Pillars of creation photo: NASA, Jeff Hester, and Paul Scowen (Arizona State University) I keep telling myself that I've said all I needed to say in my first two nonfiction books (Divine Evolution and Counterargument for God) but then I realize that the issue still hasn't been resolved and so the debate isn't over. It's never going to be over, but that doesn't mean I'll be writing nonfiction books and articles rehashing the same points, over and over. When the spirit moves me (literally) I can't let it go. I think there's a third book in the works that will be titled God or Good Luck? Whether or not you understand that fact, those are really your only two choices. Nobel Laureate Werner Heisenberg famously made the most honest and truthful statement about atheism I've ever read: "The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but God is waiting for you at the bottom of the glass." What does that mean? It's actually pretty simple. I can speak from experience, because it happened to me. I had graduated from a "Christian" high school that provided a quality education that was careful not to conflict with any biblical teachings. As a result, the first time I ever heard the term "The Big Bang" to describe the origin of the universe was in college. I had not been taught that science believed humans and apes shared a common primate ancestor and had "evolved" from more primitive species as an indisputable fact...it was merely what some biologists believed. I had been taught from the perspective of Young Earth Creationism, and so college … [Read more...]
The price of a soul
What is the intrinsic value of a human soul? Perhaps the better question is, what is your own soul worth to you? Do you even believe you have one? Some people (like me, for example) believe that their soul is their most valuable possession and that it is priceless, meaning it is not available for sale, no matter how much wealth is offered in exchange. Notice that I said wealth, not money. I may not be the smartest person on earth but I'm not stupid, either. A lot of people don't grasp the true concept of what money really is -- a colored piece of paper that only has value if everyone else agrees. If you don't believe me, the next time you're going to the grocery store just reach into your Monopoly game and grab a few hundred dollars, and see how much you can buy with it. Hint: you won't leave the store empty handed. The store manager might allow you to leave with the "currency" you brought with you if he/she believed the ruse was just a prank, but you also could also end up sporting a pair of shiny silver bracelets provided by law enforcement and arrested for counterfeiting and fraud if the management has no sense of humor. But one thing is certain--you can't even buy a bottle of water with money printed by Milton Bradley. So what, you say? So history--after World War I in the Weimar Republic, hyperinflation caused the Papiermark to become worthless. People literally needed a wheelbarrow full of useless currency to buy a loaf of bread. The British probably would have won the Revolutionary War if their plot to destroy the value of the Continental dollar hadn't … [Read more...]
Greatest sports songs of all time
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: none of the songs on this list will be specific to a certain team. So there will be no "Glory, Glory to Old Georgia", "Hunker Down Hairy Dawgs", or "Georgia On My Mind" songs on this list just because I personally like them because then the list would get unmanageable and require acknowledgment of songs such as "Sandstorm" which I can't stand. The only omission that was a difficult choice was "Rocky Top" because I love the disturbing lyrics, but for the sake of consistency, it won't be here, either.] It's almost Christmas, which means it's also almost bowl season for college football. I don't want to antagonize the atheists in my audience by their personal religious beliefs (or lack thereof) during the holiday season and politics isn't exactly in the spirit of the holiday, so I've decided to do something a little more fun and different, and that is to make up a list of the best, most appropriate songs that could be during any game in any sport. So without further ado, let's start at the bottom of this short list and work our way up to the top, shall we? The song on this list that lyrically makes the least sense is Gary Glitter's somewhat catchy tune officially known as "Rock n Roll part 2", but usually referred to as the "Hey" song for obvious reasons. All you have to do is shout "Hey!" on the right beat, so it is something of a crowd pleaser. Drinking heavily before or during the game does increase the degree of difficulty in getting the timing down, though. And timing is everything, especially in sports. After all, you don't want your team to … [Read more...]
The problem of evil
A headline at The Drudge Report made an absurd claim: "Mankind's belief in evil 'caused by disease'." The headline of the actual article in the UK Daily Star was slightly more ridiculous--it prefaced the unbelievable claim with "Scientists discover..." Both headlines are nothing more than click-bait; the substance of the article doesn't come remotely close to justifying the claims of that sensational headline. In fact. if you actually bother to read the article found at the Daily Star claiming that "Scientists discover mankind's belief in evil caused by disease" what you, the reader, will discover is that scientists haven't said they have discovered any such thing. The only thing Brock Bastian and his team of researchers from the University of Melbourne have actually said is that there seems to be some sort of correlation between geographic locations where diseases were known to be more common and a cultural belief in the existence of demons and evil spirits. Once you get into the real "substance" of the article, you'll find the bold declarations have been considerably watered down by the use of all sorts of conditional words...the backpedaling begins with the article's subtitle that says "A potentially-massive breakthrough in our understanding of evil may have been found." Well, which is it? Has this amazing breakthrough been found, or hasn't it? You won't know for sure unless you read beyond the headline. The headline itself is nothing more than a hook to lure readers into learning about what amounts to simply a secular version of a false cause fallacy based on a … [Read more...]
Transgender bullies
James Younger The Babylon Bee satire website has been on fire lately with any number of hilarious articles such as this or that poking fun at the transgender "issue." I'm guessing they've decided it's better to laugh than cry at what seems to be a growing collective insanity. Once upon a time, I tried to show compassion for the transgender crowd because a social media "friend" who was a biological male but also claimed to be a hermaphrodite had convinced me that he was born that way and had transitioned to become female because he felt more like a she. Because I tend to be a somewhat sympathetic person and didn't want to be labeled transphobic I gave that person the benefit of the doubt, only to eventually see my good will abused and personal religious beliefs attacked. I've always tried to get along with other people and try to show respect for their opinions. I'm also cognizant of the fact I'm not always right, and the possibility exists that I can learn from people with whom I currently disagree. Therefore, my approach to friendship on social media to this point has pretty much been "anything goes." Personally, I'm pretty conservative in my politics, and a Christian according to my faith. But I have "Facebook" friends who are atheists, devout Christians, liberal, conservative, gay, straight, you name it...basically if you want to be my friend, all you have to do is ask. We don't have to agree; we only have to be willing to listen to each other. The scientific facts in regard to the transgender phenomena are rather simple, straight-forward, and inarguable: … [Read more...]
