Is belief a choice?

A common theme I have come across when discussing beliefs with Christadelphians is the idea that beliefs are a choice. I find it interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, it seems to be an assumption that these Christadelphians have not seriously questioned. Secondly, if true it would lead to some bizarre outcomes.

Let's explore this idea a little further...

Noah's Flood: Did it happen?

Do you believe in Noah's flood as a historical event? Do you believe the flood was global, or local? Have you considered the evidence from all sides of the question? Perhaps there is a viewpoint you haven't considered. Today I'm going to look at some of the evidence for the various viewpoints and hopefully give you plenty to think about.

Before we get started, I want to point out this little gem:

So the LORD said, “I will wipe humankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – everything from humankind to animals, including creatures that move on the ground and birds of the air, for I regret that I have made them.”
Genesis 6:7 (NET)

How a perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing deity can experience regret I'll probably never know.

Anyway, moving along. Let's look at the evidence for the flood...

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...

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.

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...

Without excuse?

What do you see when you look out at the world? Do you see the wonder of nature? Perhaps you see the hand of God everywhere? Whatever your view of the world, we can all agree on many things. For example, there is a great deal of complexity in the natural world. Although scientists study nature in many different fields, there is still a lot we do not know and a lot we do not understand.

It is common for Christadelphians to cite Romans 1:20 to assert that atheists are "without excuse" because God has supposedly provided all of the evidence that anyone could ever need, and it's all right before our eyes.

So am I without excuse?

Revisiting Ezekiel's prophecy against Egypt

Last year I posted an article to this blog about Ezekiel's failed prophecy regarding the desolation of Egypt.

You can read that article here.

Recently I came across an article that claimed this prophecy was actually fulfilled. I will summarize its claim below.

Revisiting Ezekiel's prophecy against Tyre.

Last year I posted an article to this blog about Ezekiel's failed prophecy regarding the destruction of the city of Tyre.

You can read that article here.

I thought it might be good to revisit this prophecy and fill in a few details that I missed last time.

A closer look at Genesis 1: Why do you believe in creation?

The Bible says so, right? ....aaaand you think it's inspired by a god, right? But how do you know? Suppose this god was lying...how would you know then? "But God doesn't tell lies", you might insist! How do you know? Did he tell you that? That's exactly what he would say, even if he did tell lies, isn't it?

I know, I know, you think you've got proof. You've got all this evidence that the Bible must be divinely inspired, otherwise how do I explain bananas? or something. But here's the thing. You disagree with pretty much every other type of Christian on earth. And they all think the Bible is divinely inspired too...yet they disagree with you (and each other). Interesting, isn't it?

But perhaps you claim that you can disprove every other Christian. They're all wrong except you. And yet somewhere in the world there is a Catholic who thinks exactly the same way. And somewhere else in the world is a Jehovah's Witness, and a Pentecostal, and a Baptist, and all of them are confident that they alone have the truth, and all the others are heretics. Perhaps you all just haven't met each other yet...

It's all about fear, power and control

What sort of personality do you have? Are you confident, extroverted, and unafraid of conflict? Or are you shy, introverted and try to avoid conflict? Or perhaps somewhere in-between? Or something else entirely?

I have long hypothesized that your personality type is the single biggest influence on how successful you will be as a Christadelphian. So much so that many Christadelphians seem to fit into a couple of distinct stereotypes, not unlike the ones I mentioned above. What do I mean by "successful" ? In my opinion, the most successful Christadelphians are those who are self-confident, perhaps even a little arrogant, and can throw their weight around and get others to do things for them. These people are often on committees and sometimes enjoy celebrity status within a wider group. Perhaps this is true of any community, but it is certainly true of Christadelphians. Christadelphian ecclesias are the perfect "small ponds" for these "big fish" to thrive in.

The Journey

Imagine you’re about to set off on a journey. The destination is fixed. You suspect that it takes a long time to get there, but you have no idea how long. There are many, many roads which lead to the destination. Some roads are dangerous, some have great views, some are cold and dark. All roads themselves split into even more roads, all of which still lead to the destination.

You have a choice of cars to drive.
You must choose a car, and you may only choose one car.

Let’s have a look at a few of the cars...

More questions for all Christadelphians

Several months ago I posted an article with questions to ask the ABs.

I thought I'd follow up with some more questions. I cannot reconcile these with the Bible.
I'd be interested to know if you can, and if so, what mental gymnastics do you have to do to get there?

Why is eternal life desirable?

