Some people believe the Shroud of Turin has been proved a medieval forgery because scientific experiments using carbon dating established the age of the tested material as being from between 1260-1390 AD, more than a thousand years after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They believe some great artist used otherwise unknown technique to fake the image on the shroud, even though scientific tests have indicated there is no paint or dyes on the fabric. Even though subsequent experiments completely invalidated the initial carbon dating results, people continue to cite those first results as the primary reason to reject the potential authenticity of the shroud. They simply don't want to believe the shroud could be real. Those doubters simply do not understand the many qualities of the shroud that have been well-documented: for example, the shroud has pollens that are native to that particular location in Israel where the crucifixion took place, and a second carbon dating test puts the age of the shroud all the way back to the time of Christ. There is no known colorant of any kind on the shroud. None. But scientific tests have proved there is blood. Copious amounts of human blood, type AB. Because of the blood on the shroud, there is little reason to doubt the Shroud of Turin once briefly covered a real human corpse which had injuries that closely match the description of Jesus' crucifixion found in the gospels. The only real question left about the shroud is, can we be absolutely sure the corpse was Jesus? The scientific evidence strongly suggests it was. But that … [Read more...]
Alex Pretti vs. Ashli Babbitt — a comparison of tragedies
Democrat Senator Chuck Schumer recently compared Congress passing the SAVE Act to the implementation of the infamous Jim Crow laws, which were expressly designed to suppress the voting rights of black Americans right after the Civil War had been fought to grant them those rights. However, the SAVE Act merely requires voters to present a photo ID in order to be able to cast a ballot, which makes his comparison despicable. The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife--after all, the Democrats gave us Jim Crow 1.0. The Democrats also fought on the wrong side (which were the "slave" states versus free states) of the Civil War. Democrats gave us the Ku Klux Klan. They gave us the infamous Tammany Hall corruption that ruled New York City with an iron fist until Boss Tweed's conviction for embezzlement in 1873. Democrats aren't the good guys. Chuck Schumer, blithering like an idiot They have never been the good guys. Democrats have a l-o-n-g history of fomenting strife between Americans from the party's inception to even today. Andrew Jackson was a Democrat. He was a war hero during the War of 1812 who led the U.S. forces to decisive victory over the British in Battle of New Orleans, but as president, Jackson was an authoritarian who mistreated slaves and Native Americans. He put the Cherokee nation on the infamous "Trail of Tears" despite the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of the Cherokee nation, and thousands of Native Americans died as a result. Bull Connor, George Wallace, and Lester Maddox were all Democrats. Sure, I can think of examples of a few … [Read more...]
Did UGA dodge a bullet with Jared Curtis?
Believe it or not, I'm okay with Jared Curtis changing his mind at the last minute and signing to play for Vanderbilt instead of my favorite team, the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Have I changed my mind in regard to his football skills? Not really. I still think he'll probably be a decent to good college quarterback. He might even turn out to have NFL-caliber talent. Only time will tell. If he turns out to be the next Matthew Stafford, that might affect my future thinking. However, I don't think he will. Why? With Curtis's commitment, Vanderbilt only rose in the recruiting rankings from the mid 40s to 29th, while UGA dropped from 2nd to 6th. The Bulldogs will be just fine. The Dawgs are a very young team that is absolutely loaded, literally oozing with talent. If we don't win a national championship this year, we will be one of the favorites next year. Gunner Stockton has one more year of eligibility, and once he moves on, it will be the fourth year in the program for Ryan Puglisi and the third year for Ryan Montgomery. Every practice has those two quarterbacks of the future taking snaps against one of the best defenses in the SEC. Also, Coach Smart has shown he's not afraid to bring in an experienced transfer player to compete for the job. Should Georgia play Vanderbilt while Curtis is there, I shall not worry too much about losing that game unless the Commodores do some Herculean work to narrow the talent gap between the two programs between now and whoever that future kickoff might take place. Georgia is too talented and too disciplined to lose a … [Read more...]
Why do people think Christopher Hitchens was brilliant?
The late Christopher Hitchens, may he rest in peace, was a popular journalist and outspoken atheist probably most famous for writing the 2007 book titled "God is not Great." Much like Richard Dawkins, his fellow member of the atheistic quartet known as the Four Horsemen, Hitchens made sure the word "God" was the smallest text on his book cover, wanting to make sure his contempt for God was known to everyone willing to listen to him. Not only did Hitchens achieve fame as a writer, he was also considered by many to be a formidable debate opponent, possibly because he was very eloquent, had strong command of the English language, and spoke really fast. Words just effortlessly flowed from his mouth. True, Hitchens was clever, eloquent, and he spoke very fast. But brilliant? That is debatable. For example, during a debate Hitchens once asked, "Why do we have religion in the first place? Why are we having this discussion? Because we are pattern-seeking mammals. It's part of our evolution. We look for patterns. We're designed to look for them and if we can't find a good explanation, we'll come up with a bad one rather than none at all. Most people would rather have a conspiracy theory than no theory. It's very observable that there's a lot of junk science around before good science arrives. Before we have astronomy we have astrology. Before we have chemistry we have alchemy. All these things are derivatives of religion because in a very sinister verse in the Bible that used to upset me when I was forced to listen to it as a little boy. It says, "Seek and ye shall … [Read more...]
