Stormbringer's Thunder

Buon giorno. There are too many testimonies to count of people who where involved in crime, porn, drugs, sexual affairs and every other evil under the sun who had their lives were turned around because they surrendered to Jesus. I have put occasional videos on this Weblog ( like this one and this sequel ) of people giving their stories. There are also testimonies that are less dramatic. Like mine. I was raised in a "religious" home, but the theology was liberal. When I went to a Christian school, I realized that I had to examine what I believed, how it was different from what they believed (it was much more theologically conservative than I had experienced). I became a "chapter and verse" kind of guy, wanting to know, "Where did you get that?" when some doctrine was put forward. Later, I needed to know about the Bible itself. OK, these people are showing me where they find their beliefs in the Bible, but can I trust it in the first place? This led to...

Buon giorno. Are you having a Good Friday? Originally, I was going to repeat my Good Friday post from last year. Instead, I will link to that here and also expand on it. One of the strongest evidences for the validity of the Bible and of the Christian faith is the fulfillment of prophesy (see the above link). It is amazing how so many details in the "messianic prophesies" were foretold by prophets hundreds of years before they happened. As an introductory lesson, take a look at Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 . Then, compare them with Matthew 26 and 27 . Also, compare Zech. 11.12-13 with Matt. 26.14-15 and Matt. 27.3-5. But those are just some of the "suffering servant" prophesies. Old Testament prophesies of the resurrection were fewer, and it was quite startling that Jesus prophesied his own resurrection! "Come on, Cowboy Bob! The writers of the Jesus story knew their scriptures and just stuck things in so that they could say, 'Aha! Prophesies fulfilled!...

Dawkins caught in either (a) disinformation or (b) an outright, repeated lie. Also, a man who became a Christian partly because of the vicious atheist Dawkinsites. Read about that, and see the video, here .

Yes, Lela, I know you like it when I blast some cafone  with the thunder and lightning, but I'm putting that on hold for a while. I want to talk to the people without scaring them, capice?  Alrightey then. Buon giorno.  Go ahead, sit down. I want to talk to you. Just hear me out, OK? I want to tell you some of the reasons that I believe that the Bible is true and, ultimately, that Jesus is who he said he is. There have been many times I have come across people who make the charge that the Bible was cranked out by people who wanted to start a religion. (Sometimes, they make the ridiculous claim that it was done to control people, but I won't dignify that with any discussion.) Well, that's kind of difficult. You see, the Bible is based on the word biblos. It is not really a  book, but a collection of sixty six books. These were written over a span of centuries by people from diverse cultures and in various walks of life: Fishermen, shepherds, kings, a tax colle...

Buon giorno. After this article, I'm changing the subject for a while. I have a challenge for the intelligent, civil atheists. But I have other things to say first because I have to set this up with examples, capice?   Last time , I provided an audio clip where several problems with Internet atheists were discussed. Some of this problem is of a spiritual nature. On the call that I present below to " Faith and Reason "  " Carm Radio " (Matt Slick of CARM) , I inadvertently set Matt off a bit. I know he was not exasperated with me personally, but rather, with the concepts that I was bringing forward. In my discussions with many people online, we have seen that the majority of Internet atheists are angry, hateful, dishonest and manipulative. Too bad they lost interest in their Korgi Cards so rapidly, and then wander off to bother other people... Recently, I had another writer of a Christian Weblog send me a message. He noted that the atheists at Ray Comfo...

Buona sera. In the first installment of this "series" (which may end after Part 3 ), I used an excerpt from Greg Koulk's "Stand to Reason" radio show/podcast. He was discussing with a caller certain logic fallacies of atheists, and I pointed out that these matched my own experiences fairly well. Now, I am going to expand on that with an excerpt from "Faith and Reason" with Matt Slick. This excerpt is heavily edited. Well, my parts are. I made some attempts at humor, did some "ummm" things and had some other false starts. Those are distracting, so I edited myself, capice? Matt's comments are intact, however. But since some petty trolls think that all Christians are liars, you can check the source material for yourself here . If your time is valuable and you want the essence of the conversation, it is below and runs for less than 7-1/2 minutes: By the way, the challenge is still open for atheists who want to call in. He gets calls ...

"I been hit, and I been down — but I never carried my cross through town!" — Resurrection Band So how was your day? Let's rock! If I pay, will you take me away, prove your worth to me? We've been lied to before - how can we be sure? What if... what if it hurts to believe? Oh, anyway, open up your door... Open up the door and I'm coming in. I know I'm tired of following sin! I want to give myself to you, Jesus. But I got some problems I want to talk to you about now... Oh, Lightshine! I been hit and I been down, but I never carried my cross through town! I don't understand it, oh, and I might not be willing to learn. Tell me, why did you come, And why were born where the dogs eat dog, and the pigs get all the corn? Oh, Lightshine, will you be mine? Do you understand where I've been? Twilight carries into night, If I go there, will you follow me in? What does it mean for a rebel to dream? I'm a gambler - how can I win? Am I in danger? Don...

Buona sera. Almost from my first day on the Internet (back when we used carrier pigeons, wires and tin cans), people have been bandying about the term " sock puppet ". It's a fake online persona (not to be confused with a pseudonym, such as "Stormbringer" or "Cowboy Bob"), generally used for deception. I get accused of having sock puppet accounts. Also, I have seen other people accused of the same "crime". The most outrageous accusation in this area is that I made up people who hate me , so I can have someone to fight with, which would include making up entire Websites and Weblogs. Also, on more than one occasion, I would have to create entire sites for people who agree with me on more than one occasion. (People so desperate to attack are downright sick in the head, I promise you.) Mind you, there were times I went to a Weblog and read comments that I wrote but did not recognize ("I wrote that? Hey, that's pretty good!...

From Apologetics 315.  There are some interesting comments about Hume's work and circular reasoning. The Question of Miracles: Interview with Craig Keener. Click here for the rest .

I had a co-worker take the picture with my camera phone, after making certain that there was no confidential information showing. Pointing at something was the least ridiculous way that I could show off the stretch bandage (which I expect to be able to ditch tomorrow): Now if you'll excuse me, lunch break is over.