Those who write weblogs and have websites naturally want to have people read their material, so they use various strategies. These include SEO, publicity, optimizing for mobile devices, submitting sitemaps to search engines, and more. Naturally, we want to be noticed on social media.
There are how-to guides on many of those subjects, and there are numerous guides about the best times to post on social(ist) media. Why? Because that is where the people are — potential readers, customers, converts, and all that good stuff. But those guides are lacking.
Smart phone social media, Pixabay / geralt (Gerd Altmann)
Up the trail a spell at Slimjim’s spread, there was a discussion about “Thoughts on Decrease of Blog Views Over the Years.” All of those things mentioned earlier play a part in decreases as well as increases, and the conditions also change. That’s one reason those “best times” lists are incomplete.
From what I saw, various social media have times when they had the most activity, therefore, those are the best times to post. (Those things focus on times in the Eastern US, since the rest of the world apparently isn’t as important.) One astute writer pointed out that yes, they are busy, but to schedule posts for those peak times also leaves you open to a lot of competition for attention. He suggested using the best time for you. Also, my audience at The Question Evolution Project is more active away from peak times.
Shared links from friendly people in our own tribes also help.
Those of us who have had experience in the retail world know that there is a plethora of merchandising based on motion pictures that are (or expected to be) blockbuster hits. If one of those has subject matter that sparks the interest of the public, they will search for it.
Weblogs on Christian theology, presuppositional apologetics, biblical creation science and that sort of thing are unlikely search subjects for people who are all het up about Avatar: The Way of Water. (Conversely, this child is not interested in that movie.) For certain niches to be noticed, it seems that they need a boost from a celebrity like Chris Evans or someone who publicly expresses an interest in one of the niches topics. If Patrick Mahomes mentioned our subjects, we may have ridden that popularity bronco through February 2023, but that would have probably calmed down in a couple of weeks.
Of course, if you have sloppy writing and poor content, tricks of online optimization are not likely to be much help.
Something else that should be mentioned is that people are using all sorts of browser enhancements (be careful you don’t add something that spies on you, check them out before adding) that add security and secrecy. Many browsers themselves also do that. My statistics counter promises to record hits, but I have serious doubts that it gets them all. F’rinstance, someone quoted part of my text back to me but his location (known to me) did not register, well, you get the idea.
Those of us who are not doing marketing for a living and want to follow the Lord’s calling for our lives should remain faithful. It gets difficult at times, boy do I know! We should desire to please him, not to get a prairie schooner-full of hits and the dopamine rush. If our areas of study and writing/speaking get popular for a spell, fine, be ready and go with it. Or not. Stay faithful.
This is a simple lesson that people can get from Question Evolution Day: Demand the science. Actually, this is something other biblical creationists and I have been saying for a mighty long time, but this is a time to emphasize it.
It is also very helpful to learn how to spot bad logic. The stuff these owlhoots spread is saturated with faulty reasoning, but since the secular science industry seems to work closely with Rusty Swingset and his crew up yonder near Deception Pass at the Darwin Ranch, their negative influence is seen. All sorts of intellectual and scientific shenanigans happen at the Ranch, but they sure do know their propaganda tactics!
Chimpanzees are portrayed as more intelligent than they really are, and assertions about having a common language between humans and apelike ancestors way back in the mists of time are just that: mere assertions. These things were followed by that confirmation bias stuff again. The bad reasoning and question-begging nature of the research involved should draw howls of outrage from scientists who have knowledge and integrity. I lack belief that it will happen, since the storytelling supports the Bearded Buddha.
There are a host of scientific problems with evolution. One egregious difficulty is an untestable proposition that people (and primates) evolved from an unknown common ancestor from an unknown time ago. As one evolutionist said, “When you look at the narrative for hominin [bipedal apes, including modern humans] origins, it’s just a big mess—there’s no consensus whatsoever.”
In addition, the evolutionary origin of the unique ability of human speech and language remains totally unresolved. . .
Undeterred, evolutionists expect to find part of the answer by observing “gestures that wild chimps and bonobos use to communicate,” since they allegedly share a common ancestor with us. But interpreting ape gestures is necessarily subjective. . .
Birth of Jesus Nativity Scene, Unsplash / Walter Chávez
It is that time of year again where people are busy buying presents, playing Christmas music, getting stressed, and being judged for using pagan elements.
Wait, what?
