Normally, I try to avoid writing about politics. In my opinion, I already write enough about controversial topics like atheism, religion, evolution, and existential science to satisfy any subliminal need that I might have to infuriate people I've never met. No matter what impression I've given my audience, it has not been my intention to antagonize readers who might disagree with me. Writers need to attract an audience, not repel them. My goal is NOT to alienate every conceivable demographic in the general public. That sort of defeats the purpose of writing books and having them published. Besides, it seems that my political instincts are lousy. In the spirit of full disclosure, I confess that I have liked Dr. Ben Carson since first watching his speech at the national prayer breakfast and previously mentioned that I support his candidacy. Admittedly, my second (preferred) choice for the Republican nominee was Scott Walker, who became the first candidate to drop out of the race. Ben Carson's campaign doesn't seem to be going anywhere, either. Unfortunately, it seems that whenever I begin to like a candidate, it's like the kiss of death for that campaign. Donald Trump continues to dominate the news cycle, and it looks like my choices will eventually boil down to either Trump, Cruz, or Rubio by the time the Georgia primary is held. Yesterday I read an interesting take on the candidacy of Donald Trump published by American Thinker, which I felt compelled to share with my friends on Facebook. One friend of mine suggested that Trump's win in South Carolina … [Read more...]
Mattie’s Call: Lamar Putnam
There are exceptions to every rule. Normally, when I write about something, I tend to get long-winded. Today my message will be short, and to the point. The man pictured on the left is Lamar Putnam. He suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Normally I don't call attention to or promote someone else's blog, but this wasn't really a tough decision to make. It's not always about me. All I had to do was to remember the last few months of my grandmother's life after her stroke, and then to imagine how I would have felt if she'd gone missing when she could no longer remember where she lived. This man is a beloved father and grandfather. His family needs your help. Mr. Putnam has been missing since January 16th. His family and friends are desperately looking for him, and they need anyone with information on his whereabouts to immediately contact the police. Please take a few minutes to read this blog to familiarize yourself with the facts of the case. There are reasons to believe Mr. Putnam could still be alive, but with winter weather moving into the area, the importance of finding him becomes more urgent by the minute. It could snow this weekend. Also please share the information at the link provided above with all your friends and family, especially if you live in Georgia or Alabama. As more people keep looking for Mr. Putnam, someone will surely find him. By doing so you just might save his life. Please help Lamar find his way home. His family misses him. Thanks for your time. … [Read more...]
Your inner parakeet
I love reading books written by Richard Dawkins. Quite ironically, he provides some of the very best material I could ever hope to find for use in discussions with my atheist friends about God and His creation, as well as existential science and evolution theory. It turns out that virtually everything I might ever need for my argument in favor of a supernatural God can be found in his book The Greatest Show on Earth: the Evidence for Evolution, simply by following the advice of Dawkins and accepting many of his claims about the theory of evolution on face value. For example, in his book Richard Dawkins claimed that humans share a now-extinct ancestor with the budgerigar (another name for the common parakeet) that lived approximately 310 million years ago, writing that "Every species is a cousin of every other. Any two species are descended from an ancestral species, which split in two." (pg. 254) That would mean every modern living organism must be directly related to every other living organism on earth by descent -- with modifications, of course. Not only is your cousin a chimpanzee, but your slightly more distant cousin is allegedly the cucumber. The most obvious question coming to mind about this idea would seem to be "how?" Now my atheist friends have frequently suggested that I publish the evidence that disproves my cousinship to fruits and vegetables such as cucumbers and turnips so that I might earn fame, fortune, and even to win a Nobel Prize. However, the Nobel Prize does not honor a category for evolutionary biology, making the goal itself … [Read more...]
How did I get here?
The title poses what is known as an existential question -- questions that are much easier asked than answered. Who am I? What happens when we die? Is there a purpose for my life? Existential questions are the sort that you're never completely sure that you've really solved them, until you die. The answers that you decide are most correct will often determine whether or not you believe in God, which may impact many of the life decisions you make. So these are not trivial questions...in fact, they are the most important and difficult questions that we may ever contemplate. How in the hell did I get started writing books that talk about things related to religion and science, when I only received a business degree in college? That's also an excellent question, and an easier riddle to solve because the question itself isn't existential in nature. And this is my answer... I've always loved writing, whether it was source code for computer programs, a short story, or an effort to communicate important thoughts and ideas in concise language through documents I've written. I've always enjoyed tackling difficult problems and then working diligently to solve them. One of my earliest dreams was to become a professional writer one day. However, for the longest time, I was too busy working a full-time job and raising my family to write prose on the side, or to worry much about seeking answers to my existential questions. I had things to do, and people to see. I stayed busy. Then a fateful television interview that was mostly background noise while I worked … [Read more...]
The death of D. M. Murdock, also known as Acharya S
Sooner or later, Death will come for us all. With sadness and considerable regret, I noticed that notorious Christian mythicist D. M. Murdock (also known by the pseudonym Acharya S.) recently passed away after a battle with cancer. Now to be completely honest, I've never been a big fan of her books or videos, given her very open hostility toward Christianity and Christians. Earlier this year, I wrote a rather scathing article about her book The Christ/Horus Connection and challenged the veracity of her work. Quite frankly, she and Richard Carrier formed a small minority of "experts" who question the existence of a historical Jesus. Carrier does hold a PhD, but he doesn't teach at a university. He offers online courses on his work that panders to the conspiracy theorist crowd and basically does "anything for a buck." The credentials of Ms. Murdock may be found here. My words practically dripped with sarcasm as I aggressively questioned her claim that she learned Egyptian hieroglyphics on the fly. Let's just say that I remain skeptical, but now regret my harsh words, considering they were delivered while she literally fought for her life. Now it is my custom, when I "attack" someone like Ms. Murdock for me to attempt communication with that person in order to call their attention to my criticisms. I'd rather be up front and give him or her the opportunity to respond to my criticism as a common courtesy. I can't say for sure that I emailed her a link to that article, and sincerely hope that I forgot. and that I did not cause her any distress during her … [Read more...]
