Posts

Showing posts with the label Discovery Institute

Reclaiming Humanity from Scientism

Image
The internet can be considered a tool for information gathering, and like any tool, can be used for good or bad. It has helped promote atheism, which pretends to be about rational thinking. The internet also helped advance the Intelligent Design movement and biblical creation science. But the atheism that infested the internet was erroneously said to promote reason and science. It did not go well. Whether or not people actually became atheists and stayed with it, the damage was done and people became...soulless. Their thinking was mechanistic and reductionist . Waters are falling at the Falling Waters Preserve near Glasco, NY, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen Although atheists usually deny it, they are very religious. In their jumble of beliefs,  Scientism usually comes out on top. That view reduces humans and everything else into its components, and that hard sciences are the only path to reality. Such a worldview is saturated with absurdities and arbitrary definitions, not the lea...

A Heads-up on the Brain

Image
Scientists are constantly prodding and scrutinizing brains, human or otherwise. Naturally, our own brains have a special interest. Many secularists deny the existence of consciousness. Other scientists know that the brain is not the mind but the mind uses  the brain. When my wife was stricken and there was no hope, I gave the order to terminate life support. When I was talking and reading to her, I thought I saw a flicker of response in her eye. The doctor said nothing could be happening, but others and I disagree. Information on uncommunicative comatose patients may support us. Brain graphic by  yodiyim  at FreeDigitalPhotos It was not long after she died that I came across the article linked above. To take it further, studies show what is being called covert consciousness . Comatose people show signs of consciousness as revealed by testing and brain scans. Efforts are being made to increase care for those people (see " We’ve Discovered 'Covert Consciousness' — But Now ...

People as Machines in Medicine

Image
There is a complication situation in medical science regarding the machine model.  Humans are treated like machines, and to some extent that is true. We have repeating cycles in numerous areas and treatments are similar in each person. My heart triple bypass was one of many for the surgeon. (Indeed, Mr. Gordons referred to humans as meat machines  — a term which would circumvent "preferred pronouns" and "misgendering".) But treating people as mere machines is degrading, and there are questions of ethics and morality. Medical science, Pexels / Tara Winstead There was a time that many of us can remember when a medical practitioner was someone that wanted to try very hard to facilitate healing, or at least to do no harm. Not so much anymore. To be blunt, with atheism dominant in secular indoctrination centers (also known as schools), too many medical folks degrade humans. Instead of seeing the wonder of the engineering principles involved in the creation of the human b...

Mysteries on Language Origin, Usage

Image
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  There are many ways in which living things communicate, none of which can be explained by Darwin's acolytes. For example, facial expressions can indicate how someone is feeling and may even be a signal to other people. Chimpanzees have vocal patterns that resemble those of humans, but they are not language . Our Creator gave animals the means to communicate with each other on basic levels and occasionally with us. Impressive as they may be on occasion, animal communications do not compare with human language, which testifies of the Creator . The Card Players ,  Paul Cezanne, 1892 Remember how I said that the Intelligent Design community has serious limitations ? They have a "big tent" approach, and I believe that many are theistic evolution Deists. Most ID folks seem to believe in deep time and even guided  evolution. There are other things as well, so it becomes difficult to tell where some of them are coming from. When perusing Evolution News a...

The Problem of Sentient Plants

Image
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Animal rights extremists have been known to refer to the killing of animals as "murder," but that word does not mean what they think it means. Murder is the unlawful taking of a human  life. Humans are sentient. We have consciousness, intelligence, awareness, and all that good stuff. Some critters have consciousness, but not on our level. Corvids (crows, magpies, ravens, blue jays, and the lot) are considered very intelligent, yet they do not write music. Consider  panpsychism , where all living things supposedly have some consciousness. This includes plants. Dandelions, Pexels / Egor Komarov Plant consciousness would raise some questions of morality for some people. F'rinstance, many vegetarians and vegans choose their eating habits on what they consider to be moral grounds. If it turns out that plants have consciousness, they would have to be consistent and not eat those either! On the other hand, this scientist loves dandelions and points out t...

