Chemistry and Romance - excerpt from my wedding speech

I've asked for article suggestions on Twitter, and one friend asked me to write a little more about myself. I declined - people who have time to blog and talk to street preachers are rarely interesting in and of themselves - but it did remind me that there was something personal I wanted to share.

It's an excerpt from my wedding speech. The whole thing's about ten minutes long, but given that you won't know the parties involved I've trimmed considerably.

Writing a groom's speech can be tough. Public speaking and writing more than 160 characters are not as common as they once were. Men in general do not discuss their feelings. There is a perceived but wholly inaccurate barrier between atheism and wonder. I'm sure all grooms of all faith positions stare at blank sheets of paper for considerable time, but when you get the opportunity to stand up in front of a packed room and loudly declare your love it's all worth it.

Gunning for God (John Lennox) - Did Jesus Rise From The Dead? Bad Arguments

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"The New Atheists never tire of citing Bertrand Russell’s reply when he was asked what he would say if God were to ask him after his death why he had not believed: “Not enough evidence, God, not enough evidence.” But then a curious thing happens. When evidence is offered to them, they refuse to examine it. I have already mentioned Richard Dawkins’ contemptuous dismissal of the resurrection in our God Delusion debate; so his attitude is clear. Furthermore, I know of no serious attempt by any of the New Atheists to engage with the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ." (Emphasis mine.)

I commend Lennox for the extraordinary efforts he has surely expended to avoid atheist writing on what he calls evidence for the resurrection. Perhaps he merely read the copyright information of "Not The Impossible Faith" by Dr Richard Carrier, missing the lengthy discussion therein that spawned debates with William Lane Craig and others. He must have hidden from Dan Barker, former preacher and now co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation who speaks of little else. Robert M Price has doctorates in both Theology and NT studies and discusses the subject at inordinate length. I could go on, and those interested in further examples are invited to consult the search feature of Amazon, a step Lennox has obviously not bothered to take.

If God Then What? - Disappointingly Good

Over the last year or so I've tried to read at least one book I disagree with a month, generally on Christianity. It's an odd hobby. Sometimes it's laborious work. On several occasions I've had fun combing texts for errors, contradictions and absurdities. Some I've broadly liked, but separating where I agree with the author and where we differ has always seemed a tough review to write. I'd like to tell you why Jesus and the Eyewitnesses and Atheist Delusions are both worth reading despite my disagreements in areas, but It's easier to point at ID authors who think all languages originated at the Tower of Babel.

A few weeks ago, after a year of off-and-on blogging, I was asked if I'd read the recently released "If God Then What?" and discuss with the author on a radio show called Unbelievable?. Despite my accent I do love the sound of my own voice so I leapt at the opportunity. I expected a fun week of debunking, drawing up lists of flawed arguments, rehashing old debates and preparing to retaliate for slights against my fellow atheists. I'd heard the author, Andrew Wilson, on radio shows before and he seemed the sort who'd enjoy a vigorous debate.

April Fools Questions for the Moonies

Given the day that's in it I thought I'd ask the Moonies for some more information on their Messiah. I'll let you know if they get back to me. In the meantime, here's the e-mail I sent:




Dear Patricia,

I found a copy of your flier on O'Connell Street outside the GPO. Well, some of it was missing, but I had the bottom half and it looked interesting. Reading about how Rev Moon was anointed by Jesus and sent to find a bride livened up an otherwise dull bus ride.

I did some searching on my mobile (again, uninteresting bus ride, so plenty of time for looking into these things) and found that quite a number of Rev Moon's speeches are available on www.tparents.org and www.unification.net - but you probably knew that already! The link may even be on the top half of your flier. I enjoy talking with friends about different world beliefs so I found lots of information for discussion.

One of my friends was quite interested. She works in a large call centre just outside London. She's in HR, and as you can imagine, with high staff turnover scheduling things like hiring campaigns and holiday leave can be a bit of a nightmare. She was most interested to read where your Messiah said that soon

"There will be a purge on God's orders, and evil will be eliminated like shadows. Gays will be eliminated ... If not then they will be burned. We do not know what kind of world God will bring but this is what happens. It will be greater than the communist purge but at God's orders." (http://www.tparents.org/moon-talks/sunmyungmoon04/SM040101-Service-b.htm)

Reinhard Bonnke and the Case of the Evil God

"When you grasp what we are saying here, then you join the army with the battering ram of the Word of the Cross. It will pulverise the strongholds of the devil. It is the drum-roll thunder of God’s invincible army on the march."

