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  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

Another look at the moon landing.


I’m not a fan of the name but that has nothing to do with the science of travel to and from the Moon. Suggesting as much is literally the nominalist fallacy.

Regarding Apollo, a number of early Christian martyrs had that name, and that of Dionysius, for instance, St. DIonysius the Aeropagite Indeed due to the large number of Christian martyrs named Dionysius I think Dionysius would be an ideal name for the Lunar mission, as a way of stealthily getting in a Christian reference without the ACLU being able to do anything about it.
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Charlie Kirk Didn’t Shy Away From Who He Was. We Shouldn’t, Either

Thats funny. Literally no one believed that.

On the other side we have loads congress people and other high officials who cant even say Biden won the presidency legitimately. The contrast is night and day here.
If no one believed it then the Democrats and the media were blatantly lying to us. I guess you find that funny for some reason
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Charlie Kirk Didn’t Shy Away From Who He Was. We Shouldn’t, Either

She smartly migrated to where theres a much more robust market for her kind of garbage.

That might sound like a cheap shot. But it’s not. I really believe there only one big tent where nonsense like "stolen election" and similar quality thrives at this point in history.
Well she’s moving back towards your tent now
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For those who are gamers, how do you handle Christian Ethics vs gaming?

Great post, thank you for this! I wanted to answer your two questions as your last is very thought provoking. So the first, I personally don't have any desire to create games. I'm sure for those that do, it will be very rewarding! I have some creative hobbies on the side that I do (like writing) but game creation personally, just doesn't intrigue me.

For your thought provoking question, I think it depends. If it was an advertisement, I can let go of their use of the word "magic" because I think the term is broad. To the modern world, if God was going to create a miracle, they would call that "magic" too. So I would say I don't necessarily think the term always equals something negative or wrong, but it depends on the context behind it. But I will say though that if someone disagreed with me and felt uncomfortable around the word, like you, if they came to my house, I would remove it for their sake.
There is a program I used... imagemagick, which I had no problem using, until I found out it may be a security risk.
On the other hand, I have a problem with movies and games containing magic, and I find that most, if not all RPG games tend to have some form of magic.
I even have a problem watching Walt Disney film. There always seem to contain some element of magic.
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What is the true congregation?

One does not need to farm anything out to a pastor in order to go to a church. Just seek salvation from Jesus not the pastor.

Indeed, the presbyter or bishop of a church does not confer salvation, they merely serve in a ministry described clearly in Acts, 1 Timothy and elsewhere in the New Testament, feeding the flock of Christ at HIs command.
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What is the true congregation?

I disagree since it's argued in scripture in verses like Ephesians 2:8-9. If the concept wasn't until the 16th century, then you wouldn't have verses that speak against it.

If the concept was important to salvation, it would have appeared in the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed or the Athanasian Creed and in the writings of the early church fathers.

In contrast to Pelagianism, which is the belief that we can save ourselves, which is a dangerous heresy, although whether or not being a Pelagian is damnatory is a different matter; I would advise against Pelagianism but at the same time pray for mercy and trust in the infinite mercy of Christ our God, who seeks not the death of a sinner.

The problem with you’re argument is that it appears you’re essentially arguing that Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrians, Old Catholics and also some otherwise Protestants, for example, some High Church Anglicans, are damned, which is uncharitable, was not taught by Martin Luther, who originated the Sola Fide argument in an attempt to compensate for certain problems with Scholasticism and corruption in the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century (problems which the Catholics themselves addressed in the aftermath of the Reformation to a large extent, for example, by banning the sale of indulgences at the Council of Trent); Luther was, like the Moravians, influenced by the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches (indeed, he was encouraged to separate from the Roman church by the existence of the Ethiopian and Armenian churches, which had never been under the control of the Pope in Rome or part of the Roman Empire), but unlike St. Jan Hus and St. Jerome or Prague, not entirely aware of our doctrine. That said Lutheranism is more like Orthodoxy than unlike Orthodoxy, which is why I get along so well with confessional Lutheran members.

