Champions League Winners
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
William Lane Craig's Critic of Dawkins
Well known Christian Apologist and Philosopher William Lane Craig took a swipe at Dawkins reasoning in the God delusion book.
He addresses the "who designed the designer" question.
WATCH
Richard Dawkins was criticizing the design argument for God.He asked if the universe is designed,then who designed the designer(GOD).But Craig shows that in no-way does the question make the argument fail.Its simply a question out of the blues.Consider the premises of the argument below:
Craig says that we do not need to have an explanation for the explanation.If X is the best explanation for Y,we don't need an explanation for X.
The lack of an explanation for X does not negate the fact that X is still the best explanation for Y.
A good example would be,if you found a book on the beach and you exclaimed"this book must have been written by a writer".then your friend quips in and says," that cannot be,then who created/designed the writer?".
The origins of the writer are a non-issue as regarding the best explanations for the source of the book.As long as you agree that the book was written by a writer,then the lack of explanation of where the writer originated from does not negate the fact that the book was written by a writer.
In short if we needed to have an explanation for the explanation of everything in the universe,then we would never be able to explain anything.
He addresses the "who designed the designer" question.
WATCH
Richard Dawkins was criticizing the design argument for God.He asked if the universe is designed,then who designed the designer(GOD).But Craig shows that in no-way does the question make the argument fail.Its simply a question out of the blues.Consider the premises of the argument below:
- The fine-tuning of the universe is due to either physical necessity, chance, or design.
- It is not due to physical necessity or chance.
- Therefore, it is due to design.
Craig says that we do not need to have an explanation for the explanation.If X is the best explanation for Y,we don't need an explanation for X.
The lack of an explanation for X does not negate the fact that X is still the best explanation for Y.
A good example would be,if you found a book on the beach and you exclaimed"this book must have been written by a writer".then your friend quips in and says," that cannot be,then who created/designed the writer?".
The origins of the writer are a non-issue as regarding the best explanations for the source of the book.As long as you agree that the book was written by a writer,then the lack of explanation of where the writer originated from does not negate the fact that the book was written by a writer.
In short if we needed to have an explanation for the explanation of everything in the universe,then we would never be able to explain anything.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Witchraft is incompatible with Christianity.
Witchcraft/sorcery is an age-old practice in many African societies. And its still very rife in modern day Africa.
What is amazing is that many African Christians believe in the powers of sorcery and vodoo.
What is even more amazing is that educated pastors will preach that witchcraft is compatible with the teachings of Christianity.
Witchcraft/sorcery is the believe that a person(witch) possesses magical powers which can influence other peoples behaviors or bring good fortunes to people. Despite the lack of concrete evidence for the claims of sorcerers,people will still be ready to grant that witchcraft works.
The problem with witchcraft is the lack of concrete evidence. Mostly hearsay and circumstantial situations. Epilepsy or schizophrenia are automatically labeled as proof of bewitching.
Christianity preaches that demons do exist. Matthew 8:28-34 records an instance where Jesus casts out demons and sends them to the pigs.
People normally do not know the difference between evil spirits/demons and the ability of a person to control someones else's life through magic. Is it possible then that someone can "send" bad spirits to someone else so as to be possessed?
There is no teaching in the bible which records such an instance. The bible records demon possession,but not the possibility of someone being jinxed.
If witchcraft is true,then it rubbishes most of Jesus's teachings.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."
If someone has the power to control someones behaviors eg drive someone mad,then what happens to Free-will?what do we make of the teachings that God gave man the ability to chose his destiny through his works,whether to go to heaven or hell?
whats the point of judgment day?how will God judge those who were "possessed"?
If witchcraft is true,then Christianity is inherently false. Salvation through Jesus Christ is a myth.
What about ghosts?Ghosts are believed to be dead people who have come back in the form of spirits .The possibility of ghosts directly contradicts the teachings of God. The bible teaches of every human having only two places to go after death,Heaven or Hell. But it seems then Earth is a third choice!ghosts hang around haunted houses and buildings. Isn't there judgment for them?Can i become a ghost after i die so as to avoid going to hell or heaven?
The above are believes which do not hold any water in Christian theodicy. They bring up contradictions within the teachings of Christianity. And so either witchcraft is true or Christianity is true,but not both.
Dead sea Scrolls to be displayed in Jerusalem Museum
One of the most important biblical archaeological find in the 20th century will be on display in Jerusalem this week as Israel celebrates its 60 years of independence.The dead Sea scrolls were discovered in the qumran caves in 1the 1960's.
The scrolls contained almost all of the Old testament books found in the Bible.And even contained a complete book of Isaiah.The Dead Sea scrolls were dated to the year 150 BC.
