Do you think AI can be used for the Kingdom? I mean, I usually struggled to tell people about Jesus, but the app iEvangelize (https://www.ievangelize.app) made evangelizing easier for me than ever before.

It generated amazing conversation starters, and I used to share the gospel with people easily.
Take a look and tell me what you guys think.

“Brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2: 37) Such was the response of “devout men from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5) to St. Peter’s Pentecost Discourse. The Holy Scriptures tell us that “that they were cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37). St. Peter had proclaimed to them the truth of the Redemptive Incarnation with these words:

Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know — this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised Him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.… This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you see and hear.… Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified (Acts 2:22-24, 32-33, 36).

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Witnessing the transformation of the Apostles by the descent of the Holy Spirit and hearing the preaching of St. Peter, the devout men understood that the event which they were witnessing and the enduring reality which it manifested had changed their lives forever. They recognized the abiding victory of Jesus, “Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36), over sin and death through the outpouring of His spirit, God the Holy Spirit, upon the Church, into the hearts of the faithful members of the Church, Christ’s Mystical Body.

To their heartfelt question, “Brethren, what shall we do?” addressed to the Apostles, St. Peter, without hesitation and without equivocation, responded:

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Today marks the 8-year anniversary of the tragic murder of Father Jacques Hamel, a French Catholic priest killed by two Islamic terrorists while celebrating Mass in a church in the small town of Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, a suburb of Rouen in France. According to eyewitness accounts, Hamel’s last words before getting his throat slashed were “Va-t’en, Satan,” meaning in English “Get away, Satan.”

Hamel is widely regarded as Europe’s first 21stcentury martyr. His story is compelling for countless reasons, but perhaps the strongest being that the attack on Hamel is symbolic of the multitudinous, increasing, and brutal assaults suffered by the Catholic Church over the past several decades.

Father Jacques Hamel

It’s a harsh fact that Catholics of this age face a particularly virulent hatred. Across the globe, Catholic churches are being burned, religious statues are being desecrated, laity are being threatened, and priests are being kidnapped, tortured, and killed. I’m not talking about the events of 2nd century Christians; I’m talking about today.

Hamel was born on November 30, 1930, in the commune of Darnètal in Normandy, France’s northern region. At the time of his death, he was serving as a parish priest in the Archdiocese of Rouen. On the morning of July 26, 2016, Adel Kermiche and Abdel Malik Petitjean, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq, slaughtered Hamel before being shot dead by police. Both men were 19 years old.


Why are Catholic priests and churches so vulnerable? What is at the root of their loathing? The Catholic writer Joseph Massey, in his July 11, 2024, Twitter/X post, answers these questions:

Western civilization is being ransacked by barbarians, and the churches are always the first thing to go. They want us demoralized and cut off from the true source of our strength: God Almighty.

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Massey is correct. Catholic churches are targets precisely because it is in these churches that our sacraments reside.

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In a groundbreaking discovery, archaeologists solved a long-standing mystery about Jerusalem’s defenses. The findings are consistent with biblical descriptions of the city’s topography.

In a groundbreaking discovery, archaeologists have solved a long-standing mystery about Jerusalem’s ancient defenses. Recent excavations in the City of David have revealed a massive moat that once fortified the Temple Mount and the King’s Palace, shedding new light on the fortifications of biblical Jerusalem.

For more than 150 years, the full extent of Jerusalem’s northern fortifications remained elusive. But thanks to recent work in the Givati parking lot adjacent to the Old City walls, researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority(IAA) and Tel Aviv University have uncovered a moat that divided the City of David, separating the ruling Acropolis from the southern residential areas.

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Cover of ‘Rabbles, Riots, and Ruins: Twelve Ancient Cities and How They Were Evangelized’ by Mike Aquilina (photo: Ignatius Press)


The Church grew at a steady rate of 40% per decade,’ says Mike Aquilina, ‘and all that happened at a time when the practice of the faith was a capital crime.’

In times like these, it’s easy to despair about evangelization in the modern world. But a new Ignatius Press book by Mike Aquilina, Rabbles, Riots, and Ruins: Twelve Ancient Cities and How They Were Evangelized, not only offers some much-needed hope when thinking about evangelizing today’s culture but also serves as a guide on how to go about it.

The Register caught up with the book’s author at his home in Pittsburgh and asked if Christian hope can persist amid the despair of modern Western cities.

