Why The Rapture Failed

Jesus misses his appointment again — just like he had been for the last 2,000 years.

— Xenocrates

I think we can safely say now that part of the world has entered into May 22nd, 2011 without incident that one of two things are true: 1) That either the Bible is inherently dangerous in how it appears to attract loons or 2) The Bible cannot be trusted as a fairly reliable source of information. Either way end of world prophecies will continue to be a source of great appeal.

Tough Questions Christians Fear

One who has tough questions should never ask them of those who fear the answers.

— Xenocrates

Taking my elders to task on tough Bible questions.

Have you ever had one of those moments growing up when you were presented with an idea that you immediately accepted, but deep in the recesses of your mind, something didn’t add up? That was my entire childhood really. That’s basically how I grew up with religion. This post is for all the younger folks out there who have questions they are either afraid to ask or were given circular, useless answers. Read on to see what all your church elders were so afraid of.

Read more…

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A Skeptic’s Guide To Bible Prophecy

We tend see whatever we want to see whenever there is nothing else to see.

- Xenocrates

I had a, revelation recently. It came to me while I was trying to understand various people’s motivation for reinterpreting The Book of Revelation. As I talked to different pastors, teachers and philosophers over the past three months, it became more and more apparent to me that what we think we understand from the book is not what is actually in the book as much as what is in their hearts. There is a difference between seeking the truth and trying to invent it.

Atheism Exposed: Skepticism

“Sometimes the truth is inexplicable – and that is the plain and simple truth.”

- Xenocrates

Consider this: If a dog really did eat your homework, how’re you going to prove it? You could examine the bowel movement of the animal. However, assuming your homework was written on paper, it would have already become an indistinguishable, finely digested mulch at that point. The teacher’s skepticism about your story is palpable though, largely because of their inability to prove it and the unlikelihood of its occurrence. Does your teacher’s doubt about your story prove that it isn’t true? No. Yet, this is how skeptics think. They believe that whatever can be doubted is not likely to be true. Skeptical Atheists love this technique for asserting the “likely” non existence of God. While that is true on some level, it’s easily the worst way to make any kind of assertive proof of anything.

Atheism Exposed: The Motive

“Without proof, belief is still belief – even if you believe in nothing.”

- Xenocrates

Is Atheism a religious belief? Most would argue no, since atheism is purportedly anything but religious. However, of late I’ve been observing a pattern among atheists that has made the entire movement frightfully indiscernible in motive from the very religious proponents they seek to rebut. The trouble lies in the fact that the argument between the two camps is about insubstantial belief – something that is unquantifiable one way or another. As a result, both sides of the fence are making all of the same mistakes – which is why their motivations must be called into question. That is the point of this post. Nonbelievers and people with imaginary friends, follow me for a moment. I have a few things I want to pick your brains about.