Today I watched the video from The Atheist Voice titled “36 Questions I’d Like to Ask God.” Mostly they’re the standard questions we’d expect atheists to ask in order to make a point about certain religious absurdities. Afterwards, however, I thought about the concept—asking God questions—and I said to myself, “What kinds of questions would I ask an all-powerful and all-knowing entity?” So here’s my list of 36, devoid of religious questions:
- What is “dark matter”? [hands down, number one question]
- How could Napoleon have defeated the coalition at Waterloo?
- What are the mechanisms behind a cat’s purr?
- What’s the biggest erroneous theory that evidence has led scientists to currently maintain?
- What happened to Amelia Earhart during her fateful flight?
- How can we [humans] accurately predict the formation and path of a tornado?
- Is there a cure for cancer? And if so, what is it?
- JFK assassination. Conspiracy theory nut jobs, or conspiracy theory geniuses?
- What is consciousness? And how does the brain generate it?
- How can we ideologically defeat the Islamic State without bloodshed? [surely, God could answer that question]
- And similarly, what are the causes of wars and conflicts, and how can we avoid them?
- Are there any real cryptids? Or are they all just fictional creatures?
- Who assassinated Rafic Hariri?
- Are there other planets with life on them?
- Similarly, how can we make interstellar travel possible and feasible?
- What’s your favorite band or musical artist? [Genuinely curious]
- Similarly, why and how do we create music?
- Why do humans span wide spectrums between sexual and gender identities?
- Jurassic Park franchise theme: Possible or impossible? If possible, would it be ill advised? Personally, I want to see a dinosaur.
- How many predictions—if any—did Futurama get right?
- Was the Cold War a fluke? Or did the concept of mutually assured destruction really prevent a global nuclear war?
- I want to travel into the future. How can I do that?
- I’m a righty. My girlfriend is a lefty. My sister is ambidextrous. Why is dexterity so diverse?
- What are the mechanisms that led humans to have different blood types?
- Big rip, big crunch, or big freeze? Or something else?
- How many universes are there?
- And if there are more than one, how can we take an inter-universe holiday?
- Why do I need sleep?
- Is there a way to bridge the left-right divide in politics? [US because I live there, but also generally]
- Is there a cure for depression and mental illness?
- Who killed Bob Crane?
- What causes state corruption?
- Is there an energy source that will provide for our energy needs as long as humanity survives?
- Is there a cure for baldness? [I’m sure many of you would like an answer]
- How can we increase human life expectancy to 200 years or more?
- What questions should I ask you?
Personally, if I met God I would be so amazed by the wealth of knowledge s/he has that I would begin seeking answers to things that I’ve always pondered. Why ask about the meaning of suffering (meaningless question) when we can ask how to stop it (meaningful question)?