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  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

Adam

I know there are Christians out there that do not hold the view the first 11 chapters of Genesis are literal history, Adam was not literal, God did not create everything in 6 days ets...because the science disproves this.

If you do not believe in literal Adam, you then cannot believe in literal 2nd Adam, Jesus Christ the Saviour. Because if Adam did not exist, then the fall did not happen and there is no need for a Saviour.

You cannot believe in a metaphorical Adam and then believe in literal resurrection of Christ, the second Adam who came to fix what the first Adam broke. You also have problem explaining Romans 5:12-21

P.S. I know the view of metaphorical Adam is held by very few, but it has been bothering me deeply that people believe this, and I am studying Romans 5 and this is on my heart.

The fall does not hinge on a literal Adam. Many conservative evangelicals and Bible scholars acknowledge this. If you think their number is "very few", I would recommend investigating the topic a bit more. Have you at least read the works of Tremper Longman III and John Walton?

Others that might be worth reading, Bruce Waltke, Robert Alter, Gordon Wenham, Nahum Sarna, Pete Enns. Or if you prefer more theological content, NT Wright or John Collins. Among others.

These are all very well known, many of which are conservative evangelicals that hold to the inerrancy of scripture.

And there are broader professional sources that support positions of a non historical Adam as well. Bible commentaries: NICOT, TOTC, the Oxford handbook of the Pentateuch, and more.

So, the position is not held by "very few", you just have to broaden your horizons to see the substantial body of Evangelical Old Testament scholars.

In academic biblical studies, a significant proportion of respected scholars interpret Adam as archetypal, symbolic, or theological, not necessarily historical.
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PA Governor's Mansion Attacked by Arsonist

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro faces subpoena over private home security upgrades after firebombing

A GOP-led committee in the state legislature voted Tuesday to issue three subpoenas seeking records related to, among other things, roughly $1 million in security upgrades to his personal home in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The Intergovernmental Operations Committee is also seeking documents concerning "several charter flights arranged for the Governor's Office" in mid-January.

"The Pennsylvania State Police and independent security experts conducted thorough reviews to pinpoint security failures, review protocols, identify gaps, and make concrete recommendations for improvements to the Governor’s security. As a direct result of those recommendations, security improvements have been put in place to keep the Governor and his family safe," the spokesperson said. "The Shapiro Administration has repeatedly responded to lawmakers' inquiries on this matter and publicly released a substantial amount of information about the security improvements put in place by PSP without compromising those security protocols."
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Zions New Children

I am sure they did that because they were showing the sacrificial love that Jesus showed, taught and embodied.

What evidence do you have that they were expecting "the mark of the beast?"
How do you know what their motives were; were you there?

See acts 2:16-21 and understand the meaning of the "day of the lord".to Israel.

It has a very specific meaning

You can also refer to 1 peter 1:3-9 for the last day trial he was telling Israel about, 1 peter was written at around the acts 8 time period.

Then 2 peter which was written near the end of peter life, he had to explain why that day of the lord did not arrive, and urge them to read Pauls ephistles for more info.
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Rising number of Brits leaving Christianity turning to paganism

A growing number of Britons who leave Christianity are turning to paganism or other forms of spiritualism instead of converting to other major religions, a new study has found.

The survey, released by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life, questioned 2,774 adults who self-identified as having "experienced a change in their religious belief," seeking to provide insight into "how, why, and in what direction Britons are moving between faiths, spiritualities, and non-belief."

The researchers conclude that "Britain is not secularising in a straightforward way" but rather "undergoing a re-composition of belief, a shift away from inherited institutional structures towards personalised, practice-based, and wellbeing-oriented forms of faith."

Forty-four percent of respondents said they left Christianity, while only 17% said they had newly become Christians. Meanwhile, 39% of respondents said they had become an atheist or agnostic.

Continued below.
This often happens when the church waters down it's postion on current cultural and church issues.
When people see there is no difference between their watered down religion and the world, they figure, why bother?
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Man acquitted of stabbing by Portland jury — after victim said slur following the attack

That's what he claims...he also claims that he was approaching in (what appears to be an aggressive attack stance) to attempt to trade the knife for cigarettes.

