What had happen' was.....

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Iron Sharpens Iron: James S. Spiegel: The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief (Encore)

I really think this interview with James S. Spiegel. I think it is important to wonder where atheism comes from. I have seen many articles on the internet that tries to equate the cause of religious belief with mental disease or defect. The presupposition seems to be that if you are reasonable or logical, you cannot be a believer. I disagree, but what about Atheists? Does a person become an atheist because they want to do evil things? Nope. This interview goes really far to make sure that such a notion is not endorsed. It is always interesting to know why a person comes to the conclusion they come to.

Iron Sharpens Iron: James S. Spiegel: The Making of an Atheist: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief (Encore)

Everybody was Free-Will fighting! « Grow Up!

Daniel Pulliam wrote a really good piece regarding what Arminians and Calvinists really have in common. I agree with him that the debate really comes down to is the following:

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)

This was a great interview of Daniel West who goes over exactly how Oneness Pentecostalism is different from traditional Christianity. During the interview there was a very interesting call from a woman who had never heard the theological definition for the Trinity or heard the doctrine defended exegetically from the Bible. The more familiar you are with Biblical truth, the more you will be able to recognize untruth.

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

Here is some great archaeology news:

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

I wonder how bad do people have to be treated by a foreign government before we intervene? Does it matter if it's their own people or foreign nationals? Do they have to be Americans? David Wood posted a news article about a young white woman from Queensland, Australia who was working for UAE luxury hotel in Saudi Arabia. She was drugged and gang raped. She was discovered the next day, naked and brutalized with four men. When she sought to press charges, she went to jail for adultery because

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:

And yet it's racist, bigoted, and Islamophobic for us not to want the same barbaric rules here in the West.

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.

Answering Muslims: Alicia Gali: Imprisoned for Being Raped in a Muslim Country

Clever Anarchist Graffiti - G4tv.com

This picture really sums up "self-refutation" in an extremely elegant way. If you are going to reject authority why not reject the authority telling you to reject authority? It's no different when people say that we should reject dogmatic authority and think for ourselves yet get vehmently angry when someone questions the validity of macro evolution. There is another word for that: "hypocrasy"

Clever Anarchist Graffiti - G4tv.com

Iron Sharpens Iron: JAMES SWAN: "WAS MARTIN LUTHER AN ANTI-SEMITE?"

Here is an oldie but a goodie! James Swan was interviewed on Iron Sharpens Iron regarding the charge that Martin Luther was insenstive and wrote against Jews. IT was handled well. I highly recommend listening to this interview.

Iron Sharpens Iron: JAMES SWAN: "WAS MARTIN LUTHER AN ANTI-SEMITE?"

Monday, March 28, 2011

Richard Carrier Blogs: Is Obama a War Criminal?

Heavens to Betsy!!!! I actually agree with Richard Carrier on something!!!! I'm shocked and happy that he chose to speak out condemning the nonsense that President Obama should be considered a war criminal. I don't agree with everything Obama says and does but I think something had to be done to stop the slaughter of people in Libya. One might even argue that using military force was the best option, but if it wasn't what would have been? I don't know. I liked how Mr Carrier pointed out that Obama's action was not unconstitutional and as I have pointed out in a post of my own other Presidents have done the same thing. I recommend this post because it's well done and articulated well. The one point I have a problem with is that Carrier said that there was nothing we could have done in Rwanda or Bahrain. What about Darfar? I think there must have been something more we could have done to save lives. It's easy to sit back and judge those decisions not having been there and judge who to save and who to let die. I'm sorry but I really think that economics and racism has played a part in making those decisions through out American History. Carrier wrote:

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 ~~stupid~~ mistaken Obama's critics have been, at least on this point. Obama doesn't just get a pass, we need to keep examining his policies just like any other President. Again, he is just a man, whom I would assume, is just trying to do the best job he can. So how should Obama respond to sheer stupid and idiotic comments offered against him? The FacePalm. You can disagree with Obama without being racist or Stupid.

Here is a clip from the Daily Show that was mentioned in Carrier's post:

The Daily Show - Odyssey Dawn - Unconstitutional War
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Richard Carrier Blogs: Is Obama a War Criminal?

