Paidiske said:

It's a term originating in 16th-century ecclesiastical court hearings about canonising saints. The lawyer arguing against the desired outcome was said to be arguing "for the devil." The lawyer arguing for the desired outcome was called "God's advocate."

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The irony is that dissolution of the bond is the devil's desired outcome, not God's.

go to Liturgy, pay attention as best you can, talk to the priest afterwards.

....and welcome! This is a nice place to fellowship. May you be blessed here.

This Week's Prayer Guide


September 22 - This week, we conclude our month of prayer for Lanzhou by praying for specific requests of Christians there and the needs of their neighbors.

September 23 - A pastor in Lanzhou remarks that there is a "poor spiritual state of many second-generation Christians in this city. Of course, faith cannot be inherited, but the spiritual atmosphere that Christian families create for their children makes it difficult for them to inherit their faith. Many second-generation Christians in China, those who experienced the previous revival, whether in rural or urban churches, are experiencing a rapid decline in their faith. I don't think this is a good sign. Families who already believe are failing to pass on their faith."

September 24 - Pray for Christians in Lanzhou to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to invest in and maintain relationships with their neighbors, families, and coworkers. As a pastor shares, "We pray that the Holy Spirit would really help us in this area where we are weak and where we don't have the time and energy to match."

September 25 - Pray for a pastor's wife in Lanzhou who is helping children at a local school through a new lunch program. Pray for her to be a witness of Christ through this lunch program.

September 26 - One pastor in Lanzhou shares frustration that, "Because many intellectuals have left this city, the brothers and sisters who remain in the church are very passive when it comes to thinking about and knowing God. This often frustrates me, as I wonder how to deepen their faith and help them grow. Of course, this is just from an intellectual perspective. In [other cities I have been to], people were interested in discussing theology and the Bible. But here, no one is interested in talking about these things. This process has been very, very lonely for me."

September 27 - A pastor in Lanzhou says, "We have a lot of children in our church, and everyone values children very much. We are actively running a youth ministry. But there is some concern that in the future, because Lanzhou doesn't retain people, that we are essentially raising these children for other churches because they will all leave Lanzhou. Sometimes I wonder, 'We're putting so much effort into the children's ministry, but what happens when they grow up and leave? Will it be sustainable?'" Pray for churches in this situation, that they will raise their children well and minister Christ to them. Pray that the children who leave can bring the gospel to new places, and also pray for God to raise up some who will stay and invest in Lanzhou's future.

September 28 - A pastor in Lanzhou asks, "Please pray that the Gospel will renew more churches in our city, so that the Gospel can renew the city."



9月22日--本周，我们为兰州基督徒具体的要求和他们邻舍的需要祷告，以此结束为兰州的祷告月。

9月23日--兰州的一位牧师说，"这个城市的许多第二代基督徒灵命状况不佳。信仰当然不能遗传，但基督徒家庭为子女营造的属灵氛围却使他们难以继承信仰。中国许多第二代基督徒，那些经历过上一次复兴的基督徒，无论是在农村教会还是城市教会，他们的信仰都在迅速衰退。我认为这不是一个好兆头。"

9月24日--为兰州的基督徒祷告，求圣灵给他们能力，让他们能够服侍于邻居、家人和同事，并维持他们之间的关系。正如一位牧师所分享说："我们祈求圣灵在这我们软弱、缺乏时间和精力配合的领域中真正地帮助我们。"

9月25日 - 为兰州的一位师母祷告，她正在通过一个新的午餐计划帮助当地学校的孩子们。为她祷告，让她能够透过这个午餐计划成为基督的见证人。

9月26日--兰州的一位牧师分享他的挫折感："因为许多知识分子离开了这个城市，所以留在教会里的弟兄姐妹在思考和认识神方面非常被动。这常常让我感到沮丧，因为我不知道如何加深他们的信仰，帮助他们成长。当然，这只是从知识的角度来看。在其它我去过的城市，人们对讨论神学和《圣经》很感兴趣。但在这里，没有人有兴趣谈论这些事情。这个过程对我来说非常、非常孤独。"

9 月 27日--兰州的一位牧师说："我们教会有很多孩子，每个人都非常重视孩子。我们正在积极开展青少年事工。但有人担心，将来因为兰州留不住人，我们基本上是在为其他教会培养这些孩子，因为他们都会离开兰州。有时我会想，'我们在儿童事工上投入了这么多精力，但当他们长大离开后怎么办？这样的事工能持续吗？'" 为处于这种情况下的教会祷告，求主帮助他们能够好好抚养孩子，并向他们传讲基督。为离开的孩子能够将福音带到新的地方祷告，也求神兴起一些人留下来，为兰州的未来献身。

9月28日--兰州的一位牧师请求："请为福音能够更新我们城市中更多的教会祷告，让福音能够更新这座城市。"

Thank you, Riley! It’s truly a blessing to be part of this community.

