timothyu said:

Yes but most forget that. Power takes over the mind. Look what happened to institutional Christianity

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It's a danger for us all. Wherever you find a society of one or more you'll find division, conflict, sin, because even individuals are divided interiorly due to the Fall-and rebirth doesn't immediaterly resolve that issue-not until we're "perfected in love", presumably not fully completed until the next life. So, within insitutional Christianity you'll find girls and boys behaving badly down through the centuries, with others displaying a quite exemplary holiness. The real question revolves around the teachings to begin with. Teachings may be perfect, spot on, but whether or not anyone is actually following them at any particular point in time is another matter. The principle is expressed in Matt 23:1-3:

"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach."

iluvatar5150 said:

Which is a religious law that, contrary to your earlier claims, does not supercede civil law anywhere in the US. Again, the woman has every legal right to pursue a divorce in this country than any other woman would.

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If they can survive the social backlash associated with not complying with a "ruling".

There's a lot of legal precedent and guardrails that, on paper, sounds like it covers all bases, but works a little different in "real-world scenarios".

I view the private Sharia arbitration entities (that as you said, have no official legal standing in the US) with the same skeptical lens that I view the "Chinese Civil Assistance and Integration Centers" (IE: "Secret police stations") that also have no official legal standing on paper, but still wield a great amount of influence over people through thinly veiled threats and coercion that certainly has a way of dictating other people's behaviors.


If we were talking about any other religion that wasn't perceived to be in a marginalized group doing this, I'm skeptical that people would be so dismissive of the impacts.

If a Kentucky Southern Baptist church was doing the same thing and saying "Y'know, we want to be able to arbitrate and try to address these matters internally before things go to an actual court" (pertaining to matters of marital conflicts or sexual orientation), that would not sit well with people (especially people on the more progressive wing). Hence the reason people take issue with Pastoral councils engaging in "conversion therapy" Those pastors don't have any real legal power on paper, so why are people so bent out of shape about them trying to do "gay-to-straight conversions" right? The answer is, because when people don't have their "oppressed vs. oppressor" lenses on, they can accurately identify that religious clergy have the power to make people's social lives more miserable than a real judge on non-criminal code matters.

"who has the actual authority" is ultimately in the eye of the beholder.

Despite a private-entity "council" not having official legal standing, if a person has reason to believe that said "council" has a higher likelihood of getting their parents to disown them, or getting their entire social group and family to shun them, that council has more practical power/influence than an actual judge on civil matters.

Jan001 said:

I a

I agree that Revelation, chapters 1-12, was imperative for the first-century Christians to read and understand, as was Matthew 24, chapters 1-35.

The heaven and the earth of the Jews (their temple) literally passed away in 70 AD.

Nero committed suicide on June 9, 68 AD. He killed many Christians. He was an antichrist.

I think the final antichrist, aka the man of sin, will pretend to be the Jewish Messiah and that he will literally kill Enoch and Elijah, who have come back to earth to witness to the Jews that Jesus Christ is their true Messiah.

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The man of sin had to happen before 70 AD. He was going to sit in the physical temple of God which stopped existing 70 AD. If a replica OT temple was built the God of Abrahams spirit would not be in it so it can not be a temple of God. It was likely one of the zealots that put a statue of himself in it by the sound of it. I made a post on Daniel 9 how it ended 70 AD Daniel 9 ended 70 AD . Rev 1-12 happened 70 AD so the two witnesses happened 70 AD. Yes according to Gospel of Nicodemus, History of Joseph the Carpenter, and Apocalypse of Peter the two witnesses were going to be Enoch, and Eiljah. All 3 texts are internally written pre 70 AD, and have a prophecy of those 2 witnesses looking forward not written past tense. All 3 texts are apocrypha inspired for the wise only. Gospel of Nic, and History of Joseph are the most important two out of them. Josephus described this guy
Jesus ben Ananias - Wikipedia

which is interesting although it does not match Rev 11. So that is not one of the two witnesses but it gives an idea of what they might of looked like to outsiders- crazy people.

Unqualified said:

Israel has returned.

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The OT Davidic kingdom of Israel was restored on Pentecost 2000 years ago. Kingdom of Israel restored on Pentecost.

Landon Caeli said:

Elon Musk, the owner of X, is calling for abolishing the E.U., and Trump supporters are railing against the 27-nation bloc.

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This should probably be up to the people who actually live there.

There are three main components to our Lord’s commandment that I see here, and so I am going to look at each of the three parts individually, but then I’ll also look at how the three must all be a part of the same whole.

Love One Another

Now, for us who are English speaking people, we must understand that this word “love” is not of human flesh. It is not centered in our emotions nor in the ones we are loving. We love others regardless of whether or not others love us in return, or even if they hate and despise us, in return. For this is loving like God loves, like Jesus loves us. For Jesus didn’t give his life up for us on that cross because of how wonderful we are, but while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. So this love is self-sacrificial, and it is unselfish.

