Dec
27
Top 10 Posts, 2019-2020
Many long-time readers of this blog will remember that for several years (2014-2018) I ended each year with a “Top 10” post. For whatever reason(s), I didn’t do that for 2019, but I decided to share 10 this week from 2019-2020. As usual, my hope is that someone will find an enjoyable read or three that they missed before. Also, remember that these are not ranked and merely reflect my own enjoyment in writing them and satisfaction in how they turned out.
So, in chronological order…
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“Correcting YEC Misconceptions about the Big Bang”
“One of the trigger-terms for YEC believers seems to be “(the) Big Bang”, because it is associated with “billions of years” and, therefore, naturalistic evolution. It is often portrayed as an atheistic idea and tool to lead people away from God. Not so. There is also the idea commonly held by many (not just YECs) that the Big Bang was an uncontrolled explosion resulting in much chaos. This might also imply that God was absent and unneeded, or at the very least powerless to control it. Again, not so. To clear up these misunderstandings, I point you to the following explanation by Dr. Ross….”
“The Ten Commandments on Easter?”
“The Ten Commandments (1956) — with Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Yvonne DeCarlo, et al. — is a true, cinematic classic. But, why does it always air around Easter time? I got an email from someone whose mailing list I was on, and he began it this way:
“It’s the Easter weekend, which means we get the annual showing of the Ten Commandments movie…. Don’t get me wrong — I like a good flick as much as the next guy. But the Ten Commandments? On EASTER? Always seemed a little strange to me, since it has nothing to do with the life, death, or resurrection of Christ.”
But he’s wrong.”
“Stop Using Jeremiah 29:11 This Way!”
“As I was recently reading in the book of Jeremiah, I came across a verse that a lot of churchgoers like to claim for themselves — as they are taught or socialized into doing — particularly when going through a tough time in their lives, or sometimes chosen as a “life verse”. Of course, that would be Jer. 29:11 (see above). On some occasions, you might even see the next couple verses quoted, as well.
Taken together, these verses sound pretty good, right? Who doesn’t like prosperity and freedom from harm? Who wouldn’t like a promise of “hope and a future”? And, it’s great to know that God Himself will listen to us when we pray. But, is this passage really a promise that we present-day Christians can claim for ourselves?”
“What Sort of Theologian Are You?”
“If you are like me, you sometimes hear someone make a religious/theological statement that just makes you cringe. That could be for any number of reasons, really, but today I am particularly referring to goofy stuff that sounds like they got it from a magazine cover, pop-culture, or maybe it’s a holdover from Medieval superstition. And yet, some people eat this stuff up, assuming it’s legit, even though there is little-to-nothing from Scripture to back it up.”
“Sane, but Very Confused, part 1 of 2” & “Sane, but Very Confused, part 2 of 2”
“Once in awhile, though, someone leaves a comment that screams for a response, if only to demonstrate that there are indeed fair and reasonable answers to the challenge(s) being thrown. (Not that the commenter him/herself is likely willing to give it a fair “listen”.) I came across one such comment back in May 2013 following an article on yoga and Christianity, though the commenter went off on some tangents. As is typical, the forum was less than conducive to a serious exchange, nor did I have the time or desire right then to research it all. But, I saved the URL to use in a possible blog post. Now, six-and-a-half years later, I dug it up and would like to take a shot at addressing it….”
“Scientism Commits Suicide… Twice”
“Have you ever heard of a self-refuting view or idea? This is an idea that, when examined, actually defeats itself. It commits suicide. There are different types of self-refuting ideas, and some are easier to recognize than others. For example, if someone says, “All English sentences are false.” By saying (or writing) this sentence in English, he has already disproven the validity of the idea. It self-destructs. But, like I said, other such ideas are not so easy to recognize as self-refuting, as they need to be further examined. We’ll look at one in this post….”
“5 Books Everyone Interested in the King James Bible Should Read”
“A lot of people have some pretty strong feelings about the King James Version of the Bible, ranging from “it’s literally inspired text!” to “it’s way past it’s expiration date and should be relegated to the trashbin of history”. My own view is somewhere in the middle, as I grew up with and respect the KJV but see too many drawbacks to using it for other than literary or historical study. In the interest of better understanding the origins and influences on and of the KJV, I read a few books over the past year or so specifically on the subject. As a group, I thought they did a great job at addressing the various issues of concern and other subtopics….”
“Answering Objections to ‘Just One Question'”
“The other day I (re-)discovered a comment that a reader named “Ian” had left on a blogpost of mine a couple months ago, and I had forgotten all about it. The blogpost itself was from 2011, in which I presented the “just one question” argument for the pro-life position. For a number of reasons, I decided to make a separate blogpost out of my response.
[I then present Ian’s six “concerns” verbatim, followed by my six responses.]”
“The Black Lives Matter movement is an incredibly divisive movement with corrosive values (and I’m not talking about holding brutal and racist cops accountable), and Critical Race Theory is its driving force. We need to be aware of what they really are, so we can better defend against them. With that in mind, I wanted to share a couple quotes I ran across. The first is from Andrew C. McCarthy, Legal Commentator, Terrorism Expert and Former Federal Prosecutor, as he discusses BLM as a political tool of the Left:… This second quote from last month is by David Marcus of The Federalist:…”
“The Blessing of Fossil Fuels” & “The Blessing of Fossil Fuels, part 2 – Resource Creation” & “The Blessing of Fossil Fuels, part 3 – The 97 Percent Fabrication”
“We have all heard the claims and warnings — some quite hysterical — that our use of fossil fuels is recklessly irresponsible and immoral. If we don’t make dramatic changes ASAP, the end of civilization will be upon us in mere decades, if not just a few years. But, this is nothing new. Since at least the 1970s, experts have been telling us that if we didn’t drastically reduce fossil fuel use then, and replace it with renewable energy sources, the catastrophic results would be very real today. Resource depletion, pollution, climate change, etc….
[Quoting Alex Epstein:] ‘“This brings us to the oft-cited comment that 97 percent of climate scientists agree that there is global warming and that human beings are the main cause. First of all, this statement itself, even if it were true, is deliberately manipulative. The reason we care about recent global warming or climate change is not simply that human beings are allegedly the main cause. It’s the allegation that man-made warming will be extremely harmful to human life. The 97 percent claim says nothing whatsoever about magnitude or catastrophe….'”
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Honorable Mention goes to “When Children Ask Why They Can’t Go Trick-or-Treating”, which I posted back in October.
Have a Happy New Year, and let’s all pray for a less painful and less frustrating 2021!
P.S. For more select posts, here are the previous “Top 10” lists: “Celebrating 5 Years of AVftR (plus a Top 10)!”, “Top 10: The Sequel”, “Top 10: The Threequel”, “Top 10, Again”, “Another Year-End Top 10”, “Yet Another Year-End Top 10”.
