We can finally all agree that free speech in America isn't really a thing right?

I mean before, it was private companies not allowing certain kinds of speech and people complained about private companies railing against hate speech. Something that some people feel it's REALLY important that racists have the opportunity to espouse the views.

Now we have a government pretty clearly trying to control a great deal of speech; both from within and without.

As an outsider, it's interesting to me for a few reasons. The first being I always thought that the first ammendment was present to stop the government from censoring speech. I didn't think that private firms and companies were beholden to the first ammendment and yet the kvetching was real, REAL loud.

And how we have a government that seems pretty interested in controlling speech. I mean, do we NEED links to discuss that?

I've been reading here more recently and there has never really been any meaningful justification by Trump supporters that indicates they are ALSO Pro-first ammendment.

I've been on record for a while that I'm not super pro first ammendment. My reasons for that are probably exactly the same as those Trump supporters who support him deporting protestors.

But I'm curious: If you support Trump deporting people for protesting, what is your reasoning for not supporting the First Ammendment?

Elon Musk's DOGE was behind a huge increase in U.S. March job cuts, according to a Thursday report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Employers announced 275,240 job cuts, a 60% increase from February. In the federal government alone 216,215 jobs were cut in March.

Only the COVID-19 pandemic in April and May 2020 caused more government job losses.

Total U.S. job cuts announced this year have hit 497,052. That's the highest year-to-date and quarterly total since Q1 2009. It's a 93% increase from the same period in 2024, when 257,254 job cuts were announced.

The cuts are having a strong impact on federal agencies including 10,000 job cuts at the Department of Veteran's Affairs, while the U.S. Army cut 24,000 jobs.

Other sectors beyond government are also shedding jobs. Tech companies cut 15,055 jobs and retailers have cut 11,709, consumer products makers have eliminated 14,619 and automakers 7,146.

The 2025 layoff rate is the highest since 2009 when more than 428,000 job cuts were planned over the same time period.

I don’t believe that angels ever fell. Or that demons are fallen angels. I believe that demons are creations of human witchcraft.
What is slandering celestial beings and blaspheming in matters we do not understand? (Jude 1:8; 2 Peter 2:10-12) Surely it is saying that angels are demons and that they sinned and blaming them for tempting us and causing us to sin. The bible never actually explains what demons are.
Did angels fall during the flood? As Trypho the Jew said when debating the Book of Enoch with Justin Martyr: “You have blasphemed, because you claim that angels would sin.” (Dialogue 1:79:1) In Genesis 6:4 the bible never says this is a sin. The next line (Genesis 6:5) refers not to the angels, but the sinfulness of mankind at that time.
I believe that Isaiah 14:12-17 and Ezekiel 28:2-19 says it was not the angels themselves who fell, but the reputation of angels that fell among the pagans, as the pagans blamed angels for their own sins, when really mankind was sinful, this carried on from paganism into Christian religion when it came about.
I believe that 2 Peter 2:4 means when”they” sinned, meaning mankind, the angels were sent to be with those who suffered because of the sinful persecution in an earthly “hell”, to deliver them like God delivered Lot. The chapter speaks of how all these examples (2 Peter 2:4-9) describe examples of God delivering the righteous and holding the wicked for judgment (2 Peter 2:9). 2 Peter 2:4 contains no example of God delivering righteous men unless interpreted that way.
In Jude 1:7, angels are with us to deliver us from the sinful persecution committed by others. They are sent to be with us in our darkness, bound with everlasting chains of love to us. “In a similar way” (Jude 1:6) refers to the verse before, not angels, (verse Jude 1:5). All these examples refer to God delivering the righteous from sinful men.
The greatest evil is man.

According to Jim Cramer, "If the mills come back they'll be staffed by robots."
275,000 layoffs this month.
Any silver lining?
Hmm. 49.9% of Americans will have lots of time to ponder their voting mistakes and repent.

The final part of my coverage of the Release International Apr-Jun 2025 will take me to an article worth mentioning in and of itself- the mention of Afghan brothers and sisters in Christ finding refuge in Brazil- what a way of showing God's work around the world!

1. Ahmad- Ahmad was a police officer in Afghanistan, his entire team were taken out by a bomb blast in Afghanistan- he was the sole survivor. He had previously seen a documentary about Christ and for the first time after surviving the blast, called on the Lord!

Despite living in Afghanistan, Ahmad was still bold enough to share the Gospel, but then the Taliban came into power and he fled with his wife and children.

Ahmad began his journey with his wife, 10 children and 10 others in the back of a a pickup truck. The truck broke down and they spent 3 days walking in the freezing cold to Pakistan. Can you imagine having this kind of memory and all that it entails in your memories of your walk with Christ?

Of course, Pakistan is hardly a safe haven for Christians but in due time, a pastor got them a visa to Brazil- Ahmad and his family are now well settled into a local Brazilian church and they can now speak Brazilian Portuguese and are accustomed to Brazilian culture- wow, what a story to share!

2. Luke and Grace (not real names) Like Ahmad they initially sought refuge in Pakistan. When settled in Pakistan, they even used their time to help other Afghan refugees in the Country!

