dlamberth said:

From what I've seen, it depends on the depth of a person's own inner experience of deep consciousness.

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As a meditator now of 50 years I cannot say I have an answer. Some deep silence and stillness, awareness without “thought” samadhi style. Something there but without faith to help interpret the experience it seems more of a silent void. John of the cross apophatic realm. Perhaps like the awareness of a molecule or lets get fancy and say monad.

jonojim1337 said:

it is not related to current state in Palestine.

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Does what the Bible Prophets tell us, have no real meaning for you, or others here. Is it all just Spiritual?
The Prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 was really fulfilled. How can people say other Prophesies, obviously unfulfilled, but which can, feasibly be fulfilled; will not be?

The current situation in the Middle East, is untenable and cannot continue. God has said that He is going to resolve it. Jeremiah 12:14, +
I say: Bring it on Lord!

essentialsaltes said:

Experts have long viewed thorium reactors as the next leap in energy innovation. Some scientists estimate that a single thorium-rich mine in Inner Mongolia could theoretically supply China’s energy needs for tens of thousands of years with far less radioactive waste than current uranium-based reactors.

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Having never studied physics, it took quite a few conversations to get my head around this tech.

THE CAMPFIRE
Nuclear waste does NOT have to be stored for 100,000 years. The only reason it is radioactive for so long is we have not got all the energy out of it. I’m no physicist and got the following metaphor from chatting with them. But after a regular uranium fuel rod has been in a reactor for about 18 months, it stops fissioning efficiently. It has not run out of energy, but instead is being stopped by ‘nuclear poisons’ - things that dampened the reaction. It’s a bit like a huge campfire that gets rained on. The fire is put out, but the fuel is still there. Only in this case, ‘drying out’ the ‘logs’ involves melting down the fuel rods, separating out the good ‘wood’, and then ‘drying’ it around the reactor core (where the fertile stuff can soak up extra neutrons to become fissile). As a result, breeder reactors can get something like 90 TIMES the energy out of each fuel rod! America has enough waste to run her for thousands of years.

There are many differences between standard fuel rods using uranium, and liquid thorium molten salt reactors - including RADICAL safety advantages. But one of them is my metaphor breaks down, because it's like the 'drying out the logs' process happens continually. They have the liquids in a self-cleaning loop in many models.

WHAT ABOUT THE ‘ASHES’ FROM THIS ‘CAMPFIRE?’
Some of the nuclear fuel is fissioned away into energy. (That’s what E = MC2 is all about.) By the time all the energy has been extracted this way, it’s only about a golf-ball of waste per human lifetime of abundant clean energy! Your whole life. One golf ball! That’s amazing!
So, what to do with the REAL waste - the broken atoms that cannot be fissioned any more?
We can melt it down into glass like ceramic tablets that contain it. (If there’s ever an earthquake or unanticipated event, we don’t want radioactive dust getting out into the water table, etc.) Bury these bricks in a bunker on site, and in about 300 years they are safe! The hotter it is, the faster it burns out. See this Argonne Labs video - 4 minutes. Login to view embedded media
Not only this, but they can also supply many medical radioactive isotopes useful for nuclear medicine.
It's an amazing technology. But they're going to have to work hard to bring the cost down, because solar panels are expected to halve in price AGAIN by 2030!

The Liturgist said:

your argument implies God as being one Person, when He is one God abiding in Three persons,

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A Devil's Advocate said:

God is revealed to us in three persons, but all are still one God.

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This is from earlier in that same post. I do not believe God to be one person. That makes no sense. I believe God to be one God revealed to us in three persons. I think you may have miss read.

If I believe in the Holy Spirit, do I not also believe in God? Same with Jesus. If I believe in Jesus, am I not also believing in God?

The Liturgist said:

In declaring that no one comes to the Father except through Him, Christ is declaring the doctrine of the Incarnation - that through Him, the Father, who is invisible, has made Himself visible, in the Prosopon of His only begotten Son and Word, who, in putting on our human form, remade us in His image on the Cross, and demonstrated God’s willingness to die to save humanity.

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Maybe I am miss reading this, but this statement tells me that Christ, putting on our human form, was still God dying to save humanity.

