New Posts

lucypevensie · 2025-10-07T17:23:09-0500

Do you suppose a veterinarian would find it useful?

lucypevensie · 2025-10-07T17:21:25-0500

Want to hear a tale?

TORAE

RandyPNW · 2025-10-07T17:18:50-0500

dms1972 said:
No problem. Your reply was helpful, as I don't know a lot about Amillenialism.

Do many systematic theologians include the book of Revelation in their theology. I read that Calvin didn't attempt a commentary on it either. That could be because his health wasn't good near the end of his life and he perhaps was finishing his Institutes.

Any thoughts on the late Dallas Willard in regard to Eschatology?

I only just read briefly about him. Apparently he was big on philosophy at USC, heading that dept. And he was also recognized for his contribution to Christianity in a few books. Sounds like he was a good fellow, though he taught at a very liberal university. Somehow, he managed!

I also was interested in epistemology, as was a major focus of his, apparently. And I agree with some of the statements attributed to him, which involves effort but not earning (Salvation). And he pursued the fruit of the Spirit. That's definitely a plus.

I don't think of eschatology being included in Systematic Theology, though I could be wrong in thinking this. When I think of Revelation I consider how controversial the book originally was, and how many different approaches have been taken in trying to interpret it.

I personally think Revelation speaks of a literal 3.5 years at the end of the age under a literal Antichrist. But it was written for all ages because all ages have antichrists and opposition of various kinds.

I think many of the symbols represent something literal that we do not know yet. It is biblical imagery designed to show the cosmic struggle between Christ and Antichrist.

Tuur · 2025-10-07T17:13:07-0500

partinobodycular said:
Having been an epistemological solipsist for over fifty years I've often wondered about how to tell whether the world around me is physically real or a simulation. The laws of physics seem to support the possibility of a simulation, but can't definitively answer the question, so I've been left to look for another means of determining whether I'm living in a simulation.

To that end I often wondered whether a character in a video game such as 'Grand Theft Auto' would be able to tell, simply by the behavior of the characters around it, that the world in which it was living wasn't 'real'. Would the fact that the characters seemed to act irrationally be a tip off to the possibility that it was living in a simulation? Or would it simply accept the simulation as real no matter how irrationally the characters in it behaved, or what the background story was.

I ask this because more and more the world seems to be behaving more like a poorly written video game than a naturally evolving physical reality. For instance, Donald Trump seems to be such a stereotypical narcissistic villain that it's hard to believe that he wasn't purposefully created just for this role, and his popularity, in spite of his obvious character flaws seems to defy reason.

So the question is, does reality pass the Turing test? Does it act like a freely evolving natural world, or does it act more like an purposely designed simulation?

Whether we live in a virtual universe is one of those interesting ideas that, unfortunately, like solipsism, is of little practical value. Whether or not it's "real" in an outside sense, it's certainly real to us. How things work would be part of the code, so unless you could compare it to what's outside, looking for clues there is meaningless. So is applying to what seems reasonable to us to look for "flaws." Reasoning is much like a Rashomon problem, with what seems reasonable to one may not seem reasonable to another. Reasoning is influenced by priorities, which vary not only culturally but individually, and by individual understanding of how things work in the universe in general and culture in particular. Ultimately, unless we can look in from the outside, there's no way of telling if what we experience is a virtual universe or not.

essentialsaltes · 2025-10-07T17:10:51-0500

mark46 said:
If you won't give me what I want, then let's have single combat. ROFL

Speaker Johnson could open the House for business, rather than extending their vacation.

johansen · 2025-10-07T17:00:58-0500

BelieveItOarKnot said:
Actually the devil killed Jesus, just so ya know

No, jesus laid his life down and picked it up again.

johansen · 2025-10-07T16:59:48-0500

Lost Witness said:
My apologies but this is hard to follow as skin complection for a man from the middle east being darker doesn't scream sin to me
So please elaborate

Dark complexion is independent of skin color

Niels · 2025-10-07T16:57:42-0500

Larniavc said:
I get that feeling when I think about how great my life is. It’s not exclusive to Christians.

Feeling good or bad about life is human, but how do you know that you are experiencing the specific feeling she described? It's pretty detailed.

Larniavc said:
It’s dopamine receptors going off.

Systems have components and processes, but that's beside the point. We wouldn't say a shirt isn't actually purple because we are aware that it contains dyes that reflect a combination of red and blue wavelengths. Understanding how purple works doesn't make the shirt less purple.

RDKirk · 2025-10-07T16:53:59-0500

partinobodycular said:
Collectively the group tends to be more accurate than any random individual on their own, therefore information about obscure events will tend to have a greater margin of error due to the limited number of available sources. Information about general knowledge subjects on the other hand tend to be more widely available, with accurate information more likely to be cited within the group, and misinformation more likely to be described as such.

