Quantum of Solace.

Michie said:

Pastor Stuart Knechtle recently claimed that President Donald Trump's 19-year-old son, Barron, is interested in claims of supernatural dreams about Jesus Christ in the Muslim world and is "very close" to becoming a Christian.

Knechtle, who has 2.4 million followerson TikTok and serves as assistant pastor at Grace Community Church in New Canaan, Connecticut, shared Thursday on "The George Janko Show" that he recently witnessed to Barron on the phone at 12:30 a.m. about Christianity.

“I thought I was hitting him with everything but the kitchen sink when it came to all the evidence for God and Christianity," Knechtle said.

"I thought I was really on, I was pumped," he said. "And at the very end, I came up pretty much totally open-handed with nothing. But I brought up dreams and revelations."

Knechtle claimed Barron was fascinated when he brought up reports that have circulated in recent years of many Muslims experiencing striking encounters with Jesus Christ in their dreams. Mission Frontiers magazine reported that a quarter of Muslim conversions to Christianity are because of such experiences.

Continued below.

Barron Trump interested in supernatural dreams, 'very close' to becoming Christian: pastor

Pastor Stuart Knechtle recently claimed that President Donald Trump s 19-year-old son, Barron, is interested in claims of supernatural dreams about Jesus Christ in the Muslim world and is very close

www.christianpost.com

Click to expand...

It sure would be great to see Barron give himself to Jesus. Maybe his conversion would help other family members follow suit.

Dave... said:

The New Testament Begins in Acts Not Matthew​

When you read the Gospels in the Bible, such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, do they sometimes seem to contradict other parts of the New Testament Scripture? For example, in Matthew 6:15, Jesus said, “If you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Yet, in Colossians 2:13, the Apostle Paul wrote, “…God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.” How can there be two different perspectives written in the same New Testament?

Many Christians experience confusion because they think all of Jesus’ teachings are part of the New Testament, also known as the “New Covenant.” However most of them are not. The New Testament, which is God’s New Covenant with mankind, actually starts in the book of Acts, not Matthew. How do we know this fact is true?

When reading the New Testament, ask yourself this question, “Had Jesus died yet when this was written?” If not, then those writings are part of the Old Covenant in most cases. If the writings are after Jesus died, then it’s part of the New Covenant.

Click to expand...

Exactly.

People get easily confused by the gospels in that sense. That don't know how to correctly apply the symbology that Jesus used, and who the audience His words were directed at.

RDKirk said:

That's not a merely semantic difference...it determines who can be held accountable for what.

Click to expand...

I can appreciate that, too.
Nonetheless, I disagree that they are separable issues or separate issues. You can't decide to do something without simultaneously thinking through how to do it/how to be successful at it. Those are the exact elements which create the decision to NOT do something or to do something.

Inflation Under Biden vs. Trump: A Data-Driven ComparisonInflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), tracks the average change in prices for a basket of goods and services. Presidents influence inflation indirectly through fiscal policies, but external factors like global events, supply chain disruptions, and Federal Reserve actions play major roles. Donald Trump's first term (2017–2021) occurred during a period of stable, low inflation pre-COVID, while Joe Biden's term (2021–2025) began amid pandemic recovery and saw a sharp spike before cooling. For context, Trump's second term began in January 2025, but as of December 2025, it has been too short to yield a full-term comparison—current year-over-year inflation hovers around 3%, similar to late 2024 levels under Biden.Key MetricsHere's a side-by-side comparison of average annual inflation rates (year-over-year CPI) and cumulative price increases. Data is sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and analyses from economic outlets. Averages for Trump reflect his first term only; Biden's covers the full four years.
Annual Breakdown for ContextTo illustrate the volatility, here's the annual average CPI inflation by year:
Broader Context and Caveats

• Why the difference? Trump's term saw low energy prices, deregulation, and tax cuts that supported growth without overheating. Biden inherited a recovering economy but faced COVID stimulus effects (e.g., $1.9T American Rescue Plan), labor shortages, and energy shocks from Russia's 2022 invasion. Inflation cooled under Biden via Fed rate hikes (from near-zero to 5.25–5.5%), but cumulative effects lingered.
• Public Perception vs. Reality: Despite cooling, 2022's spike made inflation a top voter issue in 2024, with many blaming Biden despite shared pandemic roots. Early 2025 data shows stability under Trump, but proposed tariffs could raise prices in the future.
• Not Just Presidential Control: Economists emphasize that no president "causes" inflation alone—the Fed sets rates, and global events dominate.

