Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2020

Darwinism and the United Methodist Church

My father was a pastor in the Untied Methodist Church (misspelling intentional) for fifty years, but for some reason, he never accepted evolutionism to my knowledge. He had liberal theology and some old-earth views, but some owlhoots in the denomination were far too liberal for his standards. Original image before modification: Wikimedia Commons / San906 ( CC0 1.0 ) The UMC states that it has 12 million members , so it is not surprising that members have a variety of views. (One adult Sunday School class I attended was conducted by someone who was not even a member of that church, and was thought to be an agnostic. Good church decision making there, huh?) One of the first observed problems with compromise on creation is rejection of the authority of Scripture. Years ago, I was giving creation science presentations to churches, and one of them was a UMC. That pastor believed in biblical creation, but one old boy refused to shake my hand or even look at me after the service. While the d

Christmas — Relatively Speaking

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  For a short time, there was a series of captioned pictures often called "Unimpressed Astronaut" where the image was condescending about, for example, sky diving . There are many comparisons that people make, and getting some perspective can be a good thing at times.  Adoration of the Shepherds , Giorgione, ca. 1505 We had the winter's first serious cold spell, reaching low temperatures of two degrees Fahrenheit (almost minus 17 Celsius). It was cold for us , especially since winter did not hit our area all that hard until the week of December 17, 2020. People in Montana and other states would be saying, "That's cute". So would many in Canada, eh? Or Siberia, such as in this two-minute video which, for some reason, suddenly became age restricted but I see no problem whatsoever with showing it to children: So, some things that may seem like a big deal to one person are not all that impressive to another. Indeed, what is considered pover

Genesis Flood was Global

Pardon the awkward title, but Blogger, a property of the leftists at Google, was not allowing the previous one to publish. Since they keep destroying my work now, I keep backing it up so I can eventually post something. Even if I have to change titles and publishing times. There are professing Christians who believe that the Genesis Flood was a local event. Worse, some say it was allegorical. Mayhaps they were not taught well, have not seriously read the Bible — or fully believe it. Denying the global Flood has serious repercussions. Credit: Pixabay / Jeff Jacobs To be blunt, by denying the global Flood, they not only have a problem with biblical authority, they are also calling God a liar. It is referenced several times in Scripture. Bible authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit affirmed the global Flood, as did Jesus who is God the Son. If they were mistaken or dishonest, professing Christians have serious problems with who to trust for their salvation. It is clea

Secular Truth and Biblical Morality

One of the purposes of presuppositional apologetics is to prompt people to consider their own worldviews and assumptions. Angry misotheists have told me that creationists are lying about evolution, so I ask them if that was true, what would be wrong with it? Original image source: Unsplash / Jared Rice Responses to questions like that invariably involve changing the subject and attacking me, distraction, circular reasoning, or even outright refusal to answer the question. Evolution is a cornerstone for atheism, so if we were lying, we would be doing that with the view that it brings us happiness and helps our survivability. Also seen are comments on posts that show scientific geological reasons to believe in the Genesis Flood, but atheopaths refuse to actually read the material and ridicule biblical creationists. In essence, we're wrong because atheism.  This is based on hardcore presuppositions of deep time and naturalism. As Dr. Greg Bahnsen, Dr. Jason Lisle, and others have stat

Poor Excuses for Rejecting Creation

So often with various kinds of conversion experiences where people get all worked up about something — then the excitement cools. Books are untouched on the shelves, no interest in lectures (videos or otherwise), but they have a smattering of knowledge. Image source before modification: Pixabay /  Spencer Wing This is especially sad when someone believes in Jesus Christ but then falls away (Matt. 13:18-23). In a similar way, someone can become excited about biblical creation science but get discouraged and distracted by philosophies, intimidated by militant atheists, harassed by college professors, teased by friends, and so on. There are some who claim to be "former creationists" that have saddled up to ride with the Old Earth brand (or even with professing atheists), but when they have discussions with knowledgeable creationists, it is discovered that they only had superficial knowledge of biblical creation science. Worse, their theology (which is intertwined with it) is als

