Category: Critical thinking

Isaiah 7:14, the one about the virgin giving birth to a bloke called Immanuel that you hear about at every kids nativity play has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus. That’s a mistranslation, a mistake made by whoever wrote the gospel of Matthew.

He was a Greek speaker who couldn’t read the original Hebrew and so relied on a more ambiguous word from the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Unfortunately he made the wrong choice and wrote ‘Almah’, meaning ‘virgin’ instead of ‘young woman’. Not only that – the entire story is about events that happened in Isaiah’s time, over 700 years before the nativity story is supposed to have taken place..

Anyone who reads more of Isaiah chapter 7 than just verse 14 will quickly see that. It’s not hard to understand. There’s not really much room for ‘interpretation’ with this one. So if your pastor is telling you it’s a prophecy about the Messiah – ask him3 why he’s lying – or, more charitably, why he doesn’t know this himself. Has he never read the Bible?

The burden of proof

I would say my diary demands faith in place of inquiry

“… And if I said God wrote my diary

I’d anticipate inquiry…”

A short poem about the burden of proof

Original sin: Does it make sense to you?

Two people who I never knew did something that I didn’t do, so I deserve to burn in Hell!

I can be forgiven for what I didn’t do, because some other people crucified a bloke who didn’t do it too!

I didn’t do it! I’m not guilty of it!

Look at the trees

They tell me that to understand

I need only gaze across the land

In nature’s wonders I will see

Proof of God’s creativity…

Trees are evidence of trees, not of Gods!

Debunking Paley’s watch and a minister who lies

Paley’s watch is named after Rev. William Paley, the minister who first used the analogy of finding a watch on the beach as an analogy to prove Biblical creation. Of course it does no such thing but religious conviction tends to limit the ability of even the most intelligent people to consider all the options.

Paley’s watch has morphed into a variety of forms over the years from Mount Rushmore to the 747 in the junkyard. It even underpins several “Look at the trees” type arguments, none of which withstand scrutiny.

Here’s my response to the minister who isn’t just limited in his thinking .. he’s downright deceitful.

Discussing God and atheism with a Calvinist presup

Ryan Matus is a presuppositional, Calvinist Christian. He’s no fool and he certainly knows scripture. This online conversation was one of the most interesting and enjoyable I can remember and I’m certainly looking forward to talking more with Ryan.

Justice: an atheist’s view

God is not just. Here’s how we can tell.

Christians love to claim that their God is just.I disagree. this video explains why.

Hanlon’s razor

Hanlon’s razor is a precautionary little principle. It’s useful in keeping discussions productive, in fending off paranoia and in reminding us not to assume too much about another person’s motives.

Hanlon’s razor is a precautionary little principle. It’s useful in keeping discussions productive, in fending off paranoia and in reminding us not to assume too much about another person’s motives. It’s often impossible for us really to know.

Hitchens’ razor

Hitchens’ razor encapsulates that incisive, no-nonsense, almost scholastic dialectic

Christopher Hitchens had an incisive mind and a reputation for the unceremonial dismissal of foolish opponents. If you were planning to take on Hitch you definitely would have needed to bring your best arguments. Hitchens’ razor encapsulates that incisive, no-nonsense, almost scholastic dialectic in a critical thinking principle that could hardly have been named after anyone else.

Carl Sagan’s razor

Carl Sagan, astronomer and science populiser was no fool. He was the one behind the incredibly successful history of science series, Cosmos. Not only was it a hit in the 1970s when Sagan presented it himself but it was equally popular when Neil de Grasse-Tyson remade it decades later. Such was the ability of Sagan. His razor is as straightforward as it is important. Find out more in under four minutes by clicking the video below.