Overall, inflation was markedly higher and more volatile under Biden than under Trump's first term, though both eras highlight how external shocks shape outcomes more than policy alone. For the latest monthly data, check the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Souce Grok

Michie said:

Rosie O’Donnell’s hatred of President Donald Trump led her therapist to recently plead with her to go two days without posting anything about the president on social media; O’Donnell, according to a Washington Post profile on Saturday, only lasted “a few hours” before she was compelled to post about Trump again.

The comic’s “fixation” on the president, as WaPo put it, has also become a concern for her longtime friends. One of those friends, Jeanne Kopetic, insisted O’Donnell has “got to disconnect” from following the news, because she is so consumed by what Trump does.

Continued below.

Rosie O’Donnell’s Trump ‘Fixation’ Made Her Therapist Challenge Her to Go Two Days Without Posting About Him — She Made It a Few Hours

Rosie O'Donnell's hatred of President Trump led her therapist to recently pleading with her to go two days without posting about the president on social media

www.mediaite.com

Click to expand...

That's funny. She and Trump are two of a kind.

Always in His Presence said:

The President doing something lawful -

Click to expand...

Well, that is certainly new.

-- A2SG, maybe it will start a new trend....

eclipsenow said:

We Christian peoples are those who already occupy the Holy Lands

Click to expand...

Jeremiah 32:6-15 The Lord tells Jeremiah to buy a field and hide the deed of purchase in a sealed jar, to be preserved for a long time to come.
Verse 30 Israel and Judah provoked My anger by their idolatry, therefore...
Verse 36 .... the Land is given over to the sword, famine and pestilence.
Verse 37-43 God’s people, all the Israelites of God, gathered from all the lands to which I banished them. They will be My people and I shall be their God. [They became Christians and prospered, as Jacob and Moses Prophesied]
Verse 44 Then, once again, property will be bought and sold.

I would love to think that sometime soon, that jar will be found and proof of the Holy Land ownership established forever. Psalms 37:29, Matthew 5:5

Say it aint so said:

So....kind of like 500 people coming back to life, it should be taken with a large grain of salt.

Click to expand...

So anything only mentioned only 1 time in scriptures is not considered to be inspired scripture?????

FredVB said:

Maybe you are right. I myself am not sold on a position. So when I read something in Bible passages bringing it up, why should I not bring it here? If you are sure of your position, why don't you explain it? What do you think of this?

Isaiah 56:
1-2
Thus says Yahweh:Keep justice, and do righteousness,
For My salvation is about to come,
And My righteousness to be revealed.
Blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who lays hold on it;
Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.
6-8
Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to Yahweh, to serve Him,
And to love the name of Yahweh, to be His servants
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And holds fast My covenant
Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.


There was application for foreigners in the times of the old covenant, that is fair to say. But the context of these passages is prophetic, when salvation is to come and righteousness will be revealed, even when they will come to God's holy mountain, where the vision of the everlasting times in the end applies, with no more suffering and no more death. For this gentiles, those not born of the people of Israel, are with their faith in Yahweh God through Christ grafted in with Israel, those of which who remain in the end will all be saved, in the latter times, when there is God's house of prayer for all nations.

Click to expand...

You're reading Isaiah 56 as if it's giving a future Christian obligation to keep the Sabbath, but that’s not really what the text is doing.

Isaiah is talking to Israel under the Old Covenant, and the blessing he describes assumes that same covenant framework: Sabbath-keeping and sacrifices and the Temple system (“burnt offerings,” “My altar,” “My holy mountain”). If you take the Sabbath part as binding for Christians today, you’d need to be consistent and also take the sacrificial system and covenantal markers with it, because the passage treats them as a single package.

The prophetic hope Isaiah points to (“My salvation is about to come”) is fulfilled in Christ, not in a return to the Mosaic system. The NT consistently reads these “house of prayer for all nations” promises as fulfilled through Christ’s body, not through the continuation of Israel’s ritual law (cf. Mark 11:17, Eph 2:11–22).

Foreigners joining Israel under the Old Covenant is totally true, but the NT makes a big deal that Gentiles are now included without taking on Torah markers (Sabbath, circumcision, dietary laws). Acts 15 is basically the Church settling this exact question.

So Isaiah 56 is beautiful, but it’s not prescribing Sabbath-keeping for Christians in the end times, it’s describing the inclusivity of God’s salvation as it looked from within the Old Covenant categories. If someone wants to argue Sabbath is binding today, they need to do it from the New Testament, not by importing Moses + temple + altar + sacrifices into the church age.

