Piltdown Superman

While woolgathering the other day, I thought back to a small get-together at my prospector friend Stormie Waters' place. There were equine games. I knew Stormie's friend Ruby Slippers was skilled at horse riding, but in the speed, turns, and fine maneuvering, she and the horse were like a unit. In the heyday of the nineteenth century American cattle drives, riders and horses worked together. Such unity is common. Long ago, people were using horses for transportation (riding and pulling wagons), pack animals, and more. So why say there were not designed to be ridden? The Cowboy , Frederic Remington, 1902 We have looked at dysteleology  arguments (that something supposedly had bad design, so the Creator does not exist or is incompetent, therefore evolution) several times. Sorry, Wilbur, but the argument can be used about the horse. Of course. Although poor design imaginings are used to prop up evolution, they are theological opinions, not scientific, in nature. Interestingly, th...

Stevia Dolce, the baker at the Darwin Ranch, made one of her stealth visits to my place. (This is because she does not dare show doubts about evolution for fear of her job.) As I chewed on a croissant she brought, Stevia said that her questions may have been tolerated by foreman Rusty Swingset, but she was not sure. The first question is quite reasonable for believers and unbelievers alike: In the Genesis Flood scenario creationists describe, how could the Ark avoid capsizing? Second, why were the animals punished and called "corrupted?" Ark Encounter, Pixabay /  Michael Wysmiersk Those are  good questions. After complimenting Stevia about her thinking (and baking), I admitted that I had a bit of work to do because I had not considered either question very much. Now, I don't think the Ark was the very first ship built, ever; Noah and his sons would have had shipbuilding skills . Also, while the Flood and many aspects of it were miraculous, not everything involved was . Co...

In some ways, professing Christians give aid and comfort to enemies of the gospel message. Many liberal theologians do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God and try to find flaws with it. After their scoffing is published, atheists and others use their words as ammunition against God. Scoffing can be seen with studies of Ancient Near East (ANE) cultures and mythologies that are used against the Bible. Since biblical creation and the Genesis Flood are primary targets of skeptics, its cosmology comes under fire. Pond off Sawkill Road, Kingston, NY, Unsplash /  Cowboy Bob Sorensen , modified with  FotoSketcher Numerous assumptions are made. One is that the Hebrews were just like their ANE neighbors, so why not incorporate their mythologies into sacred texts? Not only does that show profound ignorance of what they taught and believed, but rejects how the Hebrews knew that they belonged to Yahweh the Creator. Also, the greater context is ignored, including passage throughou...

Atheists and other anti-creationists try to put biblical creationists on the defensive, a tactic that works on those that re under-informed. As we have seen, they use "bad design, therefore evolution" arguments (dysteleology). Another trick is to try to make the Creator seem immoral. Either God is bad, or he does not exist. It is interesting that they often pretend their arguments are scientific. That'll be the day! Those alleged arguments are feckless theological opinions. In addition, they are examples of bad logic. Consider the challenge that a loving God made a killer jellyfish. Box jellyfish, Wikimedia Commons / Guido Gautsch ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) As stated before, when attempting to refute someone's argument, it is intellectually honest to see if the argument is consistent from the other person's framework. Atheists tend to take fragments of creationist views and filter them through materialistic glasses, which means they presuppose that the creationist is wrong...

Several countries have special days set aside to pay tribute to those killed in the service of their countries. Today is ours. One tradition is to put American flags on graves of the fallen, and people tend to blur Veterans Day (which honors living people in the armed forces) with Memorial Day. It is a good thing to have holidays to prompt us to remember the fallen, and also for other noteworthy times in a culture or individual lives. We do something similar with birthdays and anniversaries. Establishing reminders is found in the Bible. Memorial Day flags and cross / Pxhere God instituted symbols and feasts to prompt Israel to remember him and what he did for them. The most obvious in the Old Testament is the rainbow, which is God's promise to never flood the entire earth again. Another famous reminder is  Passover , which had detailed instructions for the observance. Yesterday at church, we had Communion (the Lord's Supper). Passover was a strong foreshadowing of the time when...

