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

CatholicVote report examines moral implications of immigration enforcement

The Catholic advocacy organization CatholicVote has released a report examining the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts, concluding Christians must balance charity toward the immigrant with the common good of the receiving state.

The report, titled “Immigration Enforcement and the Christian Conscience,” comes on the heels of the special message on immigration released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) at its fall plenary meeting this past week.

“A faithful Catholic approach to immigration begins not with politics but with people. Compassion, hospitality, and solidarity with the poor are not optional virtues,” CatholicVote President and CEO Kelsey Reinhardt said in a press release accompanying the report.

“They are at the center of the Gospel,” she added. “Yet, mercy and justice travel together. One without the other distorts both.”

Continued below.

Are the Jews Israel, or is the church Israel? Or does it depend on the context of the passage?

Galatians was written before Paul's final visit to Jerusalem in Acts 21.

If the Israel of God, is us, and he taught us that we are dead to circumcision (Galatians 5:2), then what James and the elders accused him of in Acts 21:18-25 would have been correct.

That is how I know the Israel of God in Galatians 6:16 is not us
How about addressing the biblical evidence above instead of merely expressing your bias and faulty opinions.
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Pope Leo instructions now is Jesus apparition not true.

There are no apparitions of the Blessed Mother that the Church requires a Catholic to believe. But some apparitions are widely believed, I don't recall coming across a practicing Catholic who denies what happened at Lourdes or Fatima. How many there might be I don't know. There were some obvious fake stories, so the Church set up a commission. The commission may decide an apparition is worthy of belief or not worthy of belief, or issue no opinion.
Please, you have never seen how the Catholics in Latin countries hold apparitions to be. So whether evil spirits or demons appeared as 'apparitions' at Loudes or Fatima or in any of the multiple sightings, they will believe it, especially when it comes to Marian apparitions. Its all spiritualism and of another source as Mary is dead and buried in the ground, so it is not her that is showing itself. Here is just a bit of 'aspirations' and beliefs the people hold that you are dealing with...

...Mexico City (Tepeyac Hill), in 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe came, averted holocaust, stopped the merciless sacrifices of innocents to a blood-thirsty pagan god, and created Family.

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal - In Paris, in 1830, She came to a little postulant and gave her and us hope for the world - "Come to the foot of the Altar, great graces will be poured out to those who ask for them."

Our Lady of La Salette, in 1846, She wept and prophesied what disaster would come to pass if we did not convert.

Our Lady of Lourdes In Lourdes, in 1858, Mother Mary came and introduced Herself as the Immaculate Conception, affirming Her son - Blessed Pope Pius IX - and his dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which dispelled the heresy of Pantheism.

Our Lady of Pontmain - In Pontmain, in 1871, She came and ended the Franco-Prussian War; She gave us hope.
In Knock, in 1879, although She said nothing, She spoke volumes: Protect the Eucharist. If you destroy the Eucharist; you destroy the Church. Protect the Word, which is in danger. If you destroy the Word, you destroy the Church. Protect the family; if you destroy the family, you destroy the Church, you destroy the world.

Our Lady of Fatima - In Fatima, in 1917, Our Lady warned that unless we convert, Russia would take over the world. And but for Her precious son, Pope John Paul II, this growling bear would have done just that. In Fatima, She warned us that unless we change, many souls would be lost; and that unless we pray and sacrifice many would go to hell. Did we listen?

