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This is how it is for me.

No, I did not say that at all. Read my post along with the scriptures I provided. I’m trying to help you see what you have said is not based on scripture, you have made up of the phrase “we believe unto eternal life,” which is not scriptural.

I ask again, if it is scriptural, then where is it in the Bible?
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Again here is your writing

without the Spirit of Christ, we cannot receive eternal life.
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Why Zohran Mamdani won and New York will pay a terrible price

All I was commenting on was your mischaraterization of his plan around policing.
And you didn't listen to the critics, which is fine. However, the commission of
civilians he says he'll recreate, will take roles that the police no do. Will the
members of this commission have guns and authority to make arrests when
necessary? Those are the questions being asked that are not answered by
Mamdani.
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The Saving results of the Death of Christ !

This sentence presupposes exactly what you need to prove. A "refusal to act on it" is only meaningful after a genuine capacity exists. You cannot refuse to act on a capacity you do not possess. So by framing it this way, you are presupposing the very thing at issue: that the enablement has succeeded.
Ok, and that's actually the point I've been trying to make. By "resist and thwart the enablement" I meant only that, even though enabled, I can nonetheless refuse to act on it. I could've worded it better. In any case, at this point this would still be consistent with Catholic thought- allowing room for grace and God's intent to be resisited.
  1. Semantics. ἑλκύω describes the decisive transition from inability to ability. It does not speak to whether someone later exercises that ability, and therefore the question of resistance is not relevant here. The claim "someone can be drawn but refuse to come" is not a semantic point; it is a category mistake. ἑλκύω addresses only whether the Father has successfully generated the necessary capacity to act, which is something that must be in place before the very question of resistance even becomes meaningful.
  2. Grammar of the whole verse. The final clause ("and I will raise him up on the last day") identifies the one raised as the same one who has been given the ability. That is the only place where the text links ability with actual coming. That syntactical linkage -- not the semantics of ἑλκύω -- is what yields the argument for irresistible grace. If the resurrection clause were absent, no argument for irresistible grace could be constructed from verse 44 alone.
1. Ok, again, having been given the ability-to come to Christ- only by grace, is completely consistent with Catholic and historic Christian teaching.
2. 6:44 says nothing about whether or not the enabled one necessarily comes to Christ, only that those who are enabled and come will be raised up. 'No one can come to me unless they are drawn...' simply does not insist that all who are drawn will come. The verse only maintains that those who come will be raised up.

But the bottom line is that this single isolated verse of Scripture which is being fixated on here simply addresses a basic principle of the faith, that the only way to God is through Christ. As we turn to Him in faith we’ve now come to Him. The whole counsel of Scripture informs us that we must first open that door when He knocks, respond when He calls, that we must then remain in Him and He in us; we must cooperate, we must pick up our cross daily, we must persevere, we must produce good fruit, we must love. And not that we necessarily will do so, but that we must, and can, by embracing and not resisting His grace, the action of His life within us.

We must end up being good soil; we cannot know or predict our own election with perfect certainty, IOW, which is why Scripture also exhorts us to make that calling and election sure.
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What happens if someone dies before they became a believer, is it their fault?

nope

nope
If Adam and Eve sinned without a "sinful nature", why would a sinful nature be a provided and/or requirement for all other humans to sin?
Yes, all mature adults do sin, but having a ton of ways to sin (knowledge from the tree of knowledge) compared to Adam and Eve's one way to sin, would result in all mature adults sinning.
What is this "nature" that is so different from the nature Adam and Eve had prior to sinning?
Was Jesus tempted in all the ways we are temped?
I am saying that having a sinful nature (which the baby has) is having a nature that has a bent toward rebellion, evil. Even if we die too early to have ever sinned, we need that sinful nature removed.
How is this "sinful nature" different from the "Nature" Adam and Eve had before sinning since they went on to sin?
How do you remove selfishness, without removing free will?
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FBI intercepted communications of Newsom admin. officials in criminal investigation of former employee; Governor's office notes it as 'expected'

FBI intercepted communications of Newsom administration officials, California political players

Current and former members of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration were among the dozens of Sacramento insiders who received FBI letters in recent days notifying them that their phone calls, texts or other electronic communications had been intercepted as part of the federal corruption case tied to Dana Williamson and two additional longtime Democratic operatives.

Williamson, known as one of California’s toughest political insiders who previously worked as chief of staff to Newsom, was arrested last week on federal charges that allege she siphoned $225,000 out of 2026 gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra’s dormant state campaign account. She also was accused of spending $1 million on luxury handbags and highflying travel and illegally declaring them as business expenses on her tax returns.

The notifications are routine in wiretap investigations once surveillance ends, but the letters set off a wave of panic across California’s political power structure. The letters are signed by Sacramento Field Office Special Agent in Charge Siddhartha Patel and began arriving in mailboxes from Sacramento to Washington, D.C., last week, according to copies of the communications shared with The Times.

