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rambot · 2025-11-10T09:48:56-0600

The overly ethos of "help the suffering" should kind of be enough.

wing2000 · 2025-11-10T09:48:52-0600

essentialsaltes said:
Trump has pardoned them all (but these are all state crimes, so it has very little effect)

...warm fuzzies for his supporters?

Delvianna · 2025-11-10T09:48:17-0600

Just one of many reasons America will eventually be judged. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow... but it will be.

rambot · 2025-11-10T09:44:28-0600

You know the easy way to deal with insider trading now that Republicans have full control of 3 branches?

Create laws to punish insider trading by elected officials and their families.

Go Republicans Go! I know how upset their base is about this. I'm SURE it'd be a no brainer.

Clare73 · 2025-11-10T09:34:51-0600

BNR32FAN said:
So as far as sin goes they’re pretty much the same? Neither are completely absent from sin and neither are completely absent from doing good?

Slaves to sin refers to a lifestyle of disobedience, not found among the born again.

Desk trauma · 2025-11-10T09:32:31-0600

Benaiah468 said:
We can speed things up. Here's what I suggest: travel to Gaza for a few weeks, to the area controlled by Hamas, and report on it. Good luck!

The overlap between Mamdami and Hamas policy being what exactly?

Michie · 2025-11-10T09:32:26-0600

Dhaka police have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with homemade bomb attacks that targeted a Catholic cathedral and a Church-run school in Bangladesh’s capital this month.

Police investigators identified the suspect as a member of Bangladesh Chhatra League, the banned student wing of the Awami League, the political party of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The suspect is being questioned about multiple incidents, including the Nov. 7-8 explosions at St. Mary’s Cathedral and St. Joseph School, one of the country’s prominent Catholic educational institutions.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police, working with the country’s elite Rapid Action Battalion, has launched a citywide search for additional suspects. Police have increased security at churches and other religious sites across the capital.

Bangladesh’s interim government, which took power after Hasina’s ouster in August, said it remains committed to protecting religious minorities and will prosecute those who threaten religious harmony.

Continued below.

Bangladesh police arrest suspect in bomb attacks on Catholic sites

Dhaka police have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with homemade bomb attacks that targeted a Catholic cathedral and a church-run school in Bangladesh.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Wolseley · 2025-11-10T09:30:15-0600

Bob Crowley said:
Being of Irish descent, I went looking for "ancient stone eggs in Australia".

The closest I could find was "thundereggs", which I believe have some similarity to opal bearing rocks. There's a "Thunderbird Park" somewhere around Tamborine Mountain behind the Gold Coast.

Other than that there apparently used to be "ducks of doom" in Australia, which laid water-melon size eggs.

'Demon ducks of doom' laid melon-size eggs in prehistoric Australia

Scientists crack a 41-year-old mystery about prehistoric eggs.

www.livescience.com

Being told by the parents to go to the chook shed to get some eggs for breakfast ain't what it used to be....

"Demon ducks", indeed. Holy Moses.

Sort of like those "terror birds" they've found evidence of, except that those were predators:

Phorusrhacidae - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Michie · 2025-11-10T09:28:07-0600

Syrian security forces conducted nationwide raids against suspected Islamic State operatives, detaining dozens, before President Ahmed al-Sharaa's scheduled historic meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

The visit follows recent diplomatic overtures between the two governments, including the removal of al-Sharaa, a former leader of an al-Qaeda affiliated terror group, from the United States and United Nations terror sanctions lists.

Syria's interior ministry said Saturday that 61 coordinated raids were carried out across the country, resulting in 71 arrests and the seizure of weapons and explosives.

Continued below.

Syria carries out raids against Islamic State before al-Sharaa arrives in Washington for historic visit

Syrian security forces conducted nationwide raids against suspected Islamic State operatives, detaining dozens, before President Ahmed al-Sharaa s scheduled historic meeting with U S President Donald

www.christianpost.com

Freth · 2025-11-10T09:15:31-0600

Dikaioumenoi said:
But what I don't see in your explanation is an exegetical argument from Scripture, or a rebuttal of what I have already offered to the contrary. Respectfully, the ability to describe a point of view is no indication on its own that it is actually what the biblical authors intended to communicate. The latter is what must concern us.

