This is a short video of a shark feeding frenzy at Byron Bay in New South Wales as reported on the (Australian) ABC online news.


The bay is on the northern side of Cape Byron which is the eastern most point of mainland Australia.

There's a couple of swimmers taking a risk but they may not have been able to see the sharks.


PS - The article mentions a couple of Swiss nationals who were attacked at Crowdy Bay National Park last month. One of them died unfortunately but it seems they may have been swimming in the vicinity of bait balls.

This study interprets the Kingdom of God as a divine drama where angelic autonomy exists through unilateral contradiction, and salvation emerges through the completion rather than reversal of the Fall. Please offer your critical views.

The Kingdom of God exists within the divine mind as a semi-autonomous realm where angelic beings experience genuine freedom while remaining encompassed within God's consciousness. Drawing on Constantin Noica's concept of unilateral contradiction, the paper argues that while angels contradict God by asserting independence, God encompasses their opposition within divine unity. Tolkien's Silmarillion illustrates this principle through Ilúvatar's incorporation of Melkor's discord into a greater harmony.

Contrary to modern immanentist theology, the Church Fathers understood God's Kingdom primarily as celestial reality. While the celestial realm maintains ontological priority, the earthly Kingdom manifests within individual souls through recognition of the world's emptiness—a detachment that opens hearts to the Holy Spirit.

The paper reframes participation (methexis) as engagement in divine drama rather than sharing in divine substance. While medieval sacramental ontology is obsolete, creatures participate in dramatic forms within the celestial Kingdom. Creation maintains genuine autonomy and productive capacity, as Genesis reveals the earth itself 'bringing forth' life. Through unilateral contradiction, God encompasses rather than opposes autonomous creation.

Christ appears as redemptive trickster, paralleling Satan as dark trickster. However, Christ completes rather than reverses the Fall. Satan's incomplete fall preserved residual enchantment through which demonic powers maintained dominion. Christ initiated a 'Second Fall'—cosmic disenchantment that dissolved the sacral order, creating the void into which the Spirit descended at Pentecost.

This disenchantment represents liberation rather than abandonment. Our modern world of impersonal laws reflects Christ's dismantling of spiritual bondage. Paul advanced this disenchantment by declaring pagan idols 'nothing.' While most succumb to nihilism, a remnant attains salvation through connection to the transcendent Kingdom.

The Church serves protective-therapeutic rather than salvific functions. Following the Christus Medicus tradition, it protects humanity from residual demonic forces while providing spiritual therapy. However, mature Christians transcend ecclesiastical participation for direct communion with the Kingdom.

The Eucharist represents Christianity's controlled accommodation to humanity's need for material-spiritual mediation. Like a vaccine, it satisfies theophagy impulses without allowing descent into paganism. The Eucharist redirects pagan tendencies while preserving broader disenchantment. Extending eucharistic presence universally, as ressourcement theology proposes, would recreate the pagan cosmology Christianity intended to overcome.

Read the paper here: Divine Drama and Cosmic Disenchantment: The Kingdom of God as Dramatic Participation

Is the teaching outdated, or is the New Testament still relavent?

We read in Romans 11 about the branches which were broken off from the “Olive Tree,” which was not a literal tree, but which symbolizes biblical Israel, i.e. Jesus Christ. Once Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him, and then he was resurrected from the dead, God’s covenant people (Israel, the branches) now included all Gentiles who believed in Jesus Christ and who followed him in obedience. And all Jews who refused Jesus as their Messiah were cut out of Israel (the tree).

I see this as paralleling with this passage of Scripture in John 15, only here Jesus is symbolized by a vine of which we are the branches. And the message is fairly of the same nature. Every branch in Jesus Christ, the vine, that does not bear fruit (spiritual results according to God’s word), he takes away (removes from the vine). And if one of the branches does not abide in the vine, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. Similar results as above.

