Have you ever been in a debate with someone who asks for evidence for this or that particular issue, and after giving the evidence it is dismissed as not being relevant? Facts do not speak for themselves. “Facts do not come with interpretation tags, telling us how to view them. . . . Both sides haggle over the facts. Both sides search for new facts to add to their arsenals. Both sides raise accusa [...]

One of the arguments made by yesterday’s Tar-Baby emailer that while the words separation of church and state do not appear in the Constitution “the concept clearly does.” If the concept is there, then why didn’t the founders phrase the constitution to fit the concept? The concept of “separation of church and state” is older than the Constitution, was not invented by Thomas Jefferson, and is a lon [...]

As you can imagine, I get lots of emails. I try to answer most of them as soon as I get them. Some emails take a little more time. Every once in a while I get what I call a “Tar-Baby”[1] email. Once you respond to a “Tar-Baby” email, there is no way to extricate yourself from it. No matter what evidence you offer in response, the emailer, instead of answering the evidence, brings up another line o [...]

George Washington Next on Professor Geoffrey Stone’s list of historical witnesses is George Washington. During the War for Independence, Washington wrote the following to Brig. General Thomas Nelson: “The Hand of providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations. [...]

Professor Stone centers his analysis of what he conceives to be the “distorted version of history that has become part of the conventional wisdom of American politics in recent years”[1] on the religious views of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington, and Thomas Paine, so that’s where I’ll concentrate my efforts. Keep in mind, however, that America’s founding rests on [...]

It’s been said (by me) that two half-truths don’t make the whole truth. Geoffrey Stone’s response to Mitt Romney’s “religious assurance” speech begins by stating that it “called to mind a disturbingly distorted version of history that has become part of the conventional wisdom of American politics in recent years."[1] If there was ever a distorted version of American history, it’s Professor S [...]

In yesterday’s article, I pointed out that the record of history has been used, manipulated, and even forged to manufacture results in order to support a questionable paradigm. This is most evident in the area of the sciences. The Copernican Revolution and the Galileo affair are two of the major pillars holding up the science versus religion scam. (In reality it’s scientism versus religion.) A hel [...]

I received an email from a professor at a Bible college that got me thinking about how bogus, or revisionist, history: (1) is used to make points of fact, (2) exposes how we naively accept a point of historical assertion when referenced by an “expert” or a person of noted authority, (3) shows how immune we are to the impact that events and statements about the past have been used to fool millions [...]

Thankfully, I’ve never had to hire a lawyer except to close several real estate deals. But if I ever need a lawyer, I will do a lot of background checking. The first thing I would look for is how well he knows his subject matter. Lawyers tend to specialize. That’s what makes them good at their job. They deal with the same type of cases over and over again. They become experts in a narrow field of [...]

The modern-day image of Thomas Jefferson as a social and political liberal would be shattered after a single reading of his Bill for Proportioning Crimes and Punishments. Capital punishment is maintained for murder and treason while rescinded for all other crimes. Even so, other crimes receive some rather harsh and politically incorrect penalties. Consider these examples: “If any person commit pet [...]

A recent USA Today article reported that “most Americans believe the nation’s founders wrote Christianity into the Constitution.”[1] The article went on to say “that 55% believe erroneously that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation.” Actually, I’m rather surprised by these results. I would have thought that most Americans, with all the secular propaganda that issues forth from out gover [...]

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis(AiG) sees the newly opened Creation Museum contributing to the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophetic words in Matthew 24:14: The remarkable international media buzz surrounding the opening of the Creation Museum on May 28 [2007] [...]

If we are to believe secularists, the Christian religion has been the enemy of science. In reality, “it is the Christian world which finally gave birth in a clear, articulate fashion to the experimental method of science itself.”[1] Before science could get started in proposing theories, certain assumptions about the way the world works had to be assumed to be valid and operationally consistent. I [...]

“Present your case,” the LORD says. “Bring forward your strong arguments,” The King of Jacob says. Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming; Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do [...]

Historical revisionists are turning the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown into a celebration of political correctness. One of the arguments being made is that whole Native American populations were wiped out because of disease, and the Europeans were at fault. J. W. Barber’s Interesting Events in the History of the United States, published in 1829, described an event that was then com [...]

One of the debates surrounding the “celebration” of the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown colony is that the English “invaded” the land of a native people. It’s true; it was an invasion, an invasion of a superior worldview even if the people who did the invading weren’t always morally superior. Can you imagine what the world would be like if the invasion was the other way around? Native cultures [...]

The world is in a mess, and Christians know it. Too many of them believe that they have not been called to change the world. What if other Christians had taken a similar position? What would the world be like? John Newton (1725–1807) was an infamous slave trader. The church knows him best as the author of such well-know hymns as “Amazing Grace” and “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken.” Even while [...]

I watched “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” from beginning to tortuous end. The first obvious conclusion any critical thinking viewer comes away with is that the tomb that held the ossuaries was not hidden away to conceal anything. The entrance was constructed in such a way that it invited visitors. If the tomb actually held the bones of Jesus, then why did His immediate disciples preach in His name and di [...]

James Cameron is best known for movie blockbusters like Terminator and Titanic. But lately he’s been putting his influence behind taking pot shots at the Bible. He first went after the Exodus miracles. The 90-minute documentary “The Exodus Decoded”[1] that was shown on the History Channel sank without a trace. While the TV special actually supports much of the biblical record regarding the Exodus [...]

I received an email from a “library specialist” who responded to the following statement made by me: “Theocracy is an inescapable concept. The rejection of one theocratic government leads to the choice of another theocratic government.” She offered the following objection: The above statement is not true. There are other forms of dictatorship or autocracy that have nothing to do with God or with b [...]