EINSTEIN AND THE PROFESSOR

There’s an email circulating concerning a discussion between a student and a professor, wherein a professor seeks to argue for atheism while embarrassing his Christian student. The dialogue is apocryphal and erroneously attributed to Albert Einstein. I’m hesitant to recite the entire thing, because it’s lengthy, but. just so no one feels left out, here’s the link for it at Snopes (I’m offering the Snopes link for those who wish to read the apocryphal dialogue, not for their subsequent comments).

 

It should be noted that all too often, many people are so anxious to pass on an interesting email that they fail to verify sources or factuality of claims made. Though no one is above reproach, myself included, one should do all in one’s power to fact-check and verify sources to one’s best ability. That doesn’t mean errors can always be avoided, for even so-called “fact-checking” sites like Snopes are heavily biased and should be consulted with caution. Nevertheless, one should do one’s best to acquire the truth.

 

That said, the responses to this “urban legend” have been mixed– from irrelevant comments, to ad hominem attacks on anyone who holds to biblical theism. I’d like to respond to one in particular.

 

In the apocryphal dialogue between Einstein and his professor, Einstein points out that evil is the deprivation of the good, much like darkness is not a thing unto itself, but merely an absence of light. One response to this by Chris B at Yahoo “answers” was the following:

 

“Open your door :- interesting. Especially as I use this argument of the professor alot. I would point out that any measure of Evil you can imagine, I could make even more Evil. Inaction is the 0 point much like a number line

negative —————- 0 —————- positive

Mathematics does not really have a begining or an end however it is a human philisophical construct used to measure things.

The above number line could just as easily be.

Evil ——————- Inaction ——————- Good

Now that we can accept that Evil is NOT the absense of good but an action onto itself we must accept that Evil exists. This links closely to the professors original argument.

If Evil exists and God created all things then God is responsible for evil.

The premise that Evil does not exist is flawed, therefore the conclusion was also flawed.

I do appreciate an intellectual argument on the subject though 😉

OOOPS nearly forgot. Animal husbandry is the human directed evolution of domestic animals. We would be unable to make cows more dosile and meatier if the process of Evolution did not exist. Evolution has been witnessed and harnessed.

Class Dismissed.”

 

 

Chris gives us a diagram of a number line with “positive” on one end, and “negative” on the other, the central point being “0”. He then offers another diagram, one that he claims “could just as easily be” a line with “Evil” on one end, “Good” on the other end, and “Inaction” serving as equivalent to “0”. He then follows with:

 

“Now that we can accept that Evil is NOT the absense of good

but an action onto itself we must accept that Evil exists.

This links closely to the professors original argument.“

 

Somehow, Chris thinks that, by offering two diagrams, he has successfully demonstrated that the latter diagram is equivalent to the former one. However, he never offered anything resembling an argument. He merely gave us two diagrams and assumed an equivalence. If this is the best atheists have to offer, they’ll never gain traction with rational people. One can prove anything with such a poor offering. For example, imagine if Chris’ second diagram had been thus:

 

Atheism ———— Ignorance —————– Wisdom

 

By claiming this diagram to be equivalent to Chris’ first numerical diagram, I’ve proven that atheism is the opposite of wisdom (i.e., that atheism is foolishness) — given Chris’ own form of reasoning. But of course, little diagrams like this prove nothing. Chris’ entire argument rests upon a fallacious premise, hence, his conclusion fails.

 

Chris then switches gears and goes off on a tangent, arguing against intelligent design, claiming that “animal husbandry is the human directed evolution of domestic animals”. Chris is fallaciously knocking down a straw-man, because no theist claims that micro-evolution, horizontal transitions, or variation within a kind (call it what you will) do not occur. That’s never been the argument against Neo-darwinism. I.D. proponents only ever argue against darwinian macro-evolution, something of which animal husbandry knows nothing. Nor has Chris, nor has anyone else, empirically observed a case of macro-evolution. If evolutionists want their beliefs to be anything more than faith-claims, they’ll have to offer empirical evidence, i.e. an empirical observation of macro-evolution. Unless one believes in Gould’s punctuated equilibrium, darwinism ( of the gradualism variety), is, in principle, unscientific, precisely because it can never be empirically observed by humans with such limited life-spans.

“PROGRESSIVE” DOUBLE-SPEAK AND THE POLITICS OF REGRESS

 

Liberals, left-wing ideologues, and secularists are well aware that their ideas —because they’re on the fringe– are not well-received by rational, morally mature individuals. Because of this, they employ Orwellian doublespeak, promoting their agenda as “progressive”. But are their views really “progressive”, or merely a regression into ancient paganism and decadence?

Take a hot-button issue like abortion. Is this truly a “progressive” practice? The real fact of the case is that the practice predates Christian history by more than a millennia. Moreover, pagan cultures routinely sacrificed their infants. Abortion, rather than being “progressive” is a regress into the mire of barbarism.

