I was supposed to die when I was born. By some miracle, I survived. My mom prayed that if I survived I would serve god. I’ve turned out terribly. I realize I’ve gone too far with god. I’ve committed terrible sins. I’ve hurt god's people including my family. I’ve been hiding my sins and have caused stagnation in my family’s journey. I didn’t notice it until recently but the devil has been using me for a long time.





All my life I’ve been wicked. I’ve sown corruption and wickedness and now I’m reaping the destruction. I have betrayed my family terribly and I’m no better than Judas. I’ve been scared to confess but the sooner the better. All my life I’ve caused so much damage and pain. I’ve done evil and depraved things.








So how can god forgive me?





I have lived a careless life without god. It’s a mystery whether I’m saved or could ever be saved but I had knowledge of truth and felt conviction for a time before I went completely off course.





I went against conviction and pushed the Holy Spirit away as much as I could. I loved my sins so much I ended up hating god, disregarding him and all he’s done for me.





I’ve harmed many people in terrible ways and caused pain to others, some being gods own children too. I know now I can’t fix it besides confessing but I’ve done every possible bad thing.








God has done a lot for me and I really failed him. I think that while I feel all of this and feel a lot of guilt, I might not truly be repentant.








How can god forgive people who hurt other people with knowledge of truth? Especially his own people. I don’t think I’m forgivable.





I don’t see how god could ever redeem me or the glory I once had. I easily gave myself away to Satan, I barely even tried for my relationship with god.





Now I want to return but I’ve done too much and it feels destruction may come my way. The things I’ve done are very much deserving of hell.



I feel god will truly ‘reward’ me according to my evil deeds. I want a fresh beginning but I’ve pushed god so far. It’s so bad the things I did, and still do.





I mentioned in my last post that God has revealed me to my pastor- I’m not sure whether it was a confirmation that it was too late but I know for sure that I also need to confess to him, even if it results for the worst.





The thing is I had already offended him and of course I want to make amends but I’m terrified of confrontation because he knows I’m not exactly a saint.








I know I'm on here a lot but hopefully this is the last time I come on here because I know I come on here more than I would like to. I realize that in the scope of my situation, my tone to things is very pity seeking and before these past few peeks I had seen how it had affected me and others, but I had never really thought of it as much as now or realized just how bad things are.

Harris - under-performing Hillary Clinton by this same time in her opposition to Donald Trump.


MSN

https://wharris-is-underperforming-clinton-at-this-point

===============================================
Not making any predictions here - but it is interesting what the bulk of the news is not reporting so far.

Family members of American soldiers who lost their lives during the pullout of United States troops from Afghanistan are defending former President Donald Trump after he has come under fire for an alleged altercation between a Trump campaign staffer and an Arlington National Cemetery official during an event commemorating their deaths.

Trump visited ANC on Monday, which marked the third anniversary of the suicide bombing at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, that left 13 American soldiers dead. The terror attack occurred as the U.S. military was in the process of withdrawing its presence from Afghanistan, which led to the Taliban's takeover of the country.

Video footage from Monday’s event, posted to Trump’s account on the social media platform Truth Social, shows the Republican presidential nominee laying a wreath at the cemetery.

Continued below.

From what I see.

1. There is 1 God
2. Jesus being God in the flesh
3. The Trinity
4. The Bible being the word of God
5. The belief in a heaven and hell
6. Nobody is good enough to go to heaven on their own

Please pray that the heavy rains in the provincial region of Gujarat, India immediately Stop:

A federal judge has ruled that an Ohio school district may have violated a teacher's First Amendment rights by forcing her to resign for refusing to use trans-identified students' preferred names and pronouns due to her religious convictions.

Judge Pamela Barker of the Northern District of Ohio issued an order earlier this month denying and granting in part competing motions for summary judgment filed by Jackson Local School District in Jackson Township to dismiss the lawsuit filed by former Jackson Middle School English teacher Vivian Geraghty.

The litigation is ongoing as several issues remain unresolved.

Continued below.

If yes, is Earth a young planet?

My mom passed away this morning, no longer have my parents in my life. Dad passed 8 years ago. She was rushed to the hospital and was an hour after I started working that I got the phone call. I put my tools down on my workbench and my boss noticed something was wrong.Told him my mom was rushed to the hospital, said clock out and he knew it was family related. Got there and met up with my 3 older brothers sitting with them waiting for the news. Doctor walked out and said she did not make it, a blood clot in her left leg. Going to creamate her, her wish not wanting a funeral and spread her ashes at her favorite lake where she loved to fish at. Boss said have the rest of the week off to grieve. She was a loving mom and grandmother. Said I was a blessing is one memory I have. It was when she was pregnant with me, was excited to hear she was going to have a little girl finally after giving birth to 3 sons.

Hello!

I am looking for a very specific community.

I would like to agree on the following points of belief:

The Torah, Gospels and Epistles are objectively true and eternally valid. This means: All of the apostles' precepts were inspired by the Holy Spirit and apply just as much today as they did back then. If it was a shame then for a woman to pray or prophesy with her head uncovered, it is also a shame today for a woman to pray or prophesy with her head uncovered. And the believing men teach the believing women, not the other way around. Women are different than men and have different tasks than men. There are always exceptional situations in everything. For example, it may be right for a believing woman to preach to a group of unbelievers because there is no one else to tell them about Jesus.

