This article says studies show it is.
According to multiple reports, research has shown that a secular upbringing may be healthier for children. According to a 2010 Duke University study, kids raised this way display less susceptibility to racism and peer pressure, and are “less vengeful, less nationalistic, less militaristic, less authoritarian, and more tolerant, on average, than religious adults.” But the list of benefits doesn’t stop there.
I'm suspicious of the study. While I think that the religious right might be promoting vengeance, nationalism, militarism, and authoritarianism, and while I think that all those character traits are negative, I think that a kinder, gentler, more progressive religious faith provides a good ethical framework for adulthood and beyond.
What do you think?

‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:19‬ ‭KJV‬
[19] Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

I write:
‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:12‬ ‭KJV‬
[12] I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

I have ears to hear and eyes to see and mouth to speak.

‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:4‬ ‭KJV‬
[4] Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.

I am precious in his sight. I am honorable, I am loved.

‭Lamentations‬ ‭3:22‭-‬24‬ ‭KJV‬
[22] It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. [23] They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness. [24] The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; Therefore will I hope in him.

I write: Therefore for me the Hope will be sufficient therof.

‭Revelation‬ ‭21:5‬ ‭KJV‬
[5] And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

I write: my words are true and faithful on earth as it is in heaven.

‭Ask God to reveal himself in new, fresh, and powerful ways.

Did some religious people want a conservative supreme court so much that they were willing to vote for a deeply immoral political leader?

There was a slogan from long ago VOTE YOUR VALUES that meant Christians should let their moral principles lead them in their choice of a candidate for the house, senate, and presidency as well as governor, state legislature, judges and every other elected position.

Voting isn't a biblical phenomenon, so the voting question has to be decided by other teachings from scripture or tradition that link personal choices with religious morality.

The Bible uses this word “if” on purpose, for it means that what follows is a conditional clause. It is saying, “on the condition that…”. So we need to pay close attention to these “if” clauses. For this is not assuming that everyone reading this truly is “in Christ.” It is saying, “if anyone is in Christ” then the following is true. But not everyone who thinks he is “in Christ” is truly “in Christ,” for not everyone who professes Christ meets the conditions.

For the old to truly pass away and for the new to come, we must cooperate with God’s work of grace in our lives in dying with him to sin so that we can be resurrected with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Then we must cooperate with him in no longer allowing sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it ends in death.

For Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might now live for him and no longer for self. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we can now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands and in holy living; so that we now live morally pure, honest, and faithful lives in surrender to his will for our lives.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23]

For to be reconciled to God means that I decisively change, exchange, as when two parties reconcile when changing to the same position; usually used in a redemptive sense of a sinner reconciling to the Lord; to change from enmity with God to friendship, fellowship, and partnership with God. It is about exchanging the old life for the new life in Christ Jesus. For we die with Christ to sin and now we walk in his holiness in obedience to him.

[Ephesians 2:16; Ephesians 5:20-21; 2 Corinthians 5:11-20; Romans 5:10-11; Romans 11:15; Colossians 1:22]

So, when this says that the old has passed away and that the new has come, this is not automatic based on a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And it is not merely a status that we wear. It means that we have literally left our old lives of living in sin and for self behind us so that we can now follow Jesus Christ in walks of obedience to his commands. It means we are no longer walking in sin but in holiness, moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness.

So, if we are still walking in sin, still deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord and against other humans, and if we are not walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant), in practice, then we are not “in Christ.” For the Scriptures teach that if this is our condition that we are not in fellowship with Christ, we don’t even know God, we are not born of God, but we are of the devil, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

But it is true that is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of man. This is of God. Even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ comes from God and is gifted to us by God and is not of our own doing. And this faith is persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness and of our sinfulness and of our need to forsake our sins to follow our Lord in obedience. But we have to cooperate with God’s work of grace in our lives, in his power.

