Moon Landing Anniversary Free Fire Zone

Fifty years ago today, the Apollo 11 mission landed men on the Moon for the first time, and Neil Armstrong famously stepped onto the Moon’s surface and declared: “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The anniversary is dominating the news — rightfully so — and the only creationist activity has been a few pathetic attempts to give their “creation science” credit for the accomplishment.

Because there’s no creationist news out there, let’s have another Intellectual Free-Fire Zone. We’re open for the discussion of pretty much anything — science, politics, economics, or even astrology, theology, mythology, and sociology — as long as it’s tasteful and interesting. Banter, babble, bicker, bluster, blubber, blather, blab, blurt, burble, boast — say what you will. But avoid flame-wars and beware of the profanity filters.

We now throw open the comments to you, dear reader. Have at it!

Copyright © 2019. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

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Hambo Says the Bible Opposes Slavery & Rape

This is a funny one from Ken Ham (ol’ Hambo) — the ayatollah of Appalachia, the world’s holiest man who knows more about religion and science than everyone else. It’s at the website of Answers in Genesis (AIG), Hambo’s creationist ministry. The headline is Does the Bible Condone Slavery and Rape? Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

A common atheistic objection to God’s Word is the accusation that God condones slavery and rape. They will often bring up this objection as a way of saying that the Bible is supposedly an immoral document and therefore we shouldn’t read it, let alone follow or believe it. But is that a good objection?

No atheism is necessary to recognize that the bible has serious problems regarding slavery and rape. But Hambo doesn’t think so. He says:

Well, it [the atheist objection, presumably] flows from a misunderstanding of what the biblical text actually teaches about these issues. You see, many atheists have never read the Bible for themselves or have never searched for answers to their questions. Instead, they simply repeat the objections they’ve heard from other atheists. But there are good answers to their objections!

As we’ve said before, the bible is definitely a pro-slavery book. Approval of slavery is even in the Ten Commandments: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Servant is “slave” in many translations.) Also in Colossians 3:22 (and other places) it says: “Servants [i.e., slaves], obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.”

The bible standards for slavery are clearly spelled out in Leviticus 44-46 (King James version, of course):

44. Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

45. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

46. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.

As for rape, this is from Numbers 31, regarding a war against the Midianites:

17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.

There are other passages regarding rape, but we’re not in the mood to search for them. Let’s get back to Hambo. He tells us:

Emeal, or “E.Z.,” Zwayne, the president of the Living Waters ministry, recently sat down with Billy Hallowell, the host of PureTalk, a Pure Flix interview program (you can find this show on Facebook [link omitted]), to share his testimony [Testimony!], answer these questions, as well as several other common atheist objections.

Living Waters? That’s the ministry of Ray Comfort, the former street preacher, best known for his starring role in Ray Comfort’s “Banana video”. Hambo continues:

This conversation was filmed at our Ark Encounter south of Cincinnati and is part of the “Answering Atheists” series by Pure Flix. I encourage you to watch it below:

The video is embedded in Hambo’s post if you want to see it. We never watch that stuff. The last few paragraphs of Hambo’s post are nothing but promotional stuff for Pure Flix, so this is where we leave it. Oh, don’t forget: There’s nothing favorable about slavery or rape in the bible. You’ve got Hambo’s word for it, and that’s all you need.

Copyright © 2019. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

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The Space Program Confirms the Bible

Everyone is aware that this week is the 50h anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Today we’ll bring you the reaction of Jason Lisle — the creationist astrophysicist. He used to work for ol’ Hambo’s Answers in Genesis, but he left there to go with the Institute for Creation Research. Now he’s on his own. He just posted this at his website: One Small Step. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

Fifty years ago, on this week, human beings walked on the surface of the moon. I have always considered this to be one of the greatest technological achievements of mankind. The ancients could have only imagined what it would be like to leave our terrestrial home. But that changed in July 1969 when men left the Earth and walked on another world. This feat was made possible by the combined efforts of our finest minds, strong determination, and of course, the Christian worldview.

Ah yes, the Christian worldview is what made it possible. Jason explains:

For roughly six thousand years [since creation week, presumably], humanity was confined to this terrestrial sphere. Many ancient pagan religions considered outer space to be the realm of the gods. The Greeks and Romans thought that the planets actually were gods, and we still refer to the planets by their Roman names. [Jason has a footnote here which says: The exception is the planet Uranus which is named after a Greek god.] For human beings to penetrate the divine realm was virtually unthinkable. However, Christian thinking eventually permeated and forever changed the science of astronomy.

Then he runs through the usual list of early scientists like Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, etc. We’ve dealt with lists like that before — see, e.g.: Did Science Originate with Creationists?

After that, Jason tells us about the history of the space program, which goes on for pages. You can click over there to read all that if you like. Then he really gets mystical:

Sending men to the moon has to be one of the greatest technological achievements of mankind. To think that human beings have travelled 240,000 miles into space and walked on another world boggles the mind. It is so extraordinary that some people have to ask, “did it really happen?” In one sense, I get it. The event is so amazing it is hard to believe. Then again, many of the events of the Bible are extraordinary. Can you believe that the entire Earth was once flooded with water? Can you believe that the entire universe was spoken into existence by God in six days? Can you accept that God Himself became a man, died in our place, and rose from the dead?

