In the beginning God created.....what??

Many people naively assume that Genesis 1 verse 1 describes the creation of the entire universe and all the galaxies, stars, and planets, including Earth. But they are wrong.

Let's see what it actually says...

20 terrible reasons to be a Christadelphian

Below is a list of 20 terrible reasons to be a Christadelphian.

How many of these apply to you?

Problems with the Flood Story

In this article I will give several reasons why the biblical flood story does not align with the evidence from nature.

If you believe that the flood story is literally true, don't feel bad. I used to think that too. Most of us were taught it as children, and it was reinforced so strongly that it became part of our identity. Any belief that is internalised so deeply is likely to be protected, defended, and rarely questioned (at least not critically).

Let's take a more critical look at the flood story...

Could I be wrong? (Resurrection of Jesus)

In the previous article, I discussed a couple of arguments often presented in support of the existence of God, and explored whether I could be wrong in those areas.

This next article will explore one of the main arguments used in support of the Bible - the resurrection of Jesus.

Could I be wrong? (Nature, Origin of Life)

Anyone who is honest with themselves and their beliefs will often ask themselves the question "Could I be wrong?". It's a very good question to ask ourselves.

There are many reasons why I no longer believe in gods or goddesses, and also why I no longer believe that the Bible, nor any other holy book, was written by such a deity. I don't intend to list them all here. Readers of this blog would already be familiar with many of them.

However, it would be more accurate to phrase it slightly differently and say that I have no good reason to believe that any holy book was divinely inspired, nor that any gods or goddesses actually exist.

Winning the lottery of life

Do you believe that only Christadelphians (or those with similar beliefs) will be saved?
Do you believe that God will justly and fairly reward the faithful in the future?
Are your parents Christadelphians?
Have you considered just how "lucky" you are to be a Christadelphian?

Well, let's find out then...

Natural disasters - why pray?

In the past week the world has been rocked by another terrible tragedy. On April 25, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 struck the city of Nepal, leaving massive destruction and a death toll of more than 4000 people. That number is predicted to grow even higher as the extent of the damage unfolds and more days pass.

Often in times like this many Christians and perhaps Christadelphians feel that they should pray for the survivors and for the rescue efforts. It also seems like part of our culture to respect such behaviour as if those praying are performing some noble act of kindness. So I guess I'm breaking taboo a little by questioning the value of praying to a god after a natural disaster such as this.

(Actually, the problem isn't prayer so much as those who pray and then don't do anything else. It's the something else you do that makes all the difference. Please donate if you haven't already!)

Does Archaeology prove that the Old Testament is historically accurate?

During my time as a Christadelphian, Archaeology was often portrayed as one of the pillars of evidence supporting the reliability of the Bible. It was (and still is) taken for granted by many Christadelphians that the Old Testament in particular was on solid grounds as a historically accurate text, backed by a wealth of evidence from Archaeology.

But what does Archaeology actually tell us about the Bible today?

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?