Originally a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? on Aesthetics.

And of course those are ‘safe’ questions, meant to be answered with a Biblical citation, to comfort ‘doubters’. Note the lack of, “Explain childhood leukemia, you fucker!”

No, nothing so blunt is going to have survived the sanitizing, homogenizing editorial committee that came up with this display of architectural temporary tattoos, but even the questions that have made it through the winnow of orthodoxy are not so safe, if you’re prepared to look beyond the Bible for answers, or decline to recognize its authority or relevence. (Some of the questions below are from other images taken of the exhibit, more details of which can be found here: https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/whats-on/events/hear-us/ )

Q: “Are you there?”

A: No, there are no gods.

Q:”Does our struggle mean anything?”

A: No, it is not part of any “plan.” Shit happens for no intrinsic reason. We can bring reason to it, extract meaning and wisdom from things that happen, and apply them to what we do, but these things were not “put” there for us to “discover”. We build meaning from scratch. Life is not “meaningless”, but the meaning and significance we find is the meaning and significance we add to it. Life isn’t a piñata. Reality is not a fortune cookie. The stars are not there for horoscopes. The universe is what it is. We’re the ones adding the baggage.

Q: “Where does love come from?”

A: Love is a natural evolved sentiment which can be seen in animals other than humans. It does not require the interventions or manipulations of a non-existent class of supernatural beings, just like sunlight or metabolism. Gods add nothing to the picture.

Q: “Do you want company?”

A: Granting the existence of the Christian god, he might not need “company”, depending on how exactly that whole “Holy Trinty” thingy works. Historically speaking, most religions have been polytheistic, with lots of gods to keep each other company, and to squabble with. Some saint-heavy flavours of Christianity can start to look awfully polytheistic to the unwary and uninitiated, who might not see the distinction-without-a-difference that such Christians would offer in indignant protest. Technically, fictional characters can’t really be lonely, or sad, or anything. They have no existence beyond the imaginations of the people who create or read the stories of which they are a part. However real they may seem, they are never going to drive you to bingo, or shovel your walk.

Q: “God, what happens when we die?”

A: Asking a non-existent entity a question like this is a category error. There is no god to answer your question. Any “theological” answer you might receieve has been formulated by humans. Gods don’t write books, or talk to people, or answer prayers because they can’t. Some might claim that these answers come from a god, but it’s humans all the way down. But if you want to know what happens, here it is: you decompose, and all the materials that resided momentarily in/as your body are released for use elsewhere, including other bodies. There is no personal, individual, conscious survival after death. There is no judgement, punishment, or reward. “You” just aren’t, just like “you” weren’t before you were born. Nothing different, and there’s no reason to believe otherwise. We are fleeting arangements of eternal ingedients, briefly collected into and maintained in a form that is aware of itself and the Universe which gave rise to it. We cannot help but be one with everything. Adding gods to this tale short-circuits the proper appreciation of the Universe, and tends to exaggerate our role within it. We are part of an awe-inspiring, terrible wonder, and a mystery, and a miracle, but not a religious one. We have learned that on our own; no gods need apply. No gods can apply.