Borders Books Hates Amazon - G4tv.com
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
FacePalm of the Day - #72 - Debunking Christianity: Quote of the Day, by Jerry Coyne
If, as liberal theologians tell us, the “necessary” evils of this world are exactly what God would produce given his penchant for human free will and for physical “freedom” like the movement of tectonic plates, then would a nicer world disprove the God Hypothesis? Don’t hold your breath, for the nature of the God Hypothesis is that no observation could ever disprove it. That’s why it’s not scientific at all, and why religion and science will never find an amiable concordat. Link.
God exists. No beginning or ending to his existence. If you accept that this describes God, the idea of "necessary evil" seems to fail. The idea of many people is to try to absolve God of creating evil. I think that this is a mistake. God is very clear in the Bible. Bad things sometimes happen to people of no fault of their own and sometimes people do not suffer for the evil they do in this life. And vice versa in varying combination. God has promised in the Bible that He would pay everyone for what he/she has done. Period. God expects us to accept that and trust Him although we don't always understand. My question would be "who told us we had free will? And who says that we must the world should look like anything different than what it looks like. If you accept that God has a purpose for everything that He allows and does and forget trying to hold God accountable for those choices. We can't. We don't know what the final design should look like. Instead We must trust God. We must know God for who He is and not what we think God should be. He isn't trying to meet our expectations. We must meet God's expectations.
We should consider: does everyththing have to be scientific, as Coyne has tried to define, in order to be true? As long at the answer is "No", we cannot fall for flawed logic like this.
Debunking Christianity: Quote of the Day, by Jerry Coyne
Monday, April 4, 2011
A Parody That Accomplishes Its Task
Image via WikipediaHilarious Parody. Who says Reformed folks ain't got a sense of humor?A Parody That Accomplishes Its Task
Sunday, April 3, 2011
FacePalm of the Day #71 - Debunking Christianity: William Lane Craig's Brother Mallory Doesn't Believe in God
In the most recent issue of Free Inquiry (April/May 2011) Mallory tells of tragic time when his son Paul narrowly escaped death. His older brother Bill came to visit Paul in the hospital to pray for him and he recovered. Mallory says: "I imagine my brother believes he delivered us a miracle...Whatever happened, Paul is the one who did it, that much I know...God is dead, but Paul's still going." Now there's a person who doesn't accept anecdotal evidence! The interesting thing to me is what Mallory said about Bill: "I still remember when he got religion back in High School--the misfit debate team nerd had found a community to join. Over the subsequent years, his inexorable transition from science-lover to science-denier was fascinating, though heartbreaking, to witness." Mallory, we all have black sheep in our families, eh? ;-)
What does this prove? Mallory disagrees with his brother. Big Deal. Anyone who knows anything about William Lane Craig knows that he doesn't deny or hate science. When does disagreeing with and proposing an alternate hypothesis equate to denying or hating science? Who said? I didn't get the memo. Maybe the ones who mocked Copernicus, Galileo, Einstein, and so many others issued that edict? Seems like it,
Debunking Christianity: William Lane Craig's Brother Mallory Doesn't Believe in God
Some Primary Sources from the First Molinist
Some Primary Sources from the First Molinist
Fallacy Friday: Tu Quoque (But you did it too!) - Apologetics 315
...when one rebuts a particular criticism of one’s own position by showing one’s opponent’s position is subject to the same criticism; this is done instead of showing that one’s own position is not susceptible to the criticism.
Follow the link to get audio and text to get good examples and discussion.
Fallacy Friday: Tu Quoque (But you did it too!) - Apologetics 315
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Wondercon 2011 - Radio Controlled R2D2 at Wondercon
My daughter was transfixed by it. She was asking the man all kinds of questions and her mind was ablazed with curiosity. It was worth going just for that.
http://www.astromech.net
Totally Wired - Droid parts
YouTube - Radio Controlled R2D2 at Wondercon
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
FacePalm of the Day #70 - Debunking Christianity: Quote of the Day, by Russ
If Bible-god was real wouldn't it know best how I would accept its reality? If it was real wouldn't its message be free to anyone and everyone? So why does it send it's message through people we have to pay for it, the Christian clergy? If god was real it would speak to me with full understanding of what I know and understand; it wouldn't work in mysterious ways. It would be very clear and its actions would make its reality obvious. It amazes me that I'm told that Bible-god is my father, but everything I can know about him comes through third party clerics and theologians. If Bible-god was real, I would know because it would tell me, its son, in a way that I could understand and know was real.
