• 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.

A rural Nebraska clinic blames its closing on Trump’s Medicaid cuts. Patients don’t buy it. "Horse Feathers"

The rural health 'Hunger Games' are underway

The Trump administration on Monday kicked off a scramble among the 50 states for a slice of a new $50 billion fund for rural health care, but experts on the ground fear the program’s rushed timeline, lack of guardrails and potential for politicization will leave some hospitals struggling to stay open.

With billions on the line, Colorado prepares for the rural health care “Hunger Games”

Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act contained $50 billion to support rural health care nationwide, but states must compete for the money

Half of the money will be distributed evenly among states that submitted a qualifying application. Every state applied, so, assuming they all meet the minimum application standards, that means each state will get at least $100 million per year.

Competing for cash​

It is the second half of the money where things get sporty.
Upvote 0

Judge dismisses James Comey and Letitia James cases, finding prosecutor's appointment invalid

Thanks, for posting the 2nd Home Rider. It allows you to easily see where she broke the law, within her niece's timeframe of living there.

Do you have some paperwork verifying she didn't commit crime with the Brooklyn home she misrepresented?

Expert Who Uncovered Letitia James Fraud Allegations Releases New Documents

Sam Antar, the financial expert who accused New York Attorney General Letitia James of mortgage fraud, released new documents this week as part of his investigation....
...Antar this week posted new documents to the White Collar Fraud blog that he says support the allegations that James incorrectly stated the number of units in the Brooklyn building.
The allegations stem from a certificate of occupancy from the New York City Department of Buildings, dated January 26, 2001, which states that the building has dwellings for five families—one in the basement, one on the first floor, one on the second floor, and two on the third floor.
The New York Daily News' editorial board noted this certificate, filed by previous owners of the building, was not accurate at the time.
Antar reported a flurry of new documents that showed James did not classify it as a five-family dwelling. For instance, a document from Citibank in August 2019 described the building as a "4 family" dwelling. A June 2021 document described it as a "1 or 2 family residence of dwelling."
In total, he posted 10 mortgage documents, none of which list the building as having five units.


I mean if this is what is being presenting to Grand Juries, it's patently obvious why they are getting stiff armed.
And btw, I am sure the grand juries are NOT being told about this or the rider.
Upvote 0

So far, at least nine (now ~40) (now ~160) (now hundreds) judges, including Trump appointees, have ruled against Trump orders

White House raises concerns about Trump’s ‘image’ in [appeal in] lawsuit over sign language interpreters

The White House is making an unusual argument as it resists advocates’ push for sign language interpretation at press briefings conducted by President Donald Trump and press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Providing American sign language interpretation in press conferences “would severely intrude on the President’s prerogative to control the image he presents to the public,” Justice Department attorneys argued in a lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Deaf.
Upvote 0

There’s a Giant Flaw in Human History

The Simpsons video was my own real contribution to this thread in a long time but I've been following this thread daily, and I have a few take aways:

Firstly: @sjastro and @Hans Blaster, you guys are either incredibly patient people or gluttons for punishment.

Secondly: can any of this even be considered an actual scientific conversation if there's so much non-scientific, unevidenced, 'just so' claims made by the OP that it gets to the point that we've gone from well evidenced works of stone masonry that are truly universal to such pointless and ridiculous claims as non-physical reality being the reason behind the Egyptians building the pyramids?
Well I'm afraid I lost my patience when I called @stevevw a half wit.
Ironically this thread is more about the science of psychology of how cognitive dissonance manifests itself.

We have seen:
(1) Outrageous lies such as New Kingdom obelisks being of smaller and simpler design then their Old Kingdom counterparts when the archeological evidence shows the exact opposite.

(2) No counterarguments given in the rejection of the evidence the Egyptians relied on skill using rudimentary tools but a complete denial of the very existence of such evidence. This behaviour is typically seen with flat earthers and Apollo moon landing deniers.

(3) Projecting his own behavioural patterns on others such as the opinions of various posters in this thread is based on faith and not evidence.

(4) Flooding this thread with images and claiming this is absolute evidence of alternate technologies.
Firstly talking from work experience an image is only the first layer of evidence, if I evaluated the failure mode on an image alone I would have been fired on the spot even though I might have been right, safety related issues require all layers of evidence to be presented and evaluated.
Secondly the images presented by @stevevw shows an extreme case of pareidolia of seeing patterns that are not there. When assessed with other layers of evidence such as SEM findings of copper corrosion products and abrasives in striations, or no evidence of rock softening as the crystalline structure is preserved, paints the opposite picture.
Yet @stevevw is in denial mode due to his cognitive dissonance.

This is my take on the thread others may have a different perspective.
Upvote 0

House votes to nullify Trump order and restore bargaining rights for federal workers

Nearly two dozen House Republicans joined Democrats Thursday to pass a bill that would restore collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees, an attempt to overturn an executive order that President Donald Trump issued earlier this year.