And this word translated in the English language as “love,” in the Greek interlinear it is the word “agapē,” which means “to prefer.” It is used in the Bible in the context of either preferring what is evil (this one very little) or preferring what God prefers (which is how it is used primarily). And what God prefers is all that is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord’s commands. So this love is morally pure, upright, honest, and faithful in its love for other people.

Lay Down Your Life

And, as already was mentioned, this love is self-sacrificial and unselfish, and it is willing to die to show the love of Christ for the people of this world. It is willing to be hated by other humans in order to love them with the love that Christ had and has for us. And in what ways did Jesus demonstrate this love? Well, he spoke the truth in love to the people, whether they wanted to hear it or not, and whether they liked him or hated him in return. He told them the truth they needed to hear even though, for him it meant his death.

So, when we love others like Jesus loved us, it is not about a popularity contest. It has nothing to do with whether people love us in return. It is all about what they need and us supplying them with what they truly need (not necessarily want), as we are able, and as we are led by the Spirit to do so, even if it costs us friends, family, church family, and other humans who might reject us and turn away from us, because we are just too weird for them. It is what it cost Jesus in order for him to show us his love for us.

Do What God Commands

If we are going to love God and our fellow humans with this kind of love, the way in which God loves us, we must be those who are walking (in conduct) in obedience to our Lord’s commands. This is not to say that we will always do this perfectly, or that we will never fail (1 John 2:1-2), but the Scriptures make it quite clear that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant), that we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with Christ, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.

So, obedience to our Lord’s commands is not something to be dismissed, nor is it just a recommendation which we are free to ignore. It is a requirement of God, not as a means of earning our salvation, but as a love response to God for saving us from our sins. Yet, it is not optional. In the Scriptures we learn that obedience to our Lord’s commands = faith, and that disobedience to his commands = unbelief, which results in separation from God and us not having the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life with God in heaven.

The Scriptures Teach

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

In Harmony

Based off Romans 12:9-21; 1 Peter 3:8-17
An Original Work / September 2, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Love each other truly.
Cling to what is good.
Hate all that is evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

Share with all God’s people
Who are found in need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue from evil.
Peaceful you must be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

God sees who are righteous;
Listens to their prayers.
But He’s against evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make Christ Lord.
Serve Him faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.

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All About Love
An Original Work / December 9, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Ivan Hlavanda said:

I know there are Christians out there that do not hold the view the first 11 chapters of Genesis are literal history, Adam was not literal, God did not create everything in 6 days ets...because the science disproves this.

If you do not believe in literal Adam, you then cannot believe in literal 2nd Adam, Jesus Christ the Saviour. Because if Adam did not exist, then the fall did not happen and there is no need for a Saviour.

You cannot believe in a metaphorical Adam and then believe in literal resurrection of Christ, the second Adam who came to fix what the first Adam broke. You also have problem explaining Romans 5:12-21

P.S. I know the view of metaphorical Adam is held by very few, but it has been bothering me deeply that people believe this, and I am studying Romans 5 and this is on my heart.

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The fall does not hinge on a literal Adam. Many conservative evangelicals and Bible scholars acknowledge this. If you think their number is "very few", I would recommend investigating the topic a bit more. Have you at least read the works of Tremper Longman III and John Walton?

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro faces subpoena over private home security upgrades after firebombing​

A GOP-led committee in the state legislature voted Tuesday to issue three subpoenas seeking records related to, among other things, roughly $1 million in security upgrades to his personal home in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The Intergovernmental Operations Committee is also seeking documents concerning "several charter flights arranged for the Governor's Office" in mid-January.

"The Pennsylvania State Police and independent security experts conducted thorough reviews to pinpoint security failures, review protocols, identify gaps, and make concrete recommendations for improvements to the Governor’s security. As a direct result of those recommendations, security improvements have been put in place to keep the Governor and his family safe," the spokesperson said. "The Shapiro Administration has repeatedly responded to lawmakers' inquiries on this matter and publicly released a substantial amount of information about the security improvements put in place by PSP without compromising those security protocols."

sjastro said:

For the millionth time you half wit

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Sorry no. You disqualify yourself with this sort of stuff.

Democrat Eileen Higgins has flipped the Miami mayor’s office, defeating Republican Emilio Gonzalez and marking the latest sign of the party’s momentum heading into next year’s midterms, according to Decision Desk HQ.

The win is the latest boost for Democrats, who are coming out of better-than-expected elections in November and a strong showing in this month’s special House election in Tennessee. The party hopes that an energized base and a focus on issues like affordability will help them flip the House and possibly even the Senate in next year’s midterms.

iluvatar5150 said:

Guess we'd better build them some schools, then, eh? Hey look, there's jobs in that, too - construction, teaching, etc.

