I think it takes focus off the real Gospel which is on personal sin, your standing w/ God, & eternal salvation. I think it takes focus off the individual & the individual's sin. I think it limits sin to society issues. The only sin preached tends to be you having more then someone else. It doesn't look at other problems in your heart. What about stuff like sexual sin? Who God is? Not liking where your life is now?

I was 'stuck' in a social justice church for a few years & every message was on fixing society & blaming the rich. That's not the Gospel. The Cross puts us all on level-field & we all have different sins & struggles

As I've learned a little bit more about the Social Justice Gospel, I've learned it is a form of works-righteousness. I remember the preaching would always end 'we have to do better.' The Bible says we can never be good enough but can rest in Christ.

prodromos said:

But you don't claim a vast universe. You claim a limited dome with all the stars and the sun and moon contained therein.

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It depends on how big the firmament really is.

RileyG said:

Welcome!

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Thanks

I'm going to be a Debbie Downer on this topic, but I do not like this holiday. Every year, I like it less and less.

I am convicted that Christmas is not about Jesus. At least not in my family, I don't care what certain relatives say. Where is Jesus when you've got up a tree, several angel statues, and secular decorations?

RileyG said:

In that case, I 100% agree.

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I’m going to tell it like it is. It’s just manipulation. Politics has become an idol. Inserting the faith into it is more than disingenuous.

CTB777 said:

Hello Brothers and sisters

New to this forum. It will come in handy for the future if I have questions to ask or things on my mind or if I want to educate myself.

First off ( I will make another topic about this but I might as well ask here too) Can anyone help me with getting the bible on SD card or on something that I can listen to the Bible with head phones, MP3 player perhaps?

I'm useless when it comes to computers and gadgets so keep that in mind when dealing with me

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Welcome to CF!

About 9 years ago I went looking for the Bible in MP3 format, so that I could listen to it in the car and on my phone. I made sure to listen to samples and read reviews before I bought a set.

What I didn't know until I downloaded it is that the set wasn't separated by chapter or verse, it was separated by book. If I wanted to find a specific chapter I would have had to fast-forward through the book. I fixed this by using software to auto-split files by chapter by looking for the few seconds of silence between chapters. I then went through and renamed the files according to their book and chapter.

Alexander Scourby's audio bible seems to be a popular option, and they have a phone app, so no need to deal with MP3's.

I am a Protestant, & in addition to what's been said, I kind of agree w/ the Catholic idea of saying your sin to a Pastor. Not that b/c he can forgive sin, but just b/c it's good to. I wish this was encouraged more in Protestant churches

But overall I believe it's a general if you do wrong, don't be afraid to say you did it. & the Spirit working in your heart will lead you to

Since the Mi-Lai massacre back in the Vietnam days I'm certain that our military does desk work studying in classes on this kind of stuff. The delegation of six was clearly using their office to put in the head of the military some pretense to protest & disobey. Now if such soldier took that risk, they could be risking their career. For what? A bunch of cowards in Congress. My guess that bunch of cowards in such an event would clearly desert the scene before the [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] crows 3 times. Trump is having success on the foreign policy side & getting things done that no previous president would do. Most presidents want to be liked regardless of principle. Even back in Reagan's term he gave amnesty-his worst decision. But as VP Vance said ya know the US can't take in this much people without financial consequences & other consequences. It places a premium on space & frankly I like my open space. Why give employers the upper hand to hire cheap labor & then have a working population not pay taxes.

That sounds interesting. It's wonderful reading non-modern Christian works like that book you were reading.
I think some Christians were hostile to movies when they first were introduced. This is why for example there's not many in Hollywood. There's definitely a stereotype today Christians are against movies.
My own thought is they can be beneficial & good for what they are & they don't overtake your love of Christ & your own life or become an idol.

BTW, I like your avatar. I like Thomas the Train. Growing up we had a big book of all the original stories w/ that style art. Do you have model train sets?