Near as I can figure it, there are three sources for accusations of Christmas having a pagan origin or incorporating those elements: atheists, sanctimonious Christians, and pagans themselves. If a pagan had accused me of using elements of their religious activities, I didn’t know it. Normally, it’s the other two groups of tinhorns.
Professing atheists frequently exhibit both ignorance and bigotry when making accusations — which is both annoying and amusing when they do so on an article they refused to read that debunks their claims. Ironic, huh?
Self-righteous Christians also show ignorance, often acting like atheists in their caustic remarks. They, too, refuse to read/watch material that has a proper historical perspective, preferring instead erroneous traditions. Then they show that they have the “right” beliefs by bashing Christians who do celebrate, violating Colossians 2:16-17 and others. Pastor Sourjowels would be pleased.
What we do not experience is scorn from people who have some historical knowledge.
There are many myths about Christmas, such as Joseph and Mary being turned away from a hotel, the Magi showing up at the time of Jesus’ birth, and others. A few minor errors that most folks don’t know about are not reasons to reject celebrating Christmas.
We also give each other gifts to celebrate the ultimate gift of God, the incarnation of God the Son, the Creator, as Jesus. Also, because the real Nicholas was a gift-giver.
Some Christians say that we shouldn’t celebrate because we’re not commanded to. So? God gave us holidays (holy days), and people have instituted holidays and observances as well. Indeed, Hanukkah was not one of the original holidays that God commanded the Jews to keep, but Jesus participated (Christians can do it as well). There are a couple of Black Cat Appreciation days. Governments set up holidays. This child has set up Question Evolution Day on 12 February. Holidays and observances happen.
The early church was arguing about when to celebrate Easter back in the 2nd century, not if it should be observed. Similarly, Christmas was celebrated in secret (because of Roman persecution) at about the same time as Easter, and has also been celebrated ever since. Naysayers don’t have church history in support of their views.
25 December for the birth of Jesus has supporters and detractors, and unfortunately some get dogmatic about it. A popular belief is that this date was established to Christianize a pagan festival. Studying the Roman calendar, Saturnalia was over by the 25th. Another candidate was Sol Invictus for sun god worship, but that was established long after Christians were celebrating Christmas.
If y’all choose to not celebrate, great. But don’t pass judgment on those of us who do. In the same way, those of us who do celebrate should not look down on those who give it a hard pass. Both groups have freedom of Christian liberty. You savvy that, pilgrim?
The article linked below covers much of what I’ve touched on in detail, and some other items as well. The history is enlightening, to say the least.
Every year I get “love letters”—can I call them that? You know, those letters blasting me with the same old claims that “Christmas was pagan.” For some reason, I’m supposed to repent of not believing the pagans when they insist that their “holiday” is the true one. I’m chastised for not giving Christmas back to the pagans and locking myself in my house from the four Advent Sundays to the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticizing or poking fun at people for not celebrating Christmas, the resurrection, or their own birthdays. But I think it is wise to refute these claims from time to time as a reminder that pagans usually don’t get it right. Polytheistic and pantheistic pagans—including believers in evolution, Roman and Greek mythology, ancestor worship, Wicca, etc.—attack Christianity with fervor.
Although an abolitionist, Darwin was a racist who believed slavery was a good result of his version of natural selection
It turns out I stumbled across another “Note” on Fakebook. This one is from May 2021. Since Notes are no longer easy to locate, I am copying them here and tweaking them a bit. Glad I didn’t do all that many.
Racism is being leveraged for power, but it is being portrayed as strictly the fault of “white people.” Not hardly! It has existed for millennia, but to quote atheist evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould, “Biological arguments for racism may have been common before 1850, but they increased by orders of magnitude following the acceptance of evolutionary theory.” That’s right, evolutionary thinking magnified the problem. It was especially beneficial for white people who were in control.
We hear about Darwin’s 1859 book Origin of Species, but the full title is often omitted (I’ll allow that it’s cumbersome when compared to many books that have short titles these days): On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life (emphasis added). It was revised six times, by the way. The Bearded Buddha was a racist, and his ideas were applied not only to African slaves brought to America, but also to Australia, New Zealand, and other places. The idea of “races” not not a biblical concept, but a construct based on evolutionary thinking.
People have tried to defend Charles Darwin because he was a product of his times, but that idea is not consistently applied to other people. Although Darwin was opposed to slavery, he did not do so in his major works and their revisions. (Here are more racist quotes from Darwin.) Also, he saw slavery as a beneficial result of his version of natural selection, and that various “races” of humans were less evolved that white Europeans.
