ThatRobGuy said:

But there has been a difference in the reactions, and reactions essentially drive what politicians are going to push for.

For instance, if a segment of the voter base is very anti-Russia (for political reasons), but loves TikTok, politicians are going to tailor their focus and proposals accordingly in order to keep their seats and pander to their voters.

And "going hard" one particular flavor of influence peddling does have a certain way of galvanizing people even more as there are some in the public who see the "what they don't want you see" as the "forbidden fruit" and seek it out even more.

We saw that with Covid.

The more they tried to censor Ivermectin promotion, the more it seemed to have the opposite effect and become the "forbidden fruit" and more people were trying seek it out even more than they were before.

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Way to completely miss the point, Rob.

China does absolutely throttle content they don't like politically, but this isn't about content shaping and algorithms.

This is about popular video influencers (podcasters, YTers, et whatever) being *PAID* to produce content of a particular leaning, specifically by cut-outs for the Russian government to push pro-Russia, pro-Kremlin, pro-Putin talking points in their content.

durangodawood said:

For sure the Islamic revolution was a step backward. I could see a monarchy being better than a theocracy - possibly. But thats a backhanded compliment, really.

One determining factor would be legitimacy. Is the new monarch imposed by outside forces? Do foreign interests engineer the transition - as they did with the previous monarch?

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In this instance, given that the protestors on the streets are chanting "Reza Shah, bless your soul", it sounds like there's some legitimate popular support.

And the current crown prince is even more progressive than his father was on those kinds of matters. So I don't think it would be seen as a "western installation of a puppet" the way it was when his father was helped into power by western interests.

I think the advantage that exists now is that the younger people over there (and some of the older people who were around during the time of his father) have had more access to information on the internet about how things really went down (despite Iran's censorship efforts, over 80% of people under 30 over there access the internet via VPNs and ToR regularly)

And they hopefully realized that western partnership and investments weren't the boogeyman the Islamic Revolutionaries originally claimed they were.

While the common talking points were that the US and Brits were taking a cut (which they were), that it somehow indicated a purely exploitative relationship, and "that's why the Shah is a western puppet"

However, when you look at the revenues that Iran made internally during his tenure:
During 1956-60 alone, government oil revenues reached $1.23 billion—compared to just $483 million during the entire 36 years between 1913 and 1949

Which made sense, US and Britain invested in technological advancements that allowed for more efficient extraction, processing, and shipping of oil.

Sort of one of those
"Do you want to keep trying to do everything on your own and keep 100% of $30 million"
or
"Do you want to allow these other entities to invest in your infrastructure and help you connect with a new customer base and get to keep 40% of $500 million"

And it was those larger revenues that funded the Shah's initiatives for the school, library, and hospital infrastructure expansion boom that happened during his tenure.

SoldierOfTheKing said:

First, no it wasn't.

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Yeah, it was.

SoldierOfTheKing said:

Second, even if it were, it would still be war of aggression on NATO's part.

An internal conflict. No other country, let alone a NATO country, was party to that conflict. One of the oldest principles of international law, going all the way back to Westphalia, is noninterference in the civil conflicts of other nations.

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More recently, the international community has resolved that they have a responsibility to prevent and punish the crime of genocide:

SoldierOfTheKing said:

If you're referring to Putin, he wasn't even President of Russia then. I'm not talking about Putin, I'm talking about NATO.

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Don't be obtuse. You're ignoring/covering up the genocide in Bosnia in order to advance the current Russian talking point of NATO as an aggressor.

BCP1928 said:

Who made physics the one disciple of science?

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I imagine he meant discipline.

Valletta said:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claimed Tuesday that Politico reporter Josh Gerstein was “inciting violence against federal agents.”
Gerstein, a senior legal affairs reporter at the outlet, said Monday on the social platform X, “At some point, the amateur effort to knock on doors of home daycares intersects with robust stand-your-ground laws.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5667307-federal-agents-investigation-minnesota/

There is an ongoing plea directed at the left to tone down the violent rhetoric because it could push someone on the fringe into a violent act.

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“to observe that something is likely to happen or there’s a serious risk of it happening is not to advocate for it happening.”

Who said that?

Well it was Josh Gerstein the legal reporter that some ICE PR flack accused of "inciting violence".

And how deep did I have to dig to find it?

I just read the article in "theHill" that you posted.

