RoBo1988 said:

The church is always looking for "God to move in the service. That's good, but I feel like a lot of people (and this individual in particular) are trying to force His movement.

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RileyG said:

Thankfully i have a FSSP chapel near me that is thriving.

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Xeno.of.athens said:

Romans 9:5, Acts 20:28. and some more, but these are not Granville Sharp rule passages.

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synger said:

I think one of the best places to start with Luther is the Small Catechism. The Small Catechism He wrote it to help fathers teach their families basic Christian (Lutheran) principles. It's an easy read because it's designed for home use, and if you want more detail on any of what he says you can look up the same section (Ten Commandments, Creed, Baptism, etc.) in his Large Catechism, which goes into much more depth.

One of his early seminal works was "The Freedom of the Christian", (https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...+Martin+Luther+The+Freedom+of+a+Christian.pdf) which led to his much more involved "Bondage of the Will". I've read both, and Bondage is an amazing piece. there's a good reason it's considered his magnum opus. That said, it's a deep read. It's not something to dash off in a weekend.

The "95 Theses" are interesting primarily as a historical touchpoint to show the main issues that he had with current (at his time) Roman Catholic teaching. It was an invitation to discussion, not so much an exploration of the issues in detail. It gets pretty redundant after a while.

Probably the closest thing we have to a systematic theology from him is the Augsburg Confession. The Augsburg Confession He was asked by the Emperor to put in writing his beliefs so the Roman church could dispute them (very general description of the history there... it was a lot more complicated than that). So you have articles "of God", "of the Ministry", "of Justification", etc. Keep in mind when you read them the context here. He will say "this is what we believe, over against what the Romans or the Anabaptists believe".

If you're still reading and want more, the next one would be The Defense of the Augsburg Confession. (also available at bookofconcord.org) Basically, the Roman Catholics replied to his Augsburg Confession (above) and the Defense is his rebuttal. So you get more history within the theology as well.

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tonychanyt said:

Jesus' ministry after resurrection until ascension: A harmonized chronology
The descriptions in the gospels were rather confusing. This is my attempt to harmonize.
After the resurrection morning, Jesus met two disciples in Lk 24:

After spending some hours with them,

M2 decided to go back to Jerusalem to report to the Peter et al:

Thomas wasn't there (Jn 20:24).
Jn 20:

Some days later, 1Co 15:

More days later, Jesus told his disciples the great commission in Mt 28:

Galilee was 80 miles from Jerusalem, a 3-day walk.
Some days later, Jesus appeared to 7 disciples by the Sea of Galilee (Jn 21:2). They were fishing:

Another day, he appeared to James, his genetic half-brother (1Co 15:7).
Jesus ascended to heaven from Mount Olivet (Ac 1:12) near Bethany. Lk 24:

Bethany was 2 miles from Jerusalem.
From resurrection to ascension was about 40 days (Ac 1:3).
Chronology:

1. Resurrection morning at the tomb and in Jerusalem.
2. In the afternoon, Jesus broke bread with two disciples at Emmaus, 7 miles from Jerusalem.
3. In the evening, he appeared to Peter et al in Jerusalem. Thomas wasn't there.
4. 8 days later, he showed up again to his disciples. Thomas was there.
5. Some days later, over 500 brethren saw him in one gathering.
6. Some days later, the eleven met him at a mountain in Galilee, 80 miles from Jerusalem. He told them the great commission.
7. Some days later, he showed up while they were fishing in the Sea of Galilee.
8. Another day, he appeared to James, his half-brother.
9. About 40 days after resurrection, he ascended to heaven from Mount Olivet, 2 miles from Jerusalem.

Over 40 days, Jesus appeared in Jerusalem, Emmaus, Galilee, and Bethany.

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Ignatius the Kiwi said:

Pornhub should not only be banned because of incidents like this, but because pornography and it's effects on society in general have been disastrous and evil.

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Lost4words said:

Yes there is.....

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statsphil said:

Today's date 19/08/2024 (Australian Date Order) has an 888 pattern and is the day of a full moon.
19 - 8th prime number
08 - 8th number
2024 - digits add to the number 8

Hence the date has an 888 pattern and 888 represents Jesus in Greek language. Today is also the day/night of the largest full moon of the year. I am investigating on whether this full moon could be considered as #TheJesusMoon that represents a turning point in the church in the world.

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xser88 said:

Media Grading Trump on Curve Again. Inarticulate Policy Rant.

Corporate media for years has held conservatives and Republicans to lower standards. Here is another blatant example. Trump was asked how he'd tackle childcare? Here is a transcript of his incoherent word salad response.


“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down. You know, I was somebody — we had, Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka, was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue.

"But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about — that, because look, childcare is childcare, couldn’t — you know, there’s something — you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to. But they’ll get used to it very quickly. And it’s not going to stop them from doing business with us. But they’ll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country. Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we’re talking about, including childcare, that it’s going to take care. We’re going to have — I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time, coupled with the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country.

"Because I have to stay with childcare. I want to stay with childcare. But those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I’m talking about, including growth, but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just — that I just told you about. We’re going to be taking in trillions of dollars. And as much as childcare is talked about as being expensive, it’s, relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers will be taking in.

"We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people. And then we’ll worry about the rest of the world. Let’s help other people. But we’re going to take care of our country first. This is about America first. It’s about make America great again. We have to do it because right now, we’re a failing nation. So we’ll take care of it. Thank you. Very good question. Thank you.”

