• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

At Least Nine Trump Witnesses Have Received Significant Financial Benefits From His Businesses and/or Campaign

Multiple Trump Witnesses Have Received Significant Financial Benefits From His Businesses, Campaign

Nine witnesses in the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump have received significant financial benefits, including large raises from his campaign, severance packages, new jobs, and a grant of shares and cash from Trump’s media company.

One campaign aide had his average monthly pay double, from $26,000 to $53,500. Another employee got a $2 million severance package barring him from voluntarily cooperating with law enforcement. And one of the campaign’s top officials had her daughter hired onto the campaign staff, where she is now the fourth-highest-paid employee.

One aide who was given a plum position on the board of Trump’s social media company, for example, got the seat after he was subpoenaed but before he testified.

Even if the perks were not intended to influence witnesses, they could prove troublesome for Trump in any future trials. Prosecutors could point to the benefits to undermine the credibility of those aides on the witness stand.

“It feels very shady, especially as you detect a pattern. … I would worry about it having a corrupt influence,” Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said after hearing from ProPublica about benefits provided to potential Trump witnesses.

When Trump was indicted on June 8, 2023, over his handling of the documents, the indictment described Wiles as a “PAC representative.” It described Trump allegedly showing her a classified map related to a military operation, acknowledging “that he should not be showing it” and warning her to “not get too close.”

That June, Right Coast Strategies, the political consulting firm Wiles founded, received its highest-ever monthly payment from the Trump campaign: $75,000, an amount the firm has equaled only once since.

A few months later, the Wiles family got more good news. Wiles’ daughter Caroline, who had done some work for Trump’s first campaign and in the White House, where she reportedly left one job because she didn’t pass a background check, was hired by his campaign. Her salary: $222,000, making her currently the fourth-highest-paid staffer.

Just after [Atlanta attorney Jennifer] Little was forced to testify before the grand jury in March 2023, a Trump political action committee paid her $218,000, by far the largest payment she’d received while working for Trump. In the year after she became a witness, she has made at least $1.3 million from the Trump political committee, more than twice as much as she had during the year prior.

Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement that “the 2024 Trump campaign is the most well-run and professional operation in political history. Any false assertion that we’re engaging in any type of behavior that may be regarded as tampering is absurd and completely fake.”

Trump’s attorney, David Warrington, sent ProPublica a cease-and-desist letter demanding this article not be published.

[They said no.]

Why does a good God allow pain and suffering to exist in this world?

Hello, I have known these forums for a few years, but I haven't accessed them for a long time and I noticed that things have changed around here.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to discuss this topic. If it's not, I apologize and ask the moderators to move it to the appropriate forum if this is not the right place for this kind of topic. I apologize in advance if I break any forum rules. And I also apologize for the long post below.

I consider myself a pantheist and a freethinker, but I really want to regain my former faith in Christianity. Yes, I was raised in a Christian family, my whole family is Christian, and I used to be a Christian as well. I started losing faith in the Christian God after I lost my friend to cancer several years ago. The ancient philosophical and theological problem of evil is perhaps one of the biggest and main challenges preventing me from returning to Christianity. When I was a Christian, I was taught in church that God is All-Powerful, All-Loving, Perfect, a God who hears our prayers and cares for us, an Omnipotent God. If this God really cares about us, why did He allow my friend to lose the battle against liver cancer? This disease made him wither and suffer in such a tragic and inhumane way, even after almost two years of treatments and many prayers, but none of that helped, he lost the battle and passed away. I considered him like a brother. This made me question the goodness of the Christian God and my faith.

There was a moment when I came across Epicurus' trilemma, which presents the following dilemma attributed to this philosopher, saying:

If God is unable to prevent evil, then He is not all-powerful.

If God is not willing to prevent evil, then He is not all-good.

If God is willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?

This was also one of the reasons that made me question the goodness of the Christian God. And several other questions related to evil and suffering arose, such as these:

Why does God allow diseases like Tay-Sachs, which affect the neurons of some children, causing them to live short lives and experience horrible suffering? Why allow hepatic carcinoma that killed my friend, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, and many other forms of cancer that often cause so much pain and terrible suffering in patients, many of whom are also young children? Why does leprosy exist, which, if untreated, rots the flesh and causes fingers to fall off? Why do such horrible congenital defects exist, such as epidermodysplasia verruciformis, cyclopia, ethmocephaly, craniopagus parasiticus, epidermolysis bullosa, anencephaly, progeria, spina bifida (and many other congenital diseases listed here https://medlineplus.gov/geneticsbirthdefects.html)? If you are sensitive to strong images, do not search for them on Google. The number of genetic and congenital errors that can occur is almost infinite. Why do mental and behavioral disorders exist, causing such horrible suffering that many people wish they had never been born, preferring to take their own lives, some even losing their sanity and discernment? Moreover, there are diseases like Alzheimer's, sickle cell anemia, autism, color blindness, diabetes, and countless other diseases that kill millions and millions of people, including babies and young children. Why does God allow natural disasters that have killed many people like these here ? Why do we have parasitic infections like malaria, dengue, Chagas disease, tetanus, lice, ticks, Loa loa, brain-eating amoebas, and many others? Why create a world with predation where animals cruelly kill each other to survive and where animals also suffer pain and agony? Why create a world where millions of women and small children were killed in Auschwitz, Treblinka, and other extermination camps, and also murdered by SS soldiers and the Einsatzgruppen during World War II? Why? Just because they were Jews? Why create a world where, besides the Holocaust, other events like the Stalinist Holodomor and other genocides and crimes against humanity have occurred and still occur? A world where women and children are mistreated, assaulted, exploited, used in sex trafficking, mutilated, raped, and killed in such cruel ways? A world where millions and millions of humans have been killed by wars, famines, and plagues? A world where misogyny, religious intolerance, homophobia, racism, chauvinism, fascism, rampant capitalism, extreme poverty, theft, and hunger exist, etc.? A world where people experience hatred, violence, indifference, hypocrisy, lies, and rancor? A world where some people are so selfish and full of themselves, proud, vain, mean, hateful, arrogant, abusive, and narcissistic?

And this is just what comes to mind at the moment.

I know that this is a question that has been asked and pondered by great philosophers and theologians over millennia, but despite that, I would like to hear the perspective of the Christians in this forum.

A long time ago, I read a post that @ViaCrucis (CryptoLuther) wrote in this forum several years ago quoting the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who said that 'to believe in God, a leap of faith must be made.' I'm sorry, but unfortunately, I can't find that post anymore. Although I found this very interesting, I can't make the leap to faith and embrace Christianity. I feel that doing so would be abandoning reason. Sometimes Christians say that God is beyond reason or that His plans are mysterious and incomprehensible to our limited minds. If God often doesn't want us to use reason and critical thinking to question His actions, then why did He make us thinking and rational beings? And why is He so mysterious and sinister? If we cannot even know God's plans, actions, and mysteries, then why assume that He really cares about us? I simply wish I could at least begin to understand in some logical way why the Christian God, with all the attributes He has, allows these terrible and tragic things to happen to us and to the rest of His creation that He claims to love so much.

