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The Venting Thread

It's crazy that you'd have to wait until Monday to get back in. There's seriously no one there on the weekend who could get you into your classroom to retrieve them?
I would have to make a call to someone with a master key—either a janitor or a school administrator. I don't wanna put anyone out of their way on a holiday weekend, especially when the weather is this terrible.
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The End Time Puzzle

View attachment 373813

+1 on this comment. :) Couldn't agree more. When bombs go down, we go up. :)
The so-called rapture occurs when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead (aka the sheep and goats judgment, the white throne judgment, and the final judgment). The people who are still on earth will rise to meet Jesus and his saints in the air, and then they will follow Jesus to the Kidron Valley (Valley of Jehoshaphat) for this final judgment. In other words, this rapture will occur at the end of time.
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Today I learned...

Today I tasted my first banana "heart." Which basically is the flower of the banana that can be cooked and eaten. It was wrapped in a salad dressing that looked like shredded chicken from a catfood can. I tasted this mainly Asian food, and found it to be quite good.

"A banana heart is the fleshy, teardrop-shaped flower that hangs at the end of a banana cluster. It can be eaten raw or cooked and is a traditional food in many parts of Asia and India. The edible parts, which have a meaty texture similar to an artichoke heart, require preparation like peeling the outer layers and soaking in an acidulated water solution to reduce bitterness and browning before use in dishes like salads, curries, and soups"

Here is someone else who blogged about it (with photo) Hearts of Banana
Interesting! I think the most interesting food I've ever eaten was a century egg. My Developmental Psychology professor, a woman from Taiwan, offered century eggs to the whole class, but only a couple of us were willing to try them. I felt very proud of my bravery lol. But in defense of those who opted not to try, the stench was absolutely terrible.

IMG_4814-2.jpg


I started a new book today. A memoir written by Brian Johnson, singer of AC/DC.

When the band was touring in 2015, Brian had developed an ear problem that would not go away. He finally saw the doctor. The doctor explained to him that the fever he had during the tour caused fluid build up in his ears. Then the untreated fluid had crystallized! The doctor told him he had to be operated on and that he had to use a chisel to get the crystals out! :oops:
My dad loves AC/DC. Back when he coached my travel basketball team, he always played "Thunderstruck" during practices. And oof, that does not sound pleasant. I had no idea that doctors using chisels to break crystallized earwax was a thing. Very bizarre. There are so many things that can go wrong with the human body; it's a miracle that it works as well as it does most of the time.
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Are there still Apostles today?

Paul stated the entire group of people and their roles as they spread the Gospel through the centuries.
Correct - he never said it would end.
In other words, there is a train of evidence and they were all appointed for a specific purpose.
Still are (everyone of them)
Just because the first few are no longer in service there still remains those who carry the message under different roles, a gift by His Holy Spirit.
That is where we differ I don't believe the 'first dew are no longer in service".
As far as demarcation, there is no need for that as there is a seamless connection in the Body of Christ and in the Kingdom of God.
Correct - and each are still needed today.
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Are the Jews Israel, or is the church Israel? Or does it depend on the context of the passage?

I have already been through this a few times. You refuse to understand the historical context. The destruction of the temple and the ejection of the Jews from Jerusalem makes what Jesus said in Matt. 23:38 true. The cultural Jew pushing the law and killing the Christians that lived by faith not by the law finished then. Acts 21 is no longer possible.

When you say Acts 21 is no longer possible, are you answering yes to my clarifying question? I just want to understand where you are coming from.
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Chat Thread - Millennials Edition

So true, every older generation complains about the younger but also true that the younger generations today have been screwed up by tech that we're only now realizing the effects of what we did (social media, etc).

What generation are you from?

My music style has changed drastically. As a teen, I liked rock, Pop, and ska but now, I prefer modern classical, Christian rock, and even some Christian rap as long as it isn't mumble rap.
Indeed, I'm from 1970 in Europe - and grew up without television, telephone or internet. So brought up with Classical music mainly (and church organ music :) ) but then learned to appreciate any style of music. I like gripping melodies or irresistible rhythms, listen to English, Dutch, Hebrew and even Arabic (Christian songs) .. I studied/work in IT (developing AI applications now) - it's quite a contrast with my childhood.

Church-wise I've seen (Dutch) Reformed churches (Calvinism), Baptist churches, Brethern churches, Anglican churches, Evangelical/Pentecostal, Messianic felllowships, Roman Catholic churches, ethnic churches. Church boundaries don't matter to me anymore although I do have my preferences of course. Understanding what I believe and why churches believe what they teach, studying the Bible, its history and Church/theology history is one of my passions. Yet knowing God and His Son Yeshua from the heart is infinitely more important than knowing about God and all those dry facts. It's my journey in life.
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Hail storms

I suppose I should add the big concern is whether this is going to become an increasing occurrence with climate change.

Insurance premiums have been going up steadily over the last few years, and natural disasters have a lot to do with it.

