Creationist Wisdom #944: The End Is Nigh

Like many others in our collection, today’s letter-to-the-editor appears in the Daily Mining Gazette of Houghton, Michigan (population 7,708) in the northwestern portion of that state’s Upper Peninsula. The letter is titled Only worldview making sense, and the newspaper has a comments feature.

Because the writer isn’t a politician, preacher, or other public figure, we won’t embarrass or promote her by using her full name. Her first name is Marliyn. (Yes, that’s how it’s spelled.) Excerpts from her letter will be enhanced with our Curmudgeonly commentary, some bold font for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]. Here we go!

There is only one view of reality, one worldview, that makes sense of human history, conscience, rationality, and morality, and that is the biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ. [Hooray for Marliyn!] We are individuals, not merely white or black, or male or female, or liberal or conservative. We are accountable to a person, our creator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Honestly facing our sins, if we repent and trust Him, we touch reality.

Yes, that’s how we touch reality! Then Marliyn says:

False religions defy reality, defy our own God-given psychology, and produce the conflicts we see in the world today, including the false religion of goo-to-you-via-the-zoo evolution. [Right — evolution starts wars!] When a Christian shares her reality-grounded faith, she does so out of compassion and a desire for others to see truth.

Marliyn is so compassionate! Her next paragraph criticizes Islam, and after that she tells us:

One other concern is talk about border walls and barriers. Biblical times boasted the walls of Jericho. Old world castles sported moats which were safeguards to protect the country’s citizens.

Walls? Is Marliyn talking about the US border with Mexico? She explains:

Even John in Rev 21:12 speaks of “a wall great and high” as he describes the glorious holy city, the new Jerusalem. Only the redeemed will enter, excluding all unworthy. By the way, the holy city will be a literal city on a literal earth.

We get the impression that Marliyn likes walls. Then she suddenly changes subjects:

More end-times prophecy is coming to light with the installation of facial recognition systems in 20 of America’s airports. [Gasp!] It appears a one-world system of tracking people is being put in place. This sounds strangely like the mark of the beast mentioned in Revelation 13.

Ooooooooooooh! It’s the mark of the beast! Let’s read on:

First it starts with social cards for buying and selling. Then microchip implants and surveillance.

Egad, she’s right! The End is nigh!

Speaking of the end, we’ve arrived at the end of Marliyn’s letter. She says:

Thank the Lord that the pretribulation rapture of the church happens before all these things take place.

Well, dear reader, will you participate in that “pretribulation rapture,” or are you lost for eternity because of the false religion of goo-to-you-via-the-zoo evolution?

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

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Louis Agassiz — The Story Within the Story

This has appeared dozens of times in our news sweeps. We’ll use the version in the Chicago Sun Times: Harvard sued for allegedly profiting from photos of slaves. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

In 1850, a Swiss-born Harvard University professor commissioned what are believed to be the earliest photos of American slaves. The images, known as daguerreotypes and taken in a South Carolina studio, are crude and dehumanizing — and they were used to promote racist beliefs. Among the photographed: an African man named Renty and his daughter Delia. They were stripped naked and photographed from several angles.

Obviously, this is not a happy story. What’s it doing in your Curmudgeon’s blog? Bear with us a while longer. The news story says:

Now, a woman who claims to be a direct descendant of that father and child – Tamara Lanier, the great-great-great granddaughter of Renty – is suing Harvard over the photos. She’s accused Harvard of the wrongful seizure, possession and monetization of the images, ignoring her requests to “stop licensing the pictures for the university’s profit” and misrepresenting the ancestor she calls “Papa Renty.”

The university still owns the photos. Lanier, who resides in Connecticut and filed the suit against Harvard in Middlesex County Superior Court on Wednesday, is seeking an unspecified amount of damages from Harvard. She’s also demanding that the university give her family the photos.

The article has just begun, but most of it is about Tamara Lanier’s claim against Harvard. We have no opinion about that; the court will sort it all out. The part of the news story that got our attention was this:

Former professor Louis Agassiz, a biologist, had the photos taken to support an erroneous theory called polygenism that he and others used to argue African-Americans were inferior to white people.

We’ve never mentioned him before. Wikipedia’s article on Louis Agassiz says he was a famous Harvard professor who “made vast institutional and scientific contributions to zoology, geology, and related areas, including writing multi-volume research books running to thousands of pages.” He died in 1873. Wikipedia also tells us:

In the 20th and 21st centuries, Agassiz’s resistance to Darwinian evolution, belief in creationism, and the scientific racism implicit in his writings on human polygenism, have tarnished his reputation and led to controversies over his legacy.

And, in case you never heard of it before, Wikipedia also has an article on Polygenism: “a theory of human origins which posits the view that the human races are of different origins.”

Why do we find this interesting? Because creationists are always accusing Darwin and his theory of being racist. We’ve written often about that — see e.g.: Racism, Eugenics, and Darwin, and then Creationism and Racism. The accusations that “Darwinism is racism” are never-ending. This is despite the fact that in The Descent of Man, Chapter VII, “On the Races of Man,” Darwin wrote:

It may be doubted whether any character can be named which is distinctive of a race and is constant.

Anyway, with Louis Agassiz — a racist creationist — we have yet another rebuttal to use when creationists make their false accusations against Darwin. And what of Tamara Lanier and her lawsuit over Harvard’s photos? We have no idea what will happen there. Maybe we’ll find out, and maybe we won’t. But it’s already worked out well for us because her dispute gave us the opportunity to blog about Agassiz. And that’s the story within the story.

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

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Hambo Explains Species and ‘Kinds’

This one is very informative. 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.

