Biblical Creation and Evangelism

Even though there is a great deal of beauty in the world, the fact is, it's broken. We have no concept of what it was like just after creation. More than that, the world is broken in other ways. We have natural disasters, diseases, the origins myth of evolution foisted on the public as "science", false religions, profiteering pretend Christians, man's inhumanity to man, and much more. Some folks reckon that bad things happening is a sign that God doesn't care, can't do anything, or doesn't even exist. Some even say he's evil. (Interesting, they don't use evil in the world as evidence for the existence of Satan, who is a liar and destroyer.) Such "bad God" ideas are simplistic, springing from looking for excuses to rebel against him. When these excuses are examined, they cannot withstand scrutiny. The problem of our broken planet goes all the way back go Genesis. And that's where we begin to learn about the solution and final

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen When biblical creationists take a stand for the plain reading of Genesis ( historical-grammatical exegesis ), some people get on the prod and want to throw down. Those are the ones who belong to cults, the Old Earth Creationists, Progressive Creationists, others — and especially theistic evolutionists. (For extensive material on theistic evolutionists, see " Waterless Clouds, Wandering Stars "). I'm puzzled as to why people who call themselves Christians want to compromise on what God's Word plainly says in order to accommodate atheistic interpretations of man-made science philosophies. I'm also amazed that compromisers team up with haywire atheists in attacking us; it gets mighty difficult to tell the atheists from those "Christians" at times! My e-book reader and an actual paper book. "Science has proven that the Bible is wrong, Genesis must be an allegory, and science — " Yeah, yeah. Hooray for the religion

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen On this, the fifth annual Question Evolution Day , I thought it would be helpful to discuss presuppositional apologetics (or "covenental", or "transcendental", or other names) and how it relates to biblical creation science, but also why this approach is important to apologetics in the first place. I'm not going to claim to be an expert on this, but I do have a good working knowledge of it. There are also various versions (VanTil/Bahnsen, Gordon Clark, John Frame, Michael Butler, and others). Some of they get mighty arrogant, wanting to slap leather with each other because their version of presuppositional apologetics is "wrong". I want to slap faces and say, "We're here to honor Christ, not Clark, VanTil or some other jasper who did not die for our sins!" If you have a preferred method, great! Just don't attack others who differ in their presup methods. You savvy? And some will probably be upset because I us

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Once again, I had the privilege of being interviewed on Fighting for the Faith by Pastor Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio , and we not only had a good discussion on creation, evolution, Question Evolution Day, the folly of theistic evolution, and theology, but we also had some fun with it. He said he asked me back. Although after last year's interview he said he'd have me back, but I wonder how much of it is because I "reminded" him of it a few times. Hearing this back, I realize that really need to get a new microphone. I had a passel of notes ready to go, but only used some of them. It's just as well, I had the bit in my teeth and Chris had to say whoa more than once. (The reporter I had a phone interview with the other day also found out that I like to talk on these subjects, that went for an hour.) I had some references that his regular listeners will catch, plus a couple of Monty Python remarks. Pastor Rosebrough clarif

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Before I get going on this, I'd better clarify something, even though many of my regular readers (and podcast interview listeners) know: my "cowboy" moniker is not earned. It's a nickname I picked up a few years ago, and it shows my cowboy attitude. I don't know nothin' 'bout no hayburners; tell me to saddle up a horse and ride, I'd probably get kicked, fall off, and land in poo. So, I need a guide. Yes, I lived in the West — the west side of Michigan. Anyway, being a cowboy at heart has helped me get things done. My father had a cowboy attitude as well, which is something I learned from testimonials at his funeral. Anyway, adding some Western-style lingo in posts and articles adds color and personality, I reckon, even though I usually have a conversational style for the most part. Assembled from components at Clker Clip Art A while back, I was looking for cowboy Bibles and came across the " Simplified Cowboy Versio

This post will be rough, and I make no apologies. Maybe one, though, the podcast was available for almost two months, and I put it off. Probably because it was difficult for me to hear (including the parts about false Christians). But I have to present it because the material is important. Image credit: Pixabay / Counselling I don't take kindly toward spousal abuse for either party. (Yes, men are abused by women , but you don't hear about that nearly as much.) One time, I was stretching my arms in Cubicle Land and a co-worker was walking by. I said, "I almost hit poor Caitlin". She smiled and said, "Sometimes I need it." She was probably joking, but I felt a twinge. No, you do not  "need it". Ever. If I see some ruffian laying a rough hand on her...  Domestic abuse is not just physical violence, it's about control. From a Christian standpoint, it involves spiritual abuse and possible demonic influence. Even more so when the kids are inv

