Contrary to popular belief (of my critics), it doesn't really bother me if people call themselves atheists. I'm not a big fan of anti-theists, though. Life is too short to spend much time in the company of thoroughly unpleasant people. What annoys me more than anything is when people presume that I'm stupid and try talking down to me merely because I have identified myself as theist-agnostic. Because I believe in a supernatural God, they immediately assume that I'm some sort of idiot, before I can even say another word. Since we are all agnostic by nature, we can then claim to be either theist, atheist, or apathetic (because you apparently don't care enough and don't know enough to even form an opinion). While describing my beliefs, I usually attempt to justify them using scientific evidence, logic, reason, and common sense. This strategy often upsets my atheist counterpart, because rarely if ever do I refer to the Bible, unless I am forced to defend my Christian beliefs. I certainly know better than to assert I can prove what I believe to be true beyond any and all doubt. Nor can I claim to know with absolute certainty that I'm right about everything (or anything) that I believe. Hence the "agnostic" bit was added as a qualifier. This was all explained in my book Counterargument for God, though perhaps not quite this clearly -- I meant to say that everyone should consider themselves agnostic. Nobody knows for sure the true nature of our supernatural Creator, nor even whether or not God actually exists. According to my analysis, however, the probability of … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 19 March 2015
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. -- Groucho Marx I remember what I've said in the past about actors...but Groucho was a lot more than just a movie star. He was a comedic genius who wrote most of his own material, and he was even funnier and more brilliant when he ad-libbed without a script. Besides, he said something nice about both books and dogs, and in the same sentence. It's a very funny line. And if you've read my book Always a Next One, you know how much I love dogs. … [Read more...]
The Pearl: 18 March 2015
To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. – Thomas Aquinas This pearl of wisdom from St. Thomas Aquinas is a reminder for me that arguing online with atheists is such a terrible waste of my time. My Counterargument for God has already covered every reason I could think to offer why design is superior to descent to explain why we have the variety of flora and fauna on Earth that we can easily observe. I've discovered that most atheists won't finish my book. They can't even get past the section on Darwinism and my explanation why design is a superior argument. Design is superior to descent for one simple reason.,,,life cannot evolve until it exists. Life cannot "descend" from inanimate matter. In other words, before evolution ever becomes possible, either supernatural creation, or stupendous good luck, has already occurred. Of course, when St. Thomas uses the word "faith", of course he means religious faith, or belief in a supernatural creator God. But atheists also have faith, if only faith in their intelligence, and that of their peers. As a general rule, atheists apparently refuse to even consider the possibility that someone with religious beliefs could have experienced something they haven't, or might know something they don't. However, observation is a crucial component of the scientific method, and I have observed phenomena in multiple personal experience that literally defies the laws of physics. Firsthand observation is empirical evidence, according to the scientific method. The … [Read more...]
Education versus indoctrination
Recently Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was visiting London when a reporter tried to sandbag him, asking if he was "comfortable" with and accepted the theory of evolution. Walker apparently sensed the question was intended to be a trap. So he replied that he was going to punt the question, cleverly adding that it was a topic on which politicians shouldn't be asked to give an opinion. Uber liberal Democrat Howard Dean then tried his best to turn Walker's non-answer into an advantage for his political party on CNN's Morning Joe. Dean said that because Walker dropped out of college his senior year and refused to say that he believed in evolution theory, he should be considered "uneducated" and therefore unqualified to be elected President of the United States in 2016. Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough accused Dean of taking a cheap shot at Walker, who had dropped out of Marquette to take a lucrative job with the American Red Cross. Scarborough correctly pointed out that people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg were merely a few examples of extremely successful businessmen lacking college degrees. Dean tried defending his comments. He stammered, "Evolution is a widely accepted scientific construct. People who don't believe in evolution easily, easily either do it for hard right religious reasons or because they don't know anything." Really? Howard Dean has a medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University after receiving his undergraduate degree in political science from Yale University. So I won't … [Read more...]
A red-faced blue nation
Recently a friend of mine referred to me as a journalist and a political writer, but I am neither. Normally I would have been very flattered, if it weren't for my extremely low opinion of contemporary journalism. First and foremost, I am a novelist who writes detective fiction. I have also written several nonfiction books, and, of course, I blog here at my website. The more liberal members of my family seem to think I'm some rabid right-wing Republican who has been brainwashed by Rush Limbaugh. I do admit that I enjoy listening to Limbaugh's show occasionally. I think he can be pretty funny, and admire Rush for overcoming some really serious adversity -- the total loss of his hearing, and somehow managed to continue his career, with the help of a cochlear implant. I also think he's very smart, patriotic, and quite entertaining. But I don't agree with everything Rush says. Just most of what he says, and practically everything he says about liberal politicians. I don't really consider myself a Republican -- I'm more of a Libertarian who tends to vote Republican in most major elections, but certainly not someone willing to write checks to help fund the party. Currently, I don't make enough money that I feel like I can afford to throw any of it away on a political party. After all, my wife and I are about to be hit hard by Obamacare. I am not a person who refuses to vote for a candidate simply because they are a Democrat. In fact, I've voted for more than one common sensical Democrat in my career as a voter. I believe the last one was Zell Miller. Most … [Read more...]