Nature is not Unlimited

Image
On more than one occasion, I have encountered Darwin's disciples online who say that if there is a little  evolution, there must eventually be a lot of it. That is, favorable mutations accumulate until something becomes a new creature, made by nature. It may seem plausible at first. Biblical creationists accept natural selection and speciation. Some refer to small changes microevolution . However, it is recommended that we educate other creationists to avoid using micro- and macroevolution ; one is horizontal  change, the other is unobserved vertical  atoms-to-astronaut change. Esopus Creek near Mt. Tremper, NY, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen What people who believe in such accumulations of traits do not realize is that they are showing their lack of knowledge; there are built-in biological limits to change. Clearly, many evolutionists try to substitute Nature, Evolution, Natural Selection, and other things for the true Creator. Yes, people use nature, evolution, and natu...

Sometimes they take a Great Metamorphosis Notion

Image
One of the great marvels in the natural world is metamorphosis . A caterpillar goes into a cocoon, is deconstructed, then out pops a butterfly. Dragonflies and other creatures do this as well. It has always been a mystery that believers in descent with modifications evolution cannot explain. A group of researchers took a notion, which is fine for a starting point, but then presented it as finished work. Lazy, sloppy, even dishonest work is becoming more common in the secular science industry, so mayhaps the standard has fallen this low? Dragonfly metamorphosis, WikiComm / Clinton & Charles Robertson ( CC BY 2.0 ), modified at PhotoFunia Secularists have an a priori  commitment to materialism, so evidence supporting the Master Engineer's work is rejected out of hand. The irreducible complexity of metamorphosis itself should convince anyone of his existence. if they did not have their Darwin spectacles on, which filter out inconvenient logic and facts. Indeed, genetics adds evid...

God, Pain, and Charles Darwin

Image
Some folks seem to have the notion that Charles Darwin applied science to his observations, leading to the publication of On the Origin of Species . That is not the case. He had ideas for which he wanted to find support. Interestingly, his writing was not intended as a way to kill God. People have debated whether or not Darwin was an atheist throughout his life, and his writing may imply that he was unsure himself. Reading Origin  one can see an unevenness, and maybe a vague defense of the Creator regarding pain. I gave Charlie a floral wreath at  PhotoFunia .  His writings had many unsupported claims for which he promised to provide evidence — but never produced . At times he supported atheistic materialism, but other times, he knew that what is seen in the world must have been designed in some way. A benevolent Creator would not have used so much suffering, so natural selection — nature — is the culprit. The timing and conditions back then were right for Darwin to becom...

Stoned Apes, Evolution, and the Future

Image
It has been said that people throughout history have found ways to get high, which frequently includes alcohol. Generally speaking, drunkenness is something for disreputable people. The first instance in the Bible is Noah (Gen. 9:21) and it is usually spoken of unfavorably (consider Prov. 23:29-35). Part of the disfavor toward any form of intoxication is the loss of control (Eph. 5:18). In the 1960s, drug use was considered a way of opening or expanding the mind. Our evolutionary ancestors supposedly got high. Hippie-type van, Unsplash / Nick Karvounis Materialists have long denied the existence of consciousness or tried to explain it away, but this goes in the opposite direction. Dr. Bobby Azarian thinks that in the distant past, our apelike ancestors got stoned. (I can imagine a bunch of apes riding in a hippie van, wearing big sunglasses, acrid smoke and Grateful Dead music pouring out the windows...) It's supposed to open your mind, maaan! Far out! What great benefit to humanit...

Beauty and the Transcendent

Image
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Although I am not fond of trends, I like a new one on my radar. "Beware of Smartphone Zombies" can be seen on T-shirts, possibly  real road signs , and many places on the internet. People do not watch where they are walking, forcing others to go around them — if possible. It illustrates a deeper problem related to the stupidification of society, especially younger people. Our Creator gave people minds to use, but their attention is on electronic entertainment and getting dopamine from a sort of electronic culture . They miss out on true beauty. Rondout Creek joining the Hudson River, several things happening, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen I'll allow that people want their entertainment and don't want to be interrupted. For instance, I was uninterested in going on "color tours" to see the autumn leaves changing because I had things I preferred to do. We all have some entertainment priorities or some things just have no appeal. However...

