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Landon Caeli · 2025-12-01T20:30:44-0600

The Secretary of Homeland Security responds:

Screenshot_20251201_182751_Samsung Internet.jpg

BCP1928 · 2025-12-01T20:29:29-0600

hedrick said:
It may even be true. My bet: the Secretary of Defense didn't actually say "if anyone survives, kill them." But when someone survived, someone had to interpret what ambiguous orders actually meant. It's not liikely that they'll be court-martialed, but I predict further promotions will be hard to get.

They really should have followed the Democrats' advice. Not "I refuse to follow this order," but "I don't think that's what the Secretary really meant."

"Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?" --Henry II

Christsfreeservant · 2025-12-01T20:28:55-0600

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.

This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”

Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” (John 1:6-7,19-25 NASB1995)

John the Baptist was called of God, even before he was formed in the womb of his mother, to be “a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.” But he was no one of any prominence or notoriety. He was just called of God, and he believed God, and he answered that call, and he did what the Lord called him to do.

But the Pharisees, who were Jews and people of prominence in the Temple, who taught the Scriptures, but who were skilled in hypocrisy, and did not practice what they preached, sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. And they didn’t like John’s answers. So they asked him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

And what this immediately brought to my recall is how so many people today get hung up on titles and diplomas and denominational positions, as though that is what qualifies someone to be a servant of the Lord in taking the message of the gospel to the people of the world and in ministering to the body of Christ what will encourage us all in our walks of faith in obedience to the Lord and to his commands. But it doesn’t qualify anyone.

And yet, people who have religious diplomas from religious institutions, and thus now have titles before their names, are often raised up to some superior status above all other Christians. So, if you have gone through religious training via a church denomination, and now you have received your ordination or consecration, and so you are now an “official worker” in any church denomination, people will usually regard you as now qualified.

But biblically speaking, that is not what qualifies any of us for service to our Lord and to one another. What qualifies us is that we are called of God according to his will and purpose for our lives, and that he is the one equipping us and training us in what he has called us to do, his way, in his timing, and for his purpose, and that we are walking in obedience to his commands, living holy lives, pleasing to him, and that we are willing to do what he has called us to do, even if it gets us hated and despised in return.

For some people with titles and diplomas and notoriety may not even believe in Jesus, and they may not even be listening to the Lord and following his calling, but they may just be following their training and going through the motions of religious practice. And they may not even be teaching the truth of the gospel, but they may be following business people and their marketing gimmicks for how to draw in large crowds of people into their gatherings. And so they could be those who are teaching lies, which are not of God.

So, just because someone is an official worker of a church denomination, it does not qualify them for the Lord’s service. Just because they are called “Reverend,” or “Pastor,” or “Missionary,” it doesn’t mean at all that they are called of God and that they are being led by the Lord in what to do, as John the Baptist was. He didn’t have to be “the Christ,” or “Elijah,” or “the Prophet” to do what God called him to do. He just had to be obedient to God’s call on his life, operating under the control of God empowering him.

So, just know that God does not require college or seminary degrees or titles or church denominations’ stamps of approval on you. All he requires is that you love God with your whole being, that you are obeying the Lord, in practice, and sin is no longer your practice. And that you are willing and available to be used of the Lord, as John the Baptist was, in doing whatever God calls you to do with your life. And then just follow the leading of the Lord in being and in doing what he has called you to be and to do, and leave the results to God, even if it means you don’t have approval by some others.

[Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 28:18-20; John 4:31-38; John 13:13-17; John 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Acts 26:18; Romans 10:14-15; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:11-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20; 1 Peter 2:9,21; 1 John 2:6]

What the Lord Says

Based off Isaiah 43:1-44:5
An Original Work / February 24, 2014
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

This is what the Lord says to you:
Fear not, for I have chosen you.
I have summoned you by your name.
You are mine. I died, you to save.

When you go through your trials, so deep,
I will be with you; you will not sink.
You are so precious always to me.
Trust in your Lord, Savior and King.

