We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. A.W. Tozer
Therefore let God-inspired Scripture decide between us; and on whichever side be found doctrines in harmony with the word of God, in favor of that side will be cast the vote of truth. --Basil of Caesarea
Once you learn to discern, there's no going back. You will begin to spot the lie everywhere it appears.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service. 1 Timothy 1:12

Friday, May 22, 2026

Credentials, Part 2—Teaching

I actually believe I have a gift for teaching. Some examples I forgot about in my previous post include the following:


While an ATC at DuPage Airport, West Chicago control tower it was very important to learn aircraft identification. When I arrive at the tower in 1981 I knew military aircraft and civil counterparts as well as types I had flown. But when using binoculars to help separate and control the aircraft it was much easier if you knew the types. So I went to the library and check out issues of “Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft” and taught myself what I needed within the week. I was still new training on the tower position and one day it got busy with lots of different types (we were 3rd busiest airport in Illinois, behind Chicago O’Hare and Chicago Midway airports but we were only general aviation — no airlines. Lots of corporate, freighters, flying clubs, training schools, and 500 airplanes based, including WWII aircraft). The supervisor training me that hour said aircraft recognition training was not useful, so to test me he pulled all my strips (tiles with aircraft call signs) out of position and told me to put them back in order. Now, everyone would just ask every plane their position and this took many transmissions. To prove my point I used the binoculars and as I found each aircraft I lined them all up, but two were the same type so I asked the one to rock his wings and that was that—one transmission to sort out  12 aircraft. The supervisor training me just said, “Fxxx You” and laughed. The manager then asked me to teach a/c recognition to the rest of the controllers, who were anxious to learn! So I developed a slide program (I was given carte blanch on the field with a radio to photograph all the types based and then I went to other airports on my off time to get more) with a text. It worked so well that my manager told other tower managers in the area and soon I was making copies for not only Chicago area but also by managerial word-of-mouth I also made copies for Oklahoma City and Las Vegas as well as some other Illinois towers. So I expanded the course a bit and entered it in the FAA suggestion program; the FAA selected it and paid me $1000 award. 


After becoming certified I volunteered to train new people coming in and had to take a course for Instructors. I trained controllers there from 1982 until I transferred to Iowa in 1995.


As for Civil Air Patrol, my first assignment was Aerospace Education Officer before being promoted to Deputy Commander for Cadets; that had me teaching the cadets (it was a composite squadron, seniors and cadets) what was essentially ground school. With cadet interest I ran my recognition course for them and then I did another course with military aircraft.   


Upon transfer to Iowa I was again training “new kids” and redid my recognition course to eliminate types that were rare there and included all the airline types as well as military types which were routine there. 


Upon my retirement in April 2008, I as accepted as a contract instructor beginning in June for the next 18 months before lay-off. That had me sent to Oklahoma City for training. The training program hadn’t had a full update in years, just “jerry-rigged” with newer stuff, and of the 20 radar simulation problems no one knew what was in them and what was supposed to be learned, only that the higher numbers were more difficult—no scripts available, having been lost long ago. So I completely revised the training program to make it up-to-date and then ran all 20 problems two or three times each so as to reverse-engineer scripts for them.


By that time I had been studying apologetics for many years and had been teaching Sunday School classes for adults and teens. Eventually, in 2007, a pastor told me I needed a blog to teach apologetics on and he helped me set it up.


I haven’t taught classes for a few years, but I continue teaching—I have bagpipe students.


I’ve always enjoyed teaching and if I had ever gone to college it would have been to be a teacher.  After all, along with my wife we homeschooled our children!

Thursday, May 21, 2026

Credentials, Part 1


I have had several people over the years (including recently) post comments (and a couple of emails) denigrating my blog because they perceive me to be uneducated on the subject on which I write, or that my research is most likely from bad sources, etc. I have even been denigrated for not having a college degree of some sort, which means I am poorly educated, I guess.


Well, let’s put it this way: I am an autodidact! I believe that I have better than a college education in my subject areas—I just don't have a degree. Colleges, for the most part, just indoctrinate you into all things LEFTIST


I can start by saying I have read hundreds (if not thousands) of books (not including the Bible) on history, logic, apologetics, theology, culture, psychology, etc, etc. Anyone who reads my end-of-the-year posts on the books I’ve read that year can verify the various topics I study.


While in the Army, I was trained as a Combat Engineer, which means I was trained to build bridges or blow them up, build runways or blow them up, build bunkers or blow them up, etc— meant lots of training and study. Additionally, I was a training sergeant for an entire battalion and later I was an operations and training sergeant for a company. You can’t be totally ignorant to hold such positions.