So, when Paul said that he and Timothy, as ambassadors for Christ, implored the Corinthian church to be reconciled to God, he was speaking of their need to forsake their sins, to deny self, to die daily to sin, and to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. For that is the essence of the gospel message. For Jesus became sin for us on that cross in order to put our sin to death with him so that we will no longer live in sin but for righteousness.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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Hello. I am in desperate need. I believe, based on scripture, that I have committed the unpardonable sin (Heb 10:26-29; Numbers 15:24-31; Hebrews 6:4-6; 2 Peter 2:20-22). I am guilty of willful, intentional sin. I am under constant and obsessive thoughts of my condemnation. I don’t know how I can live this way without going crazy. I know I have no one to blame and God is just.

I am taking wagers here.

This OP is NOT about whether Noah's flood was global or not. I'm assuming you think that it was. This post is about wagering on what you believe.

Let proposition P1 = Noah's flood was global.
P2 = Noah's flood was not global but regional.

Between 0 and 10, how much weight do you put on each of the above propositions? The stronger your belief in a proposition, the higher the weight.

Are you willing to wager based on your weighting scheme?

This is not a lotto/gambling bet. This is a bet to scientifically measure the strength of your belief. Put your money where your mouth is. I am interested in finding out the strength of your belief mathematically. See Subjective (Bayesian) Probability.

You can say that the moon is made of cheese. Words are cheap unless you are willing to bet on it.

I don't have anyone to quote, but let's think about it what it means to us.

On the eve of the first anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s death, his biographer, Peter Seewald, raised serious concerns about how Pope Francis is managing the legacy of his predecessor.

“Benedict trusted Francis. But he was bitterly disappointed several times,” Seewald said in an interview published Dec. 27.

Pope Francis may have written “nice letters” to his predecessor and described him as a “great pope,” Seewald told the New Daily Compass. However, in practice, he said, he has “erased much of what was precious and dear to Ratzinger.”

“If you really speak of a ‘great pope’ out of conviction, shouldn’t you do everything you can to cultivate his legacy? Just as Benedict XVI did with regard to John Paul II? As we can see today, Pope Francis has, in fact, done very little to remain in continuity with his predecessors,” Seewald said.

Instead, the South American and Jesuit pope wanted to erase much of “what was dear to Ratzinger,” according to the Benedict biographer.

‘Stabbed in the heart’​

Continued below.

"In a statement issued Sunday, Secaucus, N.J., Mayor Michael Gonnelli said at least four buses carrying migrants dropped them off at the train station in Secaucus over the weekend. The migrants then boarded trains into New York City."


I sure hope Texas does not have to pick up the extra tab for trains but the process needs to continue. Joe Biden is flaunting the law and is going to continue violating his oath of office until enough Democrats squawk about their inconveniences. The faster the border policy changes the more children can be saved from sex trafficking and/or death.

I know some people who listen to mostly Christian music and are the most hostile foul-mouthed people around and I know some Christian who only listen to secular music and demonstrate Christ-like behaviour more than most people who call themselves Christians. With that said does it really matter what type of music a Christian listens to ( IF ITS NOT AFFECTING THERE WALK )

Is there a trend toward "fixing the Bible" (specifically when it comes to God's Ten Commandments, for the topic of this thread) -- where a sort of pick-and-choose even in one of the Ten Commandments that is admitted to be part of God's moral law - is "up for edit" or "up for grabs"? Is that even a thing?

Sunday Keeping Pastor - about Sabbath

Compare how that video starts out - as opposed to how it ends (Note how often it appears that someone will post on this thread without watching what that pastor in the short video said in his sermon)

If you don't like something the commandment says - such as "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD (YHWH)" is it ok to edit it?

What do you think?

Exodus 20:
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Points to Gen 2:2-3 as the "made it holy" event in history

Gen 2:2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Ex 16:23 And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord:

And for 40 years on EXACTLY the 7th day -- no manna fell. The entire nation had the "exact day" of the Gen 2:2-3 event - correct as per the LORD (YHWH).

The very day to be remembered -- is the very detail in that command of God to edit/forget/cast-aside?