We made it to Ohio okay. It took us 14 hours to get here. We left at 8 am this morning and we got here at 10 o clock at night. I'm tired I'm going to bed it's been a long day. Just figured I'd let everyone know we made it to Ohio okay.

Xeno.of.athens said:

The Law, as revealed by God and fulfilled in Christ, serves as a moral compass and pedagogical guide for the Christian faithful. It includes the Mosaic Law, especially the Decalogue, and finds its perfection in the New Law of the Gospel. “The Law has become our tutor unto Christ” (Galatians 3:24), and its enduring moral precepts are reaffirmed by the Church as binding. The Catechism teaches that “the Old Law is a preparation for the Gospel” and “remains necessary for man” as it “denounces and discloses sin” (CCC §1963–1964).

The Ten Commandments, given to Moses on Sinai (Exodus 20:1–17), are “fundamentally immutable” and “engraved by God in the human heart” (CCC §2072). They express the natural law and are reaffirmed by Christ, who deepens their meaning in the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matthew 5–7). The Commandments are not abolished but fulfilled in charity: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). They are the foundation of Christian moral life, guiding the faithful in their duties toward God and neighbour.

For the Christian in this world, the Law and Commandments are not burdens but paths to freedom and holiness. Grace enables their fulfilment, and the Spirit writes them anew on the heart (cf. Jeremiah 31:33; CCC §1965–1966). The faithful are called to interiorise the Law, living it not merely by external observance but through love: “Love is the fulfilment of the law” (Romans 13:10). Thus, the Commandments remain essential, not as relics of legalism, but as living expressions of divine wisdom and the way of life in Christ.

Click to expand...

You’re merging multiple “laws” into one thing. Paul doesn’t treat “Law,” “Mosaic Law,” “Decalogue,” and “New Law” as interchangeable. He distinguishes between the law of works, the law of faith, the law of the Spirit, etc. Flattening them into a single category is a post-biblical move, not a textual one.

The idea that the Ten Commandments = natural law = permanently binding isn’t a biblical argument. Scripture never isolates the Decalogue as the “moral law” distinct from the rest of Torah. That’s a later Christian framework. James 2:10 actually warns against dividing the Law into keepable vs. non-keepable parts.

Galatians 3:24 is used selectively. Yes, the Law was a tutor. But Paul’s whole point is: "Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the tutor" (v. 25). You can’t use v. 24 to argue ongoing obligation while ignoring v. 25.

Jeremiah 31 doesn’t say God will write the Ten Commandments on the heart. It says “My law,” and explicitly contrasts the New Covenant with the one made when Israel came out of Egypt i.e., Sinai. The New Covenant is not just Sinai internalized.

“If you love Me, keep My commandments” doesn’t refer to the Ten Commandments. In John’s Gospel, Jesus’ “commandments” are His own teachings, especially His new commandment to love as He loved (John 13:34-35), not Moses’ commands.

Paul repeatedly calls the Sinai covenant a ministry of death and slavery (2 Cor 3; Gal 4). So saying the Commandments are “paths to freedom” needs to reckon with Paul’s language. He explicitly locates Christian freedom in life by the Spirit, not adherence to written code (Rom 7–8; Gal 5).

Most of your argument depends on the Catechism, not Scripture. If the question is “What does the Bible say?”, the Catechism can't settle the issue by itself. The NT nowhere says the Decalogue survives as a uniquely binding law code for Christians while the rest of Moses doesn't. the OP may present a well-accepted Catholic interpretation, but biblically speaking, it assumes distinctions the text doesn’t make and ignores the parts of Paul that undermine the conclusion. The NT’s moral vision is grounded in the Spirit and the law of Christ, not a selective continuation of Sinai.

peaceful-forest said:

I have a Bachelor's degree too. I had thought about going to a technical college when I was in the college age, but I was discouraged by family members, claiming that it was not legit and wouldn't get me a job. Sometimes I wonder if they were wrong. Because how do other people get computer jobs? (I wanted to repair computers.)

I wonder if having a technical degree would've helped me. Because my Bachelor's degree sure didn't. Not to get off topic and rant, but I do blame my mom quite a bit on this issue.

Click to expand...

Yes, somewhere along the line I was influenced to get a Bachelor’s too! It seemed like what I was supposed to do. I really didn’t know what I was doing. My mom actually influenced me to go back to tech school and get the degree I got, which made my whole career work out. I think Bachelor’s degrees must have seemed like the ultimate goal back then. Yet mine did nothing for me, it was a more generic degree. I wish I would have picked something more specific, like accounting or something. Or stuck with my original choice of music.