For we read in 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; and Hebrews 4:1-13 that all those who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years who did not obey God, but who chose the path of sin and rebellion, instead, were put to death by God. And not only did they not get to go into the Promised Land, but they did not get to enter into God’s eternal rest because of their disobedience, which God referred to as unbelief. And he referred to obedience as belief. And these things were written down for us so we don’t follow their example.

All of this has the same message. If we profess to be part of spiritual Israel, the body of Christ, by faith in Jesus Christ, but we do not bear spiritual fruit in keeping with repentance, and we do not abide in Christ, i.e. we do not obey him and his commandments, and so we do not conform to his will and purpose for our lives, and so we do not follow his leading, and so we do not continue in and remain in him, but we go our own way, instead, then he will throw us away unless we repent and we obey him in doing what he says.

Jesus taught it, and his New Testament apostles taught it, and we can read about this all throughout the New Testament writings. We cannot just claim that we are in Christ but then keep living in sin, and not in obedience to our Lord in walks of surrender to the will of God for our lives, and then expect God to forgive us of all sins and to let us into his heaven when we die. But sadly that is what many people are teaching and believing. But please know that is not the gospel taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

So, believe and live the truth of God’s Word, and reject all of Satan’s lies.

Seek the Lord

Based off Isaiah 55
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Musical Instrumentation by Mark Bradley

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”

Login to view embedded media
Branches Not Bearing Fruit
An Original Work / December 9, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The decree that went out had to be Nehemiah 2 20th year which went out on Nisan (abib in the torah) which was passover as Jesus in the NT is killed on passover. 445 BC decree goes out then 49 years later everything is rebuilt, all the Levites had come back from Babylon, and all the gold had come back from the Ezra 7 decree. Note most of those things happened by Nehemiah 12 time which takes place no longer than 12 years after the Nehemiah 2 decree as Nehemiah 3 is the 32nd year but maybe all the gold, and other people did not come back until around. 396 BC. From then until the messiah is cut off was 62 7s / 434 years or 483 years from the decree 445 BC. Converting 483 360 day years ends up with 476 solar years +25 days = around 32 AD. Can +- 1 maybe max 2 years either way. Persian chronology has a lot of sources, and is fixed pretty hard either way.

Daniel 9
[g] The people (the Roman army) of the ruler (either Jesus or Titus or Vespasian) who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary (Romans destroying Jerusalem 70 AD) . The end will come like a flood: (Jesus said 70 AD would be like Noahs flood; the Romans flooded in, and killed everyone) War will continue until the end (the end of the Mosaic age) , and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’[i] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.[k]”[l]


Josephus says Eleazar Ben Hanania stopped the daily sacrifice the Judeans had been doing for the Romans 66 AD, and this angered the Romans, and was one of the main causes of the Judean Roman wars. So if this is what Dan meant the final 7 was 63-70 AD ending with the destruction of the temple. One of the Judean rebels must of put an abomination of desolation in the temple before 70 AD but it was not recorded, and by the sound of it made a covenant with the Romans or other Judeans that they broke also not recorded. Josephus says another daily sacrifice stopped 70 AD because of want of anyone to do it aka they were too busy fighting each other, and the Romans. If this is what Dan meant then the final 7 was 66-73 AD ending with the last of the Judean rebels killing themselves at Masada. 66-73 was the length of the Judean Roman wars anyway which was 7 years. By 73 AD all the people that killed Jesus had been killed by God using the Roman army as punishment for that bad sin just like Jesus said would happen multiple times " all the righteous blood shed on the earth will come upon this generation" etc, and there was no visible sign of the Mosaic covenant / the temple anymore. That was the end of OT Israel never to return ever again.


Exodus 29:38-39 is reference for the daily sacrifice. They had been doing it since Moses 1400 AD, and without that there was no forgiveness of sins for one day so it was a big deal when it stopped which it did in the Babylonian, and Maccabean period also.