This is what the Lord says to you:
He who gave salvation to you;
Who delivered you from your sin;
Takes your burdens now upon Him:

Forget the former things of your life.
Give of your heart not now up to strife.
See all the new things I have for you.
Walk in vict’ry. Trust in what’s true.

This is what the Lord says to you:
He who made you; who will help you:
Do not fear what humans may do.
Walk in freedom. Follow what’s true.

Drink of my Spirit given for you.
Trust in my mercy, for I love you.
I have a plan for all of your life.
Follow my ways. Do what is right.

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Qualifications for Christian Ministry
An Original Work / December 1, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

FreeinChrist · 2025-12-01T20:28:03-0600

ADVISOR HAT

This thread had a small clean up. Please remember this site rule:

Vulgarity and Profanity

Please do not post, or link to, violent, disturbing, graphic, or sexually explicit images or text. Profanity or foul language is not allowed. This includes using punctuation, symbols, or acronyms to bypass the profanity filter. A few non-censored words are found here.

ThatRobGuy · 2025-12-01T20:26:28-0600

keith99 said:
A lot of those posting in this thread would do well to check the Wiki for New School.

It was not at all conservative until about 2 years ago when it was gutted and nearly half the faculty quit.

Right, but as I noted, any school changing their ideological mission would likely suffer the same fate.

If BYU decided tomorrow "we're going to stop being a strict fundamentalist Mormon school, and be a liberal school like Berkeley", they'd have the same issues.

If a bunch of students went to BYU specifically because of the strong moron influence, and a focus on engineering, and they up and replaced everyone with liberal Berkeley professors and concentrated more money on the arts and humanities, the student attrition would be high, the GPAs would drop, etc...

That wouldn't necessarily be immediately chalked up to a failure of the new liberal professors, would it?

Valletta · 2025-12-01T20:24:30-0600

Nithavela said:
Not so long the very christian nation of Ireland basically enslaved women who got pregnant out of wedlock and let their children die from neglect.

Less enlightened societies tend to treat their vulnerable members badly. Nothing new.

Please no hoaxes.

Servus · 2025-12-01T20:19:22-0600

This is the best dirt they could dig up? Seriously? lol.

Servus · 2025-12-01T20:13:54-0600

So what crimes are acceptable for a president to pardon?

Hentenza · 2025-12-01T20:09:47-0600

BobRyan said:
indeed, instead of that we see verses all speaking of eternal fire and we take them all as dealing with the subject we are studying.

Instead of merely ignoring whatever does not suit our preference.

This is the easy part.

Jude is also dealing with that same feature of the those who are not saved.

LOST/wicked PERSONS:
4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

5 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

you really don't have much wiggle room there. The author makes the very connections that your preferences do not tolerate

Didn’t ask for wiggle room. I explained in my post that Matt 25 and Jude are about people and both are about eternal punishment. I don’t see what it is you are arguing. In fact you seem to be agreeing with me.

BobRyan said:
Looks like it is the same great day of judgment that Jude speaks of.

Impossible to miss.

Not in the language of 2 Peter.

BobRyan said:
or the judgment of the great day, 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah

Ezek 28 Satan destroyed and reduced to 'ashes on the Earth" as stated explicitly in Ezek 28.

But satan is not destroyed and turned to ashes instead is thrown into the same lake of fire as the beast, the false prophet, and the wicked to be tortured for ever (Rev. 20). So do you think that your interpretation of Ezekiel. 28 is correct given that you just put it in tension with Rev. 20? To put in tension is not a good thing.

BobRyan said:
The wicked destroyed as "ashes under your feet"

Mal 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” 2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. 3 You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the Lord of hosts.

You continue to interpret symbolic language literally. It seems that you just googled verses that contain the word “ashes” and are bundling them together to attempt to shore up your argument but all you are doing is mixing unrelated verses.