It’s really too bad how one person’s influence can really throw one’s life off course.

SkyWriting said:

The sun increases the rate of entropy.

Click to expand...

Perhaps you don't know what "entropy" means. What do you think it means?

SkyWriting said:

Nothing becomes more
complex or increases in information due to the sun.

Click to expand...

Plants, weather systems, river valleys, animal populations. Would you like to learn about specific examples?

CLEEB said:

From what I gather there are two Israel’s, one carnal, one spiritual. Ancient Israel is GODS elect under the law, the church is GODS election according to grace. Romans 11:5 Even though GOD divorced carnal Israel HE has not forgotten HIS promise to Abraham concerning them. The church did not replace carnal Israel because the olive trees roots predated both Israel and the law. The promises to the church are different than to carnal Israel. Just compare the blessings given to carnal Israel in Deuteronomy to those blessings given to the church which has better promises. Hebrews 8:6 Hebrews 7:22 2 Corinthians 3:6 The differences are obvious.

Click to expand...

God has no future blessings or promises to the people who claim to be Israel. Jesus informs us who they belong to; Revelation 2:9b
All -Jew and Gentile become the Spiritual descendants of the Patriarchs, by accepting Jesus. Galatians 3:23-29

(Yep, those were the days! )

The Liturgist said:

and we get something even better- salvation in Christ.

Click to expand...

i agree, but i wouldn't find useless to assume Mary was supported (and may be supported the apostles) by her belief during the three days of death. As called Peter, i assume the apostle (Peter) must have felt sheepish of his denials before her, even after resurrection, at least up until Jesus gives him back the leadership over his shep, may be still when waiting for the Holy Spirit.
i wonder whether it's not in what preceeds that part of this motherhood of Mary Jesus gives to John (indirectly to Peter) consists

So it's been a few months now. What progress have you made? Have you found investors?

ThatRobGuy said:

The right to be tried in front of a jury of our peers is supposed to be a benefit or "check" on institutional power and biases.

Click to expand...

One of the many problems with multiculturalism is that finding peers becomes increasingly harder.

mourningdove~ said:

Between 75 and 80???? Holy mackerel!

This man is wanting a young woman to take care of him in his old age ... and you are qualfied! He saw what a great job of it you did for your parents.

Now, that's not to say that a man his age doesn't still have desires for 'closeness', but honestly ... he is old. And getting older every day. He is looking for a caregiver.

... lol lol! Oh no, I don't think you are looking for that job, are you? LOL

p.s.
Unlike you, I do not think he is stupid. He's pursuing a vulnerable woman (alone, grieving) who hasn't yet been able to say no to him. Some men take that to mean 'yes' ... that there's still hope. He is hoping to wear you down ... catch you in a weak moment ... so no, I don't see him as being stupid at all. You would be a great prize, if he could win you over.

Click to expand...

I think your last paragraph nails it, lol. I can see so clearly now. I'm laughing even though it's not technically funny, lol.

