Ultimately it comes down to how people prioritize the risk/reward trade-offs.

I've presented this example before.

I'll use the closest "major city" as an example. (Cleveland Ohio)

Based on the statistics, if a person goes to a major city in Ohio
The chances of being the victim of attempted robbery are 1 in 90.
The chances of being the victim of simple assault are 1 in 100.
The chances of being the victim of sexual assault (for women) are 1 in 250.

A person's chance of being murdered by a person with a gun in Ohio is approximately 1 in 22,000

If Ohio adopted England's gun laws (and we pretend it would have the exact same effect), the chances go down to approximately 1 in 102,000. (However, that would be unlikely due to the already high proliferation of firearms)

For many, that's not worth the trade-off to make the already unlikely thing a little more unlikely, at the expense of leaving oneself underprepared for scenarios that are far more likely.


Speaking personally, I'd rather keep my chances at 1 in 22,000, and have something readily available for the 1 in 90 chance someone tries to rob me, as opposed to lowering the odds of that, but having no choice but to comply the criminal in the 1 in 90 chance of a robbery attempt.


Often times estimates on DGU (defensive gun uses) will vary wildly (I've seen estimates as low as 50k, and others as high as 2M), but JAMA just did a report last year.



Approximately 92% of participants with firearm access said they had never used a gun defensively. Approximately 0.7% of participants had told someone that they had a firearm or shown their firearm to a perceived threat within the past year. Approximately 0.3% of participants had fired in the vicinity of a threat, whereas about 0.2% of participants had fired at a perceived threat in the past year. There are approximately 260 million adults in the US, and our results suggest approximately 38% have access to a firearm in the home, cohering with other estimates.19 Taken together, this means approximately 97.8 million US adults have household firearm access, which equates to approximately 195 600 instances of DGU per year in which someone fired at a perceived threat. When including the additional 0.3% of respondents who said they fired in the vicinity of but not at a threat, the annual estimate of DGU in which a gun is fired totals approximately 489 000 events per year.


So even based on this more conservative estimate, DGUs still outnumber gun deaths in the US.

Per the CDC, there were 47,000 gun-related deaths in the US.

Brightfame52 said:

Water Baptism has nothing to do with Jesus giving repentance.

Click to expand...

peace in Jesus name

Gracious Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus,
I pray for Your provision for MissH84. Help her to find a job so she can take care of the needs You know about. Help her to get through this time of searching and uncertainty, and send her people who can help her with the process, as it has been years.
In Christ’s Name,
Amen

fhansen said:

Well, I'm not sure what good specificity would do first of all if one is opposed to the idea of social justice at the outset. But, ok, though some of these we're already offered: we specifically oppose slavery first of all as an evil that must be stopped, without regard to any reparations or who may've caused it, etc. Likewise for human trafficking, starvation, genocide, domestic and child abuse, discrimination based on race or gender, and maintain that it's the duty of mankind to fight these issues using whaterever availalble resources might apply to the particular need: churches, religious orders, relief agenceis, sometimes police, military, etc.

Click to expand...

I don't know of any Christian church or organization that is afraid to talk about these things. I want to share my sincere concerns with "social justice" as a modern concept. I would hope that you read this carefully and respond to the concerns. Please do not write it off as a fear of talking about social justice.

My thoughts on social justice
I want to offer a concern—not about justice itself, which Scripture clearly affirms—but about the way “social justice” is often used as a broad, undefined category in Christian discussion.

One of the pitfalls of this language is that it can blur biblical categories. In Scripture, justice is grounded in the character of God and tied closely to righteousness, mercy, repentance, and covenant faithfulness. In modern usage, however, social justice can mean many different things, often shaped more by contemporary political or ideological frameworks than by Scripture. When Christians adopt the term uncritically, biblical concepts like sin, grace, reconciliation, and redemption can quietly be replaced by categories such as power, oppression, and identity.

Another danger is moral reductionism. The Bible recognizes unjust systems, but it never treats injustice as merely structural. Jesus consistently locates the root of evil in the human heart (Mark 7:20–23). When injustice is framed only in systemic terms, personal repentance and the need for grace are minimized, and the gospel can be reduced to activism rather than transformation.

There is also a risk of substituting discipleship with causes. Doing good works is essential to Christian faith, but it is possible to confuse moral action with reconciliation to God. Jesus rebuked those who emphasized certain forms of justice while neglecting faithfulness to God Himself (Matt. 23:23). Justice matters—but it must flow from devotion to Christ, not replace it.

This raises an important question: Is social justice the main thrust of Christ’s mission?
The answer, I believe, is no—though justice is certainly not irrelevant.

Jesus is clear about why He came: to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), to reconcile sinners to God (1 Pet. 3:18), and to inaugurate the kingdom of God through repentance and faith. While His teaching has profound ethical and social implications, He consistently refuses to reduce His mission to political or social reform. His kingdom is “not of this world” (John 18:36), and lasting justice flows outward from transformed hearts, not imposed structures.

The early church followed this pattern. They proclaimed Christ crucified, practiced generosity and mercy, cared for the poor, and lived as a holy people within a broken society—without attempting to engineer a worldly utopia through power.

