A Challenge to Christians

The purpose of this test is to force intellectual honesty. We all have it. The question is, are we willing to demonstrate it when the answers to tough questions reveal hypocrisy, insecurity, or lack of true and pure faith?

You may feel the urge to argue that this test is unfair because it’s not subjective in structure. All of the answers are presented in multiple choice format. Moreover, your hand will be forced because I have intentionally eliminated all intellectually dishonest answers. Feel free to lie to yourself in your world, but I will not allow it in mine.

Most importantly, I’m not interested in hearing from you about the results of your taking it for two reasons: First, I know exactly what the outcome will be. And second, I don’t care what you are willing to admit to me. I’m only concerned with what you’re willing to admit to yourself.

Any Answer Will Do

Select one answer for each of the following 30 questions.

1. Hindu’s believe that Brahma (one of their many deities) created the universe. Did Brahma really create the universe?

a. No.

b. Absolutely not.

c. Poppycock!

d. Don’t be ridiculous.

e. All of the above.

2. Does or did Brahma ever exist as an actual god?

a. No. Not now, not ever.

b. Absolutely not.

c. Poppycock!

d. Don’t be ridiculous.

e. All of the above.

3. According to the Gita, Brahma has four heads but used to have five. Why was the fifth head lost?

a. This is a trick question. Brahma has no heads because he doesn’t exist.

b. I’m not falling for this one.

c. How stupid do you think I am?

d. That’s just silly bible lore.

e. All of the above.

4. Is Brahma real?

a. No. Didn’t you read my answer to question 2 or 3?

b. Absolutely not.

c. Poppycock!

d. Don’t be ridiculous.

e. All of the above.

5. Is Santa Claus real?

a. No.

b. Nah.

c. Nope.

d. Nuh-uh.

e. All of the above.

6. Is the Easter Bunny real?

a. No.

b. Nein.

c. Non.

d. Nyet.

e. Todo el antedicho.

7. Is Brahma any more real than Santa or the Easter Bunny?

a. Hell no. They’re all man-made fantasies.

b. Fuck no. They’re all man-made fantasies.

c. No fuckin’ way. They’re all man-made fantasies.

d. Absofuckinglutely not. They’re all man-made fantasies.

e. All of the above.

8. Is Brahma a man-made fantasy?

a. Yes.

b. Uh-huh.

c. It stands to reason, doesn’t it? Or didn’t you read my answer to question 7?

d. Both (a) and (b) are correct. Oh, yeah, and (c) is right on the money, too.

e. All of the above.

9. Why was Brahma (and the other Hindu deities) created by man?

a. At the time the Hindu religion was established, man was primitive and knew very little about science and the nature of the world around him. Brahma provided a way to explain how (and why) man came to be.

b. To answer questions that man could not explain given the extent of his knowledge at the time.

c. To help quell man’s innate fear of death and help heal his sorrow for the loss of loved ones by creating an afterlife through which they would eventually reunite.

d. To establish a set of lifestyle and morality-based rules designed to maintain peace and decorum which mankind would follow for fear of punishment.

e. All of the above.

10. Many gods (other than Brahma) were conjured up by man. Why?

a. At the time that other world religions were established, man was primitive and knew very little about science and the nature of the world around him. These gods provided a way to explain how (and why) man came to be.

b. To answer questions that man could not explain given the extent of his knowledge at the time.

c. To help quell man’s innate fear of death and help heal his sorrow for the loss of loved ones by creating an afterlife through which they would eventually reunite.

d. To establish a set of lifestyle and morality-based rules designed to maintain peace and decorum which mankind would follow for fear of punishment.

e. All of the above.

11. Are Hindus deluded in their belief in Brahma?

a. Yes, because Brahma isn’t real.

b. Of course, because Brahma isn’t real.

c. Absolutely, because Brahma isn’t real.

d. You bet, because Brahma isn’t real.

e. All of the above.

12. As there are approximately ONE BILLION Hindus in this world, representing ONE SEVENTH OF HUMANITY, is it possible for an extremely large number of people to be deluded by a belief in a god that doesn’t exist?

a. [silent nod]

b. Yes indeedio.

c. Damn straight.

d. You’ve got that right, bucko.

e. All of the above.

13. If only one person in the world believed that Brahma created the universe, would that person be deluded in their belief?

a. Correctamundo.

b. Affirmative.

c. For sure.

d. Yes, as deluded as they come.

e. All of the above.

14. So then, does the number of adherents (large or small) determine whether or not those adherents are deluded in their belief?

a. Of course not. The truth is neither determined by a majority vote nor negated by a minority vote.

b. No sir-ee, Bob. If that were true, the earth might still be flat.

c. Hell, no. The truth ain’t a popularity contest.

d. Nuh-uh. Doesn’t work that way.

e. All of the above.

15. Do you reject the existence of many gods?

a. Oui.

b. Si.

c. Ja.

d. Da.

e. All of the above.