Are we talking about philosophical nothingness? A state of complete non-existence? If there was nothing, then nothing would exist, and if nothing existed, it couldn't be nothing.

Hm. I have deleted in the past but don’t see the option now.

Marilyn C said:

Hi eclipsenow,

John`s audience is all those who read, hear and keep the words of this prophecy. (Rev. 1: 3)

`soon, speedily, take place. Fine. That is what we see. The Lord reveals Himself to John and the rest follows on. However, are you trying to tell me that everything in Revelation has happened?


Rev. 1: 9 `I John, both your brother and companion in tribulation.....` (NKJ) I don`t see any `the.`

The book is about JESUS as is ALL of God`s word. To make it about US is to diminish the great work and person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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It's a sermon on suffering, so of COURSE it reminds his audience that one day the Lord will return.
The problem for those that want to read it as a future timetable is this happens many times in the book!
EG: The Lord returns at the end of Chapter 6! And there's a triplicate return in 19, 20, 21 - from different 'camera eye' views.
It has the gospel events dressed up in picture language.

It's too all Christians across all time, reminding us that if our governments turn on us - to trust in the Lord with great patience. We're also warned not to be seduced by the wealth of our nations, and trust in those. (Rev 13 has the mark has an alternative Shema prayer to money and the state, rather than God.)

So once again.

IF I gave you a 'prophecy' about a battle on Mars in the year 4000 AD and said "OBEY IT!" - wouldn't that be nonsensical?

John is trying to identify with his mission field. Trying to comfort brothers and sisters in Christ.
And futurists think he's raving about thousands of years in the future for the majority of the book?
It just doesn't add up!

"Toughen up princess - you've got nothing to worry about! Wait till you see what happens in 2000 years!"

Belonging to Abba said:

I set time limits on texting and other apps with the Lock Me Out app on Android, and some of the time it has not been effective. Like yesterday when I had a 10 minute time limit on texting, but I still ended up being glued to the phone and not able to put it down for a long time. When I was glued to the phone, I felt like there was a lot less to do on the phone so I was using the phone cut off from the activity I love, and really not liking it. If I have much more of these experiences feeling stuck on a phone and feeling severely limited in not being able to text friends, I might disable the time limit on texting and just use Lock Me Out for limiting or blocking other apps like social media. I might even disable the time limit on texting soon.

For controlling my addiction to my phone I turn the phone's power off before/when I get home, but not always consistently. It seems like this may be a more effective barrier to texting or my phone addiction because I cannot as easily grab the phone and immediately spend time on it, and I may decide to keep it off for my own good and to be able to get more tasks done. I have a landline and cell plan on my Galaxy Watch so I can still receive urgent calls from my mom if she has a pressing need to call me.

With my smartphone addiction, I also have weird behavior of wanting to get in bed in with my phone. Previously, I loved to just get in bed and text friends and found it really relaxing. Now with a time limit in place if I get in bed with the phone, I may spend some time browsing the Google Discover Feed, or scroll through YouTube to see what is there, but yesterday I kind of ran out of stuff to do on the phone, so I just put the phone aside and laid there.

With the time limits in place, it would be super productive if I opened the Bible app and worked on memorizing Bible verses. I did that once with these new limits, but a lot of times I have not.

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You sound like this is surprising to you. If it is an addiction, controlling it is like controlling any other addiction.

My job requires me to be available 24 hrs if only to answer texts troubleshooting equipment over the phone, with customers all over the world. Truth is that most nights I can sleep without interruption, but the phone is by me in bed. If I can't sleep, I might actually watch a few police chases on TikTok, and about 3 hrs later realize it's already time to get up. If that is wrong for me to do, rather than just inconvenient to my productivity and state of mind, I shouldn't do it. Simple as that.

I like to drink beer, I like to have a buzz, but I don't do it all day, because it is harmful to my life. I don't get drunk every night to be able to sleep because I need to be available to answer the phone coherently. "Because" can be a strong motivator.

I'm not going to tell you I'm addicted to my phone, nor eating, nor anything else, because in the end it is like sin or any other pursuit. In the end, we always choose what we most want to do at that instant of choice, even if it has become automatic.

