New Posts

CoreyD · 2025-07-05T12:50:52-0500

Aseyesee said:
You assume my angels are someone else’s (or that I have to prove that I am) … they are not, but they do have one voice in all matters, and they are to me, and for me alone … always speaking of one son, and the process of the revealing of this one son in me … which is the only truth that is relative to all, yet as individual as a stone with a name no man knows but the one who has received it …

Is that to say Joseph Smith, Jim Jones, David Koresh, and others did not need to prove anything, and you assume their angels were not from God?

I have not assumed anything.
I know who is not visiting you, and who is.
I know this, not from any assumption, which is what all people who claim to be visited by God, subsequent to the death of the apostles, are doing, but rather, I know from God's word, which tells us that God is not visiting anyone, but rather, Jesus by means of the holy spirit, guides God's chosen ones.
On the other hand, the Bibles tells us that there are a lot of people listening to the voices of God's enemies, who masquerade as angels of light. 1 Timothy 4:1, 2; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Revelation 16:13, 14

The Bible does not lie, and it is my guide.
It warns against false prophets, and so, those who follow its guidance know.
Those who don't know, are the ones that bypass the Bible, and believe that God will also bypass his word to get to them.

That's a mistake many are making today, and the reason is mentioned in Revelation 12:9

ozso · 2025-07-05T12:35:59-0500

Gator Gitmo

com7fy8 · 2025-07-05T12:11:47-0500

Gregory Thompson said:
Today, we tend to lack the degree of spiritual transformation that they did. Missionaries might experience it though.

I think we in better-off places can have more transformation. It can come with how we learn to relate in our more close sharing in marriage and other settings with close involvement with other people.

"Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation" (in Philippians 2:13-16).

As we make the sacrifice to not give in to arguing and complaining, now we can get stronger and deeper in love which "bears all things" (in 1 Corinthians 13:7) and stays pleasant. In this love we have joy, even while going through things. We might not turn the other cheek like a missionary martyr somewhere, but we can turn the other cheek so we can't get dragged into co-dependent arguing and fussing and fretting.

And by keeping our forgiving up-to-date . . . this can strengthen us in God's love where we have His pleasure.

We can get busy with all our nice things and our busy stuff for keeping it all going. And this can get our mind away from God, and we can be depending on how we ourselves can get and keep nicer things of this life.

But we can get weak so then we can be easier to trouble and to drag into different things we suppose we have to do on our own. Ones even think they have to handle certain things on their own, and not trust God to take care of certain things.

This could be what more or less was happening to Mary's sister Martha > Luke 10:38-42 > here we read how Martha welcomed Jesus as her guest. "But" then she was so busy with serving. So, she had enough goods of this life so she could have Jesus as a guest, but then she got tied up with the serving, instead of first sharing with Jesus.

Yet, Mary her own sister was right there in the same situation, and Mary was wise enough to just sit at the feet of Jesus and hear Him. And Jesus stood up for Mary who was not helping with the serving!!

Martha got into all the serving, but Mary took the pleasure of being with Jesus.

So, from this I see how with God we can have a lot of prosperity or a lot of trouble, but whatever is God's will is where we can share with Him.

And, "of course" . . . now that we are the body of Jesus > our Father has us with one another as His family, and here is where our enjoyment will be, since He does want us to learn how to relate with one another. So, it helps me to first pray so I prepare for being with my brothers and sisters, so I am ready to say no to any nasty and negative and unforgiving reacting which might try to violate me while I am involved with other Jesus people. And so, when anyone starts some riff-raff stuff, stay pleasant and kind and humble, and be prayerful and encouraging for the person to recover oneself.

Mary did not take on Martha, but she let Jesus take care of it.

RDKirk · 2025-07-05T12:08:50-0500

rjs330 said:
Yes it is. Or at least can be. Socialism is one of those things that has been and currently is a form of governance. It is also one of those things that can be incorporated into other forms of government in bits and pieces. Thing democratic socialism. It can also be part of a hard core type of government as well.

Socialist Countries 2025

"All that is required is that a country identifies itself as socialist. This includes nations that claim to be socialists or have constitutions that state that they are based on socialism, even if they do not rigidly follow the economic or political systems associated with socialism, because socialism is still the foundation of their political and economic policy."

So, what is the uniquely socialist method of determining the head of state? How are laws formulated and passed? What is the power comparison of the executive to the judicial branches? What definition or description of socialism describes only public governance without reference to economics?

timothyu · 2025-07-05T11:59:38-0500

You already know the words
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Desk trauma · 2025-07-05T11:49:03-0500

How optimistic to think that FEMA will be involved.

