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A New Dawn · Sep 4, 2025

Hans Blaster said:
What has this got to do with excessive seizing of executive power in violation of the Constitution?

Because that is what was happening under the Biden shadow government.

johnnypapa · Sep 4, 2025

Triumph of the Heart: Not Just a Movie, But a Mission

When I boarded the plane to Poland, I thought I was simply heading to a few world premieres of a new movie. I expected a red carpet, some interviews, a bit of content creation, and the thrill of being part of a big release. But what I encountered was far more than a film tour. […]

catholicexchange.com

A New Dawn · Sep 4, 2025

FireDragon76 said:
Christian Smith, a sociologist of religion, hasn't confirmed anything like this happening in the data. More Bible sales a a few anecdotes about young people in stadiums doesn't change long term trends.

My local congregationalist church has gotten two more regular attendees, both young people... but those don't counter the trend and hardly make up for losses. Many young people perceive institutional churches as places of politics and moral hypocrisy, not spiritual formation.

Many young people who are young in their faith may tend to be more what they call “spiritual” and think church is just religion, end up with no guidance in their spiritual lives and so fall away quickly. The problem with this scenario is that senior members of churches aren’t willing to welcome youth in to participate and bring their youthful energy and worship into church. I was a member of such a church and even when our youth became young adults wanting to serve, we were pushed away by the older generation and then they (the older ones) said nobody was willing to step up.

The youth needs the guidance of people more mature in their faith to help them grow, and the older ones need to learn how to let them be active participating member of the community.

Normandt · Sep 4, 2025

220. With Jesus

Evangelization is realized to the extent that we are in communion with Jesus. Without Jesus, without welcoming his Love in our heart, there’s no evangelization and null is the mission.

Whatever the function or mission in the Church, to achieve success, we must be on the move with Jesus. This is what the first Apostles understood. The author of the Acts of the Apostles describes it well:

“After staying there some time, he left and travelled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia, bringing strength to all the disciples.” Acts, chapter 18, verse 23

Paul is successful and this success is indebted to Jesus. It is with Jesus that Paul succeeds in the mission.

The new American Bible, 2011-2014

Book: Let’s evangelize, Normand Thomas

Pioneer3mm · Sep 4, 2025

Currently, 60F
High 84F
- Moderate Rain
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Mid-Atlantic
6:30 am

johnnypapa · Sep 4, 2025

Dina Belanger’s Unrelenting Quest for Perfection - Catholic Insight

Blessed Dina Belanger (+1929) is a home-grown Canadian saint whom we commemorate today. (The martyr Andre Grasset, whom we celebrated two days ago, is still a beatus). Born April 30th, 1897 in St. Roch, Quebec, now a suburb of the capital city, Dina was baptized a few hours later. (After all...

catholicinsight.com

johnnypapa · Sep 4, 2025

Gregory the Great, a Pope for All Seasons - Catholic Insight

One of the great joys of history is reminiscing about the past, giving hope for the present; for history is ‘eschatological’, moving towards a final purpose. Hence, we Catholics should never lose hope, and this virtue is easier to cultivate and foster in our souls if, as Christ said, we could...

catholicinsight.com

Pope Benedict’s First Address on Saint Gregory the Great - Catholic Insight

BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE Wednesday, 28 May 2008 Saint Gregory the Great (1) Dear Brothers and Sisters, Last Wednesday I spoke of a Father of the Church little known in the West, Romanus the Melodist. Today I would like to present the figure of one of the greatest Fathers in the history of...

catholicinsight.com

Pope Benedict’s Second Address on Pope Gregory the Great - Catholic Insight

BENEDICT XVI GENERAL AUDIENCE Wednesday, 4 June 2008 Saint Gregory the Great (2) Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today, at our Wednesday appointment, I return to the extraordinary figure of Pope Gregory the Great to receive some additional light from his rich teaching. Notwithstanding the many duties...

catholicinsight.com

BelieveItOarKnot · Sep 4, 2025

The Righterzpen said:
But if the demon is condemned and the person is atoned for; how do any humans end up in hell?

They don't. IF you read the Bible you won't find a single named person ever stated to be in hell or the LoF now or in the future. Such a thing is not even in writing to begin with. There is not even a single named person even threatened with such a fate.

But Jesus could look any of us in the face, condemn us to the fire, and that condemnation is for the tempter. Just as Jesus addressed Satan speaking from Peter's lips or any other of the thousands of examples of Jesus engaging devils in mankind.