I expect I don't need to tell you what happens when you pursue Christ, and find yourself desperately needing him, and seeing the weakness, stupidity and self-indulgence of the flesh, and his continuing patience in demonstrating to you repeatedly that apart from him you can do nothing.

The Grace of God can be overwhelming.

Michie said:

Pope Leo XIV is defending the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ message opposing what he characterized as the “extremely disrespectful” treatment of illegal immigrants being deported by the Trump administration. His comments come as border czar Tom Homan continues to defend the federal government’s actions and reiterate earlier allegations of hypocrisy by the Catholic Church.

In response to reporters seeking his comment on the USCCB’s “Special Message” on immigration Tuesday, the pontiff said, “We have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have.”

“If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts; there’s a system of justice. I think there are a lot of problems in the system. No one has said that the United States should have open borders. I think every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter,” he stressed.

Continued below.

Pope Leo says he opposes open borders, blasts Trump's deportation of illegal immigrants

Pope Leo XIV is defending the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops message opposing what he characterized as the extremely disrespectful treatment of illegal immigrants being deported by the

www.christianpost.com

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No open has called for open borders. That is just a right wing lie. The Pope understands and he knows that Trump lies, especially about immigrants.

rambot said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/20/coast-guard-swastika-noose/

For some reason a nazi symbol can manage to not be considered hate speech....just "potentially divisive". This seems to speak to the ideologies this administration are happy to empower. Getting angry at posters for being critical of Israel I'd expect some posters will be quite upset to hear this is happenning in your navy.

And ditto for nooses and confederate flags (though their display is still banned).

What kind of coast guard Commandant would allow this? Glad you asked.

Admiral Kevin Lunday
Wow. How can that be?
Well as per a smart person than me:
This role requires senate approval. If you do not put forward a candidate, there is an unconfirmed interim leader.
So the Admiral leading the navy does not have senate confirmation, and has been leading the navy in an interim capacity since inauguration with no replacement in sight.
This was actually detailed in project 2025 as a way to have sycophants installed without the need for Senate approvals.

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The article is behind a paywall but the Navy and the Coast Guard are separate entities

Mark Quayle said:

Mark Quayle said:
Can you demonstrate that anything can happen besides what does happen? Can you demonstrate the actual possibility of other options? Or is that only in our thinking? When God demands that we choose, do we not always only choose the one option? Was God not aware of those decisions before creating, but went ahead and created anyway? Well, then! He INTENDED it to be decided the way it was

CORRECT enough! That's why I asked it. Can you do it? Can you prove that "apparent" free will choices (or any other choice) could have gone a different way? You will say, "of course!", but you can't do it. You will provide some statement you consider axiomatic, but is not, like, "God would not demand what you cannot obey".

Mark Quayle said:
Otherwise, you need to demonstrate that {actual "chance" can determine outcomes}. The notion is by definition self-contradictory. But your whole construction depends on it.

You are defining justice according to the creature's ability to do what he is commanded to do. Sorry, but the command does not imply the ability to obey— it only implies the responsibility to obey. God is not unjust to create beings who will pay for their rebellion, as intended. He is making use of them for his Glory, to demonstrate his love and mercy to the objects of his mercy—us.

Can you demonstrate that actual "chance" can determine outcomes? Or do you first need me to demonstrate how your notion of free will implies chance determining outcomes?

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You seem to completely miss his objection, which is that you are engaged in a special pleading argument by demanding your opponent meet a standard you yourself cannot.

X-Men: The Animated Series

Lacking kakorrhaphiophobia, ostragoths pillaged Rome.

KKRRH

​

Reed has a long criminal record. CBS News Chicago found 49 arrests — including 10 felony cases. Three cases were later dropped, six ended up with convictions ranging from probation to 30 days in the Cook County Jail — and in the case of one drug conviction from 2003, two years in Illinois state prison.
Among them was an active aggravated battery case from just this past August.
In that incident, Reed is accused of hitting a social worker at MacNeal Hospital Psychiatry and Behavioral Health in west suburban Berwyn. The attack caused loss of consciousness, ER visits, lasting memory issues, headaches, and daily nausea for the social worker, the Cook County State's Attorney's office said at the time.

They still don't get it.

