On Creationism

At the outset we have to acknowledge that we have no way to tell for sure what happened. We can only look at the evidence available, and see what makes the most sense, what seems most likely. ETA: See also here: https://thebibleisnotholy.wordpress.com/resurrection/jewish-law-the-burial-of-jesus-and-the-third-day/ Why was Jesus crucified? Never mind the theology (which makes little enough sense), why did the Romans crucify Jesus? The usual Christian claim is that Jesus was crucified by the Jews for blasphemy, but this is patently false. The punishment for blasphemy was death by stoning, and we know that because James, Jesus' brother, suffered exactly that fate. Early Christianity was in the business of selling the religion to the Romans and so had to shift the blame from Pilate to the Jews. The Gospel of Mark, the earliest account we have, is very clear: Mark 15:25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the...

Okay, I know Christmas was a few weeks ago, but I only just got around to posting. This video was posted on "Chrtian CADRE" and "Dangerous Ideas", like it was supposed to convince people of the virgin birth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eUKqrVSrSc ETA: The video has been removed due to copyright infringement (those naughty Christians!), but there is a transcript here: http://www.johnlennox.org/jresources/a-christmas-message-from-john-lennox/ Later ETA: Looks like the transcript has also been taken down. I am guessing it got ripped to shreds so many times... In fact, the reverse is true. This video is a gift for those arguing against Christianity, because it shows that when it comes to their faith, Christians will turn off their critical thinking (and it is probably not just Christians). Dr John Lennox From Wiki : John Carson Lennox (born 7 November 1943) is a Northern Irish mathematician specialising in group theory, philosopher of science and Chris...

Wikipedia introduces "Freedom of religion" like this: Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom to change one's religion or belief.[1] Freedom of religion is considered by many people and most of the nations to be a fundamental human right. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion It is interesting to compare this fundamental human right with what the Bible says - not least because many Christians claim humans rights come from God. From NASB: Deuteronomy 13:6 “If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife [e]you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end o...

I was directed to a very long rant against evolution by a guy called Fred Reed. He admits it is "atrociously long", making me wonder why he does not edit it, as it excessively verbose. This is a guy who was a journalist, and should know better. https://fredoneverything.org/darwin-unhinged-the-bugs-in-evolution/ He starts with a rant against science in general - copied, it looks like from here , but with no link or credit (though it is in quote marks). Again, a journalist should know better than to plagarise without proper credit. You have to love the irony of a rant against science published on the internet, using the heights of technology that science - and not religion - has given us. From there we get to learn how he started to think about evolution in school. I wondered why this was worth including, given the document is "atrociously long", and I strongly suspect this is supposed to give it authority. This is a guy who has given this a lot of thought, so...

Having no actual evidence, creationists engage in character assassination in an attempt to discredit the theory of evolution, and a common ploy is to pretend that Darwin was a major influence on Hitler. The reality is that Hitler was far more influenced by Christianity. They do not mention that. But if they say that Darwinism should be abandoned because it was an influence on Hitler, then surely they must also agree that Christianity should likewise be abandoned, if there is good evidence it was an influence, right? I mean, surely these Christians are not hypocrites... Houston Stewart Chamberlain I thought it would be interesting to compare the impact of Darwin on Hitler to that that of Houston Stewart Chamberlain. Like Darwin, Chamberlain was English, but he took German citizenship in 1916. He is best known for his book, The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century , written in 1899. First published in Germany, it became a best seller and was later translated into English a...

All About God I came across this web site (some time ago in fact), which purports to offer a history of Satan. I found it fascinating how it has to corrupt Biblical verses to support its claims. http://www.allaboutgod.com/history-of-satan.htm The history of Satan is described in the Bible in Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-19. These two biblical passages also reference the king of Babylon, the King of Tyre, and the spiritual power behind the kings. In fact the verses are purely about the king of Babylon and the King of Tyre respectively, and hovering over the links on the web page makes that clear. The author then repeats the usual Christian dogma: What caused Satan to be cast from Heaven? He fell because of pride that originated from his desire to be God instead of a servant of God. Satan was the highest of all the angels, but he wasn’t happy. He desired to be God and rule the universe. God cast Satan out of heaven as a fallen angel. But the reality is there is no justifica...

What is the evidence for the Trinity? Specifically, how well does scripture support the claim that Jesus is equal to God? Jesus: Messiah, Lord, Son of God Jesus was not unique in being considered the son of God. Jews believed that all their kings were the adopted sons of God. This Old Testament text illustrates that: 2 Samuel 7:12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.[c] Your throne shall be established forever.’” ...