Why is eternal life desirable?
Don't get me wrong - I think a "really long" life would be great, but that's not what the Bible is offering.

When I think back to people's "vision of the kingdom" and their ideas about what eternal life might be like (which were nothing more than guesses, let's be honest), it seems pretty clear that people are generally pretty short-sighted on this topic. They speak of creating another universe and being like angels in it. Great, but what about after you've worked on your 300th universe...? what then?

And on what basis do you conclude that you'll even be doing any of those things? The Bible doesn't mention it. In fact the Bible mentions so few details about this apparently valuable prize it is offering, that one begins to suspect that the Bible's writers didn't have a clue about it either. If no one knows what you're supposed to be looking forward to, why look forward to it?

To put it another way, if you're selling a product and yet you don't know any details about the product and cannot adequately describe nor demonstrate it, why would I buy it? Why would anyone but the most gullible buy it?

Do you actually seek the truth about reality?

Christadelphians often make truth claims about reality. In fact they refer to their beliefs and even their community as "the truth". But how many Christadelphians actually do the work required to establish whether or not their beliefs are in fact true? How many Christadelphians are what we might call "active truth seekers"?

It's one thing to think that your beliefs are true. In fact all religious people believe this. It's another thing entirely to actually question the foundations of those beliefs and discover for yourself whether your beliefs are verifiably true. If you do not take this second step, your belief is blind. It is nothing but mere assertion without basis. You may as well believe in unicorns and fairies.

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1 (NET)

Does truth matter to you? How convinced are you? How deeply have you questioned your faith?

Is the world really getting worse?

Christadelphians often talk about living in the "last days" and it seems to be almost an unquestioned assumption that the world is continually getting worse than ever before.

There are obvious problems to that assumption, not least the fact that crime rates have been falling since the 1970's and continue to fall. Christadelphians will cherrypick whatever data they want to paint their own picture of the world.

Here's an excellent video that offers another perspective...

Don't pray for me

I've recently had a few well-meaning Christadelphians offer to pray for me, in the hope that I might magically believe despite the continuing lack of evidence for their claims.

I appreciate the sentiment, but I think the efforts are misguided. Let me explain why...

World Events and Bible Prophecy

It seems that many Christadelphians have been making claims recently along the lines of major events happening in the world being an indicator that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled and that Jesus will thus return to earth soon. Those of you who are familiar with Christadelphian history (and also Christian history) will know that this is certainly not the first time they have made such claims, and I doubt it will be the last. In fact, the founder of the Christadelphians, John Thomas, made a claim of this nature over 100 years ago. Needless to say, Jesus did not return.

Rather than look at specific world events or Bible prophecy in detail, I thought it would be more interesting and more educational to point out what is usually missed when Christadelphians enthusiastically announce the modern day fulfilment of this or that obscure Bible verse.

My aim, as always, is not to ridicule Christadelphians but to educate and provide some tools to help you decide for yourself whether any particular prophecy has actually been fulfilled.

Ask the ABs: Questions to ask about the Bible

A curious mind is a sign of intelligence. One of the keys to discovering truth is to ask questions. Questioning anything will lead you closer to its truth, so long as you are honest and prepared to challenge your biases.

It takes real courage, but I encourage you to follow the evidence, wherever it leads.
If you never ask questions, you will never find the answers.

Never be afraid of doubt. Doubts about your faith are a sign that something is out of place. Something does not fit. By seeking to correct it you should arrive at a more robust world view. There is no harm in asking questions. What you find out may well lead you to a greater understanding.

If there are difficult questions burning in your mind, but you are afraid to ask them, then those are exactly the questions you must ask. Would you rather a difficult truth, or a comforting lie?

Below are some of my own questions, including some from when I was still a Christadelphian, and seeking a better understanding of the truth. You may find these thought-provoking. If you have questions of your own, I urge you to seek out the answers. If anyone tells you not to question, or even criticizes you for questioning, then ask them what they are afraid of. If they don't know the answers, look elsewhere.

Why would a good God allow children to starve to death?

This is going to be short. It may make you feel uncomfortable. That's the point. It should make you think.

Would you allow your children to starve to death?

If your answer is no, then congratulations - you are more moral than God.

So then is it right to thank God for putting food on your table, while millions of people starve every day?

And when you offer a prayer of thanks for that food, are you not really saying: "Thank you God for choosing me, over them" ?

Can your life have meaning without God?

The British Humanist Association have put out a great clip about how we derive meaning and purpose in our lives, once again brilliantly narrated by Stephen Fry.