Our Lady of Beauraing - In Beauraing, Belgium, in 1932, Mary asked the children, "Do you love my Son?" To which they responded "Yes!" She then asked, "Do you love Me?" Again they responded "Yes!" She turned to them and said, "Then sacrifice yourself for Me." Our Lady was telling us to sacrifice, because She knew that it is only through prayer, fasting and sacrifice can we overcome the onslaught of the devil and his cohorts. Twelve days after Our Lady said good-bye to the children in Beauraing, Our Lady came to Banneux, fifty miles from where She appeared to the children in Beauraing. Our Lady came and pleaded: "Believe in Me and I will believe in you." Our Lady, 16 years after Fatima, appeared in Belgium and again warned us. Did we listen? Do we listen?
Mother Mary went to Belgium and warned us; and in less than a month, the path to total world domination was paved. The world had not listened to Mother Mary and the table of contents of the devil's book to hell was getting near full. Hitler became chancellor to Germany and began his conquest or scorch campaign. World War I was supposed to be the war to end all wars, and here it was, and another World War was on the horizon. World War II was upon us, before we knew it. Everything moved so fast. People were not praying, not yet. They thought the answer was accommodation and compromise. Powerful countries compromised smaller nations. After all, it was not them. The enemy was not threatening them. All of a sudden, it was their turn. Did we then go down on our knees?

When the Lord comes, people will be so busy running to the malls, trying to buy up happiness, they will miss Him and His salvation completely. Is that why Mother Mary keeps on appearing? These Marian Apparitions of Our Lady continue to weave a pattern of salvation if heeded or destruction if not. We do no listen!

Will you study the Marian Apparitions of Our Lady?
Will you listen and respond?
Pray the Rosary!

Below is our List of
Marian Apparitions of Our Lady
Our Lady of Akita

Our Lady of Altotting

Our Lady of Banneux

Our Lady of Beauraing
Our Lady of the Cape


Our Lady of Czestochowa

Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of Good Counsel

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Our Lady of Knock

Our Lady of La Salette

Our Lady of Lourdes

Our Lady of Laus

Our Lady of Loreto and the Holy House

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Our Lady of Ocotlan

Our Lady of Peace La Conquistadora NM

Our Lady of Pilar

Our Lady of Pompei

Our Lady of Pontmain

Our Lady of the Rosary

Our Lady of Tears

Our Lady of Siuliai - Lithuania

Our Lady Gate of Dawn - Lithuania.......

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Democrats finally vote to open Government

The GOP controls all branches & passed a clean CR. The Dems revolted b/c of the ACA & the 2 parties go at to see who blinks first. As the days waned, then the SNAP issue came into play. Both SNAP & ACA need to be fixed. I don't know if Congress will ever fix public aid programs. 2 roads diverged in a wood & I. Two problems. First the Dems believe in socialized everything. Their goal is to get all citizens hooked on a good made by govt so that they can get elected by holding that citizen hostage over the delivery. This is a clear lesson to never be dependent on govt. The other extreme is that some of the GOP do not believe in a safety net. Fact is you do have people with issues & the other issue is lack of work. What to do. There is waste, fraud, abuse, & just poor design. All programs need a reworked formula & better quality product. The SNAP budget is $99 billion. The Pentagon just got approved for $770 billion. You would think they could transfer $5 billion over to SNAP.
Or the Democrats could have just voted for the CR on day one and skipped all the drama and theatrics.
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50-year mortgages a 'great idea'? Maybe, Pastor Mark Driscoll says

Podcast weighs pros, cons of reported Trump administration plan

Is a half-century investment in owning your home worth it?

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte announced this week that the Trump administration is working on a novel approach to the home affordability crisis: a 50-year mortgage.

The still-unofficial proposal builds off of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s introduction of the 30-year mortgage under the New Deal and could offer more homebuyers the opportunity to qualify for financing.

Still, critics point out that given the average U.S. life expectancy of 78.4 years, the average 32-year-old homebuyer is more likely to leave the mortgage for their children to pay off than to leave them a home free and clear.

Pastor Mark Driscoll, senior pastor of Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, took on the topic in a Nov. 11 episode of his podcast titled “Trump 50-Year Mortgage is a GREAT Idea,” in which Driscoll and Landon Chase, real estate agent and CEO of Driscoll’s Real Faith Ministries, talked about the merits of such a proposal.

Continued below.
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California to revoke 17,000 commercial driver’s licenses

So I guess the meme was correct??

