During a recent interview, Jenny McCarthy discussed her conservative values and said she “completely surrendered” to Jesus after Charlie Kirkwas murdered. Although the 53-year-old actor has “always been a follower of Christ,” she said the September assassination of conservative commentator Kirk caused her to become “so devoted” to Jesus.

On the Dec. 11 episode of “Culture Apothecary,” host Alex Clark asked McCarthy about her activism and her views about Hollywood, which led to conversations about values and faith. The actor, who was raised Catholic, said she has “a very deep relationship with God.” McCarthy explained, “Some people have to work really hard to hear him. I’ve got a direct line. I mean, Jesus is my homie.”

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I'm not knocking marriage. I would like to be married again myself, but I don't believe it is what you think it is.

As a parent I can tell you that my love for my children far outweighs the love of any other human on the planet. They are relationships like no other, even unlike each other. Both of them has a different and unique relationship with me because they are not the same. I never treated my kids the same, and I don't interact with them in identical ways. They are two very different people, and our relationships are very different.

If you have ever been close to a dysfunctional family that includes abuse and neglect, you can see that not every child gets loved by default. There is often a favorite. There is often one that gets abused and neglected more or in different ways than the others. There is often one kid that one or both parents doesn't like or want. Everyone isn't automatically loved simply for existing within a family or because they are one of the kids.

Ryan Reynolds said something like when he got married he would be willing to die for his wife, but when his first child was born he realized he would be willing to throw his wife in front his child to shield his child.

This idea you seem to have in your head about what it's like to be someone's "one and only" is a fantasy. It can be a short-lived thing... But there's other family members, especially children or aged parents, that might come before you. The romantic and passionate love that draws people together in a unique relationship that they don't share with anyone else is temporary, and I think a tool to get people to commit to each other and procreate. Once that goal (the lifelong commitment) has been reach, it fizzles out. It can come and go, but it's never the same again. Sometimes it doesn't come and go. It's just gone.

When you're years and decades deep into paying a whole household worth of bills, gaining children and grandchildren, doting on nieces and nephews and your kids' friends, school meetings and events, your parents becoming elderly, medical needs, jobs, neighbors, and lawn mowing and washing dishes for 10,000th time, that specialness of a "one and only" relationship just feels like an item on a list of chores and responsibilities on a random Tuesday.

Being someone's "one and only" doesn't feel special when their attention is drawn to many other things and people that are also important and needed. You're relationship is just one of many needs and responsibilities in each other's lives. It shifts from being romantic and passionate, to a companionship with someone you get to be intimate with if you both have time and energy, and having a close friend to grow old with, until one of you dies and the other is left to die alone, unless you're still young and healthy enough to remarry and find the next "one and only."

On Friday, Dec. 12, Angel Studios, the streaming platform that introduced the world to “The Chosen,” announced it will release a new animated adaptation of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” in theaters nationwide on May 1, 2026. The studio acquired theatrical distribution rights for the project, which is led by director Andy Serkis.

According to Angel Studios’ website, the streaming platform that is “powered by over 1 million Angel Guild members [is] driven by purpose, and built to share stories that amplify light.” In addition to “The Chosen,” Angel Studios has distributed “Sound of Freedom,” “The King of Kings,” Bonhoeffer,” “Homestead,” “Cabrini,” “Sound of Hope,” “The WingFeather Saga,” and the upcoming animated film “David.” It is also often heralded as a family-friendly alternative to the Disney+ streaming platform.

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I came from Somalia at 19. Let me tell you about the America I met.​

<excerpt>

"Years passed, and my assumptions about life in America kept collapsing. I enrolled in a federally funded job training program, where I started out learning to be an electrician and left with a path to college. I studied public affairs at a public university while working about 30 hours a week as a bus driver. I interned at a federal agency in Washington. I graduated with high distinction and was chosen to give the commencement speech for my class.

People opened doors for me. They offered mentorship without expecting anything in return. They connected me to opportunities I did not know existed. In college, I spent a semester in D.C. as part of a leadership program funded by a generous American sponsor. Later, I studied abroad, financed by another generous American who did not even know my name. I graduated and started working for a Fortune 500 company. I continued my education further than I ever imagined possible, all the way to a top business school in this country.