View attachment 374221


If we're being honest, given the guy's previous criminal record of stabbing, and roughing up store clerks. In all likelihood, it was probably more of a "give me those smokes!" (holding the knife to imply "or else")


...but even if we operate on the assumption that the defendant's statements on that were 100% accurate, I would hope you're being facetious here. Someone yelling a slur from 20 feet away as a person is moving towards them with a brandished weapon wouldn't be justification for assaulting them with said weapon. (especially in an open-air environment in a state that establishes a duty to retreat)
I bet there's an uber-radical leftist somewhere saying, man, I'm glad he got that pack of smokes, and knifed that fascist nazi.
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WHY PAULS GOSPEL THE MOST IMPORTANT GOSPEL. fIN. THE WORLD. !!

# 1. FOR /// GAR is a CONJUNATION

#2 I. ///. EGO. is a PERSONAL POSSESSESIVE PRONOUN. in. the NOMINATIVE CASE. in. the SINGULAR

#3 NEITHER ///. OUDE is an. ADVERB

#4 RECEIVED ///. PARALANBANO. is in. the AORIST TENSE in the ACTIVE VOICE inv the INDICATIVE MOOD , means you better believe it

#5 IT /// AUTOS. is a PERSONAL POSSESSIVE PRONOUN in. the SINGULAT in. the NEUTER , N meaning MALE and FEMALE

#6 OF /// PARA is a PREPOSTION

#7 MAN ///. ANTROTRPOSin vv the GENITIVE CASE in the b. SINGULAR

#8. NEITHER. /// OUTE. is a CONJUNCAION

#9 WAS I TAUGHT. ///. DIDASKO. in. the AORIST TENSE in. the PASSIVE VOICE. , means it is CHRIST working , in. the. INDICATIVE MOOD

in the SINGULAR

#10. BUT /// ALLA. is a CONJUNCATION

#11 BY /// DIA. is a PREPOSITION

#12 THE REVELATION ///. APOKALYPSIS. in vv the GENITIVE CASE. in. the SINGULAR

#13 0F. JESUS. ///. IOSOUS. in. the GENITIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 14 CHRIST ///. CHRISTOS in vv the GENITIVE CASE in v the SINGULAR.

#. A And PAUL. is the ONLY GOSPEL. that was given by. Christ himself to Paul

# B. And it is the ONLY way to be SAVED FOR TODAY. , PERIOD

# C. No. one can be saved by WAYTER BAPTISM

# D Paul n. never preached to be BORN AGAIN

# E And PAUL NEVER WATER BAPIZED NO ONE EVER , TRYN ME !!

dan p

Grammy-nominated musician struck and killed by driver with over 100 arrests in Rhode Island, police say

To me that’s the common sense approach. ;)
Yes, to met that's conservatism, although my liberal friends would disagree. Perhaps they would prefer "that which has been shown to work in the past."
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The Church Divided

Yes. And if we are supposed to believe that the pulpit guarantees us that truth will be taught, then how come so much false doctrine and baloney also gets spewed from behind pulpits? Most all cultic leaders came from behind a pulpit, and still use a pulpit. Many strange doctrines still get broadcasted from pulpits.

The church is told 'FROM the pulpit' that 'What you are hearing FROM the pulpit is nothing but truth FROM God!' And the congregation is told that they should subject themselves 'to the pulpit' and the message - 'Because' the pulpit has the 'approval of the pulpit!!'

This is circular reasoning, and has more in common with ex cathedra than it has to do with truth and what scripture warned us of.

It may be subtle, but quite often the pastor or preacher will weave into the sermon somewhere that 'God wants you to hear this', or 'God told me to tell you', or 'God revealed to me today..' as if they are always getting and giving some message directly from God!!

Thats manipulation, and God told me to tell you that...
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Serious Denial




Human/chimp genomic similarity drops to ~85%: for real this time?

I would go to Sunday school and hear how God created us, then go to school and learn how [Gaia] created us.

I'm thankful that I learned the Truth in my earlier years; else I may have suffered cognitive dissonance and ended up choosing the wrong path.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Well, I see that some things haven't changed in the past seven years, such as the style of argument that you're fond of making. I know you're aware of this already, but some of us don't see a contradiction between those two things. That's one of the points made in my book.

