Around age 21 I came across a quote from C. S. Lewis from my office. It piqued my interest, and I checked out Mere Christianity from my local library. I had never understood my sin fully until near the end of the first section "...we know that if there does exist an absolute goodness it must hate most of what we do."

This hit me hard. I got up and knelt in front of my couch, remained silent, and I felt a presence in the room above me. I think it may have been the Holy Spirit, but I don't know for sure. That's why I made this thread in TAW.

Anyway, it was a powerful experience, but I soon forgot it, and the next two and a half decades were run of the mill debauchery. But I remained somehow weakly sympathetic to Christianity.

Later in life I was with a girl in the morning after a drugged-out weekend. We were sleepily surfing TV channels and stopped on some type of TBN televangelist channel. Just out of curiosity, I asked her "Do you think Christianity is true?" She scrunched up her nose, shook her head and said "No, the world's too weird." To this day I think that was a very interesting answer. I might have expected her to say that Christianity is too weird, but instead, she said the world was too weird. I think she, accidentally or not, hit the nail on the head.

9Rock9 said:

How do you understand verses that imply the kingdom is already here, like Colossians 1:13?

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As I said God's Kingdom is eternal, past, present, and future. He is always "King" over all of His Creation. When the Prophets spoke of the coming Messianic Kingdom, they were referring to a particular application of God's eternal Kingdom. I call it the Eschatological Kingdom. That Kingdom is near, but not yet here.

Seems like this website was or is plagued with posts making assertions without evidence.

Mercy Shown said:

One has to take it in the context of the argument that Hebrews is makeing

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Yes exactly, which is OT. This passage is telling us why those who came before us did not enter into their promise land of rest, due to disobedience Heb4:6 and we are told plainly what they disobeyed that kept them out Eze20:15-16 and not to harden our hearts Heb4:7 Heb3:7-19 Psa95:7-14 and follow in their same path of disobedience Heb4:11 why this is promoting Sabbath-keeping which remains for the people of God just as God spoke is on the seventh day Heb4:4,9,10, not Sabbath-breaking. God's people keep God's commandments the way God said Rev14:12

Mercy Shown said:

. At any rate, since you insist that Exodus 20:8-11 is spicifically calendric and must be observed as such and that those who rest in Christ as their sabbath are still disobedient to God then how can you dismiss Exodus 35:1-3. Any argument that you can think of for ignoring God's unchangeable law in this case can also be applied to Exodus 20:8-11. No one gets to have their cake and eat it too.

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I think you might be confusing the law, with the judgment of the law- the wages of sin is death. We are no longer under a theocracy, Judgement is now on the last day. John12:48. There was a death penalty for murder and adultery as well, it doesn't mean we can do these things either, without repenting as we do no want to hear these words on that Great Day Mat7:23 if we continue in that path Heb10:26-30, I think there is a reason why God said Remember- because He knew almost everyone would forget. I believe He always means what He says.

Pray The Holy Spirit spreads Jesus Christ's Gospel as the primary cure in battling mental health illness especially in light of the killing of Hollywood director Rob Reiner & his wife by their mentally I'll son:

The individual behind an anonymous X account rife with white supremacist and anti-immigration posts has been identified as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement prosecutor, according to a detailed new report by the Texas Observer.

The profile “GlomarResponder,” which boasts more than 17,000 followers, is run by 44-year-old James “Jim” Joseph Rodden, an assistant chief counsel for ICE in the Dallas area, who reportedly filled the X page with numerous hateful, racist, and xenophobic posts.

“America is a White nation, founded by Whites … Our country should favor us,” GlomarResponder wrote just last month.

“All blacks are foreign to my people, dumb (BLEEP),” the account posted last September.

In May 2024, GlomarResponder posted, “I’m not a commie, I’m a fascist. Fascists solve communist problems. Get your insults right, retard.”

And in August: “‘Migrants’ are all criminals.”

Last March: “Nobody is proposing feeding migrants into tree shredders. Yet. Give it a few more weeks at this level of invasion, and that will be the moderate position.”

And just last month: “My WWII vet grandfather didn’t get a chance to kill asians, so he volunteered for Korea. He’d be asking for a short term job with ICE kicking doors and swinging a baton.”