Fact is, that's been going on since day 1 of mankind. God is not just interacting with people only. There are these powers and agents in play:

Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

That wickedness is built directly into us all. We all got our little piece of the dark pie the moment we hit the earth. It's also why we're all sinners, because these matters are not about "just people" at all. There are other things going on that are being played out in real life, real time. Most often unseen.

The Righterzpen said:
The context of both these verses is concerning descendants of Jacob; as opposed to all the rest of the nations. Thus what "he gave himself a ransom for all" means.

Every Word of God applies to us all. Matt. 4:4, Luke 4:4, Deut. 8:3

God bound us all to disobedience, Jew and Gentile alike. Blinded by the god of this world. Mark 4:15, Romans 3:9, 2 Cor. 4:4, Eph. 2:2, 1 John 3:8

The Righterzpen said:
For example; the story of the rich man and Lazarus.

It's a parable ^^^

In order to understand "all parables" we have to go to Jesus for the answer, in Mark 4:13

In that parable we are to understand all parables. There are 3 parties in that parable. God, mankind and devils.

In the parable of Mark 4, we have God's Word obviously, people and Satan.

IF any of these 3 parties are missing from the narrative, then the understanding is void.

In Luke 16 we have essentially a "rich man" eating up all the goods and Lazarus, a poor beggar.

Do the math from there. The rich man is without a name for a reason. That rich man was the internal thief of Lazarus, our adversary.

Jer. 5:
26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

Hosea 5:4
They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord.

Strong in Him · Sep 4, 2025

MarkRohfrietsch said:
Our Lord told his Decuples that a lot of what they heard, they will not understand until a later time (after Pentecost?); this was not only a prophesy about the crucifixion but the promise of real grace given through the eucharist.

Yes, a lot of things made sense to them after the resurrection. And Jesus stayed on earth for 40 more days before his ascension, teaching them about the kingdom.

But IF he said to them, "remember what I said after the feeding of the 5000? When you break bread together you have to believe that this literally becomes my body and that only through IT can I be in you", it's not recorded anywhere.

There is a big difference between the 12 disciples understanding a few years later what Jesus meant, and us reading into his words over 1000 years later.

timewerx · Sep 4, 2025

Sabertooth said:
If even a soulless machine can suss out the necessity of God, any subsequent human denial is just being obtuse.

AI presents a very strong argument on the God debate highlights its growing capability in its ability to reason correctly and possibly deeper than most humans.

But it also points out some major issues in doctrine if "pushed". By default, AI isn't going to tell you in maintaining "political correctness". But if it senses the discussion is not meant to be politically correct, it might just tell you what's really going on.

I am not defending hypocritical behavior, but the fix for that is not more works-based salvation, obviously.

I'm sure you aren't. But even hypocrites are strongly discriminating of their choice of religion or denomination (in Christianity).

Hypocrites tend to gravitate towards a certain flavor of religion. Sadly the religions they gravitate towards isn't the minority but rather the majority.

If a religion encourages such behavior, it is likely to be false.

Larniavc · Sep 4, 2025

sjastro said:
If primordial black holes do exist it would favour the theory that supermassive black holes in the centre of galaxies were produced before the formation of the galaxy.

I thought that PBHs were tiny (relatively). Why would that imply they might be responsible for galactic centre black holes?

Tuur · Sep 4, 2025

FireDragon76 said:
Your comment lacks context. Many European countries don't have mandatory vaccination policies because most people get vaccinated out of a sense of trust in the institutions (where healthcare is often free at the point of service), a sense of social duty, and not because they reject the logic of vaccination.

Would any Europeans here care to comment on this?

BelieveItOarKnot · Sep 4, 2025

SabbathBlessings said:
As I said, sin is of the devil, no doubt, but its a matter of who is bigger in our life.

The point being, when anyone claims they are for example, legally obedient, that can not logically encompass the evil present in the form of the adversary, and therefore exactly no one other than God Himself in the flesh was ever "legally obedient." Lying hypocrites, yes. But legally obedient? Never.

We are all in a perpetual state of sin, never sinless and that is in fact courtesy of the adversary. Which no legalist ever factors into their claims.

SabbathBlessings said:
The devil or God. I believe our God is bigger to keep us from sin, than the devil is to keep us in sin. Its all about choices.

Sins are not counted against people to begin with, 2 Cor. 5:19

Sins are and will continue to be counted against the devil and his messengers.

sjastro · Sep 4, 2025

stevevw said:
How is it distortions and fairy tales. You have not even commented on my replies but made an unsupported assertion. I said that we have evidence (fact) of old an old kingdom site with the foundations found under the later additions from the new kingdom. We have a 4th dynasty priest inscribed on a pillar base.