Another title I never imagined that I would use. A few scientists have been thinking that perhaps some things have consciousness, even cells themselves. We should not be entirely surprised, then, that the question has been raised whether or not fungi have free will. Wait, what? Many people would consider that idea a mite goofy, but in the true  spirit of science and inquiry, put presuppositions and assumptions on hold for a spell. Creation Science, Intelligent Design, plate tectonics, the flood that carved out the Channeled Scablands , and others were originally rejected. Orange Bracket Fungi, Flickr / Bernard Spragg NZ (public domain) "Hey, look! Some mushrooms came up out of the ground after last night's heavy rain! I dare you to eat one!" Best not to do that. Fungi come in many shapes, sizes, and forms. This means they are very common. It's natural to assume they don't have cognition, let alone, free will. To consider the free will question, other questions sh...

Atheists and other anti-creationists use Stephen Jay Gould's claim that the panda has an ineffective thumb as an argument against creation and Intelligent Design, but this dysteleology fails in several areas. One should be glaring obvious: Why would a bear need a thumb like humans have? The comparison is not valid, as we are different creatures with different life niches. Gould and subsequent followers claim that it is a scientific refutation of creation and ID, but it is not a scientific argument ! It is philosophical — really, it is theological. Modified from "Giant Panda Tai Shan" /  Fernando Revilla / Wikimedia Commons Misotheists are very fond of "bad design" arguments, which is silly. They do not believe God exists, but presume to fault him for things in nature that (in their unhumble opinions ) are flawed. Those of us who use presuppositional apologetics can show that anti-creationists are not consistent with their own belief system, especially when they...

Before the chaos of today, young people would eventually grow comfortable in the sexes they were born with. There was therapy for them if needed. Not all that long ago, people were not demanding to have so-called gender reassignment surgery and to be called by pronouns of their choosing. Worse, children are being given puberty blockers which adversely affect their health. Medical professionals are causing harm and making big money doing it. Transsexuals are having regrets over their devastating life-changing choices. Daylily, Pixnio / Bicanski Rebellion against God's design for marriage and authority have been increasing for the past few years, and there is a great deal of pride and selfishness involved. At the beginning of creation, marriage was to be one man and one woman. Marriage has been redefined by courts and legislation by uppity humans. Also, it is impossible  to actually change genders. Hormones, laws, surgeries — but the reality of the sex one was born with persists all ...

Some folks get jaded with Christmas, reading or hearing readings of the birth of Jesus, the arrival of the Magi, the census taken while Quirinius was governor, and more. Same old thing every year, right? Some of us terribly miss the "same old" that we will never have again... If we slow down and pay attention, there is a great deal to give us a sense of wonder. Hundreds of years before, Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be born of a virgin . Micah 5:2 prophesied where. Ironically, some prophesies were fulfilled by unbelievers. Nativity of Jesus figurines, Pexels / Susanne Jutzeler We can also find out that there are many misconceptions surrounding Christmas (especially that "Christmas is pagan and you can't celebrate it" nonsense ). That bad old innkeeper who turned Mary and Joseph away, but his kindhearted wife attended to the delivery — never happened. The Magi were powerful king makers, and there was probably an entourage, not just three (three gifts  are me...

A spell back, we used the expensive word anthropomorphize , which basically means to assign human traits to animals and other things . It is also a very common thing to do. Charles Darwin saw evil in the insect world and wondered how a loving God can allow this. Others have wondered about similar things. Evil is actually rebellion against God and his Word, and critters are doing what they know without considering morality. In discussing biology, however, their predatory behavior is often called  natural evil . Wasp on grape, Pixnio / Bicanski We tend to think of the big wasps that sting just about anything, but smaller species escape our attention because they cannot sting us. Wasps often go after each other. After all, they want to survive and reproduce. Their methods are often brutal and even disgusting to us. The source of this behavior is not found in natural science, but theology — go back to Genesis. Who hasn’t had a picnic ruined by angry, stinging wasps coming out of nowher...