The legal notifications, under the terms of the 1968 Federal Wiretap Act, are sent out routinely to people whose private communications have been captured on federal wiretaps.

A Newsom spokesperson said the governor's office is aware that a limited number of the letters were sent to current and former members of the administration. The spokesperson said that the letters were expected given federal law requires parties to be notified. Newsom's office said the governor did not receive a letter.

He’s a citizen with a Real ID. ICE detained him anyway. Twice.

The joke was your claim that immigration was a problem. We know that's impossible with Trump's wall.
Illegal immigration’s is not a problem? You know that what you are actually proposing is in fact a joke. The door that I was referring to was the Biden administration liberal catch and release program as well as the incursions through parts of the border without a wall yet. Here are the AI estimates.

AI Overview

“Since President Biden took office in January 2021, there have been more than
10.8 million border encounters nationwide through the end of fiscal year 2024. It is estimated that a net total of 4.5 to 6 million unauthorized immigrants have entered and remained in the U.S. during this time, with some estimates placing the total unauthorized population at a record 14 million in 2023.“
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This is how it is for me.

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Explain what you do not know what you wrote, i posted it in italics.

You stated a person can not believe in Jesus they must have the Spirit of Christ to believe. So if that is what you believe i am not going to waste more time on you and your beliefs.
No, I did not say that at all. Read my post along with the scriptures I provided. I’m trying to help you see what you have said is not based on scripture, you have made up of the phrase “we believe unto eternal life,” which is not scriptural.

I ask again, if it is scriptural, then where is it in the Bible?
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The Trump DOJ goes "woke" and will target free speech.

FBI fires longtime employee and agent trainee who displayed Pride flag, sources say

In a previous non-agent role with the FBI, the employee, who received multiple awards for service during his career, had also been a field office diversity program coordinator and displayed a Pride flag at his workstation, sources said.

FBI veteran alleges he was fired for displaying Pride flag

A 16-year FBI employee has filed a lawsuit alleging he was fired last month because he had a Pride flag draped near his desk.

David Maltinsky, who was weeks away from being elevated to the position of agent, claims the firing was unlawful and sent a ripple of fear through the LGBT employees at the FBI.

The suit makes several allegations, including an argument that the FBI has violated Maltinsky's First Amendment rights and retaliated against him for protected expression.

Maltinsky said the federal government approved the display of Pride flags at federal office complexes in June 2021. His lawsuit alleges that a colleague filed a complaint with a supervisor about Maltinsky's flag on Jan. 20, 2025, the day of President Trump's second Inaugural.

The lawsuit states that Maltinsky was fired in a letter signed by FBI Director Kash Patel in October. A copy of the letter was provided by Maltinsky to CBS News. In it, Patel writes: "I have determined that you exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in your work area during your previous assignment at the Los Angeles Field Office. Pursuant to Article II of the United States Constitution and the laws of the United States, your employment with the Federal Bureau of Investigation is hereby terminated."

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"The only actions we take, generally speaking, for personnel at the FBI, are ones based on merit and qualification and your ability to uphold your constitutional duty," Patel said [to senators in a Congressional hearing].
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What is the true congregation?

Delvianna, I agree. Many churches teach another Jesus and another gospel. The are about 45,000 different churches worldwide and are separated from each other over doctrine. I read in scripture that there is only one body or church, not 45,000. If you would try to find the “true church“ from among these 45,000 and would thoroughly study each one for only one day it would take you 125 years to cover them all. You would be dead and never find the true church unless you were able to cover them all. I read in scripture that of our own selves we cannot choose GOD or Jesus, they must choose us. We can’t by our own choice join GODS church, GOD must put us in. Are not Christians called and chosen ? Aren’t Christians called the elect of GOD ? They way Christians are called and chosen is somewhat similar to Paul's experience on the road to Damascus. This is how I was converted, it came as a big surprise and something I didn’t plan because I was involved in one of these 45,000 churches at the time. The call was to come out of them and be you separate, touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you. I obeyed this call and then I was chosen. This was all GOD and Christs doing not mine.
In your point about doctrine, it is very important to have true doctrine. This difference in doctrine is what has caused the division in the world’s churches. Opposition to true doctrine began even while the Apostles were still alive. Over the centuries since then the deception has increased. Scripture contains so many warnings about this very thing. So then, the question becomes, who should we trust, man or GOD.
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the myth of flat earth debunked again

I’m just curious, have you ever traveled all the way across Australia going east or west? If so what means of travel did you use and how long did it take?
I'm not interested in the flat earth debate, but I have driven from Brisbane to Perth and return three times (a long time ago).

It took about six days each way allowing for sufficient breaks between driving.