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Paid for by the government with the endless supply of money, even though there are more people dependent on government assistance. But I guess that’s the goal, create more people that are dependent on the government who will vote for the party that gives them the handouts.
My wife is a 4th grade teacher and her students tell her that they will not have to work because they can get a check

Strong in Him said:

I am sure they did that because they were showing the sacrificial love that Jesus showed, taught and embodied.

What evidence do you have that they were expecting "the mark of the beast?"
How do you know what their motives were; were you there?

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See acts 2:12-16 and understand the meaning of the "day of the lord".to Israel.

It has a very specific meaning

For the solidarity of their faith, let them see that their status as a believer is maintained by the faithfulness of God. Establish the simplicity of the Gospel in their hearts and minds.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Establish that the Father and Jesus is on their side. Jesus and the Father want them to succeed.


Hebrews 13:5 KJV
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Romans 8:35-39 KJV
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Of course, there are many others. But at the beginning, I think, it is essential to reinforce these sorts of facts in the new believer.

BCP1928 said:

A person who tries to "beat down God with science" can easily be shown to be wrong. Even atheist scientists like Hans have tried to show you that it can't be done.

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If this is the case that atheist scientists or anyone using science to beat down the beliefs of Christians know that its impossible. Then every time they do ( and plenty of examples can be shown).

Then they are purposely attacking Christians knowing its impossible and this is blantant cruelty and bias against them. Its also a complete contradic tion to the sientific thinking they are using by insisting that it can. Making them hypocrites.

BCP1928 said:

As for Christian beliefs you rarely, if ever, present any, so I don't see what you are complaining about.

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Lol and what has that got to do with anything. Are you saying I have none and therefore its ok to attack me on Christian beliefs. The very fact I am arguing for Christian belief is supporting Christian belief.

The problem is you want specific words. Everything is measured by the words. You miss all the language that may not specifically mention Christian belief but is supporting Christian belief.

BCP1928 said:

It's not our fault that you know so little of Christian theology that you think such a thing is even possible.

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What that people are demanding Christians show evidence of God or otherwise they are fools and deluded. Do you want me to show you the evidence lol. Its in the language used.

BCP1928 said:

On the contrary, we're 1500 posts into a thread in which you are promoting pagan ideas about "transcendent knowlege" and "mind out of body" that we are trying to talk you out of. You should thank us.

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Once again you make a false claim. Show me where I am promoting pagan beliefs or mind and body. Let alone trying to talk me out of it.

Don't mistake mentioning the fact that there are pagan beliefs and others (even science) who themselves work on the mind and body issue and have done for centuries. Don't mistake mentioning them as some sort of endorsement or belief that they are true in themselves.

I have mentioned these only to point out that it is quite natural for humans to be inclined to believe in such transcedent ideas. Not that they are all true in any particular belief. Only that there is such a transcedent realm and that all the different beliefs are attempts to express this.

If there is a God and belief and spirituality as Paul mentions and we all know God. Then it makes sense that this knowledge is expressed in all sorts of different ways when people replace God with their own versions. Its actually support for a God.

Michie said:

A growing number of Britons who leave Christianity are turning to paganism or other forms of spiritualism instead of converting to other major religions, a new study has found.

The survey, released by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life, questioned 2,774 adults who self-identified as having "experienced a change in their religious belief," seeking to provide insight into "how, why, and in what direction Britons are moving between faiths, spiritualities, and non-belief."

The researchers conclude that "Britain is not secularising in a straightforward way" but rather "undergoing a re-composition of belief, a shift away from inherited institutional structures towards personalised, practice-based, and wellbeing-oriented forms of faith."

Forty-four percent of respondents said they left Christianity, while only 17% said they had newly become Christians. Meanwhile, 39% of respondents said they had become an atheist or agnostic.

Continued below.

Rising number of Brits leaving Christianity turning to paganism

A growing number of Britons who leave Christianity are turning to paganism or other forms of spiritualism instead of converting to other major religions, a new study has found

www.christianpost.com

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This often happens when the church waters down it's postion on current cultural and church issues.
When people see there is no difference between their watered down religion and the world, they figure, why bother?

We did have 3 Aussies and 5 Canucks and a couple from South Africa on the tour. The other 32 folks were American.

ThatRobGuy said:

That's what he claims...he also claims that he was approaching in (what appears to be an aggressive attack stance) to attempt to trade the knife for cigarettes.