Is 56:6-8 gentiles specifically singled out for Sabbath keeping

Is 66:23 -- for all eternity after the cross in the New Earth "from Sabbath to Sabbath shall ALL mankind come before Me to worship"

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

This is a short OP - I am hoping that those who respond to this thread can have the time to read the entire OP.

I saw this list written by Carl Sagan. Sounds good to me:

1. Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the “facts.”
2. Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view.
3. Arguments from authority carry little weight — “authorities” have made mistakes in the past. They will do so again in the future. Perhaps a better way to say it is that in science there are no authorities; at most, there are experts.
4. Spin more than one hypothesis. If there’s something to be explained, think of all the different ways in which it could be explained. Then think of tests by which you might systematically disprove each of the alternatives. What survives, the hypothesis that resists disproof in this Darwinian selection among “multiple working hypotheses,” has a much better chance of being the right answer than if you had simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy.
5. Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it’s yours. It’s only a way station in the pursuit of knowledge. Ask yourself why you like the idea. Compare it fairly with the alternatives. See if you can find reasons for rejecting it. If you don’t, others will.
6. Quantify. If whatever it is you’re explaining has some measure, some numerical quantity attached to it, you’ll be much better able to discriminate among competing hypotheses. What is vague and qualitative is open to many explanations. Of course there are truths to be sought in the many qualitative issues we are obliged to confront, but finding them is more challenging.
7. If there’s a chain of argument, every link in the chain must work (including the premise) — not just most of them.
8. Occam’s Razor. This convenient rule-of-thumb urges us when faced with two hypotheses that explain the data equally well to choose the simpler.
9. Always ask whether the hypothesis can be, at least in principle, falsified. Propositions that are untestable, unfalsifiable are not worth much. Consider the grand idea that our Universe and everything in it is just an elementary particle — an electron, say — in a much bigger Cosmos. But if we can never acquire information from outside our Universe, is not the idea incapable of disproof? You must be able to check assertions out. Inveterate skeptics must be given the chance to follow your reasoning, to duplicate your experiments and see if they get the same result.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley argued in separate campaign stops last week that extending clemency to Trump would be in the country’s best interest. Both had previously signaled they were leaning toward issuing a pardon, but their recent statements were the most definitive yet and left little room for doubt just weeks before the first nominating contests in January.

“I would pardon Trump if he is found guilty,” Haley told a crowd in Plymouth, N.H., on Thursday.

DeSantis, who has blamed Trump’s dominance in the polls in part on the string of criminal indictments, said Friday that he would pardon a convicted Trump because “we got to move on as a country.”

“It’s like Ford did to Nixon,” DeSantis said, referencing Gerald Ford’s 1974 pardon of disgraced former president Richard M. Nixon. “Because you just, you know, the divisions are just not in the country’s interest.”

[In contrast] A pardon for Trump, Christie said on Friday, would signal “two systems of justice: One for all of us and one for the most powerful.”

[Ramaswamy vowed to pardon Trump this summer.]

For auld lang syne, here's a thread from the past, citing scientific evidence, and made by an atheist:

Evidence for creationism

1. The universe exists
2. Current scientific evidence indicates that the universe began at a previous point in time (as opposed to always existing in its current state)
3. The Solar System and Earth also have definite starting points in time.
4. Current scientific evidence points to an large amount of fortituitous conditions to occur to support the formation and support of life long enough for the advancement to intelligence.
5. New species appear abruptly in the fossil record.

I am an atheist, but current knowledge in no way rules out deistic belief systems.

SOURCE

There are three arms of the Word of God known as the Tripod Balance of Truth. They are the Tradition that reflects God the Father; the Bible, God the Son; and the Magisterium (Magisterial Teachings), God the Holy Spirit. "Trinitarian Science", the pure science about God has made this now scientifically justified - an absolute truth. Tradition, Bible, and Magisterial Teaching are what are used to construct the building blocks of nature across the universe. Since the time of Christ, the Tradition and Magisterium have dominated the Christian space and ruled for 1500 years before the first Bible was manufactured for public use in 1546. The Bible had been extremely scarce. The CCB Catechism is relevant. Christ taught Tradition but the Apostles and Disciples wrote the Bible (New Testament).