How about homosexuality? It’s common knowledge that the very act of male homosexuality takes its name from ancient Sodom. The acceptance of deviant sexual behavior is, again, nothing remotely approximating “progress”, but is another regress into behavior that was, in many ancient cultures, practiced openly.

How about environmentalism? Today it’s devolved into a fanaticism to rival Gaian worship of “mother earth” (often referred to as “mother nature”). But there’s nothing “progressive” about such an ideology. Again, just ancient paganism in a space-suit.

How about social engineering, the agenda of today’s public schools? Such ideas go all the way back to Plato’s “Republic”. Again, nothing “progressive” there.

How about the state’s usurpation of parental rights? Rousseau peddled that pablum way back in the 1700s.

How about the tenuous theory of evolution? Anaximander beat Darwin by almost three millennia. Nothing progressive there.

What about “progressive” confiscatory tax schemes? Our Founding Father’s fought to create a nation with the intent to escape just such oppression. There’s nothing new or “progressive” about governments stealing from its citizens.

So why all the doublespeak about “progress”? To reiterate, because rational, morally mature persons would, should they see left-wing liberalism for what it is, never accept it. Unfortunately, Liberalism, because it has, by definition, broken free of the shackles of moral standards, feels no compulsion to obey the ninth commandment, and so mendacious methods of promoting leftist agendas are acceptable in their worldview.

Washington Redskins & Political Correctness

I received this in an email recently. It purports to be “an email sent to Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune after an article he published concerning a name change for the Washington Redskins”. Whether this was an actual letter sent is irrelevant. If it wasn’t really sent, it certainly should have been.I received this in an email recently. It purports to be “an email sent to Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune after an article he published concerning a name change for the Washington Redskins”. Whether this was an actual letter sent is irrelevant. If it wasn’t really sent, it certainly should have been.

Dear Mr. Page,

I always love your articles. and I generally agree with them. I would suggest, as in an email I received, they change the name to the “Foreskins” to better represent their community,paying tribute to the dick heads in Congress. Here is some other political correctness to consider:

I agree with our Native American population. I am highly insulted by the racially charged name of the Washington Redskins. One might argue that to name a professional football team after Native Americans would exalt them as fine warriors, but nay, nay. We must be careful not to offend, and in the spirit of political correctness and courtesy, we must move forward. Let’s ditch the Kansas City Chiefs, the Atlanta Braves and the Cleveland Indians.

If your shorts are in a wad because of the reference the name Redskins makes to skin color, then we need to get rid of the Cleveland Browns. The Carolina Panthers obviously were named to keep the memory of militant Blacks from the 60’s alive. Gone. It’s offensive to us white folk.

The New York Yankees offend the Southern population. Do you see a team named for the Confederacy?  No!  There is no room for any reference to that tragic war that cost this country so many young men’s lives.

I am also offended by the blatant references to the Catholic religion among our sports team names. Totally inappropriate to have the New Orleans Saints,the Los Angeles Angels or the San Diego Padres.

Then there are the team names that glorify criminals who raped and pillaged. We are talking about the horrible Oakland Raiders, the Minnesota Vikings, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Pirates!

Now, let us address those teams that clearly send the wrong message to our children.The San Diego Chargers promote irresponsible fighting or even spending habits. Wrong message to our children.

The New York Giants and the San Francisco Giants promote obesity, a growing childhood epidemic. Wrong message to our children.

The Cincinnati Reds promote downers/barbiturates. Wrong message to our children.

The Milwaukee Brewers—well that goes without saying. . . Wrong message to our children.

So, there you go. We need to support any legislation that comes out to rectify this travesty, because the government will likely become involved with this issue, as they should. Just the kind of thing the do-nothing congress loves . . .

As a diehard Oregon State fan, my wife and I, with all of this in mind, it might also make some sense to change the name of the Oregon State women’s athletic teams to something other than “the Beavers.”

Muslims Attack Pakistan On Easter 2016

Read the original article at The Washington Post here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/death-toll-in-pakistan-easter-suicide-attack-rises-to-72-authorities-vow-to-hunt-down-perpetrators/2016/03/28/037a2e18-f46a-11e5-958d-d038dac6e718_story.html

 

By Annie Gowen and Shaiq Hussain March 28 at 5:41 PM

LAHORE, Pakistan —As Pakistan began burying its dead Monday, authorities counted 29 children among those killed by an Easter suicide bombing in an amusement park, victims of a terrorist attack that has re­inforced growing feelings of dread here.

Although 2015 was relatively quiet, horrified Pakistanis are again asking what their government can do to protect them from extremist violence.

More than 70 people in all were killed in the devastating attack Sunday in Lahore. Officials vowed to hunt down the Islamist militant bombers who claimed they targeted Christians — yet killed many of their Muslim brethren in the bargain.