If you think it takes paying money to people to get messages from God, then you are not hearing from the God of the Bible. No where does the Bible teach that people who minister in the church should become wealthy off of the backs those they serve. Maybe the reason why Russ has not heard from God is because he has spent too much time listening to the wrong sources - such individuals that are teaching errors like we need to pay them to hear from God. Another important issue is the at the God of the Bible is not an impersonal "it" and if that is what Russ is looking for, no wonder he can't find the God of the Bible. I realized that many people say they are looking for God to reveal himself to him, yet hasn't gotten anything. Here are a few verses to help in that source.
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” - Acts 17:22-31
The Bible clearly says that we are where we need to be to best find God, placed by God himself.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. - Hebrews 11:6
Faith is not believing something you make up despite evidence or lack of evidence. It is trust born of relationship that grows as you get to know God better and better. A good example of what the faith looks like is what Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said to Nebuchadnezzar when they faced being executed because they would not worship anyone but God.
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” - Daniel 3:16-17
How did they know? Because of the relationship they had with God. Any of us can have such a relationship. It's more than knowing that God exists it's knowing his ways and not just what he does. It is about knowing who God is and what He commands us to do. If you wanna know God intimately, start with the Bible.
Debunking Christianity: Quote of the Day, by Russ
William Lane Craig vs. Lawrence Krauss Debate Audio - Apologetics 315
He claims that Dr. Craig says that the universe is so complex and makes no sense to us but nonetheless true. I agree totally! The problem is why isn't that hold for God's existence?
I disagree that Dr. Craig argues that God exists because we don't know how it came into being. I also disagree that God creating universe means there is no need to ask "Why?" or find out "How?" It makes me want to search and know more. The reason being in studying the creation we get to know its Creator better.
Why does Krauss seem to think that only scientific evidence is only "good" evidence? Krauss kept talking as evidence only counts if it is falsifiable yet no one really believes that you can only make rational decisions using falsifiable evidence.
Krauss really flubs up the philosophy, but Craig stays away from areas of science he hasn't studied.
Krauss is wrong that all scientist agree with him that the universe is fine-tuned for life. Of course he thinks that there is aliens on other planets. If the universe isn't fine tuned, why would there be life?
I have visceral reaction to Krauss' argument that a belief in God necessarily means that you don't need to study how the universe works. Why?
Krauss is not a debator and it shows. He is a brilliant physicist, but not the best philosopher
Krauss lost my respect when he argued that the Universe might be future eternal to argue that it does not matter that the universe may not be past eternal. I've heard him argue that the universe had a beginning from nothing and an end in a previous lecture.
Krauss seems to think that fine-tuning means that if there was a meaning, purpose, or grand design because the universe does not look like he thinks it should...which is what he started accusing theists of doing when he did his opening statement.
This debate is extremely interesting and I was wondering how these too would fair facing each other. For not being a debater, Krauss did not do awful but he was too condescending and insulting to Dr. Craig. Craig handled it like a professional. Go to Apologetics 315 to get the audio link. The video and slides can be seen here. You can see the homepage for the debate here.
William Lane Craig vs. Lawrence Krauss Debate Audio - Apologetics 315
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Iron Sharpens Iron: James S. Spiegel: The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief (Encore)
Iron Sharpens Iron: James S. Spiegel: The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief (Encore)
Everybody was Free-Will fighting! « Grow Up!
So, while we can discuss and even disagree on the nature of free-will, the definition of election, the extent of the atonement, and the like let us not make our favored system the Gospel.
You can be an orthodox Christian and disagree on these points. There are extremists on both sides and ignoring them leads you to this conclusion. Are these issues important? Daniel is right that they are but he is also right that they are not worth going to war over to hurt one another.