Theophilus the Biblical Apologist

Some people claim that biblical (young age) creation is a recent phenomenon, but that is contrary to most of church history and to the Bible. Theophilus of Antioch was an apologist who believed the creation account in Genesis and defended the truth of Scripture. Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos /  Janaka Dharmasena Theophilus was a former pagan who converted to Christianity, then he wrote a long apologetic to a pagan named Autolycus about the truth of the Bible. He obviously knew paganism and the Scriptures, and affirmed the authority of God's Word — beginning from Genesis. We need to do the same in our own increasingly idolatrous and pagan cultures. In the second century, after the original disciples of Jesus had died, the fledlging Christian church was beginning to grow and expand into a hostile Greco-Roman world, and accusations were brought against them by unbelievers. These accusations came from a number of people, one of whom was Pliny the Younger, governor of Bithynia. Pliny wrote

Meditation with the Proper Focus

It may be surprising, but everyone meditates in one form or another. It manifests itself in different ways, whether obsession in how to cheat and win an election, activities of favorite sports times, how much an atheist hates God that destroying "religion" and attacking Christians is an all-consuming goal, proving dust-to-Darwin evolution is true, television, sitting there woolgathering , and more. Some seek more formal types of meditation. Credit: Pexels / Gantas Vaičiulėnas Much of what is used for meditation purposes involves Eastern religious practices. Some versions want the meditator to empty the mind and think of nothing, but that is actually dangerous because (some folks balk at this truth) people are opening themselves up to demonic influences. No, I'm not saying you'll become possessed necessarily, but demonic influence does happen through opening that door. The word mindfulness  is often used regarding meditation, but not in the sense of paying attention t

Believing Despite Evidence for an Old Earth?

While some areas of the Bible are subject to differing interpretations and even disputes, I reckon we can agree that our understanding is the problem; God is not a deceiver. While we walk by faith and not by sight, we are not conflicted by evidence. Credit: Pixnio / Maysam Yabandeh To quote the great theologian Chico Marx, "Who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?" Except in cases of obvious miracles, the Bible does not contain claims that are not contravened by observed scientific facts. Yet some people think the earth appears  to be old but through some kind of fideism , they believe the Bible anyway.  Yes, we need to cling to the inerrancy and authority of Scripture, but we don't need to rustle up a conflict where none exists. When someone says that the earth "looks old", what is their point of reference? The so-called scientific evidence for deep time is fraught with problems and is inferred — nobody knows  the age of a planet to use for comparison purpos

Internet Debates with Atheists are Seldom Useful

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Christians are supposed to be ready to give reasons for the hope that is in us, and many feel they are witnessing for the faith in various online forums. However, one has to discern when time is being wasted. Made at Pablo , quote source is here As I have stated several times in the past, the word  debate  is used very loosely. Nowadays it can mean a screaming match, a structured exchange of points and rebuttals, an exchange of comments in various online forums, and all sorts of things. Let's consider internet activity. Minerals-to-mocker evolution is a cornerstone of atheism and for other rejections of the authority of God's Word. Although what is presented as scientific evidence is based on faith, assumptions, redefining words, circular reasoning, and poor research, evolutionists prefer to defend it no matter how foolish it looks. That is because admitting that evidence supports the Bible is infandous. Readers of my other sites may recall that I have d

Christians and Voting for Political Leaders

Those of us who live in countries where we can elect our political leaders must keep a few things in mind. Especially Christians. Elections are not supposed to be about personalities, speaking voices, the nicest hair, and other irrelevant things. Choices  should  be about who can get the job done. White House image credit: The White House , modified at PhotoFunia We should remember that many countries do not allow a choice. In the United States, we are in a constitutional republic and use a democratic process to select our leaders. Unfortunately, many people believe things when a politician seeking power will say things the gullible people want to hear. Christians must prayerfully consider what they are doing, as it is for the glory of God and what is best for the country. It is distressing that some Christians are sanctimonious, judging the morality of a candidate based on what they have been told  by the mainstream media. Many accusations are made, but we don't see them proven —