Did you know that the majority of African slaves, after being sold out by other Africans (which should seriously complicate the “reparations” questions) were not shipped to the United States, but to other countries? Also, did you know that there were white slaves in America? There is slavery happening even now, but that is not considered important by leftists and their supporters.
Do I really have to say what so many others are saying? Out of fear of being called “racist”, many facts cannot be presented. We cannot even have serious conversations due to fear of reprisals and censorship. The past cannot be changed. Rioting, looting, murders, people doing secular penance over imagined white guilt by wearing chains or shining shoes… In addition, black people who are Christians and Conservatives are “not really black” because they’re not “down for the struggle”, nor are black people who are educated and have jobs. Those who form companies, recording artists, cereal company mascots, and others change their names for appeasement is galactically stupid. Be honest.
This “protest” stuff is not about George Floyd and injustice, it is a planned movement by leftists who were waiting for an opportunity — it did not happen for other black people on this scale. Know what Lenin supposedly called sympathizers in the West? Useful idiots. The anti-Christian Marxist ideology of Black Lives Matter is using people who are useful idiots to them, and BLM in turn is being used as well. We believe that black lives matter because all lives matter.
Where are the marches and protests for black-on-black violence and racism —
You betcha. In fact, I recently received permission from a black neighbor to ask a blunt question on this subject. She said, “Oh yes! It exists”. Imagine one black calling another “monkey boy” because of his skin color!
Where are the protests about black-on-black violence and racism, murders of black police officers, the bigotry of the left telling people that they are too stupid to survive without putting leftists in political office? There are outcries, but Thomas Sowell, Dr. Voddie Baucham, Darrell B. Harrison,, and many others don’t count in the eyes of radical leftists. Why are people like Clarence Thomas, Candace Owens, Ben Carson, those mentioned above, and others pariahs to the left? Black people should be inspired by them instead of hating them.
For that matter, racism is not unique to white people — not by a long shot. Many of us would like to take people as they are, not as groups, not as members of an ethnic heritage. I resent attempts to place blame and hatred on me for the distant past, and we certainly do not deserve the death penalty for crimes (real or assumed) that happened before we were born.
It is interesting that rioters are being coddled (that’s right, I said it) and their bad behavior is rewarded. It’s not cool to simply walk up and commit battery on someone with a deadly weapon, steal and ruin produce, burn down stores and steal television sets in the name of “justice”. Holding cities hostage with threats of rioting and making leaders clutch their pearls in fear is counterproductive. Blaming racism for your own failures may make you feel better, but it solves nothing. Some even say that blacks have to kill white people. I wouldn’t be surprised if racism increases because of such actions and attitudes. You hate racism? Stop committing crimes.
I am not a “systemic racist” simply because I’m depressingly Caucasian. (My ancestors were not from the Caucasus Mountains, so that outdated evolutionary handle baffles me.) Having voted for Donald Trump does not make me a racist, and people who call him a racist are believing lies because the opposite is true.
Nor am I or any other melanin-deficient person automatically a racist because someone said so. I’ve got some bad news for you sunshine, there is a whole whack of racism against whites. It is not justified, but simply emotive reactions based on hatred. People who have read my work know how I react to arbitrary assertions. This is magnified when such assertions are used for hatred, violence, and political agendas. And how long will people be fooled by fake “hate crimes”?
As indicated before, Darwin can’t be blamed for racism, but he’d have a great time observing and probably telling the world that the actions of leftists prove his theory. Why aren’t this racist abolitionist’s statues being torn down? Why are Lenin’s statues still standing? How about Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood who wanted to cull the black population? They sure are doing a great job, but leftists sure are using those useful idiots to keep themselves in business.
According to the Bible and as affirmed by biblical creationists, there are no races. Ultimately, racism is a problem of denying our Creator, which is the result of sin. Social programs and abolishing the police are not the answer. People need to repent and humble themselves before Jesus.
Here is a message by Dr. James White. Now, I’m not interested in the One True Church™ views and don’t care if you’re a Calvinist or not (I take heat from both Calvinists/Reformed and Arminians), but just pay attention to the video below, willya? (Here is the MP3 download if you prefer, but on my Windows computer, it downloads instantly: https://mp3.sermonaudio.com/filearea/6192021111662/6192021111662.mp3
This would be an interesting exercise in logical thinking if readers had not already been signaled that something is amiss. Also, the text used has been circulating in one form or another since at least 2015 (that is the earliest I could find). Take a look and see what is wrong with the text in this picture:
First of all, look at your calendar. It’s on a Monday. Second, Halloween isn’t a floating observance, but is always on the last day of October.