Along the way, I eventually accepted a truth that would have sounded impossibly naive to my 19-year-old self: America really does try to live up to its ideals."


Most Americans welcome the immigrant....despite what you hear from Donald J Trump and some of his supporters.

Twenty years ago, I wrote my first book with the late Bishop Harry Jackson, Personal Faith: Public Policy. Among the major issues we examined were immigration and health care. And here we are — two decades later — still listening to the same debates. Some issues in Washington are like that proverbial leaking roof: everyone knows it needs fixing, and every storm reminds us of the problem. But instead of grabbing a ladder and repairing it, the buckets just get moved around.

The current storm was created when Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer used the manufactured COVID-19 crisis as cover to spend billions more taxpayer dollars to prop up the failing Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Many predicted this back in 2010, when Nancy Pelosi famously declared, “We have to pass it so we can read it,” as she pushed it through Congress without a single Republican vote. The so-called Affordable Care Act quickly became what many warned it would become — the unaffordable care act.

Democrats doubled down in March 2021 and again in August 2022, passing the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, again without a single Republican vote. The first bill created temporary subsidies to mask the ACA’s structural failures, and the second extended this bailout until December 2025. Not only has the Affordable Care Act proven unaffordable — contrary to President Obama’s promises — it was deliberately crafted to bypass the longstanding bipartisan Hyde Amendment, which kept taxpayers out of the abortion business.

That brings us to the present dilemma for Republicans, who now find themselves the property managers of this leaking roof. They have inherited a failed, government-driven health system that funds abortion and pays for controversial experimental drugs and surgeries used in gender transitions.

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Hobby Lobby is giving away half a million copies of the book The Case for Christmas in the latest example of the nationwide retailer making the Christian faith an essential part of its day-to-day operations.

In an X post on Dec. 3, author Lee Strobel announced that Hobby Lobby is giving away half a million free copies of his book The Case for Christmas at its stores nationwide ahead of Christmas Day: “I’m praying God uses them to point people to Himself!”

Strobel clarified in a follow-up X post on Dec. 6 that Hobby Lobby will continue to give away free copies of the book until 500,000 copies are handed out.

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mindlight said:

We have the only message of true hope, true love and true life out there but people are being blocked from hearing by centuries of baggage and stupidity.

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Strong disagree. A secular country is a prosperous, less violent country.

A new report published by the General Secretariat for Catholic Education (SGEC) in France has sent shockwaves through the country’s educational landscape, reopening the debate over the methods used in state oversight, possible ideological abuses, and their impact on educational freedom. 

Published on Dec. 8, the 14-page document widely cited in the French press compiles testimonies from teachers, principals, and staff in Catholic schools under state contract who report having been subjected to what Catholic education leaders describe as “abusive,” “intrusive” inspections carried out by officials from the Ministry of National Education. The report highlights that it does not challenge the principle of state oversight itself but denounces the methods employed — methods that, according to Catholic leaders, risk undermining both the dignity of educators and the very identity of Catholic schools.

The controversy erupted just a few months after the publication of a parliamentary report calling for increased oversight of Catholic institutions in the name of child protection. Catholic school officials are now issuing a strong warning against the climate of suspicion and political exploitation that they have seen develop in recent months.

In July, revelations of physical and sexual abuse at Notre Dame de Bétharram, a Catholic boarding school in southwestern France, triggered a nationwide debate on how abuse in schools is identified, reported, and addressed, alongside similar cases at other institutions. A parliamentary inquiry subsequently examined these cases, highlighting serious institutional failures while also prompting questions about how oversight is carried out at faith-based schools operating under state contract.

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lismore said:

For those who don't think churches could revere demons or compel others to do so, there's 'Tuesday' for example. A day of the week named to honour a pagan god of war. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are the same.

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It's the same for the name of all the planets - Think about it.