I also have a commercial pilot license for airplanes and helicopters, single and multi-engined airplanes, and am instrument rated (for bad weather)—and that is one heck of a lot of training. Then my aviation career took me into the air traffic control business, with lots of technical training on radar and tower control operations, including being certified as a weather observer. When I was promoted to a control tower supervisor I took FAA management training at two different colleges, a year apart, and spent 10 years as an Air Traffic Control supervisor.


I also took training for making me the Deputy Commander for Cadets for a Civil Air Patrol composite squadron.


I have attended 11 apologetics conferences as well as three biblical counseling conferences and have had an apologetics ministry for almost 50 years. As such I have taught apologetics classes for adult and high school Sunday School.


My apologetics and biblical studies have been in depth, studying materials by some top-notch biblical and/or apologetics scholars.


As a way of refuting my detractors I thought it would be fun to share what books I have read from my library of over 1000 books, not to mention the many apologetics journals from top-notch apologetics ministries. 


For this post I’m going to share the various Bible versions for which I use in research. Versions I’ve read from cover to cover are the KJV, NAS, NIV, HCB, ESV, God’s Word, and Jewish New Testament. If they are study Bibles I have also read all their notes/commentaries.


Defined King James Bible.

NIV Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament

Jewish Study Bible, Tanakh Translation

Septuagint with Apocrypha, Greek and English

Comparative Study Bible (NIV, KJV, NAS, Amp)

NIV/Message Parallel Bible

The WORD (26 translations)

Interlinear Bible, Four Volumes, Jay Green

An American Translation (William F. Beck) 

Contemporary English Version, “The Promise” edition, hardbound

English Standard Version

God’s Word Version

Holman Christian Standard Bible, Apologetics Study Bible

J.N. Darby

Jewish New Testament (David H. Stern)

King James Version, The Defender’s Study Bible

King James Version, Key Word Study Bible, Spiros Zodhiates

Living Bible

New American Bible

New American Standard, Ryrie Study Bible

New Century Version

New English Translation

New International Version, Archaeological Study Bible

New International Version, Narrated Bible in Chronological Order, by F. LaGard Smith

New International Version, Study Bible

New King James Version, MacArthur Study Bible

New King James Version, Study Bible

New Living Translation

Revised English Version w/Apocrypha, Oxford Study Bible

Revised Standard Version

Apocrypha, KJV


Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, Jay Green

Parallel New Testament in Greek and English: Interlinear, NIV, KJV

Living Water, the Gospel of John (Logos 21 Version) 

Modern Language Testament, The (The New Berkeley Version) 

New Testament in Modern English (J.B. Phillips)

Unified Gospels, The (KJV) (John W. Lea)

Harmony of the Gospels (HCSB), by Steven L. Cox and Kendell H. Easley

A Harmony of the Four Gospels (NIV), by Orville E. Daniel

Gospels Interwoven, The (NIV), by Kermit Zarley

Gospel Parallels


These were all great study tools.


That’s my spew for the day. 

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

The Pope and Islam

Steve Harvey posted the following on Facebook on 4/15/26. More evidence that the Pope does not represent God or Christ.


Pope Leo XIV's recent visit to the Mosque of Algiers--where he removed his shoes, stood in silent reflection before the mihrab, and expressed gratitude for being in "a place that represents the space proper to God"--is not a harmless gesture of goodwill. It is a deeply consequential moment that raises serious questions about how the highest office in the Catholic Church is choosing to represent Christian truth in the public square.


Because this is not simply about respect. No one is arguing against basic courtesy toward Muslims or any other religious group. Christians are called to love their neighbors and treat sacred spaces with dignity. But what happened in Algiers went beyond respect and entered the realm of symbolic participation--actions that inevitably communicate theological agreement where none exists.


Standing in silent reflection in a mosque, directly before the mihrab--the directional focal point of Islamic worship--is not a neutral act. It is not the same as visiting a historical site or engaging in dialogue in a conference room. It is entering a space defined by a specific act of worship to God as understood in Islamic theology, and participating in its atmosphere of devotion without any accompanying doctrinal clarification.


When the Pope then describes the mosque as "a space proper to God," the problem intensifies. Proper to which understanding of God? Christianity and Islam do not simply differ in language; they differ in the most foundational claims about who God is, how He is known, and how He has revealed Himself. To speak in generic terms of shared divine space is not bridge-building--it is theological flattening.


This is not an isolated misstep. It sits within a wider pattern of interfaith language emerging from the Vatican over recent years, particularly under Pope Francis, that has repeatedly blurred distinctions between Christianity and other religions in ways that have caused legitimate concern among clergy and theologians.


Pope Francis famously stated that "every religion is a way to arrive at God," and described religions as "different languages" pointing toward the same divine reality. He also declared that "God is God for all," and placed Sikh, Hindu, Muslim, and Christian traditions within a shared framework of spiritual pathways.