The Julian calendar was in use for a mighty long time, but became increasingly accurate. It was replaced by the Gregorian calendar beginning in 1582. So, there are not 666 years in this calendar system, and the typical “meme” maker does not bother with details involving calculating dates between Julian and Gregorian calendars.
Now, don’t be letting this put a burr under your saddle because I seem to be taking this a mite serious. That caption was clearly a prank, and kind of funny at that. This child wonders how many people believed it without bothering to use their think bones. What we have here is a very small example of how critical thinking applies in many areas of life.
Misotheists try to prove their intellectual superiority to us st00pid dujmb theists by using risible logic, which includes invalid comparisons.
“We don’t believe in God in the same way we don’t believe in Santa Claus”, or “We don’t hate Jesus, nor do we hate Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc.” Let’s give a look-see on why such remarks are ridiculous. Instead of going at this as a formal logic lesson, this article will take the reader along a different trail.
At first glance, this may remind people of an argument from silence, and I’ll allow that there are superficial similarities. (A quick example of an argument from silence is that in the comments area of a post, I responded to the request to mention a movie that needed its ending explained. I asked for The Quiet Earth. No responses. To assume that nobody can answer would be fallacious.) What follows can be more properly considered an argument from conspicuous absence.
Santa Claus from the Victorian era from Free VINTAGE Illustrations Notice how this is very different from modern portrayals
There really was a Saint Nicholas of Myra in the 4th century, and he was a generous, godly man. Legends and modern mythology have very little to do with the real person. It is highly unlikely to find a sane adult who actually believes in the fat guy at the North Pole who has elves working for him, flies around the world pulled by reindeer on Christmas Eve, and defies physics. Ain’t happening, Hoss.
There are other things that won’t be found:
Science supporting his existence, including physics, archaeology, biology, paleontology, and more.
Gatherings of people who sing his praises, offer worship, and give exegetical teachings from the Book of Santa.
Prophecies that have been fulfilled, and others waiting to be fulfilled, from that same book.
Testimonies of people who have experienced miracles or had their lives changed by Santa.
Folks coming to the door or talking in the park, imploring people to come to salvation through the Claus Clause.
Disaster relief efforts spearheaded by organizations like Santa’s Purse.
Schools, hospitals, and so forth being built by believers in the modern version of Santa Claus.
For people who claim that they take Jesus as seriously as they do Sinter Klaas, they sure do spend a passel of time hating God, but no effort to hate Santa. For that matter, many professing atheists seek their personal value and identities railing against someone they claim doesn’t exist! However, they do know that God exists (Romans 1:18-23). They need to repent. It would be great if they did it at Christmas time.
The only reasons I can think of for denying that atheism is a religion are ignorance and dishonesty. It has been defined as a religion by courts, definition, and the actions of professing atheists. They demanded their own chaplains for the military, and Harvard hired Satan himself — oh, wait, that is a different story. Harvard hired an atheist as chaplain.
One of several schools that was founded on Christian principles but jumped the fence into apostasy, Harvard hired this “chaplain” pretends to be “good without God” and claims to be able to provide spiritual guidance to everyone. That’ll be the day! It has been clearly demonstrated that professing atheists are contumelious toward Christians, especially biblical creationists. They define “good” in a postmodern, relativistic way that fits the culture of the moment; whoever betrayed Jews to the Nazis was doing a good thing by Nazi standards.
God calls people like this fools, and anyone going to an atheist “chaplain” is asking for spiritual disaster. Indeed, there are marked similarities between atheism and the LaVey brand of Satanism. Atheism is irrational, lacking the necessary preconditions of human experience. It also has no consistent moral foundation, as is painfully obvious.
Don’t be disunderstanding me here. Yes, there are atheists who have high moral standards, and may even have better conduct than some “Christians”. But as with science, logic, consciousness, love, goodness, and other things, they cannot give a coherent justification for morality. They believe everything came from nothing, yet mock the biblical Christian worldview, which is the only consistent and rational expression for human experience.
Goodness is not relative. Atheists, like other unbelievers, need to humble themselves and repent, making Jesus Christ the Lord of their lives.
The Creation Cowboy 