This link shows what is called "disaster activations" in Queensland since 2010.


The hailstorm which hit us, and most severely a suburbs called Springfield Lakes, is shown under 2020.

Far North Queensland Low Pressure System, 15 - 26 April 2021
Southern Queensland Severe Weather, 20 – 31 March 2021
Tropical Cyclone Niran and Associated Low Pressure System, 25 February – 3 March 2021
Far North Queensland Tropical Low, 24 – 30 January 2021
Tropical Cyclone Imogen and Associated Low Pressure System, 2 – 12 January 2021
Western Queensland Thunderstorms 21-30 December 2020
South East Queensland Coastal Trough, 12-15 December 2020
Gumlow Bushfire, 21- 26 November 2020
K’gari (formerly Fraser Island) Bushfires, 9 November 2020 – 23 December 2020
South East Queensland Hailstorm, 31 October 2020
Kooralbyn Bushfire, 12 - 19 October 2020

The insurance bill from that alone was $980 million AUD.


Within 24 hours of 31 October, the Insurance Council of Australia declared the natural disaster a catastrophe with the damage bill currently at $980 million. Insurers have received more than 42,000 claims as at 23 June 2021.
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The bible isn't against LGBT

1 and 2 are pretty widely known, and will appear in many commentaries. Mostly. Not including things like connection of Lev 18:22 with pagan temples.

However most scholars that I've read, even affirming ones, would not agree with 3, and regard ansenokoitai as a conjecture, but a likely one. They would not agree with the post's concept of nature. While Paul doesn't give details, his near contemporary, Philo, is clear that same-gender sex is against nature, with nature being a kind of ambiguous term meaning partly God's intention and occurrence in nature. As part of the argument he cites the (incorrect) fact that animals don't do same-gender sex. While this isn't true, it clarifies his idea of nature as something more general than the specific individual. See 1 Cor 11:14 for another exampe of Paul's use of nature. Also dubious by our understanding, but still clearly a general concept and not an individual's specific nature.

Aside from people who I would call advocates (i.e. people who don't otherwise appear as scholars), pretty much everyone thinks Paul accepts the then-current Jewish condemnation of same-gender sex. That they also didn't accept the idea that some people were only attracted to same-gender sex is one possible explanation (Philo specifically denies that sexual orientation exists), as is the association with these ideas with stereotyped masculinity. But there's little question that Paul would have accepted the widespread rejection of same-gender sex, and would not have imagined exceptions.

I would cite Bill Loader's book "Sex: Then and Now." He's done work in Jewish attitudes towards sex. That book draws on his research but has a more popular tone.

Yes, I'm already aware of all of this from the scholar that I also have and read. Thank you, though.
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Christian documentarian banned from filming at historic site over 'religious affiliation'

I heard an atheist that said he became christian, not because of preaching,
but because believing in the devil, seeing so much twisted stuff make them think the devil was real, while of course thinking God should be real too.
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Struggling with scrupulosity.

Hello brothers and sisters. I have followed Christ for many years I have struggled with OCD since I was a young teen. At first it was having to say things a certain amount of times for it to feel right. That abated and it did not rear its ugly head it I was 35. Sitt at home with my wife, all of a sudden, I started having blasph thoughts about the Holy Spirit. It scared me to death. We didny know what was going on and didn’t go to the hospital For an evaluation. After about a yea, I agreed to go into an inpatient psychiatric hospital. at that point, they didn’t really know what was going on and treated me for simple anxiety. The medication helped and was able come off a lot of it after a while. At the beginning of this year it returned exce on steroids this time. I have never had these kinds of thoughts in my entire life. Along with it was an urge or an anger or hate towards God. I don’t understand any of this even though I have known about scrupulosity for a while now. I don’t want these thoughts and feelings but at times it feels as if I am an apostate or have committed the unpardonable sin. I feel lost, God doesn’t talk to me anymore. I can’t read the Bible without having the worst thought. I am on prozac an one other medication. It slows the thoughts do but it makes you not care about anything. I feel like someone has switched my brain with an unbeliever . I feel hopeless. It’s been 11 months and my faith is waning. The thoughts may have slowed but these urges are just not going away. I know John Bunyan had issues like this. I know that scrupulosity can flip your beliefs and make you question everything I am in counseling but they are having me try to do things that are scary. Only God knows about my soul but I want God to heal me and restore my soul. I believe in miracles as I have witnessed them before. I grew up in a very strict denomination which really was more about works than faith. Couple that with a an austere father I really hated as a teenager. I refuse to give up though. I covet your prayers.
Welcome!
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Suspect in DC Ambush of 2 National Guardsmen Is Afghan National Who Entered US During Biden Admin

I use terms like "I gather" and "the suspicion is" for a reason.

Someone with real expertise would have made those checks in ways that would not have been apparent to people with real expertise.


And then you tell us about someone without real expertise.
By 'anything to back that up', I mean an article or a statement from someone with particular knowledge or such. That is all. I think it would be helpful to have that to understand the situation.
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