My Interview with my friend and Creationist Bob Sorensen

 

I will never forget the first time I saw you in action in a Creation vs. Evolution thread in a forum on Facebook. I had only been exploring these for a few months. In my neck of the woods you find many who are unsaved but not many Atheists. So I wasn’t used to discussions on God’s existence, just the need for Salvation.  I was at this point just reading the different threads not commenting until…. In this particular thread the Creationists were holding their own with great arguments and being very nice, but the Evolutionist guy all of a sudden got extremely angry. It was clear he could no longer make his case and exit the thread nicely. Then out of nowhere comes Cowboy Bob!!! I had never seen your name until then, so I watched as you not so gently shut him down. After a few minutes it was clear the guy wasn’t coming back, so I posted, “WOW!! That was FUN!!”

Recently, I did a guest post for someone about having a balance between showing love and strength. Many people accuse Christian apologists of being “unloving”, but their definition of “love” is essentially saying to the attackers, “Hello, Mr. Hater. Slap me around some more, and you can come over and experience the love of Jesus by sharing tea and crumpets. Then we’ll sing “Kum Ba Yah” and have a group hug, mmmkay?” That is not a biblical attitude, and Jesus showed not only strength, but said “mean” things to false believers and unbelievers. Anti-theists and anti-creationists treat us with contempt, and when we stand up to them by showing that their reasoning is flawed (and with evolutionists, many have completely wrong ideas about what they themselves believe in). I have tempered my approach over the years, but still will show that we can reason, we know science, we do not need to be intimidated by the massive intellect of The Mighty Atheist™ (or so they think) and above all, some of us will not compromise on Scripture.

That’s been a few years ago since that first encounter and I continue to follow your page named, “The Question Evolution Project.” How long have you had The Question Evolution Project Ministry and what is the story behind it?
                                               

I’ll try to give the shorter form of a long story. For about fifteen years, I put God on the shelf. Although I did not renounce the faith or creation science, I learned about Buddhism and lived for my own selfish interests. I had a Weblog (my total posts and articles in several places may approach 2,500, but I deleted quite a few) that still gave the occasional defense for the Bible and refutation of atheism. A few years ago, I recommitted my life to Jesus. Interestingly, hateful atheists had an influence there, getting me thinking about what I really knew and believed.

After I came back to Jesus, he pulled me back into creation science. I began a creation science Weblog, and then bought the domain to go with it: Piltdown Superman. The late heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio had a song, “Sunset Superman”, and I combined it with the name of Piltdown Man, a fraud that fooled most of the scientific establishment for about forty years.

I was inspired by Creation Ministries International’s “Question Evolution!” campaign. The second comment on that page is mine, I suggested that a coordinated “Question Evolution Day” get organized. http://creation.com/question-evolution Turns out that it had to be me! We’re coming up on the fourth annual QED, on February 12, Darwin’s birthday. (I didn’t know at the time it was an evolutionist religious holiday as well, lots of praise to Darwin, and the apostasy project of getting churches to compromise with evolution.) So, I started a Page on Facebook for Question Evolution Day (I send people here for that: (http://www.piltdownsuperman.com/p/question-evolution-day.html ; Wild Bill was late to the party last year, http://drrichswier.com/2014/03/24/atheists-nightmare-day-time-to-question-evolution/ ). The first QED was a bit too little too late, but it got the ball rolling. However, I didn’t want the Page to be for just one thing (a one-trick pony, if you will), so I changed it to “The Question Evolution Project”. Do a search for that phrase in quotes on a major search engine and you’ll see that quite a few results — many with extreme hatred and profanity. But the Page is a resource for creation science materials. For such a hated topic, it has reasonable success.

You seem to have a target on your back. You have many aliases on fb. Why is that?

After about five years of successful FB use with no warnings or disciplinary action that I can recall, I was suddenly shut down. “Prove you’re eligible to use FB”, they said. So I scanned my driver’s license and proved that I was several decades over the minimum age requirement. Later, they said my account was suspended and they could not tell me why “for security reasons”. Other people on the Web had the same experience, so I figured it was just a fluke. I took an auxiliary account and gave it my name, but also created another account in a different name. The one in my name did not last long, also with the same response. Later, I made “Sorrenson Roberts”, that was also killed off the same way (by then I had several spare accounts). I reluctantly agreed with others that this was a personal thing, that someone who dislikes me (I have several Internet stalkers, and my wife even fears for my life) is either in power or has friends in power on Facebook. But I cannot explain why other creationists are not disappearing from FB. Not all of my FB friends know my real name, but I’ve confided in many. I’m very careful in taking friend requests. One was from Lucy Furr Kryst. Sounds legit.