This suggests that there was an old kingdom core that later was expanded on. How is this fantasy. What happened to the old kingdom granite works. Considering granite was a precious commodity theres no way these were just thrown out and dumped. They were reused in the same temple later.

Why when we have clear evidence of Ramesses II doing this. I gave you the evidence. This is fact.

All old kingdom works were in the hardest stones and have lasted the longest. Apart from the pyramids for obvious reasons. I gave you an example of how the old kingdom pillars look the same as the granite pillars in Karnak. I gave you example of Ramesses II putting his name on granite statues and obelisks.

Are you saying there were no old kingdom granite works left at these sites when later pharoahs and kings added to it. If so where did the granite works go. The logic is in the signatures matching the old kingdom works and not the new kingdom works who rarely worked in granite.

Here is the old kingdom work pillar

View attachment 369514

Here is the new kindom pillars made in sandstone sections. Notice how the sandstone pillar is jutted up against the one piece granite pillar. The granite pillar matches almost perfectly the old kingdom one.

If we are going by signatures and if there were old old kingdom works in the original core of the site already there. It seems logical and reasonable that these are old kingdom works.

View attachment 369512

The temple at Deir El Bahari is mostly sandstone, and limestone as far as I understand with a small amount of granite. Though still magnificent it is not as great as the precise works from the earliest dynasties such as at Giza, Abu Sir, Abu Awash and Saqqara in the harest stones.

I guess its a matter of opinion but its well recognised that the great pyramids and hard stone percision works represent the best of Egyptian works that have never been surpassed. The Giza pyramid was the highest human made structure in the world up until the Eiffel Tower in the late 19th century.

I disagree. Its reminiscent of Roman architecture. Though amazing I don't think it rivals the great pyramids and other precision works of the old kingdom in the hardest of stones.

Evenso this only supports the great ability and advanced knowledge and tech even in later dynasties. But I don't think anything rivals the old kingdom works.

Another feature of the old kingdom discovered or rather rediscovered is a Labyerinth that is suppose to be like a city under ground near Hawara. There is also some massive structure under the Giza pyramid. We have not fully discovered the full extent of these great works.

But we know even back as far as 480BC Herodolus mentions the labyrinth and describes it greater than the pyramids. Flinders Petrie discovered at the location a massive block about 8 metres down he thought was the foundation and assumed it had all been robbed. But now GPR has discovered a city sized labyrinth with massive halls and miles of tunnels. There is some massive metallic structure at the center.

The The Mataha Expedition with modern tech discovered the labyrinth in 2008 but this was covered up and hidden from the public. A good example of how the orthodox establishment hides discoveries.

Like I said we have the evidence that pharoahs usurped older works. Some works have 2 or 3 different pharoahs claiming the works. All these sites began in old kingdom times and were added to. So it seems logical that there would have been some original granite works at these sites. Where are they.

If the old kingdom worked exclusively in hard stones and especially granite and the new kingdom worked mainly in sandstone and limestone then its not so rediculous to think that theres a good chance some of these granite works are from the old kingdom. Especially as shown that the signatures almost perfectly match the old kingdom examples.

lol, I thought the signatures were important if your wanting to use th science.

Its actually the complete opposite. All old kingdom works are made in hardest stones with minor limestone as trimmings. Apart from the pyramids and for good reason. But all the statues, boxes, sarcophagi, columens, obelisk and vases are in the hardest stones and of a much higher quality and precision.

Whereas the majority of new kingdom works are standstone or limestone and sectional. If we are going by signatures then the granite works in these new kingdom sites match the signatures of the old kingdom I think.

Very impressive. I don't know. It looks good but it would have to be tested. I mean we know artists can do good works. The Romans produced some great statues. But these are in softer stones and I don't think as near perfect to the earlier works.

The fact that these old kingdom works are so early is the incredible thing.

Your creating a strawman I think. Assuming that these examples are on par with the old kingdom works. They are good but not that good. It is widely acknowledged that the greatest works come from the old kingdom.

Enough is enough you have crossed the line by being wilfully ignorant.

If you want to double down that Old Kingdom obelisks were made out of granite, Ramesses II only forged Old Kingdom constructions while ignoring his own genuine works in granite at Karnak, Luxor and the Ramesseum, Deir El Bahari is mostly sandstone and limestone, and New Kingdom works in hardstone are inferior to the Old Kingdom to name a few, then where are the facts to support these assertions.

This is a black and white issue you are either right or wrong. Isn't remarkable you have this irritating habit of flooding posts with images and links when you have the perception of supportive facts yet in this case there is not one single fact.

Here are facts of how much granite was used in the Old and New Kingdoms including the complexities in its use.

