Stormbringer's Thunder

"It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion; for while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them confederate, and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity." — Sir Francis Bacon I have to admit that I'm stumped about something. And I do not like writing an article of this nature, where I am responding to something said about me in the comments section of another Weblog. But I feel that I should. There was a comment about me at "Atheist Central", but I am reluctant to name the source. I'm thinking that he (?) may not want to be named outright, here. Well, if he (?) wants to leave a comment and claim it, then fine, I'll acknowledge it. But he will not, since he said (among other hateful things), "Thankfully, my atheistic moralit

Buona sera. On the surface, it really baffles me that ("new") atheists are making total war with Christians and Theists. Why? What is the real reason (not just some nonsensical excuse you've conjured up so you can pretend that you have a valid cause)? Why put anti-Christian signs on buses, vandalize crosses at public war memorials, stashing 666 copies of  failed DVD " The God who Wasn't There " in churches for Easter, protest the Ten Commandments in public — and protest the Sunday morning meeting of Answers in Genesis ? Anyone watching from the outside will probably say, "What a bunch of jerks. If they're smarter than all the Christians, then why not just go on about their business, confident in their superiority?" Addendum: The follow-up to the protest is here . I have asked several times, without response, why they attack and troll Christians, but not easier targets like Mormons, UFO enthusiasts, New Agers, witches, Satanists, Muslims

The same thing I've told you about before . They want to settle an estate in the UK, but do not even put my name in the e-mail. The headers indicate "Yahoo" for the mailer, not what is written in the letter. Nothing wrong with Yahoo Mail, but established legal firms do not use free Web mail services. For people who are not regular readers, this is a scam. If you get a letter like this, delete it. What is funny is at the very end, they have the "misuse of this letter may be illegal" tag line, when the entire thing that was sent to me is illegal. Ha!   I put in extra line breaks to make the letter fit: From: Mrs Kathy McGowan AGGS Consultants Service Ltd. This is a confidential message from AGGS Consultants: private consulting firm in London,  United Kingdom. I have been directed to contact you with regards to ongoing investigations involving a  deceased client of Royal Bank of Scotland. The client, who shared the same last name with you,  died intestate so

Buon giorno. This has been fermenting in my mind for quite a while, and finally got tapped and poured out.  Do you know what a " reserved word " is? Normally, it's computer jargon for, "Don't go there, girlfriend". Ever try to name a file and get a "reserved word" error? You cannot use certain words in your file name because they belong to the computer system or application. I've taken the expression and used it in other ways. F'rinstance, a high school clique starts bandying a word about in their enthusiasm. Normie Nerdley tries to get in on the fun and uses the word along with them. Silence and death stares ensue. He did not earn the right to use that word with them, it was like a reserved word for that clique. The most common example I can think of is the word "nigger". (Yes, I still have free speech and the Politically Correct Police haven't caught up to me, so let me get on with my example. It's not like I'm

"I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning, consequently assumed it had none and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics. He's also concerned to prove that there's no valid reason why he should personally not do just what he wants to do. For myself, as no doubt for most of contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation. The liberation we desired was simultaneously a liberation from a certain political and economic system and a liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom." —Aldous Huxley, in Confessions of a Professed Atheist Another "I told you so!" for me. Several times, I have pointed out to atheists that the cornerstone of their religion is evolution. If there is no Cr

An interesting article by Vox Popoli about the so-called "New Atheists" (elsewhere, he says that they're a "spent intellectual force"). Read him and cry to Richard "Daffy" Dawkins.

