Ave Maria said:

The Catholic Church teaches direct abortion is always gravely immoral. There is a moral way to handle a situation like this. This is how Google explains it:




I read through most of what the AI generated answer says and from what I can tell, it is accurate.

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Yup. The hospital has a right to say no to direct abortion which is different than removing an unviable fetus or treating a miscarriage. Period.

Zechariah

I’ve lost nearly 40 pounds in the last two years and am no longer obese!

Larniavc said:

So we throw our hands up and say nothing can be done again?

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No. Not my point at all. Maybe I wasn’t clear.

Mercy Shown said:

You say:​

Answer:
Titus 2:11–13 does not say grace = law-teaching saves us.
It says grace saves us first, and then that same grace trains us to live godly lives.

Titus 2:11–12


Notice the order:

1. Grace appears → brings salvation.
2. Then grace trains the saved → to obey.

The teaching comes after salvation, not as the vehicle of salvation.
Grace produces obedience; obedience does not produce grace.

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The content of a gift can be the experience of doing something such as giving someone the opportunity to experience driving a Ferrari, where the gift intrinsically requires them to do the work of driving in order to have that experience but where doing that work contributes nothing towards earning the opportunity to experience driving it. Similarly, the content of God's gift of eternal life is the experience of knowing Him and Jesus (John 17:3) and the gift of God's law is His instructions for how to have that experience, not for how to earn it. In Luke 10:25-28, Jesus affirmed that the way to inherit eternal life is by obeying the greatest two commandments and something that we inherit is a free gift (Exodus 33:13, Matthew 7:23).

Our salvation from sin would be incomplete if we were only saved from the penalty of our sin while our lives continued to be directed at being doers of sin, so there is an aspect of our gift of salvation that we are experiencing in the present by repenting and redirecting our lives towards be a doer of God's law. In Titus 2:11-13, it describes the salvation that grace brings as being trained to do those works, so that the aspect of our gift of salvation that we are experiencing in the present.

Mercy Shown said:

Ephesians 2:8–10


We’re not saved by good works, but saved for them.

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God graciously making us into a doer of good works is the aspect of His gift of salvation that we are experiencing in the present.

Mercy Shown said:

You say:​

Answer:
We are indeed called to follow Christ’s example (1 John 2:6), but imitation follows impartation.
We can only walk as He walked after we have been born again and indwelt by His Spirit (Romans 8:9).

Christ’s example shows what righteousness looks like, but only His cross gives it to us.

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Child of someone is metaphorically someone who is in their likeness through being a doer of works that embody their character traits, such as with John 8:39 where Jesus said that if they were children of Abraham then they would be doing the same works as him. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact likeness of His character (Hebrews 1:3), which he embodied through his works by setting a sinless example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to God's law, so that is also what it means for us to be children of Abraham and children of God. This is why those who are not doers of righteous works in obedience to God's law are not children of God (1 John 3:4) and why Paul contrasted those who are born of the Spirit with those who have minds set on the flesh who are enemies of God who refuse to submit to God's law (Romans 8:4-14), so again it is about what is happening in the present.

Mercy Shown said:

Romans 5:19


It is His obedience — not ours — that makes us righteous before God.
Our obedience follows because we are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17).

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There is not a disconnect between being righteous and being a doer of righteous works. If someone is not one, then they are also not the other.

Mercy Shown said:

You say​

Answer:
This directly contradicts Scripture.
Christ had to fulfill the law for us because we could not.

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That does not direct contradict Scripture because Scripture doesn't say that Christ fulfilled the law for us because we could not. According to Galatians 5:14, anyone who has ever loved their neighbor has fulfilled the entire law, so countless people have done that. If Christ fulfilled the law for us, then he would be experiencing the gift of salvation instead of us.

Mercy Shown said:

Romans 8:3–4


Jesus’ fulfillment doesn’t remove salvation — it secures it.
He didn’t abolish righteousness; He fulfilled it on our behalf and now produces it in us by the Spirit (Philippians 2:13).

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Jesus saves us from sin (Matthew 1:21) and sin is the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4), so Jesus graciously teaching to experience being a doer of it is the way that he securing our gift of saving us from not being a doer of it. If Jesus obeyed the law on our behalf, then he would be taking away his gift of us getting to experience fulfilling the righteous requirement of the law.