If so, why then did he sacrifice Jesus, only for me (and probably many others) to have a disgraceful existence, filled with nothing but disgrace, poverty, illness, failure and hopelessness? It doesn't make sense, didn't Jesus say "I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly"? Why would God send his Son to die for me (and many others), so that I could live a mediocre life? And I am not only speaking in terms of material prosperity, but in a sense of spiritual blessings as well. Yes I am a Christian, and yes I do pray everyday and I practice my faith. Yet God has not come through for me. So many things have gone wrong in the last ten years for me that it has been like Hell on earth at times. Yet there is no hope of restoration or vindication for me. And there are so many things in my past that I cannot explain that do not make sense, there might've been times when God would speak to me or give me a sign, yet it was so rare and it still doesn't make sense, I cannot understand the meaning behind it or if it was even him or if I interpreted it incorrectly. Even when I make a sincere effort to turn from my sins and pray and seek God's presence, he does not grace me with his voice or his presence. I suppose I have to conclude that my life is of little value or importance to God and that he hates me for some mysterious reason that is beyond my understanding.

As 2023 comes to a close, FCA is reflecting on how God has blessed the ministry, as well as the coaches and athletes it serves worldwide. This year, FCA marked 69 years of staying true to the mission of leading every coach and athlete into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His church.
“The entire Fellowship of Christian Athletes team is thankful for the opportunities to do sports ministry every day,” said FCA President and CEO Shane Williamson. “Through our staff and leaders around the globe, we engage, equip and empower coaches and athletes to share the Gospel in all corners of the world. As our ministry continues to expand, we give all of the glory to God. For more than 69 years, we’ve rallied our team around the Great Commission and put God’s Word at the forefront of our plans. As we step back and review our past year, we’re humbled at what God has done.”
FCA has experienced tremendous growth and record-setting numbers during the 2023 year. While the ministry is more about touching the lives of coaches and athletes — one heart at a time — these figures show the incredible impact God has made through FCA.
51,730 people made faith decisions for Christ through a variety of FCA events, including Huddles, Camps, Fields of Faith and more.
FCA has exploded across the globe with ministry in 115 countries with 2,793 staff members being engaged, equipped and empowered to reach coaches and athletes.
FCA continued to grow Bible engagement efforts through its YouVersion Bible reading app partnership. The ministry currently has over 75 reading plans with over two million plan completions since launching in 2013.
For the immensely impactful and successful 2023 Camps season, FCA welcomed 110,676 coaches and athletes who attended 1,042 Camps across the country and around the world this summer.
FCA completed its 20th student-led and student-driven Fields of Faith events on October 11, taking place on athletic fields in the U.S. and globally, where 68,846 coaches, student-athletes, parents and community members worshiped together, heard from inspiring speakers, prayed and committed to read their Bible at 317 gatherings.
Globally, FCA reached coaches and athletes through 20,297 Huddles — 18,591 in the U.S. and 1,706 internationally. FCA distributed 230,247 Bibles this year and has distributed nearly three million Bibles around the world in the past 15 years.
69 years ago, FCA was officially chartered on November 10, 1954, in Norman, Oklahoma, after a young basketball coach named Don McClanen had a vision for a sports ministry seven years earlier. FCA has 16 consecutive 4-Star top ratings from Charity Navigator, America’s largest organization rating the fiscal management of charities. This puts FCA in the top 1% of all charities rated. As a faith-funded ministry, FCA gives thanks to the Lord for His provision.


When I started attending Tennessee Temple University in the 1980s, I became aware of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I thank Almighty God and praise Him for the blessings and salvation of souls which He has done through the FCA.

Hello and Shalom to all readers, thank you all for your support in 2023. Hope the LORD will keep me on this earth during this new year as well.

