In a world where people routinely profit from telling lies by deliberately spreading "fake news", how can we know what is true? Quid est veritas? Before Pilate was born and long after he died, people still ask that same question: what is truth? Perhaps the better question is this: what does it profit a man should he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul? What should a man receive in exchange for his soul? In the big scheme of things, from my perspective money is nothing but a colored piece of paper. Frankly, if I only cared about how much income I can earn as a writer, I'd have set up a Patreon account and solicit donations to support my work. Honestly, I wouldn't even consider writing an article like this if my only concern was making money, because this is the sort of article that could basically alienate my entire audience. While I don't wear my Christianity on my sleeve and I don't try to market myself as a Christian writer, I've also made it crystal clear that I am fairly convinced that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, and God raised him from the dead. The first section of my book Counterargument for God was mostly an argument advocating the idea of intelligent design over blind (and lucky) natural processes and effects, but the second section provided a rather rigorous defense of my Christian faith against the most common and popular criticisms. Of course, if you don't believe the soul exists, then it isn't worth anything to you. A few atheists have even tried to sell their souls on eBay, because they only place value on material wealth. What we choose to … [Read more...]
Carol Everett, psychic healer
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Several years ago, while writing for the now defunct Examiner.com website as the Atlanta Creationism Examiner, I learned of credible (and incredible) claims about the healing power of the human mind that practically defy the human imagination, and wrote about the allegedly amazing accomplishments of psychic healers such as Geoff Boltwood and Henry Rucker. One of the psychic healers I wrote about was a woman named Carol Everett. In the spirit of full disclosure, before I re-publish my original article or write anything more, I need to share some information with readers: First, I have corresponded with Ms. Everett several times, but we have never met. I have not been offered any financial incentives to intentionally deceive anyone to her benefit. Second, what attracted me to this original story I wrote several years ago was the fact that a respected medical doctor had been willing to put his reputation on the line to scientifically test Carol's reported psychic healing ability. One of the most frequent criticisms my atheist friends offer in regard to my personal beliefs is the purported lack of scientific evidence. Third, and perhaps most important of all, is that the reader should be aware that I'm inclined to believe that Carol's reported abilities are legitimate. For the same reason I'm willing to risk scorn and ridicule for writing about what I honestly believe to be real based on what I've learned from interviews with the people involved. Neither the doctors, patients allegedly cured, nor I have motive to lie on Carol's behalf. I wouldn't … [Read more...]
An open letter to David Hogg
Hello David, My name is John. The only thing about me that's important for you to know other than my name is that I'm old enough to be your father, and I am writing this with the best of intentions. I'd like to help you if possible, not hurt you. I truly have your best interests at heart, whether you choose to believe it or not. So I'm going to speak to you as your father should be doing, and as if I were speaking to my own son--who is actually ten years older than you. I'm offering you the same advice I would give Matthew, if he were in the same situation as you at this moment: please, for the love of God, stop talking. Why in the hell your own parents haven't already had this conversation with you is another topic and possibly beyond my comprehension. But Hillary Clinton once claimed that it takes a village to raise a child, so for once in my life, I'm going to pretend she actually knew what she was talking about, and assume that writing this letter is a good idea. In my opinion, you must learn to choose your words very carefully, before you speak. Why? Because people are currently listening to you. You've got just about everyone's attention. That can work against you. This cliche that sounds like an ominous warning is actually a truth I learned as a child--be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. If you wanted to be famous, consider that goal achieved. You have gone through a very stressful and traumatic experience, one about which I can empathize, at least to some degree. When I was about your age, I got into a heated argument … [Read more...]
Sympathy for Stephen Hawking
After news of Stephen Hawking's death began to circulate around the internet, I must confess that I was appalled to read comments from some alleged Christians, who were rather gleefully speculating that Professor Hawking was roasting in hell at that moment, due to his atheism. The first two thoughts that came to my mind were a Bible verse and a parable. The verse was Matthew 7:1, which reads: Judge not, lest you be judged. My next thought was to remember the parable about the workers in the field who were all paid the same, no matter how many hours they worked. I interpreted these connected thoughts in this way: even if it was with his dying breath, if Hawking said, "Jesus, forgive me!" we should expect to see him in heaven one day. By acknowledging that Jesus has the power to forgive sins, he would have implicitly been saying that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah and also God, the Son, and according to Romans 10:9, that would have been all that was necessary. It doesn't really matter when he saw the light, as long as he saw it before his last breath. And if Professor Hawking didn't repent, well, that's between him and God. Judging whether or not a man I never met was worthy of heaven is way above my pay grade. It's certainly no cause for celebration, nor a reason for Christians to gloat. If there's any question about my opinion on this subject, see how our atheist friends have also noticed some Christians are behaving badly. Though from what I saw, the only truly reprehensible comment was from the Westboro Baptist Church, which should hardly be a surprise to … [Read more...]
A lesson on morality from Guardians of the Galaxy
Morality, of course, is a general sense of right versus wrong. By human nature, our personal sense of morality is relative, because otherwise there would be no criminal behavior, and no one would ever get upset or offended by the actions of another person. But what about objective morality? Does it even exist? An objective moral truth is always true. Even though do people commit murders, the act of deliberately murdering another human being is universally understood to be wrong, by virtually everyone on earth, which even includes the perpetrator. Many of the most important objective moral truths were codified into law from the earliest days of civilization: stealing, murder, and giving false testimony are only a few examples. The thief and the murderer may try to rationalize that under certain circumstances, their criminal behavior may be the only appropriate solution to their perceived problem, but the independent observer with absolute knowledge of right versus wrong and good versus evil, but the arbiter of objective moral values has decreed that the end result never justifies the means. So, whoever would have guessed that that a simple but extraordinary lesson on morality could be learned by watching Guardians of the Galaxy? Certainly not me. In fact, I've watched the movie several times without the thought ever occurring to me, that the scriptwriters had managed to work a very clever moral lesson into their plot. In this scene, Rocket the Raccoon and Drax the Destroyer perfectly represent humankind's "natural" approach to the problem of morality. Peter … [Read more...]