Why does a God who is supposedly omniscient, omnipotent, and good allow all this suffering and pain that we see and experience in this world?

Thank you for reading until here.

Minnesota mayor thanks President Biden for canceling his student loans

According to GovSalaries.com, Carter earned approximately $132,000 serving as mayor in 2021.

The mayor is 45 years old and had not paid off his student loans.
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Gasp, I'm sort of an Amillennialist!

What strange magic placed me here? Jude for starters. "Chained in darkness". Revelation 12, Satan is cast out with the angels and bound to earth, which isn't under Christ's ACTIVE Authority, except through the indwelling Holy Spirit of Christ within the Body. In this way, Satan is limited in power, along with his following angels and humans. Also, I believe that we go to heaven, immediately upon death... which indeed places me within the Revelation 20 (early portion of the chapter).

That verse in 2 Peter 3 makes it pretty hard to arrive at any other conclusion! :idea:

Am I a theological Mutt? Usually. I've learned to live with it. Discuss, Debate, Inquire, Ignore... Be Loving.

The GOP has a chance....

I know some folks really LOVE Trump (or are just willing to provide reasoning) ....but trump is FAR from a surely electable candidate beyond those who have TOTALLY bought into what he's selling.

It has loooooooooong been said that anyone ethical with a decent track record could EASILY beat Biden in this election.

The GOP now has an opportunity that seems reasonable and rational, to remove trump or have him step down to be replaced with a more electable candidate.

MSN
I'm SUPER inclined to agree with her.

Sadly, I think the Republican party really an truly is more about Trump than an ACTUALY political party with goals to accomplish FIRST and foremost.

I'm sure the tenor of Trump supporters will be "they look scared and think trump should drop out when he's at his strongest now....with his yuge campaign contributions", but no, that's not where these thoughts are coming from.

Advice for Aspiring Christian Musicians

10 Things I've learned over the years writing Christian music:

1. Get over yourself and into them. It's not about you. If you are desiring the spotlight, the fame and glory, then I got a suggestion: don't write Christian music... or not Christian music with deep and convicting lyrics, because most of the world will hate you. Jesus said if they hated me they will hate you too. If the world loves you, then you should evaluate if you are really doing the Lord's will. Is there good fruit from it? Are people getting saved? Or are you just making them feel good?

2. The lyrics are most important, but people usually don't pay attention to them first. Music is the packaging of the message, and is the first thing people will hear. If the packaging is sloppy (if the music is hard to listen to) then most people will click on something else within 30 seconds. Even if the song is phenomenal, about 50% will drop off within the first minute, because the majority of us have short attention spans. Know that this is normal and just the way it is.

3. Don't expect perfection. You gotta give yourself some grace. Be realistic with yourself. Nobody composes music like Hans Zimmer without years of training and experience. Nobody sings like an angel without years of training and experience. If you think otherwise, then you are disillusioned. The box is way much bigger than you think. There is a lot to learn. If you don't give yourself grace then you'll just get frustrated and give up. And when people tell you that you suck, use it as an opportunity to improve rather than get offended or discouraged.

4. Harness the power of silence. Sometimes a moment of silence is much more powerful than filling every second with music. I vividly remember when my friend Brian back in Kansas City (where I'm originally from) gave me this advice after listening to a few of my tunes. Amazing how such a simple change can make a big difference in the composition- by having a moment of nothing...

5. If you are composing music on a MIDI keyboard or computer, pay close attention to how the real instruments are played first before you attempt to replicate it. Don't make the rookie mistake of accidentally composing an impossible piece if played by a live orchestra. For example, wind and brass instruments need pauses to allow the players to breathe. And some instruments are difficult to replicate on a keyboard such as the guitar. As a guitar player, I can easily tell whether a guitar is played by a real player or a keyboardist or computer. And the bagpipes and lute are horrendously fake. Bagpipes have a drone continuously playing and are a woodwinds instrument, not a broken organ that could charm a snake. Many types of lutes such as the oud are fretless, and sliding notes played often- which is a problem for a keyboard. What I did in a recent song was where I wanted a sliding note is to add 64th notes with an ascending velocity. And then I layered a classical guitar MIDI on top of it at half the volume. It was closer, but still not as good as the real thing. Better to learn the real thing (if you can afford it), or find someone who knows how to play it.

6. "Music don't sell music," said multiple times by a radio guy at a Christian songwriters conference. What he meant is that good music isn't enough. You have to have a good brand... and a good heart. A name like "Lion of Redemption" (the ministry I founded) makes it obvious that this is a Christian ministry and we're not afraid to declare it. And it's all about glorifying Jesus, the lion of the tribe of Judah. I don’t even post my personal name or face. Nobody needs to know that. They just need to know Jesus. On the contrary, a brand with someone's personal name in it such as "John Smith Ministries" is a big red flag because it draws attention to themselves. Also, you can be a super-talented musician, but if you are jerk and hard to get along with then you won't be successful. And if you play live, dress appropriately. You need to be approachable, but not sloppy. If you also designed a t-shirt or hat, wear it.

7. When playing live, always ALWAYS have your chord sheets with you. You might think you'd be fine cuz you practiced it a lot and memorized it. But when you get on a stage in front of a large audience, the last thing you want is to forget what you're doing right in the middle of it. I know from experience. It was a songwriters event while I was in college. Halfway through the first verse my mind went completely blank. I forgot everything. It was completely humiliating... Cursed and walked offstage. People were talking about it afterwards. Got reprimanded the next day for it. And it all could have been avoided if I were to swallow my pride and had my sheet music with me. And if you mess up, either keep going or start over. I had to start over one time. Nobody condemned or criticized me for it. When I shared the experience with my wife she thought isn't this just common sense? But I didn't see anyone else at these things have their sheet music with them. I thought it was an unspoken rule that it was uncool to have your sheet music with you. Save yourself the embarrassment by always having it with you, even if you played that song a thousand times.

8. Better to work alone than with the wrong people. The vision that I have is very niche. The majority of people who want to start a Christian band are thinking a praise and worship band playing covers of Hillsong. Prophetic music is not all positive feel-good, and can be offensive. It's stuff that needs to be said. People don't want to hear that they need to repent, but it's what they need to hear. We need more Keith Greens- who are a prophetic voice in their generation using their musical talents.
Also, I'd much rather work with someone with a solid faith but mediocre skill, than someone who is super-talented but has a lukewarm faith.

9. Don't just do music. See music as one of the many tools to use in communicating your message. Music may not be the best medium in certain situations. Music is emotional which can either intensify or distract. Plus you need to say what you need to say within 8 minutes. Ideally within 5 minutes. And radio prefers songs that are 4 minutes or less (though KLOVE wouldn't touch me with a 39-and-a-half-foot pole because I'm too controversial and offensive).
Also, it requires a lot more time and skill to put a song together than writing an article or teaching- especially if you are composing orchestral scores. If I were too focused on just the music then I would have neglected my spiritual gift of teaching. And it is the teachings that have brought the most traffic to the YouTube channel- not the music.