Mercy Shown said:

---

You say:​

Answer:
Scripture says the opposite:
Only those who are in Christ by faith are capable of true obedience.

Galatians 3:2–3


Faith unites us to Christ; that union produces obedience (John 15:5).
Obedience is the fruit of being in the vine, not the condition for being grafted into it.

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That is what 1 John 2:6 says and Scripture does not contradict that verse. Being in Christ is not something that happens apart from being a follower of his example through faith. It is neither the case that we need to have first been grafted into the vine in order to produce those works as the result or that we need to have done those works first in order to be grafted into the vine as the result, but rather being a doer of those works is the experience of being in the vine.

Mercy Shown said:

You say:​

Answer:
That was the Mosaic covenant (Deuteronomy 30).
But Paul cites that passage in Romans 10:6-8 to make the opposite point — that now Christ is the end of the law for righteousness (Romans 10:4).

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It doesn't make much sense to interpret Romans 10:5-8 as Paul contrasting what Moses said in Deuteronomy 30:11-14 with what he said in Deuteronomy 30:15-16, which is why the first word in Romans 10:6 can and should be translated as "moreover" rather than as "but". In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to walk in His way that he and Israel might know him, and in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said that he would tell those who are workers of lawlessness to depart from him because he never knew them, so the goal of the law is to teach us how to know God and Jesus, which is His gift of eternal life (John 17:3).

In Romans 9:30-10:4, the Israelites had a zeal for God but it was not based on knowing Him, so they failed to attain righteousness because they misunderstood the goal of the law by pursuing it as though righteousness were earned as the result of their works in order to establish their own instead of pursing it as through righteousness were by faith in Christ, for knowing Christ is the goal of the law for righteousness for everyone who has faith. In Romans 10:5-10, Paul referred to Deuteronomy 30 as the word of faith that we proclaim in regard to proclaiming that God's law is not too difficult for us to obey, that obedience to it brings life and a blessing, in regard to what we are committing to obey by confessing that Jesus is Lord, and in regard to the way to believe that God raised him from the dead for salvation. So nothing in this passage has anything to do with ending God's law, but just the opposite.

Mercy Shown said:

In Christ, life comes not through law-keeping but through faith in the risen Lord:

Romans 10:9-10

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In Luke 10:25-28, Jesus affirmed that the way to inherit eternal life is by obeying the greatest two commandment. Likewise, in Ttus 2:14, Jesus gave himself to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own possession who are zealous for doing good works, so the way to believe in that God raised him from the dead is by becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God's law (Acts 21:20).

Mercy Shown said:

The “word of faith” Paul preaches is not “obey the law,” but “believe the gospel.”

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In Matthew 4:15-23, Jesus began his ministry with the Gospel message to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand, which was a light to the Gentiles, and God's law was how his audience knew what sin is (Romans 3:20), so repenting and becoming zealous for doing good works in obedience to God's law is the way to believe the Gospel that Jesus spent his ministry teaching and in what he accomplished through the cross. Moreover, Romans 10:16 speaks against those who do not obey the Gospel.

Mercy Shown said:

You say:​

Answer:
God makes us righteous by imputing Christ’s righteousness to us, not by instructing us until we achieve it.

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Jesus embodied the righteousness of God by setting an example for us to follow of how to walk in obedience to God's law, Jesus teaching us to follow his example is the way that his righteousness is imputed to us.

Mercy Shown said:

Romans 4:5


After justification, He then imparts righteousness through the Spirit’s transforming work (Romans 6:17–18).
That’s sanctification, not justification.

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We become someone who has faith, someone who will be declared righteous, and someone who is a doer of the law all at the same time, and anyone who is not one of those is also not the others.

Mercy Shown said:

---

The Biblical Order (Romans 6:22)​

1. Set free from sin — salvation by grace.
2. Become servants of God — new identity.
3. Fruit of obedience — sanctification.
4. End result — eternal life.

Obedience follows deliverance; it does not cause it.

