prodromos said:

Do you dispute that figures of speech are common in every language?

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No, I don't. Why do you ask?

Finally we get to some stuff about Egypt...

stevevw said:

The area was actually quite wet due to the Nile delta and ideal for crops. They used the natural fertile basin. I guess thats why they chose such a place.

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Egypt was in the same place it is today -- the delta and the flood plain of the Nile, surrounded by the desert. It was a thoroughly agricultural place then and now just as the central valley of California is today. This talk about some primative connected to nature talk you keep invoking does not resemble ancient Egyptian agricultural civilization of 6000 years ago. (The people who made the vases, and the one ones who 1000 years later made the pyramids.)

stevevw said:

But I am talking about the spirits and gods that agriculture was based on. What role this played as part of the natural and spiritual world they lived in.

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Have you ever been anywhere *NEAR* agriculture? Agriculture is about planting things and caring for them until they can be harvested. It doesn't matter how many times you pray for rain or to avoid locusts or hail, if you don't plant and don't harvest you get nothing. Framers know this and they have always known this. Demonstraing they sacrificed ibex to their gods for good crops (or any other religious activity) doesn't make agriculture based on spirits or gods.

stevevw said:

How they treated the plants and respected nature and worked with it.

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You keep saying things like this and I wonder something....

We both live lands where the native populations were not technologically advanced and not that long ago, invaders came and wiped many of them out. They were demonized as "primitive savages" to justify the atrocities. Recent movement of guilt about what happened triggered a counter-myth the in the US is called "the good Indian" about how the natives lived in peace and harmony with nature in egalitarian societies. There is talk of "indigenous knowledge" and it gets treated as superior. To be clear the natives, being local, knew the landscapes, rivers, climate, resources, and fauna and how to use them for living and survival had "indigenous knowledge" of these things. They had their own cultures, societal organization, political systems, and religion and spirituality. It was not inherently better or wore. Some of the things they did were worth copying, others not.

But none of this has relevance to our discussions of ancient Egyptian stone working and construction techniques. The "alternative methodologies" you have put forward are technological methods. They are not spiritual or based on a knowledge of the local nature (like an herbal medicine). Until you can *show* why they would be relevant, I will continue to dismiss these "spiritual" and "indigenous" claims in Egypt with: "who cares?"

stevevw said:

Are you trying to rationalise away all ancient and indigenous knowledge as just imagination.

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Ancient knowledge, nah, but your claims of them -- you betcha.

stevevw said:

An evolutionary by product of survival.
I think there were two aspects going on at the same time. The further you go back the more everything was gods and spirits. The Egyptians and other megalith cultures are the peaks. As populations grew they became less based on the spirits and gods. Obviously progression naturally takes over.

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There population was around 1 million at the time period we are discussing, but this "are the peaks" thing would be from the study of cultural anthropology of religion. Have you read that literature on the subject of who was the most spiritual civilization of all time? (I suspect they would actually dismiss the notion of measuring it, but tell me what it says.)

stevevw said:

That I think is why this spiritual knowledge was lost. Just as the Indigenous and native peoples culture and knowledge was lost as colonialism grew.

The Egyptians being a peak were transitioning. So we can see both the gods and spirits as well as modern civilisation taking over. They were really the first great civilisation who invented many things.

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stevevw said:

So I think when we go back it becomes more spiritual.

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So it is just your speculation.

stevevw said:

What the Egyptians call the time of the gods. In fact most cultures have the same transition and refer to the ancestors as the time of the gods or spirits.

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Because it is lost in the mists of time, if not mythology.

stevevw said:

I thought it was common knowledge that just about everything was seen through the eyes of spirits and gods or some transcedent entity. Even later pharoahs actually made themselves gods.

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A thousand or more years later.

stevevw said:

The precision vases were for the gods. They were placed in tombs to bring favor to the gods.

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Are there gift tags: "To Ra"? Are there texts on the walls stating the purpose as gifts to their gods? My recollection of Egyptian grave goods is that they are placed in the tomb with the body so that the deceased can use them in the after life which is why they include foods, cosmetics, etc.

Jipsah said:

If the damnationists are correct, most of them are punished for being born in the wrong place.

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Keeping in mind that Jesus was a "damnationist," in fact, he is the only one in the NT who speaks of hell.

"If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes
and be thrown into hell, where "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched." (Mk 9:47-48)

I'm sure you'll understand if I take Jesus at his word. . .

Chesterton said:

So it is and it isn't behavior. I guess you win since I am at a complete loss as to how to respond to that.

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A thought is not a behaviour. It might seem complicated but it is really not.

To continue your previous example: you can be arrested for the behaviour of punching someone but not for thinking about punching them.

If you can’t get it from that I shall shake the dust off my feet and leave it there.

tranquil said:

As to the timing issues: so if 1542 was the start, we should have seen something in 1976 (marking the 62nd week), which I can't find. Treaty with Egypt in 1975, 1977, 1978, but nothing really notable.

I'm totally open to the idea of 2025-2032 finishing out the 490 years, but I just don't see the evidence for that.