Josephus

The Wars of the Jews, 2.408​

. And at this time it was that some of those that principally excited the people to go to war, made an assault upon a certain fortress called Masada. They took it by treachery, and slew the Romans that were there, and put others of their own party to keep it. At the same time Eleazar, the son of Ananias the high-priest, a very bold youth, who was at that time governor of the temple, persuaded those that officiated in the divine service to receive no gift or sacrifice for any foreigner. And this was the true beginning of our war with the Romans; for they rejected the sacrifice of Cæsar on this account: and when many of the high-priests and principal men besought them not to omit the sacrifice, which it was customary for them to offer for their princes, they would not be prevailed upon. These relied much upon their multitude, for the most flourishing part of the innovators assisted them; but they had the chief regard to Eleazar, the governor of the temple.

The Wars of the Jews, 6.93​

931. And now Titus gave orders to his soldiers that were with him to dig up the foundations of the tower of Antonia, and make him a ready passage for his army to come up; 94while he himself had Josephus brought to him (for he had been informed that on that very day, which was the seventeenth day of Panemus, [Tamuz,] the sacrifice called “the Daily Sacrifice” had failed, and had not been offered to God, for want of men to offer it, and that the people were grievously troubled at it)

After 70 AD if someone believed in Jesus then they are a Jew Israel of God Abrahams seed circumcized heir to Abrahams blessing. Romans 2 28 29, Galatians 6 16, 3 29, Romans 9 8, and other verses. So that is Christians. Or there was people saying they are Jews but lying they are the synagogue of satan. No other religions emerged after 70 AD. Either in covenant with the God of Abraham via belief in Jesus or nothing. 30-70 AD was the transition period from old to new but post 70 AD it was the end. The synagogue of satan could of looked at those prophecies in Dan 9 just after 70 AD, realised it ended with 70 AD realised the messiah had to come 483 years (even just using solar years, and not 360 day years) after that decree in Nehemiah 2 or Ezra 7 or any of the other two decrees, and realised it put an upper limit of the time frame by which the messiah had to come by, and therefore according to God they are without excuse for denying Jesus Christ as son of God savior. Christians should not be unequally yoked with their religion today, and the beast country in Revelation 13 that calls itself Israel but lies, and the mark of the beast is the hexagram.

Carrie Gress argues the movement functions as a secular megachurch targeting women with false promises​

An author of 11 books, including an upcoming title on feminism, says the movement has evolved into a kind of secular "megachurch" with its own doctrines, rituals and moral code — one that she argues now serves as a substitute for faith, family and traditional Christian virtue.

“Feminism actually is not a subset of Christianity. It's actually a rival to Christianity," Carrie Gress, a fellow at the Institute for Human Ecology at Catholic University of America, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.

Gress is the author of the forthcoming book "Something Wicked: Why Feminism Can’t Be Fused With Christianity," which she says examines how feminism has "quietly captured the minds and hearts of women by mimicking aspects of Christianity. Through its own ‘commandments,’ ‘virtues,’ ‘evangelization,’ and even ‘a sacrament,’ feminism has become an exceedingly powerful megachurch."

“In many respects, it can actually be seen as a megachurch," Gress told Fox News Digital. "It has taken on so many of the aspects of Christianity."

Continued below.

I know there are Christians out there that do not hold the view the first 11 chapters of Genesis are literal history, Adam was not literal, God did not create everything in 6 days ets...because the science disproves this.

If you do not believe in literal Adam, you then cannot believe in literal 2nd Adam, Jesus Christ the Saviour. Because if Adam did not exist, then the fall did not happen and there is no need for a Saviour.

You cannot believe in a metaphorical Adam and then believe in literal resurrection of Christ, the second Adam who came to fix what the first Adam broke. You also have problem explaining Romans 5:12-21

P.S. I know the view of metaphorical Adam is held by very few, but it has been bothering me deeply that people believe this, and I am studying Romans 5 and this is on my heart.

I am a High Church Anglican, married for over twenty years to a man who survived severe mistreatment at a Catholic boarding school run by The Society of Jesus in the 1950's. My husband has been offerred an in person apology from the current Provincial Superior, and he is intending to travel to London to meet him on the 19th of December, in order to receive it.