BobRyan said:
You seem to be digging the whole deeper for your own argument

Nah. I think you are getting more confused as you go.

another_lost_guy · 2025-12-01T20:04:14-0600

Why do we get mad at people for dressing up as Hitler or Nazis for Halloween but we don't get mad at people for dressing up as Satan or demons? People genuinely believe Hitler is worse than Satan today and it's ridiculous.

another_lost_guy · 2025-12-01T20:01:26-0600

I recently listened to a high quality upload of Late Registration on YouTube and it blew my mind. Diamonds from Sierra Leone is incredible. I listened to the album before but I'm not much of an audiophile so the quality never meant much to me until now. I posted this in the Christian Music board because I also like Ye's gospel tracks.

Valletta · 2025-12-01T20:00:43-0600

comana said:
I would love to hear Trump give a coherent summary of the history of any one of these conflicts, to include sociopolitical reasons for the conflicts, that he supposedly “brokered “. I would also love to buy the winning powerball ticket. And let’s be honest, the winning powerball ticket is the more likely of the two.

Studying the sociopolitical root causes, as Kamala did for the immigration issue, solves nothing. There is a lot of anti-Trump feeling which I feel gets in the way of people accepting or crediting Trump with success, but what Trump has done should be studied. We saw this negativity with the tariffs right after Trump suggested what he would do. Brokering peace deals is less straightforward, but the most important factor is dealing from a position of power. The Joe Biden statement indicating he would tolerate a minor incursion by Russia ended up causing more that a million casualties. The Biden people also freed up billions of dollars to Iran, the number one backer of terrorism in the Middle East. In contrast with that, Trump made a bold more, two-fold, allowing Israel to kill Iranian scientists and then having the U.S. bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. This gained the respect of the countries involved in the Middle East and in the rest of the world. Had a progressive been elected instead and tried to broker a deal that person probably would have gone through the United Nations. In fact Trump realized the United Nations was actually part of the problem.

St_Worm2 · 2025-12-01T19:54:30-0600

romansroad said:
“Do I still feel this anger and cynicism toward God”? I know all of that is foolish but I am desperate. I read passages like Hebrews 10:26-29 And I just know it’s talking about me.

Hello Romansroad, I've been meaning to jump into this thread since I first noticed it yesterday, so I'll do so now. My first question for you is this, why do you believe that Hebrews 10:26-29 is talking about you? Have you been continually and willfully rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?

I ask, because that's the particular sin that is being referred to here (see v29), the sin that some of the 1st Century Jewish ALMOST Christians were guilty of committing, the sin that, if not repented of by them, would have left them without a sacrifice for their sins, since rejecting Him = rejecting the One and Only Sacrifice that could redeem them and save them from their sins, and from the Father's wrath in the age to come. There is no other Savior besides Him .. e.g. Isaiah 43:10-11.

So, the good news is, if you haven't fully/willfully/finally rejected the Lord Jesus as your Savior and Lord (like some of the 1st Century Jewish ~almost~ Christians were about to do), then you can rest assured that Hebrews 10:26-29 is NOT talking about you

romansroad said:
I am ashamed of all my willful sin.

GOOD

And here is pastor/theologian A. W. Pink to tell you why that's "good", and why it's so important (because loving God enough to be ashamed of our sins, and to turn from them after we commit them is one of the best ways that we have to prove, to ourselves and to others, that we really are the Christians that we claim to be).

iluvatar5150 · 2025-12-01T19:53:14-0600

Vambram said:
Here's more information that you might want to consider.

Treasury Secretary launches probe into Minnesota tax dollars allegedly funding Al-Shabaab terrorists

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent launched a federal probe into serious allegations that Minnesota tax dollars were diverted to terrorist group Al-Shabaab.

www.foxnews.com

I don't know what you're getting at. I never said the thing in MN didn't happen or that it was okay if it did.

stevevw · 2025-12-01T19:51:24-0600

sjastro said:
Each individual exhibited a form of creativity but sorry to dash your hopes but creativity is not some ethereal quality which science cannot explain.

I disagree with the meaning you are defining conscious experiences as. I don't think its about creativity. Thats a different aspect and one that can be linked to processes we can define redlating to form. It may be associated with consciousness.

