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My Grief Observed, but I Still Believe

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen After the loss of my beloved Charlene, several people suggested that I read A Grief Observed  by C.S. Lewis. It is a short book, but being mostly alone and dealing with my recovery from open-heart surgery, legal matters involving her estate, the tyranny of the physiological and mental problems of grief fog — reading was a challenge. However, after I purchased it, I converted it into an audio book with a text-to-speech service. Voices in TtS can be quite good. Lewis was British, so I chose a voice with an appropriate accent. It took an hour to hear, and I listened to it again this morning. A 1998 Polaroid photo of Charlene A quick side trail here. Remember when I said she had lousy self-esteem ? I found the Polaroid picture that was scanned and sent to me. It was the first image I saw of her, and still burned in my memory is that she said, "I hope it doesn't make you sick." A Grief Observed  was written after Lewis' wife died of cancer. They had

Follow the Leader?

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen You know the game, most of us played it when we were kids. Someone is selected to be the leader and everyone falls in behind for whatever journey happens. When it becomes hazardous, people follow at their own peril or wise up and drop out. Many of us play variations on it later in life. There may be a persuasive leader in a clique or someone in authority at the workplace. Sometimes it is friends, or mayhaps jumping in on teh interwebs. Follow the Leader, Wikimedia Commons / Doug Coldwell ( CC BY-SA 4.0 ) We easily see how professing atheists are control freaks, especially on social(ist) media. I have had several times when I posted on a biblical creation science topic, and a misotheist feels the need to disrupt things and hijack the discussion thread with demands for "proof" (mostly on a different subject altogether). There are Christians who think they are rising to the challenge and try to persuade the atheist that God exists or something similar, bu

Celebrating the Resurrection in 2023

Most professing Christians around the world are celebrating the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! If it had not happened, our faith is in vain (1 Cor. 15:12-19). But it did  happen and is the best-attested fact of ancient history. Those who are in Christ are forgiven and adopted as children of God (1 John 1:12-13.)  Like last year, no full post today but I am going to link to my other posts on the subject: Doubt Creation, so Doubt the Resurrection? The Trail of the Resurrection from Genesis (which I had written about a year ago in case I was not around to post something for this year) Resurrection or Evolution as a Basis for Hope Bible with Resurrection account and flowers, Unsplash / Anuja Mary Tilj As a bonus, here is a short post from Jimmy, " This Sunday at Church: Being Grateful for the Resurrection of Christ ." Please pray that God blesses his missions trip and for safe travels. Also, Why?Outreach has reposted a link to a collection of links regarding

Assigned Genders and Corporate Foolishness

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen A spell back, I wrote about an employee  showing professionalism in a big box store . A customer was ranting about how he was supposedly insulted by another employee, and this one had to hear about it. After a few subsequent visits, I got to know the guy at the store and we had some discussions. One day over lunch, the employee that I will call Aaron gave me some surprising insights into that company and its policies. Those are quite a distance from the vision of the company founder! Image information below This company used to believe in people and listen to employees and customers alike, but I see quality sacrificed for profit. Aaron told me of a revolving door of employees that come in, work for a while, then quit or get fired. While they have some real gems that have worked in this company for many years, many of the younger workers just don't care. You can't find that plaid sheet set that the app says is on the shelf? Try looking behind the boxes of

Who is it For?

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen As much as I dislike titles that are in the form of a question (there always seems to be some jasper who has an "answer" and feels no need to read the material before commenting), this is vague enough to cause curiosity. Every once in a while, I notice people who are fond of keeping with the latest trends, many of those are related to fashion. Many people feel compelled to follow the trends. This may involve investing a great deal of time and money, but trends change frequently. Some slang terms only lasted a few years and will cause a user to be scorned by the trendy. (I use some to be humorous or individual.) Who are they dressing, getting hairstyles, speaking, listening to certain music, etc., for ? Paris Fashions in Peterson's Magazine , February 1871 — these were being sold about the time Charles Darwin's The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex was published It is my view that people seek attention and approval when they do th

