Guojing said:

Are you not aware that Jesus never said John 3:16, that it was an author commentary?

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Nope that is not true but it doesn’t surprise me that you would make such an argument without evidence.

BCP1928 said:

I think it may be too late to save the name. For my part, I would rather be know as a "blasphemous pervert" like the Bishop of DC anyway.

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It's a good thing we're not blasphemouspervertforums.com.

Guojing said:

Let me repeat the question again,

Are you saying the Acts 21:18-25 words cannot be therefore understood in their literal meaning, when the event took place at around AD 57?

Its either a yes they cannot be understood literally, which you appear to be trying to say but without saying yes.

or no, they can be understood literally, which is the same as what I am saying.

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It is not a yes or no question. I have explained that in my post where I gave you the context.

Secondly, why are you dating Acts 21 to 57ad?

Maria Billingsley said:

Ok... well... I am not Catholic and it seems if these people were called to be apostles and have accomplished what you said they accomplished ( like plant 32,000 churches) they would be very well known. So be it.
Thanks for sharing.

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They are very well known in the countries they are called to. They just are not celebrity status or flashy

Neostarwcc said:

He just passed away. My wife might take tomorrow off of work and we might head to church to meet with our pastor.

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I’m so sorry. I just prayed.

BasedLutheran said:

No one cares about politcally correct speech nonsense anymore. Third World nations are precisely what they are and precisely what they will remain

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Ergo West Virginia

PloverWing said:

Quite possibly. But as a Christian who is neither socially conservative nor politically conservative, I dissent.

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I think it may be too late to save the name. For my part, I would rather be know as a "blasphemous pervert" like the Bishop of DC anyway.

essentialsaltes said:

Let's hope so.

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Hate and destroy…..is he talking about himself too?

Guojing said:

There is still no yes or no, to my yes or no question.

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And there will not be. It’s not a yes or no question.

Guojing said:

The resurrected Christ never told the 12 that salvation for national Israel after the cross is now "by faith without the works of the law." (Matthew 28:20, Mark 16:16).

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Sure he did. Check out John 3:16.

Guojing said:

And James never exempted the Jews from obeying the law, after the cross, in Acts 15, only the gentiles (Acts 15:19 and Acts 21:25). He even clearly wrote to the 12 tribes, James 2:24, so I don't see how that is "threading lightly".

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You have little understanding about what James teaches. In your interpretation James and Paul are in tension which is not a good thing. The answer is simple and I have already touched on it in my previous post. James taught sanctification while Paul taught justification. Do you know the difference between them?

Guojing said:

So I don't agree with your "James had to thread lightly when teaching the Jewish converts about salvation by faith without the works of the law and "James had to be careful of what and how he preached the gospel of good news

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Guojing said:

But you are of course free to think that way of James, if you insist on making James and Paul say the same thing to different audience. That was not my question to you

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Fine but you are not offering an alternative.

Guojing said:

I was not asking you whether Acts 21 can happen again today, of course it cannot, but that is like saying the cross cannot happen again today, which has an obvious answer.

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Strawman. No one is arguing that. Again, you deny the context, particularly the historical context, of Acts 21.

Guojing said:

I was asking you a yes or no question, are you saying the Acts 21:18-25 words cannot be therefore understood in their literal meaning, when the event took place at around AD 57?

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Guojing said:

I asked you more than once to clarify your position with a yes or no question, and you kept declining to say yes or no.

Is it that difficult for you to reply with a simple yes or no, to make clear your position? Do you expect your readers to read your mind?

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It is not a yes or no question. I spent time giving you the context of Acts 21 so you would understand this but apparently you still not getting it. Your interpretation is “shooting from the hip” in the sense that you are ignoring the context to attempt to further your doctrine but that always fails just as yours has.

Secondly, why are you dating Acts 21 to 57ad?

lismore said:

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition in the UK Parliament, a 'cultural Christian' says spending money on benefits is unchristian.

Kemi Badenoch says spending on welfare is 'unchristian'

Kemi Badenoch has said welfare spending could be considered "unchristian," following Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget.

www.thelondoneconomic.com

Earlier this month, Badenoch quoted St Paul’s advice to Timothy in the Bible as she argued that the “responsibility and dignity of work” was a Christian imperative, the Times reports.
She said: “St Paul, we read, in the first Epistle to Timothy proclaims that ‘Anyone who does not provide for his own household … is worse than an unbeliever’.

