Who gets hurt when we fail.

CAUTION: This blog contains innuendo, graphic language, and non politically correct words and may make you angry and or a bit squeamish. You have been warned.

I am a heart surgeon and will offer free surgery for the next two days. PM me to schedule your appointment.... (You might note the sarcasm dripping off these sentences.)

Clearly, I am not a surgeon. Oh sure, I have removed entrails from farm animals and have retrieved brain matter from the same but you would not want me cutting into your body. My false claims and misinformed statements are dangerous and create an illusion of authority and get people all excited...over nothing. Exploring our existence and seeking knowledge is not bad in itself. Making unfounded claims about something without solid evidence is.

Take for instance, 'idiots' (Pardon my judgmental word here) who loudly proclaim that Jesus is returning on a certain day and time. (The end of the world is coming!!!!!!) The late Harold Camping was adept at spouting frivolous hand wringing news that Jesus would arrive. He has not been the only one. Yes, this is the man who claimed that 1994 and then 2011 would be the dates. Really? tell us how you came to this decision? Was it backed by empirical evidence? Were the results retested and found to be 95 % correct? Show us the methods used to come to this earth shattering news. Enquiring minds want to know.

And then there is this...

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the

flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered

the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.

That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:36-39, NIV)

When misguided people make statements like these, it sets Christianity back several thousand years. STOP IT!

Don't make the Bible say something it never said when it was written! Use the CIA approach. Clarify what the author said and who the audience was. Investigate the context, and what God was trying to convey. Apply what you discover to your own life and context.

Clearly, people of faith are not the only ones who make ludicrous statements that get people enthralled with mystery and titillation. Yesterday, some in the science community blurted out the possibility of alien life in a new bizarre star. STOP IT!!! Really? tell us how you came to this decision? Was it backed by empirical evidence? Were the results retested and found to be 95 % correct? Show us the methods used to come to this earth shattering news. Enquiring minds want to know.

And therein lies the rub. Humanity generally seeks the news that excites and brings a level of curiosity to the abnormal. Fabricating a story to gain noteriety is fun but not helpful. As I understand it, we are to make observations, form a hypothesis, and go about building credible evidence that will support the hypothesis. Harold Camping failed to promote Jesus with his claims. Some in the science community are looking silly with their knee-jerk comment about aliens. We speak about Jesus' return and possible aliens like a pastor who purports to be a heart surgeon when clearly he is not. STOP IT!!!

(end of rant)