Although AI might not be able to 'reason' on its own, given sufficient sources it will tend to reflect the reasoning done by others.

It does try to evaluate sources, but that can become difficult for subjects where misinformation can come even from sources that ought to be reputable.

Sometimes you have to tell it go back and check more sources.

Hentenza · 2025-10-07T16:49:00-0500

Apple Sky said:
Thanks Hentenza, but you still don't see the rocket go straight up.

The trajectory always arches because the earth is round and rotating. Just like airplane routes always arch for the same reason. The rocket launch is at t-6 hours right now. I did forget that you don’t live in the US so for you just add 6 hours to your present time to watch the launch.

Say it aint so · 2025-10-07T16:43:05-0500

Nithavela said:
Considering that none of the crimes mentioned are even close to what happened during the January 6 riot, I don't see the connection.

If you pick enough people that have a penchant for, let's say antisocial behaviour, a certain number of them will offend in the following time.

I don't see why some people were released while there were still outstanding warrants, though.

One more time. "The number one goal in sentencing should be to protect society." Agreed.

Michie · 2025-10-07T16:31:47-0500

October is designated by the Catholic Church as the Month of the Rosary, and Oct. 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Here are seven common myths and facts about this devotion to Our Lady:

1. Only Catholics can pray the rosary.

False. While rosaries are typically associated with Catholics, non-Catholics can certainly pray the rosary — and in fact, many credit it to their conversion. Even some Protestants recognize the rosary as a valid form of prayer.

2. Praying the rosary is idolatry.

False. Some have objections to the rosary, claiming it idolizes Mary and is overly repetitive.

Just like any practice, the rosary can be abused — just as someone might idolize a particular pastor or priest, a form of worship, or fasting. But the rosary itself is not a form of idolatry.

The rosary is not a prayer to Mary — it is a meditation on the life of Christ revealed in five mysteries “with the purposes of drawing the person praying deeper into reflecting on Christ’s joys, sacrifices, sufferings, and the glorious miracles of his life.”

Continued below.

Common myths and facts about the rosary

October is designated by the Catholic Church as the Month of the Rosary. Here are seven common myths and facts about this devotion to Our Lady.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Belk · 2025-10-07T16:28:24-0500

essentialsaltes said:
View attachment 371219

Guess that is a "No" to Boebert then.

essentialsaltes · 2025-10-07T16:25:38-0500

essentialsaltes said:
[In Chicago, two people were arrested for allegedly ramming fed vehicles. One US citizen woman in the car was armed, shot by CBP, drove herself to the hospital and taken into FBI custody upon her release.]

Oh, those ICE witnesses...

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney alleged.

Body-camera video of a Border Patrol agent involved in the shooting of a woman who was allegedly chasing agents in Brighton Park over the weekend shows an officer saying, “Do something, [ladydog]” before pulling over and shooting the woman five times, the woman’s attorney said in federal court Monday.

In the charges filed Sunday, prosecutors notably did not mention a loaded gun in Martinez’s car that was referenced in a previous statement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. But in court Monday, Hennessy said Martinez had a loaded firearm on the passenger side of her car but never brandished it. Martinez’s attorney, Parente, said she has a valid firearm and concealed-carry license.

Parente also offered to play an agent’s body-camera video that shows the shooting, noting prosecutors did not show the video that he claimed disputes the government’s version of the shooting.

--

After the shooting, Martinez drove herself to Big Rig Oil Pros at 35th Street and California Avenue, parked her bullet-riddled Nissan SUV in the parking lot and walked inside, the shop manager told the Sun-Times on Monday.

Employees led a bleeding Martinez to a chair in the shop’s office, said the manager, who asked not to be named.

A trucker at the shop called 911 as workers frantically grabbed blue shop towels and patches to place on her wounds, the manager said. The shop manager spoke with the 911 operator and said, “Send somebody quick because this lady is bleeding profusely. ... I mean, it was instant puddles.”

Police and paramedics showed up a few minutes later, he said. As paramedics placed tourniquets on Martinez’s leg and arm, a bullet fell out of her arm and onto the shop’s floor, the manager said.

Dan Perez · 2025-10-07T16:21:59-0500

Always in His Presence said:
What means, up to you?

It does not have meaning the way you post it -

And I means that. I would explain. what I. see what 1 Cor 10:2 means and you can see how I see that verse , is what

I mean and. nothing more ??

dan p

Christworshiper · 2025-10-07T16:20:56-0500

johnnypapa said:
I believe I have the same wood rosary. Does it have a St. Benedict medal?