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Sadly, there are some people who are afraid that they have committed the unpardonable sin and are beyond redemption for eternity. While it is good to be concerned, the unpardonable sin is not something that can be committed casually. Think about it. God is not capricious and willing to condemn someone for such a serious sin committed in ignorance or by something said in haste. ESV Bible text added to Woe unto You, Scribes and Pharisees by James Tissot / Public Domain There are several views on this sin. One is that it cannot be committed today, it was a "game over" for the Pharisees who had been condemning him and had finally crossed the line because of the constant hardening of their hearts. Another view is that this sin is the rejection of salvation, where someone dies without Christ. (In the latter case, the end result is the same.) Even some Christians are afraid that they fouled up somehow, and take the unbiblical view of losing their sa

The other day, I happened to visit one of my sites that uses numerous Scripture references with my cell phone. (Some of the articles here can be chock full o' references.) People with mobile devices will see something like Luke 6:22 as plain text, and may be asking, "What does expect us to do, go and look up all of those references?" No, not really. It takes a passel of time for me to give links to many references in, say, Bible Gateway or something. And that's after looking things up myself in the first place. ( This article I did for Genesis Week has a passel of Bible verses embedded in the text, and putting those in took almost as long as writing the article itself.) I have something installed called Reftagger  that works with computers that use mouse pointers — just hover over the link, and the verse pops up, as well as a link to read more if it's a long passage. Unfortunately, mobile devices are left out of it. They have to be — no pointers to hover with

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen This is a clarification of some remarks I've made about Calvinism and Reformed theology. Some of those may prompt people to think that I'm an enemy of Calvinism. Not hardly! So, if you're an angry Arm i nian (read closely, I'm not talking about Arm e nians ), don't be looking to recruit me in a crusade against Calvinism — I get good teachings from both camps. There are Calvinists who are arrogant, and meaner than a sack full of rattlesnakes, acting like Mormons who are trying to convert Christians from Arminianism or something else to the "doctrines of grace". I don't cotton to being told I'm an immature Christian ("Once you grow in the faith, you'll understand") or even that I'm unsaved because I don't accept all of their views. Someone who acts like that is full of pride, despite the false modesty of saying that "the elect were chosen by God before the foundations of the world". For hav

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen For quite a long spell, it's been interesting to me how things come together, and I think I see a divine hand in it. Maybe I'll read articles and hear podcasts on the same topic in a short space of time without planning on it. There have been times when I've been writing an article and a podcast comes along with valuable material that parallels what I'm in the process of doing. It happened again. A very important truth that I've learned is balance.  Ever hear the expression, "Truth out of balance"? That's when truth becomes excessive and harmful because it's misused. (I reckon that we all get a bit unbalanced when we get too agitated about something we've learned, so we study up on it, then maybe talk a mite too much about the subject.) People need to get a proper perspective on the importance and priority of some things. Seriously. I've been going on about how some Christians get judgmental with each other,

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen This is a kind of bridge article for " Christians, Heroes, and Hurt " and another that was previously unwritten, " Dealing with Important Things ". In the previous article, I was discussing how some Christians get the bit in their teeth when people they look up to have a downfall. Sometimes, we find out that our heroes are crooks, and other times, we find out that people have other failings. In either case, we find out that people are human after all. Sure, we know in our minds that everyone has failings, but it seems that we tend to get a mite upset anyway when they show their frailties. The idea for this one came to me because I had a headache when I was writing the last one. What if I told you (or word got around): I took an extended break and used the work computer for personal research, and got in trouble Some of my girlfriends are jealous of my wife I was harsh with an atheist attacker I get spells of anxiety and de

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Edited 11-22-2015 Despite what many unbelievers seem to think, when people become Christians, they don't have to surrender their humanity. Yes, we make mistakes and have occasional sins in our lives (Heb 12:1, 1 John 1:9), and do many things that everyone else does. That is, we have needs, desires, jobs, eat, drink, breathe, sleep, do some mattress dancing with our spouses, have hobbies, hang around with friends, and so on. We also have people we look up to. Image credit: Pixabay / Unsplash Who are the Heroes? Anyone can be elevated to hero status among Christians, just like our counterparts in the world. W hen it someone of "our own kind", people tend to get excited about someone of their own ethnic, religio n , sex, age, country, political views, and so on. Some people that Christians elevate include: A sports star is very public about his or her faith Musicians that mention Jesus favorably, or even make claims to be Christians Tha

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen For those who want the background on this unintended series, I discussed the origins of "Why Unbelievers Hate Christians" in " Making Money From End of the World Fears ", the reading of which is optional but helpful. You may want to see " Crooks: Why Unbelievers Hate Christians Part 2 " as well. Once again, I was listening to a podcast at work and chomping at the bit to gallop home and write an article on it.  Christians have enough problems dealing with critics and mockers without some of us giving them reasons to do so. I could write articles on nutty people who profess the name of Christ as a career (as well as false teachers), but there are others who do it far better than I do. Unpopular Opinion Puffin's opinion is unpopular among some people. Still, this one bothers me, and I hope it can be an object lesson. Opal Covey is running for mayor of Toledo, Ohio. She's run four times before, and lost every time.