Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.
~ Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791 ~

Friday, May 30, 2014

Evidence for Common Descent: How we know we are apes.

Did we descend from apes? Are we related to all other animals?

Let's have a look at what I think is one of the best pieces of evidence supporting evolution: Our DNA.

Who lied to Adam and Eve?

What really happened in the garden of Eden? I was always taught that the serpent told the "first lie".

But what does the Bible say? The answer might shock you...

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Evolution: Common misconceptions

When creationists discuss evolution, they invariably misrepresent it and thus they mislead their audience, who are often not scientifically literate themselves. I want to highlight some of the more common misconceptions creationists have regarding evolution. The point of this article is not to ridicule, but to educate.

Since you are reading this, you are obviously interested in the subject, and I commend you on your bravery for looking beyond creationist material and hopefully attempting to weigh up the evidence for yourself.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Do you really want to live forever?

Christadelphians and indeed all Christians look forward to some form of afterlife where they hope they will live forever. The idea has fascinated humans since the dawn of human existence. Ever wanting to escape our own death, humans have invented countless myths and legends about life beyond the grave.

The Bible, particularly the New Testament, also follows this pattern, promising eternal life to those who follow Jesus, and worship God. This eternal life is described in blissful terms, highlighting the human desire for something better than the life we experience now.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Creating God in your own image...

A scientific study published in the PNAS scientific journal in 2009 has raised interesting questions about one's belief in God, in particular how one determines what God thinks:
"For many religious people, the popular question “What would Jesus do?” is essentially the same as “What would I do?” That’s the message from an intriguing and controversial new study by Nicholas Epley from the University of Chicago. Through a combination of surveys, psychological manipulation and brain-scanning, he has found that when religious Americans try to infer the will of God, they mainly draw on their own personal beliefs."
Click here to read the rest of this article.

There is a link to the actual study itself at the end of that article, or you can find it HERE.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Dear believer...

This video was created for religion in general (not by me), but many aspects apply equally to Christadelphianism.

It's very interesting and thought-provoking...

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Why did I once believe?

I was raised as a Christadelphian and was taught to fear God from a young age. I was taught religion at an age when I did not have the faculties to reason whether or not it was true. My knowledge of the world was tainted. I simply inherited the beliefs of my parents and teachers, who had each inherited their beliefs from their parents and teachers before them.

I lived in a bubble, an alternate universe, allegedly created by a supreme deity who loved everyone, but who was always just, and always watching. In my bubble, all of the "facts" I was taught pointed to the truth of the bible. I had so much evidence, or so I thought, in the form of fulfilled prophecy, detailed history, incredible consistency despite many authors writing over hundreds, possibly thousands, of years. Not one verse in the bible contradicted any other. I had a copy of the very words of God, and he had chosen ME out of all the billions of people on earth, many of whom were much less fortunate. It was great for me, but it sucked for them...

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Creation vs Evolution: An introduction

When I was a believer and a creationist, I was taught many things about evolution that were simply inaccurate. It wasn't until I went to the various sources and discovered the evidence for myself, that I truly understood what it was about. I strongly recommend you do the same.

Here is an introduction to evolution for creationists who may have only really heard about it from their religious teachers, parents and peers. There's definitely more to learn beyond this, but hopefully this will whet your appetite...