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WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Vice President Kamala Harris became the likely Democratic nominee for president within just days of President Joe Biden’s historic announcement July 21 that he would end his own reelection bid and endorse his running mate.

An analysis by The Associated Press found Harris had secured the support of more than the 1,976 delegates she would need to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination in the first round of the party’s voting process in August. However, that pledged support is not binding until voting begins, which party officials have said will take place the first week of August, prior to their formal nominating convention later that month.

In a statement, Harris said she intended “to go out and earn this nomination.”

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Deuteronomy 10:

1 At that time the Lord said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden ark. 2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Then you are to put them in the ark.”

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They wouldn't be too big for Moses to carry them up the mountain and smaller than the dimensions of the ark.

Exodus 37:1

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood--two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.

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The ark was approximately 131×79×79 cm or 52×31×31 in.

Wiki:

According to the Talmud, each Tablet was square, six Tefachim (approximately 50 centimeters, 20 inches) wide and high, and more a thicker block than a tablet, at three Tefachim (25 centimeters, 10 inches) thick

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According to traditional teachings of Judaism in the Talmud, they were made of blue sapphire stone as a symbolic reminder of the sky, the heavens, and ultimately of God's throne. Many Torah scholars, however, have opined that the biblical sapir was, in fact, lapis lazuli (see Exodus 24:10, lapis lazuli is a possible alternate rendering of "sapphire" the stone pavement under God's feet when the intention to craft the tablets of the covenant is disclosed Exodus 24:12).

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(OSV News) — In 1968, Pope St. Paul VI issued an encyclical that would change the course of Dr. Thomas Hilgers’ life.

The encyclical, “Humanae Vitae,” was an unexpected and unpopular papal condemnation of artificial contraception. But Hilgers, then a medical student, quickly embraced the teaching and committed himself to improving fertility awareness-based methods for family planning, also known as natural family planning or NFP.

“When ‘Humanae Vitae’ came out, most people rejected (it),” Dr. Teresa Hilgers, Thomas Hilgers’ daughter, told OSV News. “My dad felt like it called to him.”

Pioneering work in NaProTechnology​

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A priest is suing the gay dating and “hookup” app Grindr after the company reportedly failed to protect his data, leading to his resignation from a top position at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

In July 2021, Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill resigned from his post as the general secretary of the USCCB ahead of a report by The Pillar alleging that he had engaged in inappropriate behavior and frequent use of Grindr.

The app advertises itself as “the largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people.” Its geolocation feature is popularly known to facilitate sex hookups between gay men.

The Pillar said its report on Burrill was based on “commercially available records” correlated to the priest’s mobile device. But a lawsuit filed this week claims that Grindr hadn’t taken steps to protect the data from third-party acquisition.

The suit, filed in the Superior Court of California, claims the group Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal (CLCR) purchased the priest’s data from the app and sent it to The Pillar.

The gay hookup app “assures customers” that it “takes steps” to protect data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, the suit says. But Grindr allegedly “knew they were failing to protect sensitive personal data of its customers” yet failed to take steps to protect it, the filing says.

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A vandalized statue of Mary, the Mother of God, at St. Leo Parish in Hartford, Arkansas, July 2024. | Fr. Joseph Chan

Police are investigating after a parish in Arkansas was struck by three vandalism incidents in recent months, including the destruction of a statue of Mary on the parish grounds.

Father Joseph Chan, the pastor at St. Leo Church in Hartford, Arkansas, told CNA that the incidents of vandalism began early last year. The parish is part of the Diocese of Little Rock.

“The first was on February 26, 2023,” he said. “Our St. Leo sign and notification board had words/letters removed/jumbled to reflect body parts; for example, the letter ‘M’ was removed from the word ‘Mass’.”

“The second was on March 10, 2024, which involved graffiti to our sacristy door,” the pastor said. “Sprayed was a racial slur commonly directed towards African Americans.”

The most recent incident occurred on July 13. “Toppled to the ground were an angel and Mary statues,” Chan said. “Mary's neck was broken. The statue of Jesus was seemingly untouched.”

“All three incidents happened within 18 months,” the priest noted.

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Hello, im sorry if im posting this in the wrong area I'm new a bit confused with the layout.

I recently got diagnosed with a lifelong illness I will always have to take medication for, after being on short term medication I finally got long term medication.

