COVID-19 – Apologetics Ministry

29Jun 2020 by Post

Here’s How We Get Around the Wikipedia Roadblock

censorship, Center for Science & Culture, chaos, COVID-19, Creativity, destruction, editors, Evolution News, Facebook, free speech, freedom, Google, Günter Bechly, Human Zoos, Internet, Larry Sanger, lies, Long Story Short, pandemic, protest, Science Uprising, Seattle, Social media, thought police, truth, Twitter, Walter Bradley, Wikipedia, YouTube videos

Something has gone seriously wrong in our culture. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, strict, arbitrary, and undemocratic dictates for the law-abiding, and a free-for-all for those who sow chaos disguised as “protest,” you have to wonder what will come next. In these mad times, Discovery Institute’s mission — to advance creativity over destruction — has never seemed more urgent. I want to suggest a way that you can join us in that. However, there’s a time limit: to help, you need to act by the end of Tuesday, June 30. Many Americans are isolated from others. At the same time, the King’s Highway of news, information, and inspiration — social media and other online sources — is increasingly blocked. Facebook, Google, and Twitter no longer hide their bias and censorship. Newcomers…

04Jun 2020 by Post

Lancet Hydroxychloroquine Paper Scandal Illustrates Scientific Bias, Not Only in Medicine

Atheism, censorship, confirmation bias, coronavirus, COVID-19, Donald Trump, Evolution, Evolution News, human evolution, Human Origins, hydroxychloroquine, Indiegogo, James Todaro, Latin America, LinkedIn, Macroevolution, malaria, materialism, Medicine, Michael Behe, Microevolution, Neurodynamics Flow, origin of life, Sapan Desai, scientific culture, Surgisphere, The Guardian, The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, World Health Organization

If you’ve ever wondered how much of high-stakes science is politicized, reflecting the ideological views of the scientists involved despite all their insistences to the contrary, look no further than this. A blockbuster paper in the leading British medical journal, The Lancet, reported increased mortality associated with the “controversial” malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, being tested for use against COVID-19. Why would a malaria drug, of a value that has yet to be determined, be controversial? You already know the answer: it’s because of the identity of the medicine’s biggest cheerleader. He Looked Them Up on LinkedIn In briefest terms, scientists drew on shady data from a previously obscure company, Surgisphere, operated by a skeleton crew with a questionable Internet profile. Having won the approval of the journal’s expert peer reviewers, they…

30May 2020 by Post

Why “Humanize”? A New Effort to Defend the Unique Dignity of Human Beings

animal rights, animal welfare, animals, Artificial Intelligence, Center on Human Exceptionalism, China, COVID-19, Culture & Ethics, Darwin Day in America, David Klinghoffer, Discovery Institute, Evolution, Evolution News, facial recognition, Falun Gong, human exceptionalism, Human Zoos, Humanize, humans, John West, La Bella Principessa, Leonardo da Vinci, Michael Egnor, quality of life, social credit, Steven J. Buri, The Biology of the Second Reich, Tom Shakely, transhumanism, triage, Uyghurs, Walter Bradley Center, Wesley Smith

Hello. My name is Wesley J. Smith and I am honored to be chairman of Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. I am writing to you here to introduce the CHE’s new blog, which we call Humanize. Humanize will complement and supplement the important work of the Center for Science & Culture and its invaluable Evolution News site. Why did we choose “Humanize” as the name for the site? The once self-evident truth of human exceptionalism is under intensifying attack, as readers of Evolution News know well. Indeed, one of the tragic trends in thinking about evolution has been to blur the distinction between humans and animals. History warns us not to regard this lightly. Recent documentaries by Discovery Institute Vice President John West, Human Zoos and The Biology of…

27May 2020 by Post

The COVID-19 War

Christianity, Christians, COVID-19, Dr. Dan Eichenberger, economy, God, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Politics

By Dr. Dan Eichenberger The United States incurred an unprovoked attack, and the enemy (COVID-19) has inflicted casualties. The President declared war and already invoked the Defense Production Act, essentially forcing private companies into the production of what the government demands. Since the war has been declared, the expectation is there will be casualties, both of those on the front lines and the innocent. No realistic individual can believe wars come without lives lost. Yet the war strategy is marred with ill-defined goals and no clearly defined end-game. The strategists of this war appear to be politicians, epidemiologists, scientists, and actuaries. The President declared war; however, he is not relying on the general principles of warfare necessary to win. Wars are never won by near-complete withdraw and a shutdown of…

20May 2020 by Post

The COVID Crisis and Our Healthcare System

borders, boroughs of New York, China, COVID-19, elderly people, Europe, experts, government planners, healthcare, Iran, Italy, Manhattan, mass transit, Medicine, mortality, New York City, nursing homes, officials, pandemic, patients, prisons, Queens, socialism, Staten Island, statism, United States, Venezuela, Wuhan, xenophobia