But whatever is the conscious experience related to creativity it cannot be measured by science because the very nature of subjective experiences cannot be captured in material terms. So I think your conflating something thats not consciousness but a cognative intellectual process about defining the line between creative thinking and consciousness..

sjastro said:
Einstein's brain was removed under the flimsy excuse it was part of the autopsy procedure of the hospital but turned into a full blown scientific investigation of how his brain varied from a typical brain, particularly Einstein's superior visual spatial reasoning which defined his creativity.

Still this is correlation and not accounting for the actual nature of conscious experiences. We can map out all the neural correlations of conscious experiences and know exactly what brain parts and wiring lights up. But none of this tells us anything about the nature of the experiences coming out of those firing mechanism. You cannot see the golden sunset in those brain activities. You have to ask the experiencer directly.

It is only the experiencer who is directly having that experience and gaining that knowledge from it. Like colorblind Mary. She could know everything about the brain activity but none of that gave her any experience or knowledge of colors. It was only when she could then see the color Red that she experienced it and gained new knowledge.

sjastro said:
Brain Feature Typical Human Brain Einstein’s Brain Possible Cognitive Advantage
Inferior Parietal Lobule (IPL) Normal size and folding; separated by a typical Sylvian fissure. Unusually large, highly folded, Sylvian fissure partly absent, giving more cortical area. Enhanced visual–spatial reasoning, mathematical intuition, and ability to mentally manipulate physical systems.
Parietal–Frontal Integration Standard boundaries and separation between frontal and parietal regions. More integrated parietal and frontal regions observed in images. Improved ability to combine abstract ideas, form mental models, and think conceptually.
Glial-to-Neuron Ratio (especially in Area 39) Average glial density; typical metabolic support. Higher glial density in some regions responsible for complex thought. Enhanced neural support for sustained reasoning, possibly enabling long periods of intense thought.
Corpus Callosum Thickness Typical thickness and fiber density. Thicker in several regions, especially mid-body and isthmus. Better communication between hemispheres → integrative, cross-domain thinking.
Overall Cortical Complexity Typical gyrification patterns. More complex folding in certain cognitive areas, especially parietal regions. Increased surface area for specialized processing → potentially greater cognitive capacity in specific domains.
Frontal Lobes (DLPFC areas) Typical prefrontal organization. Some evidence of unusually connected frontal-parietal networks. Improved working memory, planning, and conceptual synthesis.
Language Areas (Broca/Wernicke) Typical development. No major anomalies observed. Consistent with Einstein's own statements that he “thought in images, not words”—creativity rooted in visual reasoning rather than linguistic processing.
Overall Brain Size ~1,350 g average adult male. ~1,230 g (slightly smaller than average). Shows that size is not related to intelligence; efficiency and structure matter more.

All the above does is like mapping out the corelations of consciousness is tell us the technical data of what happens in the brain when we have a conscious experience. It tells us absolutely nothing about that experience or the knowledge that comes from it.

sjastro said:
I want you to tell me the outcome of the ancient Egyptians transcendental ideas or experiences which according to you is manifested in the use of superior technology so where is it? I could just as easily state it is in the existing tools as confirmed by the archaeological evidence.

Thats silly. If I could tell you that then I would have cracked the Hard Problem of Consciousness and so far no one has come near to this.

All I can say is I have shown that there is an aspect of knowledge that material science cannot explain. So there is knowledge beyond the objective empiricle knowledge that tells us something about reality.

sjastro said:
Lets throw a spanner into the works on the subject of Methological Naturalism which you mistakenly refer to as material science.

Methological naturalism deals with the naturalistic processes that are measurable through testing. That is matter, particles, chemicals, elements, forces and fields. So it is material or if you like physical in nature. Any non physical effect like consciousness is classed as an epiphenomena of the physical.

sjastro said:
The Kahun Medical papyrus from the Middle Kingdom shows the Egyptians had developed a pregnancy test where women would urinate on barley and emmer-wheat seeds over several days. If the seeds sprouted indicated the women where pregnant.
Modern scientific studies indicate the test is up to 80% accurate and caused by increased levels of estrogen in the urine of pregnant women.

This is an example of the science of cause and effect, the ancient Egyptians only had the experience of observation which is the effect, they were not aware of Methological Naturalism and attributed the cause to magic.