There's a saying that if you give everyone a million dollars the money would end up in the same hands. It's meant to illustrate the reality of financial illiteracy and the likelihood the majority would go towards consumerism. The way you figure out where you stand is by answering the question. What would you do?

For the majority their first thought is what they'd give, buy or payoff. That's why it wouldn't last.

~bella

Dimly lit, the darkest night,
Is the light of truth inside?
Masqueraders all around,
Many turned now into clowns.

Charlatans now lead the sheep
Who are falling fast asleep.
Nill endeavor truth to find,
They are very truly blind.

Many hardened hearts to truth
They live wicked lives, uncouth.
Masquerade as righteousness,
But they live in wickedness.

Foolish hearts turn to their sin,
High on sin, and drunk on gin.
Self-control went out the door.
Not their sins do they abhor.

Hate the truth, prefer the lies,
‘spite the heralds and their cries.
Selfish, cruel, love their tricks.
Truth not to their lips does stick.

Leading many now astray,
Follow man, not God obey.
Needing now, oh, to repent,
Give up sins to which they’re bent.

Follow Jesus every day.
Bow before Him, don’t delay!
Sins forgiven if you dare
Follow Jesus everywhere.

Now surrender life to Him.
Live pure life, proper and prim.
Holiness be your desire.
Let God set your heart on fire.

An Original Work / July 21, 2022

Now these words, like many others of like kind, were written to the church, to those making professions of faith in Jesus Christ. All throughout the New Testament we have warnings, such as this, to those professing to be Christians, many of whom truly were legitimate people of faith in the Lord. And these warnings were to let the church be aware that if any of them continued in deliberate and habitual sin, and if sexual immorality was their practice, et al, that they would have no inheritance in the kingdom of God.

There was not even to be a hint of such things among them. But what about today? There is way more than just a hint of sexual immorality, and the like, among those calling themselves Christians. If you read statistics on how many “Christian” men (including pastors) engage somewhat regularly in the viewing of sexually explicit material, and who are involved in various perversions of sex, the numbers are fairly high, like in the majority range. And there are women and children who follow suit, as well.

Now, everyone is responsible for his or her own behaviors. But there are factors involved here which I believe have contributed to the massive number of people within the gatherings of “the church” who are sexually immoral, and who are living in adultery, if only in their own minds. One of the major factors is that many pastors have diluted the gospel message. So, many preachers are no longer teaching God’s requirements for death to sin and obedience to God, as required for genuine faith which saves.

Thus, many people have the impression that they can “believe” in Jesus, have all their sins forgiven, be guaranteed heaven when they die, while they continue in sin and pursue what is immoral and wicked and against God and against his commandments, in practice. And then the internet and smartphones have just made it so convenient for people to look at whatever and to talk with whomever and to flirt and to cheat and to lie, etc., where no one else can see what they are doing, even in a crowded room.

This should not be!


So, we need to understand that the Scriptures do not give us permission to keep living in sin just because we made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We are not forgiven of our sins so that we can go on living in sin, only now without punishment, without remorse, and without genuine repentance (turning away from our sins so we can now follow Jesus in obedience). For if we do not die with Christ to sin, we are not reborn of the Spirit of God. And if we do not follow Jesus in obedience, we do not have eternal life in him.

So don’t believe those who are telling you that all you have to do is just receive Jesus Christ into your heart, or to acknowledge him for who he is and for what he did for us on that cross, and now you are saved, sanctified, and on your way to heaven, and no one can take that away from you. Jesus said if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we keep on in our sin, and if we do not obey our Lord, in practice, we don’t have salvation from sin.

So, if disobedience to our Lord and to his commands is our habit, and if obedience and holy living and dying to sin daily is not our practice, then we will face the wrath of God, not inherit eternal life with God. So we are not to be partners with those who are walking in disobedience to the Lord and who are living to please the flesh and not God. We are not to be in agreement with these altered “gospel” messages. But we are to walk in obedience to our Lord, no longer addicted to sin, and live lives pleasing to Him.