My problem is I've struggled with various types of intrusive thoughts/obsessive compulsive ideas for years now. This was made even worse when someone I know told me something along the lines of ' be careful, if you take X medication you might corrupt your DNA and go to hell, one reason God flooded the world is because nephilim and humans mixed '. I don't know how much truth there is to this and I don't believe that would happen but my obsessive compulsive tendencies don't care, I can't help but worry, so much so I went through a lot of work to get different medication.

Outside of that I have other worries ' it's the mark of the beast ' even though I know it's not, and among other things. I'm not really sure what to do and I can't overcome this fear, everyday I don't start this medication I get sicker eventually I would have to go to the hospital. Its stressful. I've considered getting professional help but I don't feel comfortable going to a doctor and telling them I feel like I have OCD tendencies.

Thank you for your time please pray for me.

In US politics, conspiracies are rife – and many more emerged in the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Tackling them requires us to see conspiracism differently, says researcher Sophia Knight.

Within minutes of Saturday's attempted assassination on former US President Donald Trump, conspiracy theories started to swirl online.Without any evidence, people spread claims that the incident was everything from a hoax to a plot. Swept up in a divisive presidential campaign, online voices spun up explanations to fill in the details of the day's shocking events.

Conspiracy theories are not new in American politics. Adherents of QAnon – a wide-ranging political conspiracy movement – were among those who caused chaos at the Capitol on 6 January 2021, while there are many still invested in conspiracy theories regarding the assassination of former President John F Kennedy more than 60 years ago. From such experiences, we know the division, discord and disintegration of trust they breed can be extremely damaging to a democracy's health.

So, what do we do about this rising tide of conspiracism? Most importantly, the answer is not to just try and prove people wrong. Any attempt to debunk a conspiracy has a good chance of backfiring, playing into established narratives of "the elite" or "deep state" censoring the truth.

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Details​

Publication date 29 July 2024

• Mental health issues

Description​

The belief in conspiracy theories is not a new phenomenon, but it continues to pose a key challenge for the prevention and countering of violent extremism (P/CVE) in Europe, since they play vital roles within extremist ideologies, recruitment and radicalisation. In order to efficiently plan P/CVE interventions, it is necessary to understand how people are attracted to conspiracy narratives and the factors that can make a person more vulnerable to the attraction of conspiracy narratives, such as mental (ill) health. To do so, the RAN Mental Health Working Group invited mental health and other relevant professionals to meet in Bucharest on 30 and 31 May 2024.
The meeting’s outcomes are as follows:

• A conspiracy theory is an explanatory belief that “they” conspire in secret to harm “us”. Here, “they” are, e.g., national governments, foreign nations, minority groups, companies, secret service agencies, etc.
• The belief in conspiracy theories can be seen throughout human history. However, in current times, social media makes them spread faster and makes it easier to reach a large audience.
• Conspiracy theories thrive in times of crisis and social upheaval (e.g. economic recessions, revolutions, wars, natural disasters, terrorist attacks). Also, a personal crisis can lead a person to believe in conspiracy theories (e.g. losing a job, or divorcing).
• They can lead to violence when there is a perception of imminent, significant threat (threat control override symptoms) to oneself or close environment, strengthening the belief that action is urgently needed to remove the imminent threat (i.e. violence is self-defence); belief that one has special power and duty to remove threat; tunnel vision: deep immersion in narrow information and no counterinformation; cohesive group, group think and normalisation.
• Although most people who believe in conspiracy theories do not have a pathology, some mental health disorders can create a heightened vulnerability to conspiratorial beliefs. For (mental health) practitioners it is important to understand and mitigate the vulnerability that a mental disorder creates to extremist conspiratorial narratives.

This paper summarises the main takeaways of the discussion, including the description of conspiracy theories and in what way they can be harmful, the most common themes across extremist narratives and how they can be related to mental (ill) health. This is followed by some general recommendations, a description of four different cases from practice and a description of a relevant practice.

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As the title suggests, I want to know how I can reach a humility and faith like David’s in the psalms. Right now I find that I’m double minded and I don’t have repentance or God in mind at all. It’s only when I really think about it that I care. I have a faulty repentance in the sense that I keep going back to my sins even though I know it’s wrong and I know that there’s something hard god wants me to do and it’s the right thing to do (I won’t go into it exactly) however I don’t want to do it as audacious as that sounds. My heart is still very much calloused but I want to try and change without being lazy about it. That’s why i question whether I genuinely want to repent. I also still fear that I’ve reached a point where God would ‘deny’ me repentance because my sins were so bad.