I don’t know if anyone read this link from the op:

Man I feel pretty guilty past couple days. I wish I could say I got corrupted by the world & my experiences, but a lot of it was me myself, my own heart

RocksInMyHead said:

Most of the people actually in the boats are just poor fisherman trying to make living with a side job (as opposed to the masterminds behind the scheme). But, regardless, does that really change the argument?

"Even the top Nazis were put on trial. How are these South American drug traffickers so much worse?"

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But also many Nazis were executed right in the camps. Likewise remember Osama Bin Laden. Obama gave the order. He didn't say oh let's have a show trial. And if you review very old film clips, Sec. Anthony Blinken also referred to the thugs as narco terrorists & a much younger Joe Biden did the same thing a long time ago. I think some people get mixed up in semantics. The advance of human civilization brings more ingenious types of committing terrorism. It could be slamming airplanes into buildings, starting a forest fire, drug-running, using a computer program to bring the grid to a halt. It's a shame that some people are backing terrorists & not seeing the forest thru the trees. You cannot negotiate with evil.

That’s so odd. I’m happy she had the initiative to do it on her own!

jacorian said:

My understanding is that the survivors were trying to access another vessel. But as in any military or police operation, munitions firing is carried out to ensure complete safety. I.e. it's not a quota of shots & you're done.

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That's not correct.

Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen

Me too!

Praying for an end to this practice worldwide and for all post abortive women!

That’s unfortunate. Thanks for sharing.

rjs330 said:

If the OP is true I am totally opposed to the lowering of standards. There were other police agencies that did that because they couldn't get officers and it didn't go well. So, no, not a fan of doing this in any LE agency.

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I agree.

Mark Quayle said:

Then you are saying that God is not omniscient which also means he is not omnipotent. That is not God. Also, your thinking demonstrates the notion that God is subject to time, and whatever other things you consider 'reality'. In your thinking, God is not the 'inventor' of time and reality.

All things begin with God. Apart from him, there was nothing—no principles, no fact, no reality— until he created. All other things depend on and logically descend from his creating.

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What scripture in your mind proves that he is either of those things? FutureAndAHope provided a scripture. Maybe only one, but there are others. In addition to Genesis 6:6, I would also add:

1 Samuel 15:35
Jeremiah 3:6,7

Of course, there are many that support your viewpoint as well:

Isaiah 44:6
Isaiah 48:12
Revelation 1:8
Revelation 21:6
Revelation 22:13

Whether or not God invented time is something neither of us can prove or disprove. Yes, we can infer from creation that God created "our" reality, but there is nothing that tells us what is in God's reality.

Mark Quayle said:

Can you prove that man has freewill? It seems to be one of the foundations of your theory.

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Can you prove that man does not have free will? Atheists believe that all of reality and our actions is a mere result of billions (or more) of variables that are the almost infinite calculations of every particle in the universe. How would that be any different than having a God that does not give mankind free will? And how do you have free will when God knows what you will do in every second of your life from the time you are created?

If man does not have free will, then all sin and evil (and good as well) is caused by God. That is the logical end result from his creation if God chose to know what our choices would be. Why warn Adam and Eve, if God knew they were going to take the fruit anyway? Why does God question them afterwards? He obviously knew at this point that they took the fruit, but maybe he didn't know if they would have remorse, or blame each other as the text states. Their punishment was only stated after their response, and prophecies in the Bible only began after man sinned.

Why are there so many places in the Bible where Israel, Judah, a specific king or prophet is given a choice? Why is Noah in 2 Peter 2:5 referred to as "a preacher of righteousness"? Why is he preaching at all if God knows already that they will reject him and everyone but Noah's family will die? Why do we as Christians preach, if only certain people are predestined to be called to God anyway?

Much of the Bible makes little sense without free will.

Valletta said:

Note too the following from the article:
"DHS says the suspect has an extensive criminal history that spans almost four decades, including an attempted murder charge in 1987, an armed robbery charge in 1991 and a charge of annoying or molesting a victim under 18 in 2007."

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Yikes! That’s very concerning!

Welcome Emily!

Welcome Marcus!