Rodden’s connection to the page was unearthed through a thorough investigation of the GlomarResponder’s social activity, which included posts suggesting that its operator was affiliated with an ICE office.

Warning.. slightly censored profanity at the site.

There are five critical days on the chart, highlighted each with a yellow box background.

day 1 - when the Antichrist makes a big speech from the temple mount - to begin the 7 years.

day 1185 - the statue image will be placed on the temple mount - to begin the great tribulation

day 1260 - the day when the two witness will be killed.

day 2475 - the day when the sing of the Son of man will appear in heaven

day 2520 - the day when Jesus returns to this earth - ending the 7 years.

And furoshiki

ACA shoppers face sticker shock as Congress dithers on health care​

According to a KFF poll released in December, about half of current enrollees who are registered to vote said that if their overall health care expenses — copays, deductibles, and premiums — increased by $1,000 next year, it would have a "major impact" on whether they vote in next year's midterm elections or which party's candidate they support.

"Before I sign up, I will wait and see what happens," said poll participant Daniela Perez, a 34-year-old education consultant in Chicago who says her current plan will increase to $1,200 a month from about $180 this year without an extension of the tax credits. "I'm not super hopeful. Seems like everything is in gridlock."

"They said, based on our salary, we don't qualify," said Debra Nweke, who, at 64, is retired, while her husband, 62, still works. They live in Southern California and are looking at coverage going from $1,000 a month this year to $2,400 monthly next year if they stay in the same ACA plan. "How can you have health insurance that is more than your rent?"

"Our prices are going up, but even at that, I don't have any other options," said Andrew Schwarz, a 38-year-old preacher in Bowie, Texas, who gets ACA coverage for himself and his wife. His three children are on a state health insurance program because the family qualifies as low-income.

Schwarz said that while the health system overall has many problems, Obamacare has worked out for his family. They'll just have to take the additional cost out of somewhere else in the family budget, he said.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for shoppers. People needed to choose their ACA plan by Monday for coverage to begin Jan. 1. Open enrollment continues in most states until Jan. 15 for coverage beginning Feb. 1.

Dying to self is an indispensable cal to discipleship. And yet it the least practiced. There are some forms that come naturally, like sacrifices we make for family members. But when it comes to hardships in life, surrendering our will to God’s will as revealed through the realities of life, we crumble. It is only human.

And it is so humbling. We may think we are spiritually advanced until it comes to a reality that we not only would not choose, but may not even accept. Illnesses, deaths, tragedies, or just unfortunate turns of events. Can any of us say like Job, (Job 2:10) "Shall we accept good from God, and not adversity?" or "Should we take only good things from God and not trouble?"

essentialsaltes said:

Major policy decisions need political approval, HHS told CDC chief before ouster​

Susan Monarez, the fired CDC director, and Debra Houry, one of three top agency leaders who resigned in protest, are appearing before the Senate health committee.

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Both have now been hired by California's new Public Health initiative.

Newsom appoints ex-CDC officials to lead California’s new public health network​

Dr Susan Monarez to head PHNIX, a response to Trump administration’s dismantling of public health safeguards

Dr Susan Monarez, the former director of the CDC, will lead California’s new public health initiative, the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange (PHNIX).

In August, Monarez was fired by the Trump administration less than a month into the top job at the CDC after refusing to step down. Monarez had clashed with Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. on vaccine policy.

Newsom also hired former CDC chief medical officer Dr Debra Houry, who resigned after a decade at the agency after Monarez’s dismissal.

PHNIX was created to modernize the state’s public health infrastructure and serve as a direct response to the Trump administration’s dismantling of public health safeguards and prioritization of vaccine skepticism.

“By bringing on expert scientific leaders to partner in this launch, we’re strengthening collaboration and laying the groundwork for a modern public health infrastructure that will offer trust and stability in scientific data not just across California, but nationally and globally.”

eleos1954 said:

First comes temptation ... then the fall. There will be no temptation to sin when we get to heaven ... there is no temptation to sin in heaven.

If satan had not tempted Adam & Eve ... would they have sinned? No

If satan had not tempted the angels to sin would they have sinned? No

I don't want to sin ... but I sometimes yield to the temptation of satan and I do sin .... and I ask for forgiveness and repentance ... thank you Lord Jesus for your love and grace. AMEN!!