Actually its now classed as science and not magic. But to the ancients this was like magic. For all we know it may well have been. If you consider that nature has a prenancy test available then it shows how much in nature are the solutions to almost anything. Thats like magic and especially to the ancients.

But none of this tells us anything about how they discovered such things. I am saying that because of their deep immersion in nature consciously that its no surprise they were discovering such things as they came to know how nature worked through an intimate relationship with in.

As opposed to material science when has to first collect a lot of data to work out how nature works in the first place by looking from the outside in. Then after centuries of information come to understand such things.

sjastro said:
It highlights the fact the role of the supernatural in science is useless particularly when it is not falsifiable.

Yes I have been saying that for some time now. Science cannot tell us anything about the supernatural. Yet it is a reality and gives us knowledge that methological naturalism cannot tell us.

Science cannot falsify God or consciousness beyond the physical brain. That means it cannot claim it holds all the knowledge of nature and reality. That means as the ancients lived within this supernatural realm more often or completely they gained knowledge that we cannot get today from material sciences.

Well we can but its taken millenia. Even then we are still struggling with stuff like consciousness and phenomenal experiences like belief.

In some ways methological naturalism is hitting brick walls and is naturally looking at ideas that involve other dimensions that could almost be classed as supernatural. Like the idea that Mind or Consciousness or Information itself is fundemental reality that the material world eminates from.

Valletta · 2025-12-01T19:49:34-0600

godisagardener said:
Looking forward to sunshine tomorrow after three days without. Yesterday had a high only in the 30s (F), made it to 41 today. Supposed to get down to 25 tonight. Then sort of a warm up to about average for this time of year. No snow for us!

Only three months until meteorological spring.

I'm hoping for an above freezing sunny day before spring to melt away the ice on sidewalks and driveways. Sometimes we get it, sometimes we don't.

another_lost_guy · 2025-12-01T19:48:36-0600

Things have gotten laughably insane for me in a very short amount of time. It's not like I'm struggling with my faith, in fact I feel more detached from the world than ever. I am likely going to be living in a truck pretty soon. It seems to me that Jesus was homeless during His ministry. Are there any other writings about feeling closer to God during homelessness besides Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:58? Are there saints or church fathers who wrote anything about it? Is anyone here homeless?

Lost4words · 2025-12-01T19:47:21-0600

CoreyD said:
May I ask what changed your mind? Was it anything to do with this thread, or something else previously said?

Some research...

RabbiJames · 2025-12-01T19:46:26-0600

GENESIS 28:10-22

In this study, we see that Jacob is on his way to Haran to find himself a wife (or two). He is tired after a long day's journey. He stops to rest outside of a city called “Luz” (almond trees), and scripture says that he settles down for the night and takes “of the stones” (m'avenei) and puts “one” under his head for a pillow. I am sure that he chose a large, flat one, wrapped his tunic around it, and put his head down. Perhaps the stone was still warm from the heat of the day, and he went to sleep and dreamed.....

But before we get to the dream, I'd like to note that in all English translations, the number “one” appears which states that he took “one” stone, yet the Hebrew does not give a certain number, the word “m'avenei” is used meaning “of the stones” It could be that he took one “of the stones” or a few “of the stones”. All we know is that he went to sleep and dreamed a strange dream. We all know the story of “Jacob's Ladder”; we have read it in Bible storybooks and from the Torah itself. Yet I think that the title is misleading; it wasn't “Jacob's Ladder” at all, it was “God's ladder.” Jacob was just a witness to seeing it, and the activity that surrounded it.

The Word says that the ladder was grounded on the earth and the top reached Heaven, and angels went up and down the ladder. Then it says that YHVH stood at the top of the ladder and spoke, saying, “Ani YHVH. Elohei Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak” (I am the LORD, God of Abraham, God of Isaac). The same promise that was given to Abraham and Isaac is now being repeated to Ya'akov.

