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, April 23, 2017

How Effective Is Prayer?

Does Prayer work?

I've never met a Christadelphian who did not believe prayer was effective and worthwhile. This belief is probably one of the most widespread beliefs among all Christians, and people from other religions too. I used to pray, and I was convinced that at least some of my prayers were answered even though I couldn't be completely sure which ones.

Many believers pray every day, and even several times per day, so obviously they believe prayer really works. But have you ever thought about that? Does it actually work? How would you go about finding out? It's not enough just to think of a time when you prayed and something happened. You might be ignoring other times when nothing happened, or the statistical likelihood of that thing happening to any one person on the planet by chance alone. What about all of the other possible outcomes that you might have likewise interpreted as an answer to that same prayer?

What many believers may not be aware of is that prayer has been studied scientifically and there are even randomized, controlled trials that show a statistically significant positive benefit in favour of prayer! Let's have a look at some of the studies on prayer and what they found...

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Thoughts about my journey out of Christadelphia

I often think back over my life growing up as a Christadelphian and I try to make sense of it all, and put the pieces together in a way that will hopefully provide a little bit more closure. I remind myself that leaving one's religion behind is not an easy task, and certainly not something you do in ten minutes before moving on to other things. It's a bit different for everyone, but for me the process is ongoing and probably will be for quite some time.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Why are Christadelphians obsessed with Bible Prophecy?

For many Christadelphians, Bible prophecy is a big deal. For some, it forms the bedrock on which all of their other beliefs rest. For others, it provides comfort and helps them to feel more secure in their beliefs.

This article takes a look at why Christadelphians put so much emphasis on prophecy.

Syria in Bible Prophecy

Syria has once again hit the news headlines across the world, and no doubt Christadelphians will capitalise on this and make all sorts of claims about it being a fulfilment of Bible prophecy. I'm just guessing. I don't really follow any Christadelphian sources these days.

So I thought this would be a good opportunity to take a look at what the Bible actually says about Syria, and try to cut through the hyperbole and hysteria that tends to surround topics like this.