Hermeneutics has now gotten me into communication theory and phenomenology. Paul Ricoeur is blowing my mind. Heidegger, Kant, even Augustine. What is time? It all is intertwined with how we understand the Bible, and the whole world for that matter..

Nonsense. Just more fixating on people’s sexual practices to justify treating them differently. If you think one marriage or another isn’t Biblical, don’t enter into it, but don’t take authority that isn’t yours to tell others it’s what they should do too.

Barraco said:

Yeah it's wild. Loudest man-made, non-nuclear explosion recorded. I think speculation is okay when it is done humbly and maturely. Jesus told us to be watchful for the signs of His coming. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. I'm not going to ask anyone to sell all they have and run to the top of a hill or anything. I do think leaving Lebanon is wise and welcomed.

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Yep, we are near the end times. That is something I do believe in. And yep, loudest non nuke explosion.

Valletta said:

Hopefully they will see the holiness of the Catholic faith. They have to first learn about Jesus before they can come to know Him.

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I do hope so. Isn't Indonesia highly Muslim? Hopefully, we can convert them to Christianity or more specifically, Catholicism.

According to Pew, Indonesia is 87% Muslim:

Jermayn said:

I think there's a completely different sentiment now compared to the days of Richard Pryor, or even Kamala's DA days.

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Yes, it seems that there's a lot of thinking that incarceration often backfires from the standpoint of public safety and crime.

BPPLEE said:

She could win the popular vote and still lose the election, if you want to post irrelevant information be my guest

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If someone posts that a third party endorsing Trump will affect the polls then it's not irrelevant and entirely valid to investigate by how much. Get off the high horse.

Firefighter-2000 said:

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I like the lyrics, but the singing does sound a little robotic/autotuned. Still a good song though, but I have never heard of this guy. There may be a rise in AI generated music as well in the future made entirely by computer, but regardless, these songs are still about worshiping God.

The song is very Biblical though, with Psalm 145, James 4 and other verses.

hislegacy said:

Mmmm seems to be a recurring theme.

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Well, your numbers had decreased significantly. I just wanted to confirm that mine were right.

DE, do you have any partial preterists on this site?

rockytopva said:

Let the adorning be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. - 1 Peter 3:4

I am sure that if Peter were to have his say on tattoos it would be the same as any other external ornament... Or something that is not really you. To be really adorned is to get the quality of character that the heavenly forces have got to offer. And then we would be able to rejoice... Saying.... Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. - Ephesians 1:3

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Whew this is a complex one for the Christian ethics thread. Well I do not have tattoos, and will never get any, but God will not judge people for getting them, as long as the tattoos glorify God and are not of anything demonic (such as 666 or hell fire stuff).

Though, Lev 19:28 says one should not mark themselves, though this was in the OT: "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord." - Lev 19:28 (NKJV)

Dead Eye said:

I would say dark white or a shade of gray (check Isa 29:22)

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Yep, God will redeem us from this evil stuff, that is for sure.

Critics ask for probe after Texas raids homes of Latino campaign workers​

The action by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a darling of the far right and ally of former president Donald Trump, came in an area to be hotly contested in November.

One of the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organizations is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into a recent spate of state raids on the homes of Latino elected leaders, candidates and political operatives in South Texas.

State investigators tied to state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office executed search warrants last week at homes across three counties, as part of what Paxton said was a two-year investigation of alleged fraud and vote harvesting.

The Republican officeholder said in a statement that his office had “sufficient evidence” to confiscate cellphones, laptops and documents. Paxton’s office targeted a Democratic legislative candidate in a swing district important to state Republicans, her political consultant, campaign workers, a local mayor and a city council member in raids on their small-town homes.

Three of the women targeted were longtime politically active volunteers who have spent years working to register Latino voters in their communities and are certified by the state to educate their neighbors on mail-in ballots, he said.

“This is point blank voter intimidation."

JM said:

I was asked not to, honestly. The presenter is writing a book on the subject and working out his material via Discord presentations.

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OK. Thank you for telling me, plus we do not want anyone to take his copyrighted stuff. Anyways, I am leaving now, so have a blessed day, brother.

