Stormbringer's Thunder

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Regular readers of my Weblogs know full well that I believe in healthy skepticism, as it helps us obtain adequate information instead of accepting unsubstantiated claims. W ere those ads really rejected for inclusion in a Super Bowl broadcast? Maybe, maybe not. But it's not exactly a serious claim that can change your life , is it?  Fact-checking comes to the forefront when something is on the fantastic side. I've come to expect atheists and evolutionists to believe and pass along negativity when it comes to Christians and creationists, but it really burns my prairie schooner when Christians embarrass themselves (and other Christians) by neglecting to do a bit of fact-checking before passing along wild stories. Some even pass along material from parody sites without checking the sources. This child believes in asking questions and getting details. The end of the world is a good example. Image credit: NASA Goddard Ready to head for the hil...

A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal, But even the compassion of the wicked is cruel. — Proverbs 12.10 NASB This picture was circulating on Facebook and has upset quite a few people. There are over 30,000 comments on the main photo and 176,000 "shares". No idea how many total with all of the comments on the shared versions. I saw several comments where people wanted to personally harm and even kill the man in the picture. I'm warning you, it is upsetting to animal lovers. Be sure to read this all the way through.  Click for Larger; Picture is viral, original source not found.  From your initial glance, what do you feel? Outrage? A desire to hurt the guy? Sorry for the puppy? Now, what do you see? A fellow forcing a puppy to drink vodka? Animal abuse? In addition to the rage that was expressed, some interesting comments and observations were made. There is considerable argument about whether or not the cap is on the bottle in the fi...

Having been interested in political matters as well as spiritual, it gives me some interesting opportunities for observation. I am not saying that I'm unique and special in this area, but when I hang around with Biblical apologists, they do not seem to have much interest in politics, and vice versa. Things I have learned about logic and apologetics have applied to political rhetoric quite nicely. There are a few things that I would like to explain to you, the viewing audience, to use during the rest of the American 2012 political season. Learn some basics.  I have some "Logic Lessons" (emphasizing informal logical fallacies) listed in the margin on this Weblog. Although they are focused on Christian apologetics and vituperative atheists have kindly supplied me with several excellent illustrations, the points made should translate to other areas, including politics. Also, there are links to other sites in those articles for further information on the logical fallacies. E...

Sometimes it seems to take forever to learn things. And sometimes, we learn things in a relatively short time but it takes many years to master them. I learned something important from a therapist. (Yeah, I had a therapist for clinical depression. It was good enough for Tony Soprano, so get over it.) This involves expectations, and what "should" be. He was fond of the Albert Ellis school of psychology, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. I don't agree with everything (I think the man's an atheist, for example), but a great deal of it makes sense. Suppose I go into a shop. Normally, I expect professionalism and courtesy. But suppose this guy is having a bad day, and he's rude. He shouldn't be rude, he should treat me right. Isn't that awful? No, it's not. I get angry because I'm expecting something I'm not getting. Instead, I should accept the fact that it's a little thing. The world isn't going to cave in because he treats me like a ...