For my part, I view the 70 weeks as double but with 2 literal 70 weeks portions. One 70 week portion to get us from a Jerusalem Day (call to restore Jerusalem holiday) to Sukkot.

(Purely hypothetical!)

June 5, 2024 (Wednesday) to Sukkot/ Feast Tabernacles (Tuesday) Oct 7, 2025 which would begin the Trumpets in earnest (with the major effects coming on the 'winter, Sabbath' Dec 20/ 21, 2025).

Feast of Tabernacles is referenced at the start of the Trumpets in Rev 7 as I've shown here in this post:

Sukkot and Shushan Purim

Because some forum members think that the idea of the great tribulation beginning on the Feast of Tabernacles is strange, I thought I would put this post up. Does the Bible give clues as to the timing of the events of Revelation? Once we look at the timing of the 6th Seal, then hopefully the...

www.christianforums.com

The mistake I made there (if the Trumpets have indeed begun) is that I assumed the 5 months of Rev 9:5 were Bible / Hebrew lunar months and didn't count on solar/ Babylonian months. March 7, 2026 constitutes a 5 month timeframe going from Sukkot and ending on a Sabbath, (the 'winter, Sabbath' of Matt 24:20).

The 'locusts' appear to be the armies of the US/UN that will enforce the 'flood' peace treaty (if this is the start).

The 2nd set of 70 weeks would be the last part of Dan 8's 2300 days: add up the timeframes of Revelation: 150 days (5 Babylonian months) + year, month, day, hour + 1260 days + 3.5 days + (implied) 490 days to cleanse the temple defiled by the 2nd abomination at the 7th Trumpet= 2300 days.

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When following the scriptures with my translation, it says at the second sixty, it will be returned. The second sixtyth week is when Jerusalem was returned to Israeli control in 1967. So it doesn't give the 7 62 1 in the first set.

Hentenza said:

Cuba was far left. Communism.

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It was far right first.....referring to the Batista regimes.

Tigger Boy said:

Your first two paragraphs confirm the reasoning for punctuation being added in the 1500’s as I stated. However, for you to say, “The comma is of no consequence to the context or message of the verse” is void of rational reasoning. As it is placed in our bibles today, the verse states that the thief and Christ both would be in paradise that very day. And this is what you and most christians believe including many scholars. When the comma is placed after the word “today”. It reads, “truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise.” Which coveys the thought that Christ promised the thief that day, that he would be with Him in paradise but not specifying when. Completely different meaning of the verse as most individuals would agree.

Yes there is no doubt that Jesus died before sundown the sixth day of the week, Friday to us. But to say that, “There is no precise time of death for the thief but it does not need to be,” does not further your position, since you believe Jesus told the thief they would be together that, “very day” the sixth day of the week, in Paradise.

You also state, “Moving the comma after the word today does not make any sense in the context of the verse or the message that Jesus was conveying.” Actually the comma in either place assures the thief that he would be with Christ in paradise, the placement of the comma determines the timing, of which we disagree.

What will you do with Jh. 20:17, In which Jesus told Mary, early on the first day of the week, “touch me not for I have not jet ascended to my Father.” Surely you can see that Jesus did not go to Paradis to be with His Father the day He died, which stands in opposition of what you understand Lk. 23:43 to convey. To ignore it is not a pathway to clearly understand all that the Bible has to say on this subject.

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Again, there is no recent hermeneutical evidence or scholarly evidence to change the comma. I’m sorry that it doesn’t agree with your doctrine but you can’t use the “it shouldn’t be there” error to justify it.

Always in His Presence said:

ah, the nazi card - been a while since that has been pulled out.

Who here believes bipartisanship (Democrats working with Republicans), is similar to the nazi's - good grief!

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There are people who are going to lose their healthcare.
There are people who healthcare costs will increase drastically.
There are hospitals that will have to close.
What is the Trump/GOP plan other than let them eat cake, we have ballroom events to attend?
I mean seriously. You know it's problem. They know it's a problem. They control all of government. What's the plan?

Bradskii said:

Maybe you want to reword that. You just said some people criticise everything he does for no reason. Maybe you can throw one or two examples out and we can investigate.

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What do you mean? He already gave the example that if Trump cured cancer we would still find blame! How much more do you want?

So, basically, Trump is claiming, that we might get some of our money back. At least the first time. They it will eventually forgotten.

Always in His Presence said:

What is the difference between AI or using Google, Wiki etc to research and post?

Besides speed and ease of use?

If the post is in error - then show the error - otherwise what is the difference?

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If people here want to have a conversation with AI they’re better off just skipping the middle man and pose their questions directly to AI and not the poster they’re replying to.

Say it aint so said:

Easy. No different with Blacks in the south and Hispanics in Texas, you go to the census and find out where those young white women live, and then you gerrymander those districts till those districts look like Jackson Pollock paintings.

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Or deport them back to Womenistan.

rambot said:

If a woman came to my door with a crying child I'd slam rhe door in their face and say, nope nothing for you.


Pretty awful when I say it like that hey? Maybe the church could learn a lesson there.