Now, not only are we not to be partners with those for whom sin is their practice, and not only are we not to partake in sinful practices (the works of darkness), but we are to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness for what they are so that others don’t get entrapped by them. All of us who believe in Jesus Christ are to be doing this! All of us are to be teaching that genuine faith in Jesus Christ results in us dying with him to sin and us now walking in obedience to his commands, in practice. And if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, we will die in our sins and face the wrath of God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

Walking in The Light

An Original Work / November 16, 2011
Based off 1 John 1-2

When I lift up my voice, and
Sing praise unto God,
I will fellowship with my
Lord and Savior, King.
In Him there is no darkness.
He is in the light of truth.
If we walk in His light,
From sin He purifies.

If we repent of our sins,
He’ll forgive us now,
When we humble ourselves, and
Before Jesus bow.
The man who says, “I know Him,”
But does not obey His truth,
There is no truth in him.
In darkness still he’s found.

Do not love the world of sin,
For it is hell bound.
If you follow the world, you’ll
Not in Christ be found.
The world and its desires
Will not last; they’ll expire.
The one who does God’s will,
Receives eternal life.

See that what you have heard from
Christ remains in you.
Then, you’ll remain in Christ, and
In His Father, too.
This is what He promised us –
His eternal life with God.
So, continue in Him, and
You’ll receive a crown.

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Hans Blaster said:

This is the first of the false claims VD Hanson makes:

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I'm not really a fan of VD Hanson.

Hans Blaster said:

"A near decade ago, we witnessed the 2015-2016 Hillary Clinton/Democratic National Committee/FBI-assisted effort to plant the false accusation of Trump-Russian collusion to warp the 2016 election.

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Yeah.

Hans Blaster said:

That gambit centered around the fraudulent Steele dossier and nearly fatally crippled the Trump 2016 campaign. That hoax would later sidetrack 22 months of his presidency before being proven a fantasy."

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Well it didn't really sidetrack his campaign but it did hamstring the first 2 years of his presidency.

Hans Blaster said:

This is not true. The FBI investigation into Trump's associates in Summer 2016 was started because they had all sorts of their own hinky connections to Russia (the campaign manager received his payments from a Putin oligarch via money laundering;

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Manafort was convicted of all sorts of stuff....I don't think much (if any) was campaign related. He got accused of the same things Hunter did....only difference was an investigation.

Hans Blaster said:

the "coffee boy" who bragged about being offered Russia supplied dirt on Clinton to an Australian diplomat; etc.)

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Right. The Australian diplomat....who never tipped off the FBI before and was somehow treated as a solid gold informant.

Hans Blaster said:

None of them were dependent on the "Steele Dossier".

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Well FISA warrants were. After all the wires had been tapped, associates had been threatened, and money wasted...they still had zilch. That didn't sit well with 2 of the lead investigators....who were texting each other fantasies of heroism for taking down Trump. The only thing in their way was this pesky lack of evidence.

Hans Blaster said:

The "Dossier" had virtually *no* impact on the campaign itself.

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Probably, but that would be difficult to test. We can say the same of "Russian interference".

Hans Blaster said:

The first reporting based on copies reporters had gotten hold of occurred just a week or so before election day. Almost no attention was given to it.

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Well....

Twitter was still in the hands of far left activists back then. I don't recall when the sordid contents of the "dossier" (dossier sounds so much better than lies on paper)....I'd thought it was earlier than a week though.

Either way.

Hans Blaster said:

(This was the time of the Access Hollywood tape, the wikileaks story after story from the hack of the Clinton campaign, and the endless stream of sexual harassment and assault accusations against Trump. One of those accusations that flared up at that time, but didn't become public was the Stormy Daniels affair that was suppressed by a large cash payment.)

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Didn't she go on Bill Maher?

Hans Blaster said:

As for lengthy impact on the Trump Administration, that flared up not because of any "Dossier", but because the incoming NSA had an unsecured conversation with the Russian ambassador to the US and when questioned about it, lied to the FBI in his WH office.

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Didn't that go nowhere?

Hans Blaster said:

The investigation and firing of General Misha that resulted from that encounter angered Trump who fired the FBI Director for it and *THAT* lead to the appointing of a special counsel.

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That's at least the third explanation for Comey's firing and imo....the least likely.

Hans Blaster said:

VD Hanson is either woefully ignorant or he knew what he wrote was false. The editors of "Townhall.com" are either negligent or complicit in the lie.

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If he's ignorant....it's not lie.

Have you given thought to your life –
To why you were even born?
Have you thought about your purpose?
Or is your purpose now forlorn?

Do you know your life has meaning –
That you are not here by mistake?
Do you know your life has purpose?
And it is not that you be fake?

Do you know you were created
With God’s purpose now in mind?
To believe, you would, in Jesus,
And his righteousness to find?