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Obedience does not follow deliverance or cause deliverance, but rather it is intrinsically what deliverance from disobedience looks like.

guevaraj said:

Brothers and Sisters, I can think of one scripture that addresses how to keep the Sabbath in Barrow Alaska.

Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. (Hebrews 4:8 NLT)​

Here is the context where it becomes clear that Jesus is not the Sabbath as understood in the mistranslation of the passage in the King James Version corrected by the New Living Translation that follows.

God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, “In my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’” even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.” But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.” So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. GOD ANNOUNCED THIS THROUGH DAVID MUCH LATER in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.” Now IF JOSHUA HAD SUCCEEDED IN GIVING THEM THIS REST, GOD WOULD NOT HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT ANOTHER DAY of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. (Hebrews 4:1-11 NLT)​

United in our hope for the soon return of Jesus, Jorge

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Please stay on topic to this thread This is not another thread about time zones. If you want to talk about that please start a new post or bring up any of your old posts. Thanks

eclipsenow said:

Huh? Not sure how that comment answers anything I said

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There were no public outcries against them. That is the difference here.

Carl Emerson said:

One reason why folks struggle with this is because they don't understand the Cross is a timeless event spanning history.

Trusting the Character of God to save is the same as trusting the Character of Jesus to save.

Jesus was given the Father's name 'The God who saves'

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Yet when it comes to their own Testimony Exo 31:18, which is a reflection of God's character, which we are called to be like (holy, just and good Rom7:12 perfect Psa19:7) as we were created in God's image and likeness to follow in His footsteps 1 Peter 2:21-23 1John2:6, sadly few believe.

d taylor said:

-
​

The belief and teaching that a born again child of God can become un-born again and cross back over from life to death. Is an evil, satan based belief and makes God out as a liar. So i will not discuss this any further.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

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AND I. know I have said to you in John 3:5 Just how were you. be BORN. of WATER and the SPIRIThe can not enter

into the Kingdom of God ?? How were. BORN. of WATER and the SPIRIT. , and is it salvation , YES. or NO. ??

Then in John 3:6 says. , That which is BORN OF FLESH. is. FLESH. , that. which is BORN. of the SPIRIT. is. SPIRIT.

What say you ??

dan p

What an interesting turn of events. Most forums I take part in I usually ask my questions about whatever topic I am inquiring about as objectively as possible, then take each piece of advice, dissect it, and choose how to move forward. Last night made me feel compelled to come back here and thank you all for helping me as I'm sure a common problem with online communication is never really seeing how your words impact the environment they were directed at. I woke up at 2AM to a couple of back-to-back nightmares with a common theme. I mentioned I had PTSD, so nightmares aren't new to me, but these were really strange. I ran the dreams through AI looking for a meaning and what I got was an epiphany to my current situation. When I checked my email after doing my dream research I had an email waiting for me from the local Catholic Church. I know AI has a bad reputation with people, and I myself think too much weight has been shifted to it too quickly, taking away the human factor out of a lot of the areas it was built to help in, but I felt like God was working through me (even though the tools I was using seem unconventional) to get me to take a step back and look at my situation in a different light. To then find the email waiting for me was absolutely inspiring. I wrote them back and have a meeting to meet them next week. My wife and I are both going and we're going to inquire about converting. I know this is a far cry from finality in my problem but yesterday taking a step forward in any direction seemed like an impossibility and an inherent contradiction. I'm not trying to promote AI or anything, but the circumstances behind last night were incredibly weird and forces beyond my understanding were definitely working. I don't want to get into the nuts and bolts of my trauma but last night I was able to take a step outside of myself, a step outside of the condemnation I've been living in and see myself if only for a second through God's eyes. I briefly knew what it felt like to be flawed and loved in spite of it. The feeling only lasted a moment, but it restored hope I didn't know I had lost. The words here on this page is what began the facilitation of that, and I just wanted to thank you all for the prayers; no one had to answer this thread. I don't know if this will work out for me or not, but what an absolute blessing to have that feeling at 2AM after dreams that I thought had ruined my day early shook me awake. Bless you all.