Clare73 said:

That is precisely what Paul states:

Adam was not the one deceived, it was the woman who was deceived (1 Tim 2:14).
Adam chose to sin with her.

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Because Adam wasn’t deceived and Eve was is proof of free will because if there was no free will their response would have been the same. It shows a difference in wills between Adam and Eve. Why is it so difficult to see that both Adam and Eve did not acquire the knowledge of good and evil until Adam ate the forbidden fruit ? In order to sin you must have the knowledge of good and evil and do the evil instead of the good. James 4:17 Adams sin was unique because it determined the course of humanity our sins do not. Today every man dies for his own sin. Adam and Eve at their creation were not innocent of sin because they were righteous but because they were ignorant.

DamianWarS said:

1 Cor 7:19 when studied with Gal 5:6 and Gal 6:15 show us mirror versions. All address circumcision as nothing and contrast it with "what counts" and all written by Paul. The "what counts" part is not 3 separate things, it's all the same thing. This reveals to us what Paul means by "commandments of God" in 1 Cor 7:19 since it is the same thing as "faith expressed through love" in Gal 5:6 and "the new creation" in 6:15. When viewed together they move away from old covenant laws and point to values of faith and love in the new covenant under Christ. In these verses, it seems Paul is contrasting the old (circumcision) with the new (new creation). You could say circumcision is a reference to in Christ we are neither circumcised/uncircumcised but I don't think that changes the outcome of what counts. What counts still is a forward direction to Christ over a backwards to the law.

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The Scriptures do not say the the commandments of God are redefined. When something is used interchangeably it means it works backwards and forwards, not just the one we like based on our own definition of it. The commandments of God are just that Exo20:6 Deut4:13 who better to define God’s commandments than God Himself- He did and literally wrote them out. Jesus never changed them- He promised He would not Psa89:34 Mat5:18-30 , Mat15:3-14 Mat7:7-13 Mat19:17-19 since He is the One speaking them, the only thing we should do is just believe. That’s what faith is all about. The commandments of God are kept by faith and faith is keeping the commandments of God. It works forwards and backwards not changing the definition that God gave.

Since it's apparently acceptable to use funeral situations as a means for political posturing based on the invite list...

zippy2006 said:

As a libertarian do you think federal meddling is going to fix the economy for everyone? That there is some benevolent motive from the federal overlords that is bound to bring us into utopia?

The whole framing of the issue as, "How the federal government can create an economy that works for everyone," is remarkably naive.

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I'm not that much of a "full blown libertarian" anymore...I was some years back

But that aside...

Yes, there are certain forms of competition in the markets that can lead to anti-competition (monopolies being the most obvious form of that) if left unchecked.


Economically speaking, there are certain imbalances and problems where the free market is too blunt an instrument to correct the issue in the timeframe it needs to be corrected.

If you want to see how things look completely unchecked, the country's business landscape would look pretty much like a series of these

...where the housing, store, and services were all provided the company you worked for, and you were paid in a special company currency that only worked for the services they offered, basically just funneling employee earnings right back to the company they work for.


I said it a few times in this thread, if you want to see a meaningful change in our economy in a way that works for more people, society needs to be less enamored with college degrees for the litany of jobs that currently require them, but don't actually need to.

jonojim1337 said:

Can’t trust AI.

View attachment 373411

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Congratulations, this is the most circuitous route to a point that I've ever seen.

Landon Caeli said:

What about AI that observes whether you yawn too much at work, or if your eyes appear tired too often? Would you be okay with that? Because that tech already exists, and is in use.

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Why would I care?

Dan Perez said:

And we are not under the LAW but under Grace , Rom 6:14.

Do you have a verse !!

If you say we are , can. you EPLAIN how anyone can. be saved under the NEW COVENANT.

And you EXPLAIN HEB. 9:18. , PLEASE ??
dan p

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Romans 3:25, James 2:26 etc

Hebrews 9:18, it's about the new way to God through the new covenant. this knowledge which was kept hidden since the time of the old covenant. Now we can know this mystery by the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. Col 1:25,26

Valletta said:

Insurrection and sedition are serious offenses, and we have come as close to those in the last year as any other time since the Civil War. For something that is well known to the public and has been done before, a lawsuit is the proper course for those who think it is un-Constitutional.

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According to whom?