The significance of the scrolls was that it confirmed that the modern day Hebrew bible had never been altered or changed as many critics claimed.
For example the book of Isaiah on the scrolls is completely similar to the book of Isaiah on the modern day Hebrew bible.
The scrolls also play a significant role for Israel as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.They show that Israel as a nation existed for many thousands of years in the disputed land.Ruled by many Kings and eventually the Romans.
The scrolls contained almost all of the Old testament books found in the Bible.And even contained a complete book of Isaiah.The Dead Sea scrolls were dated to the year 150 BC.
The significance of the scrolls was that it confirmed that the modern day Hebrew bible had never been altered or changed as many critics claimed.
For example the book of Isaiah on the scrolls is completely similar to the book of Isaiah on the modern day Hebrew bible.
The scrolls also play a significant role for Israel as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.They show that Israel as a nation existed for many thousands of years in the disputed land.Ruled by many Kings and eventually the Romans.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Manchester United Does it Yet Again!
Manchester united have clinched the Barclay's Premier League cup once again.A first half goal from Christian Ronaldo set the mood rolling after Rooney was fouled inside the D.A well taken penalty from Ronaldo sent the keeper diving the wrong way for a perfect goal.
Substitute Ryan giggs finished off Wigan athletic at 81minutes with the second goal.Wigan seemed ready to spoil the party for Red devils with a few close calls.But the attacking force of Tevez,Rooney and Ronaldo was too much to contain.
Chelsea on the other hand,squandered a lead at the last minute to draw with Bolton 1-1.A Win for Chelsea and a draw for Man U would have made Chelsea title winners.
This is United's 10th Barclay's Premiership title making it the team with the most number of title wins.Manchester United also won the title last year.
Eyes are now set for Moscow when United meet rivals Chelsea in the finals of the Champions league on May 21st.
But for now,sorry all you Arsenal fans,who wished ManU would lose,and sorry to chelsea for fighting so hard to level points with ManU and end up with nothing.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Is Kenya a Sucker for The West?
After Raila called Zimbabwe "a major embarrassment"(probably meaning Robert Mugabe),,some Zimbweans reacted angrily to his remarks and said that Raila and Kenya is always a sucker for the US and the UK.
Kenya has a very tight relationship with the US and the UK.The UK which is Kenya's former colonial power has major interests in Kenya,business wise in tourism,agriculture,government contracts,military training and a host of other social welfare relief programmes.
Although' Kenya's dependency on aid accounts for less than 10% of the budget,the Us and UK influence on the countries economy is huge.
For example 250,000 British tourists visited Kenya last year,making it the prime source of tourist revenue for Kenya.American tourists numbered close to 100,000.
There are an estimated 20,000 British citizens living and working in Kenya. American citizens are about 10,000 living and working in Kenya.
Last year a report said that the US government had increased military aid to Kenya by nearly 800% since the September 11th attacks.Kenya's relations with the US had been cemented especially after the Nairobi august bombings 1998.With Kenya and Us working closely on the "war on terror".
Sadly Kenyan security forces arrested many suspected "Muslim extremists" just to appease the US.Many were innocent.Some were abducted and tortured.
The Us conducts regular military operations at the coast.The UK for a long time had a permanent training ground in Nanyuki in central province.(its not clear whether it still there or not).
Kenya is therefore very much Dependant on US and UK.Economic sanctions on Kenya would devastate the country and potentially lead it to collapse.
After the contested election dispute in Kenya,the US and UK exerted pressure immediately for a quick solution to the crisis.
With the violence at its peak,deaths numbered to 700, the US and UK threatened economic sanctions on the government of Kenya.Even threatening to bar many Kenyan politicians and their families from travel to the US and UK.Visits from Jendayi frazer,condoleeza rice and a host of diplomats was the order of the day.
Within just 2 months,the Kenyan politicians bowed to immense pressure from the two governments and reached an agreement.
The US andUK quickly showed their support for the peace accord and vowed to do their best to ensure it succeeds.
It seems that the US and the UK are not ready to see such a close ally like Kenya collapse into political uncertainty.The US in particular does not have many stable friends in the horn of Africa.
Kenya being the most economically developed in the region,it would be a big time loss for the US and the UK.
But does it mean that Kenya can be bullied into making political decisions, by the US and UK threatening sanctions and withdrawal of Military aid, whenever Kenya has a problem?
Is Mugabe therefore a hero of some sorts by refusing to bow down to pressure form the West?But at what cost?
Kenya has a very tight relationship with the US and the UK.The UK which is Kenya's former colonial power has major interests in Kenya,business wise in tourism,agriculture,government contracts,military training and a host of other social welfare relief programmes.