The structure of Paul's argument in Eph. 1 simply does not allow for human choice to precede or condition divine election. Notice the order of clauses:

καθὼς ἐξελέξατο ἡμᾶς ἐν αὐτῷ πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, ἵνα ἦμεν ἅγιοι καὶ ἄμωμοι...

God chose (ἐξελέξατο) before the foundation of the world in order that (ἵνα) we might be holy and blameless. Holiness isn't the basis of being chosen; it is the intended outcome. Likewise, verse 5 grounds predestination "according to the good pleasure of His will" (κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ), not ours.

Human faith and obedience are therefore the fruit of election, not its cause. To invert that order is to ignore what Paul wrote.

As for the Book of Life, Scripture never describes anyone's name being newly written because of faith; it speaks of those whose names "were written from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8; 17:8). The "foundation of the world" modifier applies to the writing, not the book. That means God's saving decree precedes both creation and human response.

So yes, believers truly choose Christ and obey Him. But they do so because God first chose them in Christ. Election isn't God's response to human decision, nor does it erase human decision; rather, it is the divine cause behind it.

Chosen in Him vs Free Will Choice

It is not our human choice whether God chose us in Him or not, that choice is His alone.
He gives us free will to choose Him. I showed this in Ephesians 1:4-6.

Ephesians 1:4-6 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Should indicates choice. God wants us to choose Him, but it is our choice to choose Him or not and live according to His will.
Predestined → unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. In other words, John 3:16-17.

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Jesus:

John 15:14-16 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

If ye do whatsoever I command you.
You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.
Ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.

James:

James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

Chosen to be rich in faith (faith is personal; human choice)
...heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised...
...to them that love Him (love is personal; human choice)

The Book of Life from the Foundation of the World

Revelation 13:8 and 17:8 can be read one of two ways.

All names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world.
It is the book of life itself that is from the foundation of the world. Names are written and blotted out as each person makes their choice concerning God throughout their lifetime, once each case is determined.

The question is, which position does scripture support?

In 2 Peter 3 we find God's long-suffering, waiting for all to come to repentance. God's will expressed as us being chosen in Him, but that it is us that need to choose Him.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Lastly, we have Exodus 32:33, which should settle the issue.

Exodus 32:33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

Whosoever hath sinned against me, human choice.
Against me; against God's will; us chosen in Him.
The writing and blotting in the book of life makes the possibility of names being in the book of life from the outset of no effect, as they can be blotted out for sin.

Let me state my position so that it is clear. This is my last post. You can agree to disagree, and you can respond with your rebuttal. Let the reader decide through prayerful study of the Bible.

1. God having chosen us in Him is in no way negated by the free will He has given us to choose Him or not.
2. We are not predetermined to be saved or lost. Each of us has a choice of our own free will.
3. If names are blotted out for sinning against Him (Exodus 32:33), then names can be written back in for choosing Him and doing His will.
4. If all have sinned, then our names are not in the book of life (blotted because of sin) until we have repented and live according to His will.

Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

ArmyMatt · 2025-11-10T09:13:17-0600

Chesterton said:
Apparently you're right. I double checked and he did make the comment that "erasing threats to Israel is not America’s job", but he made it in the larger context of his being non-interventionist anywhere in the world. Not necessarily pro- or anti- Israel.

sure, but that’s been his stance for a while. Shapiro has even said that Walsh is shortsighted, and they still work together.

SabbathBlessings · 2025-11-10T09:00:37-0600

peaceful-forest said:
I have a family member that is going through some trouble. He is in his 20s, has money problems, smokes marijuana, and is expecting a baby with his girlfriend.

I have thought about buying this family member a Bible, but I do not know which one to buy him. I believe his current problems are happening and God is allowing them so that this family member will turn to Christ for salvation.

What recommendations do you all have?

Thanks.

I like the NKJV which is easy to understand. I would also recommend this book

Amazon.com

It a story of my pastor, who grew up in a dysfunctional home. His dad was a billionaire, his mom an actress, his parents divorced he was shipped off to military and catholic schools. He ended up dropping out of school and doing drugs living in a cave outside of LA. Someone left a bible in the cave that he started reading and it changed his life (and many others) This was an inspirational story and may help him.