1. List the locations in Isaiah 11:11–12 “In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.” (ESV / similar in most) Key places: Assyria Egypt (includes Pathros = Upper Egypt) Cush (Ethiopia / Sudan region) Elam (SW Iran) Shinar (Babylonia / Mesopotamia) Hamath (Northern Syria) Coastlands / Islands of the Sea (Mediterranean coastal & island regions)
2. List the locations in Acts 2:9–11 “Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians…” (Acts 2:9–11) Key places (grouped): East / Mesopotamia–Iran area Parthia Media Elam Mesopotamia Anatolia (Turkey) Cappadocia Pontus Asia Phrygia Pamphylia Levant / Judea Judea Africa Egypt Libya (Cyrene) Mediterranean islands & West Crete Rome South / East Arabia
3. Now map conceptual matches: Isaiah 11 ↔ Acts 2 It’s not a 1:1 name match, but a regional / typological match. Here’s the breakdown: 1) Elam Isaiah 11: explicitly Elam Acts 2: explicitly Elamites ✅ Exact same name, same region (SW Iran). 2) Shinar (Babylonia / Mesopotamia) Shinar in the OT = region of Babylonia / Mesopotamia (Gen 10:10; 11:2; Dan 1:2). Acts 2 mentions Mesopotamia. ✅ Shinar (Babylon) ≈ Mesopotamia (Greek term for same general area). 3) Assyria Isaiah 11: Assyria (upper Mesopotamia / N Syria–Iraq area). Acts 2 has Jews from Mesopotamia, Parthia, Media—all territories in or east of what was Assyria/Babylon/Persia. Not a literal “Assyria” label, but the same broader exile zone beyond the Euphrates. ✅ Regional continuity: exilic lands of Assyria/Babylon/Persia. 4) Egypt Isaiah 11: Egypt and Pathros (Upper Egypt). Acts 2: Egypt. ✅ Direct match: Jews from Egypt in both. 5) Cush Isaiah 11: Cush (south of Egypt, Nubia / Sudan / Ethiopia). Acts 2: Egypt and parts of Libya around Cyrene—so Jews from North Africa; also, in the broader NT we meet an Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), indicating a known Jewish/God-fearing presence in Cush-region. Not named directly in Acts 2, but: Cush = African belt south of Egypt Acts = African Jews from Egypt/Libya, plus Ethiopian believer shortly after This one is adjacent region, not exact name in Acts 2, but fits the African axis of the dispersion. 6) Hamath (Northern Syria) Isaiah 11: Hamath = city/region in Syria, to Israel’s north. Acts 2 doesn’t list Hamath by name, but Jews from Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia (Anatolia) and Arabia represent the northern/eastern surround of Judea. Again, more regional continuity than exact labeling. 7) Coastlands / Islands of the Sea Hebrew ’iyyim = coastlands / islands—usually: Mediterranean coast Maritime / island peoples Often extended symbolically to western lands Isaiah 11: “coastlands of the sea”. Acts 2: Rome (far western Mediterranean), Crete (Mediterranean island), and “visitors from Rome” clearly representing the “islands/coastlands” of the sea. ✅ Strong typological match: western maritime diaspora.
4. So is “matches exactly” literally true? Strictly, no: Isaiah doesn’t say “Parthia, Media, Cappadocia, Rome, Crete, Arabia”… Acts doesn’t explicitly say “Assyria, Shinar, Hamath, Cush”. But the pattern is the same: East / Mesopotamia–Persia (Assyria, Shinar, Elam) ↔ Parthia, Media, Elam, Mesopotamia South / Africa (Egypt, Cush) ↔ Egypt, Libya, Ethiopian contact North (Hamath, Syria-region) ↔ Anatolia & northern territories West / coastlands & islands ↔ Rome, Crete, other Mediterranean Jews present So a more accurate statement is: Isaiah 11:11–12 sketches the same geographic directions of the Jewish diaspora (east, west, north, south; Egypt, Mesopotamia, coastlands) that we then see specifically named in Acts 2:9–11. In other words: Isaiah gives the prophetic compass directions & key archetypal exile lands. Acts gives the actual list of provinces & cities in that same “world”. Your theological move—linking Isaiah 11’s remnant-return with the multinational Jewish crowd in Acts 2—is legit and well-grounded typologically, but it’s better phrased as echo / fulfillment / pattern, not “every individual name matches 1:1.”

It says God will reach out his hand a second time, and this was Pentecost. The first time was rescuing the Israelites from Egypt

Exodus 3:20​

“I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt…”

Click to expand...

Exodus 6:6​

“I will redeem you with an outstretched arm…”

Click to expand...

Exodus 7:5​

“I will stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out Israel…”

Click to expand...

Isaiah 11 There will be a highway for the remnant of his people
that is left from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from Egypt.

it is looking back when talking about the first time not a prophecy about it happening twice in the future.

It means around the time of Pentecost a bunch of rivers / bodies of water dried up so the remnant of Israelites from the 10 tribes exiled by the Assyrians 722 BC in Kings/Chronicles could come back to Jerusalem. The rivers drying up was not recorded.
They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west;
together they will plunder the people to the east.
They will subdue Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.

This seems to be about Maccabees as Israel fought against all of those nations in Maccabees except one, and Josephus mentions Israel fighting against that one in his writings.
The start of Isaiah 11 is about Jesus, and

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling[a] together;
and a little child will lead them.

was fulfilled in the gospel of Pseudo Mathew which Jerome said was written by Mathew the apostle, and I believe that.

So all of Isaiah 11 is in the past, and none is in the future.

MarkRohfrietsch said:

I saw one based on the statement "Jesus flipped over the tables at the Temple" it provided a picture of our Lord summersaulting over tables.

Click to expand...

That’s hilarious! I would actually like to see that. I wonder if some people interpret that verse, or if in the future if knowledge of Koine Greek becomes extinct, and English is the only surviving language, if our descendants will grow up assuming that in response to sacrilege, our Lord drove the money changers out of the temple by crushing them in a dance-off.