From Brisbane to Perth the road distance is about 4310 kilometres, so each day required about 718 kilometres (446 miles).

I've flown once with the distance being 3614 air kilometres or 2245 air miles. Flight time is about 5.25 hours. There's a two hour time difference so going from Brisbane to Perth we gained two hours, and lost two hours on the return trip.
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Hell doesn't exist and there is no eternal suffering, instead bad peolle just cease to exist

I responded to your false statement “God is hate” with a definition that God is love and He tells us that is also His commandment to us. I made no claim that any of us can actually keep the commandments or achieve any kind of “sinless perfection”.

Now you go off into to some accusations of “works based salvation” of which I said no such thing. I was concentrating on the fact that God is NOT “hate.”

But eternal torment proponents, once challenged with a different view from other believers on this matter, must resort to such strawman tactics to save face.

For example,
You: No, God is NOT hate as you say, as there is no Scripture that states that. Rather, here's where it states just the opposite, that God IS love.

Dan1988: *gasp* Legalist! You think works will save you and not Christ Himself!
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Gallup: Drop in U.S. Religiosity Among Largest in World

It's not just apostates, it's anyone they classify as kafiri...which is pagans, polytheists, atheists, and idolaters. Which is the marching orders from the end of Muhammad's life, which is why abrogation is an important concept to understand to understand Islamic jurisprudence.
Anyone who has made a serious effort to study Islam knows that abrogation is a very complex and controversial subject. Very few verses found in the Qur'an have been agreed on as being abrogated among scholars, and of those that have, none override the verses that teach tolerance, coexistence, and peace. A far more important concept in understanding Islamic jurisprudence is puting things in historical and cultural context when reading any Islamic texts.

Islamic jurisprudence is heavily regulated until modernists have sought to re-write Islamic history. They say "the doors of ishtijad are closed" and defer to classic interpreters, who unanimously agreed that ayat like 9:29 were unlimited calls to war until the end of time "when there is no more fitnah."
The Muslims that were being spoken to in the Qur'an and the classic scholars lived in a different culture, at a different point in time, and were facing unique situations. You can't read the Qur'an, hadiths, or the tasfirs from a modern perspective, you have to read them through a historical lens, if not, you will continue to misinterpret what they are saying.

The violent verses found in the Qur'an don't abrogate the verses of peace because of the context they were written in. There are certain situations where the verses of peace apply, and others where the verses of violence apply, therefore, each verse has a specific context and application. In other words, each verse in the Qur'an is to be applied to its appropriate situation. For example, when Qur'an 9:5 says "When the Sacred Months have passed, kill the polytheists wherever you find them. And capture them, and besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every ambush," it is dealing with a specific event at a point in history when Meccan pagans were breaking their peace treaties and declaring war on the Muslims, so that verse would not negate the peaceful verses in the Qur'an since it is very specific to it's intent and the point in history it was to be applied.

the Qu'ran cannot be interpreted without the hadith because it is almost entirely without context, and the actions of Muhammad are the baseline for how Muslims are supposed to behave...and he'd fit more with ISIS than with the Ahmadi.
Neither the Qur'an nor the hadith can be properly interpreted without putting them into the historical and cultural context they were written in.

According to Islamic teachings, Muslims are to emulate Muhammad's character traits like honesty, compassion, and humility and his ethical principles. Muslims understand the historical context in which the Qur'an was written. They see his actions as a warrior to have been appropriate for situations Muslims faced in the 7th century and not as mandates for Muslims to follow in 2025.

Perhaps I should have added "or pay the jizya" since that is what Islam calls for, modernist whitewashing not withstanding.
You do realise that Muslims also had to pay taxes (zakāt)? And the tax was for the betterment of society as a whole. Would it be fair for non-Muslims to live in an Islamic state and receive all of the benefits and protections offered by that state without any contribution to the costs involved?

Nope, it's what Muslims are called to pursue until there is no more "fitnah", the whole world is divided into "dar-al-Islam" and "dar-al-harb" and the only question about implementation is which part of the program is active.
In very simple terms, Dar al Islam (House of Islam) historically was a Muslim land with a Muslim government where Islamic law governed. Dar al Harb (House of War) was a land not under an Islamic government or Islamic law, which was openly hostile towards Muslims. Since there are no countries or states that fit these definitions today, the terms are no longer used by Muslims for the most part.

Yeah, an islamist apologetics site is not the best way to get accurate information about things that aren't flattering to Islam. But hey, not everyone has the time to actually read the hadith and sira, as well as the ishtijad which is mostly in disagreement with those claims until recent attempts at whitewashing.
You're just falling for Islamist apologist propaganda.
The only people who talk about jizyah, abrogation, the division of the world into dar-al-Islam and dar-al-harb, and cite Qur'an 9:29 as an open-ended command to Muslims to fight until the end of time today are Islamic extremists and anti-Islamic propagandists. So when someone like yourself presents Islam the way you have in this thread and others, it's clear to me, as someone who has a strong background in Islam, that your understanding of this religion comes from those sources and not the actual teachings and understanding of Islam that the vast majority of the world's Muslims adhere to.
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Hell doesn't exist and there is no eternal suffering, instead bad peolle just cease to exist

Yeah, maybe not so much.