Yes, the small pocket rosary does. Im going to give it to my mother.

essentialsaltes · 2025-10-07T16:18:27-0500

essentialsaltes said:
'Not an accident': Trump's GOP gets blame as rural hospitals start to close

Rural US town outraged as only hospital forced to shut: ‘I would have died without it’

Nearly 28,000 people relied on Glenn Medical center for its services, but now they will have to travel more than 30 miles for care

The only hospital in this agricultural county [Glenn CA], not far from the rice fields and almond orchards, many of the area’s 28,000 residents have a story about how the hospital saved them, or a loved one, said Lauren Still, the medical center’s chief administrative officer.

Glenn Medical center could not keep its doors open after the federal government moved this year to eliminate its critical access designation, a special status for hospitals that helps ensure access to emergency health care in rural communities, officials said.

The decision means that tens of thousands of people will have to travel more than 30 miles for emergency medical care, driving on sometimes winding country roads, behind the tractors and heavy equipment used in area agriculture or, if they’re lucky, in one of the county’s two ambulances.

Capped at 25 beds as a critical access hospital, its capabilities were limited compared with more advanced facilities in Sacramento or Chico, but it was a lifeline for patients, the majority of whom are on Medicare or Medicaid, said Still and local officials.

dms1972 · 2025-10-07T16:14:46-0500

They do this interview a member of the congregation thing from time to time, in two or three of the churches i have been too, but really, its not a testimony as I recall them from my early days in going to Mission Halls. It's focus is wrong, its often awkward mainly because of the way the questions are asked, and I have yet to listen to one that gives the interviewee space to testify. Its more a brief bit about what he does for a living, if he or she is married and has a family and how they came to be going to that church. Yes, there is sometimes a bit about what the Lord is doing in their life, but unfortunately making that part of an interview doesn't help it to come forward. Not everyone has a dramatic testimony, some people are in the process of returning to the Lord. Some are in the process of conversion, some are not yet saved, some are stuck. I would not want to be asked to take part in one of these interviews to be honest.

Strong in Him · 2025-10-07T16:08:37-0500

keras said:
Where is Timothy now? If he did actually become immortal then, why did he remain on earth as Pauls helper?

Having eternal life is not the same as having immortality - not to me, anyway.
I have eternal life. Meaning that I am no longer spiritually dead and separated from God. If my body were to die tonight, I am reconciled to God so I will live with him forever.
No one's body lives forever.

keras said:
All of your "proofs', can be seen for what they are; the Promise of becoming immortal at the final Judgment.

A number of the verses I quoted said that whoever believes, has - present tense - eternal life.

keras said:
Our lives are; to God, all about testing and the choices we make.

Our lives, to God, are precious because he made us - and every human being - in his image.

keras said:
He has set up our world in a very clever way, so we all can choose our path in life.

I agree that he gives us the ability to choose.
This isn't because he has "set the world up in a clever way" - it's an ability he has given to us. God chooses, and we are made in his image, so we can choose too.

keras said:
but those who do acknowledge God, keep His Commandments and believe in Jesus, will be given Eternal life

Scripture says that those who believe in Jesus have eternal life.
We don't have to go through life thinking, "have I done enough/achieved enough/believed enough to be given eternal life?" That is how unbelievers think - "I've lived a decent life, surely I will be accepted in heaven?"
Christian assurance is knowing that we belong to the Shepherd, that we are God's child and that nothing can snatch us from his hand nor separate us from his love.

essentialsaltes · 2025-10-07T16:05:48-0500

Stories are piling up of American citizens and those otherwise legally in the United States being arrested or detained by federal agents carrying out warrantless raids.

Americans being stopped, brutalized, and detained by federal agents have become known as the "Kavanaugh Stop," [after] U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote in a ruling that American citizens were not being swept up in the federal raids.

"If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the individual go."

[Clearly that doesn't describe the OP. Or many other incidents.]

One such incident happened last week when hundreds of federal agents descended upon an apartment building in Chicago, detaining and handcuffing people inside, including children. Over and over, American citizens tried to tell agents who they were, but were ignored. The ACLU of Illinois revealed in an interview with MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace that one man asked to see the warrant granted for the raid and demanded a lawyer. He received neither.

It's unclear whether a warrant was even obtained, wrote Legum, noting that feds haven't responded to requests to view one.

JulieB67 · 2025-10-07T16:03:06-0500

BelieveItOarKnot said:
Pretty sure only 1 of our positions accepts every Word of God applies to everyone and it wasn't yours

So this verse applies to you?

Revelation 20:15 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

essentialsaltes · 2025-10-07T15:57:02-0500

5 eye-popping revelations in newly released filing of Smartmatic's case against Fox News

Breathless headline, but...