Aspect	Old Kingdom	New Kingdom
Main Purpose	Pyramids & mortuary temples, simple geometry.	Obelisks, colossal statues, temple architecture
Granite Volume	~1,500–2,000 tons	~3,000–4,000 tons
Distribution	Concentrated at few sites (Giza)	Spread across many temples/tombs
Block Sizes	10–100 tons typical	100–650 tons typical (some obelisks/statues much heavier than Old Kingdom blocks)
Technical Focus	Moving & placing massive blocks	Sculpting, polishing, erecting freestanding monoliths
Artistic Detail	Minimal, functional precision	Highly polished, carved inscriptions and imagery

✅ Key Insight:

Old Kingdom: granite work focused on bulk architectural and structural purposes, very localized.
New Kingdom: granite work increased in total tonnage and complexity, with enormous monolithic statues and obelisks requiring precise carving and raising techniques.

The statue of Psamtik Il the 26th dynasty pharaoh made from greywacke is superior to any Old Kingdom statue made of the same material.

️ Comparison Summary: Old Kingdom vs. Saite Period Sculpture

Feature	Old Kingdom (Menkaure, c. 2490 BCE)	Saite Period (Psamtik II, c. 595 BCE)
Material	Greywacke – a hard, dark sandstone	Greywacke, Basalt, Granite – harder stones used in combination
Polish Quality	Smooth and lustrous, but matte; not mirror-like	Highly reflective, mirror-like finish; glassy surface achieved through advanced polishing techniques
Tool/Abrasive Skill	Advanced for its time (~2500 BCE), but less refined compared to later periods	Peak of Egyptian stoneworking; extreme refinement with advanced abrasives and techniques
Style	Formal, rigid, symbolic; adherence to Old Kingdom ideals	Revival of Old Kingdom forms with crisp detail and flawless finish; Saite style originating in the north
Perceived Quality	Exceptional for its time, but less refined in polish	Considered superior technically in polish and finish

Additional Resources

Old Kingdom Greywacke Sculptures:
Saite Period (Psamtik II) Sculptures:

Paidiske · Sep 4, 2025

The idea of "works of supererogation" means doing more than God requires of us.

In classical Anglican doctrine, this is the position taken with regard to them:

Voluntary Works besides, over and above, God's Commandments, which they call Works of Supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety: for by them men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable servants.

BelieveItOarKnot · Sep 4, 2025

timothyu said:
We became just as capable on a fleshy level to be adversarial to the will of God. All it took was for Eve and Adam to put there will first. The Tempter does just that... temps but can no more control us that the amount we want to lead ourselves into temptation to put our will ahead of the will of God. People fail the will of God every time they refuse to let someone in ahead of them in traffic. They don't need the Adversary working through them. They are willingly selfish themselves.

Bottom line on this subject is this: IF there was/is another party involved that is not the person, (there is, Satan or his own) then we have an entirely different dynamic because that other party is a factor at a minimum.

For example, when Satan entered Judas, who was doing what?

This will get progressively complicated because ALL of Israel and we can back walk this all the way to Adam, are God's children. So now you have the complications of God's offspring involved.

There is an adversary that is not the person. And none of us stop that adversary from doing what it does

timewerx · Sep 4, 2025

BeyondET said:
Don't believe everything it says,

Even when AI says God exists? I shouldn't believe that statement if it comes from AI?

Perhaps I shouldn't believe everything you say instead??

china being the least religious nation is far from the core teaching of Jesus. Nor the other top five least religious nations.

China would be the exception being communist.

Notice something familiarly ominous with these countries?
Somalia
Niger
Bangladesh
Ethiopia
Yemen

They're some of the worst countries to live in and they're also the most religious countries in the planet. You'd be wrong if you think all these countries are non-Christian. One of them, Ethiopia is predominantly Christian.

Countries that are least religious. Except for China, These countries also have lowest poverty rates, have free or cheap healthcare and education, lowest stress levels, best quality of life, lowest income gap, lowest crime rates etc.

Japan
Hong Kong
Norway
Czech Republic
Denmark
Sweden
Estonia
China

Source:

World’s Most (And Least) Religious Countries, 2024 - CEOWORLD magazine

According to a survey conducted by CEOWORLD magazine, Somalia has once again been ranked as the most religious country in the world. The survey, which included responses from over 820,000 individuals worldwide, ranked 148 countries based on their level of religiousness. Niger came in second...

ceoworld.biz

By their fruits you will know them. The real vs the counterfeit (fake)

Larniavc · Sep 4, 2025

jim456c said:
Here is another dream of the "to come situation type". it was short and I had it around 4 am. There was an exploded natural gas drilling site on fire shooting flames up above the conifer trees around the site. So it was a somewhat northern site like you would see in northern Canada or Northern Europe.... someone was saying something about it being a 200 million dollar site so the well on fire must have been only one of several in a project. One well site doesn't cost that much..
I had the feeling it was a disaster of some kind ,but maybe man made. And that was it. Lets see in the next year if something like that happens in a forested environment in the north somewhere on Earth.My dream of a hurricane moving north of the Gulf happened about a year after I had it and it was Helene that flooded the mountains in Tenn, and NC.

