Vambram said:

None of them are Christian Nationalists and they don't wish to destroy our country.

Click to expand...

Hesgeth belongs to a church associated with the CREC, Johnson is connected with the NAR and has public-ally denounced the idea of the separation of church and state. They are Dominionists without a doubt

Pope Leo XIV received in a Nov. 6 audience the members of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE, by its Spanish acronym), the Ecumenical Council of Churches (CEC), and the representatives of the Christian Churches of Europe, who met in Rome to sign the updated “Charta Œcumenica.”

Signed in 2001 by the presidents of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the CCEE, the Ecumenical Charter has been the cornerstone of European ecumenical cooperation for more than two decades. The revised version seeks to address contemporary challenges and reflect the changing realities of European society and Christianity.

The revision process, initiated in 2022, was led by a joint working group of the CEC and the CCEE. To this end, input from churches and ecumenical organizations throughout Europe was considered for the purpose of ensuring that the updated text responds to current ecumenical needs.

The updated version was signed on Nov. 5 by Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania, the president of the CCEE, and by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Nikitas Loulias of Thyateira and Great Britain.

Continued below.

Prayer for the faithful departed is one of the most misunderstood and neglected practices in the Church today by many people. I was also told that it explains one of the most misunderstood of Our Lords parables. That of the unrighteous steward.

1 And he said also to his disciples: There was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said to him: How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship: for now thou canst be steward no longer. 3 And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my lord taketh away from me the stewardship? To dig I am not able; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I know what I will do, that when I shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 Therefore calling together every one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first: How much dost thou owe my lord?

6 But he said: An hundred barrels of oil. And he said to him: Take thy bill and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then he said to another: And how much dost thou owe? Who said: An hundred quarters of wheat. He said to him: Take thy bill, and write eighty. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, forasmuch as he had done wisely: for the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. 9 And I say to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity; that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. 10 He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in that which is greater.

11 If then you have not been faithful in the unjust mammon; who will trust you with that which is the true? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's; who will give you that which is your own?


I was taught that we are the unrighteous steward, and we see the end of our stewardship in that we will die, and it is only here on Earth where we get to be stewards. The steward is generous with his master’s money so that people will receive him when he loses his job. It is called unrighteous mammon because it does not belong to the steward, rather his master
We can see a parallel if we see the way the steward used the money and how we use the grace of God.
We are stewards of God’s grace, not possessors. It does not belong to us, it comes from God. If we take it and share it with others for their benefit, we will be well received when we enter eternity.
Whether we give alms here, forgive others their sin, offer mass, perform penance or indulgences for the dead, we are asking our fellow souls, how much do you owe my master? Quickly cancel that and write down this instead.
God has given us the stewardship of His grace, how we use it determines how we will be received.
Those in purgatory cannot pray for themselves, so any prayer or penance offered by us is greatly appreciated and spiritually powerful
The reason there is wailing and gnashing of teeth in eternity is that it is so simple to be well received. You mean all I had to do was say a prayer or let go of some material things that I really have no use for? O woe is me how dumb and greedy I was

Be generous while you have your stewardship, share the grace of God with anyone you can. It may not pay off here, but in the life to come, God will praise your cleverness as the worldly master praised the unrighteous steward

Pepperdoodle said:

Government isn't the savior. Society and churches have been pushed out of the way in general in helping, just as gov't wants. Society, we the people are bigger than the government, but it's been twisted around so it seems gov't is bigger than society. God has limits on gov't, but it seems per usual, gov't has overstepped those limits, thus pushing society to the side. Gov't is suppose to work for the people, not against them. For decades it's been messed up. People need to be self dependent and help each other, not look to gov't as the helper.

Click to expand...

No one said it was, but the laws that were over ancient Israel seem to me to lean heavily on the side of the government being responsible for ensuring the care of its citizenry. God's justice that governments are instituted to support goes far beyond law and order.

Pepperdoodle said:

It's always been that way. Us regular folk and there are those at the top. Again, the gov't is too big making too many "at the top". But it's been that way for too long. Even in Bible times it was that way. The Bible even mentions the poor will always be. Rich or poor, either way, if they are saved than they are on equal footing before God. Are you into cashiers should get paid the same as brain surgeons?