The word “ladder” in Hebrew is “SULAM” in gematria, which equals the sum of 136. The words “Tzom” (fasting) “Kol” (voice), and “Mammon” (money) also sum to “136”. So how do these words speak of Yeshua? Yeshua “Fasted” for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, he “voiced” his prayers to His Father in Heaven, and he taught about money, and “Tzedakah” (deeds of kindness) “it is more blessed to give than receive” he taught that we must put money in its proper perspective, since the “LOVE” of money is the root of all evil, he taught that one should be “content” with the wages received, (when speaking to the Roman soldier).

The land where he is currently located will be his possession and that of his descendants. The title and deed of the Land of Israel pertain to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. YHVH said it, case closed! The rest of the people who live there are “residents,” not owners! YHVH likens the descendants of Jacob to the “dust of the earth.” Why dust? Dust cannot be counted, ever try to count a “speck of dust?” dust will “last forever” also, lay something out in the desert for 1000 years, a car for example, in 1000 years, the car will be no more, probably not even a trace of it will be left, because the “dust” will have, in a way of speaking, “eaten it”. The dust is also “trodden upon.”

“Am Yisrael” (The people of Israel) will be forever, as our faith in our “Mashiach m'Yisrael” (Messiah from Israel) is an everlasting faith, which will endure forever. Israel has also been “trodden on,” stepped on, and mistreated, yet when all is gone and vanished, Israel will be forever. Scripture also says that Israel will be spread abroad to the North, South, East, and West. In other words, “All over the world,” and we have seen just that today.

We have Jewish people in all nations of the world, integrated among all the nations, taking the Torah with them, and the belief in ONE GOD (Echad). We have three major Jewish peoples: “Sephardim” from Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East. “Ashkenazim” from Germany and Eastern Europe, and “Falashim” from Ethiopia and other African countries. The Torah says, “In thy seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.

Who is the Seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Yeshua! He was of the seed of these patriarchs! And we are all blessed by HIM, whose one-time sacrifice for sin saved us all from eternal separation from YHVH. His name “YESHUAH” is “Salvation” from YAH.

When Jacob awoke from his dream, he stood the “stone” that he placed as a pillow, “upright” and anointed it with oil, calling that place “Beit-El” (House of God).

The word “stone” in Hebrew is “AVEN,” which is a combination of two words, AV (father) and BEN (Son), Father and Son as ONE (Echad). The anointing of the “Stone” reminds us of the anointing of YESHUA as Messiah, teacher of Torah, healer, and redeemer. He is the SOLID ROCK.

Something else we might notice is that the "stone" was laid flat as a pillow for Jacob's head. It must have absorbed the heat of the sun during the day, and at night, when the temperature drops, served as a "heated pillow." Once Jacob awoke, he put the stone upright. We might see some symbolism in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, placed "flat" in the tomb, lying down upon the stone floor, and then, being "raised up" from the dead, to life again. He is the "Aven", he is the "Solid Rock" of Salvation.

The ladder itself is symbolic. The sages and rabbis of old liken the ladder to “Moshe climbing up to the top of Sinai to receive the Commandments carved in STONE, and later, went up again for 40 days and nights to receive the whole Torah, which he later wrote down. He went UP, and YHVH came DOWN. We liken this unto “Yeshua the Living WORD, the living TORAH”. Other rabbis imagine the ladder as having 22 steps, each step being a letter of the Alef-Bet, the Hebrew Alphabet. Since all letters form words, we look again at Yeshua, who is the “living WORD, the living TRUTH The ladder is the “WAY up, and the WAY down. Yeshua said, “I AM the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE, no one comes to the Father but by ME.”

We can also see the first coming of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus to Earth. He came DOWN to live among men and women, to teach the Torah, to heal the sick and raise the dead, and to die for our sins. He went UP from the grave, conquered the curse of sin and death, and returned UP to heaven from the Mt. of Olives

The word “ladder” in Hebrew is “SULAM” in gematria, which equals the sum of 136. The words “Tzom” (fasting) “Kol” (voice), and “Mammon” (money) also sum to “136”. So how do these words speak of Yeshua? Yeshua “Fasted” for 40 days and 40 nights in the desert, he “voiced” his prayers to His Father in Heaven, and he taught about money, and “Tzedakah” (deeds of kindness) “it is more blessed to give than receive” he taught that we must put money in its proper perspective, since the “LOVE” of money is the root of all evil, he taught that one should be “content” with the wages received, (when speaking to the Roman soldier).