Gerstein is one of many people that have noted that this "report" posted as a video online could incite people to do dumb things. There are many many many reports on social media of randos searching the databases for "suspect child care" sites (or just those run by Somalis) and posting details about them on line.

It is an ongoing hysteria and there is legitimate fear that it might cause its own "Comet Pizza" incident.

BNR32FAN said:

No I’m interpreting the passage in light of Colossians 2:16 which is just as much the word of God as any other passage in the scriptures.

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You're isolating one text that has multiple meanings and closing your eyes to all the context Paul gave.

Some more, for the record.

Calvinist claim is that "whom He foreknew" is speaking of a specific people because of the "whom". I agree with that. The claim by them is that the Arminian view changes that to 'whom He foreknew would come to faith'. In other words, they claim that Arminians changed the "whom He foreknew" into a "what He foreknew". Although, I think it's fair to say that Arminianism qualifies 'Whom He foreknew' with someone coming to faith. In other words, "whom" cannot be separated, or put before faith, because faith is the qualifier that determines the "whom". It's not adding to the Word, it's doing what Calvinism does, seeing through a different lens. Calvinism adds 'whom He foreknew from the foundations of the world' in that same way. It's not in the text, but it's added because in the Calvinist mindset, that's the context that they see it in.

I think that Arminianism is on track with that thought of not separating our faith from God knowing us personally, intimately. So in a sense, it is foreseeing that qualifies the foreknowing, if we qualify our being foreknown by Him with that faith, while holding to the original meaning of 'whom He foreknew', meaning intimately. So, in Arminianism, faith qualifies God foreknowing someone intimately. Calvinist will argue that foreknown is changed from a who to a what, but I disagree. It's just qualified with faith. Still, "whom He foreknew" is not speaking of foreknowledge. foreknowledge is implied because in "Whom He foreknew", it's qualified by the faith of that person.

Does that make sense?

Opening Prayer

Father God, We come to You just as we are, with open hearts, and a longing to know You more deeply. As we study on how to walk our lives in our true identity in Jesus Christ, we ask You to help us focus solely on You, Your word and what You are speaking to our hearts through Your Holy Spirit. We ask that You open our eyes to see ourselves as You see us, that we are loved, chosen, free and secure in Christ. We ask that Your Spirit guide our thoughts, steady our hearts, and remind us of the truth that anchors us. In the Mighty name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

Devotional Message

As followers of Jesus Christ, our core identity is being His children, created in His likeness, with obedience to Him flowing naturally from our relationship with Him. When we accept our identities in Jesus Christ, it brings us peace, security and freedom. We are made new and are resting in these wonderful gifts our Father gives us. As we embrace this new life, God renews and strengthens us, giving us a new heart in our new identity. Our new identity is given to us freely, through God’s Holy Spirit, and is rooted in Christ’s finished work on the cross. We are no longer defined by our past or mistakes of our past, our circumstances or our feelings and emotions. These things no longer determine our self-worth. We are resting in the love and peace God is giving us in knowing that everything we are now flows from what Jesus has already done for us.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Romans 8:15 (NKJV) For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

This new identity is freely given to you as a gift from God, by His Grace. As we willingly choose to accept this glorious gift, we now can grow into through obedience that flows through trusting and believing what God has told us is true. The Christian way of life is about becoming who you are in Jesus Christ and about learning to live from that identity into who we are becoming in Christ. We do this through the gentle guidance, direction and leading of God’s Holy Spirit. When we stray, God will always continue to call us back to rest in what He has declared.

Philippians 2:13 (NKJV) For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Galatians 5:25 (NKJV) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

As believers in our Heavenly Father, we need to live from who we are in Jesus Christ. We are children of the Most High God. He chose us and formed us well before we were even thought of in our mother’s womb. He adopted us into His family. That means we are His, we have His seal living inside us, and that seal is His Holy Spirit. When we choose to accept who we are in Christ, we will find the freedom and rest God has in store for us. Our security comes from Jesus alone.

When you make a choice to follow Jesus, your true identity is that you are a child of God – you belong to Him. God’s love and acceptance are not based on how well you perform, but on His grace. He gives His gift of grace generously to all His children. Being God’s child means living in a close, loving relationship with Him. God loves you simply because you are His and belong to Him. He accepts you just as you are and where you are in life. Our identity is about trusting what God says is true about us and resting in who we already are in Christ.