Buon giorno. Less reading, more listening today, too. (I wanted to do an article about Open ID, but that will have to wait.) Rev. Matt Slick of CARM was interviewing Dr. Gary Habermas on his show "Faith and Reason" ( full podcast is here , and quite interesting). One thing that caught my attention supports my own belief about people with certain belief systems that ask questions about God, the Bible, Jesus, Christianity &c. Are the inquiries sincere? Give two minutes and hear what these two apologists have to say:

Buona sera. Since the last couple of articles were rather lengthy, I'm going to keep it short today. Here is a short (1 minute 12 seconds) audio from Charles Stanley. This was at the end of the podcast for October 2, 2010. It's about being a perfectionist, and how that is actually destructive. It's worth a listen:

Buona sera. I intensely dislike indulging trolls, drug users, the criminally insane and other lowlifes. Today, I will make an exception of sorts. Lemme 'splain how this works. This is my Weblog, by the grace of God and the generosity of Google Corporation. I'm willing to entertain some suggestions on content and how I operate the thing, but I do not not consider people's demands. If it makes me a bad man because I don't do things according to your imagined rules, so be it. I believe in Internet safety and privacy (although nothing is completely secret ), and have posted warnings several times on and about Facebook regarding safety and identity theft. We all know that there are nutcases out there, and it seems like common sense to avoid casually using your name, date of birth and other personally identifying items. Some people have said, "I have the courage to use my real name". What, do you want a medal, Zeke? As far as I'm concerned yo

Just a brief note. Recommended reading, take a look at "The Lawman Chronicles" by Tony Miano. He has a common-sense article (plus some fabulous photographs), " Dirty Car Art and the Foolishness of Atheism ". Definitely worth a look.

This just in. Yes, you must think I'm stupid. Probably because some people fall for this kind of crap. This has been reported, but I'm going to show the world the kind of thing that they can get in their Inbox. My readers are bright and will not fall for it. Perhaps someone less skilled in the Internet will need and heed the warning from this spammer scammer. By the way, the domains are "HK (Hong Kong), but the headers show China. Admittedly, they can all be faked. Trust no one like this. Here is the letter: Attn! I am writing you again because I presume our first correspondence was not successful. I have a mutual business project to transfer huge amount of money from my bank here to you based on a properly planned out strategy. This fund is deposit by Mr. Irshad Ahmad, Pakistani who died under some incomprehensible circumstances in Afghanistan. I will appreciate if you consider this project objective without any bias or stereotypes. Once we have successfully c

"What Naaman did was childish. It was foolish. It was an insult to his intellectual dignity. But what he did cured his leprosy. He was cured because of his faith, his humility and his obedience. God was the one who healed him, but the way to his healing came through the very low door of humility."   — Ray Comfort Buon giorno. I thought I could take the week off because I had five days' postings all lined up on Sunday, but no, another inspiration hit me. And yes, I said that philosophical debates become a waste of time. I'm going to give you some of my philosophy. You can sit there and look pretty. Nicky, you can just sit there. When it comes to presenting evidence for the existence of God, the validity of the Bible &c., I have observed several "brick walls" constructed to disallow contrary viewpoints. As far as I'm concerned, this comes down to "making your own rules".  This tactic is used when a mind is made up and does not

And now for the exciting conclusion of yesterday's broadcast! Part 1 is here . Some things that lying is not: Mistakes.  I dislike it when people will say something like, "I spent three hours on that project. Oh, wait, I lied, it was two hours." No, the speaker simply made a mistake. Don't beat yourself up, mmmkay? Carelessness. Sometimes (especially in online forums and such) people will misquote. It happens. Accept correction graciously and move on. Misunderstanding. Sorry that you misunderstood me. I should either rewrite it or you should reread it. Creative embellishments. Nobody has "said it a million times", that's just hyperbole to make a point. Writers (and speakers) expect readers (and listeners) to have some degree of sense.  Jokes can be a form of creative embellishment, or they can be "free-standing". Some people need to get a sense of humor, capice? Disagreement. You think this , I believe that ; neither one is