Michie said:

No. I really don’t. He was concerned about The Kingdom of God and His mission more than politics. Politics are very temporary.

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I agree completely

Oseas said:

By the way, the Church of Rome Rome was despised, rejected, and discarded by the Lord JESUS, and sent no message to the Church of Rome, it was around the year 95AD

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Oseas, if you want to maintain exactness and share the grace of God at work in your life, that's quite well and good, but it would serve to edify much greater if you were to work in some citations here or there so to create something more fully understood to keep the forums content circumspect.

David Kramer and Emma Cease rescue bald eagle from Chester River in Maryland –Washington College

A bald eagle, injured and alone near the Chesapeake Bay, earned an A+ for the staff at Washington College after they made a daring rescue along the rocky banks of the Chester River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Two weeks ago, David Kramer noticed a post on Facebook asking if anyone could help with an eagle who seemed to have an injured wing and foot and was hobbling around on a dock over the river.

Kramer, who is the Director of the College’s Center for Environment, where students are provided with a living laboratory for their studies of wetlands, farmlands, and forest. He also happens to be an experienced avian rescuer.

Continued below.

Police officers stand on duty outside the entrance to a building housing the headquarters of the Reform UK political party, during a "Stop the Far-right" demonstration on a National Day of Protest, in London on August 10, 2024. Brexit activist Nigel Farage, whose anti-illegal immigration Reform UK party won 14 percent of the vote on the July 4 general election, has suggested the recent rioting stems from legitimate grievances about mass immigration, rather than simply far-right thuggery, and warned worse could be seen on the streets. | BENJAMIN CREMEL/AFP via Getty Images

A prominent bishop in the Church of England contends that "keyboard warriors" shouldn't be jailed for commenting on social media about the spate of riots that broke out in the U.K. after a man murdered three young girls in a mass stabbing.

The Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt. Rev. Rachel Treweek, said she believes the individuals jailed for allegedly inciting the riots by commenting online shouldn't be punished with prison time.

Treweek, who speaks for the Church of England on prison issues, said that while she believes there must be "consequences for all of our actions," the prison sentences for alleged online incitement were "not right."

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stevenb6 said:

Ephesians 6:12​

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

I was thinking about this earlier, it seemed to me that you were either in the flesh working against the spirit or in the spirit working against the flesh. Yet I thought of this verse and am a little confused now? Can anyone explain this one to me

Also

Galatians 5:16-17​

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do
suggests that is indeed a wrestle against the two.

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Add the 7th chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Romans to the mix.

The short answer to this: Christians are what Lutherans refer to as simul iustus et peccator, literally "simultaneously righteous and sinner". It is also the language of the "old man" and the "new man" (see Ephesians 4:22-24). As Christians we are still sinners, the reality of sin is still present in and with us, which is what St. Paul is talking about in Romans 7 when he talks about how he fails to do the good he wants to do, and does the evil he doesn't want to do. Paul here is speaking about how he knows what is right and what is wrong, because the Law clearly tells him this, the Law says "don't do this" so he knows he shouldn't, but he does it anyway, because of sin. That's the old man, that's "the flesh", it's the fallen, sinful humanity which we received from Adam.

It's also called "Original Sin", theologians also call it concupiscence. The innate desires, our proclivities, are broken, fallen, twisted by sin; we are curved inward toward ourselves. Because of sin we are turned and faced inward, and therefore we are not orientated toward God and toward being righteous; but toward ourselves and being unrighteous.

When we are saved and being saved, this doesn't just go away. What happens is that something new is given, something new is created. The "new man" as Paul calls it in Ephesians. It's what Jesus talks about in John chapter 3 when He says "you must be born again". That something new is what is given with faith. This is what Paul means when he talks about how we are justified by faith, that through faith we are put into Christ, united to Jesus--His death, His resurrection; such as we see mentioned concerning the Sacrament of Holy Baptism (see Romans 6:3-4, and Colossians 2:11-14). When God works and gives us faith by His grace and word (Romans 10:17, Ephesians 2:8) something new is made, we are a "new creation" in Christ. And so while the old man doesn't just disappear, there is now also a new man--that which is being renewed by the Holy Spirit, and which is called to a life of obedience, that walks according to the Spirit in obedience, having been declared just for Christ's sake. And we are being saved, renewed, having been born again, and with the Spirit in us, called to repentance, called to obedience, called to seek the kingdom of God, take up our cross, and follow Jesus.