AetheriusLamia said:

I've studied for decades, and read all of the Bible multiple times, continue reading the Bible daily, and now I'm praying in accordance with Mark 11:24, Jesus telling us to 'believe that you have already received it'. Yet though I will to do this, thoughts occur in my brain involuntarily such as,

1. "You're just engaging in wishful thinking."
2. "This probably isn't going to happen."
3. "Your experience and observations of the world are better explained by atheism."
4. "Your petitions haven't been granted because God wants you to be 'Eastern Orthodox', or Mohammedan, or some other religion."

Although I try repudiating these thoughts as demons whispering to me, by recalling Sacred Scripture, by engaging in logcal argument, by prayer for the demons to be banished from me, and continue asking God to give me more faith and unwavering faith, the thoughts continue, and it appears to me I genuinely believe them - that when I die everything will be over, life done - because I am discouraged, downhearted, depressed, sad, rather than excited about being healed soon, rather than be happy that God is bringing about a greater good every moment I'm not healed, rather than be content knowing no matter what happens God will make it right.

What do you think? Is there some way to stop doubting? to be finally convinced the Gospel is true?

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Unfortunately, there is no way to stop doubting, as doubt is a confluence of emotional concerns over various forms of cognitive dissonance. And if you're like me---one who from time to time has bouts with depression and anxiety, along with a voracious need for answers---you'll find that these mental states don't just go away even when 'better answers' are found or received.

However, doubt can be epistemically analyzed and operated upon through various applied measures, depending on the sort of personal issues or challenges you actually facing. Different problems (such as OCD) come with different levels of potential cognitive dissonance and require difference measures to mitigate them. I'm sure you already know some of this if you have a counselor or doctor.

WASHINGTON — A White House official who deals directly with faith issues says President Donald Trump's recent statements suggesting he may not make it to Heaven are an example of his humility.

Jenny Korn, the director of the White House Faith Office, addressed the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference at the Museum of the Bible on Tuesday. Korn, who also served in the first Trump administration and the George W. Bush administration, used her remarks to vouch for Trump's character as a man of faith.

“I have the honor of knowing him now for almost 10 years," she said. "I've been in the Oval Office with the cameras and without the cameras. And I want to let you know that those pictures that you see of the president praying in the Oval Office with many pastors around him, it's real."

Continued below.

Don’t eat the slop.

There is no 'hard science' that defines exactly what 'normal' human behaviour is.

Some ostriches can talk.

MEOS

Did you notice they also sound different?

Someone was eating eclairs today.

ECLAS

David Lamb said:

But Genesis 49:17 doesn't say anything about the snake being an emblem, in the way the leek is an emblem of Wales.

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So what are you trying to say, that the snake isn't the emblem of the Dan tribe ?
It's the verse where the emblem originated from like where did any emblem originate from & why ?

The Liturgist said:

Exquisite post, my dear @linux.poet ,

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I had to correct that exquisite post just now, from just the top of my head, of course i can delve very deep if we need to head that direction, shall we see.

They won the championship, then realized they actually didn't, so they gave the championship to the real winner.

*LILAC said:

Did you know that God has a calendar, too? I had no idea. I'm still trying to find that in the scriptures. These are the biggest mockers of God. What Jesus said simply is not good enough for them. They must prove otherwise!

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I don’t know who you’re referring to specifically but they’re probably referencing the passages in the old testament concerning the feasts. There’s a harmony to nature and each season has its rhythm. When you live on the land you become more attuned. We follow a biblical calendar and adjusted our lives and plans to its frequency.

When I look out my window on January 1st I know it isn’t a new year. Because winter’s the time for rest and rejuvenation. That’s why many can’t keep their resolutions because it’s the wrong energy. Everything around us is still and we’re trying to act. That’s why we fail. Spring is the time for planting and new beginnings aka the new year.

This is a principle I’ve employed that I’m expanding for a greater purpose. But I wouldn’t say your relationship with God is hindered if you don’t follow suit. We have different burdens.

~bella

rjs330 said:

Thats a bit over dramatic. The NG will be there to protect the agents.

Its your kind of rhetoric that will get people hurt.

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No doubt, but sometimes free speech is like that--you speak even if you risk your opponent hurting you for it.

Rescued One said:

My mom was the only girl in a Mechanical Drawing class in high school in the forties.

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ha ha, yeah, there were no girls in my shop class.