Tugging at Loose Threads

I’ve always found it helpful to think of a belief system a bit like an item of clothing, like a woolly jumper. If you find a loose thread, you should pull at it. If the jumper is well made and sturdy, the thread will just break off and the clothing will survive with no scars. […]

Let’s Just Agree to Disagree

Often in a discussion, whether in person or online, the person I am talking to will declare, “let’s just agree to disagree”. Sometimes I accept this and let the debate end there, and sometimes I get a bit annoyed and try to press my point. When I do the latter, I am told that I’m […]

On Judging Others

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2 A commonly heard doctrine of Christianity is that we should not judge other people, and in turn, to hope that they will not […]

Why I (Almost Certainly) Won’t Get Married in a Church

Back in May I discussed the reasons for which I would not attend a child’s Christening. On a similar theme, I’ve often wandered what I would do if I were going to marry a Christian girl and she had her heart set on a church wedding. Now granted, I am jumping the gun slightly here, […]

UK Faith Schools Petition Update

Back in April I urged my British readers to sign an online petition to ban faith schools in the UK. The Prime Minster’s office has now responded to that petition. The Government remains committed to a diverse range of schools for parents to choose from, including schools with a religious character or “faith schools” as […]

Rate your blog

Following on from Atheist Revolution, many bloggers are keen to see how their blogs are rated in terms of their suitability for children, so I thought I’d see how A Load of Bright came out. As you can see, “some material may be inappropriate for children under 13”. Although that’s not bad, I was a […]

My Recommended Reading

I’ve always been fascinated by de-conversion stories. I couldn’t even estimate how many I’ve read, I really can’t get enough of them. I’ve always pestered my friend Ellis14 (author of Evanescent), who was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness to write his, but he’s always been reluctant. He has now finally written it, and as soon […]

Something is Rotten in the Garden of Eden

Any claim which is built on multiple absolutes makes itself vulnerable to logical contradictions. This is seen as clearly in the Problem of Evil as anywhere else. The Christian god is presented as omnipotent, omniscient and omni-benevolent, and yet we live in a world which is plagued with evil and suffering. Ironically, this anomaly was […]

Dawkins vs. McGrath – The Lost Interview

Regular readers will know my thoughts on Alister McGrath from my previous articles. In an article in the Daily Mail, he had this to say about an alleged recording of Dawkins interviewing him for his documentary The Root of All Evil?, which was left out of the final cut. We were also filmed having a […]

The Scoreboard Fallacy

Lately, I’ve been posting more articles on various moral issues that concern me and a few random thoughts that I’ve been meaning to express for some time. In a comment on one of those articles, the Spanish Inquisitor praised me for having the “ability and desire to tackle the big issues”. It was a generous […]