My husband and I would both appreciate the prayers of any Catholic members of Christian Forums regarding this meeting, for his protection (and my own) as we prepare and travel, and especially for his first encounter with any Jesuit since he left school. I will be going to London with him, but he has said that he wishes to actually experience the meeting alone. This is the bravest thing I believe I have ever personally witnessed someone doing for the Christian faith, and I trust that some who are seeing this post can understand how I hope my life partner will feel Jesus' love and see true recognition of past wrongs.

No judgement of your Church is intended by this post, my own has as much to be ashamed of in terms of letting God down over children entrusted to it's care.

Please pray to God and ask Him if my son Jakeb's medicine will be called in and filled before he runs out. Please pray that I can know tomorrow so my anxiety stops and he won't go without. Please Dear God let it be filled tomorrow if it's Your will. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you.

This year’s ozone hole over Antarctica ranked among the smallest since the early 1990s, reflecting steady progress from decades of global action under the Montreal Protocol. Declining chlorine levels and warmer stratospheric temperatures helped limit ozone destruction. Scientists say the layer remains on track to recover later this century.

According to NOAA and NASA scientists, this year's measurements support the conclusion that restrictions on ozone-depleting chemicals set by the Montreal Protocol and its later amendments are steadily helping the ozone layer recover.

The writings of Ellen White, a prophet of the Seventh Day Adventist church, teach that those who worship on Sunday will receive the mark of the beast and will reject the seal of God. In other words, the vast majority of Christians are doomed for worshipping our Lord on Sunday instead of Saturday.

Here are her writings:

Reception of Mark of the Beast Future—The change of the Sabbath is the sign or mark of the authority of the Romish church. Those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, choose to observe the false sabbath in the place of the true, are thereby paying homage to that power by which alone it is commanded. The mark of the beast is the papal sabbath, which has been accepted by the world in the place of the day of God’s appointment. Ev 234.1
No one has yet received the mark of the beast. The testing time has not yet come. There are true Christians in every church, not excepting the Roman Catholic communion. None are condemned until they have had the light and have seen the obligation of the fourth commandment. But when the decree shall go forth enforcing the counterfeit sabbath, and the loud cry of the third angel shall warn men against the worship of the beast and his image, the line will be clearly drawn between the false and the true. Then those who still continue in transgression will receive the mark of the beast. Ev 234.2
With rapid steps we are approaching this period. When Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power to sustain a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution, then will the papal sabbath be enforced by the combined authority of church and state. There will be a national apostasy, which will end only in national ruin.—Manuscript 51, 1899. Ev 235.1
When Seal of God Is Refused—If the light of truth has been presented to you, revealing the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and showing that there is no foundation in the Word of God for Sunday observance, and yet you still cling to the false sabbath, refusing to keep holy the Sabbath which God calls “My holy day,” you receive the mark of the beast. When does this take place? When you obey the decree that commands you to cease from labor on Sunday and worship God, while you know that there is not a word in the Bible showing Sunday to be other than a common working day, you consent to receive the mark of the beast, and refuse the seal of God.—The Review and Herald, July 13, 1897. Ev 235.2
As a Result of Disregard of Light—God has given men the Sabbath as a sign between Him and them, as a test of their loyalty. Those who, after the light regarding God’s law comes to them, continue to disobey and exalt human laws above the law of God in the great crisis before us will receive the mark of the beast.—Letter 98, 1900. Ev 235.3
Caution in Presenting the Sunday Question—[We are] not to provoke those who have accepted this spurious sabbath, an institution of the Papacy in the place of God’s holy Sabbath. Their not having the Bible arguments in their favor makes them all the more angry and determined to supply the place of arguments that are wanting in the Word of God by the power of their might. The force of persecution follows the steps of the dragon. Therefore great care should be exercised to give no provocation.—Letter 55, 1886. Ev 235.4
Let the Truth Do the Cutting—Satan’s efforts against the advocates of the truth will wax more bitter and determined to the very close of time. As in Christ’s day the chief priests and rulers stirred up the people against Him, so today the religious leaders will excite bitterness and prejudice against the truth for this time. The people will be led to acts of violence and opposition which they would never have thought of had they not been imbued with the animosity of professed Christians against the truth. Ev 236.1
And what course shall the advocates of truth pursue? They have the unchangeable, eternal Word of God, and they should reveal the fact that they have the truth as it is in Jesus. Their words must not be rugged and sharp. In their presentation of truth they must manifest the love and meekness and gentleness of Christ. Let the truth do the cutting; the Word of God is as a sharp, two-edged sword, and will cut its way to the heart. Those who know that they have the truth should not, by the use of harsh and severe expressions, give Satan one chance to misinterpret their spirit.—The Review and Herald, October 14, 1902. Ev 236.2
A Call to Enlighten the Masses—I have been shown that Satan is stealing a march upon us. The law of God, through the agency of Satan, is to be made void. In our land of boasted freedom, religious liberty will come to an end. The contest will be decided over the Sabbath question, which will agitate the whole world. Ev 236.3
Our time for work is limited, and God calls us as ministers and people to be minutemen. Teachers as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves must come to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty. There are many who do not understand the prophecies relating to these days, and they must be enlightened.—Letter 1, 1875. Ev 237.1