Although' Kenya's dependency on aid accounts for less than 10% of the budget,the Us and UK influence on the countries economy is huge.
For example 250,000 British tourists visited Kenya last year,making it the prime source of tourist revenue for Kenya.American tourists numbered close to 100,000.
There are an estimated 20,000 British citizens living and working in Kenya. American citizens are about 10,000 living and working in Kenya.
Last year a report said that the US government had increased military aid to Kenya by nearly 800% since the September 11th attacks.Kenya's relations with the US had been cemented especially after the Nairobi august bombings 1998.With Kenya and Us working closely on the "war on terror".
Sadly Kenyan security forces arrested many suspected "Muslim extremists" just to appease the US.Many were innocent.Some were abducted and tortured.
The Us conducts regular military operations at the coast.The UK for a long time had a permanent training ground in Nanyuki in central province.(its not clear whether it still there or not).
Kenya is therefore very much Dependant on US and UK.Economic sanctions on Kenya would devastate the country and potentially lead it to collapse.
After the contested election dispute in Kenya,the US and UK exerted pressure immediately for a quick solution to the crisis.
With the violence at its peak,deaths numbered to 700, the US and UK threatened economic sanctions on the government of Kenya.Even threatening to bar many Kenyan politicians and their families from travel to the US and UK.Visits from Jendayi frazer,condoleeza rice and a host of diplomats was the order of the day.
Within just 2 months,the Kenyan politicians bowed to immense pressure from the two governments and reached an agreement.
The US andUK quickly showed their support for the peace accord and vowed to do their best to ensure it succeeds.
It seems that the US and the UK are not ready to see such a close ally like Kenya collapse into political uncertainty.The US in particular does not have many stable friends in the horn of Africa.
Kenya being the most economically developed in the region,it would be a big time loss for the US and the UK.
But does it mean that Kenya can be bullied into making political decisions, by the US and UK threatening sanctions and withdrawal of Military aid, whenever Kenya has a problem?
Is Mugabe therefore a hero of some sorts by refusing to bow down to pressure form the West?But at what cost?
Kenya talks tough on Zimbabwe
Kenyan leaders have been mounting pressure on Robert Mugabe to restore democracy after the disputed elections.Official results announced showed opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai receiving more votes than Robert Mugabe but without the 50% threshold needed to be declared a clear winner.
Kenyan Prime minister Raila Odinga hit out at the AU(african Union) for not coming out strongly in dealing with Zimbabwe (read Mugabe).
MDC,Morgan's party had already paid a visit to Raila in April before the results were anounced.
A run-off date between MDC and Zanu has not yet been set due to the potentially violent atmosphere prevailing.Fresh attacks by government forces on opposition supporters have surfaced.With doctors treating torture victims saying the violence is escalating at a dramatic pace.22 people have died and 900 injured,almost all cases perpuated by government forces.
The Kenyan government through the foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula on Thursday urged Mugabe to adhere to the tenets of democracy stop the country from degenerating into conflict.He said that the people of Zimbabwe should be let to exercise the freedom to elect the government of their choice.
Zimbabwe's annual inflation is the worst in the world at over 100,000%.A loaf of bread back in february cost about 78 pounds(150$ us dollars)!Mugabe who propelled Zimbabwe to good economic gains back in the 90's has turned into a modern day dictator.Expelling white farmers and businessmen.
The country's poor face starvation as mugabe clings on to power.Coupled with an AIDs pandemic,the country is quickly degenerating into failed state status.Already the UK,Us and a host of the West have put sanctioned on the Zimbabwe government further dooming the countries economy.
Prime minister Raila Odinga said Zimbabwe was a major embarrassment to Africa,and yet the rest of Africa kept quite.
Contrary to the election violence witnessed in Kenya,Zimbabwe has not degenerated into full scale civil unrest.
Kenya is one of the few African countries that have come out to openly criticize Robert Mugabe's regime.
Kenyan Prime minister Raila Odinga hit out at the AU(african Union) for not coming out strongly in dealing with Zimbabwe (read Mugabe).
MDC,Morgan's party had already paid a visit to Raila in April before the results were anounced.
A run-off date between MDC and Zanu has not yet been set due to the potentially violent atmosphere prevailing.Fresh attacks by government forces on opposition supporters have surfaced.With doctors treating torture victims saying the violence is escalating at a dramatic pace.22 people have died and 900 injured,almost all cases perpuated by government forces.
The Kenyan government through the foreign affairs minister Moses Wetangula on Thursday urged Mugabe to adhere to the tenets of democracy stop the country from degenerating into conflict.He said that the people of Zimbabwe should be let to exercise the freedom to elect the government of their choice.