Akita Suggagaki said:

Donald Trump re-entered the Oval Office in January with a net approval rating of positive 6. Since then it has fallen, interrupted only by brief upticks. By early December it had dropped to -18. His polling numbers had only been that low once in his second term, back in October. This week it climbed back a bit, to -16.

Donald Trump’s approval rating

Follow our presidential approval rating poll tracker to see how favourably Americans view Mr Trump

www.economist.com

You have another source not “fake”?

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Most of @Aryeh Jay's posts are tongue -in-cheek.

samaus123456789 said:

1 Maccabees 9:27​

Common English Bible​

27 So there was great distress in Israel, the worst since the time when prophets ceased to appear among them.​

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Greetings to you samaus, I hope your week is beginning well.

The title of your thread is Maccabees no prophets. You then quote 1 Maccabees which shows us that the Jews of that time believed that the prophets had ceased to be sent by God. This in turn supports our own reading of the Bible that God had put an end to all prophets, dreams and visions until the coming of Elijah. That time span would then be around 400 B.C. to the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus.

But you then turn to this (below)...

samaus123456789 said:

Some of these are describing Pompey invading Jerusalem 63 BC then dying in Egypt 48 BC. One is describing the Babylon exile 587 BC or the Assyrian exile 722 BC. One claims to be a conversation Solomon had back in the 900s BC. It is possible that one goes back to Solomon. I do not know why a scribe titled this manuscript psalms of Solomon when none claim to have authorship by Solomon, and several are clearly recalling events after his time. Psalm 17 contains multiple prophecies about Jesus so at least this psalm is claiming be written before 1 AD, and claiming to be inspired scripture. The same psalm contains a part about either Pompey or Antiochus 4 in Maccabees also. Assuming it is about the same person in the other psalms that besieged Jerusalem it was Pompey. The internal date of authorship is between 48 BC, and 1 AD. I believe it is inspired scripture.​

So although most prophecy seemed to stop after Malachi was written around 400 BC there is some prophecy 48 BC-1 AD. I believe 1/2/3 Maccabees are inspired like Esther,​

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So let me ask this...
(1) If we read that God told us through the Scripture that there would be no more prophets or visions until the coming of Elijah...
(2) ...and in historical writings we see that the Jews of the time actually thought the same thing (so its not some modern day reading)...
(3) ... but then you say that there was in fact prophecies before the coming of Elijah...
(4) ... is God shown to be a liar?

Now I would presume that you would not in fact be calling God a lair. But it does seem that you have a problem with what appears to be a most reasonable reading of God's promise (one even the Jews of the times held) and what you say you believe.

Am I missing something?

Peace to you brother

About half of American adults who were raised Catholic and stayed in the Church said the faith continues to “fulfill their spiritual needs,” according to a Pew Research Center report.

The Dec. 15 report, “Why Do Some Americans Leave Their Religion While Others Stay?”, examines the religious switching of U.S. adults. It looks into the reasons why people stay or leave their childhood faith, addressing the social and demographic factors associated with the changes.

The report includes findings from a survey of 8,937 U.S. adults who are part of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP). The survey was conducted May 5–11 and its overall margin of error is 1.4 percentage points. It also uses information from the center’s 2023-24 Religious Landscape Study (RLS), a survey of 36,908 U.S. adults conducted from July 17, 2023, to March 4, 2024, with an overall margin of error of 0.8 percentage points.

While the report revealed many U.S. adults (35%) have left the religion they grew up in, the majority of Americans (56%) still identify with their childhood religion. Another 9% weren’t raised in a religion and still don’t have one today.

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United Airlines reached a settlement with a flight attendant who alleged that the airline fired him for endorsing Catholic teachings on marriage and gender identity.

The former employee, Ruben Sanchez, of Anchorage, Alaska, alleged that United Airlines investigated his social media history after someone reported a private in-flight conversation he had with another Catholic flight attendant.

“Sanchez and his colleague discussed their working conditions and everyday life. As they were both Catholic, their discussion turned to Catholic theology and then, with United’s ‘Pride Month’ activities set to start on June 1, Catholic teachings on marriage and sexuality,” Sanchez’s complaint states.