Indeed Martin Luther prayed a version of the Hail Mary that was basically the Apolytikion of the Theotokos, also known as the Angelic Salutation, which is regularly used in our liturgy and in the Prayer Rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov (unlike Luther, we also have prayers that ask the Theotokos for her intercession, but not in that particular prayer).
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Dear Pete Hegseth, I’m Grateful the Japanese Navy Spared My Grandfather’s Life

In WWII my grandfather served in the Royal Navy when his ship was sunk in the English channel. There he bobbed around for a day more or less. I dont know if the Germans were in a position to come back around to kill the shipwrecked. But at least for my sake its a good thing they didnt.

I look at this current incident and get the sense theres a line thats been crossed, and we're now on the side of barbarism if we go on this way. And I get that heat-of-battle and fog-of-war can confound morality such that we should generally be slow to judge. But neither of those really seem to apply here.
  • Agree
Reactions: Desk trauma
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State leaders speak out about plans to expand the Islamic Academy of Alabama

This isn't about Islam in general. Its about Islamists who are actively working to create Islamic governance and establish Islamic law.
Like the Christian Nationalists in America?
  • Like
Reactions: iluvatar5150
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Release International prayers for Iran and the Philippines.

06 December 2025 – Iran​

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Pray for God’s blessing on two Christian converts who fled Iran after each being sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges related to the possession of multiple copies of the Bible. Mehdi Rahimi, aged 49, and Kia Nourinia, 55, were sentenced in April after raids by intelligence officers on their homes in Tabriz.

05 December 2025 – Iran​

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Children in Iran are indoctrinated by state propaganda and hatred in school from a young age. Pray for those growing up in Christian homes who hear such contrasting views from their parents and teachers, and for whom saying the wrong word in class could lead to their parents’ arrest.

04 December 2025 – Iran​

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Our partner asks for prayer for its team in Turkey and for those Iranian Christians there who face threats of deportation, regular harassment from local authorities and discrimination in their schools and workplaces. May God soften the hearts of those who are mistreating them.

03 December 2025 – Iran​

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Pray for the training events run by our partners in neighbouring countries to equip and encourage the leaders of Iran’s house church movement. Without the infrastructure of established churches, these networks and their leaders need regular training and opportunities to meet safely.

02 December 2025 – Iran​

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Give thanks for the impact of multiple media ministries that transmit the gospel into people’s homes, bypassing government attempts to repress Christianity. Pray for those working to translate the Jesus film, The Chosen and other evangelistic material into Iran’s many indigenous languages.

01 December 2025 – Iran​

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Pray for Christian Mehran Shamloui, aged 37, who was arrested on his arrival in Iran after being deported from Turkey in July. Mehran had been sentenced to a total of ten years in prison following his arrest in Tehran in November 2024. In connected raids on homes, two other Christians, Abbas Soori (48) and expectant […]

30 November 2025 – Philippines​

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Praise God for the church denominations that are supporting workers in dangerous locations and are prepared to adopt new methods of evangelism and church planting that are sensitive to the local culture.


For email prayer alerts: info@releaseinternational.org

The Devil and His Role in Music and Beyond

I prayed today. I asked God for clarity. He rather quickly opened my eyes to the bitter reality of a fallen world corrupted to the bone by the Devil.

I have come to the conclusion that entertainment is Satan's counterfeit of Christian joy, and that the industry of such is Satan's tool to bring destruction upon unbelievers and sterility to the witness of believers. Woe to the lukewarm who rely upon their assurance of salvation and make for themselves false gods which neutralize their witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Woe to those who make darkness and worldliness an important factor in their lives, for the fruit of their ministry is rotting from the inside out. Woe to the unequally yoked who cheat on God with the world, especially those who dare to conflate their affair with the world with the Gospel witness. Those who believe yet are unfaithful to the covenant between them and God are putting their souls in great peril. Woe are those who proclaim the Gospel and yet promote worldly entertainment with a glaze of "Christianity," for their ministry is a ministry of leading the sheep astray and confusing the goats, not bringing clarity to what is true.
:thumbsup: Yes, I agree. The music industry is very much owned by the Devil.