Is Ellen White correct? Are those that worship our Lord on Sunday doomed to receive the mark of the beast?

On Dec. 5, officers responded to a report of a vehicle crash in a Publix parking lot.

When they arrived, they found a Chevy Silverado with 43-year-old Benjamin Donald Johnson behind the wheel. Johnson refused multiple commands by police to get out of the truck.

As Johnson sat the back of a police cruiser, an officer overheard Johnson says there was a “dirty bomb” in his truck. Officers found a yellow plastic container secured with chains and locks, with a radioactive warning label.

With the help of personnel from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, ATF, and an FBI bomb technician, it was advised that the device inside the container was a moisture density gauge, commonly used for soil testing. The experts said it emits less radioactivity than a medical X-ray.

A search of Johnson’s truck yielded several firearms and ammunition, firearm magazine speed loaders, thermal scopes, knives, a battering ram, night vision goggles, cannabis and gummies which tested positive for THC.

In her honor, and on a day so special to our Catholic citizens, we remember the sacred words that have brought aid, comfort, and support to generations of American believers in times of need:
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Amen.

Hi everyone,
I Studied Judaism at a religious seminary in Jerusalem, Israel between 2007-2012.
And became a Non-Denominational / Baptist Christian in June 2023.


Looking forward to become member of this online community.

“I saw a white male shooting at another person, a Black male,” said Michael Starks, who was in the parking lot when the shooting happened. “He could have hit him in the back, could have killed him, could have had a stray bullet that struck someone else.”

Police say 64-year-old Steven Douglas Wagner pulled a pistol and fired near the garden center around 3 p.m. at the store on Atlanta Highway.

A Lowe’s employee told police the young man had not stolen anything, according to Starks.

Starks called 911 and followed Wagner back into the store and snapped a photo that helped police make an arrest within minutes.

He said Wagner’s demeanor was concerning.

“He honestly thought he did nothing wrong and should have been rewarded for his actions,” Starks said.

First question to AI:


(AI confirms that there is no command to observe week-day-1 as a day of worshiip/rest etc)

Second Question to AI

Every accusation is a confession.

'We know that Jesus was born into a Roman imperial occupation, and pretty much immediately becomes a refugee in Egypt, has to flee and faces political violence,' the Rev. Michael Woolf said.

The pastor noted Department of Homeland Security agents have tear-gassed protesters in the area and that locals reported seeing children among those detained with zip ties by federal agents during a recent high-profile immigration raid in a nearby apartment building. DHS has denied the latter claim, although evidence of similar actions has been reported elsewhere.