But these two things are in conflict: the old man hates the new man, and the new man hates the old man. And that conflict is what St. Paul is talking about in Romans 7. It's the conflict between the flesh and all its sinful desires, and the Spirit who is in us, making us new in Christ. The Holy Spirit is making us new in Christ, and thus the old man must be put to death (Romans 8:13), which is why St. John in his epistle tells us that when we repent and confess our sins God freely, justly, and lovingly forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

The flesh is all our sinful desires, the old man--the old Adam which we have by virtue of being born fallen, in a fallen world, and with a fallen sinful human nature. And we are called as new men, new people in Jesus Christ, having been born again, created new by the Spirit, in Christ, to fight against the flesh, to walk in the Spirit. This is the good fight Paul talks about, this is what it means to run the race. This is what Paul means when he says to work out our salvation with fear and trembling--not that we are justified ("saved") by our works, but that we are to take what we have been given and now run with it, to actively fight against our flesh by trusting in Christ, by abiding in Christ, by repentance, by hearing the word of God, by receiving the Sacraments, and yes, by good works which we were created to do (Ephesians 2:10). That we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone--for we have been declared righteous by the grace of God on account of Christ and have received His righteousness, we have "put on Christ" (Galatians 3:21); and we are, because of this, to live in a new obedience to the will of God as God's children, adopted by grace--not by our own strength, but by the Spirit who lives in us, He aids us, He strengthens us, He gives us faith, He cleanses our conscience, He confronts us with the Law when it is preached that our flesh be mortified; and He soothes us with the comfort of the Gospel when it is preached that we should cling always to Christ and trust Him alone.

-CryptoLutheran

Thanks be to God!

Good. The mother should be ashamed.

Bob Crowley said:

Thanks. It's good to know someone believes me - I get cynical when others who weren't there and didn't have the experience think they know my mind better than I do.

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Anyone who has heard God knows: it is something that cannot be forgotten or denied. Neither can God forget it.

Arizona judge sets 2026 trial date for Trump allies accused of trying to subvert the 2020 election​

At a hearing Monday, which is ongoing, several defendants, including conservative attorney John Eastman and multiple Arizona Republicans who served as fake electors, are present in the courtroom. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Christina Bobb, who serves as the top lawyer for the RNC on election integrity, have joined the hearing virtually.

This is the first high-stakes hearing since a grand jury handed up criminal charges against the fake electors from Arizona.

The pivotal hearing comes just days after Trump, who has not been charged in the Arizona case but is described in court documents as “unindicted co-conspirator 1,” held a rally in the key swing state as part of his 2024 presidential campaign.

In the meantime, prosecutors in Arizona are forging ahead with their case against the 18 others who have been charged and are eying a potential trial date in early 2025.

Arizona prosecutors secured their first victory earlier this month when former Trump 2020 campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis agreed to cooperate in exchange for the charges against her being dropped.

One of the Arizona fake electors facing state level criminal charges also reached a plea deal with prosecutors earlier this month.

KingdomLeast said:

Many have been plagued by the fruitless arguments of a well-known organization whose adherents make much of the question of what it was upon which Jesus was crucified (or "impaled"). One brother was accosted with the question at a fair booth: "Why do you have Jesus hanging on a pagan symbol?" His answer as classic: "Because it was pagans who killed him." Perhaps the matter is not worth the space for consideration. Yet, if any feel it is, there is both historical Scriptural support that Jesus was slain on a two-piece cross.

Strong's Concordance (as other lexicons) demonstrates that the Greek word is of no help in solving the question.

