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 ~

Thursday, December 31, 2015

The Bible's Human Origins: Acts and Letters

The last instalment in this series looks at the remaining books in the New Testament. Not only is there no evidence anywhere that these texts were divinely inspired, there are many areas where divine inspiration wouldn't even make any sense!

Let's take a closer look...

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The Bible's Human Origins: Gospels - Part 2

Continuing on with the gospels, I now look at the textual dependence and historical reliability.

The Bible's Human Origins: Gospels - Part 1

Continuing my series on the human origins of the Bible, I will now turn to the New Testament.
I intend to focus aspects that are relevant to the claim of divine inspiration.

Were the four gospels divinely inspired?

I think we have good reason to doubt.

Monday, December 28, 2015

The Bible's Human Origins: Kings and Prophets

In this article I look at the stories of some of the kings and prophets in the Bible. Are these accounts historically accurate? And what does this mean for the claim of divine inspiration?

Sunday, December 27, 2015

The Bible's Human Origins: Exodus

In this article I want to shine a spotlight on the exodus story and reveal some details that are probably unknown to many Christadelphians. In what should probably not be a surprise by now, I want to show that the Sunday School version of the story is false. However, I also hope to show some of the interesting details we can learn from modern Archaeology. I will even concede that there may well be a historical core behind some of the biblical stories.

As for whether the stories were divinely inspired, once again I think we have good reason to doubt.

Why would you worship a murderer?

If you are happy to believe in and worship a god who would save you, but allows millions of children to suffer and die every year, then you are a sick and disgusting individual. I hope you are better than that.

Now that I have your attention, and your apologist brain is probably already scrambling to form excuses answers, lets explore this a little further...

Saturday, December 26, 2015

The Bible's Human Origins: Genesis continued

Moving forward through the Bible, we come to the stories of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It seems many Christadelphians read these accounts as if they are literal history, but are they?

I think we have good reason to doubt.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

The Bible's Human Origins: Genesis 1 - 11

In the previous article, I provided evidence that Genesis 1 was connected with an earlier Babylonian creation myth, the Enuma Elish.

Whatever your view of the "divine inspiration" of the Bible is, it must somehow account for this. But is the Genesis 1 account the only similarity with Babylonian mythology? Not at all. This article will explore more connections between the first 11 chapters of Genesis and ancient mythology.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

The Bible's Human Origins: Genesis 1

Many Christadelphians approach the Bible from the perspective that it is the inerrant word of God, and thus free of any errors or contradictions. I grew up with this belief as well.

But is it justified?

If we look objectively at the Bible, does it hold up as a reliable source of information? Can it be trusted?

I want to provide an overview of the entire Bible and highlight several major problems with it. Obviously this will take some time and several articles. Some of this material may be new to you, but where possible I will provide links and suggestions for further reading. Feel free to ask me for more info if there is anything I left out.

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Following Jesus: What did Jesus actually do?

Recently I came across a comment from a Christadelphian who argued that:
"...many of us are just trying to do our best to live in the example Christ set for us to follow.....is that a bad thing? To love your enemy, to care for your neighbours, the sick, the poor etc?"
What example?

That got me thinking a bit. Did Jesus actually set that example? Or is this an assumption made by believers who read the Bible and then fill in the gaps according to what they were taught from when they were young?

To find out, I decided to scan through all four gospels and find every actual action that Jesus was said to have performed. That's when things got interesting.

Here is what I found...


Thursday, December 3, 2015

What is God?

Or perhaps we should ask, "What is a god?"

Does anyone know?

In my experience, the various Christian and Christadelphian ideas of "God" could fit any/all of the following definitions:

  • A place-holder for things we don't (yet) understand.
  • Another word for "magic".
  • An external projection of a person's ideal self (see this scientific study).
  • An anthropomorphism of the laws of nature.
  • A mental crutch for people who feel vulnerable and look for strength outside themselves rather than looking within. Ironically, the strength still comes from within, but indirectly via a powerful illusion. An inner parent vs child metaphor works equally well.
  • A comfortable catch-all for people who don't like uncertainty.
  • The answer to end all questions.
Did I miss any?