Even after a week of terrorist violence in Iraq, Turkey and Belgium, the attack here nonetheless became a focus of global dismay.

It was the country’s worst terrorist attack this year and the deadliest attack in Pakistan since nearly 150 were killed at a school in Peshawar in late 2014 — a shock to the nation that led to an unexpectedly peaceful 2015. That calm period now seems to be over.

Security forces arrested a “number of terrorist suspects and facilitators” in at least five separate raids in cities across Punjab province, where Lahore is located, according to Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa, an army spokesman. ­Bajwa also said that “a huge cache of arms and ammunition” was recovered in the operations, but he did not say where the weapons stockpile was found.

[An Easter suicide bombing shows plight of Pakistan’s Christians]

Police in Lahore said Monday that they were investigating whether the suicide bomber — who detonated an explosives-packed vest in the crowded park Sunday evening — had accomplices. The blast ripped through crowds of families celebrating Easter and a school break, transforming a joyful scene into a spectacle of chaos and horror. The city was in a period of official mourning Monday, with schools and markets closed and little traffic.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis on Monday decried the Easter bombing as “vile and abominable” and called for Pakistan’s religious minorities to be protected. He urged authorities in Pakistan to “make every effort to restore security and serenity” to Pakistanis, according to the Vatican’s website.

Pakistani authorities noted that more Muslims than Christians were killed and injured. Of those who died at the scene, 14 were Christian, 44 were Muslim, and nine could not immediately be identified, according to Muhammad Iqbal, the superintendent of police for operations in Lahore.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Lahore, which is one of his political strongholds, to visit the wounded in one of the city’s many hospitals, his office said. He also announced that he was canceling a trip to Washington, where he had planned to attend this week’s nuclear summit.

A splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying, “It was our people who attacked the Christians in Lahore, celebrating Easter.”

The terror group behind the Pakistan Easter bombing

It’s not the first time that the Pakistani Taliban or its splinter group, Jamaat ul-Ahrar, targeted Pakistan’s most vulnerable. (Jason Aldag/The Washington Post)

Pakistan, a country of 190 million, has suffered for years from sectarian violence and Islamist militancy, including a Taliban-led insurgency in the tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan. Recent terrorist attacks targeting minorities and schools have left many ordinary Pakistanis scared and on edge.

“This shouldn’t be happening,” said Rani Farzand, a teacher and neighbor of an 8-year-old girl who died in the blast. “The kids are not safe in the parks, in the schools, in the mosques. Where should we send our children? What should we do?”

On Monday, little remained of the carnage at Gulshan-e-Iqbal park, a leafy oasis in Pakistan’s second-largest city.

Police had cordoned off the bloodstained area between a fountain and a bumper-car ride in the children’s amusement section where the bomb exploded. Objects were left like small grace notes — a jeweled sandal, mangled reading glasses, a child’s shoe.

At Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, where about half of the more than 300 injured were taken Sunday night, 67 remained hospitalized with a variety of injuries, including burns and shrapnel wounds, doctors said. Politicians and TV anchors weaved among the beds, where occupants were labeled “blast victim.”

Among them were two small children, their beds marked with signs saying “unknown.” Their family died in the blast, and they had yet to be linked with other relatives.

Some were clearly still in shock. Zeeshan Taaj, 23, had been walking through the park on his way back from a pickup cricket match when the bomb detonated. He injured his leg in the aftermath and is trying to come to terms with what he saw: “Fire and smoke,” he said. “I have seen chopped legs blown off, heads and dead bodies scattered all around me.”

A friend tried to comfort him by tucking a sheet around his still-bloodied leg wound.

In another bed, Tasleem Sultan, 40, described how she and four other adult family members took eight children to the kiddie amusement park Sunday night and found it bustling on the warm evening. Her niece, Zainab, 8, had donned her best red dress and put flower-shaped barrettes in her hair for the occasion. She rode an elephant on the merry-go-round. She was holding her aunt’s hand when the force of the explosion separated them.

Later, her father found Zainab, bleeding and lifeless.

“I was weeping. I am still in shock,” Jamshaid Iqbal, 35, said in an interview at his family home after her funeral. “Why isn’t the government protecting us?”

In Islamabad on Monday, thousands of Muslim demonstrators protesting the execution of Islamist assassin Mumtaz Qadri staged a sit-in inside the capital city’s “Red Zone,” which is home to a number of vital government institutions, including Parliament and the prime minister’s house. Qadri assassinated Punjab’s governor, Salman Taseer, in 2011 over the latter’s opposition to Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

Most blasphemy cases are lodged against non-Muslims for violations such as desecrating the Koran, Islam’s holy book, according to rights monitors. The army was deployed Sunday night to protect government buildings after the protesters rampaged across the city, damaging property and setting buildings on fire.

Erin Cunningham in Kabul, Babar Dogar in Lahore, and Haq Nawaz Khan and Aamir Iqbal in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.