Music as entertainment is one of Satan's greatest spells of destruction upon this world. Music moves the soul. Satan vies for our souls. Music is an act of worship. If we aren't using music as an act of worship to God, we are worshipping something that is not God, and all that worship ends up being funneled to the Devil himself. For where God is not, the Devil is there, masquerading as whatever we want him to masquerade as. The Devil's greatest trick is to convince unbelievers that he doesn't exist, and to convince believers that he's not the focus of idolatry. We are at war against spiritual forces. Whatever moves the soul the greatest is the greatest spiritual battlefield. Music is one of the greatest avenues for both God and the Devil to work within us. The road to Heaven is narrow and the Devil longs to drag us off the tightrope of holiness.
Satan uses music, yes, but God uses music as well.
It would not be correct to say music is an act of worship. Music is powerful yes, but playing or listening to music is not worship in any form.

Music is an art... like dance, or any other artistic skill.
Did you know this is music?
cartoon-bird-sing-on-the-branch.jpg

Beautiful, isn't it. Did you hear it?
Oops. Sorry about that. I didn't get a recording. :smile:
Music is all around us, in a beat of our thighs... the clap of our hands...

Instruments add to, and enhance all of the music that's made.
Did you know humpback whales sing?
True, some music honor Satan, but not all music is designed to do so.

We can think of it this way:
Satan uses everything that is good, and tries to tarnish it.
Sec, for example, is good... between two people that are married.... that is, a male and a female, but what has Satan done?
Satan has twisted it, so that sex is good for whomever will.
He has twisted music too. Yet, sex within marriage between a man and woman, os still good, and proper music is still good.

The Devil wants us to believe that music is a neutral medium. It is not, and is in fact one of the Devil's most powerful strongholds. We must be exceptionally diligent and perceptive of the Devil's wiles so that we may avoid his sleazy tricks. That is why it is imperative that we listen to music that is glorifying to God. Woe is the road that mixes the holy and the profane. Woe be the industry of Satan in the name of Jesus Christ our LORD. Great is the music that glorifies the LORD in truth and righteousness. Great is he who takes music out of the Devil's clutches in Jesus' holy Name. Great is the LORD who purifies music and makes it a vehicle for worship and glory. Great is the LORD who delivers those from the world and into His holy Presence. Great is the LORD whose believers make noise for Jesus Christ.
Songs of humpback whales - The most beautiful sound on earth!
Birds Songs and Sounds
Yes, music is natural.
However, I do agree with you that we should shun this world's music.

Now regarding music with a dark, angsty, aggressive vibe, I randomly bumped into a comment section on YouTube and it had quite the impact on me.

Poster: Question. Why does heavy, head banging music calm me down when I’m upset?? I am saved also.

