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Showing posts with the label Christian Life

All Education is Religious!

It may come as a shock to many people, but all education is religious in nature. If you commence to cognating on it, everyone has a worldview . It is formed through the values and presuppositions that we use to make sense of the big questions in life. People who teach operate from their worldviews. Modified from a photo at Freeimages, original from  Jeramey Jannene Studying on it further, we see that worldviews are religious in nature. Some people claim that secular  means neutral , but that is not the case: it is impossible to be neutral . It has been clearly demonstrated that secular schools are most definitely not neutral. They are, in fact, operating from atheist naturalism and even persecute Christian teachers who oppose anserine values. In an interesting twist, this indoctrinator maintains that so-called "neutral" science is anything but. She is unhappy about "science" that may omit things that she perceives to be "facts", but are actually leftist a

Sinkholes in Christian Life Foundations

This post will have some informative material before moving on to more serious matters, and I enjoyed putting it together. While there is a similarity between potholes and sinkholes, the two should not be confused — even though the potholes New York, Michigan, and other places can probably be seen from the International Space Station. Cover-collapse sinkhole in limestone near Frederick, MD Image credit: US Geological Survey / Randall Orndorff (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Sinkholes vary in size and are found worldwide, but most often in areas where the water remains below the surface and erodes underlying rock. The process is usually gradual and may not be noticed for a long time. Eventually, they collapse, such as the one on Washington Street in Kingston, NY  — which troubled residents for five years . They can also occur quickly due to factors like when a water main breaks , heavy rainfall, and others. Let's talk about the power of water for a bit, which s

Answering the Critics Without Being Foolish

There is a pair of verses that may perplex Christians at first glance, and scoffers call it biblical contradiction. This is Proverbs 26:4-5. The claim that they are a contradiction is easily dismissed, but the question about not answering a fool according to his folly, followed by answering, can be clarified. It is also a powerful method for defending and presenting the faith. Originally, this now-public domain image by Sidney Paget was used to illustrate the 1903 Sherlock Holmes story " The Empty House " The Bible makes it clear that God calls unbelievers fools . That's not God being on the prod and calling them stupid, but it is deeper than that because it is about character, not intelligence (although some exhibit a lack of intelligence). Do a Bible search with theWord , other software, or online and look for fool , foolish , and similar words. It's not gratuitous abuse. I can't think of a good way to open a discussion by telling someone that he or she is a foo

Species Extinctions, Earth Day, and Christian Stewardship

Earth Day was established on Lenin's 100th birthday and is most definitely not  just a good idea for conservation and care of the planet. Political and economic Machiavellian machinations aside, however, many people sincerely want to do good things for the world. I thought you otter know that this photo was taken by  Joe Tomoleoni for the USGS (Also, I hope you sea that usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Unfortunately, the environmental movement is saturated with evolutionary thinking. That is, humans and other living things ultimately came from a common ancestor. To be consistent, why should we care that various species are becoming extinct or are endangered? We crawled to the top of the food chain, so we should reign supreme and do whatever we please, right? Fortunately, secularists, pagans, evolutionists, and others are not  consistent. Christians (and especially biblical creationists) should care about the environment — God has created us in his image, and we

Misotheists and the Blue Pill

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen This article has several related sources that refer to the movie The Matrix , which has made its mark on modern culture. It added to discussions about living in a computer simulation , and the red pill/blue pill concepts have been quite interesting. The popular "What if I told you...?" line in the "memes" was not used in the move. In a previous article, I wrote about how narcissists, sociopaths, narcissistic atheopaths, and the like manipulate other people for their own purposes . This is somewhat related because many are attempting to create their own reality. One of my references was the YouTube channel of Matt Cross and "Alpha Male Secrets". While most of his content about how to get the girls and be the most interesting man in the room have no appeal to me (Christians should sanctify Jesus as Lord in their hearts and seek to please him more than anyone else), Matt has some interesting things to consider. In this video, he discuss

Proof and the Unbeliever

There are times when a mocker will say something like, "Prove to me your God exists". A Christian may ask, "What kind of evidence are you willing to consider?", which is a reasonable question. (One actually told me to provide it, then he would consider if it was acceptable. I knew where that would lead!) Unbelievers already have all the evidence they need, but they suppress the truth (Rom. 1:18-23). Credit: Photos-public-domain.com We can present all the evidence (or proof) we can, and if someone does not repent and make Jesus the Lord of his or her life, we may think that we've failed. But our job is to sanctify Christ as Lord in our hearts and be ready to make a defense of our hope (1 Peter 3:15), and salvation comes through the working of the Holy Spirit, not because of our skill and eloquence (1 Cor. 2:1-5). Considering how many Christians get uppity because they have the One True Interpretation of Scripture™, perhaps pride is one reason that God has not mad

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

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

Recognizing True and False Christians

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen This may come as a shock to many professing Christians, but they may actually be lost. There are several ways that help determine if someone is a real Christian. However, many people urgently need to seriously determine if they really are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Credit: Unsplash / Joshua Earle Some assume they are Christians because of culture or because they are not members of another religion. Perhaps it's because they attend the "true" church, maybe perform the rituals, said the "sinner's prayer" and got their ticket punched, put their hands in the air and get emotional — but have no idea what salvation means and could not lead someone to saving faith in Jesus Christ. There are some people who are Christians but act like cultists . I have been told that if I don't believe in their  doctrines, I am an immature Christian, or even unsaved. Similarly, I was in a social media group for Christian apologists (which for