8. Time lost isn't necessarily time wasted. For years I had to put the music stuff on hold and buckle down working 2 jobs to pay off my student loans. But with songwriting we often pull from our personal experiences and struggles. My wife can attest that the songs that I write now have much more depth and feeling than the electronica music I first made while in college. Hope this encourages you...

Pray that The Holy Spirit convicts Mexico's new President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum to somehow embrace Conservative Christian values despite her very po

Pray that The Holy Spirit convicts Mexico's new President-Elect Claudia Sheinbaum to somehow embrace Conservative Christian values despite her very political liberal views:

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Mexico elects leftist Claudia Sheinbaum as the first female, first Jewish president in its history

Mexico elects leftist Claudia Sheinbaum as the first female president in its history

Claudia Sheinbaum, a U.S.-educated scientist-turned-politician, was elected Sunday as Mexico’s first female president, shattering gender barriers in a country known for a culture of machismo and high rates of violence against women.

The leftist former mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum, 62, will also become the first president of Jewish ancestry in this overwhelmingly Catholic country.

Sheinbaum was elected in landslide fashion, according to preliminary vote counts, which showed her winning with 58% of the vote compared with 30% for her closest rival, Xóchitl Gálvez Ruiz [who also would have been the first female president].

Sheinbaum is the protege and hand-picked successor of López Obrador [aka AMLO] ... who under the constitution is limited to a single six year term, is a deeply polarizing figure: Supporters laud him for helping lift millions out of poverty while critics assail him for disregarding democratic norms and failing to curb cartel violence.

When López Obrador was elected mayor of Mexico City in 2000, he launched Sheinbaum’s political career by making her secretary of environment for the capital. [Her academic background is in environmental engineering.]

In the United States, which is home to nearly 11 million people born in Mexico, migrants who in the past were able only to vote in Mexican elections by mail could vote for the first time in person at consulates. In Los Angeles, the line at the Mexican Consulate in MacArthur Park wrapped around the block twice, with some people arriving as early as 4 a.m.

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Exodus evidence

Exodus is one of the most spectacular event in Bible and I wanted to look it through archeological evidence and I found many interesting things that I wanted to share with you guys. First of all acording Bible Exodus happened around 14/15 century BCE and there are interesting finds from that period.

1 Armarna letters from Caanite

The letters from the kings of the southern Levant have garnered the most attention. This is because they identify significant tumult arising with a distinct people in the early 14th century. The letters identify this group by the name Habiru and describe them conquering Canaanite territories en masse.

The messages from the various regional Canaanite leaders to Egypt’s pharaoh are filled with desperate pleas for help. Tablet EA 286 is a plea from Abdi-Heba, the mayor of Jerusalem: “Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. … May the king [Egypt’s pharaoh] provide for his land! All the lands of the king, my lord, have deserted. … Lost are all the mayors; there is not a mayor remaining to the king, my lord. … The king has no lands. That Habiru has plundered all the lands of the king. If there are archers this year, the lands of the king, my lord, will remain.”

EA 299 was written by Yapahu, the ruler of Gezer, a Canaanite city situated west of Jerusalem in the foothills of the Judean mountains: “To the king, my lord … ince the Habiru are stronger than we, may the king, my lord, give me his help, and may the king, my lord, get me away from the Habiru lest the Habiru destroy us.”

In EA 288, Jerusalem’s mayor once again beseeches the pharaoh. Note the description of the far-reaching extent of the Habiru’s conquests: “May the king give thought to his land; the land of the king is lost. All of it has attacked me. … I am situated like a ship in the midst of the sea …. [N]ow the Habiru have taken the very cities of the king. Not a single mayor remains to the king, my lord; all are lost” (emphasis added).

The Habiru invasion evidently was not localized to a handful of cities. According to the mayor of Jerusalem, these people conquered virtually the entire region. And remember, this invasion occurred in exactly the time period Bible chronology shows that the Israelites invaded.

Here are similarieties beetwen Bible and Armenian text about invasion.

1. Acco

Amarna: Acco helps the Canaanite war effort against the Habiru but apparently later sides with them and is allowed favor (EA 88, 366).
Bible: The Israelites fail to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, allowing them to remain in the land (Judges 1:31).
2. Achshaph

Amarna: The king of Achshaph comes to fight in coalition against the Habiru (EA 366).
Bible: The king of Achshaph joins a coalition to fight a staged battle against the Israelites, but is killed (Joshua 11:1; 12:20).
3. Aijalon

Amarna: The enemy has control in the countryside of Aijalon (EA 287).
Bible: Aijalon features in a major staged land battle, where Israel conquers “Aijalon with the open land about it” (Joshua 10:12; 21:24).
4. Ashkelon

Amarna: The land of Ashkelon is now in league with the enemy (EA 287).
Bible: Ashkelon is taken by the Israelites (Judges 1:18).
5. Beth-Shean

Amarna: A strong garrison is prepared and stationed at Beth-Shean—no indication that it is conquered (EA 289).
Bible: The Israelites fret about iron chariots stationed at Beth-Shean and fail to drive out the inhabitants (Joshua 17:16; Judges 1:27).
6. Gezer

Amarna: The king of Gezer fights against the Habiru, but it seems there is a movement by his own people (including his own brother) against him, who appear to overthrow him and end up aiding the enemy (EA 271, 287, 298, 299).
Bible: The king of Gezer is killed, but for some untold reason the Canaanites of this area are allowed to remain and give tribute to Israel (Joshua 10:33; 12:12; 16:10).
7. Gebal (Byblos)

Amarna: The king of Gebal worries about the potential of the Habiru attacking the city. However, there is no evidence that it was (EA 68, 73, 74, 76, 77, 88, 90, 121, 188).
Bible: Joshua informs the Israelites that the northern lands, including Gebal, still need to be conquered (Joshua 13:5). However, there is no statement that they ever were.
8. Hazor

Amarna: The king of Tyre, writing about neighboring Sidon, notes that Hazor is turned over to the Habiru (EA 148, 228).
Bible: Joshua conquers Hazor and chases the enemy all the way to Sidon (Joshua 11:1-13).
9. Hebron

Amarna: Hebron, in league with Jerusalem and Lachish, is at war with the Habiru (EA 271, 284, 366).
Bible: The king of Hebron, in league with the king of Jerusalem and the king of Lachish, attends a staged land battle where all are defeated (Joshua 10:5). The territory of Hebron is later attacked and conquered (verses 33, 36-37).
10. Jerusalem

Amarna: Jerusalem and its territory is apparently one of the last remaining places to be attacked (EA 286, 287, 288). Also note a similar-style, burned Canaanite tablet fragment discovered in Dr. Eilat Mazar’s Jerusalem excavations (speculated to be the work of the same scribe of Abdi-Heba’s letters, thus dating to the same period).
Bible: Jerusalem is one of the last places to be attacked and conquered (Judges 1:8). When the city is eventually conquered at the start of the judges period, it is burned (same verse).
11. Lachish