Like for the impending[?] release of the Epstein files, this law was passed through a discharge petition.

Young earth vs Old earth?

Using the Bible to date the earth results in an age of 5,786, meaning 5,786 years ago God created the heavens and the earth.
How you arrived at an age of 5,786 is of interest to me, as well as the OP, and perhaps a few other.
Would you mind sharing the mathematical equation (figures, or numbers, and calculations) with us?

I'm not seeing any figures applied to Genesis 1:1, 2, and from Genesis 1:3-2:4, the days are longer that a regular day.
However, from day 7 until now, we calculate a period of about 5,820 years.

That would mean the heavens and the earth are far much older than 5,820 years, since they existed before Genesis 1:3, and the period of time it took for God to complete his work, according to Genesis 2:4, is never given.
Upvote 0

144k & Who They Are

Metaphorically?
Rev 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

(PARSING: This verse cites, Tribes of Jacob = Israel & his children. Next 4 verses God breathed scripture clearly names Israel/Jacobs 12 sons/children.)

The saints that rise from the grave (after Jesus) in Matt 27:52-53 & are seen by many are OT elect.

Jesus rises then 50 days later comes the Acts 2 Pentecost, where the Church via the Holy Spirit outpouring in born. So, I don't see how 1 Cor 11:2, where Paul is speaking to believers in Corinth, is applicable to the OP.
If you read what Paul said concerning the Jews or Israel, Romans 11:25 Blindness in part over Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles is added to the church. Currently we are in the time of the Gentiles. The church is the elect of the new covenant, the redeemed of the Earth, the first fruits. Revelation 7 cannot be physical Israel, it’s the church. Right now Israel is blinded along with the carnal world, a veil is spread over all nations, 2 Corinthians 3:14-16 Isaiah 25:6 Check the words redeemed, elect and first fruits in the concordance of the New Testament, all these words describe the church, not carnal Israel but spiritual Israel, the Israel of GOD. This seal on the forehead is protection from the great tribulation that is promised to the Philadelphia church in Revelation 3:10 that will be the faithful remnant on earth, those alive and remaining when Jesus returns.
Upvote 0

Average consumer now carries $6,329 in credit card debt. 'People are stretched,' expert says

Ah yes, I see it now, all fuzzy, in the blue line.
As you can see, the chart is by decade.
Yes, I saw that.

Your source started with the 1930s.

The 1930s was a decade.

1933, and 1934, are within the same decade; so your source is debunked right out of the gate.
Upvote 0

Indiana Senate rejects new House map, defying Trump

Indiana governor says he’ll help primary Republicans who defied Trump on redistricting

“I am very disappointed that a small group of misguided State Senators have partnered with Democrats to reject this opportunity to protect Hoosiers with fair maps and to reject the leadership of President Trump. Ultimately, decisions like this carry political consequences,” Braun wrote in a post on the social platform X.
Upvote 0

George Eldon Ladd

I think I only recently answered these questions. Nevertheless, I'll give it a go again.

I'm a big fan of GE Ladd, and share his brand of Postrib Premill. There are some areas I've disagreed with his positions, but are insignificant compared with how I've valued his contributions.

Yes, Revelation is filled with symbolism. I think the genre relates to the fact that God wanted His People to somewhat hide their positions towards the ungodly world in order to not mislead them to conclude our atttitude is hateful. Also, keeping things in symbols and parables gives enemies less ammunition to go after us.

The 2 major Postrib authors in my era were Ladd and Rober Gundry. Gundry takes some views that assumes some Dispensationalistic ideas are true, such as the future of Israel. But both men were non-Dispensationalist Postribulationists.

Ladd did see how Jesus applied his Gospel of the Kingdom as something that is immediately effective in our time, even though it speaks of a future Kingdom. I would not call the present impact of the Kingdom any sense of being the actual *future Kingdom.* But God's Kingdom eternally exists, past, present, and future. As such, God's judgments are always active, even though in the future human civilization will reach a place of final judgment.
Upvote 0

Can a young child become a Christian?

Of course they don't mention baptism. Baptists always love to go to all passages of Scripture that don't teach anything about baptism and children whatsoever and try to prove who should or should not be baptized.
I'm not a Baptist -
Strange way of doing exegesis.
No - it is proper exegesis. Speaking of a specific topic bring exegetical evidence of that specific topic.

Sorry you do not like the answer
Kinda like going to passages of Scripture that only teach end time theology and say....we should not pray because all these passages of Scripture don't mention prayer. Strange.
Yes, that comment is very strange because I did nothing of the sort -
Our main rule for interpreting Scripture is: CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT. We only use passages of Scripture that teach something about baptism and children mentioned contextually together. Are there passages of Scripture in the NT that mention children and baptism contextually together? Of course there are.
Where?
Baptists use strange hermenuetics in order to explain away baptism including infants altogether.
Again - I am not a Baptist -
Upvote 0

B flat B♭

Now why would I do that ?
You just have.
Read the conversation:
You realise that you've given details of Freemasons who went to the moon - even though you're denying that anyone has been to the moon.
Well someone has to expose them for what they are.
People who went to the moon, you mean.
Of course.