Commenters:
  1. A: Because you enjoy it and there's nothing wrong with that told this by my pastor when I was younger in my teens We'll taking my class to take Communion at church {DISAGREE}
  2. B: Could it be calming down a demon that is influencing you? I believe that one can be saved and still be influenced by demons. Refusing to participate in negative, destructive thinking and behaving is not easy but it is effective. Bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor. 10:5 Best wishes :) {AGREE}
  3. C: @B that’s exactly whats going on {AGREE}
  4. C: Because you feed your demons then they comedown and give you different emotions. You feel relief till next time. Pray to God when you’re sad or happy. He is you Father He will help you. {AGREE}
  5. D: @B there’s wisdom in this. Yes this has been my experience. {AGREE}
  6. D: @C agreed from experience {AGREE}
  7. E: Yes I totally agree!! I was recently delivered from ANGER, RAGE AND VIOLENCE. And haven’t had ANY RECENT episodes or desires for listening to hard rock music to calm me down. PRAISE GOD! {AGREE}
  8. Simply because it is what you enjoy. Nothing to do with what this guy is saying, the only thing in music that can negatively influence you is what you allow. I myself often listen to different types of German, Russian and Celtic music, as well as Gregorian music and so called "dark chant" and "dark choir" music, the latter of which is often very peaceful and calming, relaxes the mind and helps me to think more clearly. {MIXED}
I never really thought about music from that perspective before, but I feel like that makes a lot of sense. Sin invites demons to take residence beside us and oppress us at every possible opportunity. They know they can't get us, so they'll torment us and turn us away from God. It makes sense that demons would be gladdened by dark things in our lives, hence why partaking in dark things might "calm us" for the time being. But Satan and his minions are ravenous and are never truly satisfied. They seek out our bondage to sin and latch themselves there. We must rebuke the Devil and his legions in the name of Jesus Christ.
As I'm growing in my newfound faith in the Savior, my taste in music and entertainment as a whole has been completely flipped on its head. I used to listen to a lot of extremely dark metal, most often black metal, doom metal, and sometimes extremely harsh grindcore and death metal, but now being on the road to righteousness, I have no room for music that will hamper the peace of the Holy Spirit. I've lately been drawn to ambient, some glitch, some IDM, drone, minimalism, etc. All of it is instrumental so voices won't distract me from reading the Bible and other holy activities like prayer and meditating on the Scripture.
That's good. Keep working at it.

I might eventually return to some form of Christian rock/metal once I become more mature in my faith, but that's purely up to the LORD.
There is no such thing as Christian rock/metal .
Well actually there is rock/metal music with a label Christian on it, just as there are billions of heathens walking around with a label Christian on them.

I encourage discussion on the matter and this is not dogmatic, just personal observation.
Thank you for sharing.
It's interesting.
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Is Amazon Renewed a good place to find an iPad?

I have had good experiences with refurbished electronics over the years. I can't think of a bad experience. Refurbished items do have a manufacturer's warranty, so there is no real risk involved if it comes with a decent warranty period. Most of the items I've purchased as refurbished I even forget that they were refurbished, and find out years later when I find an old receipt. Every one of the refurbished products I have owned have outlived their warranty and had a long life, or are still going to this day. I wouldn't be afraid to buy refurbished.

Obsolescence is a concern when buying old hardware. I myself have three tablets (one Apple and two Samsung), and none of them are being updated anymore.

My Samsung Tab A tablet is still great for e-book reading and playing music through Bluetooth in my vehicle. I don't use it for much else.

My Samsung View barely plays YouTube videos these days (sluggish frame rate, laggy interface). The YouTube app is no longer being updated/doesn't open anymore, so I have to use a browser. Browser cache gets too large and chokes performance. I have to clear cache on a regular basis.

I have a second generation iPad that runs great, and still has all of the apps I purchased, but isn't good for much these days. It can still be used as a versatile musical instrument if I plug it into my PC and use my music apps in conjunction with my DAW software (Digital Audio Workstation). Otherwise, it collects dust on a shelf.

It depends on what you want to do with your iPad. If it is just going to be an e-book reader, I would suggest a much cheaper Samsung or even an Amazon tablet made for that purpose. If you're going to use it for various things, then it depends on what those things are, and whether updates are going to benefit you. If you know you're going to need support and compatibility updates, then I would buy new. If not, then refurbished. Might as well save some money. Apple is expensive.
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Charlie Kirk Didn’t Shy Away From Who He Was. We Shouldn’t, Either

And Biden is sharp as a tack
Thats funny. Literally no one believed that.

On the other side we have loads congress people and other high officials who cant even say Biden won the presidency legitimately. The contrast is night and day here.
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Charlie Kirk Didn’t Shy Away From Who He Was. We Shouldn’t, Either

Russian collusion,
Yeah, Mueller nailed about a dozen people in that mess, including Trump's own National Security Director. Trump pardoned most of them, for the obvious reasons. Biggest scandal in terms of administration criminals since Iran-Contra.

Hunter’s laptop is Russian disinformation
What was on that laptop, anyway? Every time I asked, (crickets). What do you have? Let's talk about it.