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” — Friedrich Nietzsche Buon giorno. Yours truly is a bit wired today, and ready to give you a couple of lessons on lying. Yes, two: First, some explanation on what lying really means (and doesn't mean), and second, why it's counterproductive. "Why do people lie, Uncle Bob?" Some are compulsive liars and cannot help themselves. It may be that the truth is unflattering to them, so they have to make themselves look better than they really are. Sometimes it's because they are selfish and greedy, so if lying is a means to an end, that's fine with them. Further, people who are consumed with hate will say anything to hurt the object of their ire. The intent to deceive is an integral part of lying. Lying has several aspects: The obvious, flat-out lie. "Did you come in a half an hour late to work?"..."No..." Also, there was a "sc

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. — The Apostle Paul (ESV) Buon giorno. Don't get the wrong idea, I am not saying that all philosophy is a waste of time, and reject it out of hand. It can be interesting to follow someone's line of reasoning and find out where they're coming from. Personally, I find the Socratic Method quite fascinating. Nor am I "anti-intellectual" (which I discussed here ). What puts me off is the "intellectual" argumentation w

Here is a link to a good article. I particularly like the expression, "Atheistic faith masquerading as science". Another article on the nonsense by Stephen Hawking is here .

Listen, don't get me wrong, I'm all in favor of businesses making a profit. Also, I don't hate the rich (after all how many poor people can give you a job, huh?).What grinds my gears is when any employer, big or little, will take advantage of the employees. I was pondering some of the stories that Neil told me about his cheapskate but very large Fortune 100 company. First, they claim to be interested in "diversity". Their propaganda has phrases like this: Diversity is about having a broad mix of talent in our operations A diverse workforce offers unique perspectives, ideas and solutions [With] diverse workforce, we can better meet the needs of the increasing multicultural clients, communities and individuals Build teams that bring together varied points of view to generate unique ideas and business solutions Age, experience, gender, ethnic backgrounds all contribute to a grand and glorious whole (my summary of some of their other propaganda)   And so o

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Buona sera. Ready for some brutal honesty? Good. (I've revised this a bit on March 15, 2015, the original was published on September 20, 2010.) I have had many discussions with atheists, atheists pretending to be agnostics, agnostics, deists acting like atheists, anti-theists, evolutionists and what have you over the years. Also, I have been involved in drive-by postings, both to and from these groups. Many of these exchanges have been online, whether this Weblog, other peoples' Weblogs, forums, other social media and the like. For the rest of this article, I'm going to stick with the term "atheist", since those are the majority of my encounters, and the rest are not exactly "believers". I realize that atheist encounters from civil and intelligent people have been good for me. "Have you gone completely nuts, Uncle Bob?" Nope. I'm still partly looney, but not all the way yet. I've

After I recommitted my life to Jesus, I still had some "souvenirs" left over from my other pursuits. Specifical ly, Tibetan Buddhism.  A guy told me, "You'd better get those Buddhas out of your home now. I'm serious. If you don't, I'm going to come in there and break each and every one of them!" I took it to be an idol threat... OK, Gang, jokes are over. No refunds. I had been pondering some things for a while and trying to decide how to assemble them into something useful to present to you, the viewing audience. Finally, a discussion that I heard on a podcast brought it all together for me. I love it when a thought comes together. Let's face it, instead of getting to know the real God, he gets rebuilt: "New Age" philosophies blending science fiction, fantasy, sentiment, wishful thinking and a bit of the Bible to make them sound good Various Reverend Doctor Feelgood-types telling us that the Bible does not mean wh

For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.” — from the Tenth Psalm Buon giorno. Ernie the Gambler showed me this video, and I just had to share it. It demonstrates the "logic" of Richard "Daffy" Dawkins and his disciples (Dawkinsites). The audio was provided by Wretched Radio. It takes about five minutes, but it's time well spent.

Matt Slick of CARM shows the complete collapse of Stephen Hawking's "logic". About ten minutes. Broadcast from September 2, 2010. If the embedded player does not work for you, the podcast MP3 is here . Fortunately, the discussion is at the beginning of the hour where it's easy to find.