How does an atheist explain our origins?

Question

I read a question from a self described atheist asking what type of God believers believe in. Atheists don't believe in a higher power, so how do they explain the "big bang", our origins and the interconnection of all life? Science can tell us how it all happened, but science can't tell us why. Can you?

Just for some clarification... I never said what my belief is. I don't deny the big bang theory, but I like the monkey theory proposed below...

Answer 1

You answered your own question. No, science can't tell us the "why"....at least not yet. At least they are trying to understand the universe. There is overwhelming evidence that suggests there was a big bang event at some point in the distant past.

However, neither can you. You may hope, and pray, and believe that there is a god all you like, but that isn't the same as knowing based on evidence.

Answer 2

You know as an Atheists I have never tried to explain the existence of the universe. I leave that up to science. But now that you ask I have learned a little about the Big Bang Theory. It seams that every thing did not come from nothing. Every thing in existence now was always in existence only it was just in a different form. Compressed into a tight ball of energy no larger than well science speculate on the size of it some say the size of a golf ball then others say a marble it could have been the size of a base ball or even a basket ball and all this energy was pulling it tighter and tighter into a small lump. then suddenly the pressure was too great suddenly billions of years ago it exploded into what is now the still expanding universe. I believe that is about the gist of it. You would need to study a little science to discover all the evidence that this occurred but they do have tons of evidence for the Big Bang Theory. I love to just marvel at the Hubble Telescope pictures myself they are marvelous it makes you wonder what hath God rout.

Answer 3

> "Atheists don't believe in a higher power, so how do they explain the "big bang", "

Most Christans debate evolution and the big-bang anyway.

> "our origins and the interconnection of all life? "

The interconnection is all about evolution. You can't have evolution if there's only one species on the whole planet.

> "Science can tell us how it all happened, but science can't tell us why. Can you?

Sometimes there is not a "why". That would be like asking why is the sky blue? Why are clouds fluffy? You can't look for meaning in every drop of rain or snowflake. Sometimes something just *is*

Answer 4

I wish people would stop assuming the existence of this "inextricable tie" between atheism and the big bang... NOT ALL ATHEISTS BELIEVE IT. There is ONE prerequisite for atheism: "without belief in a god or gods". Nothing else! All other beliefs, perspectives, opinions, etc are left up to the INDIVIDUALS.

And I DON'T explain the "how". I won't pretend like anyone will ever have ANY concrete, rock solid, substantially evidenced and PROVEN answer. I'm content with saying "I don't know" because I really don't. I can admit to gaps in my knowledge without feeling a compulsion to fill those gaps with an all-purpose myth.

As for the "why"... being an atheist, my position is that there is nothing and no one "out there" that possesses motives.

Answer 5

You have asked 2 questions.1,how can atheist explain our origin?.2, how can we explain the big bang, our origins and the interconnectivity of all life which the science has failed to explain?

The origin of creation explains why man is here in the first place. While an atheist depends on his mental faculty, a true spiritualist learns to move within himself to tap from God's energy which is always avaliable around us.

Answer 6

I'm a christian for the record. However, to my understanding all the matter in the universe was supposed to have been in a very compact ball at the "center" of the current universe before it was the current universe. It kept getting smaller and smaller until it got too compact and exploded back out. Once out into what is the universe now, various forces of gravity and so on eventually formed stars and planets and put them into orbit around each other. I know it sounds far-fetched, but that is what I heard and it turns out that while the odds are very much againt it, it can happen that way.

Now on each of those planets there were various chemicals and elements (the ones from the periodic table). Because of natural magnetism these elements would interact and form molecules. Four of these molecules (Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Taurine) formed in a way that they liked to interact with each other. Eventually somewhere along the way they pulled together and formed a DNA molecule which gained the ability for life. The original DNA molecule was of a single cell organism. It kept splitting and forming new ones and eventually evolution started at that point and kept going until what we have today in humans and various other animals.

In this though no one has been able to explain to me where the original material (before the big bang) came from. The material forming into planets also seems far-fetched. However, once those things occur I could see the elements forming into molecules and those molecules interacting with each other, because they naturally attract each other. Nevertheless, God created the universe and everything in it does seem easier and actually the more likely one to happen to me, so it is the "theory" I subscribe to.

Answer 7

When you're done with this, why don't you see if you can get a straight answer from the theists as well.

Atheists have a good explanation for where we came from, one that fits with the facts (in plain English, one that's true). Why did it happen that way? Laws of physics, chemistry, biology, etc.

That doesn't strike you as a good enough answer to "why?", huh? Well, we could turn that right around on the theists. They say that it all happened because of God's will. Well, that is an explanation for how it happened (a false explanation, of course), but it can't tell us why.

See the problem? You've decided with no basis whatsoever that the only acceptable answer to the "why?" question is one that includes gods. There's no good reason to think that way, and since those gods don't exist, you're starting off in a hole compared with the natural explanations that the rest of us accept. A false explanation that doesn't answer your question is worth less than a true one that doesn't answer your question.

Answer 8

A long time ago, a lot of gas molecules decided to gather together in one place. This happened without any gravity. There were so many in one place that they exploded in one great big, humongus cataclysm.

The next thing that happend, a long time passed. A few more accidents happened. Then, completely by accident, the earth formed at the optimum distance from the sun, with the optimum atmosphere to support life. (All completely by accident.) Now we have the Internet.

It's pretty simple, really.

Answer 9

Your question presupposed that there HAS to be a "why"; which there doesn't. If there does, and your "why" is god, then the follow-up question is, "Why is there god?" If you insist god doesn't need an explanation why then you're engaging in what they call "Special Pleading" -- insisting with no good reason that an exception be made in god's case. Why couldn't the UNIVERSE "simply exist" without needing a why? Throwing a god in there is just another layer of complication that doesn't offer any new information.

Answer 10

You are a bit askew from reality. That's okay, just so you know. We know nothing when we're born. People have been probing the universe and keeping records, so we are now lucky enough to know things that we could never figure out on our own in a single lifetime. Yay for us! We don't know it all yet, though, so get a science degree and quit wasting our oxygen.