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Apple Sky · 2025-11-09T01:42:26-0600

The sun is not 93 million miles away, why do they lie ?

Geometry and Angles of Observation -

1) Some angle of observation experiment results.

2) Simple Observation of a Light Source that is close to the clouds, NOT far away. The immutable laws of Triangulation help us here.

Geometry tells us that if the light source were far way at the dizzying distance that NASA claims, the light rays coming through relatively close-together holes in the cloud cover such as these would be near parallel , not fanning out at divergent angles like we see.

This is repeated very easily at home in the dark: Use a torchlight or candle held at different distances from small holes poked into a cardboard barrier. The light rays poking through the cardboard cloud barrier will spread out in inverse correlation to the distance of the light source to the barrier.

stevevw · 2025-11-09T01:41:06-0600

CoreyD said:
The view of most people, is that free will is a philosophy.
Free will is a philosophical concept that refers to the ability of individuals to make choices and take actions without being coerced, especially when multiple options are available.

If it were that the Bible did not exist, then we could not argue that any concept is philosophical.
However, the Bible uses terms, we can understand, and gather their meaning.

The first use of the term persons accept as being "free will" is found at Hosea 14:4.
The Hebrew word is nedabah, which comes from the Hebrew word nadab, of which Topical Lexicon says...

The verb נָדַב consistently underlines a movement of the heart that is neither coerced nor merely dutiful. It describes people stirred from within to give, serve, or step forward because they have first been moved by God. Throughout Scripture this spirit of readiness is linked to worship, stewardship, civic responsibility, and warfare, revealing a multifaceted biblical theology of voluntary devotion.

This willingness is seen at Exodus 25:2 every man whose heart prompts him; and Exodus 35:21 Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit prompted him.
Thus, the term freewill was derived, since nedabah involves an action that is both willing and voluntary, done freely - of one's own accord... one's free will.

I like the idea of being stirred within. It speaks of conscience and a choice or something that needs attention and a delibaration or action over.

CoreyD said:
The term free will is therefore not philosophical, but theological.

Ah ha, that makes sense.

CoreyD said:
Exercising free will first started with God, and as humans are made in God's image, they too have this God given attribute, as can be seen in the scriptures where God allows persons to give him worship of their own accord, or of their own free will.

In other words, God gave humans the opportunity to make a personal choice regarding their course in life.
Hence, Deuteronomy 30:19, 20

Yes and we also see this in how God allowed people and even the prophets to choose to go their own way and God patiently waiting for them to come around lol. Ok I tried it my way and now I see it doesn't work. Lets try it your way God. Plus we don't hear of all the trials and tribulations these great people had before they were great lol.

CoreyD said:
The argument that humans are not free, whether such arguments come from philosophers or those debating on this thread, have been shown to be baseless.

Thats why I think there is another layer to the arguements. Most of these arguements are based on materialism. Solid, visible, and testable processes that lead from one thing to another. That are wholly assumed to be the only factors tin play.

But we know from the mind and consciousness and lived experience and reality that there are other persistent laws of nature and reality that cannot be measures by material processes or rational and logical reasoning. Sometimes the best evidence is the lived reality.

If its lived out over and over and over again thats like good science. The same result is repeating in the tests of life which show free will is real. Like morality. This is another aspect of humans, a more spiritiual and transcedent aspect that also have laws of nature and reality.

CoreyD said:
The Bible even dismisses these arguments in one statement.
Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 1 Peter 2:16

I think this is full of free will. Imagine that you are a Christian and you had to be obedient as a choice. The goodness and purity of being a servant comes from choosing to be a servant as Christ did.

We could act like everyone else and defy, standup and tear down the evil. But we are to be servants in the face of that evil and in doing so expose that evil. This is a radical idea to modern society and materialism where every cell is suppose to be driven to survival of the fittest.

But also the idea that Christ will truely set you free. Which implies there are levels of freedom. That perhaps the idea of no free will which is part of denying Christ is really a trap that binds us. That its actually the opposite. By admitting we have free will and can defy God or others we surrender our will and become truely free.