[in his church's display,] Jesus, who typically is depicted lying in hay, is instead nestled in a reflective blanket often used by immigrants in detention, with his hands bound with zip ties. And behind the family stands three Roman centurions wearing vests with a very modern label: ICE, or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Churchgoers at Saint Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, recently erected a similar immigration-themed Nativity just outside their building. The display includes traditional depictions of the magi, stable animals and other figures, but the banner above reads “Peace on Earth?” And propped up in the center of the arrangement, where Mary, Joseph and Jesus would normally appear, sits a sign that reads: “ICE was here.”

The same faith-fueled movement is inspiring another immigration-themed Nativity scene on Christmas Eve, this time featuring real-life participants. The Rev. Dave Woessner, an Episcopal priest and congregational coordinator with the Massachusetts Council of Churches, said his team is organizing a Christmas worship service outside of an ICE facility in Burlington that will feature a real-life recreation of Jesus’ birth — including, potentially, a donkey.

Woessner, who works with communities impacted by deportation efforts, said he and others have convened a weekly vigil outside the ICE facility for 33 weeks straight. The faith leaders have also attempted to accompany immigrants who are appearing for ICE check-ins, but have been repeatedly denied.

After Fox and other conservative media outlets picked up the [first] display, Woolf said his church has received an avalanche of calls — many supportive, but others decidedly not.

“There’s been some suggestions that I should kill myself,” Woolf said.

Josoma reported a similar influx of messages.

“You get a lot of support, but as it goes on, most — not all, but most — of the negative ones aren’t really conversational,” he said. “They’re just swearing and yelling.”

I have sought the Lord many a times for this, but I guess what I'm looking for isn't necessarily advice ( although its welcomed, as well as opinions ) but more like, empathy or sharing if you all are going through/have gone through similar stuff and to just converse over shared experiences. First, you guys need some history...

I grew up in a family that went to church every sunday and claims Christianity, but our family dynamic is just... wack. My Dad has a superiority/enabling issue, my mom has a manipulative/control issue. There is no doubt in my mind that I am the black sheep of the family (for various reasons). When it comes to scripture, any insight is disregarded because my dad was a "teacher for over 30 years!" and when it comes to personal life, my mother is never wrong, I'm always wrong and I'm always supposed to just forgive her despite my mother not giving me an apology for her behavior because, "she's your mother".

My mom's history of control has been a lot, from wanting me as a 39 year old married woman, to install an app on my phone so she can see exactly where I'm going at all times, to giving me orders that are supposed to be carried out regardless of how it affects myself or my husband. When I finally drew boundaries with my mom, it blew up into a few month tirade of phone call harassment. When I blocked her, my dad would call and when I blocked him, they showed up at my door (for various reasons) where my mom tried to manipulate my husband while I locked myself in another room.

For a while my mom did good. She would call once, allow me time to get back to her without it leading to a barrage of a dozen phone calls and 30+ text messages in the span of 2 hours. Or she would text me once and I would respond at my earliest convenience. But yesterday... and why I feel like I just need to vent, is like she's going back to her old ways. And the thing is, nothing she wants to get into contact with me for is important OR an emergency.

So yesterday, I put my phone on silent because she had been calling me everyday for the last 4 days just to talk about work. She had asked me to help her with some of her work, which I agreed to do because she's behind after dealing with a pulled muscle in my dads hip and her fracturing her foot. After I did what she requested, I turned off my ringer to just have a nice relaxing day with my husband playing video games with him and eating home made stew. I did not see that she had tried to call me 3 times. But because I didn't answer, she then called my husband, in her worried and panicked tone "is everyone okay?!?! I've been trying to call her but she isn't answering!" Now because my husband answered, I had to call her back... was it important? No... she asked me if I did something work related for her and I told her no because she never asked me to do that. She said she did and even sent me a file that I needed to do it. I said, no you did not. She then checked her email and found that she didn't send me anything and says, "well, I meant for you to do it." Which makes NO sense because literally the day before I gave her advice on what program to use TO do that very job.... I tell her I would do it. We hang up, she calls me back asking when she can expect me to do it, I tell her I'll work on it tomorrow because its already 6:30 in the afternoon. She says okay, we hang up. She then calls AGAIN at 8:30 at night and I don't answer and put my phone back on silent. I then wake up this morning to a text message to call her that was sent at 6:45 in the morning.

