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 ~

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Why don't you accept evolution?

Over 99% of the world's biologists accept evolution as fact, and there has been no change in that consensus for well over 100 years.

And yet the vast majority of Christadelphians seem to be confident that evolution is false. I wonder how many of them are actually qualified to make that assessment. I also wonder how many of them actually understand it well enough to refute it.

What about you? Do you understand evolution?
If not, here is your chance to tell me why...

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Two Babies and the existence of God

Recently I came across a cute little story that appears to be doing the rounds on the internet at the moment. It is about two babies who are in their mother's womb, having a conversation about "life after delivery". The point of the story is clear. It uses analogy to argue for the existence of an afterlife, and for the existence of God.

Firstly, I have to say that arguments from analogy are rarely convincing because at any stage, one possible explanation could always be that the analogy is flawed. Analogies are useful as a tool to help explain difficult concepts, but cannot be used as evidence or proof, for the reason already stated.

However, I find this story rather interesting because it highlights some of the common reasoning flaws used to justify belief in God and belief in an afterlife. The fact that the flaws are evident in the analogy itself should be a cause for concern for its author and anyone who agreed with its conclusions.

Friday, February 6, 2015

A brief introduction to atheism

There has long been a stigma attached to the word "atheist" among religious people. It is considered a dirty word, and atheism is often perceived as something to be avoided at all costs. This article aims to provide a brief introduction to some aspects of atheism you may not be aware of, and hopefully dispel some of the myths.

I hope you will try to take this on board as informative, and not become defensive in your thinking. This article is not about you or your faith. It is not going to tell you what you should or shouldn't believe. It is about atheism. It will also be quite personal, because I will be speaking from my own experience.

I am an atheist.

Come with me and let me show you a little of what that means to me...