Sentinels

Throughout history, sentinels have been posted to protect people and places. When someone approaches or a situation changes, they issue challenges or sound an alarm. Lighthouses have been called sentinels because of providing alerts through light and sometimes sound. We need sentinels in spiritual matters. Approaching the sentinel of the Big Sauble Lighthouse on Lake Michigan Even some animals have guard duty. Darwin's disciples disagree about why this happens because survival of the fittest essentially relies on selfishness. It is not a safe duty because the watcher can be the first one picked off by a predator and is further from safety. For that matter, evolutionists have their own kind of watchers, ready to warn the faithful that evil creationists are applying science, logic, reason, and theology against naturalism. Those of us who accept the realities of the Bible and biblical creation need to sound the alarm about false teachings. We also need to be willing and able

Christian Atheism and Fools

Many Christians use Psalm 14:1 to indicate what God says about atheists. The word for fool is × ָבָל, nabal , which essentially means a vile person. Although many professing atheists display a profound lack of reasoning ability, nabal  does not indicate lack of intelligence, but moral failing. But you knew that. There is a big problem with Christians who act like God does not exist. We can effectively be atheists by saying in our hearts  that there is no God; Christians can be fools. Phil Johnson has an excellent sermon about this called "Atheism in our Hearts". I hope you will download it (there's an arrow down at the far right of the thing below) or listen online.

Responding to Biblical Authority

There is something I think I need to say, but it may seem like self-praise. When I write posts and articles, I pray for several things, including that they glorify God, edify the saints, and encourage them to stand on the authority of God's Word. The authority of the Bible is overlooked or waved off far too often. Credit: Unsplash / Ben White The Bible is the foundation for the Christian's life and thinking in every area. It is unchanging. Cultural whims, governments, trends, opinions, and more come and go. Sometimes these change quite rapidly. Atheists have no consistent standard for logic and morality, but God's Word is our ultimate source for those things. If you study on it a mite, you'll see that Genesis is the source of all major Christian doctrines, and that is what secularists are attacking the most — beginning with creation. It is imperative that we respond properly to biblical authority. The linked article is written in an interview format where the au

Frequent Mistakes about Creation

Anti-creationists frequently misrepresent what we teach and believe as a matter of course, but there are simple errors that can be corrected with a little bit of investigation. Unfortunately, some of it is our own fault because professing creationists have wrong notions that they pass around. Credit: RGBStock / Colin Bamford It is a great time to be a biblical creationists. We have the inerrant Word of God and the scientific evidence to verify recent creation. There are numerous sites and ministries that supply us with theological and scientific information, so there is no real excuse for being uninformed on basic things. It's not difficult, and can be interesting as well as fun. Here are some basic corrections to errors. Have you ever heard that men have fewer ribs than women? Or that it never rained before the flood? What about the increasingly popular argument that the earth is flat? These and many other common misconceptions are often based on inaccurate historical data

Effective Use of Social Media and Technology

We are closing in on Question Evolution Day , and even though the information in the article linked below applies to that event, it is important for any other time. Technology has many important benefits, but it also has a dark side by its very nature. We must have the right priorities and balance. Background image credit: Pixabay / Iván Tamás We are receiving all sorts of information pretty much constantly. Unfortunately, it is dominated by harmful messages and untruthful material about anthropogenic climate change, evolution, adulterous relationships. false views of the Bible, and more. However, we also have a voice and opportunities to make an impact. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and other computers connect us to the world. I have people I care about that I've never met and an online creation science ministry. Much of my preparation comes from technology, including podcasts, sermons (I don't want to get "tunnel vision" and not learn other areas of

Hope at Christmas

Some of us get depressed at Christmas. Perhaps we are missing friends and family, or we could be thinking of those who have passed on. Maybe that very un-Jewish manger scene gets you down. There are other circumstances that can get us down. However, Christians can remember the hope that we have. Credit: Unsplash / Tim Mossholder Step up on the hill and get a bigger picture. We have all sinned (Rom. 3:23, Rom. 6:23) against the holy and righteous God, yet he has mercy on us. God the Son is the Creator (Col. 1:16, John 1:1-3), who humbled himself and took on human form (Phil 2:6-11) and died for us while we were yet sinners (Rom. 5:8). He bodily rose from the dead (Luke 24:6-7, Acts 2:32) and we are adopted as children of God (John 1:12-13, Rom. 8:15-17). Yes, we have our down times, worse for some than others. We need to lift our focus off ourselves and our circumstances and remember what God has told us. We do have hope. Not only at Christmas, but always. Even though some of

Making Scripture Insufficient

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  This is one of those times when what appears to be a coincidence may be providential instead. Many of the past few posts have been about the authority of Scripture and how the Bible is under attack in one way or another. A short time later, I came across a two-part message on the sufficiency of Scripture that not only works with the other posts, but it is excellent by itself. Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos / Matt Banks The messages that prompted this article are by Dr. John MacArthur. They were preached in 1985 and by my reckoning are more important today than they were all those years ago. Christians need to read their Bibles. Although that is said frequently, many who profess faith in Christ are dismally lacking in knowledge and understanding of what Scripture says. God puts a strong emphasis on reading and meditating on the Bible because it not only helps us grow spiritually, but it imparts wisdom. Also, having the Word in your spirit gives wisdom for t