BigBunny · 2025-07-05T11:47:46-0500

Tom8907 said:
I need to get the guts to wear mine more often.

View attachment 367094

I have this shirt, it's a good one.

BigBunny · 2025-07-05T11:45:25-0500

David Hunter said:
Been a while posting anything with Evangelism, but I was out this month sharing Jesus at some pride events, and this one hit me hard... This young gal was very nice and took a Gospel tract but the dad stepped in and made her give it back. Any thoughts on how to reach the kids? I did have a sign as well. Praying she'll see the truth even though her dad is trying to stop it.

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it's hard to reach kids as their parents job is to watch over them and that "Dad" sees Jesus as the enemy... his laugh pretty much tells you he's full of himself.

partinobodycular · 2025-07-05T11:43:35-0500

durangodawood said:
Perhaps I just dont see how the word to sum all that up would be "cool".

Because it's life. The universe has been evolving and changing for billions of years. A tumultuous crucible of stars being born, and stars dying... and nothing there to know what that feels like. But we do... because we have life... we know what it feels like to exist, and that's so very, very cool.

In our day to day lives we get lost in the minutiae, but we need to take a step back every once in a while and recognize that we are the universe... alive, for one fleeting moment in time we get to know what existing feels like. Yes, we get to know the suffering... our small portion of the stars being born and the stars dying, and we can cry, and grieve, and lament that it happens. But we can also be humbled for having gotten to experience it.

So @Chesterton can come and punch me in the face if he really wants to, such is life, it does what it does. The towers fell, people died, and it was sad, but I will carry that memory with me as long as I am able, and that's what makes it cool.

God made me, and every bit of me is a gift.

There, that's it, I've said my piece.

essentialsaltes · 2025-07-05T11:37:13-0500

After deleting his exultant reply, Rep. Van Orden later clarified that he replied to the wrong tweet.
/surejan.gif

Benaiah468 · 2025-07-05T11:33:37-0500

The weekly reading of Vayigash contains the first account of forgiveness in the Holy Scriptures and how it influences the course of a family history and an entire nation. Here we find all the Torah principles that constitute forgiveness.

Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. Gen 44:18

Judah cautiously approaches Joseph. This introductory statement alone, that Judah approaches Joseph, shows that he is ready to face up to his actions. A natural reaction when one is guilty and sinful is to run away. But here it says that he approaches. Adam and Eve hid themselves after they had sinned. We have all run away from YHVH until we have faced up to our guilt and sin and approached YHVH.

He confesses his sin:

G-d hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. Gen 44:16b

After confessing, Judah's repentant change of behavior becomes apparent:

Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad (Benjamin) a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. Gen 44:33

His willingness to be and to be able to be a slave shows his change of heart:

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of G-d. 1 Cor 4:1

Judah, on whose suggestion Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt, confesses his guilt before Joseph and offers to be his slave. Judah himself had lost two sons and knew what such a loss meant for a father. Judah is here a messianic image of the Messiah, who also laid down his life for the lives of his brothers.

Joseph was able to forgive his brothers because they confessed their sins and repented. The whole story reflects the language of Yom Kippur: Joseph cleansed the room, a face-to-face encounter took place, reconciliation was pronounced after confession and repentance, a drawing near. It is also on Yom Kippur that the nation of Israel approaches YHVH, confesses, and asks for forgiveness. For the brothers, it was Yom Kippur, a day of judgment, but also a day of restoration, on which they walk away in the joy of Joseph's forgiveness.

YHVH's feasts are appointments with His people, which is why He also brings about special events at His feasts. We find the significance of the feasts everywhere.

In the two preceding chapters, we find symbols of Passover woven in. When Joseph sits down at the table with his brothers,

And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth: Gen 44:33a

This is reminiscent of the Seder celebration, where the eldest is seated to the left and the youngest to the right of the head of the household. The money in the bag symbolizes the price paid for redemption, and the silver cup symbolizes the cup of redemption at the Seder celebration. Silver always stands for redemption.