Amarna: The Habiru killed a leader of Lachish and gained control of the city (EA 287, 288, 329, 330, 333).
Bible: The Israelites killed the king of Lachish in a separate land battle and later conquered the city (Joshua 10:23-26, 31-32).
12. Megiddo

Amarna: Megiddo is attacked and defeated by a group allied with the Habiru (EA 243, 244, 246).
Bible: The king of Megiddo is killed, but Canaanites maintain hold of the city (Joshua 12:21; Judges 1:27).
13. Shechem

Amarna: The Habiru are handed the land of Shechem by its ruler, Labayu (EA 289).
Bible: There is no description of an attack on Shechem, yet the Israelites are described as having full control over it (Joshua 24:1).
14. Shiloh

Amarna: The Habiru attacked Shiloh (EA 288).
Bible: There is no description of an attack on Shiloh, but the Israelites evidently acquired it and established it as the site of the tabernacle (Joshua 18:1).
15. Sidon

Amarna: The king of Sidon writes that his surrounding cities have joined themselves to the Habiru (EA 144).
Bible: While battle did reach as far north as the borders of Sidon, the Canaanite inhabitants remained in that city (Joshua 11:8; Judges 1:31).

I would like to explain what Habiru was. An ancient group of people living in the Syropalestinian region who do not have their own state. They were newcomers (from across the Euphrates) and led a largely nomadic lifestyle, which is why they can be associated with wandering Gypsies. This group includes the main Hurrians and Semites, along with collateral inscriptions, as vagabonds and robbers, mercenary warriors, servants and slaves, and merchants and traders. We see definition of it exactly matches with Bible Hebrews which also were nomadic society. And there was no mention of Israel before Egyptian Merneptah Stele so egyptian didn't really knew name of Israel and just called them Habiru.

I am aware that Habiru is more social name for outcast and not every Habiru is israelist but every Habiru was Israelist.

2 Mountain Sinai
Experts believe they’ve finally found one of the holiest sites in the Bible — miles from where it was previously assumed to have existed.

A biblical archaeologist organization, The Doubting Thomas Research Foundation, claims it has found the actual mountain where, according to the Old Testament, Moses lead the Israelites – a mountain that was enveloped in smoke, fire and thunder – and where, at the top, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.

But in actuality, the society now claims, Mount Sinai, one of the most sacred places in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions, is Jabal Maqla, which lies in the Jabal al-Lawz mountain range in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

“One of the main reasons certain scholars claim that the Exodus is a myth is because little to no evidence for what the Bible records has been found at the traditional Mount Sinai in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula,” Foundation president Ryan Mauro, who is a Middle East expert, told the Sun.

In the bible, Mount Sinai is where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.
“But what if these scholars have actually been looking in the wrong spot?” he noted. “Move over into the Arabian peninsula and you find incredibly compelling evidence matching the Biblical account.”

Jabal Maqla, has blackened peaks as if scorched by the sun or fire, and lies near Nuweiba Beach, where scientists have found land paths underneath the water, where God would have parted the waters for Moses and the Israelites.

Though they were followed by Egyptians in chariots, when the Israelites reached land on the other side of the water, the sea consumed the Egyptians. A chariot-like shape was found in coral in the area, according to Swedish scientist Dr. Lennart Moller, who noted to the outlet that the metal and wood had long ago disintegrated.

On the way from the Beach to the possible Mt. Sinai is a large, split rock with signs of water erosion, despite being in the midst of a desert.

“We believe this distinct landmark could be the rock that God commanded Moses to strike which water then gushed forth from miraculously providing for the Israelite population,” Mauro said.

The experts also discovered a site which appeared to be an altar near the base of the mountain, akin to the altar Moses is said to have built at the foot of Mount Sinai from uncut stones.

The archaeologists claims Jabal Maqla matches biblical descriptions.
Also nearby is a graveyard – which Mauro theorizes is the site where the worshippers of the golden calf were struck down by Moses for idolatry.

“Close to the mountain, we have this site covered with depictions of people worshipping bulls and cows,” Mauro told the Sun. “And what’s really significant is that these petroglyphs are isolated to this area. It’s not like they’re carved all over the mountain.”

3 Akhenthen and his fater conversion from polytheism into Monotheism

When people of Europe arrived into America we can see effects of it by mass conversion into Christianity. When Romans were taking over we can see it effects by Romans conversion to other religions or other way around. The same thing we can see by change of religion in Egypt into single God that reminds very much Jewish God Jahwe

The cult of the Aten, next to Judaism, was one of the oldest monotheistic faiths. There are numerous similarities between them:

belief in one and only God (Hymn to the Aten col. 7-8 - Deuteronomy 6:4;
a similar name for God - Egyptian Aton, Aten resembles the Hebrew Adon, Adonai - [Great] Lord;
God who keeps everything alive;
A God who cares for all people and all of His creation.
The Great Hymn to the Aten resembles the biblical Psalm 104, to which it is also often compared.

There is also speech of Akhenathen regarding God.
The temples of the gods fallen to ruin, their bodies do not endure. Since the time of the ancestors, it is the wise man that knows these things. Behold, I, the king, am speaking so that I might inform you concerning the appearances of the gods. I know their temples, and I am versed in the writings, specifically, the inventory of their primeval bodies. And I have watched as they [the gods] have ceased their appearances, one after the other. All of them have stopped, except the god who gave birth to himself. And no one knows the mystery of how he performs his tasks. This god goes where he pleases and no one else knows his going. I approach him, the things which he has made. How exalted they are.

4 Slaves in egypt

The Brooklyn Papyrus; From the earlier Middle Kingdom (13th Dynasty- (c. 2000–c. 1600 B.C.E.) there is evidence of Semitic settlements all across the northeast Nile Delta. The Brooklyn Papyrus contains a list of the names of 95 slaves. 70% of the names are Hebrew, including Asher and Issachar. 10 of the names have direct links to other passages in the Bible. The majority of whom were Semitic. Menahema, a feminine form of Menahem. 2 Kings 15:14

On two stelae at Memphis and Karnak, Thutmose III's son Amenhotep II boasts of having made 89,600 prisoners in his campaign in Canaan (around 1420 BC), including "127 princes and 179 nobles(?) of Retenu, 3600 Apiru, 15,200 Shasu, 36,600 Hurrians", etc.

• Pyramids built of mud-and-straw bricks (Exodus 5:7–8), and both written and physical evidence that Asiatic people were enslaved in Egypt.

• Skeletons of infants of three months old and younger, usually several in one box, buried under homes in a slave town called Kahun (Exodus 1:16), corresponding to Pharaoh’s slaughter of Hebrew infants.

• Masses of houses and shops in Kahun, abandoned so quickly that tools, household implements, and other possessions were left behind. The findings suggest the abandonment was total, hasty, and done on short notice (Exodus 12:30–34,39), consistent with the sudden exit ordered in the wake of Passover

5 Explains Problems of egypt.
- Death of sudden Akhenathen brother firstborn
This is what the LORD says: "About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again."