 "No matter how brilliant a sermon may be, in a form as perfect as the bullet case of a tank cartridge, if you do not fill it with explosives it will simply bounce off the hardened hearts of the unbelievers."

"Witnesses should witness; it is our nature. Soldiers are not fitted with uniforms and equipped with weapons simply to go on parade; their true place is on the battlefield." (Wasser und Mehr)

There are religious books that only provide heat when put on a bonfire. (Evangelism by fire.)

The church was never constructed for defensive purposes. The gates of hell should be invaded, not avoided. Offence is the best defense. Instead of waiting to ward off the devil's onslaught, turn the tide of battle and launch an invasion of the devil's territory. Jesus is with you. (Official Facebook page) 

Many years ago I spent a rather enjoyable week working in Istanbul. It was my first time in a Muslim majority country and much less of a difference than I had perhaps naively expected. I avoided alcohol, pork, and long conversations on unstunned Halal slaughter. I'd heard a rumour that showing the sole of one's shoe could be considered offensive. This was prudish of me - I have no doubt that I would still have been welcome had I indulged in all the above perceived vices - but it seemed only fair that I make a moderate effort when visiting.

But what of Reinhard Bonnke? A close associate of the very rich huckster Benny Hinn, Bonnke was called in a dream (naturally) to minister to Africa, where his performances are billed under the ill-advised heading of crusades.

I feel certain that Bonnke must work late into the night in his efforts to provoke reactions when he 'invades the Devil's territory'. Crusades are not looked upon with kindness by Muslims and they have strong historical precedent for adopting this position. Couple this with Bonnke's incessant, dreary repetition of analogies with soldiers, guns, explosives, invasions, tanks and so on and you're left quite certain that he is not a chap interested in interfaith dialogue.

But could it get worse?

Dawit Molalegn and FBI's Miracle Church

By the time I reach the end of this sentence you'll likely be asking why I'm suddenly concerned with a Megachurch in Ethiopia. I have a radio show coming up where I'll be discussing miracles, and as part of my background reading I've been investigating those listed as reliable witnesses of the miraculous. The FBI church is not my strongest case, but I'm working through these in rough chronological order so it managed to come up trumps.

Although originally named Faith Baptist Church, self-styled megachurch President Dawit Molalegn rebranded his ministry to Faith Bible International Church. The more astute among you will already have noticed the logo in the bottom right corner of all screenshots - he's stolen his livery wholesale from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A documentary made by the megachurch is available on ethiotube.net and the comments make for interesting reading:

"This man is so fat, because of this poeple's money and fat life. But full of lie. He drive, he eat, he talk(bussiness), and live like he is popstar. There is no way he look like pastor. He did not even mentiion one word from bible. 
all is money, dollar, dollar, dollar, dollarhow paster take the stage to talk about dollar???"

Comments on Molalegn's weight may seem a little ill spirited, but if you watch the video you won't find anyone else who's managed to acquire such a quintessentially Western complaint.

Gunning for God (John Lennox) - Hitler and the atheist baptisms

You may be aware that Mohandas Gandhi was posthumously baptised into the Mormon faith. The same industrious folk also converted the parents of famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. The noteworthy are not their sole targets; their net is cast so wide that a performer in this proxy baptism charade sued the church for back injuries sustained while performing two hundred immersions.

When first I heard of these tales I pictured two fresh-faced elders of the Mormon church, dressed in trademark black slacks and short sleeve shirts, knocking at the doors of hell and asking politely if they could take the insipid word of Joe Smith to the complex's residents. I dismissed it as an oddity, peculiar to the Latter Day Saints.

Until I found John Lennox trying a similar trick.

Considering the multitudes in his ambitious plan I hope he has opted not to perform proxy immersions. Rather than attempting to swell the ranks of Christianity his goal is to deplete them. Throughout Gunning for God he strives to separate the wheat from the chaff. The True Christians^TM are kept and celebrated, those he discards as failing his almighty judgement are assigned to the atheist pile.