Disaster dreams are really common and eventually disasters in the real world happen.

So eventually the two will coincide.

MarkRohfrietsch · Sep 4, 2025

Strong in Him said:
But you cannot say that John 6 was teaching about the Eucharist.

Nobody who heard Jesus' words would have understood him to be talking about his future death. Far less that he would one day have a final Passover meal with his friends, give them a piece of bread saying "this is my body", expect them to remember words that he had spoken possibly eighteen months before and believe that it was literal.

The point of Pentecost is that God's Spirit was poured out on all, as Joel prophesied.
Jesus had already told his disciples that he would be with them through his Spirit - after Pentecost, God could be IN all believers, by his Spirit.
We are IN Christ if we have received him, believed in him and been filled with his Spirit. Yes, communion is special and God can come to us in a special way. But we don't have to eat a piece of bread for Jesus to be IN us.

So not believing that Eucharistic bread somehow, mystically, turns into Christ's real flesh, does not mean that Christ is not with us, nor does it mean we cannot be in communion with God.

Our Lord told his Decuples that a lot of what they heard, they will not understand until a later time (after Pentecost?); this was not only a prophesy about the crucifixion but the promise of real grace given through the eucharist.

BelieveItOarKnot · Sep 4, 2025

timothyu said:
Peter was being adversarial

When Jesus addressed Satan speaking from Peter's lips WHO was Jesus speaking to? Satan or Peter?

IF Peter, then in your position Peter was essentially, Satan

BelieveItOarKnot · Sep 4, 2025

honey badger said:
i am on the exact same page as Aseyesee ...

take no thought

MarkRohfrietsch · Sep 4, 2025

ozso said:
I don't have a doctrine. Churches / denominations have doctrines. How can doctrines that exclude disciples of Christ bring unity?

You speak of attacks. I take it you don't agree with the doctrine of eternal security aka once saved always saved. And I take it that you can explain why you don't agree with it without attacking the churches that teach it or those who believe it.

But you do have a doctrine; one that compels you to to tread on the doctrines of others to obtain something that you do not have.

What you are advocating for is like deciding you are going to drive a car, after deciding you don't need either drivers training, a license, or insurance.

stevevw · Sep 4, 2025

Ophiolite said:
I give up. You misinterpret most of what I say, despite repeated clarification on my part. I'll put it down to my inability to right, simple, direct, comprehensible prose and leave it at that.

Please don't respond by twisting that last sentence into something it isn't. Enough is enough.

No I was going to say it is more likely on both sides. I am not very good at grammar and a bit dyslexic and OCD lol. My reports cards always said I was not good at comprehension. Though I have improved with much reading. I did not like reading but now all I do is read.

Strong in Him · Sep 4, 2025

Xeno.of.athens said:
But he was.

But you cannot say that John 6 was teaching about the Eucharist.

Nobody who heard Jesus' words would have understood him to be talking about his future death. Far less that he would one day have a final Passover meal with his friends, give them a piece of bread saying "this is my body", expect them to remember words that he had spoken possibly eighteen months before and believe that it was literal.

The point of Pentecost is that God's Spirit was poured out on all, as Joel prophesied.
Jesus had already told his disciples that he would be with them through his Spirit - after Pentecost, God could be IN all believers, by his Spirit.
We are IN Christ if we have received him, believed in him and been filled with his Spirit. Yes, communion is special and God can come to us in a special way. But we don't have to eat a piece of bread for Jesus to be IN us.

So not believing that Eucharistic bread somehow, mystically, turns into Christ's real flesh, does not mean that Christ is not with us, nor does it mean we cannot be in communion with God.

David Lamb · Sep 4, 2025

heirmiles said:
So, recently I've been reading Rev Hooker's 1888 edition of the first volume of his works
and in its preface/introduction, I came upon this point of "works of supererogation"
regarding his discourse with a Rev Hoo. What are "works of supererogation" and how
does it fit theologically?

Supererogation means more than what is asked for. However, as God says we must love Him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength, I am at a loss to imagine how we could even do that perfectly, let alone do more than that.

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