Posts Tagged by history
Why I became a Conservative
| January 26, 2011 | Posted by Anthony under atheism, Blog, evolution, Holocaust, human rights, morality, original sin, politics, pro-life, scientism, Secular Humanism, theism |
When I was in college there was this guy 2 1/2 times larger than me… a philosophy major, as I recall… appropriately named ‘Animal.’ I remember having a debate about pain with him. I argued it was all in our minds- just a brain state- and not real. Animal said, “Come here, and I’ll show you unreal pain.”
While I was of the mindset that there were just “brain states” or just “subjective opinions” or just “one’s political views”, I was a liberal. When my mindset changed, so did my ‘political’ stance. This is a realization that congealed more than ten years after the change had happened. Was it just me? Correlation does not prove causation, and yet I see the same ingredients in the conservatives and liberals I meet. What made my mindset change?
I wouldn’t say it happened over night but there was a singular ‘event’ that proved the catalyst. One should understand that at the time, I was a Christian, an apologist, a Christian religion teacher. But I still entertained many viewpoints we’d call ‘liberal.’ The catalyst arose out of my never ending quest to make sure that when I talk about something, I actually know what I’m talking about. In the general course of that, I read a great many writings of Communists, Nazis, and to a lesser extent, the ‘fascists.’ Here I discovered something frightening: these people were advocating many of the same things I was advocating, and for the same reasons.
Bubblegum and Suckers a short children’s story for adults
| November 19, 2010 | Posted by Anthony under Blog, Christian Short Stories, General, literary apologetics, Obama, politics |
Bubblegum and Suckers
A Children’s Book for Adults
(Illustrations to come?)
Copyright 2010, Anthony Horvath, All Rights Reserved
I originally wrote this almost a full year ago but it seems to remain relevant and even though the ‘Father’ alluded to in the last paragraphs is drawing closer (ie, the last election), it is my view that he has not yet quite arrived.
Bubblegum and suckers, fudge and cookies for all! This among other things was their rallying cry and no one can cry louder than seven and eight year olds deprived of supper and sleep. A sleepy populace heeded their call and thought that a little youthful vigor might be just what the country needed. A fresh wind to blow on stale and intractable issues was needed and every other sort had been tried: but not children. Not, that is, until now.
Why Christians are against Universal Health Care
| March 24, 2010 | Posted by Anthony under abortion, apologetics, Blog, Christianity and Culture, eugenics, evolution, General, Holocaust, human rights, Jesus, Love, Malthusians, morality, Obama, Papers, politics, pro-life, scientism, Secular Humanism, theology |
“the “right” within the church attempt to leverage the gov. to legislate morality. The “left” within the church attempt to leverage the gov. to legislate compassion. Both approaches fail miserably and are an abdication of our responsibility to be the voice, hands and feet of Jesus in this world.” – spoken by a friend.
Someone slid this article across my desk that inquires as to why evangelical Christians are against universal health care. Now, strictly speaking, I’m not an evangelical. Also, I don’t think that all Christians oppose universal health care, and I will not presume that Christians who do will share all my reasons. I hope this caveat spares me the litany of comments accusing me of ‘generalizing.’
I will take the article as my foil as it is one of the finest expressions of liberal hubris and arrogance that I’ve seen in a while. The author begins by indicating he seriously wanted to know why Christians who are supposed to be all about love would oppose health care. The end includes a long screed:
(p.s. this opinion is reserved for those Christians who have not actually thought about the consequences, and decided that more people are harmed than helped by the new law. They are being consistent with their beliefs. That being said, if you think you are in that camp of people excluded, you probably aren’t. You probably are just being geedy, selfish and jerkish, but convincing yourself that this is why you oppose it, while the truth remains you just dont want taxed, or adhere to some abstract notion of how this bill is UnGodly).
Prelude to an Argument for Christianity: The Jewish People
| March 6, 2009 | Posted by Anthony under apologetics, atheism, Blog, General, theology |
It took a few years after my personal battle with atheism for me to realize the importance of Jesus’ Jewishness in understanding Christianity- and defending it. The character of the Jewish people at that time is well documented by both the Old Testament and extra-biblical sources. Some things about Christianity, or perhaps more precisely, the New Testament, make no sense apart from the Jewish context that it arose in. The brief video presentation below is not an argument for Christianity but rather foundation laying for such an argument. Everyone loves a puzzle! Puzzle me this- how has the Jewish nation managed to remain intact over thousands of years in the face of immense hostility to the point where they were able to emerge in numbers enough to re-claim their ancient stomping grounds? When you’re done with that, how did a people whose devotion to “Hear Oh Israel, The Lord your God is ONE” managed to become the womb for a new world view where God became a man?
Santa Claus is Real and so is Jesus
| December 11, 2008 | Posted by Anthony under atheism, Blog, General, Papers, philosophy, theism, theology |
Christian apologists are constantly asking skeptics and genuine seekers to hold to the question of God and Jesus the same standards of evidence they hold anything else. The question of Jesus being also a question of history, we are satisfied if non-biased standards of historical research were employed. Usually, it is the skeptics employing ad hoc standards based on priorly held beliefs about reality.
On this basis then, we see that one cannot dismiss the idea that there was really a man named St. Nicholas just because 350 years separates him from the (current) best sources. On that reasoning we’d have to ditch much of what we know about a great many historical figures, including big ones like Alexander the Great. So, let it be agreed: Santa Claus existed; it is a fact of history.
Short Story: Chronos and Old Facts
| May 5, 2008 | Posted by Anthony under Blog, Christian Short Stories, General |
Chronos and Old Facts A short story by Anthony Horvath COPYRIGHT, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The sign on the door read “Bureau for Decommissioned Facts.” I pushed the door open gingerly, almost sheepishly. My quest to find this heretofore unknown department of the Universal University was not merely a recent one, but one that was given…
The Growth of the Early Church: A Testimony Believed. Martyrs for what they saw not what they believed.
| January 29, 2008 | Posted by Anthony under Blog, General, Papers |
The Growth of the Early Church: A Testimony Believed. This essay was written in response to challenges to demonstrate that the early Christians died because of their testimony, and their unwillingness to reject their testimony. In other words, they believed that they had actually seen certain events, and chose to die rather than deny what…
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