IF we really wanted Divine Mercy we'd probably be well served to hope for it for all people, us included. You know, the "as you measure so you will be measured yourself" thingy


Sorry, I meant to say I do NOT presume to ... I should go correct that post before others get the wrong idea.
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B flat B♭

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You would think they would just be honest and say they do not believe this account given in The Bible. Instead of hem-hawing around the account and say oh i believe Joshua 10, but!!!!!!!!
I fully believe that the Israelites saw the sun and moon stop, but I have no idea what God actually did.
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B flat B♭

It’s like trying to get a politician to answer a straight question
I had to look it up because I mix Hindu and Chinese mythology in my mind. In Hindu mythologies, the earth is supported by four elephants or a turtle. The elephants represent steadfastness and support. The turtle represents Earth's stability over time. When God talks about the foundations of the Earth in Job 38:4-7, He is giving insight into who He is, just like what Moses was doing. It is a construction metaphor to show steadfastness, support, and the earth’s stability over time. That is the concept human beings needed. It doesn’t help this thread, but I wanted to share it with somebody. I hope you don’t mind.
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the myth of flat earth debunked again

I apologise for taking so long to respond to the thread; I was uncertain about the issues under discussion, and whether I could contribute anything useful. However, I now think that I can say something new.

As I see it, this is an epistemic matter. Aussie Pete began by citing the observations by Colonel Williams (a committed Christian) in support of the hypothesis that the Earth is spherical. This implies that Aussie Pete believes that valid scientific conclusions can be drawn from empirical evidence. However, Isaiah 11:3 says that Jews and Christians must not base conclusions on what they can see and hear, and the articles of faith of creationist organisations say that scientific evidence can never take precedence over the teaching of the Bible. In other threads, Aussie Pete himself has rejected the overwhelming evidence for evolution in favour of the Biblical teaching of a six-day creation, so he appears to have been inconsistent.

Later Aussie Pete (post 9) said that the Bible does not teach that the Earth is flat. He did not say what he would believe about the shape of the Earth if the Bible did teach that it was flat. D Taylor and contratodo (post 17) contradicted this, and contratodo cited Biblical verses in support of the hypotheses that the Earth is flat and the sky (or firmament) is a solid vault. If D Taylor and contratodo are correct and the Bible does teach that the Earth is flat, will Aussie Pete accept this Biblical teaching or will he continue to accept the empirical evidence presented by Colonel Williams?
I’m just curious, have you ever traveled all the way across Australia going east or west? If so what means of travel did you use and how long did it take?
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This is how it is for me.

Can you explain? Because I provided scriptures in my post, so I’m not clear what you are addressing.
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Explain what you do not know what you wrote, i posted it in italics.

You stated a person can not believe in Jesus they must have the Spirit of Christ to believe. So if that is what you believe i am not going to waste more time on you and your beliefs.
Upvote 0

the myth of flat earth debunked again

I apologise for taking so long to respond to the thread; I was uncertain about the issues under discussion, and whether I could contribute anything useful. However, I now think that I can say something new.

As I see it, this is an epistemic matter. Aussie Pete began by citing the observations by Colonel Williams (a committed Christian) in support of the hypothesis that the Earth is spherical. This implies that Aussie Pete believes that valid scientific conclusions can be drawn from empirical evidence. However, Isaiah 11:3 says that Jews and Christians must not base conclusions on what they can see and hear, and the articles of faith of creationist organisations say that scientific evidence can never take precedence over the teaching of the Bible. In other threads, Aussie Pete himself has rejected the overwhelming evidence for evolution in favour of the Biblical teaching of a six-day creation, so he appears to have been inconsistent.

Later Aussie Pete (post 9) said that the Bible does not teach that the Earth is flat. He did not say what he would believe about the shape of the Earth if the Bible did teach that it was flat. D Taylor and contratodo (post 17) contradicted this, and contratodo cited Biblical verses in support of the hypotheses that the Earth is flat and the sky (or firmament) is a solid vault. If D Taylor and contratodo are correct and the Bible does teach that the Earth is flat, will Aussie Pete accept this Biblical teaching or will he continue to accept the empirical evidence presented by Colonel Williams?
I’m a young earth creationist and I don’t see any conclusive evidence to support evolution. Evidence in support of a particular theory or position doesn’t verify the validity of that theory or position if the evidence is inconclusive.
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