Wait, what? Malaria has been eradicated in these parts for decades. Well, not really. In a way, it is not entirely surprising for infections to show up. Folks go to countries where it still exists, get bitten by an infected mosquito, then exhibit symptoms later. What is disconcerting is when malaria is locally acquired. On this big continent, conditions have to be right for it to spread. Someone can be a carrier, get bitten by a mosquito, then that  noxious critter bites someone else and gives the gift of malaria. It is not always fatal, and is a disease involving four different parasites. Plasmodium vivax schizonts, CDC / Dr. Mae Melvin It is apparent that Plasmodium vivax has been designed. This touches on an area where creationists have to be ready to explain themselves. Yes, everything was created, and it was very good  at the end of creation week. When Adam sinned, things began to fall apart. Death and disease showed up. Like other things like viruses and bacteria, Plas...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen From the standpoint of producing evidence for what they teach, biblical creationists can be baffled by the resistance displayed by anti-creationists. Some tinhorns claim that we never produce evidence — making such insipid claims on posts such as " Overview of Geologic Evidence of the Flood !" Material exposing evolutionary fraud and bad science is ignored or waved away. In literally thousands of books, articles, videos and such, Creationists and Intelligent design proponents have discussed how evidence for design is abundant. Instead of intelligently discussing interpretations of evidence, atheists and evolutionists go beyond insults and attempt to dehumanize us . Red-bellied woodpecker, Unsplash / Joshua J. Cotten When misotheists attempt to dehumanize us, it shuts down rational discourse. It also indicates fear on their part. Can't be letting evidence for design get wide circulation, nosiree! That's bad medicine for atheism. Further, what doe...

One of the most common complaints by professing atheists is that there is insufficient evidence for God. They have disingenuously redefined atheism from one who believes there is no God or gods  into lacking belief . Many will not give a direct answer as to what would constitute evidence for God, or even whether or not he would be able to make himself known. Many want God to meet their arbitrary subjective standards. The Creator of the universe is not a performing seal, old son. Webb telescope galaxies, NASA , ESA, CSA, and STScI (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Those of us who believe that the Bible means what it says know that despite their protestations, God has indeed made himself known. A standard argument by theists is to say that unbelievers just need to look around, his design is clearly evident. Do not  fall into the "prove it to me" trap because they are getting you to admit that you don't believe what God's Word says. Somehow, tinhorns li...

Anglerfish are denizens of the deep, dark, cold sea. They have, as Tim the Enchanter would say, "Nasty big pointy teeth!" Anglerfish have a bioluminescent lure that dangles in front of them to attract prey. Bioluminescence is when a creature chemically generates its own light; fireflies are actually bioluminescent beetles. They live so far down, the pressure is immense. Scientists find it difficult to keep them alive for research. One type of Anglerfish, the Ceratioid, is a bit of a difficulty for biblical creation: If everything was created very good , why does this happen? Cryptopsaras couesii , Wikimedia Commons / Masaki Miya, et al  ( CC BY 2.0 ) Interesting how what happens to C. couesii is wrongly used as "evidence" for Darwinism. You'll read about that in the link below. This is where it becomes part science and part theology. Yes, everything was very good in the beginning with no death and suffering, but something happened. When Adam sinned (the Fall of ...

Study on it a while. Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. God is perfect in holiness and majesty, and everything in creation belongs to him. Jesus is the Creator (John 1:1-3, Heb. 1:2-3, Col. 1:16). He was born in the jerkwater town of Bethlehem, and lived in Nazareth — which was not exactly the Gangnam District of Seoul, savvy? We have all sinned against God, and are deserving of death (Rom. 3:23, 6:23). This began with Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1-7). God could have simply made the world go away. The Adoration of the Shepherds   /   Giorgione, 1505-1510 (they all look very white, though) The gap between creation and Creator is unfathomable, so why would he want to come to Earth? Out of love (Rom. 5:8), he emptied  himself , giving up his glory and took human form (Phil. 2:5-8). He was born of a virgin in humble circumstances. He was never regal in his earthly life. One reason for that is that Jesus was acceptable to the common man, not someone only ca...