There's a clear double standard in the way corporate media are covering Harris and Biden compared to Trump's coverage. When Biden bombed at the debate, all media spoke about his disaster for days. Trump has just given his wordy policy plan on an important issue for today: childcare. Why isn't mainstream media talking about what Trump presented? Let's talk about his policy. If Harris or Biden came unhinged like this, it would be discussed for days, and rightly so. But this is just one of many resent ramblings.

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Jesse Dornfeld said:

I do not know if this was demonic deliverance or not, but I do have something to share.

I have a severe and fairly rare mental illness called Schizoaffective Disorder. It is like having Bipolar and Schizophrenia without enough symptoms in each mental illness to be a diagnosis. It occurs in roughly .3% of the population.

I moved out of my parent's house when I was 32 or 33 (I forget) which was almost 5 years ago.

Due to my mental illness, I have struggled with paranoia. These are either haunting visions of terrible scary things or paranoid delusions I have experienced for most of my adult life (I am currently 38 years old).

I have found shortly after moving out of my parent's house, that these fear-based symptoms started to be less frequent. It is now at the point that I rarely if ever experience these horrifying experiences.

What was it that changed things? Well, it was in 2018 that my faith was confirmed. I mean I had the most amazing experience I have had in my entire life and this confirmed the Bible as the Word of God in a single conversation with a man who I can only call a prophet, I went from being a pantheist to being willing to die for my faith (long story, but you can read about it here).

Since that time my faith has been confirmed, and I devoted myself to the Christian faith in a way I never had before then. I was raised in a Christian home and my parents are amazing people who tried to instill the faith in me since I came out of the womb. But I rebelled and became an atheist.

To make a long story short, as I devoted myself to prayer, reading the Bible more, studying theology and apologetics, and going to church, my paranoia started to dissipate. I have spent many sleepless nights awake due to this paranoia. Today, I cannot remember the last time I struggled with this paranoia. It is all due to the grace of God.

Is this spiritual deliverance from demons? IDK. What I do know is that God is healing my mind and I no longer struggle with these things as I did before.

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Unqualified said:

depends on we’re it’s from my friend, if you are struggling you go through that stuff and cannot wish it away. To have them will teach you how to deal with them. I know they should not be there. But in a better appreciated way God teaches us how to deal with them. And it furthers us along with our relationship with Him.

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WarriorAngel said:

They are our moral compass.
My old parish, the priest passed out high lights of the policies after teaching what is morally correct.

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WarriorAngel said:

It is interesting they took away the tax saving incentives to be married.
Want abortions
Want child reprogramming and gender reassignments leading to sterility.

So their robust tax credit on the low birth rate, and Kamala wanting population control - doesn't really mean much.

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1. David (1 Chronicles 3:1)
2. Solomon (1 Chronicles 3:10)
3. Rehoboam (1 Chronicles 3:10)
4. Abijah (1 Chronicles 3:10)
5. Asa (1 Chronicles 3:10)
6. Jehoshaphat (1 Chronicles 3:10)
7. Jehoram (1 Chronicles 3:11)
8. Ahaziah (1 Chronicles 3:11)
9. Joash (1 Chronicles 3:11)
10. Amaziah (1 Chronicles 3:12)
11. Azariah, also called Uzziah (1 Chronicles 3:12)
12. Jotham (1 Chronicles 3:12)
13. Ahaz (1 Chronicles 3:13)
14. Hezekiah (1 Chronicles 3:13)
15. Manasseh (1 Chronicles 3:13)
16. Amon (1 Chronicles 3:14)
17. Josiah (1 Chronicles 3:14)
18. Jehoiakim (1 Chronicles 3:15-16)
19. Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin) (1 Chronicles 3:16)

1. David (Matthew 1:6)
2. Solomon (Matthew 1:6)
3. Rehoboam (Matthew 1:7)
4. Abijah (Matthew 1:7)
5. Asa (Matthew 1:7)
6. Jehoshaphat (Matthew 1:8)
7. Joram (Matthew 1:8), Jehoram in #7 above. #8, 9, & 10 were missing
8. Uzziah (Matthew 1:8), Azariah in #11 above
9. Jotham (Matthew 1:9)
10. Ahaz (Matthew 1:9)
11. Hezekiah (Matthew 1:9)
12. Manasseh (Matthew 1:10)
13. Amon (Matthew 1:10)
14. Josiah (Matthew 1:10), matched #17 above. #18 was missing
15. Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11)

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations,

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and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

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• How many generations are there from Abraham to Jesus the Messiah?

Conquer Sin - What Is Sin​

Michie said:

One major newsroom focused on religious conversion, while another offered lots and lots of politics​

One of the world’s most important newsrooms just offered a finely detailed profile of Catholic convert J.D. Vance and, imagine this, the feature focused on the emotions and ideas that led him to swim the Tiber. This included his intellectual and spiritual attraction to the work of St. Augustine, one of the most important minds in all of Western culture.

Yes, there were political implications linked to this decision since the senator is, after all, the GOP candidate for vice president.

Another powerful newsroom produced a feature about Vance’s faith and the emphasis was on politics, politics and more politics, including lots of material about Vance and a choir of dangerous, authoritarian Catholic thinkers. Has Vance identified with this group? No, but he has said interesting things about some ideas voiced by a few of those folks. Oh, and members of this mysterious group have lots of complex disagreements with each other about doctrine and politics.

Which report was from the Associated Press and which was from the New York Times?

Continued below.

Crossroads -- The ideas that led J.D. Vance to swim the Tiber

One major newsroom focused on religious conversion, while another offered lots and lots of politics

tmattingly.substack.com

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