Do you know that he has purpose,
And has meaning for your life?
That you would follow Jesus Christ,
And you’d not give up to strife?

Now He wants to bless you richly
With his treasures now in store,
To give hope now for your future,
And, that Him you’d now adore.

Gave His life for your salvation,
So from sin you’d be set free,
To follow Jesus only now,
Bowing now on bended knee.

He has given you direction
Through the teachings of His Word,
To follow Him in purity,
And do nothing, though, absurd.

So, give your life to Him today,
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Tell others of His saving grace,
And for others, their needs meet.

An Original Work / April 12, 2019

Hi all,
so much in the American Democratic system seems quite fragile and open to corruption.

I hope this leads to future DOJ reforms.

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WarriorAngel said:

I honestly don’t know how it would work out with 5 parties.
A lot more choices.
Maybe less haggling and more policy speaking.

Because the other parties are like off shoots of the 2.
Independent, Green, Reform, Libertarian, Socialist , Natural Law, Constitution..

I like some who have run Independent.

Anyway the politicians have to have 1million votes to get on the ballot and we don’t see them in debates.

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Do check out the American Solidarity Party. Tiny, shut out, but worthy.

One of the goals of our walks of faith in Jesus Christ is that we become like God (Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit) in character, thought, word, and deed. This is not optional though, but it is progressive. And the process of becoming more like Jesus will last a lifetime, if we are committed to that process, and if we cooperate with God’s work of grace in our lives in making us more like him. And this means that we should do the kinds of things that Jesus did, and speak the kinds of messages that he spoke, too.

For to believe in Jesus Christ with God-gifted faith in him requires that we become one of his disciples (followers). And a disciple is one who models his life after the one he is following, and who imitates him in character and in deed. And so, if we are true followers (disciples) of Jesus Christ, who are modeling our lives after his character, and so we are doing the things that he requires that we do, as his followers, then we are going to be growing in the grace of Christ and we will be serving him with our lives in ministry.

And that also means that we will suffer like he suffered, too, for the sake of his name, and for the sake of his gospel message, and for the sake of truth and righteousness. As they maligned and hated and persecuted Jesus when he lived on the earth, if we are his true disciples, they will do the same to us. And “they” are not just those who make no professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but they include many who profess to believe in Christ, even some who are pastors and elders in the gatherings of “the church.”

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we try to save (hold on to) our old lives, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands, then we have the hope of eternal life. And if we love other humans more than we love God/Christ, we are not worthy of him. But we are to follow Jesus’ example he gave us for how to live our lives.

For, even before God laid the foundations of the earth he predestined those he foreknew to be conformed to the likeness of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ our Lord. This is what it means to believe in Jesus, to shed our old lives of self and sin and to now let God make us into new creations in him, no longer to make sin our practice, but now to walk in holiness and in righteousness and in walks of obedience to our Lord. For Jesus died to transform us into his likeness, not just to save us from our sins.

Therefore, we are to have the mindset of Christ, as his followers. And we are to humble ourselves before God in full submission to him as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives. And we are to become, not only his beloved children, but also those who serve him with our lives, as living sacrifices to him. For we now belong to him, and he owns us, and he is now to be the one directing our paths and showing us the way he wants us to go. And we, too, are to become obedient to our Lord, even to the point of death.

For we are to share in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. And if our lives are truly committed to him and to his service, and if we are taking a stand for truth and for righteousness in a day and time when lies and liars abound, even within the gatherings of what are called “churches,” then we are going to be persecuted as he was. Especially if we are refuting the popular altered gospel of today which does not require death to sin and obedience to God, we are going to be opposed.

But when we are mistreated, we are to love our persecutors and do good to them. And this love is centered in moral purity, and it prefers what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands. So this is the kind of love that will sacrifice self and acceptance of others in order to tell people the truth which can save their souls from hell, even if we get sacrificed in return. For that is following after Jesus’ example of how he lived and loved.


Amen! And..


[Matthew 10:25,37-39; Luke 6:40; Luke 9:23-26; John 13:12-15; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 5:1-2; Philippians 2:5-8; Philippians 3:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7; 1 Peter 2:21-23; 1 Peter 4:1-3; 1 John 2:4-6]

Not I, but Christ

By Ada A. Whiddington / A. B. Simpson

… I no longer live, but Christ lives in me… (Galatians 2:20 NIV)

Not I, but Christ be honored, loved, exalted,
Not I, but Christ be seen, be known, be heard;
Not I, but Christ in every look and action,
Not I, but Christ in every thought and word.