President Biden’s decision to bow out of the 2024 election followed weeks of pressure from Democrats concerned about his age and ability to win and serve another four years. But conspiracy theorists, right-wing influencers and even some Republican politicians immediately cast Biden’s resignation from the campaign as evidence of something more sinister.

The flurry of unverified rumors, speculation, and conspiracy theories comes as people are reeling from an onslaught of high-stakes political upheaval, from the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on July 13 to Biden’s withdrawal from the race eight days later.

On the most extreme end, Charlie Kirk of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA and far-right activist Laura Loomersuggested, without evidence, that Biden may be dying or already dead.

Others, including billionaire hedge fund boss Bill Ackman, raised doubts over the president’s letter announcing his decision, baselessly suggesting his signature wasn’t really his.

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Director Wray just testified . . . that the FBI questions asked below were only asked by an outside contractor for the FBI's Security Division who is no longer with the FBI. But Director Wray is hiding the ball on this.

The FBI knows better than to ask political questions when interviewing. This is outrageous.

Despite being brought up in the Nuremberg Zoo a young Carpathian lynx named Chapo was born to be wild.

Respecting his wishes, the German zookeepers abandoned their intention to raise him to eventually contribute his genes to a vital captive breeding program and release him into the wilds of Germany.

Now residing in the forests of Saxony, he joins a steadily growing population of wild lynx across Germany and Switzerland that are slinking back across the acreage they prowled long ago.

The Carpathian lynx is a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx, which while being listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, is nevertheless extinct across large swaths of its former habitat.

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In North Carolina, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office received a call that a child was wandering alone on the road on July 7th.

Dispatching an officer to the Waxhaw Indian Trail Road, the child was located and secured, but being autistic and non-verbal, the officer had no idea where the boy had wandered away from.

Being that the responder was a K-9 Unit, and was working alongside his trusty 1-year-old bloodhound Remi, Deputy B. Belk utilized the dog’s incredible sense of smell to “reverse” the normal scent tracking process to find the boy’s home.


“Normally, [scent dogs] track from where a person left to try to find where that person is currently. This time we were doing it reverse,” said Lieutenant Public Information Officer James Maye to CNN.

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Over 200 plants will have their species name changed to remove an offensive South African apartheid-era racial slur after the results of a vote from the International Botanical Congress.

In a thoroughly debated session in the recent meeting in Madrid, the vote passed 351 to 205 to rename all current botanical species with the species name caffra to affra.

Margherita Bassi, writing for Smithsonian, explainsthat this means the coast coral tree Erythrina caffrawill be called Erythrina affra and that the decision marks the first time taxonomists have voted in favor of changing offensive scientific names.

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We are looking into new technology atmospheric water generators for a potential drinking water solution. In the deep south, our average humidity is about 70%, making water from air possible (the humidity for the last month has been in the 90s). It is a little expensive. I am concerned about maintenance.

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Two Commandments of God

Mat 22:37 KJV "Jesus said unto him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." Mat 22:38 KJV "This is the first and greatest commandment." Mat 22:39 KJV "And the second is like unto it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Mat 22:40 KJV "On these two commandments hang all the law (Col 2:14,15) and the prophets." Rom 10:9-13 Eph 2:9-11

• Isa 5:20 KJV "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
• Isa 30:10 KJV "Which say to the seers, see not; and to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:"
• Jhn 8:44 KJV "You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

Snare=trapping device such as a trick or temptation

Tricking of Eve

2Co 11:3 KJV "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

Gen 3:1 KJV "Now the serpent (possessed by Lucifer) was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, yes, has God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Gen 3:2 KJV "And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:" Gen 3:3 KJV "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die." Gen 3:4 KJV "And the serpent said unto the woman, you shall not surely die:" Gen 3:5 KJV "For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Gen 3:6 KJV "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Gen 3:7 KJV "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."

• Mat 27:4 KJV "Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, “What is that to us? see you to that." Mat 27:5 KJV "And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself."
• 2Ti 3:5 KJV "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2Ti 3:6 KJV "For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers (different) lusts," 2Ti 3:7 KJV "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 2Ti 3:8 KJV "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith." 2Ti 3:9 KJV "But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was."
• Exo 23:33 KJV "They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me: for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto you."
• 1Co 7:35 KJV "And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that you may attend upon the Lord without distraction."
• 1Ti 3:7 KJV "Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."
• 1Ti 6:9 KJV "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition."