View attachment 373120

17,000 for 1 state for drivers is a huge number. I'm glad to see California doing something about it but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.
der terk err jubs...
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Nigerian pastor facing death threats over plea to protect Christians

Church leaders in northeast present evidence of ‘genocide'

ABUJA, Nigeria — A pastor in Nigeria is facing death threats for speaking out on Islamic extremist attacks on Christians and calling for protection against “genocide.”

The Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, who's based in Plateau state as regional chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi, told reporters in Jos on Oct. 24 that Islamic extremists have marked him for assassination for calling on the Nigerian and U.S. governments to help protect Christians against genocide.

“My life is in grave danger. Even as I speak, I am on the lookout for attacks,” he reportedly said. “I no longer sleep with my eyes closed. I have been attacked before but escaped.”

Continued below.

The Saving results of the Death of Christ !

I think it's unfair to say I was lazy using AI. I spend many hours with AI, reading and reflecting before I gave you my reply.
I appreciate the engagement and don't want to discourage it. My concern is that you're attempting to challenge me on something you've admitted you're not personally very familiar with. That approach doesn't make much sense. A more productive alternative would be to ask for clarification or for me to defend my explanations. I'm happy to do that. But using AI to object to something you admit you aren't familiar with comes across as more adversarial than constructive, whether that was your intention or not.
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Hell doesn't exist and there is no eternal suffering, instead bad peolle just cease to exist

The same is true for those who do not like the idea of God really and actually having a love so expansive and great that He forgives and heals ALL sinners, not just those we like. (In other words, we don't like Hitler, so how dare God ultimately save him, but our drunken father who beats us, well, perhaps we hope that God's mercy will override his sins.)
And I, personally, pray that it is so, that He ultimately brings every last one of us to Him through His Son's sacrifice. Who am I to cry out for God's mercy but demand that He still "get those other filthy sinners!", whether with eternal torture or literal destruction/death?
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Trump shouldn’t be fooled by Armenia’s corrupt and malicious prime minister

The last genocide was INFESTED with Freemasons who did to Turkey more or less what they did in France.

But my info on the region is about 100 years out of date.

I've heard some people say the trad-Islamists are trying to take it back.

(Gladstone once commented that Disraeli would lean against Armenia for religious reasons; I suspect DJT might. I still think he's paganized, but Jewish.)
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Why do people hate ICE...

Nothing says authentic MAGA better than a pardoned Jan 6 Capitol tourist.

He stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. Now he's running for Nancy Mace’s seat in Congress.

As evidenced on his campaign website, Dykes’ platform is built around an anti-immigration stance, blaming immigration for disrupting the housing and job markets and driving down wages.

“We’ve lost control of who enters our community, our state, and our nation. This is a deliberate policy to displace us,” Dykes writes on his website.

Following an investigation by the FBI’s Columbia and Washington field offices, Dykes was arrested in Virginia on July 17, 2023. He pleaded guilty in April 2024 to two felony counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and agreed that his use of a police riot shield constituted a dangerous weapon.
After reading through his stuff he's not really anti-immigration. He talks about the problems of our immigration system and the issues of the unfettered immigration policies we have had.

We have handled immigration very poorly. He's correct in his listing of the issues unfettered immigration has caused.

We need to severely limit our immigration, do a much better job of vetting who is coming here, not just focusing on criminality but also on belief systems.

It sounds like the current administration is doing a better job of that, at least thats the claim.

Would I vote for him? I don't know enough about him. Can't say I would. But I do agree with the stuff I read regarding immigration which would of course include illegal immigration
As far as quick review went.
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Appointed to Eternal Life - Acts 13:48

Yes. And? I said that it doesn't say they were appointed to believe. Which is true. Is there something you don't understand about that?
Do you have a point? I've not argued that the text says "they were appointed to believe." They were appointed to eternal life. But their act of belief flows from that prior divine appointment, not the other way around. You can't dispute that grammatically. Your best bet for defending your view would be to argue for the middle reading of τεταγμένοι, not a reversal of the syntax.