Zimbabwe's annual inflation is the worst in the world at over 100,000%.A loaf of bread back in february cost about 78 pounds(150$ us dollars)!Mugabe who propelled Zimbabwe to good economic gains back in the 90's has turned into a modern day dictator.Expelling white farmers and businessmen.
The country's poor face starvation as mugabe clings on to power.Coupled with an AIDs pandemic,the country is quickly degenerating into failed state status.Already the UK,Us and a host of the West have put sanctioned on the Zimbabwe government further dooming the countries economy.
Prime minister Raila Odinga said Zimbabwe was a major embarrassment to Africa,and yet the rest of Africa kept quite.
Contrary to the election violence witnessed in Kenya,Zimbabwe has not degenerated into full scale civil unrest.
Kenya is one of the few African countries that have come out to openly criticize Robert Mugabe's regime.
Hillsong United coming to Malaysia
Hillsong United the famous Australian youth singers will be performing in PetalingJaya at the Glad tidings church on 28th Wednesday night.The youth ministry is part of Hillsong Church Australia.The band is led by Joel Houston the son of the senior pastor of Hillsong Church Brian Houston.
The Christian community here in Malaysia is very much excited about the concert.The tickets are selling fast.A ticket going for 50RM(about 1000kshs)
Visit their youtube channel here
Check out some of their concerts here
The Christian community here in Malaysia is very much excited about the concert.The tickets are selling fast.A ticket going for 50RM(about 1000kshs)
Visit their youtube channel here
Check out some of their concerts here
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Dinesh D'souza VS Peter Singer Debate
Dinesh D'Souza debates Peter Singer at Biola University. They will address the topic of God’s existence and it’s meaning for human flourishing.
WATCH
A debate between well known Christian Apologists Dinesh D'souza and atheist Peter singer on a wide range of topics touching on God's existence problem of evil and suffering etc.
I must say i was very disappointed by dinesh's performance on this debate.Peter singer's arguments were nothing new.The classical arguments against God's existence.mainly focusing on the problem of evil.
Dinesh seemed not to have a proper grasp on the counter arguments of the problem of evil,and he did miserably in defending his position on the matter.
Dinesh did not even use the free will defense by alvin plantinga to properly argue against the problem of evil.Even at one time saying that he did not know why there is evil and suffering.
Peter singer in my own view,was ok.In fact he's a very "mild" atheist. But dinesh did not capitalize on the opportunity.Instead he opened his speech on a totally unrelated topic about the problems of atheism,the injustices of former atheists,and the dangers of eliminating religion from society.I agree with some of his points,but that was not the topic of discussion.The topic was on God's existence and he should have started off with arguments in support of this position first.
When the question time from the audience reached,D'souza answered well,but at times strayed off the topic of the questions asked.He sometimes had very long answers to the questions.
Peter singer,well,there is really nothing much i can say about him,he wasn't exceptional,he was not the crowd's favorite.Compared to very loud Christopher Hitchens,the vial spitting Richard dawkins and other prominent atheists,Peter singer was rather dull.
In conclusion,Peter Singer was more on point than Dinesh.Peter failed to account for the source of moraliy in an atheistic worldview.Dinesh failed to substatially mount good arguments for God's existence.
WATCH
A debate between well known Christian Apologists Dinesh D'souza and atheist Peter singer on a wide range of topics touching on God's existence problem of evil and suffering etc.
I must say i was very disappointed by dinesh's performance on this debate.Peter singer's arguments were nothing new.The classical arguments against God's existence.mainly focusing on the problem of evil.
Dinesh seemed not to have a proper grasp on the counter arguments of the problem of evil,and he did miserably in defending his position on the matter.
Dinesh did not even use the free will defense by alvin plantinga to properly argue against the problem of evil.Even at one time saying that he did not know why there is evil and suffering.
Peter singer in my own view,was ok.In fact he's a very "mild" atheist. But dinesh did not capitalize on the opportunity.Instead he opened his speech on a totally unrelated topic about the problems of atheism,the injustices of former atheists,and the dangers of eliminating religion from society.I agree with some of his points,but that was not the topic of discussion.The topic was on God's existence and he should have started off with arguments in support of this position first.
When the question time from the audience reached,D'souza answered well,but at times strayed off the topic of the questions asked.He sometimes had very long answers to the questions.
Peter singer,well,there is really nothing much i can say about him,he wasn't exceptional,he was not the crowd's favorite.Compared to very loud Christopher Hitchens,the vial spitting Richard dawkins and other prominent atheists,Peter singer was rather dull.
In conclusion,Peter Singer was more on point than Dinesh.Peter failed to account for the source of moraliy in an atheistic worldview.Dinesh failed to substatially mount good arguments for God's existence.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