After this repentance, Joseph was finally able to reveal his true identity:

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried, Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. Gen 45:1-2

The Egyptians did not know that Joseph was a Jew. In the same way, there are believers from the Gentile nations who do not know that Jesus is a Jew. It was not the Egyptians (believers from the nations) who opened the eyes of the brothers (House of Judah) to the fact that Joseph (Jesus) was (is) a Jew. Nor did the brothers know that Joseph (Jesus) was a Jew. Joseph now revealed himself to both groups as a Jew. But Joseph had a very special time with his brothers from the house of Judah:

Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for G-d did send me before you to preserve life. Gen 45:5

And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. Gen 45:12

There is no room for replacement theology. Not only will the house of Judah repent, but so will the congregation! And it will be Jesus Himself who will one day open the eyes of his brothers from the people of Judah, the Jews, after they have confessed their sins and repented. It is Judah who approaches Joseph (Jesus) with a changed heart. It was at Judah's instigation that Joseph was sold. And it is Judah who now approaches Joseph and is willing to give his life for his brother Benjamin. And Paul, of the tribe of Benjamin, wished

that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Rom 9:3

And Jesus of the tribe of Judah was willing to take the shame upon himself in order to save his brothers:

Who gave himself a ransom for all, 1 Tim 2:6a

Vayigash contains YHVH's project plan and mission statement, which shows how the history of the house of Judah will unfold. It is a Torah principle that biblical history is always prophecy.

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Isa 46:10

Biblical interpretations and prophetic statements can be measured against these guidelines of the Torah. If an interpretation of a passage departs from this dimension, it is incorrect. A practical example: There is a well-known Torah teacher who claims that YHVH did not require Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. He builds his argument in a seemingly conclusive manner. But with his interpretation, he departs from the prophetic level according to Isaiah 46:10, that Isaac is a picture of the Messiah.

We are rapidly approaching the day when the Messiah will say, “Ani ben Yoseph” or “Ani Ben David” (David came from the tribe of Judah). YHVH's master plan will succeed! And we can help prepare for it in one way or another.

essentialsaltes · 2025-07-05T11:30:51-0500

Why is the dollar off to a weak start this year?

President Trump's trade policies are accelerating a weakening of the U.S. dollar, which is off to its worst start of a year in half a century, according to Harvard University economics professor Kenneth Rogoff.

"I don't think there's any question that Donald Trump is a catalyst and it may go much further with what he's doing," Rogoff told NPR's Michel Martin.

The dollar fell by 10.8% since the first half of this year, according to the U.S. dollar index, which compares the United States' currency with a basket of other world currencies like the yen and the euro. The drop makes it more expensive for Americans traveling abroad and increases the cost of imports.

[That's like a 10% tax/tariff that benefits nobody.]

Michie · 2025-07-05T11:18:16-0500

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Archbishop Thibault Verny of Chambéry as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The prelate succeeds U.S.-born Cardinal Seán O’Malley, 81, the founding president of the safeguarding commission established by Pope Francis in 2014.

“I thank the Holy Father for my appointment as president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors,” Verny said in a statement released on July 5.

“I am honoured by the trust he has placed in me, fully aware of the grave and sacred task entrusted to the commission: to help the Church become ever more vigilant, accountable, and compassionate in her mission to protect the most vulnerable among us.”

Continued below.

Pope Leo XIV appoints new president to lead Vatican’s child safeguarding commission

The prelate succeeds U.S.-born Cardinal Seán O’Malley, 81, the founding president of the safeguarding commission established by Pope Francis in 2014.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

Michie · 2025-07-05T11:14:58-0500

Editor's note: This article contains court details of alleged sexual assaults.

A former church pastor in Scotland has been convicted of sexually assaulting two women, including a parishioner he claimed was possessed by demons. Walter Masocha, 61, was found guilty of multiple offenses committed over six years while leading an international religious organization he founded.

A jury at the High Court in Livingston this week convicted Masocha, originally from Zimbabwe, of attempted rape, indecent assault and sexual assault against one woman, as well as indecent assault against another, The U.K. Times reported.

Continued below.

Pentecostal pastor convicted of sexually assaulting woman while ‘exorcising demons’

A former church pastor in Scotland has been convicted of sexually assaulting two women, including a parishioner he claimed was possessed by demons

www.christianpost.com

Rose_bud · 2025-07-05T11:13:50-0500

Clare73 said:
The pastor's sin is not attributed to the congregation in any sense.

Hey Clare

I don't think anyone was suggesting that the pastor's sin becomes the congregation's sin or its their fault or that they are to blame. But rather that the pastor's sin has bearing on the congregation... i.e they suffer because of it. They are significantly affected by it, emotionally, mentally and spiritually (the lament, disappointment, confusion etc).