God bless!

Anonymous9090 · 2025-11-10T08:36:46-0600

Pray The Holy Spirit guides the first responders, security personnel, medics, doctors & nurses as they address the emergency needs of the victims of a terrorist attack that took place in Delhi, India:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/delhi-lal-quila-metro-station-explosion-in-parked-car-near-red-fort-live-updates/article70263264.ece

essentialsaltes · 2025-11-10T08:31:52-0600

Michie · 2025-11-10T08:28:43-0600

I’ll get to the other stuff later.

2PhiloVoid · 2025-11-10T08:25:05-0600

didactics said:
For a big part of my life I have been confident in the young earth creation model but one thing that has sort of been a sticking point for me is the ancient near east (ANE) interpretation of creation. It was first pointed out to me in talking about day 2 of creation, the idea that the writer is making reference to a solid firmament. It is further reasoned that the people in those days only knew of a flat earth cosmology, so they were just speaking in terms that everyone would understand. Just because they got something wrong does not mean God’s word is not true. It’s not a science textbook after all. And I have thought about this and wondered if there is any validity to it. The other thing that has really captured my attention is ideas surrounding behemoth and leviathan found in the book of Job. I have been persuaded that these are references to dinosaurs until I saw this video of Ben Stanhope’s critique of Answers in Genesis. He makes a compelling argument that these are descriptions of a mythological creature that symbolizes a false god, such as the followers of the Canaanite deity Baal. The comparison may have been a way of showing people that the true God is omnipotent and has no fear of them. And while I may want to entertain the idea that humans lived alongside dinosaurs, it is a weak argument to suggest Job makes mention of it.

It leads me to ask, if I am wrong on these things, what else am I wrong about? Most people who espouse this view about creation week, saying that it was a polemic to the pagan nations who say their gods took part in creation, tend to also be theistic evolutionists. In a wikipedia article “Firmament” it reads,

But one thing I found interesting is that John Hancock believes the ancients did believe the earth was round.

Login to view embedded media

Maybe the way to reconcile this is to say that philosophers in those days were more split on the issue and many thought it was flat before the time of the Middle Ages.

But if I cede the argument and say it had an ANE context, wouldn’t I be inconsistent to still believe in young earth creationism (YEC)? I have argued before that the Bible is inerrant and infallible and that no contradictions exist, only apparent contradictions. And I do feel in some way it would be a compromise to say that the Bible was wrong about the firmament being a solid dome that separated the heavenly waters above. I understand that the Bible is not a science textbook, but I believe that it has to be right whenever it does talk about science.

Don't try to force-fit the array of biblical literature into a Modern paradigm. Each book of the Bible was written not only by different people, but by people who lived during different ancient eras as well. We can't stuff ancient literature into a 21st century scientific box and expect it to reflect today's Cosmology.

In other words, I accept that the biblical writings are a product of Late Bronze Age and Iron Age paradigms. Moses probably did think the 'world' was fairly young, but even if that's the case, we have to do the hard work of examining those written works in light or their own times and do so with academic rigor. If we do this, we can take the biblical writings as they were intended to be: prophetic utterances, not modern scientific descriptions of the world. If we fail to recognize this, then the introduction of worries over alleged Slippery Slopes begin to creep in like snakes in the dark. But, there's no need to fall for that fallacy...................................................

So yeah, there is an A.N.E. background out of which the biblical writings have to be considered. @Job 33:6 has already referenced some things in his post above for you to engage with for further thought.

RDKirk · 2025-11-10T08:03:09-0600

keras said:
What people seem to ignore, is the many things Prophesied to happen before the glorious Return. All of Revelation from Rev 6:12 to 19:11.
All unfulfilled, as yet, the Sixth Seal being the next event we can expect.

They are the Words of Jesus, given to us in a viable sequence. To not take very careful note, is a serious denial of scripture.

Expectation is not the same thing as anticipation.