Click to expand...

The size of the government doesn't seem to me to be the biggest cause of graft and exploitation by governmental officials. And just because the poor will always be with us, doesn't mean we should just ignore poverty and let them live in squalor.

Pepperdoodle said:

Most people have the same opp to employment opps. Some just aren't gifted, interested, etc in what it takes to be a lawyer over a school teacher. There are already those things in general. Manpower is one example. Sadly now days, some don't actually want to work, but still give me money, is their attitude. That's not how God wants it to be. I'm not referring to those who may have a physical condition that limits their ability, that's for another post. The majority of those who don't want to work though they physically can, if they struggle, that is their problem. I don't feel bad for them really since they are capable, but just lazy.

Click to expand...

No, most people don't have the same opportunities. Connections vary, access to education and job training varies, transportation is often a barrier. To claim that most people have the same opportunities is naive at best.

Pepperdoodle said:

By history. Schools since the 90's it seems have went down hill. Depending on how old you are, there has been a dumbing down in public schools that wasn't there before. Research it sometime. A dumber people are a people easier to control. There is good info out there about how it's changed. And it's a deliberate change. Never forget, public schools are a government run system. The way God expects gov't to be run, isn't the gov't we live under today. Today's gov't is out of control and has been for decades. It's that way in many countries.

Click to expand...

What metric? are you just eyeball testing it, or do you have hard data?

Pepperdoodle said:

What specifically do you mean by "pro-social attitudes"?

Click to expand...

Love thy neighbor.

Pepperdoodle said:

What "environmental exposure" are you referring to?

Click to expand...

I mean exposure to violence in their schools, neighborhoods, and general environment.

mark46 said:

Doesn't a no-confidence vote require 50% of the legislature?

Click to expand...

A vote of no confidence against "The Government" (the PM and their ministers) does.

However, the dissolution of parliament comes from the executive branch.

Sort of a metaphorical "mutually assured destruction" of sorts...

Both branches have a big red button they can push if things are going off of the rails in the other branch.

I believe parliament can trigger a dissolution against themselves (causing a general election) as well.

I would imagine that would be strategically leveraged in a cases where one party is being pretty terrible, and they'd be somewhat confident that their own seats would be easily "re-winnable" and they could pick up more seats from the other party/parties.


But again, one of the Canadian/Brit/Aussie posters could perhaps elaborate on that better than I could.

'The pastor’s corpse has been found, alongside two other corpses of two other Christians'

ABUJA, Nigeria — Fulani herdsmen on Monday killed at least 10 Christians, including a Pentecostal pastor, in Benue state, Nigeria, residents said.

The Rev. Simon Nbach of Flaming Fire Ministry and the other Christians were massacred in the attack on Anwule Oglewu village of Ohimini County as farmers were working in their fields, residents said. The assailants also burned down a Catholic Church building and destroyed dozens of homes.

The pastor’s corpse has been found, alongside two other corpses of two other Christians, Adoya Ejigai, and Ejeh Loko,” area resident Casmir Eigege told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. “So far, 10 Christians have been confirmed dead, and one other Christian was abducted by the herdsmen.”

Eigege identified the attackers as Fulani herdsmen.

Continued below.

Tropical Wilds said:

“even if I was a pedophile, I wouldn’t be able to do do anything with all the adults around”

Click to expand...

I have to admit that this sent a bit of a shiver down my spine.

The 39-year-old is accused of helping a Hamas-linked cell plan attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets

A man has been arrested in the UK and faces extradition to Germany, where he is accused of playing a “key role” in a Hamas-linked terror cell planning attacks on Israeli and Jewish institutions. Three other men thought to be part of this group were arrested in Germany in September and are accused of procuring firearms and ammunition.

Britain’s ITV makes note of the rather important fact that the newly-arrested 39-year-old man “is the son of a senior Hamas official” in its fifthparagraph, describing him four times before this as “British.”

‘Global Britain’ campaigner Aman Bhogal lamented that “for far too long, the world’s assorted extremists and terrorists have had a red-carpet route into Britain.”

The liberal establishment elite has handed over passports like toffees, anointing them ‘British.’ When the same imported problem engages in terror, the establishment elite MSM calls it ‘British.’