Exodus 11:4–6

- Reapeated asking for military not answered like from example Babylos which means army is missing.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew[f] the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.
Exodus

- Lack of gold

Tushratta complains in numerous letters that Akhenaten had sent him gold-plated statues rather than statues made of solid gold; the statues formed part of the bride-price that Tushratta received for letting his daughter Tadukhepa marry Amenhotep III and then later marry Akhenate

Exodus 3:21
And I will grant this people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that when you leave, you will not go away empty-handed.

Exodus 3:22
Every woman shall ask her neighbor and any woman staying in her house for silver and gold jewelry and clothing, and you will put them on your sons and daughters. So you will plunder the Egyptians."

- Its the body of Amenhotep III that was mutilated; bloated, stuffed with unique resin and amazingly found to have inside it a dead bird, pebbles, and another mans toe!

This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them back, the hand of the LORD will bring a terrible plague on your livestock in the field—on your horses and donkeys and camels and on your cattle and sheep and goats.

— Exodus 9:1–3

Aus Increases Minimum Wage by 3.75%

The Guardian
3 June 2024


Minimum wage workers in Australia to get a 3.75% pay rise over the next 12 months

Australia’s lowest-paid workers will collect a pay rise of 3.75% in the coming year, a result likely to please the Reserve Bank but dismay unions who sought a 5% rise.

The Fair Work Commission announced the 2024-25 decision for minimum and award wages on Monday. The increase affects about one in four employees from 1 July.

The increase will raise the minimum weekly wage to (Aus)$915.90 (up from $882.80). Hourly wages will increase to (Aus)$24.10 (from $23.23), the commission said.

The commission president Adam Hatcher argued it was “not appropriate at this time to increase award wages by any amount significantly above the inflation rate, principally because labour productivity is no higher than it was four years ago, and productivity growth has only recently returned to positive territory”.

Minimum wage workers in Australia to get a 3.75% pay rise over the next 12 months | Wages growth | The Guardian

Some Background:
  • Around 25% of Australian workers receive the minimum wage.
  • The minimum wage is reviewed and reset annually by the independent Fair Work Commission (FWC).
  • The review is based on submissions from employee and employer groups along with the Federal government. The FWC is required to factor possible inflation effects into its decision.
  • The FWC minimum wage decision sets a mandatory minimum for all wages across Australia
  • Australia has had some form of annual minimum wage review since 1907.
  • In 2023 the minimum wage was increased by 5.75%. In 2022 the minimum wage was increased by 5.2%.
  • Based on 2022 data Australia has the fourth highest minimum wage in the OECD. UK is eighth highest and US sits at 21.

OB
  • Informative
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The Discipline of The Lord

“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“’My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.’
“It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” (Hebrews 12:3-13 ESV)

What are some ways in which the Lord disciplines those of us who are his by genuine faith in him? He allows us to go through trials and tribulations to test our faith so that we can see whether or not our faith is genuine. And he allows us to be mistreated by other people, to be abandoned, sinned against, betrayed, lied about, rejected, and cast aside as worthless. And people will treat us this way because we don’t conform to the standards of the world and because we live holy lives, pleasing to God, and we serve him.

But we are not to grow weary and fainthearted when disciplined by the Lord, no matter what forms of discipline we must endure for the sake of our walks of faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. For God is treating us as his children. And discipline, though painful, is necessary in our lives to keep us on the right path and so that we do not stray and get off the path that the Lord has us on, which is the way of righteousness and holiness and walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For discipline strengthens us in our faith.

For the discipline of the Lord is for our good, even though it doesn’t feel good when we are having to endure it. But this is so that we may share in God’s holiness, becoming like him in thought and deed and character, by the grace of God, and in His power. And the discipline of the Lord is painful, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. But if you are not having to endure the disciplines of the Lord, then perhaps you are not his legitimate children by genuine faith in him.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. For he also said that not everyone who professes him as Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven.

[Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; cf. Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14]

Therefore, we are to lift our drooping hands and strengthen our weak knees. And hands are usually symbolic of our deeds (works), and knees are generally symbolic of our submission to God and our prayer lives. So if our deeds are drooping, they are sinking. They are not going in the direction of holiness and righteousness, but they are going in the ways of the flesh and of sinful practices. And if our knees are weak that means that our submission to the Lord is failing and so are our prayer lives.

And the only way that we can strengthen these drooping hands and weak knees is through submission to Christ as Lord and through surrender of our lives and our wills to the will of God for our lives. And this involves dying daily to sin and walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power. And this engages us daily disciplining our own lives and us renouncing (saying “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and us living self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return.

For we must now make straight paths for our feet, and straight paths are the ways of God which are righteous, holy, disciplined, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to the Lord and to his commands. This is the way in which we are to walk if our faith in Jesus Christ is genuine faith. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, and not dying daily to sin, then regardless of what we profess with our lips, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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Judge's ruling to block key defense evidence and an expert witness is an impartial application of the rule of law (Hunter's Laptop Inside!)

Judge blocks key defense evidence and witness on eve of Hunter Biden gun trial


The federal judge overseeing Hunter Biden’s gun trial dealt his defense two setbacks Sunday, on the eve of jury selection, by blocking one of his expert witnesses and excluding a key piece of evidence the president’s son hoped to use.

The rulings from Judge Maryellen Noreika resolved some of the sticking points that were still simmering before the trial begins Monday. Taken together, these decisions could make a tough case for Hunter Biden even more challenging to win. President Joe Biden’s son has pleaded not guilty to illegally buying and owning a gun while abusing illicit drugs.

Our church just got that much smaller

Today at church, our pastor told us that one of our readers, Shirley, has gone to be with the Lord.

Our church is getting smaller and smaller. I think this is the lot many mainline Protestant churches. We've only had two other person join the church in the past year, and several inquirers have disappeared off the radar.

The common thread in Trump's defenders

Listen hard. Not one says he didn't do the acts for which he was convicted.
Instead, they say:
He shouldn't have been charged.
The crimes were committed too long ago (2016).
He has not been convicted of federal election fraud. Not yet!
They quibble about NY state law.
They say the trial should have been in Staten Island.

But not one says, "He never did those things."

And let's face it, those things were 110% immoral and unethical.

Leviticus 26:3-27:34 "Obedience or Disobedience = Blessings or curses

Parasha: B'Chukotai (In my statutes, ordinances) Leviticus 26:3-27:34


This is the last study in the Book of Leviticus. So, Let's take a look at what it is about.

Basically, Adonai is giving conditions as to blessings or, curses. Any time scripture starts with "If.....then...etc" it is conditional.
Blessings if you adhere to my commandments and ordinances, or curses if you abandon my commandments and ordinances. It is that simple.

"Commandments" come from the word "Mitzvah" and from the verb "Tzvah" (to command) or to act on a command.
"Ordinances or statutes" come from the word "Chok" a condition, a requirement, or a limit.

