how does atheism/materialism account for

[JoePhilly]

67. Each species has its own unique elements.

For a long time, Humans believed that "lower animals" didn't really think or have emotions. That view is one that makes killing and torturing them easier to accept.

But what scientists are now finding is that many species do have emotions that are very similar to our own, like mourning the death of a family member.

Our experience is unique to us, their experience is unique to them.

Take mating. Some species "mate and move on", some "pair bond" for life. Do the other species who pair bond "love" each other. Certainly not in the exact same way we do. But what their relationships show is that the spousal type of bonding found in humans, is not unique.

SO when some one asks if an atheist can explain or account for these emotions, and the associated behaviors, the answer is "yes".

My question back is, why does having a God concept make any of those things easier to understand?

I ask "Will I be sad or angry if I get to Heaven and some of my loved ones are not there?" Why, or why not?

I ask, "Why only one God?" ... with all the diversity of life on earth, why not "many Gods"? That model makes it far easier to understand conflict in the world.

The creationists like to play a game called "God of the gaps" ... they'll attack evolution and science for those things they can not yet explain, and then jam God into the space. But they struggle when this approach is turned back on them.

Even if science can not explain Love for example, does religion or a belief in God do a better job? No. When we look across the major religions, they often explain the same phenomenon very differently ... in other words the religious people of the world disagree on the role God plays in various situations.

Did God set up the domino, and then kick things off, and then step back and allow things to go on ... or is God active in the minute to minute, daily life of every person on the planet. Does God let it all run, until God decides its time to step in? The religions themselves vary on just how active God is.

We now know the basic manner in which the nerves in your brain communicate with each other. But we can't yet map it all out so as to know exactly which nerves will fire in the next instant. They used to drill holes in your head to let the demons out.

Sometimes it worked. The reason it worked sometimes, is that there was some form of pressure building up and the hole helped release that pressure. No demons were involved. Science now understands why this approach would have sometimes worked. And its still used.

Science might not always move fast, but over time, it tends to figure out "earthly" reasons for why things happen.