System Engineering and Biology

Image
For a while now, biologists have been starting to look at living things from an engineering perspective. They are a bit skittish about it, because if things are engineered, there must be an Engineer a Designer. Indeed, C. Richard Dawkins and other Darwinists tell scientists to remind themselves that things only appear designed. Another reason for the reluctance of evolutionists to admit to engineering approaches is that biblical creationists have been talking about biological engineering for some time now. A paper in the Intelligent Design community discusses systems engineering in biology. Construction, Pixabay /  Adi Rahman Systems engineering requires making a plan to build something in order to accomplish a goal, models are developed, testing happens, and all that good stuff before a final product is made. Taking inspiration from mechanical engineering, the authors describe model-based reverse system engineering. To show how their approach would work, glycolysis was used. If a ...

Longevity and the Instruction Manual

Image
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  There was a story told some time ago about a salesman who came across a man cutting trees in the forest, and he was using just an axe. The sales rep said the man could cut down many more trees if he used the chainsaw he was selling. Sold! A couple of days later, the salesman came back and asked how things were going. "Lousy!" replied the man. "All day yesterday with that blasted chainsaw, and I only cut down two trees . I want my money back!" "Easy, friend," replied the salesman. "Let's see what's wrong with it." He pulled the starter and there was a loud vroooom. "Whoa, what is that noise? " cried the man. Car in the woods, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen Amazing that he got any  trees cut when he didn't even know how to start up the chainsaw. Every once in a while, someone makes news for having lived an amazing number of years. People ask, "What's your secret to a long life?" Answers va...

Inner Knowledge of the Creator

Image
A common claim among misotheists is that atheism is a "lack of belief" in God, which is intellectually lazy and self refuting. Rocks lack belief in God . Christians who believe the Bible presuppose it is true, and people have all the evidence they need but suppress it (Romans 1:18-22). This inner knowledge is seen in children and adults. A common argument for design is that a building has a builder, a painting has a painter, and the far more complex human body must also have a designer. That would be the Master Engineer of the Bible. Tracks on algae in pond, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen In the picture of a pond, something made tracks in the algae. I wonder what did it. People watch animals go through the motions to build something that seems like they are being creative, but they are really just acting upon what they were designed to do. This points back to the Creator. Indeed, it goes beyond reasoning things out. Sometimes there are emotional reactions like a sense of wond...

Eliminating the Myth of the Peppered Moth

Image
One of the main icons of evolutionism is the peppered moth, which is used in textbooks as a classic example of natural selection. The story is that the moths had two varieties, light and dark. Pollution darkened the tree trunks, the lighter moths became bird food and the darker ones survived. Hail Darwin! Blessed be! The  moth story is fake  — and evolutionists know it. If Darwinism were true, why is there a need for trickery, bad science, confusion, fraud, and outright lies? New Nobel Prize-winning evidence further destroys the tale. Light and dark varieties of peppered moths,  Wikimedia Commons / Olaf Leillinger ( link to  top one is here ,  link to  bottom is one here ) While DNA is frequently the star of a biological show, RNA is its very important partner. It has several vital functions and takes different forms. There is ribosomal RNA (rRNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA). A new surprise was found in the form of microRNAs. There are severa...

Dawkins and Other Atheists Bitten by Wokeness Bug

Image
As noted elsewhere, the so-called New Atheism is fading and its celebrities are losing impact. Clinton Richard Dawkins does stick to his guns on some subjects that do not fit with the leftist "wokeness" of the secular science industry. I disagreed with Berkeley "deplatforming" him  because of free speech. Some "woke" tinhorns think that Māori myths should be taught in schools along with the Big Bang and evolution. There are those who use such a worldview to say that indigenous peoples have wisdom on those things.  Hypocritically, creation science is treated like mythology, but not given respect. Wooden pencil box representing Rangi and Papa, WikiComm / Pierre André Leclercq ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) Myths of indigenous peoples can be an interesting area of study, but are inconsistent and conflicting. (Even the Rangi and Papa creation myth of the Māori has several variations.) Dr. Dawkins and other misotheists have expressed their disdain for the idea of teaching t...