Adonai is telling us to "Walk in my statutes, guard my commandments, and put them into practice. We could say that the statutes and ordinances are the fine details of the commandments. When we say "Shema" (listen) it means "listen and obey."

We can see the Torah as a "Fence" The fence has a "limit" beyond the fence we should not go. So, as long as we stay within those limits imposed by God through His commandments, we are good. Yet going beyond the fence, and ignoring HIS warnings, what else can we expect but retribution?

The rabbis in "Pirke Avot" (Ethics of the Fathers) say: Study to learn, and we learn to do. Also, "Study is not only to acquire knowledge but to gain understanding and wisdom to put what has been learned into action.

We see in these final chapters that Israel is being promised material blessings connected to the land and wellbeing in response to obeying God's commandments and ordinances, yet curses and punishment for turning their back on God's commandments and ordinances—both material/physical and emotional curses.

It is said that when Israel received the Torah, a sword came down with the Torah as well. Israel saw and heard the Torah, but didn't see the sword. The Torah symbolizes "God as a friend" (Elohim HaChaver) and the sword as "God as a foe" (Elohim HaCherev) Using only the consonants, "Chaver and Cherev" have the same letters, yet two consonants are reversed. (the "v" and the "r")

God will be with us and will bless us IF we obey His teachings and commandments, yet will be Against us IF we disobey and walk in rebellion.
This is very easy to understand since God acts like a Father who disciplines his children when they act contrary to his commandments.

We are HIS children, and we are part of HIS family through faith in Yeshua/Jesus as our LORD and Savior. That is a fact, yet there are consequences when we act contrary to his WORD. Wayward saints often suffer a lot until they return to the sheepfold.

They abandon the Good Shepherd, yet the Good Shepherd always waits for their return. Yeshua said; "If you love me, obey my commandments" I believe that our parents expected nothing less from us when we were living under their roof. We can see a good example of blessings or curses in our everyday life walk. IF...you stop at the red light, you are blessed and you will not get into an accident or get a ticket. IF..you do NOT stop at the red light, THEN..you might get a ticket or worse, get into an accident.

The last part of chapter 26 talks about Israel being cast out of the land and scattered amongst the nations, yet Adoani will NEVER reject His people, even being in other lands. We see Y'Hudim in all parts of the world, especially in East Europe, in the Americas, North, Central, and South America. Even though we are away from the Promised Land, we are still part of HIS people.

We see in the Book of Acts, in chapter 2 when the theme is Shavuot/Pentecost, there were Y'hudim from many different areas of the nearby world, but they were all there to celebrate Shavuot (this year, June 12th and 13th).

Chapter 27 is about "vows" and the cost connected to vows. A vow is a serious matter in the eyes of God, especially if we mention HIS Holy name. A vow is a promise to do something. The money (in silver shekels) is like "Ernest Money" which is paid when a person is serious about buying some property. If the person changes his or her mind, the money is lost.

However, Yeshua tells us to let our YES be YES, and NO be NO. Instead of "vowing" just say "If the LORD permits..." Since the LORD is Master of our time on earth and only HE knows if we will be alive to fulfill a said promise or desire to do something.


HAZAK, HAZAK, V'NIT CHAZEK (be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened)

Biden Administration Sees Record Number of New Business Applications

Today, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, released a statement in response to new data showing that an unprecedented 17 million new business applications have been filed under the Biden-Harris Administration.

1717382342359.png

Event Horizon - The first day.

I have tried to shake this but I can not seem to.

  • As the Earth rotates, different parts of the sky become visible or hidden by the horizon, creating the beautiful transitions from night to day and vice versa.
The event horizon of a black hole is a cosmic boundary where even light cannot escape, while the morning horizon is a natural consequence of Earth’s curvature

3And God said, “Let there be light,”a and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.b

So day begins at the horizon when the Sun begins to "rise".
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Social Media Posts for Pride Month? (For Christians)

Under the forum rules, we're not allowed to debate the morality of homosexuality, just it's political & cultural influence. So the assumption behind this post is, homosexual actions are inherently wrong, but the people who commit them are still (like us) sinners in need of redemption, sinners who are loved by God & should be loved by us, too.

With that in mind, "Pride Month" has begun, and my Facebook feed is filling up once again with posts about homosexuality--either posts about love & acceptance of these people & their actions, or posts that speak out against these actions, with little regard for the inherent dignity of the people who commit them.

What I want for this thread is things from a truly Christian, "hate the sin, love the sinner" perspective, things I can share on my wall that call out homosexuals as people who should be loved & accepted, while acknowledging that some actions are right & others are wrong.

The challenge is, I want things formatted well for social media, visually appealing with just a couple sentences. I'm attaching an example here of the pro-LGBT posts I see; I want something that matches the love & acceptance (and visual appeal) that it has, but with the Christian perspective, so it can't be confused with supporting the homosexual actions, too.

Screenshot_20240602-093847~2.png

My contribution is a link to Courage International, a ministry dedicated to accepting the LGBT community, without seeing their actions as "good". Website links aren't the best for social media, but perhaps someone here will appreciate it.

Courage

[Admins, if this isn't the right subforum for this post, please move it where you see fit]

Legal experts decried what they called the 'weaponization' of criminal justice to stop Donald Trump from being elected president


Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz is among those who have called the facts of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against Trump an "absolute joke." He warned on Friday that if Trump can't get justice in New York through the appeal process, it'll be open season for Republican prosecutors to target Democrats in deep-red districts.

"This is the beginning of a war of weaponization of the criminal justice system," Dershowtz said on "Mornings with Maria" on FOX Business. "The legal system failed. Our system of checks and balances, which is the great contribution that the American Constitution made, failed yesterday."
But Staten Island criminal defense attorney Louis Gelmorino said Bragg and other Democratic officials who made campaign promises to prosecute Trump should never have been allowed to move their cases forward.

"Letitia James, Fani Willis and Alvin Bragg all campaigned on the fact that they were going to get Trump. They all got elected and they all went right after Trump. And they all should've been recused, everyone in their offices, should've been recused because of the statements they made on the campaign trail," said Gelormino, referencing New York Attorney General Letitia James and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Atlanta.
  • Haha
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Someone please tell me if my frustration is legit

My dad was barking again today about me going to church and not liking that I'm talking to Christians. Meanwhile, there are people whose faces I haven't seen in over a year (people from a nearby parish) - back then they were only a couple, now I see a child between them and I'm like - -

At the rate my dad hates that I go out to "meet with the people" even on a platonic level, a relationship with anyone in this sick environment I'm in would be d@mn near impossible. Hence, no relationship = no marriage = no children (I'm getting old for the latter now, but still), while I see others having children that didn't exist about a year ago. The frustration I see is not quantifiable. I know what people are going to say but it's not black-and-white.