We have said our goodbye to 2023, with all of its adventures, problems, trials, and blessings. We should approach this new year of 2024 with anticipation as well, knowing that there will also be blessings, trials, and problems to face, yet God is in control of all things.

Perhaps we can picture God on a mountaintop and has 2024 in plain sight, and he turns his head back to look at 2023. He knows everything that happened in 2023 and he knows everything that WILL happen in 2024. He has you and me in plain sight as well, walking the path of 2024, day by day, week by week, month by month. He will guide us every step of the way. Like Joseph in Egypt, we will just have to trust HIM and leave the outcome in HIS hands.

Many people spend New Year's Eve with relatives. Some relatives come over on the 24th of December and stay until January 6th. Some just come over on December 25 and then return on January 1st. Families are different. Some are close, others are distant (both geographically and/or socially)

Some will have roast turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn, egg nog, hot apple pie. Some (perhaps in England I hear) will have roast geese or mutton, while the Grinch will be carving the roast Beast in Whoville for little Cindy LouWho and family. Others will just have Raman noodles and chicken nuggets, maybe wash them down with a Coke. Who can forget the Honey baked ham with brown sugar and cloves, unfortunately, it isn't kosher, but it tastes good.

So how about those "New Year's Resolutions?" Those "so-called" promises that you and I know won't be kept? How do you know you will keep them? Maybe you won't be alive on this earth to keep them! Something to think about. We are a heartbeat away from eternity. But...Maybe the LORD will keep us around on this planet for this new year. We can surely petition that request. So, how do we or should we approach 2024? Maybe something like the following?

"Heavenly Father. We come to you and thank you for the past year of 2023, with all of those problems, trials, and blessings. We thank you in advance for the problems, trials, and blessings you will have in store for us in 2024. We ask you to help us with our spiritual maturity, to grow more in our faith, and in trusting you. Help us to know your written Word better and walk with your Living WORD. Help us to be a blessing to those around us, our families and neighbors, help us to love our neighbors as our own selves. Help us to put Deuteronomy 6 into practice. We ask you to keep our souls and spirit within our bodies for one more year. Help us to follow your perfect will in our lives in 2024. In Yeshua/Jesus' name...Amen"

There are no promises in this approach, just requests. I think this is the best way to approach 2024.


Blessings to all of you,

Rabbi and Mrs. Ben Avraham

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The Randle cycle is a new thing for me, but it seems important for our dietary decisions. So I am sharing it here, with other health enthusiasts.

Isaiah 32:1-8 A ruler and his ministers will reign in righteousness and justice, they will be as a refuge from a storm, like shade from a great rock in a thirsty land.
Jeremiah 3:5, Jeremiah 30:21, Hosea 1:11
Then, those who see, will see clearly and the minds of the heedless people will come to understanding and knowledge. Isaiah 29:23-24, Isaiah 32:3-4

No longer will the fool be called noble or villains be considered honourable All those types will be shown for what they are. Their plans are evil and they deny justice to the poor and needy. But, he who is of noble mind, will make good plans and stand firm in them. Ecclesiastes 8:5b, Philippians 4:8

Isaiah 32:9-14 You complacent people; listen to what I have to say: you may be carefree now, but after many years, your vintage will fail. Be terrified, you without a care, you women at ease will go into mourning – for My people’s Land will be forsaken and deserted, an open pasture for the animals. Zechariah 1:14-18, Amos 1 & 2;1-5, Psalms 60:1-5, Joel 1:1-20, Jeremiah 10:18
Isaiah 32:15-17 Until a Spirit from on high is lavished upon us. Isaiah 44:3, Ezekiel 37:14
Then the wilderness will become a garden land, everywhere, fertile fields. Justice and righteousness will fill the Land, peace and quiet trust will prevail for that time.

Isaiah 32:18-20 And My people will live in a tranquil country, dwelling in undisturbed peace and security. It will be cool on the slopes of the forested hills, and the towns will lie peacefully in the plains.* Happy you will be tilling and sowing everywhere beside water, your herds and flocks grazing freely. Isaiah 49:9-13, Hosea 2:14-23, Ezekiel 36:33-36, Amos 9:13-15
Ref: Revised English Bible. Some verses abridged.

