rocknanchor said:

Should a Church mirror the frequency the Apostle Paul and others exhibited in the book of Acts?

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rocknanchor said:

''Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

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rjs330 said:

I dont think its unfortunate at all. Things have changed. People are realizing what its doing to America and the problems it is causing.

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As we recently celebrated the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, we ought to ask ourselves why we believe that Christ is truly our king. Then we must ask ourselves if we really believe it. If we do not examine these reasons and our belief in them, we will soon become disappointed in Him because we will be expecting from Him things that He does not intend to do in our lives.

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Why Do You Believe Jesus Is King? - Catholic Exchange

Many were disappointed expecting Jesus as a worldly king, but His true reign is shown in shared humanity, victory over death, and eternal authority.

catholicexchange.com

timothyu said:

That's right, in the same way we need to admit our backwards ways and admit God's will is better than ours and we should seek to serve Him rather that ourselves and the adversarial world we have built.atc

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BelieveItOarKnot said:

Honesty comes from God

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Mary's Age

Catholic tradition and historical scholarship offer a range of possibilities for Mary's age, with most estimates placing her as a teenager:

• Traditional View: The non-canonical 2nd-century text, the Protoevangelium of James, which influenced early Christian thought, suggests Mary was around 12 years old when she was betrothed to Joseph and about 14 to 16 years old when Jesus was born.
• Scholarly Estimates: Most modern historians and biblical scholars estimate Mary was likely between 15 and 16 years old at Jesus' birth, which was a common age for Jewish girls in the first century to be married.

Joseph's Age

Estimates for Joseph's age show a much wider range, with differing traditions:

• Traditional View (Older Joseph): To support the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity, an ancient tradition, also found in the Protoevangelium of James, depicts Joseph as a much older man, an elderly widower, possibly in his 80s or 90s, who had children from a previous marriage. This view explains the mention of Jesus' "brothers and sisters" in the Gospels as Joseph's step-children. This is a common depiction in traditional Christian art.
• Modern Scholarly View (Younger Joseph): Many modern biblical scholars and some Catholic theologians argue it is more likely Joseph was a young man, probably in his late teens or early 20s. The view is supported by the fact that he was a carpenter (a physically demanding trade), was able to travel long distances with his new family, and presumably died before Jesus began his public ministry, all of which would have been difficult for a man in his 80s or 90s.

Ultimately, the Catholic Church has no official dogma on their precise ages; what matters theologically is their obedience to God's will and their role as the earthly parents of Jesus.

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DamianWarS said:

But you see the words "and added nothing else" and create this wild doctrine from it. It's not about adding to the 10 (which SDA adds an 11th commandment for dietary laws) but rather understand the 10 are a part of a greater covenant.

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Ophiolite said:

Well there is this:
Primary sources contain no such statements. Byrd’s expedition logs, radio transmissions, and official reports from his 1926 flight over the Arctic and his later Antarctic expeditions contain no references to hollow Earth entrances, polar openings, hidden civilizations, or unexpected warm areas.


• The infamous “secret diary” is not authentic. A text often cited as Byrd’s suppressed personal account, describing flying into an inner world or meeting non-human beings, surfaced decades after his death and is demonstrably not in Byrd’s hand, tone, or known writing style. There is no archival trail for its origin.


• Misinterpretation of a 1947 remark. Byrd made public comments in the late 1940s about the strategic significance of the polar regions, describing them as potential avenues for military attack or rapid travel. A key phrase—often quoted as him saying there was “a land beyond the Pole”—referred to the geographical and geopolitical importance of the Arctic basin, not a literal landmass.


• Operational records show the expected Arctic environment. Meteorological notes, flight logs, and scientific observations from Byrd and his contemporaries match what is now well-established about the polar climate and geography. No anomalous warm regions, hidden valleys, or unexplored continents appear in the data.


• No corroboration from other explorers. Amundsen, Nobile, Ellsworth, MacMillan, and later Arctic researchers crossed the same regions by air and ice, producing detailed maps and measurements that leave no room for the extraordinary features attributed to Byrd’s accounts.


• Fringe interpretations arise from later authors. Most extraordinary claims first appear in 1950s–1980s hollow-Earth or esoteric literature that used Byrd as an authority figure but provided no primary documentation.

Summary by ChatGpt. I shall expand on any of these to which you offer an evidenced refutation.

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​

Things Hidden Under The North Pole!​

Yanky said:

I watch Christians (mostly male) torture themselves over lust. I think it is fair to say that most Christians have been misled about what kind of lust that Jesus was talking about. Here it is in a nutshell.

The word almost always translated as “lust” in Matthew 5:28 is the Greek ἐπιθυμέω (epithumeō). In every other place in the New Testament it’s translated as “covet” or “desire” (sometimes even positively), and in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament that Jesus and the apostles quoted) it’s the exact word used for “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife” (Exodus 20:17). So the context is clearly coveting → mentally violating the Seventh Commandment by fantasizing about adultery with a married woman.

Jesus was intensifying the Torah’s command against adultery, not issuing a blanket condemnation of sexual desire or attraction. The early Church Fathers (Augustine especially) later universalized it into “any sexual thought outside of procreative marital sex = mortal sin,” and that sex-negative overlay got baked into Western Christianity (and then influenced some Jewish and Muslim interpretations too). But Jesus didn't say that at all.

So yes: noticing an attractive single woman and feeling turned on? Perfectly normal, healthy, and morally neutral.

Mentally undressing your friend’s wife and cultivating the fantasy? That’s the “adultery in the heart” Jesus was talking about.

Other later church figures widened the topic to saying that all lust is bad. But that's not at all what Jesus said. I feel bad hearing Christian males feeling guilty for no good reason.

Can anyone relate to this?

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Jane Chai said:

Hello everyone, I would like to ask for prayer.

Lately, I’ve been feeling emotionally overwhelmed because of my father. In my daily life, I often have to be with him, and he frequently brings up heavy topics, complains, or speaks in ways that feel intense and pressing. This leaves me feeling anxious, drained, and afraid of losing my peace. I naturally long for calm, quiet, and a gentle environment, but daily life makes it very hard to find these moments.

I know that in January I will have to travel and spend whole days with him, which adds to my worry. I want to be emotionally strong, but I feel the weight of constant tension and pressure.

I am asking for God’s help to use the next two months to cultivate peace in my heart, so that I can:

Handle daily life with patience, calmness, and joy

Remain gentle, wise, and emotionally resilient when interacting with my father in January

Maintain healthy boundaries without dishonoring him

Keep my spirit connected to God’s presence and inner peace despite challenges

Please pray for God’s peace, strength, and guidance in my daily life, and that I may be prepared emotionally and spiritually for the month of January.

Thank you so much for your prayers. I deeply trust God to guard my heart, restore my calm, and fill my days with His peace.

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Apple Sky said:

@David Lamb @Strong in Him @prodromos & to who ever it may concern.

Just to let you know I am feeling a lot better now thanks to the Lord, thank you for all your kind concerns, I thought I were dying. You are really terrific people on here.

Many blessing

Apple

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bling said:

First off in Mark 4:15 Jesus specifically says: “Some people” and not “all people”.

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Always in His Presence said:

Who is this? An Islamic group that follows a strict Salafi-jihadi ideology. They are seeking to establish an Islamic emirate in Somalia governed by its extreme interpretation of Sharia law. It is strongly anti-Western, anti-African Union, and opposes the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), which it considers apostate.

This coming from a State governed by someone who could have been VP.

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