That’s one of the most amazing paragraphs we’ve ever encountered. And there’s more to come. Jason continues:

Like the moon landing, many of the events recorded in the Bible are so far outside our everyday experience that many people find them difficult to accept. I freely admit that it is extraordinary that God created the universe in six days, and it is extraordinary that men have walked on the moon. But an important consideration when we consider the possibility of extraordinary claims is this: “what is the alternative?” The only thing more unbelievable than these events is if they didn’t happen.

Think about it. If the universe is not the creation of God, then all of the complexity and patterns we see in nature are just accidents. Now that is truly absurd! If the Earth were not flooded with water, then why do we find water-deposited rock layers full of fossils covering the continents, and hundreds of flood legends from cultures all around the world? Are these things just an astonishing coincidence? That would be far more unbelievable than a worldwide flood.

Skipping a bit, we read on:

The moon landings are a triumph of Christian thinking. This isn’t to say that everyone involved in the moon program professed a saving faith in Christ. Some did, some did not. But all involved had to think in a Christian way in order to succeed. That is, they had to assume that the universe operated in a lawlike fashion as if upheld by the mind of God. The whimsical gods of pagan religions won’t do; they were inconsistent and would change their mind. And atheism gives no reason to expect any consistency in nature whatsoever. Everyone involved in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs had to either knowingly or unwittingly rely upon God’s promise to uphold nature in a consistent fashion (Genesis 8:22).

It’s surprising that NASA doesn’t make everyone sign a statement of faith, like ol’ Hambo does. Another excerpt:

The biblical worldview and no other can justify our confidence in the science that made the moon landings possible. Hence, the success of such missions is actually a demonstration of the truth of the Bible.

Here’s Jason’s final paragraph:

Of course, the Apollo program confirmed some of the specific claims of the Bible as well. While many pagan religions accepted the celestial objects as gods, the Bible teaches that the luminaries are mere objects: inanimate creations of God and not divine (Genesis 1:14-19). This may be why God created them on day 4 rather than day 1. Furthermore, we now have photos of the Earth from space, confirming the biblical teaching that the Earth is round (e.g. Job 26:10, Isaiah 40:222). [No, The Earth Is Flat!] The famous Earthrise photo also shows that the Earth hangs upon nothing, just as the Bible teaches in Job 26:7. The Apollo program confirms what all science confirms: the Bible is true.

What can we say as an appropriate end to this post? Nothing coherent, really. And on the internet, no one can hear you scream.

Copyright © 2019. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

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Hambo & the Lilies of the Field

This one is really inspiring! It’s from Ken Ham (ol’ Hambo) — the ayatollah of Appalachia, the world’s holiest man who knows more about religion and science than everyone else.

At the website of Answers in Genesis (AIG), Hambo’s creationist ministry, he just posted Surprise: “Oldest” Fossil Lily Looks Just Like a Lily. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

Creationists were shocked [Shocked!] to read a news article [in ScienceDaily: Oldest completely preserved lily discovered] about the evolution of lilies — astonishingly, a fossilized lily, the supposed oldest ever discovered (115 million years), looked just like. . . a lily! The evolution is incredible! Actually, it forgot to evolve! Okay, so that was very tongue-in-cheek — we weren’t surprised to see that lilies have always been lilies. That’s exactly what we’d expect based on God’s Word.

In case you didn’t realize it, that was creationist humor. Ol’ Hambo is a very funny guy! Then he says:

This particular specimen was “extraordinarily well preserved,” including roots, flower, and even the individual cells. And it has all the features of that specific class of plant (monocotyledonous): “parallel-veined, narrow leaves with a leaf sheath, a fibrous root system and triple flowers.” The scientists say, based on this new specimen, “it can be deduced that the tropical flowering plants were already very diverse.”

Okay, lilies have been around for a long time, and for some reason that has Hambo all excited. He tells us:

This find is no surprise to biblical creationists. God created each kind — including the kind that includes lilies — to reproduce according to their kinds. So, we see great variety within a kind, but lilies stay lilies.

Now do you understand that fossilized lily, dear reader? And there’s more to it — much more. Hambo continues:

This remarkably well-preserved fossil wasn’t buried 115 million years ago — it was catastrophically buried during the global flood of Noah’s day just about 4,300 years ago.

Wow! You didn’t see that coming, did you? Let’s read on:

And it’s so incredibly preserved because it was buried so quickly — not slowly and gradually, which we’d expect if this fossil had been growing in a quiet freshwater lake, as they describe in the news article.

That explains why all fossils are so well preserved. The flood buried them. Hambo ends his brief post with this:

It points to the catastrophic processes of the flood, not the slow and gradual processes of our day.

All that from one lily fossil! Isn’t creation science amazing?

Copyright © 2019. The Sensuous Curmudgeon. All rights reserved.

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