Seeing as you're this forum's most dedicated creationist poster, I'd be willing to send you a copy for free. The only things I'd require in return are the postage, and a promise that you'll read all of it. And before you dismiss my book as "evolutionist claptrap" or something similar, notice that it's been cited in a positive manner by professional creation scientists, in this paper. (It's the book cited as "Kane et al. 2016".) Please let me know if you're interested.
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FBI fires agents who, to de-escalate the situation, knelt at protest after George Floyd's death: Sources

Would it have been so bad if the FBI agents had chosen to kneel to show solidarity with the protestors?

In the march in our town in 2020, some police officers walked alongside us to help ensure that everything stayed peaceful and to make sure traffic stopped for us when we crossed streets. When we got to the park that was our end point and had a short ceremony (prayers from local clergy, etc.), the police officers knelt when we did. I took that as a statement from them that they disapproved of Floyd's killing and similar acts of excessive police violence, and I was encouraged that our local officers were making that statement.
Sounds good to me!
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Consequences of firing government employees - USDA says it accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is trying to rehire them

Trump admin is ‘trying to put out a fire they started’ at Weather Service as a cold, snowy winter looms

The National Weather Service is working to hire back hundreds of positions laid off or otherwise cut by the Trump administration, but it’s progressing at a snail’s pace, with about 80 final job offers accepted for meteorologists, hydrologists and other specialized staff.

The agency received permission in late July to add a total of 450 people after about 550 were cut by DOGE earlier this year. The decision to authorize new hires came after lawmakers and citizens expressed concerns about how the NWS cuts would impact public safety.

The slow hiring means the Weather Service is going into yet another critical storm season with more than a dozen forecast offices forced to get by with serious staff vacancies, potentially undermining the accuracy of forecasts and warnings during powerful winter storms.

There is still one forecast office, located in Hanford, Calif., that is too short on staffing to operate 24/7, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) official who requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

Right now, there are nine NWS offices that are launching balloons at a cadence of once per day, the NOAA official said. [instead of the usual 2]
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Do Your Actions Speaks Louder then your knowledge?

There it is again. It is by Grace that ye are saved, through faith, and that not of ourselves, lest any man should boast.

We are unprofitable servants. Meaning, NOTHING you will ever do will profit you.
Indeed. The only wages people will receive are the wages of sin, which death. All else that God gives is by His mercy and grace alone.
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Trump Says US Will Permanently Pause Migration From 'Third World Countries'

Is your claim then, because we have Americans who commit crime, we should therefore allow illegals in who commit crime?

The truth is we don't actually know how much crime illegals commit because most places don't keep track of if a person is illegal or not. I know in my area inmates are not required to prove their citizenship.

And they should be top of the list. They are citizens. Yes, illegals arent supposed to get certain aid, and yet they do becauae states administer the programs and there are ways around the federal requirements.

Is this all the illegals are good for? Doing the dirty jobs and being taken advantage of. Maybe if we forced rhe farmers to hire only legals the wages would go up enough that Americans might do it. But this is a dirty little secret. Hire illegals and keep wages lower, for everyone.

The Bible says a lot of things Christians should and shouldn't do. Are you for forcing everyone to follow scritpure in all things or just certain things? The things you apparently support. What if I said we needed to outlaw lying and homosexuality. Would you be for that or against that?
No I am not saying illegals should be allowed to come here, you can assume that if you like.

And anytime a person is arrested they go into the data bank / their fingerprint, their age, their address, their name, their nationality and whether they are illegal or not. All over the USA and today with computers it is easy to keep up with.

I didn't say illegals were supposed to get aid and wasn't saying that citizens shouldn't be at the top of the list.

Who said that was all their good for you? I believe I indicated this if not I'm saying it directly the majority of the US citizens think that those type of jobs is too low, to menial for them and will not do it. Jobs that the slaves did what did Trump call certain jobs /Black jobs.

Forcing, funny how people who don't believe in scripture always use the word forcing, who have I forced to do anything. Churches Don't Force anyone to do anything they speak of what's written in scripture do all people follow it no, most people mess up and mess up big.

Actually in a court of law lying is out lawed - line to the feds is outlawed. Lying to cops you can get fined.

Homosexuality at one point was outlawed not that long ago, funny how you use this, why not outlaw cheating / why not outlaw adultery / why not outlaw disrespect for your parents / why not outlaw disrespect for your neighbors / which are other things that Bible speaks against but you chose homosexuality.

