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The Software Industry Sucks

This is totally off-topic, but I wanted to rant. It does not necessarily apply to all the industry, but... In September 2015 Microsoft brought out Office 2016 on Windows. It had some bugs, but modern software is complex, so we expect that. I have done some coding, I understand that that is inevitable. However... What did Office 2016 do that Office 97 did not do? It had some new features, but nothing I have ever used. Microsoft produced an app that did everything I wanted twenty year earlier. But I cannot use that because... Well, because Microsoft no longer support it. And that brings us to the second point. Office 2016 came out over a decade ago, and still Microsoft have not got it right! They bring out a new update once a month for over ten years, and still it has security holes in it! How utterly pathetic is that for software engineering? Imagine if you bought a car, and every month you had to return it to the garage because a whole new raft of design faults had come to light! This ...
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The Supposed Disingenuousness of the Jesus Legend in Popular Media

This is responding to an article "The Disingenuousness of the Jesus Legend in Popular Media" By Emma Louie. It can be found here, but I think you need to sign in to read it (but it is free): https://www.academia.edu/68997185/The_Disingenuousness_of_the_Jesus_Legend_in_Popular_Media?email_work_card=title The article sets out its stall in the first paragraph. Mom, is Jesus like Santa Clause?” Perplexed by her fifteen-year-old daughter’s question, Sarah a young Christian did not know how to answer as she thoughtfully placed the popular Christmas Blu-ray movie in the shopping cart along side the diet sodas and popcorn. Zoe repeated the question with the persistence of adolescent curiosity. When Sarah did not respond for the second time, Zoe added, “Well, Santa Clause isn’t real.” Just what was an appropriate response to Zoe’s question, in an age when much of what teenagers and young adults know about Jesus comes from sources other than the Christian church. The fact that Jesus ro...
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The Tragedy of Death

An article from 2012 on CARM is the starting point here. " Looking at Whitney Houston’s death through atheist eyes " https://carm.org/looking-at-whitney-houstons-death-through-atheist-eyes It wasn’t Wax’s argument that gave me pause but rather one of the comments made by one of the hatetheist trolls that consistently man the comment boards of Christian Post. Predictably, the hatetheist mocked anyone who would dare to believe in a personal evil such as Satan, but he went on to say that the death of Houston was “tragic.” You just know an article is going to be intellectual when the author uses terms like "hatetheist trolls"... If someone wants to define Whitney Houston’s death as “tragic,” then he is going to need a couple of things. First, he’ll need to show that she possessed some innate worth that was marred by the lifestyle that eventually took her life. Whitney Huston possessed innate worth because she was a person. It is as simple as that. Compare to the Christi...
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There is no Evidence for God because there is no Evidence for God!

With the CARM forum down for three weeks now, I am obliged to read the articles on the site. One that caught my eye is; " Atheists err when asking for material evidence to prove God’s existence ". https://carm.org/atheists-err-when-asking-for-material-evidence-to-prove-gods-existence He says: First of all, the scientific method is a system of learning that consists of observation, hypothesis, experimentation, prediction, and theory.  It is based on logic and observations of the material universe and its properties. Second, the scientific method, along with a materialistic worldview, necessarily excludes transcendence – that which exists independent of the universe.  Therefore, it can’t detect what is outside of the material realm since it is based on observing things inside the material realm. Third, the Christian worldview proclaims a transcendent God who exists outside of, and independent of, the material universe.  In other words, the Christian God is not dependent upo...
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Is Christianity or the Bible misogynistic?

This is a response to an article of the same name by Matt Slick at CARM. https://carm.org/is-christianity-or-the-bible-misogynistic Wiki describes misogyny as: Misogyny (/mɪˈsɒdʒɪni/) is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practised for thousands of years. It is reflected in art, literature, human societal structure, historical events, mythology, philosophy, and religion worldwide. But Slick has an agendas, so he uses his own definition. Misogyny is a hatred of and distrust of women. In Slick's world having contempt for all women is not misogymy. Being prejudiced against girls and women is not misogyny. Keeping women at a lower social status is not misogyny. Why is that? Well, I would suggest that as a Christian he has been raised to believe that women really are less than men, and that it is therefore perf...
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God multiplies the pain of women in child bearing

This is a response to an article by Matt Slick on CARM that seeks to answer the question: " Why would God increase the pain of childbirth because of Eve’s disobedience to Him? " https://carm.org/god-multiplies-the-pain-of-women-in-child-bearing The answer lies in two things. First, we must understand that Eve was the means God commanded to fill the earth with people.  ... Second, Adam was her “head.” What? So Slick is saying God made childbirth painful - and outright dangerous - for women because Eve was commanded to fill the world with people and because Adam was in charge of her! In what way does that explain God's choice here? Both of those are readily achievable without childbirth being painful and dangerous. Indeed the first would be more readily accomplished if it was not! I suppose we need to get into the details here. God commanded to fill the earth with people First, we must understand that Eve was the means God commanded to fill the earth with people. Her union ...
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The Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Supposedly this is the shroud that was used to wrap Jesus in. From Wiki: The documented history of the shroud dates back to 1354, when it began to be exhibited in the new collegiate church of Lirey, a village in north-central France.Whether the memo was actually sent to the Pope or not, it seems that at least its salient information, that the Shroud was being displayed as genuine when it wasn’t, was known by the beginning of 1390, when Pope Clement issued his very restrictive bull. Ulysse Chevalier dated it at the end of 1389, although Jack Markwardt suggests early August, on the grounds that although it mentions an appeal to the King to get the relic suppressed, it does not mention that the Bailly of Troyes, acting on behalf of the King, had failed to get hold of it on 15 August.  The shroud was denounced as a forgery by the bishop of Troyes, Pierre d’Arcis, in 1389. ... The m...
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