Click to expand...

Writer Sean Durns added that “when you invite people who are sympathetic to terrorism into your country, you tend to get terrorism.”

The suspect first came to the attention of German counter-terror police in June this year. He is suspected of having overseen the transportation of firearms into the country. British police arrested him on Monday after the National Crime Agency received an extradition request from German prosecutors.

Continued below.

Abraham1st said:

Do you still have something to speak about when you don't promote perfection.



1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Click to expand...

The doctrine of Sinless Perfection is wrong because it denies that the flesh still exists after salvation, that the desires of the flesh still influence our actions after salvation, and that grace is still needed after salvation.

Ever worried that skipping breakfast might leave you foggy at work? Or that intermittent fasting would make you irritable, distracted and less productive?

Snack food ads warn us that “you’re not you when you’re hungry”, reinforcing a common belief that eating is essential to keep our brains sharp.

This message is deeply woven into our culture. We’re told constant fuelling is the secret to staying alert and efficient.

Yet time-restricted eating and intermittent fasting have become hugely popular wellness practices over the past decade. Millions do it for long-term benefits, from weight management to improved metabolic health.

This raises a pressing question: can we reap the health rewards of fasting without sacrificing our mental edge? To find out, we conducted the most comprehensive review to date of how fasting affects cognitive performance.

Why fast in the first place?​

Continued below.

Honestly, I have seen both.

I've seen churches that were too "inward focused". The members were taken care of. It felt like one big family. The downside was there was little to no outreach. Visitors didn't really feel welcome. Etc. So, the church didn't grow very much (if at all), in fact it started decreasing in membership as people moved or passed away.

I've seen churches that were too "outward focused". It leads to what has been described in the OP and other posts here..

I think to be healthy, a church as to do both.. It has to take care of its members, but it also has to do outreach. There is a balance there..

The Overton Window is shifting among Catholics. Because evil is so widespread in the world, and sin hits close to home more and more, we have started, and are able, to settle for less. I am not here referring to the debate that comes every election about choosing a candidate that is the lesser of two evils – meaning, bad, but still not as evil as the other option. While that, too, concerns “settling,” it is not so much the secular world I am concerned with as that which has to do with the Catholic Faith and the lives of the faithful; namely, morality.

The term “Overton Window” is a term derived from political science, and which I was not familiar with until sometime last year when I first heard it on a Catholic podcast. The theory was first developed by political analyst Joseph P. Overton, and originally known as “The Window of Political Possibilities.” It was renamed after Mr. Overton following his death. According to Britannica, the term means, “...the range of policies considered acceptable by the majority of a population at a particular time.” While the concept was invented specifically as a study of politics, it can also be applied when measuring how moral standards are viewed by society over the years.

The generation of my parents, although living in a post-1960s world and far from a society where morality still reigned supreme, for the most part still had a goal in mind: to find someone they could love, and marry. Marriage was still viewed as the proper endgame of a romantic relationship; cohabitation was taboo. As the children of that generation have become adults and started their own lives, the place marriage has in society has changed, as most of the people in my generation (the generation known as Gen Z, or Zoomers) skip marriage altogether.

Continued below.

Abraham1st said:

Do you mean in your brain, that the doctrine of godliness cannot be allowed.

Click to expand...

No, it's in the rules (see excerpt below).