Wrong. That doesn't line up with the rest of scripture.
This comment of yours was offered in response to a straightforward grammatical analysis of Acts 13:48, not a theological argument. Labeling the grammar as "wrong" or saying it "doesn't line up with Scripture" tacitly concedes that your theology, rather than the text itself, is your standard of truth. Luke's syntax is painfully clear: the entire relative clause ὅσοι ἦσαν τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον ("as many as had been appointed to eternal life") functions as a single substantival unit and occupies the subject position of ἐπίστευσαν ("believed"). It cannot mean "those who believed were appointed." That reading is grammatically indefensible, as it would require ἐπίστευσαν to lie within the relative clause as its predicate, reversing the syntactic relationship. Luke wrote the opposite: the appointed ones [subject] believe [predicate]. The Greek allows no other reading.

Whatever your view of the rest of Scripture, it must be reconciled with the grammar Luke actually wrote. If it cannot, then it is your interpretation, not my presentation of the syntax, that produces the apparent contradiction.

Does it matter to you if you interpret that verse in a way that doesn't contradict other scripture...
The irony is hard to miss. You ask whether it matters to me not to contradict other Scripture, yet you dismiss the plain grammar of the verse because it contradicts your interpretation of other passages. Which is more likely at fault: Luke's Greek, or your reading of the rest of the Bible? I am letting Luke speak for himself; you are imposing your system over his syntax. If anyone is forcing a contradiction here, it is not me.

Acts 13:46 which talks about the Jews who were there and rejected the gospel judging themselves unworthy of everlasting life, implying that it was their choice to believe the gospel or not
The issue isn't whether humans make choices. We obviously do. The question is why some believe while others do not.

In your doctrine, God alone judges people to be unworthy of everlasting life
Misrepresenting my argument won't help your case. As I stated in my prior replies:

"The contrast between v. 46 and 48 is between that of self-judgment and divine appointment. Self-judgment explains unbelief. Divine appointment explains belief." (Post #22)​

and

"That is the point of v. 46. Their rejection is morally their own. But the deeper explanation for why one group remains in that hostile unbelief while another responds in faith is given in v. 48. Human unbelief is natural to our fallen nature; God does not need to manufacture it." (Post #23)​

Did you miss these, or are you deliberately misrepresenting my position?

God has appointed that anyone who believes will have everlasting life (John 3:16)
This is a direct contradiction of what Luke actually wrote, and it is not what John 3:16 says. Ὅσοι is a nominative, headless relative pronoun introducing a substantive relative clause. The entire clause, ὅσοι ἦσαν τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, functions grammatically as the subject of ἐπίστευσαν ("believed"). That is not a matter of interpretation. Grammar dictates the logical order: appointed [subject] --> believed [predicate].

John 3:16 contains no concept of "appointment," let alone an appointment that could override Luke's syntax. You are subtly shifting the meaning of "appointed" in an attempt to evade the text. In Acts 13:48, τεταγμένοι refers to persons who had been placed, assigned, or arranged toward eternal life. But in your statement, "appointed" suddenly refers to a general principle ("God has appointed that anyone who believes..."). These are entirely different categories. You are changing the sense of the term to try to neutralize what Luke clearly wrote.

That does not mean He appointed anyone to believe, as if people don't have a choice in the matter.
Can you clarify what you mean by "choice in the matter"? Again, choice itself is not the point. The issue is the basis of that choice. Does the desire to believe originate autonomously within the fallen human will, or must it be generated by God? (See John 6:44; Rom. 8:7-8).

Acts 13:46 shows that people do have a choice in the matter. Why interpret Acts 13:48 without taking Acts 13:46 and other scriptures into account?
This is a loaded question. You're implying I've ignored verse 46, when it is obvious I've already addressed it. Your choice not to engage my comments doesn't erase them. They're right there for anyone to see. At this point, it looks like you're just firing off replies to keep the disagreement going.