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Keep in mind that Paul was talking to people who were by and large self employed.

lismore said:

“This is the Christian recognition that we all have duties … To ourselves, to our families and to the community we are part of. Conservatives believe in making work pay, in rewarding risk, in ensuring effort matches reward.”

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She must be talking about Christian Conservatives on some other planet.

lismore said:

She continued: “My message is let’s get people off welfare into work. Let us not leave debt for our children and grandchildren. That is the worst unfairness.”

When she was asked to elaborate on what she meant, Badenoch continued: “In early Christian times there was no state or welfare so I think that you can argue that, actually. The Christian tradition is about communities and families and charity, not about compulsory taxation in order to pay welfare.

Any thoughts?

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Nothing new here, just the same old "The only reason people are poor is that they are too lazy to work."

Thank you Mari17. I have listened to him some. I do things on this journey that is textbook scrupulosity. I try to say the opposite of my thought, I research constantly, I seek reassurance, I pretty much stay away from triggers but every once in a while I will approach them to see if I have the same response. “Do I still feel this anger and cynicism toward God”? I know all of that is foolish but I am desperate. I read passages like Hebrews 10:26-29 And I just know it’s talking about me. I am ashamed of all my willful sin. I wish I could back 40+ years and do the right things this time. I am angry at the person I have become because of it. I am learning more about myself though. Turns out I am a narcissist. I sought peoples approval and praise because of growing up so poor. I always wanted to be known as intelligent and good at what I do. I never saw how selfish I was. Well, that’s enough of that. Sorry for the long reply.

Perpetual Student said:

View attachment 373830

Login to view embedded media "We lead the world in only three categories. Number one the number incarcerated citizens per capita. Number two, the number of adults who believe angels are real and defense spending"

Add to that number one in amphetamines deaths per capita.

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What sickens me the most, is that when we had an incurable pandemic, we were able to develop a vaccine lickety split. But that's because everyone was a potential victim.

...With drug addiction, it's meh.

Bob Crowley said:

I've used Redhat Fedora Linux for some years, and this was typed on a Linux computer.

I'm just a user, with no formal training and until I saw your post i had no idea what GNU HURD was. I'd heard of GNU, but the idea of a computer HURD which may or may not stampede over the finish line before Elijah returns is something I'll have to leave to far more educated IT people like the Liturgist.

If Elijah comes first, GNU HURD will be the least of our worries. Meanwhile what is the Liturgist going to do all day with no computers in heaven?

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And no one to debate with!!!

keras said:

Conventional teaching is that the sun and stars obtain their energy by nuclear reaction, that is: atoms splitting to become less complex elements, thereby releasing energy.

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No, just the opposite. Stars are powered by nuclear fusion, where hydrogen atoms ared fused together. Here's the drill:

• In the first stage two protons combine and one of them converts into a neutron to form a nucleus of the heavy isotope of hydrogen known as deuterium.
• Next, the deuterium nucleus combines with another proton to form the light helium isotope known as helium-3.
• Finally, two helium-3 nuclei combine to form helium-4, releasing two protons.

Tada!

Perpetual Student said:

View attachment 373829

This is a world chart amphetamine deaths per capita. The USA is in the darkest colour.

Opioids, Cocaine, Cannabis, and Other Illicit Drugs

How common is the use and addiction to opioids, cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis? What is the impact?

ourworldindata.org

On this page other charts with slightly different statistics are available. Nearly always the USA is in the darkest colour. Instead of saying "we don't have a pill, we can't do anything", you should ask yourself (well competent authorities should do that) "what do other countries do different and what can we apply here?".
Other nations didn't wait for medication to come, why is the Greatest Nation on Earth, with the Greatest President ever waiting for?

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No countries that I am aware of are resolving "addiction", though some, such as with Switzerland have curbed overdose deaths by providing syringe exchanges and safe injecting rooms. That's two different things.

I'm not interesting in safer drug use. I'm interested in finding a revolutionary medication that stops addictive inclinations. The tremors, the panic attacks that people experience - those are unfair disadvantages in making normal decisions. I'm proposing a new, revolutionary direction that will both save lives, and curb addiction - a  total solution, as opposed to a half solution.

I'm proposing a better solution than what is found anywhere else.

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