Chapter 32 of Isaiah, describes beautifully, how the Lord’s Land is cleared in order for His righteous people. the faithful Christians; to live there, as promised to the Patriarchs, and for them to be a “light to the nations”. They will rebuild the Temple, Zechariah 6:15, and send out 144,000 missionaries to proclaim the coming Kingdom of Jesus. Isaiah 66:19, Revelation 14:1-7

Verses 1-8 These verses describe how the Lord’s people will live in justice and in the knowledge of truth, when they settle into all of the holy Land. Jeremiah 31:27-34

V. 9-14 Is the result of the forthcoming, terrifying, Lord’s Day of vengeance and wrath, the prophesied judgement of fire mentioned over 100 times in the Bible, that will most severely affect all the Middle East leaving it ‘forsaken and deserted’. Jeremiah 9:10

This has not happened as described in the past, but it will be the result of a huge C.M.E. fireball ejected from the sun and the rest of the world will suffer severe infrastructure damage and deaths. Jeremiah 25:15-33, Isaiah 2:19-21 It quickly passes, leaving the world to recover and the Land of Israel is soon regenerated. Ezekiel 36:8, Joel 2:21-24

V. 15-20 When the Lord’s faithful Christian people are called out of whichever nation they belong to now, Revelation 5:9-10, they will emigrate to the new country of Beulah, Isaiah 62:4, that is: to all that Land promised to Abraham. Then the Lord will send His Spirit upon them and they will live in peace and security. Ezekiel 37:14

Note*; The translation differences of verse 19, some Bible versions say the towns are ‘low’ or ‘levelled’, but the R.E.Bible renders it correctly and in the right context.

I had this dream of flying an airliner with passengers as trainee / co-pilot. Ironically, my captain is someone I knew during high school years, a close friend. Although he's not a pilot in real life.

It was a nice dream at first. I always wanted to be a pilot, I just never had the opportunity and the strength to beat my circumstances in real life so the dream somehow gave me the opportunity how it felt like. True enough, it felt great.

So there we are on "final" approach to the landing, just several miles from touchdown at the airport. Plane configured for landing and slowly descending. But somehow, I ended up sitting on the captain's seat on the left and we had this long casual talk with m captain friend on the co-pilot's seat. We got distracted and didn't realize the plane had leveled off and stopped descending. Only just a mile away from the edge of the runway, we both realized the plane is now too high to land safely and now have to go around and attempt another landing.

But my captain friend decided instead to dive the plane to rapidly lose altitude to attempt a landing. But as soon as my friend did it, he froze in his seat. The look of terror in his face. With the plane now diving towards the ground from such a low altitude, it seemed like we are doing to crash and to make it worse, the controls are responding weakly to my input, giving me that feeling of absolute terror since were only couple of seconds from impacting the ground so I shouted at my friend to set all throttles to maximum. hoping the increased speed would make the plane respond stronger to control inputs and it did.

I was able to pull up and narrowly avoided a nose-first high speed impact with the ground but we're still descending and figured I had no choice but to terminate the descent right the edge of the runway but now I'm faced with a new problem. The runway is severely uneven, not flat at all! There are steep hills going up and down the runway! And now I'm the one panicking! But my friend captain who finally snapped out of his frozen state told me, he had landed on that runway many times and there's no need to worry. He just told me to land the plane now and not worry about bouncing off due to the unevenness and thankfully, we landed without further problems.

The feeling of getting out of that ordeal alive and unhurt was that of total excitement. Although it was a dream, the emotions felt so real. We realized at that moment we're shouting our final words, the last few seconds of our life if we end up crashing!