First, according to the document, new details include claims by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the founder of Fox's parent company, News Corp. In a March 27, 2024, court hearing, Murdoch stated that he didn't know how to send text messages during the 2020 election.

The direct quote is that Murdoch said he “didn’t know how to text at the time and he was later taught to do so by someone." The problem, Smartmatic's filing shows, is that there are text messages between Murdoch and other Fox employees, including host Sean Hannity and Fox CEO Suzanne Scott.

Murdoch was in a group text with Scott, Hannity, and his son, Lachlan Murdoch. The younger turned over the text messages on his phone that included the group text, though his father, Scott and Hannity did not have those messages on their phones.

Murdoch isn't the only one; top Fox officials ignored legal requirements to preserve documents, even when asked to do so.

“[Lauren Petterson] testified that Fox’s legal department instructed her to change the autodelete setting [on her phone] [from never] to 30 days," the filing says.

Hannity said that his attorneys told him to preserve all of his documents in December of 2020, but he continued to delete his texts manually every day.

Another host, Laura Ingraham, also suddenly didn't have any text messages from the "as-ordered time period." According to her testimony, Igraham "do[esn't] know when [her text messages] got deleted from [her] phone."

MarkRohfrietsch · 2025-10-07T15:56:15-0500

The Liturgist said:
Oh you have beautiful vestments, you and Mark’s church both are liturgically resplendant!

I find myself wishing there was an award that could be given to churches that do a particularly good job at liturgy, so as to recognize the appreciation of liturgical beauty, but not an award the awarding of which would be any kind of show, but rather just something that would pop out of no where to recognize the clergy, choirs and chancery or vestry or equivalent internal management structure of a church whose liturgy exuded beauty, as a means of glorifying God.

By the way I increasingly support open source Bible translations and those already in the public domain; one thing I admire about the Episcopal Church is historically they released all of their editions of the Book of Common Prayer into the public domain.

Also if memory serves, the Lutheran adaptation of the BCP that formed the basis for various historical Lutheran liturgies in the US such as the 1941 Lutheran hymnal was in the public domain, I think its called the “Common Service” and was a modification of the BCP to meet the specific Eucharistic and liturgical needs of the Lutheran churches, which at the time were primarily celebrating the Divine Service in the languages of the Old Country, such as German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and so on - especially in German. I wonder if any German speaking Lutheran churches still exist in North America or if German is now used primarily by Old Order Mennonites, the related Amish group, and other Radical Reformed groups? There is a seriously endangered Lutheran speaking community in Texas which I don’t think is affiliated with the Mennonites, but it could be.

Of course we do have a few German and Scandinavian language churches such as those operated for mariners, but unfortunately in the case of the Scandinavian Lutheran churches if I recall all of these are associated with the churches in their own countries. If I recall the only Lutheran church in Europe that is part of the ILC along with the LCMS and the LCC is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia. Interestingly, since the downfall of the former USSR, while the liberal Estonian church has not been able to substantially increase its membership vs. the large number of secular atheists who fell victim to the massive Soviet propaganda campaign and its aggressive subversion of various churches (with minority churches like the Lutherans being much more heavily scrutinized), the more traditional Latvian church has regained 30% of the population of that country, which is a huge victory for European Christianity.

More than just the Latvians; SELK in Germany; Mission Diocese of Finland, Iceland and Lapland; Free Lutheran Church in France (they use or Canadian French translation of LSB, as do a bunch of French speaking Anglicans in Quebec), Mission Province of Sweden; Ukrainian Lutheran Church; Ingrian Lutheran Church in Siberia, and a whole ship-load of others. LOL Oops, forgot the small, confessional Synod in England. Some of these we are in full fellowship with, some we are in discussion with.

My Pastor's former parish in Oshawa just installed a Latvian Pastor.

Confessional Lutheranism has never been this vibrant in many years!!

BTW, we love the translations that we gleaned from the BoCP, but there are some issues that remained and even crept into LSB. One of which is in the Te Deum from Matins.

New Posts

New Posts

1. Only Catholics can pray the rosary.​

2. Praying the rosary is idolatry.​

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney alleged.​

'Not an accident': Trump's GOP gets blame as rural hospitals start to close​

Rural US town outraged as only hospital forced to shut: ‘I would have died without it’​

5 eye-popping revelations in newly released filing of Smartmatic's case against Fox News​

Filter

Forum statistics

Share this page

1. Only Catholics can pray the rosary.

2. Praying the rosary is idolatry.

Body-camera video appears to contradict the government’s claim that Marimar Martinez drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorney alleged.

'Not an accident': Trump's GOP gets blame as rural hospitals start to close

Rural US town outraged as only hospital forced to shut: ‘I would have died without it’

5 eye-popping revelations in newly released filing of Smartmatic's case against Fox News