Me personally I don't give a hoot what you or anybody else do that's your business. But I will say the Bible speaks against it and it's entirely up to you or any individual on what your/their sexual orientations are.
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RFK Adjusts Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendations; Democrats Lose Their Minds

CF has been flaky for me the last two days, so I lost much of my last post. But I feel it's important to talk about one of those things that I lost: Healthy Vaccinee Bias.

Basically, it goes something like this:
  • A mostly-healthy, low-risk population is vaccinated.
  • A retrospective observational study is conducted.
  • Very few people get sick ard/or die.
  • THE VACCINES WORKED! THE HEAVENS REJOICE! THE MEDIA DOTH DECLARE THAT THE VIRUS HAS BEEN DEFEATED! ALL HAIL SCIENCE!
What studies like this fail to account for is that even if the mostly-healthy, low-risk population had not been vaccinated, they would still have had very few people get sick and/or die. We're back to correlation != causation. But in the case of these observational studies (funded by industry, natch) , correlation IS causation. We gave the vaccine, people didn't get sick, ergo, the vaccine was effective. This is why there is often not a comparator to unvaccinated populations.

They tried this during COIVD. Studies were awash with healthy vaccinee bias. It worked for a little while. Who can forget the government propaganda, "The Pandemic of the Unvaccinated"? Until the real-world demonstrated that people who were vaccinated were getting sick just as much as people who weren't vaccinated. Fully vaccinated populations experienced outbreaks of infections. Odd, if the vaccine is supposed to "protect" you. Then came the pivot. You'll still get COVID, but you won't die. But people who weren't vaccinated weren't dying either. And no matter how many industry-funded studies there were, reality set in. That's one of the reasons why COVID vaccine uptake dwindled each year and is now in the low 20% range.

The authors and organizations that write and publish these studies know precisely where their bread is buttered. They know the average person doesn't understand the difference between relative risk and absolute risk. They know the average person doesn't understand healthy vaccinee bias. So they publish studies with the "right" results to keep their funders happy.

Here is a great article that demonstrates how the industry has captured our healthcare systems.

"Our healthcare system isn’t about health—it’s about business.
And in this business, harm isn’t an accident. It’s built into the system.
The more I uncovered, the more I realized:
We aren’t just patients. We are customers.
And we are all trapped in Big Pharma’s spider web of influence."

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Family Issues

I have parents that are flawed like everyone, though not to this degree. But I do have a couple of them in my family that are like this (I'll keep them anonymous, the point is the same).

I had family members, after me not answering calls for 6 weeks (was busy, had helped them, they seen it as I'm always available) who proceeded to beat on my door until they actually broke it open. I will not go into further details, but you can imagine I was not a happy camper and I'm putting that very nicely. Now, in my case I have an advantage, because this isn't my parents and that episode was somewhat extreme and so I haven't had any calls since. There is the "awkward silence" and sideways look at family gatherings if they are there now, but I will not open a door for further encouragement of the previously mentioned behavior.

The rest of my family, while not like this, does absolutely do crazy things. Has been my entire life and many of my childhood struggles (I learned as an adult) were caused by these very insane decisions or things neglected. Do I think our families intend to be off the wall? No, but it doesn't fix it nor make it easier to know that.

I'm praying for you, because I know the intensity of being harassed like that. I've had a number of situations with very similar patterns and behaviors with other people and it just is intolerable. My heart truly goes out to you in this.

I think the only things we can do (at least the only things I could do) is teach people how to treat you. They simply will never draw any lines and it seems for this kind of mindset, anything and everything is fair game if they try it and it "worked before" (even once). I feel like the boundaries and limitations must be firmly set and even explicitly pointed out to them, because they clearly don't see the lines they are crossing. I personally am not the best with having "sit downs" and "hard blunt heart to hearts" with grown people (physically at least) and I have these feelings in me that say "they SHOULD know this is NOT ok."

But... I think they simply needdd that really tough love kind of in your face very point blank sirens and flashing lights rules laid out before them, and not just in words. I think it takes absolutely refusing and becoming a person that will not budge when they push before they will stop pushing. Often words mean nothing to people, and they will also fight and complain if we don't move when pushed, but in my experience dealing with the mouthy backlash has been a picnic compared to the continued behaviors. So tolerating some nuisance accusations or people gossiping behind your back things that aren't true tends to be the requirement to set the permanent boundaries that people with this mindset need to view the situation or relationship differently.

