The destruction of Tyre - what Ezekiel got wrong.

NOTE: This article has been updated on 15 Jan 2015.

In Ezekiel 26:7, the prophet Ezekiel apparently predicts Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of the ancient city of Tyre. Many Christadelphians point to this prophecy as evidence that the Bible must be divinely inspired.

As an aside, I never hear Christadelphians pointing to the Ezekiel 29 or 30 as examples of fulfilled prophecy. I have challenged several Christadelphians directly over that one, only 1 has attempted an answer (which I will post an article on in due course). You can read about that prophecy here.

As for the prophecy regarding Tyre, was the prophecy actually fulfilled? Let's take a closer look...

How do you know you're right?

Christadelphians believe they have THE TRUTH. For a minority religion that very few people in the world have even heard of, that's a very bold claim. Not only do they claim to have the truth, they claim that compared to all of the world's more popular religions (and also compared to the many people who are not religious) they are the ONLY ones who have the truth. Their small numbers do not bother them, for they will happily point to quotations such as Matthew 22:14 "many are called, but few are chosen". Ironically, pretty much every other Christian denomination also points to these same quotations as evidence that they are the chosen ones.

Do you see Intelligent Design everywhere you look?

I found this interesting...

Do you ACTUALLY believe in God?

This short video will challenge whether you actually believe in God, rather than just claim you do.

If you are sincere and honest about your faith, I urge you to try this test. You do not need to tell anyone the results. It will tell you something important about your belief in God. The test is in the form of a thought experiment. You do not need to do anything. You only need to spend some time thinking about it.

Evolution: The fossil record

Here is a must-see video if you want some good background on what the fossil record really says in relation to evolution.

From the video description:

"The crux of the argument made by proponents of Intelligent Design is that the theory of evolution is in serious trouble. They claim that the evidence for evolution is weak, the gaps in the theory are huge, and that these flaws should be taught to students. In this brilliant synthesis of scientific data and theory, Occidental College geologist, paleontologist, and evolutionary theorist Dr. Donald Prothero will present the best evidence we have that evolution happened, why Darwins theory still matters, and what the real controversies are in evolutionary biology."

The Case Against Christianity (by Matt Dillahunty)

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...

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.

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.

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.

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...

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...

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...

Problems with the BASF: Foundation Clause

The BASF is the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith, which all members in the Christadelphian Central Fellowship are required to endorse. The foundation clause of this statement of faith contains wording that is either factually inaccurate, or otherwise cannot be demonstrated to be true.

Did Moses write the Pentateuch?

The common belief among Christadelphians is that the first 5 books of the bible, commonly known as the Pentateuch, were originally written by Moses. Several lines of evidence point to this not being the case.

The Salem Witchcraft Trials - Evidence Against The Resurrection of Jesus

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, most of them women.

We have vastly more and better quality evidence for witchcraft in these cases, than we have for the resurrection of Jesus. Yet we are rightly sceptical of whether any magic or witchcraft actually happened in Salem, and so in order to be consistent we must also be sceptical of whether any resurrection took place in the case of Jesus. The below video explains The Salem Witchcraft Argument in greater detail...

Countering the Kalam Cosmological Argument

The Kalam Cosmological Argument is a variation of the cosmological argument that argues for the existence of God as the cause of the universe. [Source]

Below is a series of articles (with YouTube videos linked within) that aims to debunk the Kalam Cosmological Argument piece by piece.

How do we know what is TRUE?

Living without religion

I just came across an interesting website with an inspirational video on living without religion.

Check it out here: www.livingwithoutreligion.org