We were met by our angry airline boss telling how we put everyone in grave danger but on top of it, broke the record for making the shortest stop on the runway on that aircraft model and asked us if we're interested in becoming C-130 pilots for the marines in sarcasm and anger since they love landing in short distances like we just did, unplanned and almost crashing. Fortunately, we kept our jobs. The plane wasn't damaged. The G-force limits aren't exceeded and we touched down rather softly.

It did feel like I couldn't breathe in fear when the plane dived and when I tried to pull the stick all the way back, the plane was responding weakly to the controls and at that point, I thought that was it. We're dead but thankfully, the plane picked up enough speed with the throttles at full, I was able to level off the plane just a few feet off the ground. If we're delayed just a few seconds more we would have likely crashed.

It's a feeling of insane terror, dread, hopelessness. We did looked at each other, me and my friend and said "this is it". But it was a mood of celebration and happiness in the end for not dying that day and keeping our jobs.

Hello all, I am 43m and my mom was 74. After my dad passed away 15 years ago I made a 2nd home out of their basement and moved in to help take care of everything (mom, home, property). I had only had my own place for 2 yrs before I came back. Since then, my mom and I have been inseparable. I am engaged now, have been for 7yrs, and my mom and fiance loved each other as well. My mom was cursed with just overall bad health. For last several years battling degenerative disc disease, arthritis, tiredness, IBS, etc. Nothing life threating, but all add up to make someone miserable. I have been doing all the house cleaning, shopping, dr. Appt's, helping my mom with everything, and I didn't mind it at all because my mom was the most precious woman with the biggest heart ever. Last Friday she complained about her side hurting really bad when I went up to see her at 9:30am. This is the same side she fell and hit a few months back and bruised a rib. I took her to the ER at that time and after a horrible night they sent her home with no help, but even in more pain from laying on a horrible mattress. I asked her if she wanted to go to ER and she begged me not to take her just let her rest. I checked on her at 11am and 1pm and both times she was laying in bed trying to get comfortable, but in a lot of pain. I told her I would be back at 3 and if she was still hurting we HAD to go to hospital. I was so tired I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up at 3:30. Figuring I would go upstairs and be heading to ER. When I came up my precious momma was laying back on the bed with her legs off the side like she had been sitting up. She had blood all over her nightgown, leg, and mouth like she was coughing up blood, and had passed. This has destroyed me! All I keep thinking is if I had forced her to go to the ER, or if I had not dozed off, I could have helped her and she would still be here. Even though she was miserable, battling depression, in pain all the time, and ready to go “home", I feel I completely failed her and just let her die. Whatever this was, it was major and theres no gurantee they could have saved her, but i feel like i didnt try even against her wishes. I have no idea how to shake this feeling and guilt. My mom was my world. I don't even know how to have my own life anymore. Not hearing her footsteps upstairs, talking to her before work, calling to check on her at work, seeing her when I get home, talking to her later thay evening. I don't even know how to have a life or routine absent my mom.

While companies such as Bud Light and Target have drifted left, leading to boycotts and backlash, conservative entrepreneurs spent much of 2023 creating a parallel economy to give consumers more products that align with their values.
Conservative leaders described to Just the News how they got involved in businesses by creating multiple alternatives in banking, books, shopping, job boards and music.
Last year, country music star John Rich announced the creation of a new bank for Americans who support freedom of speech and have concerns about their existing bankers punishing them – and their accounts – for publicly backing issues that their banks don't support.


There are at least a few more paragraphs in this article. Please read the rest of the article. I look forward to reading y'alls thoughts and comments about this topic.

Former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins has admitted that tunnel vision handicapped the development of public policy to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collins, who stepped down at the end of 2021, was the superior of former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, who along with Collins proposed and supported lockdowns as the major policy element to deal with the pandemic.

During the recently unearthed interview, interviewer Wilk Wilkinson bemoaned the fact that too few open discussions took place about the pandemic and the lockdown policy.

Collins said putting public health bureaucrats in charge meant that a one-dimensional policy would ensue.

“As a guy living inside the Beltway, feeling a sense of crisis, trying to decide what to do in some situation room in the White House with people who had data that was incomplete,” Collins said.