The Catholic Church makes a distinction between homosexual orientation and homosexual activity. Same-sex attraction itself is not considered morally wrong, and homosexuals “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2358), with unjust discrimination avoided. The Church teaches that God’s design for sexuality is entwined with marriage and family life and is characterized by the exclusive, indissoluble covenant of marriage.

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The 14-year legal battle against federal contraceptive mandates will continue, with Little Sisters of the Poor and the federal government seeking to reinstate moral and religious exemptions that were established in 2017.

Little Sisters of the Poor have already won religious freedom cases on this subject twice at the Supreme Court level. The high court ruled in 2016 that the federal government must protect religious freedoms for those who oppose the contraceptives and in 2020 ruled that the federal government had the legal authority to adopt the broad exemptions established in 2017.

Those exemptions fully covered employers that had religious or moral objections to providing the contraceptives, some of which can be abortifacient. Under the rules, those employers were not required to include any contraceptive coverage in their insurance plans for employees.

In spite of the prior Supreme Court wins, a federal court in August 2025 struck down the 2017 exemptions on grounds that the Supreme Court had not yet ruled on.

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dmdaraptlcmi said:

Yes that is him, I was not aware of this, I hope the allegations are not true! God is still using his ministry in a big way, I have received a miracle several times calling his miracle hotline!

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How much does your miracle cost you.

After being edged out by 2.9% in the Nov. 16 general election by his Communist Party opponent Jeannette Jara, Republican Party candidate José Antonio Kast reversed the result in the Dec. 14 runoff vote to become the new president-elect of Chile.

With 58% of the vote, and in line with the polls that predicted him as the winner with more than 55%, Kast prevailed over Jara, who obtained 42%.

With 99.97% of the ballots counted, showing a difference of more than 2 million valid votes, the runoff election marks a change of political direction for the country, currently led by President Gabriel Boric of the political left.

Kast is slated to take office as president of Chile on March 11, 2026. On the same day, the legislators elected in November will also take office.

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Michie said:

Some bishops contend that political ideology is responsible for the disconnect they’re experiencing with some of their flock on the issue. But other Catholics say that a failure of Church leaders to openly engage the faithful on the issue is part of the problem.

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Well, doh, of course it is political ideology that's responsible for the disconnect. And that's not just political ideology on the part of the laity. Bishops too are prone to getting political. The Catholic Church is not the Democratic Party at prayer. Nor is it the Republican Party at prayer. I think lots of bishops do think it is the former. Which is why we are disconnected.

Studyman said:

Because He knew, just as Jesus knew, that God chose Moses to record God's Laws, Statutes, and Commandments.

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Citation please.

Pope Leo XIV on Monday thanked Costa Rican artist Paula Sáenz Soto for donating a pro-life Nativity scene to the Vatican, named “Gaudium” (“Joy”), which features a pregnant Virgin Mary.

“I thank the Costa Rican artist who, along with the message of peace of Christmas, also wanted to make an appeal for protecting life from conception,” the pope said during the audience he granted Dec. 15 to the delegations that prepared this year’s Christmas tree and Nativity scenes that will adorn the Vatican during the Christmas season.

The artwork from the Central American country has been on display since Dec. 15 in the Pope Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican, the large hall where the pope is now holding his Wednesday general audiences so pilgrims don’t have to endure the cold temperatures of the Roman winter in St. Peter’s Square.

In his address, the Holy Father alluded to its composition, mentioning the 28,000 colorful ribbons that symbolize lives saved thanks to the support provided by Catholic organizations to pregnant women in vulnerable situations.

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AstralHammer said:

This is an interesting response. Thanks. I can tell you are a thinker.

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Thanks.
Even though I do think... a lot... it's not my thinking, really.
It's more, God's thinking, as I getting God's mind on the matter, so tat my thoughts would be aligned with his thoughts.
So, in any event where I might be led by my treacherous heart, I would be repeating God's view in my head.

I always did this, when I saw in the scriptures that something I loved was 'questionable', I would deliberately hammer those scriptures at me, to get my mind on the right track.
I didn't find it easy ignoring my conscience.