Archaeological findings of the period (see McClintock and Strong, Vol. 2, pp. 575-581) are strongly in favor of two piece crosses. One-piece crosses, when used, either had the victims tied to them, or the stake was run through the body. The descriptions of Jesus' death obviously do not meet these conditions. The term "impale" (used in a modern translation) is most unfortunate, as the term suggests running the pole through the person's body, not affixing the person to the stake. The Scriptural evidence, as usual, is the strongest available evidence. It is clear from John 20:25 that nails (plural) were used in Jesus' hands. (Also note prophetic references to plural nails, Psalm 22:16, and to piercing of hands and feet, Zechariah 12:10.) On a single upright the hands would have to be above the head and almost certainly upon each other fastened with a single nail. On a crosspiece, of course, plural nails are a necessity. Another evidence, a strong one, is suggested in Matthew 27:37 and John 19:19, 20.

A sign, large enough to be written clearly in three languages, was placed OVER HIS HEAD. Had Jesus been hanging with his arms over his head on a single-piece stake, the sign could not have been over his head, but over his hands. This problem disappears with a two-piece cross.

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The preponderance of evidence is that the stauros which Jesus was crucified on had a cross-beam. To the point that it is simply undeniable. We have ancient writers telling us that stauros referred to something which was shaped like the Greek letter Tau. The ancient satirist Lucian of Samosata wrote a satirical drama about a fictional court setting between the Greek letters Sigma and Tau, in which Tau is accused of having the form of a stauros:

"Men weep, and bewail their lot, and curse Cadmus with many curses for introducing Tau into the family of letters; they say it was his body that tyrants took for a model, his shape that they imitated, when they set up structures on which men are crucified. Stauros the vile engine is called, and it derives its vile name from him. Now, with all these crimes upon him, does he not deserve death, nay, many deaths? For my part I know none bad enough but that supplied by his own shape — that shape which he gave to the gibbet named stauros after him by men."

The ancient Father of the Latin Church, Tertullian, likewise points out that the instrument of Christ's Passion was shaped like the letter Tau,

"Ipsa est enim littera Graecorum Tau, nostra autem T, species crucis, quam portendebat futuram in frontibus nostris apud veram et catholicam Hierusalem, in qua fratres Christi, filios scilicet dei, gloriam patri deo"

"For the very letter of the Greeks is Tau, and ours is T, the type of the cross, which was to be borne before us in the true and catholic Jerusalem, in which the brethren of Christ, that is, the children of God, glory to God the Father" (Against Marcion, Book III, Ch. 22)

Early Christians noted that in Ezekiel 9:4 which speaks of those who grieve over the abominations in Jerusalem are given a mark, a tav in Hebrew, which was interpreted to prefigure the mark of the cross by which Christians are marked as belonging to Christ (see again the same place above in Tertullian's Against Marcion, Book III, ch. 22).

The Epistle of Barnabas, even earlier, went so far as to see in the seemingly mundane mention of 318 men in Genesis 14:14 as hinting to Jesus and His cross, the first two lettes of Jesus' name in Greek (Iota and Eta having numerical values of 10 and 8 respectively, thus 18) and the letter Tau having the numerical value of 300--emphasizing that the cross on which Jesus died looked like the Greek letter Tau. While I don't recommend that kind of grasping at numbers in the Bible, the point is clear what ancient people understood stauros to mean, what sort of instrument was used by the Romans to execute people, and what Jesus was put to death on.

These are just some ancient mentions, both Christian and non-Christian, on this subject.

The torture-stake proponents have nothing but their own personal opinions to rely on. Because the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the traditional depiction of Jesus crucified on a T/t shaped cross.

There's also this: Alexamenos graffito - Wikipedia

Even when Pagans mocked Christians they got the cross shape correct. Because everyone back then knew what a crucifixion looked like.

-CryptoLutheran

Truth7t7 said:

Biden isn't running the white house presently his handlers are, his crimes will be addressed starting Jan 20th 2025

Trump 2024 MAGA

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In politics, “yesterday’s enemies”=“friends”.

ViaCrucis said:

So it's "See, the earliest Christians disagree with my personal religious views, so that's how we know they were wrong and I'm right"?

Someone is telling on themselves.

-CryptoLutheran

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LOL, you nailed it good sir. LOL