Power of Christ is the Answer to the Snare (Rom 1:16, 1Cor 1:18)

2Ti 2:23-26 KJV "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes’ (divisions)." 2Ti 2:24 KJV "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient," 2Ti 2:25 KJV "In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;" 2Ti 2:26 KJV "And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

• 1Co 10:13 KJV "There has no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it."
• 1Th 3:5 KJV "For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labor be in vain."
• Luk 14:29 KJV "Lest haply, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him," Luk 14:30 KJV "Saying, this man began to build, and was not able to finish."
• 1Co 9:23 KJV "And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you." 1Co 9:24 KJV "Know you not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize (Rom 14:10 2Cor 5:10)? So run, that you may obtain." 1Co 9:25 KJV "And every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible." 1Co 9:26 KJV "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beats the air:" 1Co 9:27 KJV "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (stranded)."

The Wiles of the Devil

Wiles=Devious or cunning strategies employed in manipulating or persuading someone to do what one wants

Eph 6:11 NKJV "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (trick to deceive) of the devil." Eph 6:12 NKJV "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness (Eph 2:2,3 Col 3:6) in the heavenly places."

• Job 8:13 KJV "So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish:" Job 8:14 KJV "Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web." Job 8:15 KJV "He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure."
• Rom 13:12 KJV "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light." Rom 13:13 KJV "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying." Rom 13:14 KJV "But put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."
• 1Co 10:12 KJV "Wherefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." 1Co 10:13 KJV "There has no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it." 1Co 10:14 KJV "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry."
• 2Co 2:11 KJV "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us (Christians): for we are not ignorant of his devices."
• Isa 59:5 KJV "They (Isa 59:1-21) hatch cockatrice' (viper snake James 3:8) eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eats of their eggs dies (Rev 20:13-15), and that which is crushed breaks out into a viper." Chapter Matt 23
• 2Co 4:3 KJV "But if our gospel be hidden, it is hid to them that are lost:" 2Co 4:4 KJV "In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image (Heb 1:1-3) of God, should shine unto them."
• 1Pe 5:6 KJV "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:" 1Pe 5:7 KJV "Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you." 1Pe 5:8 KJV "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:" 1Pe 5:9 KJV "Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world."
• Pro 20:25 KJV "It is a snare to the man who devours that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry."

Denominational Entrapment, Rejection, and Apostasy

This is Rejection of Christ through denominational emotionalism. The truths such as principles of Christ, faith toward God, Resurrection, and Eternal Judgment are Christian Doctrines. Mixed along with emotional denominational beliefs such as perfection, repentance from dead works, baptisms, and laying on of hands.

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works (denominational) and of faith toward God, Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms (denominational), and of laying on of hands, (gift no longer used-denominational uses) and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

Heb 6:3 And this will we do (continue with), if God permit (allow). (Revelation 2&3 Denominationalism)

Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened (informed), and have tasted (sampled is not accepting) of the heavenly gift (Jesus), and were made partakers (to participate with like going on a date) of the Holy Ghost,

Heb 6:5 And have tasted (sampled emotionally excited denominational) the good word of God, and the powers of the (New) world to come (having some knowledge of prophecy),

Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away (denominationalism starts with gradually less excited), to renew them again (bring back) unto repentance (changing of their mind); seeing they (would) crucify to themselves (for the emotional excitement) the Son of God afresh (do it all again for emotional pleasure), and put him (Jesus) to an open (public) shame (worthlessness).

The House of the Unclean Spirit

Luk 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says I will return unto my house whence I came out. Luk 11:25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and garnished. Luk 11:26 Then goes he (unclean spirit) , and take (asks) to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself (unclean spirit); and they (eight unclean spirits) enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Luke 11:24-28 This is an Old Testament Verse

Jesus was still in his ministry explaining the worthlessness of self reformation or moral denominationalism 2Pet 2:17-22. along with Rev 2&3.

This fact check originally appeared on PolitiFact.

MILWAUKEE — The 2024 Republican National Convention opens Monday with the unprecedented and grisly backdrop of its presumptive nominee having survived an assassination attempt.