Planning Our Fingers and Toes

Image
We may not spend time thinking about our digits, but pay attention the next time you are carrying an awkward load or doing something else that requires manual dexterity. There are times I get some unusual grips on things like groceries and am glad to have opposable thumbs. Our toes may receive even less thought except when we injure them. Then we realize that they are important to walking, balance — and helping us make loud vocalizations when we kick a chair in the night. Adult hands and baby feet, Unsplash / Manuel Schinner In images of a developing human fetus, fingers and toes do not look anything like the final product. More like webbed things. That's where planned cell death comes in, which is called  apoptosis . The Master Engineer designed a system where apoptosis is on standby, held by other biological functions. At the right moment, it goes to town and we get our fingers and toes after a spell. This is yet another display of design by our Creator, and evolutionists are lef...

Scientist Angry at Politicization in Science

Image
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen As discussed before, the secular science industry is all in for leftist politics and morality. There are folks in academia and science professions who simply want to do their jobs and are not necessarily thrilled with the extreme leftist views of their employers. People may rightly wonder why science organizations, which should be ignoring politics and doing science stuff, are doing these things. After all, they are essentially making an obscene gesture at millions of people who disagree with their adoration of leftist Democrat policies. Two scientists working, Pexels / Edward Jenner One simple reason is that Democrats promise money. (People want money for their interests no matter who is hurt in the long run, and they want their special interests to be promoted, especially sexual deviances.) The secular science industry wants that grant money, you betcha! Another reason for their partisanship is that they want to be admired by their peers . And many of their pee...

Pseudoscience, Authority, and Definitions

Image
When people call something a pseudoscience , the meaning depends on who is making the claim. The definition is vague and malleable like a putty you can squish between your toes and track onto the carpet. It is used to provoke negative emotions, often by those who are attempting to protect consensus in the secular science industry from scrutiny. Ironically, Wickedpedia defines and discusses pseudoscience , and its material can be used to define evolution as a pseudoscience. Further, pseudoscience supposedly lacks falsifiability — a frequent problem in evolutionary research. Phrenological skull, WikiComm / Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) Phrenology was, to state it simply, the study of the brain and skull to determine behavior. It was also considered for use in criminology. Phrenology is listed as a pseudoscience, but was it really that or simply discredited by better science? Asking for a friend. Several fields considered pseudosciences (astrology, f'rinstance) are pro...

Atheism and Evolutionism are Collapsing

Image
While the belief that there is no God has been around for centuries, obstreperous misotheism had its heyday in the early 2000s. Ridicule of Christians, biblical creationists, and the Intelligent Design was rampant. Some people like that are still around on social(ist) media. Ironically, atheists claim to believe in science and reason, but precious little logic can be observed. The face of this version of atheism has been C. Richard Dawkins. He and others have been making money from hatred and bigotry, playing to like-minded folks. Some are dying off and replacements are not sought . Colorized version of "1889 Guy" with shattering atheism image provided by Why?Outreach Indeed, atheism is becoming irrelevant. People are seeking answers instead entertainment through bullying. Christians who know about presuppositional apologetics and epistemology surprise professing atheists by standing up to them instead of cowering from the superpowers of the Mighty Atheist™ . Societal trends...

More Evidence Neanderthals were Human

Image
At one time, Neanderthals were portrayed as stupid brutes in our supposed evolutionary history. Evidence over the years prompted Darwinists to realize that they were not so far removed from humans after all . Still, they try to keep some form of evolutionary link going, plus showing racism against Neanderthals . This makes racist Charles Darwin smile. It should be case closed  that humans and Neanderthals were the same species because our ancestors exchanged DNA. (Indeed, some folks may have allergies because of inheriting DNA from Neanderthals .) New research affirms their humanity. Neanderthal reconstruction, Flickr /  Michael (a.k.a. moik) McCullough  ( CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 ) Someone can search for but not find an ape that fashioned jewelry because it had deep personal meaning. Symbolism — which indicates abstract thought, a human trait — is indicated among these "archaic humans." Also, it has been suggested that they are not exactly extinct . They had culture and were inte...