here through God? I believe that chance is the reason that we exist. Of course, the odds against us existing are massive, just like our one hundred card...

That's a wonderful philosophy! I sometimes think that we're here for no other reason but to enjoy ourselves.

As an atheist I often contemplate what total and eternal non-existence means for us all and what the implications are. I will say that I am not too concerned about the prospect of my own death...(ish.) I guess it comes down to natural laws and logic. The odds against both of us being here today...

Oops...that should be one hundred playing cards with odds against of 52 x 52 x 52...all the way up to one hundred, not 52!

How long did I not exist for before I was born? Since time began with the creation of this universe then the answer must be 13 billion years. How long will I not exist for after I am gone? Perhaps forever but perhaps not. Maybe it's a question of chance. Let's pretend I have just dealt one...

Does no God necessarily equal no afterlife? Is a deliberate designer the only being which can offer an afterlife or can the universe offer one too? What will be the difference between a religious afterlife and a natural one?