Stormbringer's Thunder

I knew it wouldn't take long for atheists to milk and distort the September 11 "anniversary" (for lack of a better word) for their own confused, hateful ends. Sam "Ben Stiller" Harris may have been the first of the atheist popes to hop on the "all religion is evil" express again. He did a piece crying for "intellectual honesty" (a quality that I find sadly lacking in modern Internet atheists, especially since they have the magical ability to discredit articles without even reading them, but I digress). Surprisingly, apologist Greg Koukl of Stand to Reason says that Sam Harris is right, it is  a time for "intellectual honesty". Well, sorta...

A fascinating and provocative piece by PPSimmons discussing the way atheism works with liberalism in undermining traditional values and to destroy our faith in God — and society itself. This article looks like the beginning of a series, and I'm looking forward to the continuation. One of the characteristics of atheism that is immediately noticeable is the overwhelming amount of foul language that is used. Even the most educated among them seem to suffer from the affliction of tourette syndrome. As much as I hate to do it I was forced on a couple of occasions to delete comments due to their graphic content. I have to repeatedly remind these self proclaimed animals that foul language and belittling others in order to prop yourself up are leading indicators of a lesser intelligence. See the rest of "Atheism's DISTURBING Doctrines and tenets... plus videos!" here . Then, you can read "The Atheist Delusion — Response to Richard Dawkins" here .

Keep an eye out for this fallacy, not only in discussions about faith and reason, but in political arenas. In its simplest sense, the Appeal to Motive fallacy is rather easy to spot. It is a form of the argumentum ad hominem  fallacy . I posted some song lyrics in the comments section of a Weblog, and someone said that I posted them "to feel better about myself". (What gave him the idea that he had insight into my mental processes, I have no idea.) It seems to me that one of the most common indicators that this fallacy has been engaged is terminology resembling, "He/She/You are doing this because...", but the accuser has no way of knowing what is going on inside your soul. In a more difficult manifestation, the Appeal to Motive is not always a fallacy. This is when something tangible can be brought into question, such as, "Snidely is suggesting that we use General Universal Widgetarium because he holds stock in that company". Well, tha...

Those brave heroes, burning an American flag on September 11, 2011! Oh, such inspirations! Never mind that they didn't even do it in the United States. 'Smatter, Hassan, too much security? Or were you gutless wonders afraid that the people would shove your allahu where the sun doesn't shine? Boy, someone burns a Koran and you think it gives you license to "jihad" and murder people, but you burn an American flag on the tenth anniversary of the date that your shameless, cowardly compatriots murdered three thousand Americans, and yet, you are still living! Shows a bit of a difference, huh?

Again, for the "gotcha" troublemakers in the world, I will repeat that people will use odd phrases and words that are not really sentences in their searches. Still, when those searches bring them to my Weblogs, they get interesting. In this case, a bit disturbing:

Petra "Whole World" lyrics Words and music by Bob Hartman Based on Hebrews 1:3, Matthew 20:29, 6:34 Hearts are falling left and right Children fear this planet's plight Fatalistic fears abound And take their toll without a sound But through the vague uncertainty - comes a bold assurity This world is under sovereignty - divinely ordered destiny He holds this world together with the Word of His power Safe within His hands - til its own appointed hour (Chorus) He's still got the whole world in His hands - tonight And only He knows where the sparrow lands - tonight And nothing in this world can stop His plans - tonight 'Cause He's still got the whole world in His hands In His hands tonight Humanistic lies lament The holocaust is imminent Doomsday prophets in the news Predicting who will light the fuse The fate of His creation isn't subject to a man The final consummation is according to His plan He's still got you - He's sti...

Last year Obama made a statement during a 9/11 event in which he said “as Americans we are not — and never will be — at war with Islam.” Maybe the president needs to remind Islam about this because they certainly don’t seem to know. Since taking office, the U.S. has either been attacked or threatened by attacks by Islamists at least 11+ times.  These aren’t random terrorist affronts by other countries, or Jared Loughner-type kooks (as the mainstream media would like you to believe)—they are ISLAMIC TERRORISTS.  Here’s a list of Islamic terrorist attacks and/or threats of attacks that have occurred on U.S. soil and U.S. military bases since Obama took office in January, 2009. Oh and just a reminder—although 9/11 happened 8 months after President Bush took office, during his 8-year presidency we never had any other Islamic terrorist attack in the U.S.  They knew better. Read the rest of "Islamic Attacks and Threats During Obama’s Presidency" here .

On a weekend when the world remembers the 9/11 that made that date infamous, many questions remain unanswered. My concern is that there are answers that remain unquestioned. Coexist. This sounds so terribly profound and noble. Even the graphic is inspiring. In one word we have Rodney King’s plea from a decade earlier – “Can’t we all just get along?” Well, I suppose that depends what you mean. Can we accept one another as humans with inherent value? – I would hope so. Can we tolerate viewpoints and lifestyles different from our own? – We should. Can we live out our own beliefs without injuring or belittling others in the name of our beliefs? – Most of us do, except for the occasional misguided zealot. Can we accept that we are all climbing the same mountain, even though we may be choosing separate paths? – No. This is where we must part company. The term for this sentiment is religious pluralism. It means ‘ acceptance of all religious paths as equally valid, promoting coexiste...

Christianity seems to be frightening more people these days. The most recent flurry of alarm has been over "dominionism," as represented in a New Yorker article by Ryan Lizza. It has been more than thoroughly debunked, but still it seems to represent something more than politics. People are afraid of Christianity. In fact for multiple reasons, many people are saying Christianity is bad, evil, harmful. This post is the first in a series examining reasons for Christianity's bad reputation. In memory of 9/11, I begin with "Guilt by Association." It goes like this. Islam is a religion. Some Muslims attacked us on 9/11 in the name of their God and their religion. Therefore religion is bad. Christianity is a religion. Therefore Christianity is bad. The logic is laughable. Compare this, which is in near-identical form: Rodents are four-legged animals. Mice are rodents and can make a mess in your attic. Therefore rodents are bad. Dogs are four-legged animals. Therefore...

No introduction, here's the text: Attitude Adjustment How did 9/11 change America’s attitude toward religion? A   recent post   on CNN’s Belief Blog says: “Before 9/11, many atheists kept a low profile. Something changed, though, after 9/11. They got loud… Criticism of all religion, not just fanatical cults, was no longer taboo after 9/11.” Indeed. Around the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, American Atheists hit the nightly news by suing to remove a steel cross from the September 11 memorial, even as others were calling it a national monument and a symbol of hope. Still, many atheists say 9/11 is a perfect example of why religion itself is evil. Is Religion Evil? Reminds me of reading Sam Harris’   The End of Faith   years ago. I remember when he started to get popular by insisting that religion itself is dangerous and evil. Although he’s got a lot of fans, a   Religion Dispatches   article recently called him “more charismatic than credentialled...

Kingston, New York, had been my home for about seventeen months. I was working in the warehouse with my foreman, getting the day's rounds planned. Another guy came over to us and asked if we knew what was happening. No, we did not have a radio on. He proceeded to tell us that planes had hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was waiting for a punch line, because this guy told tacky jokes. When he told us that it was no joke, I ran to the nearest computer and got online. I saw images of the smoking World Trade Center. Two things chilled me. First, the attack on the Pentagon made me realize that this was more ambitious than other attacks, and that the enemy was arrogant and stupid enough to take on the power of the United States military. The other thing that chilled me was when the Internet went down. At the time, I thought it was more than just overload and signal problems, but communications were not destroyed after all. I did not grasp the physical enormity of the Worl...