Being Professional in the Workplace

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Yeah, I know. People who work for a living are told to act professional-like, and are constantly reminded of it. Here is an example that shows professionalism — or the lack thereof — in action. Just a few days ago, I was in town with Roland Meadows, the fiancé of my prospector friend Stormie Waters. Since Roland wanted to get Stormie a gift, we then headed for a bigger town that has one of those big box stores with a passel of stuff. Clothing for sale, Pexels / Marcus Winkler While he was browsing for a gift, I was also wandering. I saw an employee putting things back on the shelf (people ransack these places), and someone came up to him. "Do you know that person working the counter over there?" "I don't —" the employee began to reply. "Well, I asked a question and was told it was stupid and was laughed at! I've had a hard life..." He went on for a few more seconds with a profane tirade, apologized to the employee for cursing

Doing Evil in the Name of Science

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen (Material added 24 February 2024.) When Christians point out that the mass murderers of the 20th century were atheists (Hitler was a pantheist who believed nature was "god"), misotheists with things like, "Prove to me that Stalin said he did atrocities in the name of atheism!" Not in those words, but they hated the God of the Bible and had no consistent moral foundation to inconvenience their consciences. In a similar way, one would have a difficult time finding a scientist who says, "I am using science for evil!" Scientists are not blank slates driven by data. They are as corrupt or virtuous as everyone else, subject to operating within their worldviews. Open Clipart / Olga Bikmullina Professing Christians should be honoring God and following what he has revealed in the Bible. Those who are unregenerate (John 3:6-7, 2 Cor. 5:17) are unable to discern the things of God (John 8:44, 1 Cor. 2:14, 2 Cor. 4:4, Rom. 12:2). We cannot expect

Silencing President Trump and Me

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen This article is going to cover a few shocking points that should be of concern to people who value free speech. Donald Trump and I are best buddies — yeah, like he knows that I even exist. But we do have a few things in common regarding censorship. Made at PhotoFunia I was riding the Fakebook trail one night in March of 2013 when I was suddenly booted. Huh? They demanded proof of my age! After complying, I was told,  Upon investigation, we have determined that you are ineligible to use Facebook. You can view our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities at the following address: https://www.facebook.com/terms.php Unfortunately, for safety and security reasons, we cannot provide additional information as to why your account was disabled. This decision is final. Thanks for your understanding Security reasons? Oh, please! Upon searching, this has happened to other people as well. They did not receive explanations or reinstatement, either. I thought it was a fluke,

Judging Kanye West

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen This article takes a very different approach for me because I am not a fan of rap or Kanye West, nor have I heard his release titled Jesus Is King. I had read about West's conversion to Jesus Christ and have been surprised by his pro-life stance and assertion that black people do not have to automatically vote Democrat . Now he is on trial. Credit: FreeImages / Jason Morrison Don't be disunderstanding me now, pilgrim. Mr. West is not going before a tribunal or standing trial in a court of law that I know of. No, he is on trial in far worse places: the courts of public opinion and the judgement of professing Christians. There is a podcast called Cultish that examines false religions and has interviews with people who have left various cults, but the people at Cultish rode a side trail to discuss Kanye and Christians. What is happening here has resonated with me, because some religious folks can be petty and judgemental. (On the other hand, w

Slaves, Masters, and our Workplace Reputations

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Every once in a while, I commence to cognating and sometimes writing about reputations. In my sixty years, I've seen and sometimes experienced how things like trust, respect, honor, and reputations take a mighty long time to build on the positive side but can be destroyed in a hurry. Joseph, son of Israel, as a powerful ruler in Egypt Image credit: Free Christian Illustrations The largest section of Genesis, chapters 37-50, have Joseph the son of Israel (Jacob) who was despised by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt. Potiphar was important in Egypt and Joseph impressed him so much that Potiphar put him in a position of power. When Joe turned down the Pot-man's wife for a roll in the hay, she lied about him. Joe's reputation was negated because someone in a respected, noble position lied. Joseph was thrown in prison but the jailer in chief was so impressed by him that he basically let him have the run of the place. A new reputation