Topics Requiring Special Consideration:​

• Please check each forum's Statement of Purpose thread for any additional guidelines related to these controversial topics.
• Abortion, adultery, premarital sex, masturbation, and marijuana use may be discussed, but encouraging participation in these activities is not allowed. Illegal activities may not be encouraged or promoted*.
• Homosexuality, same-sex marriage, bisexuality, transsexualism and transgenderism may not be promoted* on CF (including member profiles). Several debate forums allow homosexuality, same-sex marriage, bisexuality, transsexualism and transgenderism to be discussed from a political, legal, historical, and civil rights point of view. Please check the Statement of Purpose thread for individual debate forums before posting. Homosexuality, same-sex marriage, bisexuality, transsexualism and transgenderism may be discussed, without promotion*, in the Congregational in line with each group's beliefs there. You may post without promotion* in the Struggles with Sexuality and Ask a Chaplain forums solely for the purpose of seeking support with personal struggles related to these issues.
• Promoting* or proselytizing religious beliefs or religions other than Christianity is not allowed. Members who are Satanists (followers of any form of Satanism) are not allowed at CF. For the purpose of these rules, Christianity is defined by Christian Forums' Statement of Faith which is found in the Sitewide Rules.
• Requesting specific prayers for deliverance from demonic activity, or requesting advice on how to exorcise or bind demons is not allowed. Posts which attempt to exorcise or bind demons, or posts which give instructions on how to complete deliverance are not allowed. Members concerned about demonic activity/deliverance may speak with a CF Chaplain in the Ask a Chaplain forum.
• Biblical end times date setting or date speculation is not allowed except in Controversial Christian Theology, under the guidelines addressed in that forum’s SoP.
• Please do not give professional, legal, financial, medical, or other counseling. Do not direct, imply, or suggest that others should disregard doctors' orders regarding medical diagnosis and/or treatment.
• Qanon conspiracy theories are not allowed on CF.
• Personal Prophecy (prophetic utterance) will be considered off-topic to all site forums. These may be posted in your own personal blog.
• Teaching that sinless perfection is not allowed on Christian forums. We are all sinners who Christ came to save. Insisting that sinless perfection is necessary in this world to attain heaven is not permitted as the topic of threads or to be brought into threads.
• Promotion of King James Version Onlyism (KJVO) or King James Bible Only is not allowed. Stating one has a preference for King James Version is fine. Tying salvation to what version is used will be seen as flaming.

* Promotion is defined as encouragement of the progress, growth, or acceptance of something including advertising and publicity.

A new forensic study has revealed that the linen cloths attributed to the saint are not mere devotional relics.

In the Carmelite convent of Alba de Tormes, Spain, where the remains of St. Teresa of Jesus rest, science and faith have once again met face to face. A new forensic study has revealed that the linen cloths said to be the saint's are not mere devotional relics: They were burial shrouds, used to wrap the body of the reformer of Carmel and the author of some of the greatest Spanish poetry of all time.

The research, conducted by chemical engineer Felipe Montero Ortego and forensic doctor Alfonso Sánchez Hermosilla — founding member of the Sudarium of Oviedo Association — has confirmed the presence of stains consistent with cadaveric fluids.The faint outline of a woman’s body imprinted on the fabric seems to stand as a silent witness to Teresa’s final passage.

Woven from high-quality linen with Z-twisted threads — a refined weaving technique for the 16th century — the cloths have survived the centuries in better condition than expected. Yet the scientists warn of active biological deterioration, as explained by Salamanca Al Día. Under the microscope, the fabric reveals both its fragility and its dignity: traces of red-dyed silk fibers and the absence of artificial preservatives suggest that these textiles were kept with great reverence, protected from air and decay.

Continued below.

curry favor

Confusing your religion and your politics tends to make for bad politics and worse religion. Throughout the history of the Church, popes have often been less than wise in political matters, most of them having no particular expertise or ability in such matters. Sometimes popes are thrust against their will into political questions that they would rather avoid. A prime example of this is the Church in Communist dominated Poland. Other times, as in the case of Francis I and Francis II Leo XIV, they gladly run into the political world where wiser popes would tread very carefully, if at all. Christ and Peter said nothing about the crucial political issue of their time and place, the political domination of Israel by Rome. Christ’s mission was to all mankind. Our clerics would do best to usually follow their example.

Continued below.
Confusing Your Religion & Your Politics

The role of the disciples is to witness. They are not trained to be theologists to begin with. Though later as led by the Holy Spirit, they learned to be theologists (and good Greek speakers?). Paul on the other hand, is a Pharisee born to be a good theologist. Paul's role is provide a theological foundation for Christianity. He weighs more on theology than the role of witnessing.

For that matter, Paul may try to correct Peter on some issues which Paul thinks are theologically critical.

Manners really are very important.

Your opponent is bored with the board game.

A really great board game . . .

The Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated the Trump administration’s mandate that passports must identify individuals by their biological sex.

The High Court paused a lower court’s ruling that blocked the passport policy from being implemented while it is adjudicated in the courts.

“Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth – in both cases, the government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment,” the court said in an unsigned order.