This same principle is in AA. People have to hand their self will over to the will of a higher power. Be that God or the AA group. So long as its not your will over all else. But by giving in we win. By letting go and letting God we gain true freedom because only by allowing a perfect God who knows humans best and what is best can achieve this freedom everyone is looking for.

CoreyD said:
So, the cry that we have no freedom, is not true, scripturally.

I

Dikaioumenoi · 2025-11-09T01:25:35-0600

Acts 13:48 reads: "And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed."

Ἀκούοντα δὲ τὰ ἔθνη ἔχαιρον καὶ ἐδόξαζον τὸν λόγον τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἐπίστευσαν ὅσοι ἦσαν τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον·

All major translations render τεταγμένοι as passive: "were appointed."

Yet some individuals argue for a middle sense: "had disposed themselves toward eternal life," making the verb about human readiness rather than divine appointment.

Grammatically, τεταγμένοι is the perfect participle of τάσσω, whose perfect middle and passive forms are identical in spelling (hence the debate). The surrounding construction (ἦσαν τεταγμένοι) is a perfect periphrastic, a construction that emphasizes the state resulting from a prior completed action. In other words, when the Gentiles hear the gospel, they are already "in the state of having been appointed." The narrative logic naturally runs: divine appointment precedes and explains belief.

If Luke had intended a reflexive nuance ("had disposed themselves"), we would expect some explicit reflexive marking, such as an active verb with a reflexive pronoun, as in verse 46. By the Koine period, active verb + reflexive pronoun was the standard way to express reflexivity. Genuine reflexive middles (i.e. verbs conveying self-action) were exceedingly rare and typically contextually obvious (e.g., Matt. 27:5; arguably the only true reflexive middle in the NT). And as if that were not rare enough on its own, to find such a reflexive sense in a perfect periphrastic construction would be exceptional; virtually without parallel in Koine Greek. The passive reading therefore aligns both with Luke's normal syntax and with his repeated emphasis on divine initiative in salvation (cf. Acts 16:14).

Curious what others think: if you disagree with the reading that those who believed did so because of prior divine appointment, what is your argument?

d taylor · 2025-11-09T01:18:49-0600

-

AI needs to stick to answering question and leave the art to artist.

Lukaris · 2025-11-09T01:18:13-0600

Yet funding was cut during the Biden administration and 9 NOAA stations were decommissioned in 2013.

Per NBC news:

NOAA grant for about $300,000 each year had supported the stations. The Alaska Earthquake Center requested new grant funding through 2028, but it was denied, according to an email between West and NOAA staffers that was viewed by NBC News.

Kim Doster, a NOAA spokeswoman, said the federal agency stopped providing the money in 2024 under the Biden administration. In th

Per NBC news:

NOAA helped build many of the seismic stations that have been part of the Alaska Earthquake Center’s network. But West said the agency has decreased its support over the past two decades; nine NOAA-built stations were decommissioned in 2013.

U.S. tsunami warning system, reeling from funding and staffing cuts, is dealt another blow

Seismic monitoring stations in Alaska are closing after a denied federal grant, risking delayed tsunami warnings for people living on the West Coast.

www.nbcnews.com

Plus their seems to be new emerging technology in tsunami wave detection being applied by NASA.

NASA’s GUARDIAN Tsunami Detection Tech Catches Wave in Real Time - NASA

A massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami off Russia in late July tested an experimental detection system that had deployed a critical component just the

www.nasa.gov

Hans Blaster · 2025-11-09T01:17:40-0600

Fervent said:
I can't be bothered to trace it back myself, but if you look at @partinobodycular's subsequent posts you will see that they accepted my assessment of their perspective.

You can't be bothered to know what was being responded, but I need to read all your conversations with several posters and assess a third party. I'm not interested in discussing a third person when I am in a dialog.

Fervent said:
I'm not sure it is so clear, as the question is not what individuals recognize but whether there are universal standards that can be applied.

You don't see how morals are demonstrably different in different societies? Get real.

Fervent said:
Oh? Any particular reason?