I did not interpret Acts 13:48 without considering verse 46. I explained Luke's contrast: verse 46 reflects self-judgment in unbelief, while verse 48 reflects divine initiative in belief. You've chosen to ignore that explanation, misrepresent my position, and double down on remarks I already addressed. If this is how you intend to engage, our conversation is over.

And once more: context does not override the grammatical subject-predicate relationship. If your understanding of Scripture conflicts with what Luke actually wrote in Acts 13:48, the problem lies in your interpretation, not the text.
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What is everyone having for Thanksgiving?

I am interested to know what kinds of dishes you guys will be having?

My menu tends to gravitate towards Southern US but I wouldn't mind a change?

This year, I was thinking of trying Old- Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting and Sage and Brown Butter Biscuits?

I usually make pumpkin and pecan pie but some of the older people (who are not American) have grumbled about pumpkin :confused:

Supreme Court rejects Kim Davis’ request to reconsider landmark gay marriage ruling

Which is why most Americans won't follow that crowd. It's an old argument, but Americans have always rejected it:

"Woe to those who call evil good."

America isn't God and is indeed following a crowd to do evil, much like Sodom.

I'm not certain why we're discussing "America as god" on a Christian forum.

The Overton window, propaganda and terror are effective at manipulating democracy. It's possible to get people to support pretty much anything, and even post-birth infant death is now in some sectors being openly being posited.

You've said openly you view God's position on this matter as evil and I'll be leaving this conversation as arguing against- effectively- a satanic position is "pearls before swine." We can't agree because we invoke different authorities.
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Does the Hebrew grammar of Daniel 9:24–27 support Christian Widener’s “double seventy-weeks” interpretation?

The graph indicates that the Daniel 9:27 covenant is made 30 days after the abomination in Jerusalem -

30 days after the start of the 1290 days. The covenant is 'cutting the great tribulation short'.

The 1260 days of the 2 witnesses are the exact 1st half of the covenant. It is occurring after the abomination in Jerusalem but before the abomination in Mystery Babylon ('Shinar' in Zech 5).

The end of the 1290 days is the mid-point of the 7 year covenant (1260 days into it). The end of the 1290 days is the 7th Trumpet.

Day 1335 is the 45th day into the '2nd half' of the 7 year covenant. The 2nd half (1260 days) is cut short to 45 days.
Your response and chart is so confusing.

Here, please type what day of the 2520 day seven years does the 1335 days period end on ?

tranquil.jpg
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What really is "dividing the body of Christ"??

Y'know, with the way the world is, one would think Christians would see the need to unite together for mutual support and encouragement rather than wrangle over certain points of the faith ad infinitum. But I guess I hope for too much.
What gets me is those who take as a point of pride their increasing fracturousness, taking it as if it were a sign that they truly are the sole loyalists to Christ.
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What is God’s ‘Kin-dom’?

Many Episcopalians and members of the Anglican Communion seem deeply uncomfortable with this sort of departure from core doctrinal definitions.

Thank you for your kind words. Just for the record because The Episcopal Church is so frequently maligned, my editorial comments in post #3 were not observations made about The Episcopal Church. Rather they come from my work with an unnamed progressive denomination of which I was not an adherent nor a member.
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Using AI vs. Talking To Humans

The "personality" of the AI, if you will, evolves or grows or changes over your interacting with it, and no one seems to be able to know/predict what it will become, or how or why, etc, and if that's not concerning to you, especially as AI gains more capabilities, and we put it in charge of a lot more things, and we move even further and further away from ever being able to know that fully, then I don't know what will, etc. It's one of the main chief primary problems involved with the future of AI safety, and AI safety currently, etc.

God Bless.

There's really nothing to it. Just training data.

The only people who has to worry are those wasting their resources on shallow pleasures.
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