16. As there are literally hundreds of gods and deities that are acknowledged and praised around the world, how many do you reject the existence of?

a. All, except one.

b. Every single one of ‘em, except mine.

c. The whole lot of them, except the one in which I believe.

d. Whatever the total number is, minus one.

e. All of the above.

17. What do you have in common with atheists?

a. I reject gods. Lots of ‘em.

b. I believe that many people are deluded by their belief in a god or gods that don’t exist.

c. I believe that people who believe in imaginary gods are gullible fools.

d. I have an intellectual investment in what I believe and in what I reject.

e. All of the above.

18. What is the one fundamental difference between you and atheists?

a. Just as I reject all those imaginary gods that hold the belief of millions of delusional people, atheists reject the god in which I believe.

b. I agree with everything they say about religions other than mine.

c. We’re essentially the same. We both reject gods.

d. [Pretending to ignore the question]

e. All of the above.

19. Adherents to religions other than yours spend their entire lives believing in, praying to, and praising gods that ultimately don’t exist, and they give significant portions of their income to organizations that endorse and promote that belief. How would it make them feel to learn that their life-long belief was false, and how would it make them appear to others after the truth was revealed?

a. Foolish.

b. Gullible.

c. Like a total sucker.

d. Intellectually challenged.

e. All of the above.

20. Hypothetically speaking, if you personally spent your entire life believing in, praying to, and praising a god that ultimately didn’t exist, giving 10% of your income to churches that endorse and promote that belief, how would that make you look and feel once the truth was revealed?

a. Foolish.

b. Gullible.

c. Like a total sucker.

d. Intellectually challenged.

e. All of the above.

21. Do you like looking and feeling foolish or gullible or like a total sucker, or intellectually challenged?

a. No.

b. Nope.

c. Negative.

d. Of course not.

e. All of the above.

22. Would you take a defensive position against anyone who questioned your intellectual integrity because you believed that French fries were disgusting?

a. No one would think of me as foolish or gullible or intellectually challenged if I didn’t like fries.

b. They’re just fried potato sticks, and me thinking that they’re disgusting doesn’t potentially compromise my intellectual integrity.

c. Of course not. Don’t be stupid.

d. Um, no.

e. All of the above.

23. Would you take a defensive position against anyone or anything that questioned or threatened your intellectual integrity because you believed in a god that they say is imaginary?

a. Absolutely, because now we ain’t talkin’ about fried potato sticks. I can’t allow anyone to see me as intellectually inferior, deluded, foolish, gullible, or a total sucker, and that’s exactly how I feel about people who think Brahma is real.

b. Yes.

c. Affirmative.

d. You bet your ass.

e. All of the above.

24. Does atheism threaten your intellectual integrity because of your religious beliefs?

a. So much so that I can’t remain secure in my beliefs and let them say and think the things they do - one of which is that I’m delusional and worship an imaginary god.

b. Absolutely. That’s why I lash out in refutation of evolution and any other argument that atheists make.

c. Of course, which is why I proselytize to every atheist I encounter.

d. Yes. Isn’t it obvious?

e. All of the above.

25. Do you have faith that you are loved (by a parent, sibling, significant other, child or friend)?

a. Yes.

b. No.

26. If you answered Yes to question 25, if I didn’t believe that anyone loved you, how much time would you spend trying to convince me otherwise?

a. None, not even the most infinitesimally small measurement of my time. I have no intellectual investment in being wrong or being seen as delusional by those who don’t believe my faith in their love.

b. Why in the world would I waste my time on that?

c. None at all.

d. Not a second.

e. All of the above.

27. If you answered Yes to question 25, with regard to question 26, why?

a. Because I have true faith in their love, and true and pure faith in anything does not need to be proved or rationalized to others.

b. Because I’m secure in my belief that they love me.

c. Because I don’t feel compelled to prove such a thing to you.

d. Because I know my truth and don’t care what you think of me.

e. All of the above.

28. Do you try to prove or rationalize your religious beliefs to atheists (all of which think you believe in an imaginary god?)

a. Yes.

b. Often.

c. Frequently.

d. Every time I’m given the chance.

e. All of the above.

29. In consideration of your answer to question 27, with regard to question 28, why?

a. Because deep down inside I really don’t have true and pure faith.

b. Because I have a huge intellectual investment in not being wrong, I cannot allow myself to be seen as delusional by those who think my god is imaginary, and the easiest way to prevent that is to get everyone else to believe what I believe.

c. Because I want to maintain my faith but don’t want to look like a fool.

d. Because I’m afraid that they might be right.

e. All of the above.

30. It stings, doesn’t it?

a. Yeah, but I’ll just tell you to go fuck yourself and pretend it doesn’t bother me.

b. Fine, be that way. But you’re gonna burn in hell someday.

c. Ouch!

d. [Pretending to not hear the question]

e. All of the above.

Analyzing the Results

Review your answers and assign the following point values to each question, and then total them up for all questions on the test:

Scoring
A….10
B….529
C….27
D….2.08
E….81

For example, for every A answer you selected, add 10 points to your total score. For every B answer, add 239, and so on.

If your total score is 62.4 or more, then you have been intellectually honest. Congratulations!
 

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