Biden is sharp as a tac
Outsmarted Trump. Which isn't exactly the greatest feat, but still...
I'd still like to hear about the laptop. Checkable facts, if you have 'em.
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Dear Pete Hegseth, I’m Grateful the Japanese Navy Spared My Grandfather’s Life

My grandfather Frank Gustaferro got the word at his uncle Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey. His orders said that he was to report to the SS John Barry departing in a few days. The ship, secretly carrying millions of silver coins to support wartime operations in Saudi Arabia, was torpedoed by the German submarine U-859 on August 28, 1944. Two crewmen died in the blast. The rest, including my grandfather, ended up in the water — temporarily blinded from oil, injured, terrified, clinging to whatever wreckage they could find. They heard Japanese aircraft overhead as they floated in the Indian Ocean. My grandfather braced for the strafing run he assumed was coming. It never came. Even in the brutal logic of total war, there were limits. A line existed — a line older than the Geneva Conventions, older than the United Nations, older even than the modern idea of “war crimes” itself. You did not kill shipwrecked men in the water. You did not kill survivors who were out of the fight. You did not shoot the wounded clinging to debris. My grandfather survived because even America’s enemies in 1944 understood that basic rule of humanity.....
...The Imperial Japanese military, for all its many and well-documented atrocities, still had pilots and sailors who chose not to fire on American sailors who posed no threat. There are cases of American Navy sailors being spared by Japanese pilots and ship crews, as documented in James D. Hornfischer’s The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors.
The international conflict law prohibiting such attacks, known as hors de combat, doesn’t care whether the people in the water were alleged drug smugglers, enemy fighters, or simply unlucky. America is built on the premise that “all men are created equal” — even those we fight. Humanity is the line that prevents war from collapsing into a massacre.....ROLLING STONE

We as the United States of America can do better. We need to do better.

RFK Adjusts Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendations; Democrats Lose Their Minds

Democrats are concerned that RFK has no idea what he's doing. He have no medical knowledge to be making huge dangerous decisions on babies and people heath. He needs to be fired as soon as possible. The same with Trump. Sadly, that won't happen.
Fired for what? He and the committee literally changed the recommendations and schedule to directly match the entirety of the civilized and developed world. The new recommendations are identical to almost every European country (some of them go even later to 5 months before it being given), and the countries of New zealand, Japan, etc.

So what, precisely, is the 'dangerous decision' you want to claim he is making?
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Denaturalization

If you are a citizen, you were either born in the US (thus not an immigrant) or came to the US and gained citizenship, at which point your status is no longer "legal immigrant", a term normally used for those who immigrated legally but are not citizens.
This. Denaturalizing them. Hope that clears things up.
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Charlie Kirk Didn’t Shy Away From Who He Was. We Shouldn’t, Either

Successful collusion died for lack of proof.

People are right to suspect more tho given the background of Mr Manafort and others.

Russian origin meddling in the soc media space etc was proven.

Hardly anyone cares about the laptop. Really.
Like Biden is sharp as a tack, and you don’t care about the laptop but the lie that it was Russian disinformation helped Biden win the election
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Does Open Carry Cause Problems?

No one is saying it is one cause. What I am saying as gun restrictions become less a thing, then expect more gun violence.
I’m not saying that it is not possible but I’m having a problem with by which extent if any. Statistics can be manipulated to support a political agenda.
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Now does everyone understand why the "right to refuse illegal orders" video was made?

Which honey bunny - is not what the JAG officer said, nor the Navel Commander, nor the Secretary of War nor Admiral Bailey - head of the joint Special Operations Command.

Thanks for the link providing the information from the head of Joint Special Operations Command - the person who would know the most of what is and is not legal.

Rumer has it - he knows even more than posters on an internet forum!
Let me understand this. The JAG officer said the very example of what is illegal as used in the military code training, is not illegal.
There is a reason why the Trump admin purged JAG officers who they thought would be an obstruction. You know, as in those clearing their throats to speak up when things are illegal.
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