Everybody was Free-Will fighting! « Grow Up!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Iron Sharpens Iron: DANIEL WEST: "ONENESS BY DECEPTION, WON BY THE TRINITY: The Testimony of a Former 'Oneness' ('Jesus Only') Pentecostal" PART ONE (Encore Presentation)
Iron Sharpens Iron: DANIEL WEST: "ONENESS BY DECEPTION, WON BY THE TRINITY: The Testimony of a Former 'Oneness' ('Jesus Only') Pentecostal" PART ONE (Encore Presentation)
Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Christian Writing from the First Century
The BBC is reporting that a Bedouin has found in a cave in Jordan more than 70 books that may be Christian writing from the first century. According to the report, the books may be almost 2,000 years old.
Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Christian Writing from the First Century
Answering Muslims: Alicia Gali: Imprisoned for Being Raped in a Muslim Country
Ms Gali said she was never warned by her UAE employers that she could be charged with adultery and face prison if she complained of being raped, without having four adult male Muslim witnesses.
What? I wonder how many other women are victimized in such a horrific way but in Ms Gali's case she gets to go home and can sue the company that put her in that situation. As for the men - they went to jail too...for adultery and not rape. If they hadn't been found in the hotel room, they would have gotten off I am sure. The message is that they can take any woman they want as long as they don't get caught.
David Wood wrote:
I totally agree. I don't want that for anyone...and not here! My question is what about all those suffering people in Saudi Arabia dealing with this day-to-day. They don't get to go home. What do we do to help them? I don't have the answers, but I've got to ask how are they better than Quadaffi, Saddam Hussein, or any other dictator we have forced to leave? This problem is bigger than who's President of the US. It's systemic and just a part of American Foreign policy. The difference is it's in America's oil interests to leave the power structure in place. If the woman had been American, our government still wouldn't do anything. It's got to stop somewhere or it will continue.
And yet it's racist, bigoted, and Islamophobic for us not to want the same barbaric rules here in the West.
Answering Muslims: Alicia Gali: Imprisoned for Being Raped in a Muslim Country
Clever Anarchist Graffiti - G4tv.com
Clever Anarchist Graffiti - G4tv.com
Iron Sharpens Iron: JAMES SWAN: "WAS MARTIN LUTHER AN ANTI-SEMITE?"
Iron Sharpens Iron: JAMES SWAN: "WAS MARTIN LUTHER AN ANTI-SEMITE?"
Monday, March 28, 2011
Richard Carrier Blogs: Is Obama a War Criminal?
It was thus absolutely necessary for Obama to tip the scales away from Qadaffi's success (it will be a disaster for us if he wins--we need him to fail, in every conceivable sense of the word). Who succeeds him is irrelevant, even if its someone ambivalent or hostile to the U.S. That's because we have bigger interests here: as long as the precedent is not established that Qadaffi's methods will go unhindered and unpunished, and as long as the precedent is set instead that America supports the democracy trend raging through the whole region even when we aren't assured of gaining an ally (and that we will not support, even by acquiescence, any anti-democracy regime's use of violence--not even in Bahrain, where we are otherwise helpless), then the entire balance of power in the region is shifted in America's favor, which will be a great benefit to us in the long run. Because an anti-American party elected into power today will, if democracy is sustained, be voted out eventually. In fact, that's the only way the region ever can move forward toward better relations with the U.S. We need democracy in the region. And we will not have it if we sit idly by and let Qadaffi holocaust his own citizens, and then, by extension, any other ruler who will take the hint and do the same, knowing we'll do nothing about it.
I have to agree with his assessment of why we had to intervene in Libya. The question I have is what about all the precedents where the United States did indeed sit idly by and let ____ holocaust his own citizens, and then, by extension, any other ruler who will take the hint and do the same, knowing we'll do nothing about it.? For there have been many. I don't really have answers for how to do this. It's got to be on a case-by-case basis - true - but who do you save and who do you sacrifice on the altar of American interests? What happens when we have to give an account for that?'
Truth is that Obama is not a war criminal. We live in an age where people make truly stupid judgments without really knowing what they talk about. This is a case in point and Richard Carrier has written a post explaining how
Here is a clip from the Daily Show that was mentioned in Carrier's post:
Richard Carrier Blogs: Is Obama a War Criminal?
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