Not I, but Christ to gently soothe in sorrow,
Not I, but Christ to wipe the falling tear;
Not I, but Christ to lift the weary burden,
Not I, but Christ to hush away all fear.

Christ, only Christ, no idle word e'er falling,
Christ, only Christ, no needless bustling sound;
Christ, only Christ, no self-important bearing,
Christ, only Christ, no trace of “I” be found.

Not I, but Christ my every need supplying,
Not I, but Christ my strength and health to be;
Christ, only Christ, for spirit, soul, and body,
Christ, only Christ, live then Thy life in me.

Christ, only Christ, ere long will fill my vision,
Glory excelling soon, full soon I'll see;
Christ, only Christ, my every wish fulfilling,
Christ, only Christ, my all in all to be.

Oh, to be saved from myself, dear Lord,
Oh, to be lost in Thee,
Oh, that it might be no more I,
But Christ that lives in me.

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In an interview with The Guardian, pop star appears to parrot misinformation Trump and others have spread

Continued below.

ARBITER01 said:

No, but I'll send you a pm on a different subject concerning this, so as not the interfere with the topic.

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Yep, feel free to send me a PM on whatever you want.

7thKeeper said:

Ah, true. It was in another thread. In essence, his idea for a peace plan is that Russia gets to keep all the land it occupies (and not mentioned, so I guess Ukraine would have to return the land it occupies) and that a DMZ be established (managed how, not said) and that Ukraine would be forbidden from ever joining NATO or any similar organisations. I can't remember if it was military organisations specifically, but would exclude the EU as well because the agreement has a military component in it, even if it's not as clear as Article 5 (to put it loosely).

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That doesn't sound like a plan, that sounds like "Give Russia everything and anything they want" and not allowing Ukraine to have any say in their future. How is that any type of serious plan?

full document

RileyG said:

They’re beautiful! I love cats!

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Me too

Carl Emerson said:

I find it interesting that many among us hate any form of regulation.

I have started a bible study on another forum and set it up so that participants had to first agree to the Nicene creed.

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I would never give my name to a free platform run by a third party. It wouldn't matter if it was Christian or not. Nor would I verify my identity with a government ID.

If you want an environment devoid of drama it must be paid. I have several memberships and the moderators don't have a smidgen of the issues you encounter on other platforms. Money attracts a different demographic and the more it costs the more pleasant it is.

That probably isn't what you wanted to hear but it's true. Moderation takes a lot of time and energy and in most cases it's done by volunteers. I don't expect perfection from a free service. It's unrealistic.

~bella

tonychanyt said:

Biblehub suggested that Noah's flood happened before 2500 BCE.

Let's say 2700 BCE.

Xia dynasty time estimates:


Let's take the modern estimate of 1700 BCE.

Population estimates:



Let's take the modern estimate of 2 million.

Noah's descendants had 1000 years to build up 2.1 million Chinese people in the Xia dynasty.

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Ah yes, the third millennium BC (Backwards Counting) - what eminent Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen has described as murky history. So I'll wander into the murky fog ...

Suppose the Flood occurred in the early 3000s BC - maybe 3100 BC. And to round off the numbers, recorded Chinese history begins around 2000 BC (though I am inclined toward 2205 BC). As you guessed, that's about a millennium. In ancient times, people had children at a younger age - say 20 years. Then that is 1000/20 = 50 generations. How many children per generation are required? (It is the same kind of math formula as business calculation of compound interest.) Then

Hans Blaster said:

That's odd. I regularly hear whinging on this very site about how few "so-called" (as they are often tagged) Christians go to church regularly, or have a "Biblical worldview", or Catholics about the large number of their fellows that don't follow the Church's teachings on birth control or abortion.

Don't think "listening to clergy" on politics is super high in the pews.

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Some people have their own views and don’t accept what religion tells them. Not shocking by any means.

Lord have mercy!

Lord have mercy!

Hank77 said:

It's a difficult problem for a school system that doesn't have enough bilingual teachers. But I believe with a little creativity it will get solved.
I'm glad they aren't holding these children back and allowing them to move forward. If the past is any example migrant children quickly catch on to a new language and catch up to their peers. In fact, at home, they often become the teacher teaching their parents the new language to both speak and write it.

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I agree to a certain extent.

If you come to our country, you must learn our language. Period. That’s the only way someone can communicate and thrive.

My opinion only.

QvQ said:

If Trump had a group called "White Dudes for Trump" whop whop whop
Yet Harris gets away with it...
Weird.

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First, she didn't create the group. It created itself.
Second, Trump has all kinds of similar groups backing him.