Sunday, March 27, 2011

FacePalm of the Day #69 - Debunking Christianity: One of the Most Asinine Christian Claims I've Heard

Recently, John Loftus has yet again made another statement that make me wonder if he truly understands what he is saying.

It's claimed that people like Dawkins, or Hitchens, or Harris don't know enough to reject Christianity. How much should a person know about a religion or the various branches of it in order to reject them all? Really. I'd like to know. These very Christians do not know much about other branches of their own religion, so how can they reject them? And they do not know much about the various other religions around the world or the branches within them, so how can they reject them? Most Christians do not know enough about their own religion! All a person has to do to reject their own inherited religion is to subject it to the same level of skepticism they use when rejecting all other religions. This represents The Outsider Test for Faith I argue. Just think what Christians are saying. They're saying that in order to reject any given religion a person must know a lot about it. How much, I ask? And how long would it take to learn a lot enough about all religions in order to reject them all? And wouldn't Jesus himself be opposed to granting salvation only to people who knew a lot about the religions of the world to gain the proper amount of knowledge that Christians require in order to find the one correct one, if there is one? Didn't Jesus come for the lowly, the outcasts, and the babes? Such inconsistency knows no bounds. No wonder my claim is that Christians demand that we prove their faith is impossible before they will see it as improbable.

It's like asking how do you know that apples are good to eat unless you have ate every possible thing on the earth to find out what the poisons are? Or how do you know what truth is unless you have heard every single possible lie? The thought is asinine. When you know the truth, do you really need to do more than just compare other things to it to expose lies? Of course the question is how do you know the truth? Salvation is not about what you know, but who you know - Jesus Christ. So the very point is more than asinine - it is downright like asking what does pink tastes like? We are commanded to search and to test everything in light of what evidence we have - taking into account our own presuppositions and biases.

The thing is that when you really look into what the Bible says I've got to ask "Why would anyone want it to be true?" We know that it sounds foolish to those who don't believe. It seemed foolish to many of us before God changed us. We believe because God literally revealed himself to us and he can do the same for Loftus or anyone. The evidence just confirms it. When we become a Christian we agree that we are sinners and in need of salvation. We agree that we deserve to be punished and stand in guilt. We agree that we are unable to save ourselves and that we need Jesus' righteousness to stand before our creator. This is why unbelievers try so hard to deny God as creator.

Debunking Christianity: One of the Most Asinine Christian Claims I've Heard

Calvinistic Cartoons: From an Arminian Viewpoint

Eddie Eddings has called attention to the following post from an Arminian that I also have to say I agree with.

Arminian Today: Problems I Have With Modern Arminians: "If I have learned anything from the Rob Bell wave that has hit the blogs over the past few weeks its that I am not in full agreement with al..."

Sometimes critics of Christianity use the Arminian/Calvinist debate to try to say Christians do not understand what we believe and can't agree. The thing is there is really no reason for Calvinists and Arminians to be at each others' throats. The disagreement centers on how God does what He does in saving an individual from sin and death. I agree that the following list is something all Christians should repudiate:

The rejection of inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible.
The emphasis on Mankind being the center of theology instead of God Almighty being the center.
The rejection of justification by grace through faith apart from works.
Inclusive theology.
Postmortem salvation as a true possibility.
Universalism.
The drifting toward pragmatism and postmodern theology.
The willingness to embrace any theology that holds to some forms of Arminianism such as the open view of God.

I'm glad to find out that there are some people who call themselves "Arminians" who disagree with the stuff on this list. I don't see how one can call themselves ones who believe the Bible and yet reject what it says.

Calvinistic Cartoons: From an Arminian Viewpoint

FacePalm of the Day #69 - Libya vs. Iraq

I was pointed to the following video by my brother-in-Christ, Mariano Grinbank. I appreciate him calling it to my attention. It definitely invites a facepalm but not because it is full of lies or offers a completely erroneous viewpoint, but because of dismay that it brings up a real good point.

Unfortunately we have many people on polarized opposite views. And some people are being labeled as being racist just because they disagree with President Obama.

A. People who hate President Obama because of his race and desire to discredit him by whatever means he can.
B. People who support anything President Obama says either because they believe the hype without any critical thinking or because they are afraid of being called "racist".
C. People who disagree with President Obama's policies and decisions not because he is black but just because they think they are poor ideas.
D. People who agree with President Obama because they think he is making good decisions.