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And if she was the hundredth such woman to come across your door? 10,000? You seem to believe that this is the only needy person who is coming to these churches asking for help, which is almost certainly not the case.

d taylor said:

The predestined us to adoption is not to eternal life, but that believers would be adopted to Jesus as sons

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Is adoption not eternal? What's the difference?

Do you have a response to the argument of the OP?

The verdict in the case of a Christian man in Malta who is facing potential fines and prison time for giving his testimony in 2022 about leaving homosexuality was delayed for the second time last week.

Matthew Grech, 36, was scheduled to receive a ruling last Thursday in his case, which has dragged on for three years. His lawyer received an email at the last minute informing him that the verdict had been postponed, according to the London-based nonprofit Christian Concern.

Grech has been engaged in a legal battle since he was criminally charged in 2022 for giving his testimony, which was allegedly an example of discussing and promoting so-called conversion practices in violation of Article 3 of Malta's Affirmation of Sexual Orientation, Gender and Gender Expression Act.

If convicted, Grech faces €5,000 (over $5,700) in fines or up to five months in prison. Passed in 2016, the law makes it "unlawful for any person" to "advertise conversion practices." It was the first of its kind in Europe and has served as a model for similar legislation in other countries.

Continued below.

Yeshua HaDerekh said:

Always have been in that respect...other than Yeshua coming through the line of David.

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Some of Jesus' last words on the cross - "it has been fulfilled", "it has been accomplished", or "it is finished".

Some believed, most didn't.

A Christian social worker in the United Kingdom has appealed a tribunal ruling that upheld an employer’s decision to withdraw a mental health job offer after discovering his views on homosexuality.

The man claims his religious beliefs were the reason he was denied the position.

The case of Felix Ngole, 47, was heard late last month by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London. He is appealing a 2024 decision by Employment Judge Jonathan Brain, in which the rescinding of a job offer by Touchtone Leeds was deemed lawful, despite the court acknowledging the action potentially amounted to discrimination.

He and his legal team argue that the tribunal's ruling effectively bars Christians with traditional views on sexuality from working in professions that serve LGBT individuals and sets a "dangerous precedent."

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Carl Emerson said:

21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

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Where did Jesus say keeping the commandments was not enough in these verses? The commandments the rich young ruler said he kept were not the commandments about loving God. Which is why I beleive Jesus was testing him over.

Are you saying Jesus was indicating we don't have to keep the commandments on how we love God and can break the verse first commandment, the same one this young ruler broke when he choose his great riches over Jesus?

He even indicated he went away sad because he had great possessions. To me this just shows, we can still mean to want to love God and want to follow Him, but on our own terms, putting our will over God's I do not beleive is going to work out any different. He wasn't a follower of God, He went away, Jesus never stopped him either. Sounds a lot like what Jesus said plainly in Mat7:21-23

This is not an example of Jesus saying keeping the commandments is not enough, the rich ruler wasn't keeping them all, just the ones he wanted. Jesus plainly stated, if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments Mat19:17 Its up to us if we choose to believe His plain teachings or not.

DALLAS — Not unlike 2,000 years ago when the Apostle Paul was divinely inspired to pen his letter to the church in Philippi, Tom “N.T.” Wright wants to remind everyone that the Gospel is still unchained.

The 76-year-old New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian and Anglican bishop kicked off a three-day conference on Paul’s letter to the Philippians at Park Cities Baptist Church, where 650 attendees from Texas and across the U.S. filled the historic church sanctuary.

Wright quickly zeroed in on the letter’s prison context, noting that while most scholars agree Paul was writing to the first-century assembly in Philippi, a Roman colony located in northern modern-day Greece, there is still some debate on whether the prison from which Paul wrote was located in Ephesus, modern-day Turkey, or Rome.

What’s indisputable, said Wright, is that Paul did not consider himself or the good news of Jesus Christ bound by his imprisonment.

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reddogs said:

Well, looks like the new Pope wants to get closer to the Protestant denominations. He puts out a decree that firmly rejects the claim that Mary is Co-Redemptrix...

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It's not about "the Protestant denominations," it's about the word of God in Scripture.

The rejection of a non-Scriptural doctrine (Co-Redemptrix) puts one in agreement with the God-breathed (theopnuestos, 2 Tim 3:16) word of God written.

is anyone willing to be an accountability partner to me and me in return. I have been having a bunch of falls to lust for a while now and just want to break free from it.

FredVB said:

In the new covenant, what we are to obey is to be in our hearts that we act on those things.

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The Scriptures seems clear....

We are told to obey God's laws in the New Covenant Heb8:10 they went from tablets on stone, to tablets of the heart 2Cor3:3 not changing the words as God promised Psa89:34 Mat5:18 but established on better promises Heb8:6

The OC is indeed obsolete, that's why God wrote a new one and told us what is was established on Heb8:6 and what it still contains Heb8:10

ThatRobGuy said:

Tim Kaine - who's in a state with over 100k federal workers - made a statement (justifying his support for voting in favor of re-opening) to the effect of "people are expecting their elected officials to vote to reopen, and those who don't, could very well be replaced at the ballot box"

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That's easy for him to say when he's got a 3-year buffer to the next election. I find it curious that no Democrats up for re-election in '26 voted for it (Durbin and Shaheen are retiring).