Delvianna · 2025-11-10T08:02:34-0600

Michie said:
English Literature students at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom have been warned: Scripture contains some “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.” Specifically, the institution highlighted the Old Testament account of Cain killing Abel and the gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Other literary works also receive trigger warnings, the university explained. In a statement, it said that type of “content note is a standard academic tool used to signpost when sensitive or graphic content will be discussed.”

But critics called the move a form of censorship, saying it is “misguided” and “absurd” to label God’s Word as potentially triggering.

Bible Receives Trigger Warning from University of Sheffield

Continued below.

UK University Slaps Violence Warning on Bible, Citing the Crucifixion and Cain and Abel

English Lit. students at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. have been warned: Scripture contains “graphic bodily injury and sexual violence.”

churchleaders.com

How long until the bible is banned and misinterpreted as "inciting violence" or some other nonsense they'll say? I mean, it's banned in China if I'm not mistaken already, so it's only a matter of time before it comes to the West.

bbbbbbb · 2025-11-10T07:59:40-0600

Once Upon a Time

once upon a time - cole porter song - Search Videos

Watch videos instantly on Bing—enjoy direct playback, discover related clips, and dive into trending content all in one place.

www.bing.com

irineiv · 2025-11-10T07:59:37-0600

DialecticSkeptic said:
Emotional wounds left from betrayal, especially by trusted Christians, tend to persist until they are processed, not just waited out. A good trauma-informed or faith-sensitive counselor can help you process this, separating what happened from the truth of Christ himself. Some offer reduced rates or sliding-scale sessions, and there are community or online options that can make it more affordable; some churches can recommend a specific faith-sensitive counselor that would be free to you because their charitable giving covers the costs. (My church does that.)

That being said, the church is God's appointed channel of grace, community, and spiritual edification, even when people inside it fail badly (because they do). Healing doesn't happen apart from Christ's body but through being gently restored within it. The key is finding a setting where safety, accountability, and pastoral care exist together. It might help to start by meeting privately with a trustworthy pastor or elder. (It doesn't have to be from the church where you were hurt.) Tell him what happened and that you're struggling to come back. A good pastor will listen carefully, take your fears seriously, and help ensure that whoever mistreated or harmed you is not in a position to hurt anyone else. Church leaders have a responsibility to protect the flock and to address sin openly and justly (though not necessarily publicly).

Pray for courage and discernment, and remember that Christ himself was betrayed by religious people and those closest to him. He understands your wounds better than anyone—and he also knows how to lead you safely back into his church.

Hello! Your advice sounds very sound as I’ve not had the chance to really talk to this with someone mature enough. If you can recommend online counseling with a pastor or therapist who is Christian I would totally do it.

I expressed what happened to two friends who have good intentions and have been respectful, but they don’t understand just saying that “not everyone is like that” will help me feel safe enough to go back to the church I used to go to.

My main problem I have is that I’m a pretty lonely woman, I dont have a Christian family to attend church with and my friends have their own lives they can’t go with me, and in spite they used to sometimes, the men still managed to find ways to harm me.

I will get married soon so hopefully I may be able to go to church accompanied at all times in the next months or years, but the emotional harm is still there and I don’t even want to go and have to deal with people and unnecessary problems.

Delvianna · 2025-11-10T07:59:07-0600

ChubbyCherub said:
Does anyone else know anything else about him? Where did he come from? Why was he a prophet? What made him special in the eyes of God?

Very very little is known about him. People consider him a minor prophet probably for this reason because it's not like we have great stories about him like we do Elijah or Samuel. His book reminds me of Psalms and makes me think it was a song, just by the end of the book where it says, "For the director of music. On my stringed instruments." There's a few Psalms that are prophetic, so it's not out of place if it was a song. But literally any information about his life is speculation and could be totally wrong. Like, because of the prophesy against the Babylonians, people place his life around 600BC which would put him around the same time as Jeremiah. But there's honestly no way to know for sure. There isn't any outside sources on his life or him in particular, so we just will never know until we are in heaven's side of things.

bbbbbbb · 2025-11-10T07:54:36-0600

upright piano

bbbbbbb · 2025-11-10T07:53:08-0600

Vacation days fly by fast.

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Bible Receives Trigger Warning from University of Sheffield