Atheists want us silenced, especially over the issue of origins. They cannot defeat us with logic or science, so they resort to various ways of negating us: demonizing, poisoning the well (I have stalkers badmouthing me all over the Web), ridicule, legislation and even shutting us down whenever possible.

Also, I agree with others that FB wants too much personal information. It is a haven for identity theft, and FB itself uses your information to make money. Some advocate never using your real name, which includes things like First Name-Middle Name, Middle Name-Last Name, or outright fake names.

I have witnessed fellow believers snub you and call you arrogant. I honestly don’t understand it. I sit on my side of the computer yelling, “Woohoo!! Go get’em Cowboy Bob!!” I have even tagged you in debates when I was in over my head and you would storm in and bail me out. What do you hear from believers that snub you?

There are many reasons. Some do not have a proper understanding of Scripture (contend earnestly for the faith, take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and so on), and hold to the wimpy Jesus concept. Also, some of us are firmly committed to having Jesus as Lord over all aspects of our lives, and the written Word is our foundation. Liberal Christians and compromisers elevate “science” above Scripture, and use the ever-changing whims of man-made science philosophies to tell God what he says and means. Science judges God? Not hardly.

Also, even though I refuse the labels of Calvinist or Arminian, I take a Presuppositionalist (or “transcendental”) approach to apologetics. It is Calvinist in its origins, but there are many aspects to it that I use. Some of the strongest points for me are that there is no “neutral ground” (such a thing means leaving the Bible out of discussions, and actually using the presuppositions of atheists and evolutionists), and how the Christian worldview has the answers; our starting point should be God’s Word. Our faith is not based on evidence, which keeps changing, but on the unchanging Word of God. Evidence is good, but needs to be presented in a presuppositional framework. I didn’t realize it, but the Institute for Creation Research, Answers in Genesis, Creation Ministries International all use a kind of presuppositional approach. They present science, then show the biblical worldview.

You are gifted in how you can use your sense of humor to disarm a naïve Atheist and shut down a militant one. You also use it to encourage fellow believers like you have always done with me. Have you always had such a quick wit and did you get in a lot of trouble growing up because of it?

Wish I could find something, must have been thrown away. A kindergarten report card where the teacher said, “Mouth sometimes gets him in trouble”. My parents responded, “We know”. You’ve probably seen my “memes” (captioned pictures), and atheists have actually scoffed, that it’s “disgraceful” for someone “well into his 50s” (I’m not 55 yet, and started those a few years ago) to use things that are for younger people. What, I didn’t know there was an age rule on those things! See, people are desperate to find excuses to ridicule so they can poison the well against others and negate what they have to say. Anyway, yes, I often can come up with a quip to dispel tension, but have been known to overdo it. That’s improved with time, but it’s difficult for me to resist making dreadful puns. These get worse during times of stress and fatigue.

Well I love it when you get silly!!
Now I want to change gears.

How long have you been a Christian?

About a week.

But seriously folks…

I was raised in the Untied Methodist Church (misspelling intentional). When I went to a Fundamentalist-run high school, I was challenged, and it was in those years that I took the Bible seriously and realized that I really do believe, and that there is evidence to support the Bible. There was the aforementioned falling away period. Several reasons for that, including how Christians don’t act like Christians (I took my eyes of Christ), my own selfish desires, and other things. God worked on me, and became more insistent until I came back. Also see http://www.piltdownsuperman.com/2014/02/question-evolution-day-2014-evolution.html , and if you’re really interested, http://www.piltdownsuperman.com/2011/08/being-skeptical-part-1.html (that article has a second part, linked at the bottom).

What is your favorite book besides the Bible and why?

QThe Ultimate Proof of Creation by Dr. Jason Lisle. It had a strong impact on me, and a reasonable balance toward presuppositional apologetics and giving evidence. Refuting Compromise by Dr. Jonathan Sarfati has great content to deal with compromisers, but also has material that would challenge unbelievers as well. It deals with theology as well as science, but it is not light reading by any means! Deadly Disclosures is a creationist novel adventure mystery. I recommend all three in the trilogy, but especially this first one. I gave sets of them out for Christmas presents. You asked for one, I gave three and will make myself clam up now. Oh, and I’m working on Always Ready by Greg Bahnsen, which may very well become another favorite.

Would you share your favorite Bible verse and how it came to become your favorite? 

Here’s where I get to plug my favorite free Bible software, “theWord” http://www.theword.net. Bibles, study material, make your own notes, all kinds of stuff. I’m going to use it now, since I can’t name just one, like I can’t name just one favorite book.