Looking forward to the day this no longer happens and won't even cross my mind. AMEN!!!

Our freewill in heaven and going forward will be for good only. Our will being in line with that of the creator.

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I've sometimes wondered about this myself. I mean, where was Satan before he was in the garden tempting Eve? He was Lucifer, one of the highest-ranking angels in Heaven, and was tempted to try to take God's place. A third of all the other angels agreed with him. It didn't work out so well for any of them, and are now destined to end up in the eternal flames in the end--all after originally being in Heaven.
It makes me wonder if any of us after millions of years in Heaven would get to a point where we decide that we want "more", and are tempted to stray off course, and then wind up banished to a lesser creation where a newly created set of living beings would be subject to us trying to lead them away from God.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) went through something similar around 15 years ago when the Mutual Society, they had heavily invested in, went bust.
Millions were lost back then but the Church has survived.
I hope the same will be true of our Australian brethren.

44-year old missionary wife has an affair with a 24-year old local and gets him and two companions to murder her missionary husband!
As Paul once put it: "not even the heathen would be guilty of it"

Laodicean60 said:

Well not exactly. I searched for strengthening my immune system since it was at the time of COVID and I didn't want the vaccine.

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I have the opposite problem - too strong an immune system which leads to autoimmune problems. I did not realize this until I underwent chemo and weakened my immune system. Suddenly, all my environmental allergies went away. They have slowly returned, but not as bad as before (it's been about 12 years).

The trick is to hit that sweet spot - just enough but not too much. I never did get COVID, but I keep up with my immunizations.

Mercy Shown said:

without losing sight of the primary mission Christ gave His church—to bear witness to Him.

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Luke 4:43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” Jesus exemplified the Will of the Father but the Will of the Father remains foremost.

Perpetual Student said:

Call me a naive idiot, but I still believe or hope that there is some kernel of goodness in everybody.

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I admire, but do not share, your optimism.

AstralHammer said:

I like Pinball FX

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I had a game planned to start my first project, but you just gave me a challenge I find hard to resist.
I'm going to start with a pinball game.

stevevw said:

But I think in both cases this was a human created movement designed to make Gods Kingdom an earthly power.

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Except the concept of Kingdom was made over in the traditional form of earthly power and "His will be done in earth" no longer existed. All this can be theirs and they took it. The priests even turned into tax collectors for their empire.

lismore said:

I agree! Sadly I think in the days we're living in many churches don't have a Biblical Worldview. As the bible says:

2 Timothy 3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

I think many of the pagan things we see Christians fixating on in wintertime is a feature of the above verse.

God Bless

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What I find interesting when you read the 7 letters to the churches .... you'll find your church participating in one or more of their admonishments.

Nothing new under the sun.

BobRyan said:

Nope. Since all Christians freely admit "Do not take God's name in vain" was valid going all the way back to Genesis 2.

Sabbath "MADE for mankind and not mankind MADE for the Sabbath" Mark 2:27 speaks of the making of BOTH in Gen 1-2. Obviously.

You have been working very hard to sidestep the obvious.

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Already addressed Mark 2:37-28 and you ignored it so not wasting my time again. Seems that you only quoted small portions of my posts that you think you can attack but it doesn’t work.

There is nothing in Gen. 1-2 that help your case. And even if you try you still have to remember that no one knew or read Genesis or even the full Torah until the 15th century BCE. And even then, you still have no verse that shows anyone keeping the sabbath before Moses. In the last post I showed you how the Jews collecting Manna for the sabbath had no idea what they were doing until Moses told them (Exodus 16). That alone proves that no one before Moses kept the sabbath. It’s really that simple.

BobRyan said:

And it is sad since almost all of your sunday keeping groups agree in their confessions of faith that this is the case with the TEN.

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Never had a problem with the 10 or argued against them so this is a Strawman. I’ve explained many times before that 9 of the 10 were repeated into Jesus 2 love commandments and Jesus is the Lord of the sabbath so the 4th commandment is now the rest in Christ and no longer in a day. Christ is God and perfectly capable to give us a new covenant with whatever terms He wishes.

BobRyan said:

But you have free will and can choose to ignore all the scripture that you wish, of course.