I am just so incredibly tired dealing with this... my husband said no more favors. Clearly, I can't even do something for her without harassment or it being an issue and I completely agree. But I am just so tired and frustrated and it just makes me want to move to the moon, shut off my phone and just... exist for a while.

They jumped through all the hoops and it wasn't enough for this administration. Some of these people have been in the U.S. for 20+ years raising families and contributing to the country. Now they will possibly be deported back to countries they haven't been to in decades and have no ties to anymore. What is this really about?

A year has passed since Luigi Mangione allegedly pulled the trigger on UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. When arrested, Mangione received a tidal wave of sympathy that emanated everywhere from online forums and social media to the streets of Manhattan. People across the country celebrated the accused killer as a quasi-folk hero who struck a blow against what they saw as the vile institution of American healthcare.

Ed Davis, a former Boston police commissioner who led the police response to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, saw the outpouring of support for Mangione and remarked, “I’ve been shocked by it. It’s actually troubling to see it, and I really am surprised that people are reacting that way considering the tragic loss here and the violence of what happened.”

The support for Mangione hasn’t cooled down over the past year, as evidenced by a $1.4 million crowd-sourced legal defense fund and the continued displays of public support that appeared at his court hearings this month. Jeff Goodwin, a New York University professor who studies social movements, said, “He had the chutzpah to actually do something spectacular, which certain people find attractive and courageous.”

I’m not the only one disturbed by people describing murder as being “spectacular” and “attractive” — Heather Mac Donald, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, stated: “The only question after the assassination and its immediate celebration is: What the heck is going on with America’s moral compass?”

Mangione’s celebrators brought to my mind what Paul spoke about centuries ago: “They were fully aware of God’s death penalty for these crimes, yet they went right ahead and did them anyway and encouraged others to do them, too” (Rom. 1:32).

Someone else who sees this in our culture is Croatian theologian Miroslav Volf, who makes a connection with a disbelief in God and the kind of social justice violence we see when he writes: “Most people who insist on God’s ‘nonviolence’ cannot resist using violence themselves (or tacitly sanctioning its use by others).”

Volf then makes an excellent point when he notes the important distinction between Christianity and the secular culture’s methods for pursuing justice: “The practice of non-violence requires belief in divine vengeance.”

Think about that.

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Set aside any distinctly political topic or person for a moment, if you can.

If you’re a 40-year-old (or over) Evangelical like me, you’ve probably seen and heard so much about who Christians are in the last 20 years, and much of it has been hogwash. I know this personally, having spent nearly a decade in the media, and I have seen from the inside how these distortions and cartoonishly Ned Flanders caricatures are generated in real time.

Before the proliferation of social media platforms, many legacy media narratives that sincere, theologically orthodox believers faced were, and still are, beyond tiresome. While I can't speak for everyone, many Christians have been intensely frustrated that no matter how graciously they tried to explain where they were coming from, they were routinely misrepresented in the press, and they’ve often felt as though they were neither heard nor understood. And to be sure, I’m not defending truly evil people within churches and ministries who are ravenous wolves (Matthew 7:15) in sheep’s clothing, who should be exposed.

But I was wrong about something that I’ve believed for a while. Maybe partially wrong, but still wrong. As the world rapidly changes, it's important to be honest about what I've seen previously but now see more clearly.

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Please pray that if it is God's will my son Jakeb can feel better and have relief. Please ask God to cure his problem today so he isn't uncomfortable or has pain and please pray for my husband's safety and our health. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you.