Those are not minor semantic choices. They represent a shift in tone that directly challenges the historic Christian claim that salvation is found uniquely in Jesus Christ. When the Pope speaks in this way, confusion is not just possible--it is inevitable.


This is precisely why the Algiers visit matters. It is not an isolated gesture of kindness. It is part of a trajectory in which symbolic actions and ambiguous language increasingly replace doctrinal clarity.


The Core Problem: Symbolism Without Theology


Religious leadership carries weight precisely because symbols are never just symbols. When the Pope stands in silent reflection in a mosque, the global audience does not see a neutral academic observer. They see the visible head of Catholicism engaging in a posture of reverence within a non-Christian act of worship.


Silence in such a setting does not clarify intent--it obscures it. And when combined with language about shared divine "space," it creates the impression that Christianity and Islam are simply different cultural expressions of the same faith. That impression is not only inaccurate--it directly contradicts core Christian teaching.


The issue is not that Catholics should be hostile toward Muslims. The issue is that the distinct claims of Christianity are being visually and verbally diluted at the highest level of representation.


The Five Irreconcilable Differences That Are Being Blurred


If there is any clarity needed in this discussion, it is here. Christianity and Islam are not parallel routes up the same mountain. They are fundamentally different religious systems built on incompatible claims.


1. Jesus Christ: Divine Son or Human Prophet

Christianity declares Jesus Christ to be the eternal Son of God, not merely a messenger but God incarnate. This is not a symbolic title--it is the center of Christian faith. Jesus is worshipped, not merely respected, because He is understood as God made flesh.

Islam explicitly denies this. Jesus (Isa) is honored as a prophet, but the idea of His divinity is rejected as theological error. This is not a minor disagreement--it is the single most important dividing line between the two faiths. If Jesus is not divine, Christianity collapses into something entirely unrecognizable.


2. The Cross: Central Event or Theological Rejection

Christianity is built on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The cross is not optional theology--it is the foundation of salvation. Without the death and resurrection of Jesus, there is no Christian Gospel.

Islam rejects the Christian understanding of the crucifixion. Traditional Islamic teaching holds that Jesus was not crucified in the manner Christians believe, and therefore the entire redemptive framework of sin, atonement, and resurrection is denied. That alone makes the two faiths structurally incompatible.


3. The Nature of God: Triune Revelation or Strict Unitarianism

Christianity teaches that God is one being in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not polytheism, but relational unity within the divine nature.

Islam rejects this entirely. God is absolutely singular, indivisible, and without internal relationship. Any suggestion of "Sonship" or Trinitarian structure is considered a distortion of monotheism. These are not small doctrinal differences--they represent entirely different understandings of who God is.


4. Salvation: Grace Through Christ or Judgment by Deeds

Christianity teaches salvation as a gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Human effort cannot earn reconciliation with God; it is received through Christ alone.

Islam emphasizes submission to God's will expressed through obedience, prayer, fasting, and righteous deeds, with final judgment based on a balance of actions and mercy. While both traditions value moral living, the mechanism of salvation is fundamentally different: grace versus merit, redemption versus accountability.


5. Revelation: Fulfilled in Christ or Finalized in the Qur'an

Christianity holds that God's revelation reaches its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, with the New Testament bearing witness to Him as the culmination of God's self-disclosure.

Islam teaches that the Qur'an is the final, perfect, and unaltered revelation, superseding previous scriptures, including the Bible. This creates not just different interpretations, but competing claims about final authority.


Respect Does Not Require Theological Confusion


It must be said clearly: respect between Christians and Muslims is not optional in a plural world. Civility, peace, and dialogue are necessary. But respect does not require symbolic actions that blur essential distinctions. It does not require standing in silent quasi-devotional posture inside another religion's place of worship while using language that implies shared theological space.


That is not unity--that is confusion.


The danger in the Pope's actions is not that he visited a mosque. It is how he did it, what was said, and what was left unsaid. In a world already drowning in relativism, religious leaders do not have the luxury of ambiguity. Their words and gestures define how millions understand God.


And when those gestures begin to suggest that Christianity is simply one language among many ways of reaching the divine, the result is not harmony--it is the erosion of Christian identity itself.


============


Islam is NOT compatible or friendly with Christianity and never will be. A goal of Islam is to eradicate Jew and Christians primarily and then any other non-Muslim. Anyone studying just a wee bit of the history of Islam would know this. Islam is more than a religion, it is also a political ideology demanding dominion of the world. They spread Islam by rape and murder and always have. The Qur'an teaches them to befriend their enemies (i.e. non-Muslims) until they are in a position of power; in English this is called perfidy. No such thing as a peaceful or friendly practicing Muslim.


This Pope is an abjectly ignorant heretic.

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

For the Record.

 


As an additional insight; I said at the beginning that the picture on the left was Trump mocking the pope and not pretending to be Jesus. Here are photos of the pope with the red sash.