Do ya think someone might not want engage in examples when the very first one offered is the morality of the Holocaust? Examples aren't needed here.

Fervent said:
You may not be, but the poster I was interacting with was.

Argue with my positions when you reply to me, not others. If you don't know what I think, ask.

Fervent said:
You stepped into an ongoing conversation, so my reply to you depended on that context.

I commented on a post about an academic paper (one that you have twice told me in *our* conversation is irrelevant and you won't discuss) that you described. I didn't think much of the paper or what it was claiming. You then responded to me 8 MINUTES after I posted not in reply to you and included several concepts that were not in my post into your reply. This is you, not me.

Fervent said:
I think the confusion here is I took your use of theory of mind to be speaking of a scientific theory of mind, rather than a personal one. We all may have a sense of other minds but the nomenclature you chose to use leaves much to be desired.

Theory of mind is what psychologists call our understanding of the mental states of others. I used the term correctly in context. As I noted when I did, a theory of mind is one of the features that allows us to understand how our actions might make others feel and this is a key component underlying the construction of moral systems.

Fervent said:
Not quite, because when I say universal I don't necessarily mean absolute. Universal just means that we can consistently develop the same standards and apply them across the board, regardless of culture or current social milieu.

Those are the moral instincts. Moral systems require the addition of values and principles placed on top of the instincts.

Fervent said:
I don't intend to make any such demonstration, my position is one of skepticism towards bootstrapping morality because of the is-ought problem and the related naturalistic fallacy.

"oughts can only be determined after the goals have been.

Yarddog · 2025-11-09T01:11:33-0600

Landon Caeli said:
If we are to be truly Christ like, we would be compassionate to everyone,, not just the poor... Or the immigrant...

Did Jesus heal everyone? No. Did he love everyone. Yes. I feel compassion for all but I give to the needy.

Landon Caeli said:
Jesus forgives the sins of all.

No, he died for all but all do not receive forgiveness.

Landon Caeli said:
And he fed all.

No, he fed those that came out to listen.

Landon Caeli said:
(I say this because I think it's a very valuable statement)

If only it were accurate.

stevevw · 2025-11-09T01:06:35-0600

BCP1928 said:
"Transcendent" or "spiritual" knowledge doesn't cut stone. Craftsmen working with tools cut stone. The tool marks are there for you to see.

First and I am not saying this is how the vases were made. But the point of me using religion and especially Christianity is that potentially "Transcendent" or "spiritual" beliefs can be a force in the world that can defy scientific materialism or methological naturalism.

You do recall the miracles and coming back from the dead. Or the other God made events that changed history and reality.

Second It does not have to be that some spirit or supernatural force cut the stone. As I pointed out the spiritual or transcedent realm or the Indigenous realm of knowledge is immersed in a transcedent experience of nature itself. The common idea that natives and nature go hand in hand is because we say they understood nature very well. In ways we have lost and are rediscovering.

Its this conscious and experiential immersion in nature that reveals aspects of nature that could not be seen by the material sciences looking from the outside in.

So it may be they discovered some of natures secrets in utilising the natural forces around them to change nature itself. Such as their experience brought them knowledge of how stone changes in different situations with natural chemicals or energy manipulation.

It was not just observation but an immersion. Become part of nature itself and this was the only way such knowledge could have been gained. As its 1st person, direct and not third part science.

In that sense it was their spiritual, conscious experiences, transcedental and phenomenal beliefs that brought them to a deeper level that brought this knowledge. Just as the early Hebrews gained knowledge and changed reality due to being immersed and governed by a spiritual reality and not a material one.

Just out of interest do you think Noahs Ark was advanced tech. It was directly designed by God lol.

Perpetual Student · 2025-11-09T01:03:59-0600

Landon Caeli said:
You really don't get it?

What do I really don't get? Please be clear.

Fantine · 2025-11-09T00:49:53-0600

Nithavela said:
Perhaps the minimum age for voting should be raised for women.

Psychologists have proven females hit physical, mental and emotional maturity before males.
So perhaps---no definitely not.

rachelrising · 2025-11-09T00:47:08-0600

Guojing said:
The first para says you believe faith alone is not enough.

