A touching question and a touching response

By Tom Beasley on January 15, 2013 | Discuss

On the social media site Reddit, a mother asked users who were atheists how to deal with her son “coming out” as an atheist. She asked how to deal with such an immoral proposition that she had no idea how he could have reached. The user iopha put a touching reply that, especially as a classicist, I could not help but share:

Hi Unsuremother,

First, off, though I am an atheist myself, I want to empathize a little: this must be difficult for you and your family. Your faith commitment is an important part of your life and it is bewildering to have your own child turn away from this. I don’t know exactly what you believe, but you might be worried about his soul in the next life, or his behaviour in this one. If you don’t believe in God, how do you know right from wrong? If you reject God, how will you be reunited with Him in the next Kingdom? Continue reading…

Saudi man sentenced to death for witchcraft

By Tom Beasley on June 19, 2012 | Discuss

A Saudi man has been beheaded on charges of sorcery and witchcraft, the state news agency SPA says.

Saudi Arabia is some time behind the western world, participating in events that could only be understood through reading something like The Crucible. Unfortunately, unsurprising to most, a man was beheaded this month for practicing witchcraft and sorcery in Saudi Arabia. You can read more about this story here.

 

Relics of John the Baptist confirmed to date to 1st century

By Tom Beasley on June 18, 2012 | Discuss

The Huffington Post reports via the AP that relics, including those signifying the name of John the Baptist actually date to the 1st century.

It’s a tantalizing find in a Biblical mystery – Oxford University researchers have concluded that a set of skeletal remains which many Bulgarians attribute to John the Baptist probably belonged to a first century male from the Middle East.

The article continues in saying that there are actually more than 25 purported relics of John the Baptist, often claiming to be from his head (which contains more symbolic significance given the story). It is also quite a common phenomenon for people and churches to claim to have fragments of the cross that Jesus died upon. Other notable frauds include the Shroud of Turin, which initially everyone believed to be death shroud of Jesus, and was later proven to be a hoax. However, the difference with these John the Baptist fragments is that science does not contradict their authenticity. Some religious people will discard science if it does not fit their narrative, but the problem is that even if science and other archeology could positively confirm that these are the remains of John the Baptist, it lends no credibility to the miracle claims of the holy texts. For example, many historical sites exist that the Bible describes, but likewise archeologists have discovered a location of what was likely the city of Troy — that does not mean that the Odyssey is real. Regardless, collection of information and new historical finds are exciting and add to the depository of collective human knowledge. It is only a shame when we misuse knowledge or draw silly conclusions from it.

Billy Graham’s daughter echoes public concern over atheists

By Tom Beasley on April 18, 2012 | Discuss

Because I believe you need to have an acknowledgement, a reverence, a fear for almighty God. And I believe that’s where wisdom comes from.” … “A 2007 Newsweek poll found that 62 percent of Americans would not vote for a candidate who was an atheist, making atheists one of the groups most politically discriminated against in the U.S.”

Read More from The Raw Story

Numerology doesn’t add up

By Tom Beasley on March 20, 2012 | Discuss

Many are unfamiliar with the term itself, and hopefully most of the people who are familiar with it dismiss the concept at a glance. Numerology is another serving of nonsense, along with cryptozoology, astrology and many others, that masquerades as scientific or valid. There are many forms of numerology, specifically I will address biblical numerology, but the same basic premise flows through each subtype. There is a variety of methods for biblical numerology, but essentially there is a rubric for each type. For example, assigning numbers to letters in the alphabet, which are then used to “decode” secret messages in the Bible. Continue reading…