Former President Donald Trump arrived for the convention in Wisconsin Sunday, a day after a shooter fired a bullet that Trump said struck him in the upper ear just minutes into a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Authorities say the suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, shot and killed Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer fire chief, and critically injured two more attendees before the Secret Service returned fire and killed him.

Twenty-four hours later, Crooks’ motive remained unknown. Members of Congress joined prominent social media accounts in filling the void with evidence-free assertions about what inspired the suspect and his political beliefs.

In an Oval Office address Sunday evening, President Joe Biden pleaded for Americans to “lower the temperature” of their politics, saying political differences should be resolved at the ballot box.

Trump decided to keep his plans and fly here Sunday, saying he did not want to let a “potential assassin” delay his arrival.

There are many unanswered questions.

On Trump’s to-do list heading into the RNC was revealing his running mate. With the assassination attempt dominating the news and the mood, will Trump reveal a name? Will Trump speak? We’re waiting to see how the assassination attempt will influence the lineup and the themes.

Social media platforms flooded with ‘staged’ claims​

Continued below.

Assurance

Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes.

Jud 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Rom 8:27 And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Eph 1:4 According as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved. Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. Eph 1:13 In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Called to the New Birth

1Jn 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God.

Mat 16:15 He says unto them, But whom say you that I am? Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven. Mat 16:18 And I say also unto you, That you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Mat 16:19 And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Mat 16:20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

1Pe 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. 1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Act 2:22 you men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by (1) miracles and (2) wonders and (3) signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know: Act 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Act 2:24 Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

1Pe 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever.

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Joh 3:4 Nicodemus says unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

The New Man

Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Eph 4:24 And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Joh 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: Joh 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God be with him. Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Joh 3:4 Nicodemus says unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto you, You must be born again. Joh 3:8 The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound thereof, but can not not tell whence it comes, and whither it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Col 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Sealing of Christian Saints

Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. Eph 1:13 In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

2Co 1:21 Now he which stablishs us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, is God; 2Co 1:22 Who has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.

2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are his. And, Let every one that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 2Ti 2:20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 2Ti 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

Apostate (Revelation Chapters 2&3)

Rom 10:3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

2Pe 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

2Pe 2:20 For if after they (moral denominationalist) have escaped (broken free) the pollutions (foulness) of the world through the knowledge (recognition) of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again (1st) entangled (twisted together) therein, and (2nd) overcome (defeated), the latter end is worse with them (moral denominationalist) than the beginning. 2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known (recognized) the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from (refuse acceptance) the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them (moral denominationalist) according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Heb 6:2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Heb 6:3 And this will we do, if God permit.

Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those (moral denominationalist) who were once enlightened (experienced), and have tasted (experimented with) of the heavenly gift (salvation), and were made partakers (have emotional part in) of the Holy Ghost, Heb 6:5 And have tasted (experimented with) the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, Heb 6:6 If they (moral denominationalist) shall fall away (diminish), to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Users on X, Truth Social, Rumble and Gab have benefited from a series of major events to spread baseless falsehoods as their followers and engagement skyrocket.

After the assassination attempt against former President Donald J. Trump, calmer voices on both sides of the political spectrum called for “lowering the temperature” of today’s toxic political discourse.

By the time President Biden announced his withdrawal from the presidential race eight days later, the temperature was as scorching as ever.

The internet has churned out a torrent of anger, recrimination and baseless conspiratorial theorizing that has all but drowned out what proved to be short-lived appeals for civility.

The emergence of Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic front-runner touched off new paroxysms of disinformation and explicitly hateful comments. More than one in 10 posts mentioning her on X on Sunday included racist or sexist attacks, according to PeakMetrics, which tracks activity online. They included false claims about her race and whether she was ineligible to run for the presidency because she was not a citizen. (She is a citizen, and she is eligible to run.)

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Hey there folks, Im Joseph 50ish guy near Glasgow in Scotland.

I became a Christian in 1992 in a charismatic evangelical church in the south of England.

When i moved back to Scotland i found my Christian journey a great deal harder to engage with, and thus over the years ive come and gone from different churches. And am now still in that neverzone.

I work fulltime as a carer for an elderly family member and thus spare time is at a premium.

In the coming days and weeks whilst i get used to this place I may pose some questions that are important to me, and would hope i can become part of this community.

For now thanks for having me and lets see how this part of journey pans out.

Joseph