I don't know your family dynamic but I'll make another example. It's the same with any tight knit family... if your brother or sister is caught up in drug addiction. The entire family shares in that predicament whether it's the shame of it, whether its the addiction that robs them of the peace or finances. Its the shared experience of pain and suffering that's being referenced.

BigBunny · 2025-07-05T10:55:22-0500

jacks said:
Please pray to give me and my wife strength during this difficult time. We have to put our dog (Jessie) to sleep, because of debilitating arthritis. We have had her on a variety of meds and therapies for over a year, but it has reached the point where she can no longer walk and has lost interest in food. She hasn't wagged her tail for months. It is just very hard and sad for us. Thank you.

sorry this is late, I hope you are doing okay. it's never easy letting go of a beloved pet but you are doing the right thing by Jessie ❤️

Christsfreeservant · 2025-07-05T10:55:17-0500

I know of this woman and her story. She married for love, but as the years passed by, she became sadly aware that her husband was addicted to sexual immorality and idolatry and adultery, and that this had been going on while they were dating and continued after they got married, and never stopped. Eventually the pain and the burden of it all led her to reach out for help.

In her husband’s presence, she reached out to the pastor of a church, and he listened, but he said that he and the elders didn’t know what to do, so they just recommended that her husband seek Christian counseling. So he did, but that failed miserably. And the pastor and the elders did nothing to help the woman. Then in her husband’s presence, again, she sought the help of a former pastor, and when she began to tell him her story, he stopped her, and he would not let her speak without her husband’s permission to tell him of her concerns and her need (cry) for help. He did nothing!

Years later she shared how she had been let down by these pastors, and how they would do nothing to try to get her husband to stop his addiction and to become a loving husband who is faithful to his wife. And the pastor of that church called her on the phone and spoke with both her and her husband, but her husband lied to the pastor, and the pastor would do nothing to correct the husband’s behaviors. Instead, he attacked the woman, treating her as though it was her fault that her husband was unfaithful and an adulterer and a liar and an addict to sexual sin. He did nothing!

Recently, when I was looking at YouTube, there was this video that came up, and it was by a Christian based sexual addiction recovery group, and it was a Q&A with a panel of wives whose husbands had been addicts to sexual sin, and someone was reading them questions which were sent in by women whose husbands were addicts to sexual sin (adultery/idolatry), and the panel of women were attempting to answer these women’s questions. But what stood out to me about this is how they were recommending that the women and their husbands seek godly counsel in order to restore their marriages.

And as I listened to this, immediately what came to mind was this woman’s story of how she attempted to seek godly counsel only to be treated badly by the “men of God” who were supposed to care about her and her husband enough to do what needed to be done, biblically speaking, to rescue her husband from his addiction and to show her mercy, compassion, kindness and love, and to support her in her cry for help. And it grieved me!

Then the Lord reminded me of the story in the Bible of a woman who had been someone who had a reputation for a sinful lifestyle. But she heard that Jesus was reclining at the table of a Pharisee, in his house. So she came to the Pharisee’s house, and she brought with her an alabaster vial of perfume. And standing behind Jesus, at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and she was kissing his feet and anointing them with the perfume. But the Pharisee treated the woman with contempt, for he looked down on her.

And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:40-50 NASB1995)

Now, I know this is not an exact parallel, but I believe the Lord is showing me here that the woman in the story that I shared parallels over to the woman at the Pharisee’s house. Yes, she was a sinner, but she humbled herself before the Lord, I believe in sorrow over her sin, and she worshipped the Lord and she ministered to him only to be treated badly by the Pharisee, and to be looked down upon as though she was not worth Jesus’ time. And the 3 pastors in the woman’s story parallel over to this Pharisee who treated the woman with disdain and who had no compassion for her whatsoever.

And what I find interesting about these two stories is how in the woman’s story she was rejected, cast aside, and treated with disdain by three pastors, who were supposed to be men of God, like the Pharisee was supposed to be, too, who she sought for help. And in the Luke passage this Pharisee failed three times to do for the Lord what should have been done, but he did not do, but that the woman who he disdained did do for the Lord. And so the Lord honored the woman who did the right thing, like the woman in this story who sought the help of 3 pastors to free her husband from his sexual addiction. She did what they should have done, but did not do.

So Jesus forgave her of her past sins because she loved much, and because she continued to love much even when reviled by pastors who treated her like dirt under their feet for them to step on, and who did nothing to lift a finger to help her and to get her husband to stop sinning against her. God honors the woman in this story for doing the right thing for her husband, which she did out of love for her husband and out of love for the Lord, in obedience to him. She loved her husband enough to die to see him be free!

