thoughtful ideas on life's big questions
November 28th, 2012
A common theme in the discussion of the reliability of the New Testament documents is the number of copies we have and the dates of these copies, compared to other ancient writings. And of course, the details change as new discoveries are made. Here is an update.
November 18th, 2012
Akhenaten has been attacking statements I have made here, and on my other blog theWay?. The latest comment on Christians and cathedrals questions whether “there exists a scholarly consensus that a reasonable if modest amount of facts about Jesus can be known”. I decided this question required a longer answer … (and I apologise for […]
November 17th, 2012
Once upon a time, people trusted religion. They believed the Bible, they believed their priests, they believed in God. But slowly things changed, for many people at any rate.
November 14th, 2012
I think this deserves a separate post. A few weeks back I posted on the historical evidence for Jesus and how some sceptics refuse to accept the conclusions of the best scholars that Jesus existed and the gospels present some reliable historical information about him (Jesus – assessing the evidence). Akhenaten has been discussing the […]
November 8th, 2012
We know that forgiving people who have wronged us is an important part of restoring the relationship, and also important for our own wellbeing. Now a scientific study spells out some more of the details.
November 2nd, 2012
Hurricane Sandy has been in the news, as it left a trail of destruction and loss of life. The finger has sometimes been pointed at climate change as one of the causes, which it probably is, though no-one can know for sure. Yet the destruction could have been worse, and recovery far more difficult, if […]
October 31st, 2012
It seems like it has happened a hundred times, and maybe it has. I get into a conversation with a non-believer about Jesus, and the conversation takes a familiar path.
October 22nd, 2012
It is a curious thing, and it seems inconsistent. Scientists tend to argue that we should only believe what can be established by the scientific method, or something like it. Since God’s existence cannot be established scientifically, belief in God cannot be justified. And yet sometimes they use very flimsy arguments that seem to have […]
October 12th, 2012
I’ve been intending for a while starting a new section on Is there a God? about making a difference in the world. Finally, the baby’s born! The first topic is climate change. Don’t go away just yet. Even if you’re not all that interested, please check out the rest of this post to see why […]
October 4th, 2012
In many of my discussions with non-believers, especially those who once were believers, I find a common thread – that christian belief does not stand up to critical analysis, and that is sufficient reason to disbelieve. And, commonly, they feel surprised, sometimes even angry, that some christians refuse to be self-critical. Recent examples include my […]
A list of all blog posts, in reverse chronological order, is on the Blog archive page.