How do these words speak of our relationship with Yeshua? We first come to “Salvation” (Yeshuah) through “Prayer” (voice) of repentance (tefilah/ teshuva), and there are times when we must “fast” to get prayers answered, and we fast on Yom Kippur. We “give money” through tithes and offerings to our local church/synagogue to keep it going. But who or what is the ladder really? Is there a correct answer? It is in the Brit HaDashah (New Testament). JOHN 1:51: Then He said,

“I assure you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the 'Son of Man'.

What is this “ascending and descending” mean? Could this have a meaning? All things, activities, and actions have meaning. One way we might look at this is that all angels are at the disposition of our Messiah. They serve Him day and night; they are also in our service, which is why we each have “guardian angels”. The angels going up the ladder might be because they are receiving instructions from Yeshua, and the ones going down might be carrying out the instructions (just an idea). This also reminds us of John 14:6;

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me."

Who was at the top of the ladder? YHVH (God himself), and if the ladder is "Yeshua" himself, then John 14:6 makes complete sense. He is the "way" to the "Father". Have you chosen to climb that ladder? Not to worry, you won't fall off. Our relationship with the LORD is "one step, one rung at a time."

The Liturgist · 2025-12-01T19:45:02-0600

Mockingbird0 said:
But the decision was controversial, with some Christians refusing to abide by it.

Some Quartodecimians refused to abide by it, but like Arians, their disobedience of Nicaea caused them to become anathema as soon as the First Ecumenical Synod was accepted as ecumenical by the ancient churches of Alexandria, Antioch, Rome, Cyprus, and the newly reinstated church in Jerusalem.

Mockingbird0 said:
Fact: The Evangelist Matthew's community were Torah-keepers, but there is no evidence connecting them to the Roman Province of Asia.

False: St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist spread the Gospel to Parthia, Pontus, and Ethiopia, where he was martyred. Also, contrary to popular opinion, the version of the Gospel of Matthew we have was originally written in Greek, not Aramaic or Hebrew.

Mark Quayle · 2025-12-01T19:44:30-0600

timothyu said:
Because we base our understanding of what we will be on who we are now and that will not be the case. So what is it about us now that God will rework and if it is known,, why do we waste time with theology if we can live or apply it now? Did not Jesus give us two commandments saying just that?

Good point, though I still don't get how it relates to the op, but anyhow: What you just said is theology.

SabbathBlessings · 2025-12-01T19:43:16-0600

DamianWarS said:
God doesn't write it either, he proclaims it, Moses is the one what that writes it down. He then is invited to go up the mountain to get the tablets

Thanks but I am going to stick with the word of God. I mean really how many times does He need to repeat Himself for one to believe. If you wish to give man credit for God's work when not even Moses did and he was there, feel free to. But thats the core of the issue, man lowering God's divine works to be the same or lower than man. Man thinking their thoughts, their ideas is the same as the word of God. Its not. Its really the heart of the issue man elevating their words over God's and than convincing themselves its in the Bible, when its really not.

To be honest I am not sure the point of our Bibles if we are not going to believe what it says plainly. As Jesus said making the word of God of no effect.

You are free to believe as you wish, but according to God's Holy Word, this is something that cannot be made more clear. God literally spelled it out for us.

Deu 4:13 So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.

Deu 5:22 "These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

Exo 31:18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Exo 32:16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.

Exo 34:28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Exo 34:1 And the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.

Deut 10:4 And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me.

The 'He" in these verses is God. Not once in the entire Bible does it say Moses wrote the Ten Commandments, I guess thats why no Scripture was provided for your claim. Moses wrote all other laws on paper with ink in a book outside the ark. Deu31:24-26 The Ten Commandments God wrote with His finger, Himself on stone, it is His own commandments and man had no part of the writing His own Laws, only the Ten Commandments was inside the ark of God, never called the ark of Moses Exo40:20 under God's mercy seat Exo25:21, not the mercy seat of Moses, God's Testimony Exo31:18, not the testimony of Moses, God's covenant Deut 4:13, not the covenant of Moses, God's work, not the work of Moses Exo32:16. Hopefully one day you will accept these Biblical Truths that are written in our Bibles.