A healthier Christian framing may be this: justice is not the gospel, but the fruit of it. We are called to love God and neighbor, to do justice and love mercy, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). When justice is biblically defined, rooted in the gospel, practiced personally, and held together with mercy and truth, it reflects Christ rather than replacing Him.

Keeping Christ at the center guards both our theology and our witness.

essentialsaltes said:

Trump signs executive order easing marijuana restrictions by reclassifying drug​

The order will move the drug from Schedule I to Schedule III.

Trump signs executive order easing marijuana restrictions by reclassifying drug

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

abcnews.go.com

Click to expand...

Credit where credit is due. Good job Trump. I agree with this decision.

p.s. it was not totally a joke. I do tend to want to "run away" from my problems.

Where Did Christmas Come From?

World Scope Encyclopedia (1960 vol.3) states, "Christmas, the festival observed by the Christian Church on the 25th day of December in commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. No certain knowledge of the birthday of Jesus Christ exists and its observance was not established until some time after the organization of the first churches. The 25th day of December was advocated by Julius 1, Bishop of Rome from 337 to 352, as the most suitable time to commemorate the birth of Christ. The day was finally placed on December 25th, which made it possible for all nations to observe a festival of rejoicing that the shortest day of the year has passed. The end of December was an especially significant time in the northern hemisphere. Days were short; nights long. The sun was at its lowest point. This called for the celebration of special festivals of thanksgiving and encouragement to the waning sun. When at the winter solstice in late December, the days began to lengthen once again, there was great festivity lasting into the first part of January. The reason was that the declining sun---the light of the world--had been reborn and began to gain in strength. Moreover, the newly converted peoples found it convenient to get a kind of substitute for their original celebrations of the solstice ". The birth of Jesus the Christ was assigned the date of December 25th, because on this day, as the sun began its return to the northern skies, the pagan devotees of Mithra (the Persian's Sun God) celebrated the dies natalis Solis Invicti (birthday of the invincible sun).

The history book a Pictorial History of the Italian People states, "Saint Gregory was repelled by Graeco-Roman civilization and, paradoxically, did more than anyone else to facilitate the absorption of pagan residues into Italian Christianity. Through that process of absorption, any paganism hostile to Christianity remaining in Italian rural communities faded away".

The simple fact is that, as more and more people from throughout the Western Roman Empire became converted to an increasingly popular Christianity, they brought many of their favorite customs with them. "The pagan [winter festivals of the] Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence... The pagan festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit or in manner... Christians of Mesopotamia accused their western brethren of idolatry and sun-worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival. Yet the festival rapidly gained acceptance and became at last so firmly entrenched that even the Protestant revolution of the sixteenth century was not able to dislodge it..." (The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Volume III, article "Christmas.") You see this going on in churches today. Churches are constantly recruiting new members from other denominations and they often bring some aspect of their previous church to the new one. If you notice, many Christians today celebrate the Roman Catholic tradition of Lent. Historically, Lent, was not celebrated by Protestant churches.

peter2 said:

Yet, she also was surprised at 12 years old Jesus' reply, when they find him in the Temple

Click to expand...

Surprised how?

Kathleen30 said:

It’s not a light thing to make such false accusations.. that’s all I say

Click to expand...

Yet you continue to double down on your false accusation that I claimed the Orthodox Church never accepted geocentrism. Perhaps you should remove the beam from your own eye.

Kind of

ARBITER01 said:

Lol, chatgpt is arguing with chatgpt.

Click to expand...

I had a laugh at that, too. But it's really a matter of misusing the tool. If he got answers that support his view, then he's asking it leading questions. I warned him that the AIs are programmed to cater and encourage. It doesn't matter what you're researching or trying to write about. It will help you accomplish your goal to the best of its ability.

If, however, you want accurate responses, you have to provide clean evidence and neutrality. It will tell you straight if you're not encouraging it to pat you on the back.

rjs330 said:

I am a Bible scholar with a degree in Biblical literature. So, you won't dissuade me from the divine truth contained within its pages. The Bible is the most supported ancient manuscript in the world. And whatever liberal philosophy you may have and use to try and cast doubt on its veracity and authority are useless spitting into tye wind.

I am well aware of all the issues that people love to discuss. And quite often the motive for many is to cast doubt upon its divine truth. Yes understanding some of the culture of the time can be important. And if you really study scripture you can see where even the writers acknowledge cultural issues as such. That does not negate the divine universal truth and teachings within.

Click to expand...

And I'm a rocket scientist. First, since most of the volume of scripture passed off as "support" is late as the church had scribes sit there and make copies of copies of scripture day in and day out for years, doesn't mean much. Second. The scripture you provide proves my point. It's a contextual apologetic from day one because the things promised to come to fruition never occurred. Still hasn't. So given the context of being mocked, a day becomes a thousand years to justify events to never come. It's no different than today with the invention of “double prophecy” because the prophecy as read and understood in context never happened either.

zelosravioli said:

But either way - even those who looked upon the corpses of Daniel 11 did not see corpses that were conscious or withering in torture - the corpses were DEAD

Click to expand...