View attachment 374221


If we're being honest, given the guy's previous criminal record of stabbing, and roughing up store clerks. In all likelihood, it was probably more of a "give me those smokes!" (holding the knife to imply "or else")


...but even if we operate on the assumption that the defendant's statements on that were 100% accurate, I would hope you're being facetious here. Someone yelling a slur from 20 feet away as a person is moving towards them with a brandished weapon wouldn't be justification for assaulting them with said weapon. (especially in an open-air environment in a state that establishes a duty to retreat)

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I bet there's an uber-radical leftist somewhere saying, man, I'm glad he got that pack of smokes, and knifed that fascist nazi.

jonojim1337 said:

Imagine complaining about a continent not being visible when all of ancient history tells us we have a submerged continent.

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You appear to be confusing history with mythology. Please present any ancient historical reference to a submerged continent.

Be on his side. That the problem the Catholic Church is having with replacement theology. They don’t think much of the Jews. They are where the term Christ killer came from.

essentialsaltes said:

“I saw a white male shooting at another person, a Black male,” said Michael Starks, who was in the parking lot when the shooting happened. “He could have hit him in the back, could have killed him, could have had a stray bullet that struck someone else.”

Police say 64-year-old Steven Douglas Wagner pulled a pistol and fired near the garden center around 3 p.m. at the store on Atlanta Highway.

A Lowe’s employee told police the young man had not stolen anything, according to Starks.

Starks called 911 and followed Wagner back into the store and snapped a photo that helped police make an arrest within minutes.

He said Wagner’s demeanor was concerning.

“He honestly thought he did nothing wrong and should have been rewarded for his actions,” Starks said.

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Let me check on what gun owners think about this.

The usual attitude is that you don't shoot at people running away from shoplifting.

The store has insurance for merchandise. You might hit someone else. You won't get a medal for heroism.

You're going to pay tens of thousands for a lawyer even if you get off.

And you're probably not going to get off.

ladodgers6 said:

Okay, where do I start. Paul instructs believers to grow in the knowledge of the Lord so that we do not get deceived and to test the spirits. Failing to do so leads people to heresies.

The Bible strongly connects growing in the knowledge of the Lord with avoiding deception, particularly in 2 Peter 3:17-18, which warns believers to beware of falling away and urges them to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" as the antidote to being led astray. Other key verses like 2 Peter 1:5-8 detail adding to your faith qualities like knowledge, goodness, and love to be fruitful, while Matthew 24:4-5 warns of false messiahs and deception in the last days, highlighting the need for vigilance and grounding in truth.

Secondly, the Apostle Paul debates the Jews at Athens where the city was full of idols (Acts 17:16-34).

If we do not know how to defend the truth means we really do not understand Scripture.​

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Again,..... a lot of people are more worried about theology than a relationship with Jesus.

# 1. FOR /// GAR is a CONJUNATION

#2 I. ///. EGO. is a PERSONAL POSSESSESIVE PRONOUN. in. the NOMINATIVE CASE. in. the SINGULAR

#3 NEITHER ///. OUDE is an. ADVERB

#4 RECEIVED ///. PARALANBANO. is in. the AORIST TENSE in the ACTIVE VOICE inv the INDICATIVE MOOD , means you better believe it

#5 IT /// AUTOS. is a PERSONAL POSSESSIVE PRONOUN in. the SINGULAT in. the NEUTER , N meaning MALE and FEMALE

#6 OF /// PARA is a PREPOSTION

#7 MAN ///. ANTROTRPOSin vv the GENITIVE CASE in the b. SINGULAR

#8. NEITHER. /// OUTE. is a CONJUNCAION

#9 WAS I TAUGHT. ///. DIDASKO. in. the AORIST TENSE in. the PASSIVE VOICE. , means it is CHRIST working , in. the. INDICATIVE MOOD

in the SINGULAR

#10. BUT /// ALLA. is a CONJUNCATION

#11 BY /// DIA. is a PREPOSITION

#12 THE REVELATION ///. APOKALYPSIS. in vv the GENITIVE CASE. in. the SINGULAR

#13 0F. JESUS. ///. IOSOUS. in. the GENITIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 14 CHRIST ///. CHRISTOS in vv the GENITIVE CASE in v the SINGULAR.

#. A And PAUL. is the ONLY GOSPEL. that was given by. Christ himself to Paul

# B. And it is the ONLY way to be SAVED FOR TODAY. , PERIOD

# C. No. one can be saved by WAYTER BAPTISM

# D Paul n. never preached to be BORN AGAIN

# E And PAUL NEVER WATER BAPIZED NO ONE EVER , TRYN ME !!

dan p

Hentenza said:

To me that’s the common sense approach.

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Yes, to met that's conservatism, although my liberal friends would disagree. Perhaps they would prefer "that which has been shown to work in the past."

Good to see people arguing that convicted fellons should be barred from working for state or federal governments.

BCP1928 said:

He didn't. Mark Kelly didn't either.

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Did the hit dog holler?