I also asked why you would write a list of astronauts who were Freemasons and who went to the moon, if your argument is that no one has ever been to the moon.
Saying that no one ever went to the moon, but that the 6th person to walk on the moon was a Freemason, is nonsense.
Upvote 0

Are the Jews Israel, or is the church Israel? Or does it depend on the context of the passage?

Other views:

AI summary:
In the biblical context, particularly in Romans 11, the root of the olive tree is understood to be the Abrahamic covenant and its foundational promises, which are intrinsically linked to God's faithfulness and the patriarch Abraham. The root symbolizes the source of spiritual blessing and holiness, from which the branches—both natural (ethnic Israel) and grafted-in (Gentile believers)—derive their nourishment and spiritual life. Some interpretations identify the root as God Himself, AIwith Christ as the trunk, and the branches representing those who follow God through Christ, emphasizing that the holiness of the root ensures the holiness of the branches. The root is described as holy, and because of this, the branches partake in its sanctity and fruitfulness. This imagery underscores the continuity of God's covenantal plan, where the spiritual blessings flow from the original promises made to Abraham and are ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
I agree with AI . It’s what I wrote above in my reply.
Upvote 0

Date of authorship of Revelation

These extrabiblical narratives are not actually Scripture; otherwise, they would have been included in the canons. The early church fathers, with the help of the Holy Spirit, determined which of the many early church writings were Scripture and which were not.

If the preterist view is the correct view:

If this man of sin lived in the first century AD., he was most likely John of Gischala.

AI summary: The "man of sin" mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is a figure associated with the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, according to preterist interpretations. One prominent candidate is John of Gischala, a Jewish Zealot leader who rose to power during the Great Revolt against Rome. He is believed to have fulfilled the prophecy by throwing off the Mosaic Law, inciting civil war, famine, and crime in Jerusalem, and positioning himself as a despotic ruler who symbolically and literally "took his seat in the Temple of God," exalting himself over the Temple’s objects of worship. His actions are seen as aligning with the description of the man of sin who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God.

It seems to me that these Thessalonians and the other first-century Christians could have been the intended audience for the actual fulfillment of the following:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, 12 so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.


Is the breath of his mouth actually the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Does his appearing and his coming mean the appearance and the power of the Roman armies? Luke 21:20

It seems to me that it is St. Michael, the archangel, who will bind the final antichrist and false prophet and cast them into the lake of fire. St. Michael is of the same angelic hierarchy as Satan, and so he will defeat Satan at the sound of the last trumpet.

So much fun to speculate!


What is important, though, is to ask ourselves, "Am I ready to meet the Lord right now?" If our answer is "no," then we need to repent and confess our sins so that Jesus will forgive us and we will become God's friend once again.
It would seem that if Jesus destroys the man of sin who sets in the temple declaring himself GOD then this event couldn’t have happened in 70 AD but rather at the future second advent. Since the second temple was destroyed in 70AD then this couldn’t be the second temple at the return of Jesus, it would have to be a third temple built sometime in the future.
Upvote 0

The Fall of the West (It's Happening Now)

Rowley said:
Yes he sidetracked the issue to violence rather than over a change of ruling ideals. The creeping in of a new culture that in a democracy can eventually become the ruling one. Some are afraid to acknowledge this simple fact for fear of being called bigots. Yet this Empire did the same in the past wherever they went. Why is it so hard to admit it could be done to them also, to reap what they have sown? And the US is certainly not free of the same.
Upvote 0

Tit for Tat Tariffs - The US versus the World

MCGA!

For 1st time since trade war, Canada exported more than it imported

The Canadian economy achieved a trade surplus for the first time since the U.S. trade war began, as exports rebounded and imports fell in September, according to Statistics Canada.
70c8fc80

The agency adds that export to countries other than the United States rose sharply by 11 per cent in the same month — and that while exports to the U.S. increased, imports from there dropped

“It seems to suggest that the trade flow with the United States is beginning to stabilize,” [trade economist] said, adding that the trend of diversification from the U.S. is also continuing.

Invisible hand says what?
From Statistics Canada:

Exports to the United States increase

Exports to the United States were up 4.6% in September, partly due to higher exports of aircraft, light trucks and unwrought gold. Meanwhile, imports from the United States declined 1.7% in September, a third consecutive monthly decrease. Canada's trade surplus with the United States widened from $6.0 billion in August to $8.6 billion in September, the largest surplus since February 2025.
More exports to the US.
Less imports from the US.
Widening trade surplus.
Wasn't this suppose to go the other way around under Trump?
Upvote 0

Filter

Forum statistics

Threads
5,879,640
Messages
65,436,711
Members
276,448
Latest member
dmdaraptlcmi