As I mentioned in the other thread, the scripture Romans 2:21-24 had a serious impact on me.

AstralHammer said:

I'm thinking too. Some things I think about, is when you say blood and gore violence vs what? Non-blood and gore violence? This question could be construed as akin to hard vs soft porn. Maybe not. Or maybe combat of any sort in video games and could be considered unrighteous even if fictional. I'm still trying to digest your answer.

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I was going to say blood and gore and violence, but since most games come with the blood and gore, these day, I decided to combine them.
Your question is, not only an interesting one. It's a good question.
Can violence be compared to porn in this sense?

Zephaniah 1 and Revelation 19:11-21 describe violent events.
David struck down a giant that was taunting God, and he also killed a lion and a bear.
That would make God, Jesus and God's ancient people guilty of sin, if acts of violence were wrong... in these circumstance.

The Bible does not specifically condemn violence, so does that mean it's okay to play a game where the player has to kill animals attacking him?
That's where one's conscious comes in, and using scriptural principles.
Hebrews 5:11-14 says the mature Christian "by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil."

Corey would ask...

1. Does the game promote violence? For example, is violence the primary feature, or prominent in the game?
2. If a violent act takes place, is it graphic? For example, if an act of violence takes place, is it an explicit and uncensored depiction, or is it more like... give me a couple days to find one.
3. How might Bible principles such as Psalm 11:5; Isaiah 2:2-4; Matthew 26:52 help me decide?
4. What about playing a game where the player has to kill giants or other creatures...Like the many senseless games out there.?

However, being entertained by something that is wrong, is not the same thing as reading about something that is wrong.
For example, Genesis 34:1-34 describes Shechem violating Dinah, after which Jacob's sons slaughtered all the men of the city.
We could certainly imagine what these events were like, but that's different to watching graphic sexual and violent content.

Pornography has one purpose only.
Graphic violence also has a purpose.
Both, unanimously are avoided by Christians seeking to please God.
Ephesians 5:3-5, 10-14; Colossians 3:5, 6; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 Psalm 11:5

A person may reason, 'What if a husband and wife make a sexually explicit video, for educational purposes. It's not sexual immorality. So, can a Christian watch it... perhaps a new Christian couple might be trying to learn the ins and outs of sex.'
Hmm.
Corey would think...

• Would this not be opening the doors to adultery?
• Would this couple not be inviting lust into their relationship, to either one of the mates.
• What's the Bible principle? Matthew 5:28 is one. As we can see, this involves the eyes, and how we sinful mankind is lured. 2 Samuel 11:2-4. Job said, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? We can add... Or a married woman, because the same principle applies.

Allow me to demonstrate the difference between "thinking Corey", and "thinking Corey adjusting his thoughts to conform to a higher thinking - that is, God's thoughts" Isaiah 55:8, 9
Corey, once started to reason, that some forms of pornography could be considered 'educational', or even 'art', but this was Corey's heart at work.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9

However, the Bible quickly debunked the world's thinking with just one scripture - Matthew 5:28.
That, along with the others, helped me to see that viewing these things does not allow me to ""put to death" the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry." Colossians 3:5
So, Corey adjusted his thinking, to what is clearly, God's thinking.

I've been putting this into practice, for a long time, and so, I know it works,
I even have seen that one can become addicted to games, to the point where one's time is wasted, and one can immerse themselves in a world where it's possible to do anything... including what one would not do in reality.
Hence, some sick minds out there, created Grand Theft Auto, Left 4 Dead 2, Manhunt 2... and the list goes on.

...and people immerse themselves, saying, "It's not just okay. It's awesome!".

Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen

samaus123456789 said:

I never said it is in the canon. I said it is inspired. You reject inspired scripture because it is not in the protestant canon. The text is not for you. It is for wise mature Christians only. Mathew 7:6
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

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I do not follow a Protestant canon.

Evil done on a large scale can be impressive. However evil done on a small scale such as the abuse of a child is still evil. Without Christ, any one of us could be just as evil.