Hambo’s post is at the website of Answers in Genesis (AIG), his creationist ministry. The title is Possible New Killer Whale Species Discovered. Here are some excerpts, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

In 1955, more than a dozen strange-looking killer whales were stranded on a beach in New Zealand. Called “type D” killer whales, they were virtually unknown in the wild to science, except in a few photographs and fisherman stories, from that time on. But, as National Geographic reports [Mysterious new orca species likely identified], scientists have now observed a pod of these whales for the first time.

What does that have to do with creationism? You’ll soon find out. Hambo says:

Scientists headed for the dangerous waters off the tip of South America where these whales reportedly patrol the seas. After waiting for a week, a pod of whales finally approached the anchored research vessel. Scientists were able to confirm that these whales look different from other killer whales. They have “a more rounded head, a pointier and narrower dorsal fin, and a very small white eye patch.” Scientists were also able to obtain a small sample of the whales’ skin and blubber.

Very nice. Now what? Hambo tells us:

This study tells us nothing about the supposed evolution of type D or any other killer whales. [Hee hee! “Supposed evolution.”] That would require showing how brand-new information was added to the genome to create a killer whale from an entirely different creature. [Ooooooooooooh! Information!] Of course, that hasn’t been observed. Type D killer whales simply show variation within a kind and possible speciation. The information (genetic diversity) for smaller eye patches and narrower dorsal fins was already there — it simply became prominent in this population.

In other words, the scientists wasted their time because they didn’t see anything that would impress Hambo. Hey, in case you’re wondering about that “information” stuff, see Phlogiston, Vitalism, and Information. Hambo continues:

Killer whales are considered one species, but it’s quite possible they will soon be divided into a variety of species (including four near Antarctica alone), one of which would be this new population. Scientists often struggle with species designations, partly because they don’t have a proper understanding of kinds.

No one understands these things like Hambo! He explains:

You see, in an evolutionary worldview, hybrids between species should be a rarity. [Huh?] But that’s not what we observe. Hybrids between species abound, but they’re always within the same created kind. (Usually the level of “Family” in our modern classification scheme.) When we start with what God’s Word teaches — that organisms are created to reproduce according to their kinds — the “species problem” makes sense because species is a manmade term to try and classify creatures, but organisms were originally created according to “kinds,” not species.

Got that? “Species” is a term used by ignorant, Hell-bound Darwinists. Creationists speak of “kinds.” And now we come to the end:

We continually see the species list increasing as variety within a kind is determined to be speciation. This variety highlights the incredible creativity of our Creator who ensured organisms could adapt and thrive in an ever-changing world.

Your assignment, dear reader, after you’ve digested all of that, is to tell us what you learned from Hambo today.

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

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Self-Published Genius #88: Find the Truth

Today we have a fascinating addition to our series about Self-Published Geniuses, where we bring you news of authors with a vanity press book in which the author claims to have made paradigm-shattering discoveries, and announces his work by hiring a press release service.

The press release is titled Ronald H. Qualls’s new book “Evolution vs. Creationism” is a detailed examination of a myriad of sources illuminating one of the most fundamental questions of humanity. It was issued by Cision PRWeb, which says it’s “the leader in online news distribution and publicity.” Here are some excerpts from the press release, with bold font added by us for emphasis, and occasional Curmudgeonly interjections that look [like this]:

Ronald H. Qualls, an administrative specialist and former personnel supervisor in several countries around the globe [Impressive credentials!], has completed his book “Evolution vs. Creationism”: an intriguing look at one of the most provocative subjects in all of modern theological and scientific thought.

You’re hooked, aren’t you? The press release quotes the brilliant author:

Ronald shares, “I wrote my book, ‘Evolution vs. Creationism,’ to assist many persons I have met, in deciding for themselves, if the available writings on these subjects clearly express the Truth!”

Wowie — the book will help you decide if available writings express the Truth! Isn’t that what you’ve been looking for all your life? Well, here it is! The quote from the author goes on:

“I believe that my personal research to emphasize my own belief in God as the Author, Builder, and Constructor of all that we see, day to day and moment by moment! [Something is missing there.] I hope that all readers will pursue their own searches for the truth!”

The author’s style really reaches out and grabs you, doesn’t it? The press release continues:

Published by New York City-based Page Publishing, Ronald H. Qualls’s book is an in-depth exploration of the divergences and commonalities of evolution and creationism.

Ooooooooooooh! The “divergences and commonalities” of evolution and creationism.

Hey — they just gave us the name of the publisher. We already have the press release, but as you know, we need to make sure that this book qualifies for our collection. Was it published by a vanity press? We found the website for the publisher — Page Publishing. They don’t come right out and say it, but their website leaves no doubt — they’re a vanity publisher. They even say:

In most instances, books we distribute through Apple iTunes or Amazon will result in 70% net revenue to the author (with Apple/Amazon keeping the other 30% as their sales commission). Accordingly, if your book is available on these platforms for a retail price of $9.95, you would receive net revenue of $6.97 from Apple or Amazon, and remit only 20 cents to us.

Okay, the book clearly qualifies for our collection! The press release doesn’t say much else — except how wonderful the publisher is, so we’ll leave them and go searching for the book at Amazon.

Aha — we found it! Here it is: Evolution Vs Creationism The price is only $12.95 in paperback and it’s an impressive 118 pages long! There are no reviews yet, but that’s okay. You can be the first!

Amazon has a “look inside” feature for this book. Go ahead, take a look. You’ll see the same style of writing that we saw in the press release. We can’t give you any excerpts, because Amazon’s format doesn’t let us cut and paste.

Okay, dear reader — you know you want this book, so go ahead and get it. And when you place your order, tell ’em the Curmudgeon sent ya.

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

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