As stated before, there are many models in creation science that come and go, but the foundation is the inerrant Word of God. Biblical creationists attempt to square their ideas with Scripture and science. They reason from the Bible, and one consideration is the condition of creation at the beginning. There are differing speculations among creationists about the meaning of biblical texts regarding the state of creation. It was perfect, but some people read some idealism into it that was borrowed from the Greeks and not supported by the text. Pixnio / Drazen Nesic Some even think that there was no entropy before the Fall of Man and the Curse, but that idea does not fit with science or Scripture . Indeed, the Second Law of Thermodynamics had to be  in effect at the beginning for creation to even function . The Bible clearly indicates that the Fall and the Curse had definite physical effects on creation, and biblical creationists can study further on this. In the metanarrative of Scri...

This is Thanksgiving Day in the formerly United States, and other places around the world have something similar. This kind of thing is mostly done mostly in areas with Christian populations. But have you ever noticed that thankfulness does not seem to be a part of human nature? Gratitude has to be learned. I reckon most of us can relate to giving a child a gift and a parent has to prompt, "Say thank you!" Eventually we learn to express gratitude — especially if it betters our chances of getting more stuff. More importantly, learn  why  we should be thankful. Unsplash / Guillaume de Germain Secularists recognize gifts of our Creator but try to make them into naturalistic responses or will rewrite history (such as the disgusting modification of the Pilgrims gave thanks to the natives , omitting God). Some fools thank the universe, an obvious appeal to pantheism. Others use reification and hate, such as this reaction to a Thanksgiving post (Rom. 1:21): Today is the anniversary ...

Something I learned from Ken Ham several decades ago (and stated by many others) is the insidious nature of attacks on the Bible. Those with Atheism Spectrum Disorder simply lash out with ridicule, demonstrating their bigotry and lack of reasoning skills. We easily dismiss them. Christians and creationists have had to deal with more subtle and effective assaults. Specifically, they seek to undermine our foundations. All major Christian doctrines begin in Genesis , and not only has Genesis been getting bushwhacked, but the authorship of the Bible as well. Ketef Hinnom Silver Scrolls , Flickr / Biblical Papyrus Photos Moses is the author of the Torah (Pentateuch), the first five books of the Bible. (Some of us believe that, because of the structure of certain sections in Genesis, Adam and other wrote certain sections, but Moses was the editor and compiler.) When liberal theologians and unbelievers say that Moses had nothing to do with the books for which he is credited, they are call...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Many years ago, I asked someone to criticize an article I had written. He replied, "No, but I will critique it." Then I learned that criticize has a connotation of negativity, but a critique can be positive and constructive . The term constructive criticism  is often mere criticism and not constructive. While a critique is most commonly known for art and literature, it is also useful when discussing science and writing papers. Critiques help determine if claims are supported or where the material is lacking. Creationists critique evolutionary material. Pexels / fauxels (seriously?), modified with FotoSketcher In my article on debate challenges , I emphasized some things learned from Dr. James R. White. In a true  debate, there is structure and some amount of graciousness. Debaters work on the material presented instead of taking cheap shots at the people. (I'll allow that it's very difficult to remain clinical when discussing deceivers and v...

There comes a time when everyone has to cowboy up and face the failings, and this is mine. It turns out that not only have many others and I been deceived, but I have been deceiving my readers in my misguided zeal. Dinosaurs never existed. Playtime is over. Now we get to more serious but still almost unbelievable material. Although I have heard of them, I never met someone who claimed that dinosaurs are not real. The reasons for thinking this get...truly bizarre. Unsplash / Katie Smith I have to stop for a moment and say that this post almost went to Biblical Creation and Evangelism . It ended up here because, although it has to do with theology, biblical creationists emphasize critical thinking skills. To believe the outrageous idea that dinosaurs were never real, one must believe conspiracy theories on an absurdity level of September 11 "truthers" and Flat-Earthers. In all three cases, thousands  of people would have to keep secrets very well, and not have consciences that ...