Snap Judgemental

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Being judgemental is usually frowned on in Western societies, often based on misusing verses like Matthew 7:1. The immediate context and other parts of Scripture command Christians to exercise righteous judgement. Here is an example of an unrighteous snap judgement. Credit: Unsplash / John Tuesday People use the corridors at the workplace for conversation and smartphone use. This is a common thing in places of employment. I was on my way to the restroom, and a woman was in the corridor using her phone. She looked up at me for a split second and went back to her activity. No greeting or acknowledgement of my presence, but we had briefly seen each other several times before. My snap judgemental thoughts included that she is stuck up, aware that she is very attractive, possibly afraid of me (I believe that women nowadays are trained by leftists to loathe men, but that's a topic for another time), that I am unimportant (well, I am in that place), and

A Bane of Social Media

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen While there are several frustrating things on social media, one stands out from the herd. That is when people are compelled to comment without having read the posts or articles. The worst part is when people who post things are told they're wrong, stupid, lying, whatever, by people who have not bothered to read the material. Answers to objections and questions are often contained in the linked articles. Image provided by Why?Outreach Sometimes people will read the few sentences of introduction that are placed to encourage people to read the actual article, and they seem to feel that they are well enough informed to comment. Not usually. Now don't be disunderstanding me, most of us who make posts are not expecting everyone to read everything. Also, a stand-alone captioned picture is an invitation for comments. (People who are aware of my posts and articles may have noticed that I seldom use a question as a title in hopes that people will actuall

The Big Bang of Thrones Game Theory

Step aside, guard! The king must use the throne. No, this is just a game. Two television programs have ended that were loved by many. One was a fantasy drama called  Game of Thrones, the other was a comedy known as The Big Bang Theory.  From what I read, both generated quite a bit of emotion in some folks.  Background image before malevolentification by NASA / WMAP Science Team (ain't no way they endorse any part of this site), with a graphic from Clker clipart I didn't care. Two shows that people talked about that had many episodes, and I never saw any. Previews for The Big Bang Theory  struck me as silly and I didn't want to spend time on it. Game of Thrones  has been described as not only violent and trying to be politically correct, but it had graphic violence and was pornographic. via GIPHY Fans were disappointed in the ending  of GoT, I'm sad to know that some professing Christians were putting that kind of thing in their minds. So, did you ima

Don't Let's do the Genetic Fallacy Our Ownselves

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen One of the first fallacies used by people who need rescuing from inconvenient truths is to reject something based on its source. This is known as the genetic fallacy . Now, don't be galloping on ahead of me. It can take a mighty long time to consider the truth claims based on every source, so those can be weeded out if they have a record of biased, sensational, or just plan silly reporting. For instance, Pravda (meaning "truth") was a propaganda arm of the Soviet Union, and people both inside and outside the USSR knew there was no truth in Truth back then. Many times, people will reject something, valid or not, because they dislike the source and the content gets them angry. Credit: Unsplash / Егор Камелев Atheists and evolutionists reject articles and videos from Christians and biblical creationists because they came from sources that they dislike. One tinhorn refused to consider secular science refuting his adoration of an interstellar

Pondering My Legacy

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen We keep hearing about a "legacy" in these parts, especially when a president is ending, or has ended, a term in office. I don't rightly recollect hearing the word used until recent years, maybe with President Bill Clinton. What is a legacy? The first definition that Merriam-Webster gives involves bequeathed money or property, but that's clearly not what's being discussed. The second definition is: "something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past". That's where we want to be. Image credit: Morguefile / genieslot Nobody is going to become wealthy from my financial legacy.  In the bigger scheme of things, a legacy would be something substantial that was left behind, hopefully to benefit subsequent generations. That's the key to this article. Perhaps when someone's name is mentioned, it brings to mind that certain beneficial something. Unfortunately, people have left legaci