Culture

A collection of 292 posts

Bert Bigelow

Entitlement: Will we ever return to a 'we' society?

I work out at a local gym almost every day. Today it was too much. Too much workout? No. Too much entitlement. When I walked in and looked at the exercise machine that I usually start with., it was unoccupied... Or so I thought. As I approached, I saw a

prayer

Gambling on prayer: Getting addicted to blind hope

I've made it clear that prayer does not change God's mind. It can't. God is immutable, and his predictions or knowledge about the universe (and his own actions) are set in stone from causally before the creation of the universe. It's all

Beyond an Absence of Faith

Beyond an Absence of Faith

This review has just come in from Dr DJ Nicholls, who recently provided his own deconversion account to my growing series. The book he reviewed, in line with that account, is an anthology of deconversion accounts (Beyond an Absence of Faith [UK]) that I think you should all rush out

Beyond an Absence of Faith

Real Deconversion #20 - Kirk M.

Here is another account in my series of real-life deconversion stories. They are often painful, psychological affairs, as you can see from the various accounts. Thank you to Kirk M. here who has provided this very personal and difficult account. Please consider contributing your own, if you so desire. Please

Culture

The Tower of Babel, Immigration, and Google Translate

I have just been inspired to write this piece by an arguably throwaway comment on my YouTube channel in response to a recent video on the Tower of Babel. Sometimes, comments that are intended as light-hearted jest actually contain some theological or philosophical punch. I found this with my book

Culture

The Tower of Babel Story Is OBVIOUSLY Not Historical

I've got to the point where, and I know this will be counter-productive, I have to claim that anyone who believes this story actually happened is an idiot. Such believers are idiots. There, I've said it. Deal with it. I know there will be some Christians

Culture

Was Sodom Hit by a Meterorite?

The story of Sodom (and Gomorrah) is a famous one. But it could be that the story is on one of aetiology - a post hoc story to explain the origins of something. Aetiology is a really interesting idea that pops up an awful lot in the context of the

Deconversion

Real Deconversion Story #19 - David N.

Here is another account in my series of real-life deconversion stories. They are often painful, psychological affairs, as you can see from the various accounts. Thank you to David Nicholls here who has provided this personal account. Please consider contributing your own, if you so desire. Please also check out

Culture

Marketing the Messiah

I started watching this on Amazon Prime, but it is no longer on there, so I was really happy to find it legitimately on YouTube. It's an excellent documentary that covers a lot of ground on Jesus and the nascent sect, with a lot of emphasis on Paul,

Brexit

Well, Brexit's Going Really Well...

I recently wrote that everything I predicted, as a Remainer who publicly debated the EU referendum back in 2016, is coming true. But I just want to update some of my American friends on what is presently going on. Those right-wingers in the US - some of whom comment on

Culture

Liberty

Give me liberty or give me death. ---Patrick Henry The author of that famous declaration was a slave owner for most of his adult life. He was elected as the first governor of the state of Virginia in 1776. The liberty he sought for himself, and white slave owners like

Biblical Exegesis

No, the Gospel Writers Weren't Eyewitnesses

A recent comment from the resident Catholic troll commenter seemed to show incredulity at the idea that we might believe that the Gospel authors were not eyewitnesses of Jesus and his ministry. Now, obviously, literalists and conservative Christians maintain they are, but this is hardly surprising. The United States Conference

Culture

Are God-Shaped Holes Filled Or Washed Away (Or Both)?

I interviewed Dr Josh Bowen recently and posted it yesterday; in the chat, I made a comment about God-shaped holes needing to be filled with something. By this, I mean that belief in God is invariably functional - God or gods provide functional benefits to believers outside of the religious

Biblical Exegesis

Dr Joshua Bowen Interviewed on ANE, Bible, Epistemology, Atheism, MS & Hammurabi-Rockets

I loved this interview. We covered loads of ground discussing biblical exegesis, the Old Testament, epistemology, atheism, fallacies, the ANE, Bezos' knob-rocket, and then moved on to talking about personal issues as we both suffer with multiple sclerosis and twins... ;) Dr Josh Bowen will be writing the foreword to

Biblical Exegesis

Who Is Jesus and What Is Christianity Without the History and the Torah? (II)

This is the third in a series that you really need to read before engaging with this, otherwise you won't have the first clue about which I am talking. See: * Without the History, What are the Torah and Christian Bible? * Who is Jesus and What Is Christianity Without

Biblical Exegesis

Who Is Jesus and What Is Christianity Without the History and the Torah?

This is the second in a triology of pieces, which started with "Without the History, What are the Torah and Christian Bible?" where I detailed the dismissal of the more problematic portions of the Bible in favour of a more abstract and modern approach. I've been

archaeology

Bowen, Lewis and Stavrakapoulou Dissect the Genesis of Israel's Religion

I can't tell you how interesting this interview was. Actually, I can - it was supremely interesting. I cannot wait for Stavrakapoulou's book to be released - she is such a good public communicator of her discipline. This interview has soooo many fascinating and important nuggets

Biblical Exegesis

Canaanites, Israelites, the Exodus, and Joel Baden

I'm a big fan of Joel Baden. He's done a huge amount of work in the field and seems spot on. Here he is being, well, spot on. I'm going to be busy for the next few days as I have to take one

agnosticism

From Committed Pastor to Academia to Atheism to Agnosticism

Dr Joshua Bowen is a fascinating guy. He's awesome for a bunch of reasons. First, he has agreed to write the foreword to my forthcoming book (with archaeologist Rebecca Bradley) on the Exodus. Second, he is just a really nice guy. Third, with his wife Megan Lewis, he

Skepticism

Bearing False Witness

I posted earlier on how implausible it is to have so much accurate speech in the Bible. Commenter epeeist added this anecdote: A slightly different take, and one that I have described elsewhere. When I was much younger, I went to Leeds Polytechnic. One February evening, I was waiting at

Biblical Exegesis

Speech in the Bible? Pah!

Can you remember what you said last week? You know, in any conversation? Can you remember what you said last month? How about last year? How about ten years ago? Can you remember your conversations from ten years ago other than general themes of only the most pertinent ones? Can

Biblical Exegesis

Is the Betrayal of Jesus by Judas Historical?

In the closing stages of writing my latest book, The Resurrection: A Critical Examination of the Easter Story [UK] (please grab yourself a copy!), I had a few test readers. One was David Austin, down in Australia, who has provided a few guest articles for your delectation. Here is another

Biblical Exegesis

The Pentateuch and the Documentary Hypothesis

Whilst I am knee-deep in Joel Baden and Jeffrey Stackert's The Oxford Handbook of the Pentateuch (masterful), as well Baden's The Composition of the Pentateuch, with Friedman's Who Wrote the Bible?, and a little bit of Digital Hammurabi's Josh Bowen's

Biblical Exegesis

Without the History, What are the Torah and Christian Bible?

I've been involved in a conversation with some friends of mine on Facebook who are essentially Christians. They have taken variously interesting positions countering both my previous two books (The Nativity: A Critical Examination [UK] and is The Resurrection: A Critical Examination of the Easter Story [UK]) without

Biblical Exegesis

Steve Mason, Josephus, Jesus and the Testimonium Flavianum

Dr Steve Mason knows him some Josephus, that's for sure. Check this interview out with my friend Tim Mills. Mason goes into some pretty good detail to show that the famous Testimonium Flavianum is most certainly interpolated to some degree, though there appears to have been something already