Genesis 1.1, of course. I’m a creationist and I believe God says what he means and means what he says.
“Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.”  (Prov 30:6, NASB) – this tells us not to put our preferences or opinions into the text.
“It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.”  (Exod 31:17, NIV) – helps nail down the fact that God created the world in six literal days, not long ages.
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear.”  (1Pet 3:15, World English Bible) – the apologist’s key verse. Many will jump on the middle part, and forget that we’re no good in using our own wisdom to give fancy arguments to win the lost, we have to go to the first part of the verse first. The last part, there are bad creationist Pages on Facebook (one is run by a cultist!), where they are actually bullies. Not just standing up to unbelievers, but actually abusive. We are to have humility where we realize that God shows his power in our weakness and in his Word, not our own genius.
Psalm 14.1, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’”, and I add Romans 1.18 and following, which shows my presuppositions that the written Word of God is true and says that there are no atheists, they know the truth, but suppress it and are fools in God’s eyes.

How much reading do you do? Does it help you in your debates/discussions?

Boatloads of reading, but still not enough. Some creationist Pages on Facebook are what I call “link mills”, they just throw any old thing out there. I’m more selective, and read most of what I post. This happens through the Kindle. Although I have serious disagreements with the customer service at Amazon, I rely on my Kindle. There are services where I can go to the site, send the article to the Kindle, have it downloaded there and then read it on a screen that isn’t backlit. The usual format is to select a “Featured Article” for the day, write an introduction and find a legal graphic (just because it’s on the Web doesn’t mean we have the right to use it), do an excerpt, then a link for more reading. Also, I write some full articles myself, mostly on the philosophy behind atheism, evolution, science, and also some theology. Those introductions I write often have additional thoughts to support the article, and extra links as well.

I have many books on the shelf and on the Kindle, and try to get through them. But this creation science ministry is often like a part-time job in itself.

I would like to close with this, I know your favorite topic is Creation. I love it too. Do you ever take time to ponder the things of heaven and what it will be like? Share your thoughts please.

In-con-CEIVE-able! I try to imagine some things, but get lost. The Bible tells us some things, but really not that much. Others have given good information on this. But I’ll admit that I want to find some people up there and apologize for things.

I’m sure we all owe some apologies. But I believe we will worship at the feet of Jesus and everyone will be giving Him glory and not worrying about the old things of this earth.

Tell us more about yourself.

Born on a mountain top in Tennessee, greenest state in the land of the free. Raised in the woods so's I knew every tree, killed me a bear when I was only three.

There I go again.

OK, born in Battle Creek, Michigan and lived in that state for my first 40 years. Father was an Untied Methodist Pastor, and we moved a great deal. My theology became much more conservative than his and that church’s, fortunately. There was that falling away period, my first marriage ended. I moved to New York and lived with a woman for several years before we got married, then I recommitted my life to Christ. Hey, you don’t want me to varnish stuff, right? I’ve done some bad things and been a big sinner. Now things are on the right track, and this creation train is rolling fast, mainly online. Now I want to spread the gospel through creation and exhort Christians to give the Word its proper authority. Genesis is our foundation for all major Christian doctrines. I’ve had radio interviews and some online news interviews, video podcasts, made other videos, and done guest blog posting. Also, the pastor may have a place for me in a creation ministry in the church, and that would be thrilling.

Oh, and the “Cowboy Bob” thing came along after I was in New York. Someone called me that and I ran with it because I’m a cowboy at heart. How did I get interviews? I contacted the radio shows myself. Starting Question Evolution Day? Hey, nobody else would. Being straightforward about the gospel and showing logical fallacies in worldviews? It helps being a cowboy. At my father’s funeral, I found out that he was a bit of a cowboy at heart as well. I like John Wayne movies.

I’m hated as well. I have stalkers, and have to stop telling my wife things that are said to me because she fears for my life. To quote the video game character Duke Nukem, “Come get some!”

I am strongly Pro-Life and believe Evolution has been used to justify abortion. In that way I can deal with both topics at the same time on many occasions.

Here is the link to The Question Evolution Project Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/Piltdown.Superman/photos/a.213629268731621.48302.213606162067265/699617083466168/?type=1&source=11

And Bob’s Website.

http://www.piltdownsuperman.com

I hope you enjoyed my friend Bob and that you will like his Facebook page and visit his website often. I am thankful for Men and Women like Bob that stand on God’s word no matter what the world throws at them!

God bless you Bob and Thank you!!
~Cheri Moschler