The 2nd para says faith alone is enough

The 3rd para says faith alone is not enough.

You have to make up your mind what to believe in.

I am talking about me, yes you can have faith in Christ but no action to try and do the things that he asked you to do. You can believe in him but not follow his word and also not repent to and trust in him fully. I am not perfect and try like most people to do better, but can say you are a Christian and believe in God and break most of the 10 Commandments and not wish to change.

Heb 4:11 "Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience." (NKJV)

RandyPNW · 2025-11-09T00:44:09-0600

johansen said:
had an interesting thought come to mind when i read that.

"I spoke only to my own"

Certainly during the OT era, in which Jesus ministered, he was speaking only to the Jewish People. But he certainly knew that this earthly ministry would be transfered over to the Roman nation and to the nations that would issue from it. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God would be taken from Israel and given to a nation that would be worthy of it--certainly more worthy of it than Israel had become.

7thKeeper · 2025-11-09T00:42:59-0600

Sportsballfan said:
View attachment 372929

FaithT · 2025-11-09T00:38:06-0600

Michie said:
In an age where comfort is idolized and suffering is to be avoided at all costs, the Catholic crucifix remains a bold proclamation: We preach Christ crucified(1 Cor. 1:23). For many Catholics, the choice to display and venerate a crucifix—rather than a plain cross or a resurrected Christ figure—is not merely a matter of preference. It is a theological statement rooted in the heart of the Church’s liturgical and devotional life.

While the Church emphasizes the crucifix in her liturgy, it’s important to acknowledge that some people are drawn to crosses that depict the Risen Lord in glory. This image can serve as a beautiful reminder that the story does not end at Calvary. Even so, I believe there is a compelling case to be made for crucifixes that portray Christ crucified.

DO NOT EMPTY THE CROSS OF ITS POWER.

St. Paul powerfully exhorts the early Church in Corinth, “We preach Christ crucified…Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:23–24). Earlier in the same chapter, he warns, “Do not allow the cross to be emptied of its power” (v. 17). These words stand in stark contrast to more sanitized or sentimentalized versions of Christian imagery. The crucifix, with the suffering body of Christ nailed to the wood, refuses to let us forget the cost of our redemption.

Continued below.

Crucifixes Should Display Christ Crucified, Not Resurrected - Catholic Exchange

Discover why the Church insists on displaying Christ on the crucifix—not a plain cross—as a sign of the true power of redemption.

catholicexchange.com

I always wear a necklace with either a crucifix or a plain cross. Sometimes I just like wearing a plain cross for its simplicity. Is that wrong?

HARK! · 2025-11-09T00:36:09-0600

Soyeong said:
Joseph knew that it was a sin to commit adultery in Genesis 39:9, which is one of the Ten Commandments, so your claim is demonstrably false.

That is one of my favorite examples of where we see Yah's eternal Torah being observed before Moses.

There are many such examples.

In the beginning was the word.

9Rock9 · 2025-11-09T00:17:41-0600

Fervent said:
It's funny how different paths come to similar conclusions. For me, I've never concerned myself with being orthodox though I didn't want to invent beliefs whole cloth. In the end, I found myself in agreement with a lot of EO doctrine regarding soteriology, the role of tradition and Scripture, and other key issues...but find the mytho-history position compelling(and fits nicely with an iconic/canonical view of Scripture) largely from drawing on a variety of unnamed sources. So to be in agreement with someone who is staunchly reformed is interesting to me.

I've always admired Orthodox Christianity. I find the mystery and mysticism appealing. However, I am still a staunch Protestant in some of my convictions like sola scriptura and justification by faith alone.

I find the Orthodox view of the afterlife intriguing, but idk enough about it to actually have an opinion on it either way.

I always figured I'd make a good monk, but that's not really a thing in evangelical Protestantism.

I guess I'd describe myself as Evangelical in beliefs, but prefer Eastern styles and aesthetics.