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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A Woman’s Story
An Original Work / July 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

LoricaLady · 2025-07-05T10:52:54-0500

Hundreds of attacks on Nigerian Christians in the past few years have left many killed, injured, and bereft of homes and churches.

Please pray for protection for the Christians, healing and comfort for those who have lost the loved ones, healing for those injured, and that there will be legal justice for those who have perpetuated the attacks.

fhansen · 2025-07-05T10:45:14-0500

Hentenza said:
Human nature. As I stated you see it in your church and I see it in mine. People just like to boast. Also, Paul tells us that the works we are supposed to to do are those prepared beforehand by God so that we could walk in them. Do you know what works are those?

This really doesn't quite make sense to me. You're saying that, even if you do a work prepared for you in advance that you'll probably run out and boast about it? Those works are compelled by compassion, love-and love doesn't boast (1 Cor 13). It doesn't boast when it gives, when it forgives, when it is patient, when it consoles, when it is does the right thing. Are the Pharisees, praying in public so all can see, motivated by the same reason as those who pray in private, Matt 6:5-15?

Hentenza said:
There is no reason to reconcile Eph. 2:8-10 unless you simply don’t believe it. According to Paul we, those that have been given eternal life by the grace of God through faith, are created in Christ for good works. This subset of people, the believers, the sheep that no one will snatch from His hand, will do good works because it is natural. There is no forfeit or loss of freedom. God can soften or harden the hearts of the people according to His plan.

You're putting the cart ahead of the horse. Those who are working out their salvation have the ability to do so by virtue of their vital connection with God. They may or may not persevere in that endeavor.

Hentenza said:
Actually is God coming to be with us as He sent His only Son to become man and die for our sins.

An unncessary distinction- without a difference. Jesus came so that we may be with God.

Hentenza said:
Since we are saved by grace through faith and are His workmanship the penalty for building in the wrong foundation is loss of reward not loss of salvation. His sheep hear His voice and are His and no one will snatch them from Him.

"If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." John 15:5

So: "...apart from Me you can do nothing": As per my quote about our coming to be with God, Jesus tells us about this vital connection to the Vine that we must enter into- and remain in-or be without life.

"If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off." Rom 11:17-22

Paul is speaking above to believers, whose destiny is still potentially in question. You want salvation to be a one-time permanent event because you've believed. But faith, itself, is something that can be "made shipwreck" of. We must pick up our cross and follow daily, doing God's will to the best of our ability with the grace we're given throughout our lives. God gave man freedom so that he might use it rightly. Adam used it wrongly at the beginning, abusing that freedom instead. God's been all about patiently steering man back to right use of his freedom, for his own highest good, and the first step in that is faith, which then opens the door to the life of grace, the life of God in us. If we remain in Him we will produce much fruit. If we don't, if we fail to continue to use our freedom well even as it's now affected and influenced and drawn by grace, then we're dead already, no better than the heathens, and sin, bad fruit, will follow, incidentally; we end up being poor soil. The idea that a believer can live a life not pleasing to God and just loose some reward things in heaven is to seriuosly misread Scripture.

Michie · 2025-07-05T10:44:36-0500

Visitor looking in the kitchen window.

When will you be coming to visit Riley? lol!

rjs330 · 2025-07-05T10:41:10-0500

JSRG said:
Why do you think your opponent in an argument should be the one to try to support what you are arguing?

And if it is so easy to do so, why do you not just do it yourself and offer the sources? A "20 second google search" on your part presumably would have taken less time than the multiple posts you've offered refusing to offer sources.

At some point I quit providing sources for most things. I used to spend a ton of time locating, saving and logging sources and proving my points. I quit doing that for most things.

I finally realized it was a waste if time. People didnt read them nor did it change their minds or opinions.

Ive learned that we are all pretty stuck on our opinions on things and believe what we believe. I come here to debate. And if my words aren't good enough to alter someone's opinion, any sources wont either because my opinions are based on the sources.

Ive also discovered a lot of what people post as sources are also opinion pieces and are often nothing more than journalists spinning something.

So now, I'm pretty much if you think I'm wrong about my argument, prove it or move on. Or we can discuss it.

My arguments are based upon what ive seen, read, and heard. Take it or leave it. Or prove me wrong.