Comparing Bible and Berkshire

Bible - They shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the Lord. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. Hosea 4:10-11

1. Whoredom (sexual issues)
2. Wine (feel good solutions)

Berkshire - “Avoid crazy at all costs. Crazy is way more common than you think. It’s easy to slip into crazy. Just avoid it, avoid it, avoid it.” - Charlie Munger
What exactly constituted “crazy,” in Munger’s estimation? “My partner Charlie says there is only three ways a smart person can go broke: liquor, ladies and leverage,” - Warren Buffett

1. Liquor
2. Ladies
3. Leverage (debt)

Almost a parallel here! These ethical standards are important issues here in 2024!
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Hebrews It! (Legal Study, Chapter 1:3) Pt. 3d Mal'akh Ha Panim the Effulgence

Link to Table of Contents Hebrews 1:3 (The Tri-Unity and Messiah, a Deep Scriptural Dive)


This OP continues directly from OP 3c of this Series <- Link Here

here we are still headed, as prescribed by list and continuation of thought.:
  • We are interested in cracking the spiritual nut that we have found within Job 19:26 per the Paleo Hebrew rendering to go beyond Exegesis. We are going to have to Exegetically Extrapolate a matter of scripture that will literally run us All through scripture!.
  • The word TRICOT is specifically in reference to knitting, but, now to retain theological accuracy, we are forced to go back to the word KNIT (WOVE) etc, etc..

    We will lead this further Sub-Textual Study with the following verse.
    Ecclesiastes 4:12 “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken”
    Remember back here when we discussed the very BEING of God? PT 2... <- Link Here We KNOW that God is the Groom and We are Brides The Groom is bound to the Brides SOUL by Faith that KNITS their Heart's directly to His.
7. We will pictorially evaluate just how sacred and revered Mal'akh Ha Panim the Effulgence is
8.As always, you the reader will note that I move as the Spirit moves me through this opinionated flesh and I may or may not address these points in specific order.

To Be Continued Tomorrow! See you ALL there. <3
It is a new Day, Hooray. Op Continued.


We are going to look at the matter of Man + Woman = Life
Patriarchy isn't used in scripture to SUBJIGATE woman. It is to distinguish God from Creation. God is the Creator, giver. Nothing about this is to be taken in a CARNAL sense! This is a spiritual revelation found within the Carnality of creation.

First we start with GOD. The Son (Visible Physical/Spiritual Substance of God), The Holy Spirit (The very Soul of God also known as the HOLY GHOST), The Father (The very infinite Substance, SPIRIT, INVISIBLE BEING of God that transcends understanding and comprehension, Creation, Physical Comprehension).

Now, before we do this, it MUST be known that at no time has God NOT been "A Three Fold Cord", so though the very book of Creation sets up specifically to metaphorically resonate what we are about to see, it is "Metaphor" to help us understand the very motivation of Infinite God creating Creation.

We will start with Genesis 1
If you don't believe in actual Spiritual Existence apart from Flesh and Bone, Now's a really good time to reconsider that idea. Water in scripture can obviously be "WATER". However, water is also "Spiritual Existence" and more specifically a veil between the Spiritual and the Carnal. God is SPIRIT! Does this mean that The Body of God doesn't exist at this point? NO! It means that God is being shown apart from all Creation in the very first two verses of biblical Canon. (Side note, in the NEW testament, the Water is the HOLY SPIRIT of Christ)​
Also, Water is symbolic of the "Amniotic fluid (AF) is a clear or slightly yellowish liquid that surrounds a fetus in the womb during pregnancy. It's contained within the amniotic sac, which is made up of two layers: the amnion and the chorion. AF has many functions, including:" ... in Genesis 1. The creator is about to give Birth to Creation.​

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.​

We are being primed to know what is about to happen! The first Part of this passage Starts with what is to be known as the time when ONLY GOD existed. There wasn't ANYTHING in the first four words of this passage except for GOD. That's pretty amazing! Now, can we SEE the Son in this IMAGE? Yes and No. The realm of the Infinite is being referenced. "In the Beginning, God". In this IMAGE, to us, the reader, GOD is fully INVISIBLE. And then....... GOD CREATED The HEAVENS plural.​
There is a distinct reason that Heavens is PLURAL.​
2 Corinthians 12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.​
Paul isn't being metaphorical when he says that the GOSPEL that he gave was DIRECTLY revealed to him by Jesus Christ. He literal shows us in 2 Corinthians 12 that he was face to face with God to receive the Gospel, IN HEAVEN the very DWELLING place of GOD.​
So, when Genesis says Heaven's, it isn't just talking about the amazing expanse that we call Space, and what we call our SKY. but what we know as LITERAL HEAVEN, the Dwelling Place of GOD! We see God as Homeless, so to speak, in the first four words of Genesis 1. God is fully at peace with HIMSELF, in the expanse of Infinity... and then... HE CREATES.​
All of this is Happening through HIS SON. Now, Heaven is being created. Why is God suddenly creating a place to Dwell? Because He is about to create Angels and Men! But.... How would I know that ANGELS haven't been created yet?​
It's easy to forget that we are studying HEBREWS, but here's your answer, right out of Hebrews 1​

Hebrews 1:14 Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?​
What was God's PURPOSE of creating the Angels? Angel's were always created as Minister's of God to Mankind. They were "GUARDIANS" of mankind.
Full disclaimer... this particular Angel is a fair snapshot of an Angel as they were created, initially. This particular angel did not maintain his initial station of God granted Position. But, he started out just like all of the other angels.

Ezekiel 28:12 You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. .... You were an anointed guardian cherub, for I had appointed you.

Guardian of what? HUMANITY and CREATION. Angels are Ministering Spirits! Did God PLAN for Creation to abuse it’s God Blessed Self Sovereignty? He was fully prepared for Creation to REBEL.
Did God DESIRE for Creation to REBEL? No! God had plans within plans within plans. It's time to stop pretending that God is a linear thinker! If us, who are made in God's VERY Image are capable of abstract thinking, how much more complex and incomprehensibly beyond our understanding is the intellect of God?
Am I "Anthropomorphizing" God? Gasp!
Um, that very statement is pretty ARROGANT! God had the IMAGE of Emotion, Thought, Planning, Creativity, Love, Interaction, Humor, Anger, etc... etc... LONG before we were EVER a mere twinkle in God's Eye!
God's very first Given Name when properly studied out means... I Am The LIVING, BREATHING GOD this Is what I AM. He's the IMAGE, NOT US. We were made in HIS IMAGE! God has a.... PERSONALITY! When has GOD not had a PERSONALITY? NEVER!

Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.​
Remember the Equation I was discussing? I refuse to start showing it's repetition until we Show GOD FIRST! Now, here is where it BEGINS.
THE SPIRIT OF GOD WAS HOVERING ABOVE THE SURFACE OF THE WATERS.
The Hebrew word 'merahefet' (HOVERING) comes from the verb, meaning to hover, or move above something. Another example of the use of the word is in Deuteronomy 32:11, describing an eagle hovering over its young.
Deuteronomy 32:11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.​
The actual Hebrew rendering of Genesis 2 is NOT the EARTH as in PLANET EARTH. It is to denote our entire UNIVERSE. This verse is written from God's Perspective! Certainly, God looks INTO the Universe, excited to Create Mankind and Angel Kind, but... He hasn't done that, yet. The very rendering of the Hebrew is saying that God is Hovering over Creation as a MOTHER Eagle spreading her wings out to PROTECT and GUIDE her YOUNG!
Another aspect of this verse that will be missed by folks that don't by Faith BELIEVE that there is a LITERAL SPIRITUAL Realm that is unseeable, Dimensionally Speaking, to us, is that the WATER is signet of the Veil between Heaven and ALL Creation! Two separate Realms! Our UNIVERSE consists of 2 heavens, to us. The Heaven that makes up the Sky and the Heaven that we refer to as OUTER SPACE. The THIRD Heaven refers to a Dimension that is separate and NOW, unseeable to us.
REMEMBER when Jesus was WALKING on Water? All of Atheism sure does! Whenever books or movies are made, it's not uncommon to see a reference to this moment! Some may be a secret nod to our Creator, while others are intended to poke fun at Christianity. Only God knows the heart on those matters.
Why is that an important passage? Because it's not the first time we've seen this imagery! When John the Baptizer Baptizes Jesus, The Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit of God) appears above Jesus, in between the VOICE of the Father from Heaven and Jesus.
This is a 3 fold occurance!
1: The Spirit of God is Hovering above the Water
2: The Dove is inbetween The Father and The Son
3: The Son is now HOVERING above the WATER of Earth, yet in a Hover that makes physical contact with THE WATER.
Do we need Pictures to show what God is trying to SHOW us? It may help! I'll go see if I can find some and place them side by side.
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Father + Holy Spirit = The Son (Not Created, Just taught in Metaphor, not denoting Gender to the Holy Spirit or the false idea that the Son is Created, BECAUSE HE IS NOT A CREATION, just pointing this out to help grasp what scripture is SHOWING US!
I am a Man and I have no DESIRE to be a WOMAN, yet SPIRITUALLY, I am Gendered "Female" as the BRIDE of God that is Part of the MANY BRIDES that Make up the ONE BRIDE. God is Always Spiritually THE MAN in ALL of Scripture, unless HE Spiritually Genders as FEMALE to teach a LESSON. Example: The Maternal MOTHER EAGLE, A HEN GATHERING HER CHICKS.
Why is this so important that we are discussing it in the midst of a Hebrews study? We are still anchored to Hebrews 1:3 which states that The Son is the very "Effulgence" of the Father's Glory. God Desires to be KNOWN as deeply as HE desires to KNOW us. God isn't a Helicopter Parent. He Hover's in a way that awaits our beckoning unto Him. He REPONDS. Now, when all terribleness breaks out where Creation is headed for Global Calamity, God swoops down as that MOTHER Eagle and INTERCEDES. We see this pattern from Genesis to Revelation. God does this for individuals off and on throughout all history, but we aren't God, we don't know Human HEARTS (I'm not talking about the thing that palpitates our very blood throughout our MORTAL BODIES). God does what God does for ONE reason and ONE reason ALONE. We know this, because throughout ALL scripture and especially via HIS Pre-Gospel moment of INCARNATION where HE lays the very FOUNDATION of the GOSPEL, HE reveals that HE, GOD is LOVE! That is the core characteristic of HIS PERSONALITY. It's so CONSUMING to HIS very BEING that Everything that HE does Flows from HIS storehouse of Love. You will find that God's JUSTICE and LOVE aren't Separate ASPECTS of HIS Being. God's Justice is a subset or branch of HIS LOVE! God brings Justice out of LOVE.
Now, in respect to the repeating equation we see within the Genesis account, we see that Darkness is a metaphor of the absence of God. God is LIGHT (LIFE), DARKNESS is a METAPHORE for the ABSENCE of God. Does this mean that DARKNESS is a place that God can't go within? NOPE! It means that DARKNESS is a metaphor for that which is actively seeking to be outside of the presence of God. How can we be sure of this? Wherever God is not, there is DARKNESS, wherever GOD is there is LIGHT and LIFE.
We start the first 2 verses of Genesis Chapter 1 seeing God within INFINITY. God then Creates! Where there was NO-THING, or to be more specific, a PLACE that hadn't ever existed yet, suddenly EXISTS because of GOD! Infinity becomes Designated Heaven, while What has a BEGINNING and is subject to God's Infinite Being, by being Dependent on God to Exist, becomes an IMMORTAL CREATION self contained within itself, yet MORTAL to it's Creator.
This is What Genesis 1:2 Reveals.
Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.​
Here we see two subsets of Theological, Scripturally revealed Theorems.​
God wants us to understand that He is Loving and Nurturing, with NO-THING but Good Will towards MEN... and more specifically ALL OF CREATION. By seeing that God, TRIUNE God, Body, Soul and Spirit GOD, HIMSELF is KNIT together as a 3 fold Cord of LOVE.​
The Son Loves His Father and the Father Loves His Son. The Father and Son Love their HOLY SPIRIT, As the HOLY SPIRIT Loves HIS FATHER AND SON. Notice the intentional Gendering to denote that ALL are GOD!​
Now, because we are VISUALLY SHOWN that the SPIRIT of God (The Father) is HOVERING above the "Waters" (Veil) that Separate Literal Heaven from Earth ... we aren't SEEING the FATHER, but THE HOLY Spirit of the Father and the Son. This is how the Gendering get's Spiritually given as a MOTHER EAGLE to the HOLY SPIRIT in this particular place!​
Creation is currently DEAD and VOID of the PRESENCE OF GOD.​
Finally! The extrapolated Theological Theorems!​
Father + Mother = Son (Spiritual Metaphor of Romantic Love that Creates)​
Need a proof verse?​
Colossians 1:16 For by HIM (The SON) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created BY HIM (THE SON), and for HIM (THE SON):....​
What was CREATED FOR HIM?​
Heaven and ALL CREATION!​
What was the motivation?​
LOVE and the Giving of LOVE (Relationship)​
Why was creation allowed to CHOOSE to be independent of God, upon INCEPTION?​
LOVE​
Does LOVE FORCE ITSELF?​
NEVER!​
Second Theorem:​
Creator + Creation = LIFE
Proofing the Theorem:​
Creation - Creator = Death​
Now we are ready to follow through into Genesis to see how this plays out and proofs itself!​

OP Pt. 3d concluded! To be continued on OP Pt. 3e! The Theorems will be placed into Theological Action.​

Perfect metaphor for maga movement

It seems nobody had control of this maga movement either lol.


I mean this is funny and ironic. It was only a couple days after Mr Trump was convicted in NYC. This reminds me of that driven fly that couldn't get enough of Mike Pence during his debate. I think this crash is an ominous sign of things to come for Donald Trump. And an appropriate metaphor for the entire Trump charade. It's OK to laugh if you get the urge. That "Trump: law and order" sign on the bus definitely cracked me up lol.

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