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And you have the “free” will to reject legalism and the law and enjoy the freedom in Christ. Let go of the yoke of the law.

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Look! I, Paul, tell you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who has himself circumcised, that he is obligated to keep the whole Law.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

BobRyan said:

Text please. speaking about what Abraham knew after his death.

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I actually misposted here. I meant to say that Abraham before his death did not know that Moses would be the one to record the Mosaic law. My apologies. I fixed it on the quoted post also.

BobRyan said:

"Gathered to my fathers" statements is not about "meeting and partying". It is about going to the same place

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So what do you think that entails? Use evidence not gut feeling.

BobRyan said:

the book of Genesis is not a transcript of every word spoken for the first 2000 years of human history, as almost all of us know

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Even so you can’t just make it up just because you want to. You are making an argument from silence.

Bob S said:

Antinomianism, definition and a Question "is this you"?​

Definition for "Antinomianism" AI: Antinomianism is a term used in Christian theology to describe the belief that, because salvation is granted by divine grace through faith, believers are not bound by the moral law of God, including the Ten Commandments (which were given to only one nation on Earth, Israel.)

www.christianforums.com


I wish to inform you that I do not fit the description of one of those because I am truly bound by Jesus' command to LOVE OTHERS AS HE LOVES US. That is exactly what the laws of morality mankind is under. If we love Him who was sent to save man, we will abide by His commands, not the defunct Torah that ended with the coming of the New and better covenant of Grace and Love.

My allegiance is to Jesus, not Moses and the old covenant. Amen!

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You of course inserted your own "Bob S" definition for Antinomianism possibly because the actual definition does not fit your own preference.

I choose Christ instead of that method

Christ said
1. Mark 2:27 "The Sabbath was made for mankind , not mankind made for the Sabbath" , which speaks of the making of BOTH mankind AND the Sabbath in Gen 1-2.

2. Is 66:23 all mankind observes Sabbath in New Earth
3. Gen 2:2-3 is the origin of the Sabbath commandment according to Christ in Ex 20:11 (Hint Heb 8 says Christ is speaking at Sinai)
4. Luke 16 Christ said that people that reject Moses will not listen even if someone rises from the Dead (hint: Christ)
5. Christ condemns the teaching that tries to do away with the Law of God in Matt 5

No wonder antinomianism gets such a bad wrap. The Bible rejects it


yeah "the real" antinomianism so fully refuted in Christianity. No wonder some don't like to see the definition of the term

The Liturgist said:

I’m not sure I get what your point is or the reason for your outrage at Mark.

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I'm just saying it's disrespectful to regard God as a mere "designer." "Outrage" seems to be someone else's reaction to the observation. As I pointed out before, it's not something that will send one to hell; it's just selling God short.

The Liturgist said:

Also you seem to be … upset, curiously, about the idea of humans being holy aside from the soul.

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Since no one mentioned that here, I'm puzzled why you would think so. I suppose if you thought that God using nature to make our bodies, as opposed to directly giving us a living soul, means bodies can't be holy, then maybe. But no one said that, either.
Edit: there was the issue of an odd belief that assumed the natural is imperfect and the supernatural is not. But I don't think that this is what you're saying here.

The Liturgist said:

but Genesis 1 is important as a prophetic text, for in Holy Week God remade us as he made us in Genesis 1, on Great and Holy Friday, before resting on the Sabbath and rising from the dead on Sunday, the first day, also typologically symbolizing the mystical eighth day of creation, that of the Life of the World to Come.

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That's one of the things it is.
1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

But it's also a clear distinction between God and the gods of other nations, making clear that the God of Abraham is the omnipotent Creator with no other gods at all. He did not have to bring the universe into His control; He created it to do His will.

The Liturgist said:

Roman Catholics had historically celebrated the Dormition, which is also called the Assumption, but some erroneously believe she did not repose but was assumed while still alive,

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The Western Church teaches that after her life, Mary was assumed, body and soul into heaven. The Eastern Church seems to put more emphasis on this moment, but other than noting that the Dormition of the Theotokos is often depicted in Orthodox churches, I don't know much about any differences in theology.

None of this is actually an issue for salvation, as God makes it clear what will save us.