The three liberal justices dissented.

The policy is born out of President Trump’s day one executive order that requires the federal government to only recognize two sexes. The order also declares that sex is not changeable.

Continued below.

Improved English through ChatGPT.

Did you ever eat eggs before the age of two? The only way to know is through your parents’ testimony. Yet, they could lie — even for what they believe to be a “good” reason. This shows that the same vessel capable of conveying truth can also carry falsehood. That is why everyone must rely on faith to decide whether their parents are telling the truth. This is the very nature of testimony itself. While it is the only possible means of communicating truth, it can also serve to communicate lies — a limitation that comes from human frailty. Humanity depends on “faith in testimony” to grasp truth, yet testimonies are capable of deception, and humans lack the means to bypass this uncertainty.

This dynamic plays out every day. A familiar example is the 2020 U.S. election. Did Biden truly win the votes, or was it Trump? The information we receive comes in the form of testimonies, not direct evidence. When both sides use the same vessel—testimony—to deliver opposite claims, humans are unable to discern which is true, even though one must be false. Lacking the ability to verify further, people are forced to choose whom to believe. Put another way, if the so-called “evidence” were readily available, no rational person would have stormed the U.S. Capitol with a gun.

In a broader sense, the entire purpose of Earth is a test of faith—and so is the Bible. Both Eden and Earth are models of Heaven (and even of Hell), where angels coexist with humans. Angels are endowed with far greater intelligence and ability than humans. For this reason, humankind was utterly defeated both in Eden and on Earth. Humans live under the Law, captives without hope, destined for destruction by a flood. Yet, the self-sacrifice of Jesus changed everything. Through Him, humans who were dead under the Law may live through Faith. Faith remains the only weapon through which humanity can break its chains.

Reactions to the “2025 National Study of Catholic Priests” conducted by The Catholic Project at Catholic University of America, demonstrate the failure of many in the Catholic commentariat even to grasp this important shift.

A major recent survey suggests that a new generation of Catholic priests is breaking free of the restrictive political labels of “conservative” and “liberal,” recognizing that the claims of our Faith transcend such increasingly anachronistic branding.

The study, conducted by The Catholic Project at Catholic University of America, demonstrates that newer cohorts of Catholic priests refuse to be constrained by a political regime that, in both its conservative and progressive forms, is corrosive of Catholic witness. Responses to the “National Study of Catholic Priests: Wave 2” (the “Wave Two Study” or “Study”) suggest that younger priests are resistant to the left/right continuum of American politics.

A paradigm shift among newer priests

The Catholic Project describes itself as “an initiative from Catholic University [of America] to foster effective collaboration between the clergy and the laity of the Church in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis.” But with its Wave Two Study, the initiative has broadened its scope to include a wide range of concerns related to the shifting profiles of Catholic priests in the United States. The survey does not reveal newer priests’ suspicion of one extreme of the political spectrum in favor of the other. Rather, it suggests that they are uncomfortable with the political liberalism to which practically all Americans subscribe, especially as that liberalism has distorted Catholic witness.

It is not my purpose to summarize the findings of the survey, which can be found in multiple places, including here, here, and here. Rather, my goal in this column is to suggest that the survey reveals a paradigm shift among newer Catholic priests, away from the constraints of the liberal continuum with which Americans, including most American Catholics, identify.

In my 2024 book, Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America, I suggest that we Catholics must resist situating ourselves on the left-to-right continuum of American liberalism. From the far left to the far right, Americans subscribe to the same basic moral anthropology and political philosophy of the so-called English Enlightenment. This philosophy asserts that we are atomistic individuals, bearing possessive individual rights claims against one another, and existing in a state of a war of every man against every man.

Rejecting the Catholic principles of teleology, solidarity, and common good, for example, liberalism reduces politics to protecting individual pursuits of self-interested goods, making no judgments about what goods ought or ought not be pursued, so long as individual liberty is preserved.

Continued below.

@VivianRora

Yesterday, Islamic extremists set fire to a Catholic church in Benue, Nigeria, and killed several Christian’s. Yet they are still trying to gaslight us into believing there is no terrorism happening in this country.

Muslims Set Fire to a Catholic Church in Benue, Nigeria, & Killed Several Christians