I mean, if they weren't literally dead, then I just don't see why they would have been referred to as corpses in the first place.

Servus said:

There were such high hopes that Jack Smith would bring about Trump's downfall. What a disappointment.

Click to expand...

With any luck, Trump can stand trial after his term is over.

Always in His Presence said:

Pssst… he is still guilty
He is still a felon

It was not a pardon.

Click to expand...

Then why provide an apologetic of some unknown white house official arguing his wrongful conviction?
Trump pardoned yet another con man, seeing he can relate to con men.
And now that Trump has he has yet again gave difference the victimizing over the victims.

Once again you fail to recognize that my proposal would allow individual jurisdictions (especially in North and South America) to adopt the Gregorian paschalion voluntarily. Jerusalem and Mount Athos could still use the Julian Paschalion if they wanted to.

BPPLEE said:

Anti-liberal Democrat?
That's not something I see often.
More power to you

Click to expand...

power = being anti-(liberal Democrat) in life.

That's going too far and overdoing it.

They ruined the chaplain corp and made them less about God and more secular. They added lesser known new age and Muslim pastors and others. Less about Jesus and evangelization.

ViaCrucis said:

The way this continues to fly right over your head would be astonishing if it wasn't so predictable at this point.

I don't understand the idea that our moral standards should be established by the worst actions of the worst people. But that seems to be what you are arguing in favor of. "Bad people exist and do bad things, and therefore anything and everything is justified". This kind of barbarism has been condemned, pretty universally, in just about every human society on the planet. Moral anarchy is a terrible idea if the goal is to have a functioning human community. That's why this kind of moral anarchy is condemned, from the Code of Hammurabi to the Torah in the Old Testament. "An eye for an eye" is a stricture against this kind of moral anarchy--of anything goes retributive actions. If you kill my brother, I can't just go murder you and your whole family: there are processes, laws, rules--going through appropriate channels to administer justice for the purpose of setting the situation to rights. A government that is supposed to be of a free and just people ought to conduct itself to a higher standard than mere barbarism.

Click to expand...

That applies to someone who agrees that an atrocity took place and is supporting it. It does not apply to someone who does not at this time accept that interpretation of events.

ViaCrucis said:

Is it too much to ask that, I don't know, we hold our government officials to a reasonable standard of conduct as it pertains to law and justice? Apparently.

Click to expand...

How about we wait until it's been proven in a court of law that immoral conduct, murder and war crimes took place. That is after all what our law and justice system demands.

ViaCrucis said:

Because we both know you're going to dismiss everything I just wrote, and just whip out some trollish response.

Click to expand...

Perhaps it's best if I don't reply to you in the future.

Postvieww said:

Both were lawfare by liberal activists with a get Trump in any way possible attitude and motivation.

Click to expand...

They both resorted to facts and the law.

Trump is the lawfare expert - he's practiced it all his life and continues to this day.

‘Don’s Best Friend’: How Epstein and Trump Bonded Over the Pursuit of Women

Oompa Loompa said:

Well, the track record of MAGA have shown that usually the only difference between a conspiracy theory and known fact is about 4 years.

Click to expand...

There is no expiration date for MAGA conspiracy theories. The very sit down between Ericka Kirk, the wife of someone who advanced conspiracy theories, and the MAGA conspiracy theorist she complains about, just resulted in more conspiracy theories.

16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Proverbs 6:16-19

essentialsaltes said:

The group’s “Club America” chapters, meanwhile, operate in high schools. The clubs aim to “build strong networks, spearhead impactful initiatives, help students register to vote, and inspire meaningful conversations about the foundations of a free society,” according to their website.

Click to expand...

A taste of the meaningful conversations from Club America.

Lincoln [California] mayor's remarks at high school’s first Club America ignite controversy​

Mayor Holly Andreatta, who recently launched her campaign for Placer County Supervisor, spoke for about 25 minutes at the inaugural meeting of Club America at Twelve Bridges High School. In her remarks she tied her daughter’s sexual orientation to childhood trauma, said that separation of church and state was a myth and relayed Kirk’s belief that Martin Luther King Jr. was a Marxist and that his civil rights activism was “not helpful.”

“My oldest daughter had a lot of trauma as a child,” Andreatta says in a video recording of the club’s meeting. “Something really terrible happened to her when she was very young that I would hope would never happen to any other child, and as a result of it, she’s a lesbian. She’s gay.”

Senior Rebecca Warner, who identifies as a lesbian, did not attend the meeting, but was approached by one student leaving the meeting who made a hurtful comment about her sexuality.

“One student told me they learned that God was working on me because I’ve endured trauma, causing me to become gay,” she said.

The students group seeking to disband the club acknowledged and disavowed the post [threatening the student founders of the Club America chapter], which they said was made by an anonymous account that they were not associated with. They said they reported the account and encouraged others to do so, too.
“I have complete respect for their political ideologies,” Warner said. “I wish that they would have respect for my identity and for my existence.”