Virginia. I am not a Christian but I am not a child either. I don't choose whether to kill or rape someone according to whether I will get caught but because I believe hurting people unnecessarily is wrong. Now that I'm grown up I don't need my parents to tell me that and I certainly don't need an intangible God who changes his morals, chameleon-like to suit whichever group of people wish to invoke him. (See Q17) Crimes and atrocities are commited by both atheists and the religious. Can you show me anyone who commited a crime BECAUSE they were atheist? There are many examples of people who will kill, maim and rape BECAUSE they are religious. Ask the relatives of young Australians killed in Bali and consider the Spanish Inquisition. I don't deny that good things have been done by religious people but what evidence is there that these things weren't done because they were GOOD rather than because they were RELIGIOUS? We atheists are not few & far between - we are many and growing.

Peter Beaumont, Yorkshire, UK

Peter said in question no 8 is because people believe in God, you mean like hospitals, orphanages, charities, social securities, Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other worthwhile causes. The whole structure of the West is based on Christianity which is a religion based on the belief of One God. Ok let us assume you are right and there is no God. So no sin, no wrong or right, no guilt, no accountability, no rules. All the pain and grief that is in this world are caused by people who do not rever God or have no belief in Him. Look at the hollywood examples, sporting "heros" women who steal fathers away from their young families because they want what they want. As Anton Le Vey from church of satan said, it is all about indulgence not about self denial. If one is into child rape or bank fraud, theft, murder, why not if you can get away with it. If you dont like someone just do away with them as long as you are not caught. Thank God the likes of you are few and far between.

Virginia, Brisbane, Australia

These questions will never go away for the majority of thinking people, it is just that children have the courage to ask them.

Christians can't provide perfect answers to the some of these questions though, nor should they try. But they are preferable to the nihilistic answers often proferred by the minority religion of atheism.

Keith, Bishops Stortford,

What a bunch of angry, bitter freaks you all are. The "absurd god-idea"? I find it hard to believe any of you were children at one time. If there is no God, there can be no love. Not that any of you have experience love for many years.

Andy, Fort Collins, USA

Grooming children to believe in gods and other superstitions
is psychological child abuse and should be punished in the same way as sexual child abuse.

D. P. Barber , Hamburg, Germany

It is not just children asking these questions. Some socall Christians do not know the answer to these questions. Those who believe in evolutiion certainly cannot answer them. They just exist from day to day and take what ever comes to them. Children seem to be smarter than adults as most adults do not question their existence. That is why it is important to have the right answers so that this world will be a better place and there will be less wars and grief. The Bible would provide all the right answers. If everyone will to adhere to its teachings then the world will be a near perfect place to live. Think of all the hurt because of selfish people. Orphans, starvation, homelessness, broken families, drug problems, gambling problems, too many to name. How much does God love us to give us free will. There is only one True Living God who has a triune nature. He is the Creator and Saviour, all knowing, sovereign, loving and merciful and He is everywhere. You can speak to Him

Virginia, Brisbane, Australia

Considering how these are essentially the same questions Hitchens, Dawkins and Harris etc put to the religious masses in their excellent books (except maybe the Beard one....) it just goes to show that even under the most basic and simplistic challenges that a child with no pre-conceived beliefs - the concept of god is baseless.

sean, london,

I'm just happy to see that children question Religion, everything should be questioned before any rational person believes it.

Mat Knight, Retford, UK

Why are we still trying to control our children with this superstitious rubbish!

Let them make their own minds up...

Oh, we couldn't have that now, could we...

F.Summers, London,

If the absurd god-idea hadn't been injected into their little heads by adults, the kids might be asking truly relevant questions such as: Where did we come from? Why are we here? When did time begin? Where does the universe end? How can we live peacefully together, respecting others and overcoming self-centeredness? What happens to us when we die?These questions can be discussed without reference to the supernatural. They are infinitely better than asking whether god has a beard.

alan, cologne,

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, wrote a visionary sermon titled "The General Deliverance". He envisions people and the entire animal kingdom having an afterlife in a veritable Garden of Eden. A British Author, E.D. Buckner, wrote a book called "The Immortality of Animals" that uses many Biblical quotes to reinforce his compelling treatise. His book was written a century ago.

Brien Comerford, Glenview, United States

Try these answers
1. No
2. No
3 No
4 Not applicable - see above
5 again
6 A sensible scientific answer can be given here but it's too long to fit in this square
7 No one
8 For a variety of reasons - some of which begin with an unjustifiable belief in God
9 You're here because you were sexually reproduced - you're the latest in a long chain of such reproductions - soon it'll be your turn. This is good.
10 You don't - he isn't
11 Because he doesn't exist
12 Because it's based on an ancient set of superstitions
13 He isn't
14 Because of gravity
15 See number 8 above
16 See number 8 above
17 Because you have been brainwashed by different people - can two non entities be said to be the same or different?
18 Because he was a good man in a a stupid, selfish world - I cry for the same reasons
19 No one
20 No - but if you're lucky you do and she's far more important. And if you're unlucky enough not to have one then there are better places to turn for the comfort you need

Peter Beaumont, Yorkshire, UK

Does anyone else think that some of the above questions are basically the same and therefore should be counted as just one question?

Personally, I think the hardest question to anwer is "why" because your answer is always followed by another "why". And another. And another. And a...you get the idea. It will leave you pulling your hair out.

Alice, Sheffield,