Christians and Space Alien Stories

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen As many Bible believers know, the Christian life can sometimes be like walking through a minefield. We have to stay close to God to lead us through it. This involves getting into the Word, prayer, receiving solid biblical instruction, and more. We also must keep in balance. While many pleasures are not inherently sinful, we need to be careful about what we allow into our minds. How about science fiction? Credit: Pixabay /  JavierRodrigues Some Christians seem almost fearful that if they do anything that is not spiritually edifying, they will dishonor Christ. This can be truth out of balance because of the need of building up faith and godly wisdom, and focusing on those things is important — especially for a new Christian. (I'm all in favor of going a mite overboard for a while in that area.) I'm listening to classical music while writing this. While it's "secular", it's not harmful to my spiritual life. Savvy? By necessity, bi

The Two Basic Worldviews

Not so long ago, we would hear people pontificating about two kinds of people, such as, "There are two kinds of people: those who believe the Bible, and those who do not".* It may come as a surprise to some people to learn that there are only two worldviews. Original image before modification: Freeimages / Kenn Kiser Most people have probably not made a study of their worldviews, but they are the basis of how we live our lives, our presuppositions, our epistemology , and so on. Atheists presuppose there is no God, so their misotheistic spectacles impact how they live their lives and interpret evidence. The same with Christians. There are variations within worldviews of course, such as biblical creationists who are Christians, or professing atheists who are not entirely unreasonable. Essentially, there are only two worldviews. Picture two people in a living room. A man puts on green-colored glasses, and a woman puts on red-colored glasses. Everything the man sees has a green t

The New Testament Affirms Created Kinds

If you study on it, languages can be tricky things. Using the wrong word, or using the right word but being misunderstood, can cause a passel of confusion. Translating a language is challenging enough, but factor in different cultures from long ago and the situation becomes rather intricate. Mostly made at Pablo The English language has, I believed, devolved over the years. (Read some of the classic literature from the 18th and 19th centuries and you'll see that the eloquent prose from days gone by stands in stark contrast to much of what is available today.) This may be the case for other languages. Most of the New Testament is translated from Koine Greek , which was very precise. While I can say that I love my wife or love good food, the word love  is the same but with different meanings. Koine Greek had four words to describe love. Digging deeper, wording made a great difference. Sorry I can't find something to back this up (maybe someone can add a comment), but I heard a ta

Christians Must Stop Being Defensive

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Since this post will undoubtedly get many people angry, timorous Christians can stop reading now. Is there anybody left? Great! I have some blunt truth for both of you. Just recently, I had a crisis of — what do I call it? Not of faith. The reasoning of online village atheists is childish, full of logical holes and excuses so I'm not going over to the darkness. It's also a great time to be a biblical creationist, as we already had a passel of evidence and reason to support special creation and refute the Bearded Buddha's evolutionary machinations. But I wanted to give up. More than once. Charge of the Rough Riders at San Juan Hill , Frederic Remington, 1898 This may seem a strange time to tell y'all this, but it's in keeping with the rest of the article and the one linked below. When everything's looking good with faith, reason, and evidence, why should I want to quit? Because of professing Christians. Because of lazy  Christi

Matrix-Illusion and True Knowledge

Occasionally, apologists encounter discussions that all of reality is imaginary, as envisioned in several science fiction stories. (In one,our reality was the result of another being's dream, and it was waking up. They had to lull it back to sleep.) Sometimes the s elf-refuting Boltzmann Brains thought experiment is used. Another concept is drawn from The Matrix . How do we experience reality? Credit: FreeDigitalImages / Stuart Miles Presuppositional apologists will often ask unbelievers how they know what is real, and how they can account for their epistemology ( the study of knowledge ). How can we know that what we perceive through our senses is real or are we in a Matrix-like reality? Atheists appeal to their senses, but even without those imposed Matrix-illusion scenarios, this is not reliable as a universal principle. For example, someone with a mental illness or other altered state of consciousness may "see" and "experience" things that do not act