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 [...]
The ostrich with his head in the sand is the usual picture we get of cultural indifference. This image assumes the ostrich knows there’s a problem and by hiding his eyes, the problem will go away. I believe a more accurate illustration is based on an old Chinese proverb that goes like this: “If you want to know what water is, don’t ask a fish.” Never having experienced another environment, a fish [...]
Connecticut Valley Atheists have erected a 10-foot tall sign in celebration of the winter solstice that includes a message reminding us that the attacks of September 11, 2001, were done in the name of a particular set of religious beliefs. The message “Imagine no religion,” a line taken from John Lennon’s atheist anthem “Imagine,” is placed over an image of the Twin Towers before they were taken d [...]
Conservative columnist George Will has written that evolution is a “‘fact,’ and anyone who does not recognize this elementary truth endangers the ‘conservative coalition.’”[1] Charles Krauthammer has accused advocates of Intelligent Design as “perpetuating scientific ‘fraud.’”[2] In the many years I have been studying the creation-evolution debate, I’ve noticed that those who have bought into the [...]
The debate between evolutionists and creationists has become so specialized that the average person with basic knowledge of biology cannot follow the argumentation. How many educated Americans know anything about pseudogenes,[1] Haldane’s Dilemma,[2] transposons,[3] abiogenesis,[4] junk DNA,[5] RNA,[6] exons,[7] introns,[8] pharyngeal slits,[9] and other terms too numerous to list here? Even knowi [...]
The debate between creation and evolution has a long history. The first public debate between a creationist and a Darwinist was probably the one where Samuel Wilberforce, bishop of Oxford, and Thomas H. Huxley, known as “Darwin’s Bulldog” because of his aggressive defense of Charles Darwin, faced each other at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science on June 30, 1860. Th [...]
When people are pushed to live consistently with their worldview assumptions, all kinds of revelations come to light. Toni Vernelli was sterilized at age 27 to “reduce her carbon footprint” and “protect the planet.”[1] If pressed, I wonder if Vernelli would decry antibiotics to keep people from dying from disease and peace talks to avert war. While I am saddened that she will never experience the [...]
In Chuck Smith’s Revelation commentary Dateline Earth he informed his readers in 1989 that “the rapture is at hand.”[1] Earlier he wrote, “Very soon there are going to be some strange and terrible things happening on this planet of ours.”[2] These “very soon” happenings are based on his reading of Revelation. He reinforces this claim when he argues emphatically, “Jesus is coming back, and He’s com [...]
Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel and senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, California, has authored another prophecy book: The Final Act: Setting the Stage of the End Times Drama. The book carries the ringing endorsement of Tim LaHaye, co-author with Jerry Jenkins of the widely popular Left Behind series of prophetic novels. LaHaye offers the following complimentary words: “This unique [...]
Atheist writers have tried to make the case that religion is the cause of all the evil in the world. Get rid of religion, and we’ll all live happily ever after.[1] For a brief time, there were a few news articles that reported on a school student in Finland who shot and killed eight people (six students, a nurse, and a principal). Here’s how Reuters reported the story: “Eight people were killed wh [...]
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 [...]
“The Founders of the United States . . . understood that religious freedom was necessary to the ultimate health of the new country. They (perhaps especially Madison) believed in a ‘free market’ for religious ideas, thinking that in such an atmosphere the best religion would prevail without government aid.”[1] “When I heard there were apprehensions that the pope of Rome could be the President of th [...]
Hal Lindsey is once again misapplying the Bible to modern-day geo-political events. Here is his claim: You know, I fear for both President Bush and Secretary Rice. I also fear for my beloved country. They must be ignorant of a prophecy God made 2,500 years ago through the Hebrew prophet Zechariah. It applies to this precise time and situation in history. God said, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a [...]
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 [...]
As some of you know, I threw the shot put in high school. In most meets, I would out throw my opponents by 20 feet or more. I can remember one meet when a coach from another team approached my coach and half-jokingly asked if I would throw the 16-pound shot rather than the standard 12-pound. The coach was asking for a handicap, a standard practice to even up uneven skill levels of golfers to make [...]
Nica Lalli is an atheist, but she doesn’t want to be lumped in with all atheists. Welcome to the club. Not all Christians want to be lumped in with all who call themselves Christians or with those who are religious in some way. The militant atheists—Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Christopher Hitchens, and to a lesser degree these days, Sam Harris—condemn all religious people for being religio [...]
The annual “Crystal Clear Atheism” event was held in Crystal City, Virginia, and was sponsored by the Atheist Alliance International, “the only democratic national atheist organization in the United States.”[1] The unholy trinity of Atheism were in attendance—Oxford professor Richard Dawkins, author Sam Harris, and journalist Christopher Hitchens—as well as the named and no-named. Edward Tabash wa [...]
Three articles dealing with two less than small Christian colleges caught my attention. The first article was written by Hanna Rosin and highlights Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia.[1] Rosin is the author of the book God’s Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America. God’s Harvard is Patrick Henry College. Of course, anyone familiar with American history surely knows t [...]
The first rule of economics is TANSTAAFL: There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch.[1] While something might appear to be free (e.g., education, healthcare, etc.), there is always a cost to someone. Ignore this law, and all economic hell breaks loose. Of course, politicians believe they can ignore and even break any law because they consider themselves to be gods. They believe they can create eco [...]