Ephesians 2:19–22 (NKJV): Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

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____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Questions to Ponder

Where am I still relying on my own strength instead of resting in God’s faithfulness and Spirit within me?



What voices or thoughts have been shaping my sense of identity, and how do they compare with what God has already declared to be true about me in Christ?



In what quiet or ordinary moments is Jesus inviting me to recognize His presence and rest more fully in belonging to Him?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Closing Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for reminding us of who we are in Jesus Christ. Help us live the life you have graciously given us and laid out before us. When we stumble, gently remind us of what our identity is in You. Teach us to walk in the identity You have given us. Thank you Father, that we are loved, forgiven, secure and at peace. Thank you that you will finish the work You have begun in me. In Jesus wonderful name, we pray, Amen.

To the Holy Spirit: Thank You for guiding every word, guarding every step, and glorifying Jesus. All glory, honor, praise, and worship belong to God Almighty, who alone is worthy.

Scripture Acknowledgement: All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version® (NKJV). Used with permission. All rights reserved.

Special thanks to Bible Gateway for providing accessible, searchable Scripture resources that support devotional writing and spiritual study.

May these words echo grace, healing, and truth wherever they are read.

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fhansen said:

But why would anyone need that community if the HS is all we need? The ten flow from the HS, BTW, they're not opposed to His will.

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but it's a cut and paste version. if you smuggle in the 10 based on his will then what about the rest of his will? Ex 24 is the first covenant of the 10 but it is not just the 10 and that is quite clear in the passage. who told you to separate the 10 from God's law? what authority do you have to do this? Jesus doesn't isolate the 10, his reference is the whole thing.

fhansen said:

And yet the bible instructs us to do that very thing: to steer sinners from their sin when we're aware of it.

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the 10 only do this superficallly. your friend was overwhelmed with lust for another and in that pressure he buckled. what power does the 10 have to prevent this? would naming it have reduced that lust or act upon it? his actions are of that of his own kingdom, not of God's, he did not deny himself in his actions he denies Christ, this didn't have to be adultery, it could have been anything (even things uncommented in the 10). overlap does not mean authority, it is only Christ.

I have no issue with saying that God doesn't oppose his own will, of course I accept this but when it comes to the 10 real issue is about how we observe the Sabbath and it's not really about if we think adultery is sinful. there is a fundamental way we approach the sabbath that informs us how the 4th is relevant. it is immensely relevant we just see it's relevancy very different. this is not an adultery issue, this is a Sabbath issue. superficially proping up the 10 doesn't critically engage this, and that's what I'm looking for, critical engagement. your friend commiting adultery is painful, but how does that inform us how we approach the 4th commandment? agreeing adultery is wrong does not mean a covenat that has been made obsolete is no longer obsolete.

Build a greedy society and they, the greedy, will come. Build a compassionate society and the greedy will still come.

BPPLEE said:

If that's your best example of right wing extremism then it's not much of a problem

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It is just meant as a counter to your meme that minimizes right wing extremism to normal everyday people doing nothing wrong. The idea is absurd on its face. Now, if you had put in a meme of left wing people over-blowing every right wing action into an existential threat I think you would of been spot on.

Mark Twain once wrote about a riverboat engineer, who was annoyed by a warning whistle that was repeatedly sounding when the steam pressure exceeded a safe amount. He "solved" it by hanging a weight on the valve, preventing it from activating.

Derf said:

Paul did. And if Christians, who should work to become knowledgeable about what real murder and theft and adultery are, not to mention covetousness and disobedience to parents, enforce truth in the voting booth, because their pastors have helped to educate them, it would make a huge difference in this country, for good and righteousness.

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The government punishes but the pulpit is supposed to teach the cause and cure. That cause, and even the cure, clashes with the governments of man.

DaisyDay said:

No, it's your inference that she was saying black people weren't smart enough.

Agree with that!

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She's the one implying that Somalis were not capable of pulling this off without white masterminds pulling the strings.

These are all good things. Praise the Lord!

Maria Billingsley said:

Brilliant comment.

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Thank you -did you read what was in red and bolded?

If you did - it negates most of your argument.,

I'm sorry he died. I don't like to see anyone die, but knowing he is in God's presence now brings me some comfort...