FaithT · 2025-11-09T00:16:06-0600

Michie said:
No need to be sorry LB. I get it. There just comes a point in time where we have to just go with the honor system. Be assured that the Lord knows. I’m one of those people that won’t take communion because I do not want to heap anymore condemnation on my head. I know there are a lot of Catholics that may not even be aware of that.

My friends’ husband never goes up to Communion because for some reason he won’t go to Confession.

Isaac the Recluse · 2025-11-09T00:09:37-0600

Chesterton said:
...

That we're talking about your priest does set a new light on all this.

Even in the biggest game of Chinese whispers I doubt the calming of the tantrum could be misunderstood as something sinister. And from a safeguarding point of view, sounds you handled it perfectly.

The "you can hang around us here" all hangs on the intonation. It could actually be a very open, positive invitation to get to know the family better.

And maybe the family simply have rules for themselves about not mixing church social time and family time.

Speak to the Father if you’re still weirded out. Maybe ask him if you're overthinking all this.

In any case, if there's other ways to view Little League, there's your answer to that part.

God bless you, brother.

GodAndChocolateVanilla · 2025-11-09T00:07:27-0600

I think today I will do some Drawing and Digital Art Drawing!! ^w^ :clap:

NxNW · 2025-11-09T00:01:02-0600

FAITH-IN-HIM said:
Do you believe that if the United States reduces its military spending, US adversary such as China, Russia, or Iran will also decrease their military capabilities?

Irrelevant.

.Mikha'el. · 2025-11-08T23:57:46-0600

I am watching a History channel series called Truthseekers. This episode is about Noah's Ark.

Reluctant Theologian · 2025-11-08T23:51:32-0600

rachelrising said:
Well for me in my life I go by (Galatians 3:28) that we are all equal before God, there is no Jew or Greek. God appears passionate about though about trying to call the Israelites which I will support him with, some may wonder why given history how they left him but that is what it looks like in the Bible. I love the lion of Judah really as that represents Jesus and David line roots as well. I find geography interesting, especially how the world was shaped and where my parents descend from. I cannot claim to be an expert on all the other tribes. My parents come from a country with tribes and I am not into them.
I have read that some say that Jesus will not return until more take up the Cross which I find interesting to.

I like Romans 11 and the image of the Olive tree. I have changed it to God's Olive as someone wrote. Some people may want to claim it for themselves though and their own portion.

We're one in Christ and equal before God (heart-to-God), but that doesn't mean there are not still different roles/responsibilities in this life. In Christ master and slave are one, but Paul still exhorts slaves to obey their earthly master, and masters to treat their slaves well and remember they also have a heavenly master. Man/woman are one in Christ but Paul and Peter still emphasise their asymmetric roles towards one another in marriage and in the Church. Being one in Christ does not mean we all have the same station or identical (earthly) obligations in life.

Israel is not an abandoned project by God.

Be blessed!

Truth7t7 · 2025-11-08T23:49:30-0600

Tuur said:
Trump gets something that many miss: Those who voted for him enjoy the discomfort of the Left when he tweaks them and they jump on cue. Those who voted against the other candidate instead of for Trump enjoy it as well. I know an elderly couple who, on election night 2016, stayed up not for the returns but to watch the unhappiness of news anchors reporting the results. That was what they enjoyed seeing. They aren't alone. And that's how various mems about schadenfreude got to be a thing. The Left's not going to like what anyone on the Right does, anyway, whether they troll them or not.

Donald J. Trump could oversee and help find the cure for all cancer and the left would complain about that

I enjoyed watching the recent Nobel Peace Prize winner (Maria Machado From Venezuela), she dedicated the prize to President Trump knowing well he deserved it, showing herself receiving it was a big political disgrace to the deserving recipient Donald J. Trump

johansen · 2025-11-08T23:34:25-0600

i would reply, but i'm not catholic, so, i highly suspect you do not want my opinion.

Gnarwhal · 2025-11-08T23:25:11-0600

Not for nothing but Taylor Marshall just put out a book called Christian Patriot, and I know he stresses the distinction between nationalism and patriotism, and says patriotism is a good whereas nationalism not so much. It's either problematic itself or can at least lead to other modes of thinking that are.

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