Dear Beloved Family in Christ at Christian Forums, including the honorable staff, moderators, and administrative team,
Grace and peace to you in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

As the Christmas season has begun a season that reminds us of “peace on earth and goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14) I write to you with a heavy but hopeful heart from Pakistan. For three decades I have served the persecuted church here, walking with our people through fire, storm, and suffering. Yet by God’s grace, our faith remains unshaken.

A Season of Joy Shadowed by Pain​

Here in Pakistan, Christmas does not always bring the safety and celebration many Christians enjoy around the world. Instead, this season often becomes a time of increased threats, hostility, and attacks.
For many years, we have witnessed painful realities:

• Churches burned
• Christian homes destroyed
• Christian girls forcibly converted and married
• Teenagers abused and raped
• Families threatened
• Believers beaten or killed simply for their faith

Even during our holy festivals, when believers gather to worship, we often stand unsure whether we will return home safely.

A Grievous Loss: Pastor Kamran Michael​

Recently, our community suffered a heartbreaking tragedy.
Our dear brother, Pastor Kamran Michael, a humble servant of God, was repeatedly warned to stop preaching the Gospel. But like the apostles who said, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20), he refused to stay silent.

on 6th December 2025 , while dropping his little daughter at school in the morning, he was murdered in cold blood by extremists, in Gujranwala City, killed because of his unwavering faith in Christ.
His little daughter witnessed her father fall as a martyr.
The pain of this loss has shaken our hearts, yet we rejoice knowing the Word says:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10

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Pastor Kamran has finished his race (2 Timothy 4:7), but his wife, children, and congregation now face deep grief, fear, and practical challenges.

Our Humble Request to the Christian Forums Community​

Dear brothers and sisters, we need your prayers.
Christians in Pakistan feel isolated, voiceless, and forgotten, yet your prayers give us strength to stand firm.

Please pray for:

The family of Pastor Kamran Michael​

• Comfort, provision, and protection
• Healing for his little daughter who witnessed the tragedy
• The Holy Spirit’s peace that surpasses understanding (Phil. 4:7)

The Christians of Pakistan​

• Protection during the Christmas season
• Safety for pastors, evangelists, churches, and families
• Courage to stand strong in the Gospel
• Unity and spiritual endurance under persecution (Hebrews 13:3)

Our nation of Pakistan​

• That hearts of persecutors may turn to Christ
• That justice may be upheld
• That God may grant peace where hatred abounds

The global Body of Christ​

That we may continue to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2), standing as one family in the household of faith.

As I share these words, I am reminded of the early church in Acts misunderstood, attacked, scattered, yet unstoppable. “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” Pastor Kamran’s blood will not silence the Gospel; it will strengthen it.​

Your prayers mean more to us than you can imagine.
Thank you, Christian Forums family, for being a place of refuge, encouragement, and unity in Christ.

May the Lord bless you richly this Christmas season!
May His light shine ever brighter through His persecuted church!

In Christ’s love and service,
Pastor Waris Masih
Pakistan

The founder of an antisemitism watchdog group condemned actors Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch and the hundreds of celebrities who signed a petition demanding that Israel release Marwan Barghouti, a convicted terrorist found guilty of orchestrating multiple attacks that killed Israeli civilians.

The "Free Marwan" campaign is calling for the United Nations and world governments to "actively seek" Barghouti's release from Israeli prison, alleging in the petition that the political figure and terror leader faces "violent mistreatment and denial of legal rights whilst imprisoned."

Over 200 public figures, in addition to Ruffalo and Cumberbatch, have signed the petition, including musician Paul Simon, author Margaret Atwood and actor Sir Ian McKellen.

According to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Barghouti is associated with the Fatah terrorist organization, having served as the leader of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, which carried out thousands of terror attacks against Israel between September 2000 and April 2002.

"Just as we wouldn't expect a counterterrorism expert to win an Oscar or Grammy, no one should listen to celebrities' opinions on a mass murderer and arch terrorist," StopAntisemitism founder and executive director Liora Rez told The Christian Post.

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