A Deceptive Humanist Christmas Song
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen The late Greg Lake, most notably of the progressive rock bands Emerson, Lake and Palmer and King Crimson, had a "Christmas" song that wasn't. The lyrics were written by Peter Sinfield. There are conflicting accounts and misconceptions about "I Believe in Father Christmas", that it is a Christmas song, it was never intended to be such ("...about a loss of innocence and childhood belief"), Vietnam war protest, it's an atheist song, it's not atheist but rather "humanist" (as if there's a difference), and so on. I'll allow that it has excellent music and thought-provoking lyrics, but I haven't heard all of the versions. Sinfield wrote lyrics for EMP and King Crimson, and Lake wrote many lyrics himself, including all of those on ELP's Tarkus album . One of these was " The Only Way (Hymn) ", a mocking anti-theistic and anti-Christian song , including the lyrics, "Don't need th
Make Writing Interesting
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Way back yonder, in days of old when nights were cold, I wanted to be a science fiction writer, and took courses on writing. These included college nonfiction writing, and a required course on speechifying (even in 1980, I was speaking out against falsehoods in evolution). One simple thing that stuck with me was to write as if your audience was about 13 years old. (I think one of the creationist sites I read has a general style guide, when not doing hardcore science, to write as if the readers were precocious teenagers.) This seemed like a good approach when attempting to inform people. Then I'd go to my next class and wade through a textbook that was "written at a college sophomore level". Seemed like a contradiction to me. Unfortunately, the classes on writing do not work in this medium. Online articles have different criteria because people have not only demands on their time, but often have short attention spans. Part of the problem with s
Conditioning and Political Correctness
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen This is more of a lament than anything else. I can't prove what I say, but I think my observations as a guy living in the United States may have some merit. Although I can't change the way things are going, and to some extent, I have to accept them, I still feel several things: frustrated, angry, offended, sad, wistful. Image credit: Pixabay / skeeze To make this subject manageable enough to lead into the corral, I'll go with sexual harassment. I believe that women have been conditioned to mistrust and even hate men. Liberal courts have gone along with this in many cases. Occasionally, false stories are shown for what they are, and people have been found innocent [ 1 ], [ 2 ]. Because of the culture of fear and political correctness, employers have taken a "zero tolerance" for sexual harassment in the workplace. But — what is it? Employees are subjected to mandatory training upon hiring, and often have to undergo annual repetitions
Saying What I Believe
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Once again, I was inspired to write an article by listening to a podcast. A recent episode by Matt Walsh began with some introductory remarks that fit what I'm doing. I disremember if he used these words, but essentially, he's not going to carry water for the Republican party; if someone deserves criticism, he'll give it to them. Walsh likes to say what he thinks and believes, and believes that's the right way to go. Image credit: Morguefile / Irish_Eyes Although I'm a cowboy at heart and tend to take quick action when I feel it's necessary, I want to say what I believe; I want to think I'm doing that very thing. My calling is biblical creation science, but I'm not carrying water for all creation science ministries, individuals involved, or each article. There are some cults out there that claim to be biblical creationists , as well as greenhorns, and even folks that are just plain nuts, so there's no reason for me
When Does It End?
Can you spare a couple of minutes? I have to deal with spells of depression (and will not go back on the meds after several years away from them), and have a tendency to look on the dark side of life. But still, this is important. (Did you know that Elijah, Jonah, and others in the Bible struggled with bouts of depression? Well, never mind about that now.) I'm saying that I get a bit reflective, possibly more often than some folks. My parents and oldest brother have passed away. None of that was a shock, we knew their times were near. Several years ago, someone I knew who had self-medicated with a powerful medication she bought on the street overdosed and died, never having reached age 30. A couple of weeks ago, one of the few people I met on the Internet and also met in real life died. Then I learned that Kerry Stoutenburgh of Kingston, NY was swimming in Maryland, and "died from a rare infection caused by an amoeba known as Naegleria fowleri". She
Watching My Language
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen No, this isn't about my saying rude things to the computer when it doesn't work the way it's supposed to. This is about wording choices in general. It's easy nowadays to have a misunderstanding, especially on the Web. At The Question Evolution Project , I made a remark about "st00pid dumb Xtians" that someone disliked. Mayhaps he was in a in a bit of a hurry, and sent a message: What is an Xtian??? If you don't have enough respect to spell out Christian, then you have little, or no power, to persuade. I will unfollow you. Since he wrote, I figured he would let me reply, so I wrote back: No need to get all excited, I also said "st00pid dumb" in that sentence. It was sarcasm on how anti-Christians treat us, and I have been called that several times - but not by Christians. Although "Xtian" (or "Xian") is considered by some to be a legitimate abbreviation, I don't use it unless I'm being sar
Errand Boy
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Edited 7-10-2016 Another installment from the "Personal Musings Department". Something that this cowboy-at-heart has in common with Dr. Who is in the 1969 episode of "The War Games", the final story for the second Doctor (Patrick Troughton). In Episode 8, Jamie McCrimmon asks why the Time Lords are angry with him. The Doctor replies, "Well, It is a fact, Jamie, that I do tend to get involved with things". Part of Jamie's reply is, "Aye, you can say that again". That seems to fit me rather well. I want to present the truth, refute evolution, defend Christianity against heresy, and so on. Generally, I like to help people, especially in spiritual matters. People will post questions at The Question Evolution Project and occasionally on my " Public Figure " Facebook Pages. Great! Sometimes, I even know the answers myself. Other times, sorry, I just don't know. There are many resources available from pe
Piltdown Superman and the Burning Heart
by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Strange title, isn't it? Sounds like something in a young adult book series, number eight following Piltdown Superman and the Clock in the Tower and The Case of the Vanishing Aircar. Actually, this is a bit of an introspective and autobiographical thing; it helps me get some thoughts spelled out, and also reveals a bit of "behind the scenes" information for the few who may find it a mite interesting. And maybe I can get rid of an earworm . But I can't explain why I felt so compelled to write this article. "Burning Heart" image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net / digitalart People who have heard my interviews and podcasts may remember this part of the story. Way back yonder when I began the " Evolutionary Truth by Piltdown Superman (There is no truth in goo-to-you evolution)" site, I was wondering what to call it. Piltdown Man was a fraudulent evolutionary ancestor that fooled many scientists for over 40 years, so put
The Gods Are Petty
While listening to an audio book of Homer's Odyssey, I was once again struck by the way the false gods in Greece and other cultures are very human. Oh, they were supposedly mighty gorgeous and powerful, but they were vindictive sidewinders. "...Eurytus came prematurely by his end, for Apollo was angry with him and killed him because he challenged him as an archer." Apollo and Diana, by Battista Tiepolo, 1757 Those beings considered gods had civil wars, jealous rivalries (including if another of their number got romantically involved with a human), murder, and more. Cronos-Saturn devored his own children, and that gruesome image became an allegory for the passing of generations. They were tricky, too , taking human form and walking among us when they got the urge. You never knew what they would do next on a whim; Minerva killed some people, but assisted Ulysses because she had a soft spot for him. In the Epic of Gi lgamesh , which contained one of the oldest variat