An essay by a pair of economists in Foreign Policy magazine pins the blame for our pandemic crisis on deficiencies in our health care system. It recommends a variety of interventions, each of which (predictably) entails more government control of health care by experts like… the authors of the essay. To see the COVID response as signifying a failure of the healthcare system is an insult to the brave and skilled people who responded so effectively to this virus, including colleagues at my own hospital on New York’s corona frontline. The authors, and others who think similarly, misunderstand the roots of the crisis and misunderstand the role the health care system has played. More importantly, they misunderstand the role of statism in generating this pandemic. Retooled Overnight Given the unexpected…

19May 2020 by Post

Thomas Aquinas Weighs in on the Coronavirus and Public Policy

Andrew McDiarmid, China, coronavirus, COVID-19, double effect, Evolution News, health, ID The Future, Medicine, neurosurgeon, pandemic, Podcast, policymakers, political calculations, public policy, science, Thomas Aquinas, transparency, WHO

On a new episode of ID the Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with pediatric neurosurgeon and professor Michael Egnor about public policy decisions regarding the coronavirus. Download the podcast or listen to it here. In a conversation based on a recent article for Evolution News, Egnor says scientists should have “stayed in their lane,” giving policymakers the information that science can provide about a potential pandemic, and left the political calculations alone. He argues that WHO failed in one of its primary jobs, which is providing timely information and recommendations for preventing and slowing the spread of pandemics. They sat on information about COVID-19 for weeks, long after they knew there was a serious problem in China. Egnor also urges policymakers to apply science along with other expert information in a…

18May 2020 by Post

Agradar a Dios en medio del confinamiento

Apologética, Confinamiento, COVID-19, Cristianos, Cuarentena, Español, Jairo Izquierdo

Saludos gente de Cross Examined en Español. En esta ocasión quisiera compartirles algunas reflexiones que podemos aprender de algunas personas de la Biblia que pasaron por momentos muy difíciles y que podemos aplicar en nuestros días con respecto a estos momentos de encierro y aislamiento en nuestros hogares. La respuesta de David ante el sufrimiento Veamos qué dicen los siguientes versículos en los Salmos: Sálvame, oh, Dios, Porque las aguas han entrado hasta el alma. Estoy hundido en cieno profundo, donde no puedo hacer pie; He venido a abismos de aguas, y la corriente me ha anegado. Cansado estoy de llamar; mi garganta se ha enronquecido; Han desfallecido mis ojos esperando a mi Dios. (Salmo 69:1-3) Sácame del lodo, y no sea yo sumergido; Sea yo libertado de los que…

16May 2020 by Post

Principles to Keep in Mind When Evaluating COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories

AFR, Apologetics, app, COVID-19, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, Frank Turek, google play, iTunes, J. Warner Wallace, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Spotify, stitcher, Weekly Podcast

Podcast: Play in new window J. Warner Wallace guest hosts for Dr. Frank Turek and describes several principles to help evaluate COVID-19 Conspiracy theories based on his casework as a cold-case detective. Subscribe on iTunes: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Google Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher Free CrossExamined.org Resource Get the first chapter of "Stealing From God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case" in PDF.

16May 2020 by Post

Stephen Meyer: Teach the (Coronavirus) Controversy

Biola University, Center for Science & Culture, coronavirus, COVID-19, Daniel G. Murphy, Douglas Axe, Economics, Eran Bendavid, Harvard University Medical School, Hull York Medical School, Jay Bhattacharya, John Ioannidis, John Lee, Knut Wittowski, lockdown, Marcello Pera, Martin Kulldorf, medical opinion, Medicine, Red Team, Rockefeller University, Scott Atlas, St. Barnabas Hospital, Stanford University Medical Center, Stephen Meyer, Team B, The Federalist, White House

Our colleague and CSC director Stephen Meyer has a terrific article up now at The Federalist. As readers will know, when it comes to evolution education, the Center for Science & Culture advocates “teaching the controversy.” Note Meyer’s application of the “Teach the Controversy” principle to how medical opinion is being given to U.S. leaders who make policy decisions about a national response to COVID-19. As Dr. Meyer observes, “The administration’s virus taskforce has recommended only a gradual lifting of stay-at-home orders and has established criteria for full re-opening that could take months to satisfy in many states.” His proposal is that rather than listen only to a group of experts with one set view, it would be productive to listen to another group as well, a “Team B,” or “what…

14May 2020 by Post

COVID-19, Random Mutations, and Aristotle’s Matrix of Design

Andrew McDiarmid, Aristotle, bodies, coronavirus, COVID-19, Evolution News, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, Medicine, Michael Egnor, mutations, neurosurgeon, philosophy, Podcast, purpose, random events, viruses

On a new episode of ID the Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with neurosurgeon Michael Egnor about Dr. Egnor’s recent Evolution News article, “The Coronavirus Demonstrates How Evolution Presupposes Intelligent Design.” Download the podcast or listen to it here. Egnor notes that the coronavirus and other viruses are not, strictly speaking, considered living things, even if they depend on living hosts for their continued existence. Egnor also discusses the role of random mutations in viruses and draws upon Aristotle to argue that these and other random events only occur, and have their meaning, against a backdrop of purpose and design — in this case, the designed systems, the bodies, that viruses invade. Image: Aristotle, by Francesco Hayez (1811) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. The post COVID-19, Random Mutations, and Aristotle’s Matrix of Design…