Amo2 · 2025-07-05T10:34:44-0500

The colonists, including their philosohy in their religion, as the people up to that time had always done, were neither skeptics nor sensualilsts, but Christains. The school that bows to the senses as the sole inerpreter of truth had little share in colonizing our America. The colonists from Main to Carolina, the adventurous companies of Smith, the proscribed Puritans that freighted the fleet of Winthrop, the Quaker outlaws that fled from jails with a Newgate prisoner as their sovereign-all had faith in God and in the soul. The system which had been revealed in Judea- the system which combines and perfects the symbolic wisdom of the Orient and the reflective genius of Greece- the system, conforming to reason, yet kindling enthusiasm; always hastening reform, yet always conservative; proclaiming absolute equality among men, yet not suddenly abolishing the unequal institutions of society; guaranteeing absolute freedom, yet invoking the inexorable restrictions of duty; in the highest degree theoretical, and yet in the highest degree practical; awakening the inner man to a consciousness of his destiny, and yet adapted with exact harmony to the outward world; at once divine and human-this system was professed in every part of our widely extended country, and cradled our freedom.

Our fathers were not only Christains; they were, even in Maryland by a vast majority, elsehwere almost unanimously, Protestants. Now the Protestant reformation, considered in its largest influence on politics, was the awakening of the common people to freedom of mind.

During the decline of the Roman empire, the opressed invoked the power of Christianity to resist the supremacy of brute force; and the merciful priest assumed the office of protector. The tribunes of Rome, appointed by the people, had been declared inviolable by the popular vote; the new tribunes of humanity, deriving their office from religion, and ordained by religion to a still more venerable sanctity, defended the poor man's house against lust by the sacrament of marriage; restrained arbitrary passion by a menace of the misery due to sin unrepented of and unatoned; and taught respect for the race by sprinkling every new-born child with the water of life, confirming every youth, bearing the oil of consolation to every death-bed, and sharing freely with every human being the consecrated emblem of God present with man.

But from protectors priests grew to be usurpers. Expressing all moral truth by the mysteries of symbols, and reserving to themselves the administration of seven sacraments, they claimed a monopoly of thought and exercised an absolute spiritual dominion. Human bondage was strongly riveted; for they had fastened it on the affections, the understanding, and the reason. Ordaining thier own successors, they ruled human destiny at birth, on entering active life, at marriage, when frailty breathed its confession, when faith aspired to communion with God, and at death. (History of the United States, Bancroft Vol. 1.)

LoricaLady · 2025-07-05T10:34:20-0500

05 July 2025 – Burkina Faso

Thank God for the 45 students who recently completed their baccalaureate qualification thanks to our project funding schooling for displaced Christian children. Pray for God’s guidance and encouragement for them as they seek work, training or higher education.

04 July 2025 – Burkina Faso

Give thanks for the displaced pastors and widows of martyrs who have been able to establish new livelihoods through our projects. Pray that their livestock and new businesses will provide enough support for them and their families as well as others in need.

03 July 2025 – Burkina Faso

Pray for the Christian children our partner is supporting through schooling despite having been displaced from their homes and communities. Pray that they will make new friends, enjoy a fresh sense of belonging and grasp the opportunity to fulfil their potential in the places to which they have been displaced.

02 July 2025 – Burkina Faso

Pray for protection, wisdom and blessing on our partner, Pastor S and his team, especially as they travel in and out of dangerous parts of the country to meet persecuted and displaced Christians and to administer the projects that help them.

01 July 2025 – Burkina Faso

As Burkina Faso once again tops the Institute for Economics & Peace’s Global Terrorism Index, please pray for comfort for those Christians who mourn loved ones lost to Islamist violence and pray for peace in this nation, and throughout the wider Sahel region from Mali to Sudan.

30 June 2025 – Cameroon

Pray for those ministering to Christians who have been traumatised by Islamist attacks in Cameroon. Pray that those who grieve and mourn would find healing and renewed hope.

29 June 2025 – Cameroon

Pray for unity and protection for the church in Cameroon, especially in the northern part of the country which has been beset by civil conflict and regular attacks from Boko Haram and other militant Islamist groups.

The Barbarian · 2025-07-05T10:34:00-0500

rjs330 said:
It doesn't do as much damage to society as killing millions of children who would benefit society in untold ways.

It's true that starving them is less criminal than killing them. But the cost to society to have millions of damaged people, who might have benefited society in untold ways, is much higher than if they just didn't exist.

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Why is the dollar off to a weak start this year?

05 July 2025 – Burkina Faso

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30 June 2025 – Cameroon

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