ThatRobGuy · 2025-12-01T19:39:02-0600

BCP1928 said:
The same thing is happening here and the truth is that with automation and AI there really are no jobs for these people but somehow it will still be their fault that they are unemployed.

I think some form of UBI will be inevitable in order to offset AI.

While my job will be safe for a while (due to me being the one of the lucky ones who knows how to implement AI-driven solutions), there will come a day where even my job won't be safe, and there will be some Agentic AI bot that make the same decisions that I make, and figures out a way to prompt other AI "worker bots" with more intuitive prompts than I can give it.

My "preservation strategy" is to train up a bot that does the executive team's jobs better than they can do it, before they can figure out how to train one (or hire someone to train one) that does my job better than me lol.

AI capabilities are growing exponentially, the free "user-friendly" GUI versions people use online are small potatoes compared to what the paid tiers can do, I'm honestly amazed at what they can do in such a short amount of time.

I'm thankful for a few things...

1) We just paid off the homestead a few months ago
2) My company decided to lock me in to 4 year agreement (due to a little creative hardball I played) agreeing to a 60% provision (and yes, I had my stunningly beautiful Indian goddess of a lawyer GF review everything thoroughly), so if they decide to can me on Jan 1st, I still get paid 60% of my salary (and healthcare benefits) until 2030 no matter how good AI gets.

godisagardener · 2025-12-01T19:38:40-0600

mourningdove~ said:
Some months have passed since you posted the above. Have you finished reading the book? Did you find that you liked it?

(Thinking of you! Best wishes for a blessed holiday season. )

I'm working on the book slowly but surely. It's BIG! So far it's good. But I've been reading several others

that are hard to put down.

Thanks for the kind thoughts. I've been somewhat absent from the forum, checking in but not posting. Some health issues (nothing serious), some church issues that have really had me questioning the state of today's churches

. One of our cats passed away.

Just life things I guess.

Hope you're doing well. I'll give an update on the book later this week.

Brain Feature	Typical Human Brain	Einstein’s Brain	Possible Cognitive Advantage
Inferior Parietal Lobule (IPL)	Normal size and folding; separated by a typical Sylvian fissure.	Unusually large, highly folded, Sylvian fissure partly absent, giving more cortical area.	Enhanced visual–spatial reasoning, mathematical intuition, and ability to mentally manipulate physical systems.
Parietal–Frontal Integration	Standard boundaries and separation between frontal and parietal regions.	More integrated parietal and frontal regions observed in images.	Improved ability to combine abstract ideas, form mental models, and think conceptually.
Glial-to-Neuron Ratio (especially in Area 39)	Average glial density; typical metabolic support.	Higher glial density in some regions responsible for complex thought.	Enhanced neural support for sustained reasoning, possibly enabling long periods of intense thought.
Corpus Callosum Thickness	Typical thickness and fiber density.	Thicker in several regions, especially mid-body and isthmus.	Better communication between hemispheres → integrative, cross-domain thinking.
Overall Cortical Complexity	Typical gyrification patterns.	More complex folding in certain cognitive areas, especially parietal regions.	Increased surface area for specialized processing → potentially greater cognitive capacity in specific domains.
Frontal Lobes (DLPFC areas)	Typical prefrontal organization.	Some evidence of unusually connected frontal-parietal networks.	Improved working memory, planning, and conceptual synthesis.
Language Areas (Broca/Wernicke)	Typical development.	No major anomalies observed.	Consistent with Einstein's own statements that he “thought in images, not words”—creativity rooted in visual reasoning rather than linguistic processing.
Overall Brain Size	~1,350 g average adult male.	~1,230 g (slightly smaller than average).	Shows that size is not related to intelligence; efficiency and structure matter more.

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