I can respect C and D but not A or B. During the Election, the media seemed to go out of its way to either demonize Obama or portray him as some kind of Messiah sent to save us from the Tyranny of George W. Bush. I think this is unfair. I didn't like or agree with much of Bush said or did and yes, I questioned his sanity and intelligence, but to be completely fair I can't says that he acted any worse than any other President in my lifetime. I'm a black man. It was a big deal to have a black President when I didn't think I would ever see such a thing in my life time or my children's lifetime - if ever. I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of Obama being looked at as some kind of Messiah - who is smarter, nicer, more honest, and more trustworthy - to save America. There is only one Messiah. Obama is not his name. But in our euphoria, it seems to me like a lot of black folk forgot that. There seems to be this desire to avoid stating the obvious: Barack Hussein Obama is a capable American politician - not the "second coming". He isn't really all that much different from the national politicians that are democrats, other than he happens to have had a father who was born and raised in Africa and was black. That is not really a terrible thing, but we can't seem to do better. The other extreme is just as silly: President Obama is not the Anti-Christ. He is just as secular and just as "Christian" as most of the Presidents we have had in the past several decades. On one hand this is something I hate, but I can't be mad, Obama made his position on religions crystal clear...and we voted him anyway.

As for the points raised in the video, I think the video is a little too critical of President Obama and praises Bush a little too much. However, it truly dismays me that people are not really looking at what's happening in Libya and not asking why is it okay for Obama to intervene but it was wrong for Bush to intervene in Iraq? If we can't answer that question then I think, as the video shows, we have as problem. I also thought that comments left on the video very interesting. Some of them point out some fundamental facts about how Iraq's situation is different than the one in Libya. I agree with them, but it still doesn't really explain why Obama is correct and Bush was wrong. I mean so what if Obama did not get congressional approval to bomb Libya? Bush didn't have it either when he started moving. So what if Obama hasn't used ground forces in Libya? We still have American in harms way and if this escalates we know American ground troops will be used. Face it, what President hasn't used troops without Congress declaring war since WWII? All of them.

Some people say that we should not have intervened in Libya or Iraq. I'm not sure about that. I think that we need to be honest about why we do what we do, and not claim it's solely humanitarian because we don't intervene everywhere and there is genocide and human civil right violations happening all over the world and we do nothing about it. Libya and Iraq have strategic and economic importance of higher priority than Sudan or Rwanda. It's more about dollars and cents than it is about racism but we can't pretend that racism has nothing to do with it.

Again the facepalm is invoked because we have people spouting ignorant rhetoric without really thinking about what they are saying and supporting and when someone tries to reasoned and logical questions, it is like talking to a wall.

Iron Sharpens Iron: BARUCH MAOZ: "JUDAISM IS NOT JEWISH: A Friendly Critique of the Messianic Movement" (Encore)

Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur

Image via WikipediaBaruch Maoz was interviewed on Iron Sharpens Iron regarding his book on the Messianic Movement. Definitely, a good listen!

BARUCH MAOZ, pastor of a Reformed Baptist assembly in Israel called Grace & Truth Christian Congregation, will address the theme of his controversial book: "JUDAISM IS NOT JEWISH: A Friendly Critique of the Messianic Movement".

Iron Sharpens Iron: BARUCH MAOZ: "JUDAISM IS NOT JEWISH: A Friendly Critique of the Messianic Movement" (Encore)

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Iron Sharpens Iron: RICHARD BENNETT: SAINT PATRICK: The Man Behind the Myth (Encore Presentation)

Iron Sharpens Iron recently represented Richard Bennett's interview on Saint Patrick

Iron Sharpens Iron: RICHARD BENNETT: SAINT PATRICK: The Man Behind the Myth (Encore Presentation)

Friday, March 25, 2011

'Dilbert' Creator Scott Adams Compares Women Asking for Equal Pay to Children Demanding Candy - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews

I think Comics Alliance is a great site! Its not just about comics and movies - it is socially relevant and responsible. Take this post. Laura Hudson writes a great opinion post about the truly idiotic thoughts expressed by Scott Adams that equate the social injustices of women with those men "suffer" from and then proceeds to basically tell women to suck it up since there is nothing we can do about it. I truly suggest reading her whole article but here is the quote from Scott Adams that touched this off.

