Friday, October 23, 2020

Desperately Seeking Truth




Truth is that which corresponds to reality. Truth is something we should all seek. It can be discovered or known. Unlike the Postmodern worldview, the Christian worldview holds that reality is out there, and that truth is not simply relative to the person and that it is knowable.
Before you start your search for Truth, you should ask yourself whether or not you are willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads. If your biases are such that you will reject the evidence or refuse to give honest consideration to the facts, then you might as well not bother. Regardless of your starting worldview, the truth seeker will at least consider the evidence from the viewpoint of those holding opposing views. Willful ignorance or stubborn insistence on being "right" will be a stumbling block to the search for truth.

When seeking the truth, if there are multiple independent sources of information supporting claims, then we have a higher confidence in our conclusions. From investigating the reliability of the New Testament accounts and the Resurrection, to claims in a highly-charged political environment, there are some principles to apply:
  • Eye-witness testimony (both friendly and hostile) of conversations, events, experiences, and actions are valuable.
  • The truth-seeker considers historical records, financial documents, email/text trails, business associates' testimony, and contemporaneous recorded or documented conversations.
  • Statements from experts or officials with firsthand information should be given more weight than uninformed opinions of commentators.
  • Public statements, whether inconsistent, deliberate, or incidental, are all part of the puzzle to give serious consideration.
  • Consideration of motives and biases of the participants is often used during investigations.
  • Is there evidence of a coverup or conspiracy? Are the participants holding together, or is it falling apart with defectors or leaks?
  • Allegations and opinions can be considered, but need to be given appropriate weight compared to the evidence. These are either consistent with the evidence, or they may not be consistent.
In the end, we are looking for the best explanation of all the evidence (abductive reasoning). Explanations which are coherent and consistent with the evidence should be given more credence.

Also, don't forget the Golden Rule of Apologetics, "Treat other's ideas and arguments in the same way you would like yours to be treated."

Friday, October 16, 2020

Should children as young as 8 be able to change their genders?

Last night at his town hall event, Joe Biden appears to imply that children as young as 8 should be able to change their genders. That is an unbelievably radical suggestion that should shock the conscience. Doesn't it seem to be abusive to the child to enable these psychological and physical changes in a person who we don't allow to make other important life decisions because of their maturity level? Note: This is a separate issue from whether or not fully grown adults can/should make these kinds of choices for themselves.

At the root, this is a Worldview issue, one that embraces a relativistic view of morality. Under relativism, morality is defined by either the self, groups, or the broader culture. There can be no objective set of moral standards with regards to sexuality, personal behavior, or social interactions.


Before you blindly vote against Trump and other Conservatives, please think about the Worldview the Democrat Party supports. Voting for the liberal progressives will further entrench these evil policies. As a Christian, I find it unconscionable to support the moral positions of the Democrat Party Platform.

Sunday, October 11, 2020

"Reasons" to Vote for the Biden/Harris Democratic Socialism Agenda

 


  1. Continued support of unlimited late term (and even post term) abortion, gov't paid of course, in the name of women's rights.  Progressive Christians know that supporting social justice is far more important than protecting innocent human life.

  2. They will ensure that the Supreme Court is filled with activist judges who will enact policies or "discover" rights they can't get created through the people's legislators.

  3. Abolish our law enforcement system and replace it with "something else", with no police or jails, as pushed by the moral leaders like Colin Kaepernick.  We know that people are fundamentally good and it is society that forces them to commit crimes.

  4. Trump Bad!

  5. Redistribute wealth in the name of reparations for past wrongs and to right economic disparities, even if it destroys the economy or punishes people who have done nothing wrong

  6. They listen to the scientists who agree with them, ignoring other experts and considerations. We need to shut down our economy and livelihoods again in the name of saving us from today's crisis.

  7. Force socialized medicine on the US citizens, whether they want it or not.  Better to destroy the whole system, than to make allowances for the people who might fall through the cracks.

  8. Abolish Capitalism and math, since they are racist.  Replace it with a more just system like Communism  Democratic Socialism.

  9. They'll enact tolerant laws and policies that restrict bigoted religious freedom, ban offensive expression, and eliminate biased conscience excuses.

  10. Create more states to gain political advantage. After all, Somalia needs more representation than just Minnesota.

  11. We should allow unlimited immigration to flood our social safety nets.  Since we can't afford to care for our own poor, vets, and elderly, why not?

  12. We need to continue open-ended spending and gov't debt increases to fund things like free college and student loan forgiveness for all those who didn't pay their own way or who took on too much debt.

  13. They support the Social Justice Gospel and Critical Race Theory, because they are doctrine-free Christians, not those backward Conservatives, who (like Jesus) think All Lives Matter.

  14. Get rid of guns for self-defense and militias.  Who needs guns anyway?  There will be no violence and bad guys won't kill innocent people anymore, if they can't get them.

  15. "Peaceful" riots and protests are politically advantageous, so they will continue to be implicitly enabled, but publicly decried 😉😉 by public leaders.  After all, we should not prosecute rioters thinking they are exercising their 25th Amendment rights.

  16. Patriotism is wrong and we should not be proud of this country, which was founded on systematic racism way back in 1619.  The same goes for Western civilization and its oppressive religion.

  17. Since it was an insult to Muslim nations to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem and to broker unacceptable peace deals between Israel and some Arab countries, these actions need to be repudiated and voided, just like Trump did with Iran.  We can't have a president who actually talks to foreign leaders and does tough negotiations, instead of bowing down to them.

  18. Trump Really Bad. Of course, Conservatives are also racist, sexist homophobes who hate anyone different than them.  

  19. We despise aggressive like Republicans and can only work with weak leaders like Romney or McCain.  We all know everything Trump says or does is wrong.  Trump is rude and calls people names (just better than Joe and Kamala).

  20. America First is offensive and racist.  We need to wipe out the idea that America ever was great.

  21. Our superior leaders know what we need better than we do.  We don't need to know their glorious plans for us.

  22. Energy policies like the Green New Deal will create all the energy we need if we wish hard enough, so we should just get rid of all those fossil fuel and nuclear power plants now to save our planet, regardless of the consequences.

  23. Allowing choice of schools would be catastrophic to our children, the public school system, and the teacher's unions.

  24. We trust that Joe's handling of Swine Flu, as Obama's VP, shows how he will handle COVID19.  Since fewer people died under his watch (with many more infections), and because more have died under Trump, clearly Joe is better.

  25. Trump Really, Really Bad.

  26. Waiting until after the election, then we can tell you.


Disclaimer: If you haven't figured it out yet, this is a satirical take on reasons often heard for the voting decisions of the progressive left.

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Responding to ‘Pro-Life' Evangelicals for Biden

They miss the difference between objective morals and subjective ones.  Abortion is objectively morally wrong, since it is wrong to murder innocent human beings.  

However, it is subjective to claim we must support (fill in the blank) liberal social policy.  Biblical Justice is objective; wealth redistribution (for example) to achieve "justice" is not.  No amount of support for subjective morality outways objective moral truths on protecting innocent human life and sexuality.