Two years later they then had the opportunity to go to Brazil, so they took it. They are well settled into a local church in Brazil too and love their Brazilian family in Christ.

To conclude, in my Bible reading this morning Luke 7:24 tells us that the OT prophets desired to hear what we do as Christians and stories like these , really add to this theme.

Is the Church of the Lord declining?

This is a common theory in this day, as if the raw head-count was a priority of God. But here are some elements that I'll suggest we should take with great joy:

• We do not anymore have nations of this world claiming themselves to be "christianized" while making war against each other.
• We do not anymore have nations of this world claiming themselves to be "christianized," while stealing from, killing, and torturing those of the mission fields within them.
• We do not anymore have thousands upon thousands of church-leaders trying to help build a Kingdom of Jerusalem of this world, against the would-be inhabitants.

[Deleted - already discussed in other threads]

Wow those bloomin Penguins competing unfairly with the states!

Tonight at the Church prayer meeting we had a prayer request I'd like to share with you.

Previously they spread the Gospel to a Country where they risked death, they obviously made it back and imminently they will be going to a dangerous Country to spread the Gospel, where if discovered doing so, they will be jailed.

Think about that- if caught not only will they be jailed, they'll be seperated from each other too. This couple aren't playing Church games.

Please pray for the couple's ministry and pray for their safety .

But what did he accomplish?

It was NOT a filibuster - it was 24 hours of Trump bad...

Who was there through the night as he blathered on?

Construction of the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, a 169-foot-tall Christian monument celebrating answered prayers, is set to begin this summer after delays caused by inflation and design complexities.

The landmark, located near the M6 on the outskirts of Birmingham, is now expected to open in autumn 2027, according to The Telegraph.

The project in Coleshill, which will feature an infinity-loop design inspired by a mathematical Möbius strip, aims to represent the eternal nature of God. The wall will be made of 1 million white bricks, each digitally linked to a story of answered prayer.

Continued below.

The Bible says to love your neighbour as yourself. Does that mean to split your money in half - half for you, half for your neighbours? Are starving people overseas your neighbours? Should the government give money to starving people overseas?

It seems that Trump is willing to negotiate with Canada, Mexico, the UK and Ireland. The tariffs on steel, aluminum and auto parts, and the base 10% tariff are likely to stay. For example, drug companies in Ireland seem ready to absorb the tariffs and not raise prices this year. We import more drugs from Ireland than from any other country. Also, the drug companies are definitely planning to move some production facilities to the US.
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There is almost no reasonable scenario where there are not significant increases in prices on imported goods. Electronics should be most notable as well as energy in the North (much of which comes from Canada).
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As a side issue, Japan tried to do what Trump is doing a couple of decades ago. Tariffs were oin place on almost everything. There was NO increase in the number of manufacturing jobs.

What will be interesting will be how long it takes before the administration realizes that with unemployment so low, there is a worker shortage even now, before the tariffs.

My 30 yr son asked it I would denounce Christ if a man said he'd shoot him if did not and I said I would not. What do you all think? My son says he's saved, and I know he'll go to heaven, but he said I basically murdered him.

Tesla (TSLA) has released its Q1 2025 production and delivery numbers. The automaker confirmed it delivered 336,681 electric vehicles during the first three months of the year — far below expectations.[/quote{

Click to expand...

My 30 yr son asked it I would denounce Christ if a man said he'd shoot him if did not and I said I would not. What do you all think? He basically said I murdered him, but he is saved and knows very little about the Bible, so I reminded him that he would be alive in heaven.

Trump Pardons Corporation Found Guilty of Massive Financial Crimes​

Now, with Trump’s pardon of the cryptocurrency company BitMEX, those protections are at risk. On Friday, the president issued full pardons for four individuals linked to the company and the exchange itself, which had been convicted of serious violations.

BitMEX, a cryptocurrency exchange that deals in derivatives tied to digital currencies like Bitcoin, was found guilty of violating the Bank Secrecy Act. The company failed to implement an anti-money laundering program, allowing anonymous trading until 2020. This made it easier for criminals to operate with little oversight.

In January 2025, BitMEX was hit with a $100 million criminal fine and additional penalties from the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, totaling $130 million.

The pardons Trump granted wipe away these penalties and protect the company from future prosecution.

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Does anyone have experience with this? I suspect Christians to be big targets.

CNN live thread

With the national conversation focused on immigration, Americans are being forced to choose between compassion and security. But this is a false dichotomy.

As Christians, we must reject the misleading framework that pits Christian love against national identity. Biblically speaking, this is not an either-or scenario. What if Scripture affirms both national sovereignty and moral responsibility? When President Trump enforced immigration laws, critics labeled his actions “unchristian.” But in reality, Trump was fulfilling the role God ordained for civil leaders.

The Bible affirms the existence of nations, borders, and the rule of law. Genesis 18 tells us that God intended for Abraham’s descendants to become a great nation. Deuteronomy 32:8 states that God “apportioned the nations” and “fixed the boundaries of the peoples.” Even the story of Babel in Genesis 11demonstrates that God divided humanity into nations, preventing unchecked global unity under a singular power. Nations — and by extension, borders — are part of God’s divine order.

Continued below.

I support efforts to stop illegals from voting and I think everyone else should too.