Download audio transcript Around a decade ago, one of my Christian friends put forward the view that the bible should not be subjected to academic enquiry. I had heard this view many times, including by the late minister at my (former) parish. Going back around 20 years now, another friend who was studying at Moore […]

Wow what a past couple of days it’s been on this issue. The NRL’s Manly Sea Eagles unveiled a pride jersey for the Women in League Round with rainbow stripes as you see Mr Jackson modelling opposite. What does LGBTQ+ rights have to do with promoting Women in League? I have no idea, it’s not […]

The Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade in the US is understandably shocking, and some of the consequences truly horrifying. But in truth the decision brings US law back into a field of normality though it may not seem like it at first. Terminations in Australia Yes here in ‘Straya we are more civilised than […]

Almost exactly a year ago I promised a new blog series on atheist biblical studies, and despite writing several drafts I haven’t yet began the series proper. I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about my own journey and why I reject the idea that I “lost” my faith or religion. Christians today […]

Welcome to my brand new academic blog series. I call it my Atheist Bible Studies. This will be the introductory post, and for this series I will choose topics that Evangelical Christians will find challenging, but which everyone else (atheist, liberal Christian, or other theist) probably won’t. I should note that I’m not an anti-theist, […]

On his blog, well-known bible scholar Larry Hurtado gave me a public dressing-down while laying out his reasons for not publishing a comment I made to his previous blog post. He didn’t name me, but I will confirm it is my comment he is talking about. He didn’t abide the use of the word “lie”, […]

This blog entry has gone under several revisions. Last updated 02/06/2018. Yes you read right, this isn’t clickbait. The First Century Manuscript of the Gospel of Mark that Dr. Daniel B Wallace told the world about during a debate in February 2012 with Dr. Bart Ehrman has, finally, been published. The debate is here. The […]

One lie perpetrated by Evangelicals is that we atheists can’t explain what happened to the body of Jesus after he was crucified. We actually don’t know what happened, and don’t claim to know, but can put forward a number of different options all of which enjoy scholarly support. In addition I have formed a new […]

Atheists often deny they have a specific world-view. I would contend that any strongly held world-view is prone to fundamentalist style beliefs. Whether it’s in history, science, religion, paranormal, health, or society. One prominent feature of fundamentalists is that they evaluate information under their own set of rules that are in conflict with best practise […]

This is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while, it’s a direct follow-on to my 2010 post Hi, I’m an Islamophobic. On today’s Outsiders programme with Ross Cameron and Rowan Dean was one of the loveliest people I have ever seen on television. His name is Imam Shaikh Mohammad Tawhidi (pictured), and […]

It’s at this time of year that Christians claim that they are persecuted. Perhaps they take their cue from Jesus who was persecuted and then crucified. Unlike many other atheists, I believe it is right to remember Jesus as a good man who was unjustly persecuted. And to recognise the good he taught. Where I […]

Before we begin, please view this short 18 second clip: Bart Ehrman. Video © Mythicist Milwaukee, 2016. As Bart says above and will wholeheartedly agree, I don’t think Christians are foolish. There are many types of atheists, and again as Bart puts it, some are atheist fundamentalist, every bit as bad as a fundamental Christian. […]

This post follows on from “Why I’m not a Christian any more” which I wrote a year ago. I drew a picture to demonstrate what I’m talking about, I’m very sorry it’s not very nice, I’m not a good drawer, it was difficult for me. I’m sorry it was the best I could do. The […]

The cornerstone of Christianity is the resurrection of their apocalyptic patriarch Jesus. Jesus actually had much less to do with Christianity than you might think. Paul was significantly more influential to the birth and spread of Christianity as we know it than Jesus was. And not Just Paul – John the Baptist, Simeon Peter, and […]

I want to make this clear from the onset. These are my arguments – just like the last post. I’m not repeating something I read by some militant anti-Christian atheists – I don’t read books by people like Richard Dawkins. I don’t visit anti-Christian websites or care for their arguments (as I’ve previously pointed out […]

Have you ever talked to a hardcore fundamentalist? They will justify anything and everything written in the Bible and claim that every other idea that comes along and challenges the Biblical view is wrong and nothing more than the futile pathetic loathsome concoctions of poor lowly mortal man, which can’t possibly improve upon God’s truly […]

The Aractus Creed (subject to review): We believe in the prophet, our apostolic father, Charles Darwin; Creator of wonder, evolutionary biology, and wonder; We follow the teachings of the great holy book “Origin of Species”; We follow the guidance of his disciplinary descendant, Richard Dawkins; Towards truth, wisdom, discovery, and wonder; Even though sometimes he […]

You know time and time again I see Christians and atheists making exactly the same arguments against each other, oblivious to the fact that their argument is equally absurd as the one levelled at them from the other side. If you’re going to get into these discussions and debates you should observe a few simple […]

Intro This is an entry I’ve needed to write, so I’m doing it now to get it done and out of the way. I’ve already been criticised by both sides, some of the comments I’ve been given are completely misguided and well, ignorant. Let me begin by saying that I’m a person that keeps an […]

There are six bodies of text that scholars consult for the Old Testament, three of them are derivative works. The six are as follows: 1. Masoretic Text (the complete extant authorized Hebrew version). 2. Qumran Text (commonly known as the Dead Sea scrolls, contains extensive amounts of OT text, the only complete biblical book is […]