Locally, it was the elimination of "the line" in New Jersey primary ballots. (See Elections in New Jersey - Wikipedia)

Internationally, I'd say the Gaza ceasefire, assuming the ceasefire holds.

Blessings to you, my brother. Welcome to CF.

walter45 said:

No matter what we want to call it, shouldn't we include all these scriptures in our understanding?

Ephesians 2:8-10
Contemporary English Version
You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn't something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. This is why he sent Christ to make us what we are.

James 1:22
New International Version
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Luke 8:21
New International Version
He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

Matthew 7:17
Berean Standard Bible
Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

Hebrews 5:9
Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And in this way he was perfected and became the cause of eternal life to all those who obey him.

Matthew 28:20
New King James Version
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 7:21
New King James Version
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

1 John 3:7
NASB 1995
Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;

Matthew 7:24
New International Version
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Luke 6:46
New International Version
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?

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Thanks for the reply and the passages! God bless!!

Michie said:

Rwandan President Paul Kagame defended the government's forced closure of Evangelical churches, accusing them of being a “den of bandits” led by deceptive relics of colonialism.

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Is he wrong?

Well, YeshuaFan is right, my church will only use the KJV and sing from traditional hymn books. They have a piano, a violin, and a harp and that's about it.

This is their website if you are interested: Independent Baptist Churches Semmes Al | Grace Baptist Church | Semmes

Paleouss said:

Greetings d taylor. Thank you for your reply.

I was looking for more of a verse breakdown from Genesis 6:4. I'll do some of the breakdown for you and then you can present your position.

Genesis 6:4 breakdown...
Subject (A): "The Nephilim"
Time Referene for Nephilim: "were on the earth in those days, and also afterward"

The verse starts telling us that the Nephilim were on the earth. To denote a more precise "when" the verse gives an event reference and says that the Nephilim were on the earth at that very same time as the event presented.

So what event reference does the text in Genesis 6:4 give? It gives this event specifically...when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them.

So this is what I'm looking to be explained, that is, how can the Nephilim also be the children if the children are part of the event that is being given as "when" they were "also" on the earth?

Surly the writer isn't saying...The Nephilim were on the earth when they were born and also after they were born. That seems like a, duh.

So I'm at a loss to what grammatical evidence (from Genesis 6:4) you think the Nephilim are also the children? Can you explain this for me?




Peace to you brother

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"In those days" simply means in the days of the intermarriage, it is referencing back to 6:2.

The nephilim were on the earth in the days of the intermarriage because the nephilim were the result of the intermarriage.

There were nephilim, (fallen or mighty ones) on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

Christine19 said:

This thread became 20 years old yesterday. I can still relate to this. I had the idol of the future husband. Twenty years ago, I was a missionary in South Korea. I had a big crush on a teacher from New Zealand. I chased him around relentlessly. I should have never done that. First, I was there to be a missionary, not to find a husband. Also, I needed to learn to let the man come to me, not the other way around. That was a hard pill for me to swallow. I thought it wasn't fair. Men get to do the pursuing, not the women. I made a fool out of myself in this process, had others gossiping about me, and embarrassed these men and made them uncomfortable. I still feel remorse for all this. I need to let it go in this New Year 2026.

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Christine19 said:

Today I am now engaged. I should be getting married next summer. I do feel upset that I didn't find someone a long time ago. I wish I had gotten married at 26 or so. I will be 46 years old in March. I have to remember that God has reasons for things. I should have learned to trust God and not worry about things. I should have prayed for a spouse, and left things alone. I should have trusted God that He would bring me the right person at the right time. I should have also asked God to help me be a good wife.

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Nah, you weren’t ready then. You’ve confessed that to that. When you were doing those things, that had to be weeded out. That would’ve still been with you had you got married then. I think it’s being weeded out even now for you. When you are married next year, you won’t say “I wish I had got married at 26.” That wasn’t even that long ago, that’s a blink. But long enough to be weeded thru

Michie said:

I just watched this video and was left a bit shocked. Has anyone ever been to one of these Churches? If so, would you say it’s accurate?


Login to view embedded media
I attended a fully LGBT church / gay church to see what their services are really like and share the biblical gospel. In this video, I walk through the entire service — from the songs and preaching to the activities — and share my honest reflections on what I experienced. I also had a conversation with the pastor about what they truly believe and how they interpret Scripture.

9:55

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No, I haven't been to one of those churches.