With all that said I hope this doesn't make it hard for you to forgive them, even when you have to put your foot down extremely hard. I've had a lot of injustice done to me and it put some (unwittingly to me previously) bitterness in my heart that God had to forcibly uproot. Since then, I do the hard things needed, but I stay in a position of full forgiveness even when having to tolerate injustice or foolishness or (sometimes) outright childishness. A younger me would get angry about it, but now I just get serious and firmly plant my feet in concrete with tough love.

Some of those things you said really resonated with me, because I've experienced variations from many people, family and not, all my life. It's sheer chaos, and chaos isn't from God. Maybe preaching to them more would discourage them wanting to contact you. lol (sorry, couldn't help but try to add some humor, though it might actually also work)

Praying for you earnestly!
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Part of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s First Chapel Still Stands 500 Years Later

The often-overlooked chapel at Tepeyac, where St. Juan Diego lived and guarded the miraculous tilma for 17 years, remains a key part of the Guadalupe story and Mexico’s spiritual heritage.

The story of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe began with the well-known apparitions of 1531. The Indigenous visionary remained for years dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of the message of the Virgin Mary at a chapel that is still preserved and forms an essential part of the Marian complex of Tepeyac.

Next to the current Guadalupe Basilica in Mexico City is the old chapel built to house the image miraculously imprinted on St. Juan Diego’s cloak. This historical site is little-known to pilgrims.

The Origin of the Chapel​

St. Juan Diego was the Indigenous man to whom the Virgin Mary appeared from Dec. 9–12, 1531, asking him to intercede with the first archbishop of Mexico, Friar Juan de Zumárraga, that a chapel be built “on the plain of Tepeyac” as a sign of her love for all nations.

It was on his tilma (cloak) that the image of the Virgin Mary was miraculously imprinted.

After the apparitions, the archbishop ordered the construction of a small chapel to house the tilma. St. Juan Diego lived next to it for 17 years, dedicated to recounting the events and caring for the sacred image until his death in 1548.



A Virgin for the ‘Completely Forgotten’​


Continued below.

Prior Auth Comes to Medicare

Death panel ---> Death bots
Death bots with a financial incentive

Starting Jan. 1, traditional Medicare recipients in Washington state will face a new hurdle to get certain procedures covered — private AI companies that get paid based on how many claims they deny.

Washington is one of six states selected to take part in a federal pilot program called Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction, which aims to reduce fraud and waste by requiring prior authorization for about a dozen outpatient procedures deemed “low-value services.”

AI companies will be paid a portion of the savings from claims they deny or, as the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction plan puts it, “compensated based on a share of averted expenditures.”
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Michael Bublé says 'music is a gift from God' as he meets with Pope Leo

Singer Michael Bublé discussed his Catholic faith and how music is “a gift from God” as he met with Pope Leo XIV and performed at the Vatican.

Bublé spoke at a Vatican press conference on Friday ahead of his performance at the Vatican’s “Concert for the Poor” on Saturday.

“This morning, I had the opportunity to meet the Holy Father,” the 50-year-old Canadian native recalled. “For me, this was something that I knew was going to be one of the greatest moments of my life.”

Bublé also shared his belief that “music is a gift from God,” adding, “When I hear music, I hear the voice of God.”

Continued below.

Refuting Losing Salvation!

Because He kept it for the Jews, which nobody could do. Gentiles Christians are never under the Law but under Grace!
Where does it say this in this passage? Jesus said "Whoever" not Jews.
Jesus was still teaching the Law at that time. I believe until the Temple was destroyed 40 years after His ascension the law was still in force. But with no more Temple there could be no more law. Also, one cannot keep the law and Grace.
Where does it say we are not supposed to keep God's laws- its kept by God's faithful until He returns Rev14:12 Rev22:14 Just as Jesus said Mat5:17-30 Grace does not mean one can sin Rom6:1-4 and sin is breaking God's laws 1John3:4 James 2:11
His death "finished" all the OT prophecies concerning His expiation for our sins (Jhn 19:30). His death was our condemnation; His Life and ascension is our growth in our faith in Him (Eph 4:15).
So forget the OT prophecies of His Second Coming that Jesus said He did not come to destroy? I believe allowing the Text to interpret Itself one will find the message God is telling us.
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