The reality is that women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently. It's just easier this way for everyone. You don't argue with a four-year old about why he shouldn't eat candy for dinner. You don't punch a mentally handicapped guy even if he punches you first. And you don't argue when a women tells you she's only making 80 cents to your dollar. It's the path of least resistance. You save your energy for more important battles. -Scott Adams

Ladies and gentlemen, it truly is a strange world.

'Dilbert' Creator Scott Adams Compares Women Asking for Equal Pay to Children Demanding Candy - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews

Iron Sharpens Iron: PASTOR CLENARD HOWARD CHILDRESS, JR: "ABORTION: A BLUEPRINT FOR BLACK GENOCIDE" (ENCORE PRESENTATION)

Recently Iron Sharpens Iron replayed the interview with Pastor Clenard Howard Childress, Jr regarding the connection between black genocide and abortion. It's not easy to listen to but definitely worth it. We can't ignore the implications for Margaret Sanger's legacy or her motivations.

Iron Sharpens Iron: PASTOR CLENARD HOWARD CHILDRESS, JR: "ABORTION: A BLUEPRINT FOR BLACK GENOCIDE" (ENCORE PRESENTATION)

Fallacy Friday: The Straw Man - Apologetics 315

Matthew Flannagan and Brian Auten have again teamed up to deliver more great information. This time Flannagan defines the "Straw Man" fallacy.

Fallacy Friday: The Straw Man - Apologetics 315

Faithful Thinkers: Video: Was Jesus Just A Man?

Here is another video where Alex McFarland answers a major theological question in a minute. This time the question is: Was Jesus just a man? In a word: "No." But here is McFarland's answer.

Faithful Thinkers: Video: Was Jesus Just A Man?

Iron Sharpens Iron: TurretinFan: Formal Sufficiency of scripture: Stated & Examined From scripture & the Fathers, with Scholarly Confirmation Regarding the Fathers' Views (Encore)

I love to hear TurretinFan talk about church history. He was recently on Iron Sharpens Iron where he was interviewed on the Church Fathers.

Iron Sharpens Iron: TurretinFan: Formal Sufficiency of scripture: Stated & Examined From scripture & the Fathers, with Scholarly Confirmation Regarding the Fathers' Views (Encore)

Recording of this Tuesday’s Debate on Faith, Evidence, Atheism, Rob Bell, and Hell | Athanatos Christian Apologetics Ministry

Here is an interesting Debate from last Tuesday. The technology is interesting. The entire audio meeting plus a transcript of the online chat. Topic: Do Christians Believe Despite the Evidence? What about atheists?

Recording of this Tuesday’s Debate on Faith, Evidence, Atheism, Rob Bell, and Hell | Athanatos Christian Apologetics Ministry

Iron Sharpens Iron: Jim Harrison: God, the Gospel & Glenn Beck (Encore Presentation)

Recently, Iron Sharpens Iron rebroadcasted an interview with Jim Harrison regarding the rally Glen Beck ran a few months ago. Harrison brought out the following points and they are very important:

I. Statement #1: Neither Liberal Nor Conservative Nor Libertarian, Nor any other Political Label you wish to offer is Equal to Christianity.

II. Statement #2: “God Talk” is Not Necessarily “Good Talk”.

III. Statement #3: The Gospel is Non-negotiable (Garlow article; The “Black Robed Regiment”).

IV. Statement #4: We Have Lost Sight of the Real Problem and the Real Solution (Sin and the Gospel).

V. Statement #5: The Apocalyptic Vision of Contemporary Politics is an Instrument of Fear.

VI. Statement #6: When the Church Puts Its Trust in the Utopian Promise of the Political Process, It Falls Right Into Satan’s Snare.

VII. Statement #7: It is Idolatry for The American Evangelical Church to Trade the Truth of God for American Civil Religion.

Iron Sharpens Iron: Jim Harrison: God, the Gospel & Glenn Beck (Encore Presentation)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

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Monday, March 28, 2011

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Saturday, March 26, 2011

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