As a believer you have security of salvation. But we must obey GOD. We should also be in awe of GOD. GOD still chastens today. We must not emphasize the security of salvation and neglect obedience.
We hate evil. The church should be discreet in the will of the LORD. We don't love the world. We do not like films that are not written by the Holy Spirit. Not because we were ordered to, but because we understood that it is evil to watch something like that for pleasure. We go into the world to bring people to Jesus. There is no good reason to go out into the world just to enjoy it. We hate the lie. We strive to do everything in love and to love all people. But we hate evil.

There should be the opportunity to have fellowship and study the Bible every day. It shouldn't be compulsory. But there should be the opportunity to read the Bible together every day and talk about Jesus and ask questions. We should be like a family.
We have realized that Jewish teachings that hear and reject Jesus' words and reject HIM as Messiah, as well as Islamic teachings, are leaven, but we do not rise above Jews and Muslims. We don't hate Jews or Muslims either. We hate heresies, not people. We want all people to come to the knowledge of the truth.
We do not elevate ourselves above anyone because all good things come from GOD and therefore we cannot be better than other people. Only JESUS is good. We were simply given grace. We don't know why HE chose us. We did not choose HIM, but HE chose us. When we sin, we do it on our own. I have no opinion on free will.

We are always looking for truth, want to develop further and can therefore change beliefs at any time when we receive new knowledge.

Perhaps speaking in tongues and interpreting them is still relevant today, perhaps it has become less or has stopped. I have no opinion on that. Maybe the spiritual gifts have diminished, maybe not. I think all of them are possible. We should not rule out any gifts in principle, but rather examine everything with the Bible so that the Holy Spirit can work. God's Word is the standard for testing. In any case, prophecy and knowledge still exist today. So we should continue to seek prophecy today. GOD is sovereign.

It should go without saying: any sexual intimacy is only permitted within marriage. As believers, we only marry believing Christians and they usually only marry once. If our spouse commits fornication or dies, we are allowed to marry again. I don't know if there are exceptions. If, for example, the spouse abuses the woman psychologically or physically or vice versa, then that could be an exception, I haven't thought about that yet. But then he's not a believer at all or he's lost his way and has to turn back.

The earth is only a few thousand years old. The theory of evolution is a heresy. GOD created everything from HIM and through HIM all things exist. There was no Big Bang. We have chosen the Bible as the objective truth. We don't believe there are many truths. We believe that the truth is a narrow path and there are many lies in the world. Anything that contradicts the Word of God is a lie. We need correct interpretation to know the truth. To understand the correct interpretation, we must remain in God's Word. We can be wrong. We don't know if we understood anything at all. We just trust.

Who can help me?

PS: I come from Germany and used Google Translate, there may be a few translation errors.

Momo.

THE 2024 TRUMP CAMPAIGN POLICY PROPOSALS: BUDGETARY, ECONOMIC AND DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFECTS

• We project that conventionally estimated tax revenue falls by $5.8 trillion over the next 10 years, producing an equivalent amount of primary deficits. Accounting for economic feedback effects, primary deficits increase by $4.1 trillion over the same period.

THE 2024 HARRIS CAMPAIGN POLICY PROPOSALS: BUDGETARY, ECONOMIC AND DISTRIBUTIONAL EFFECTS

• We project that spending increases by $2.3 trillion over 10 years while conventional tax revenue increases by $1.1 trillion, for a difference in primary deficits of $1.2 trillion. Accounting for negative economic feedback effects, primary deficits increase to $2 trillion.

My sister lived with a group of girls in college, they were all from her evangelical campus group InterVarsity. All Christian girls. They graduated college over 10 years ago, and most of them have gone on and gotten married, started families, etc. One of her friends however has lately been having some mental issues that are disturbing my sister and the other girls, and the irony is if you knew this group a decade ago this girl would probably be the one you'd consider least likely to have these issues.

My sister just gave me an update today and said she and her roommates called in a wellness check on this girl (we'll call her Amber). Amber's behavior has become really erratic, apparently a while back she moved to a really isolated county a couple hours away, which is a strange move for a single girl in her early 30s to do. From the sound of things she's visiting in town right now and my sister says she's extremely thin and has stopped eating and even drinking water. Apparently Amber won't talk about it with anybody but another roommate shared that Amber told her she thinks it's a sin to eat and hears voices if she does.

When I heard that part I told my sister that Amber needs an exorcism. The hearing voices part makes me think she's 100% experiencing demonic possession, or at least demonic oppression. I realize there's mental health issues at play here as well, Amber's sister has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder so there is illness already in the family. When my sister and her friends called in the wellness check the authorities said Amber didn't fully qualify for a 5150 but if she went another 12 hours without eating, then she would. Unfortunately Amber has since skipped town and nobody knows where she is right now.

What do you think?

The 270toWin web site has an interesting map showing each state's EVs. Each state is color-coded as safe, likely, or leaning to either Kamala, or Donald. Blue for Kamala. Red for Donald. As of now, the site gives Kamala 226 EVs, to Donald's 219. Very close. The toss-up states are Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, N. Carolina, and Georgia. That's 94 EVs up for grabs. And those are the states where Donald and Kamala will probably do the most campaigning. If the web site's current projections hold true, Kamala needs 44 EV's to win, and Donald needs 51. But there are still 68 days to go before Nov. 5.

270toWin - 2024 Presidential Election Interactive Map

The New York Times turns on Kamala Harris and slams her as 'a phony'​

The reliably liberal New York Times was among the first to suddenly change tack on Friday, taking aim at what many perceive to be Harris's fatal lack of clear policy with a brutal headline that read: 'Joy Is Not a Strategy'. In a sour commentary, NYT Deputy Opinion Editor Patrick Healy said he'd 'cringed' when former president Bill Clinton took the convention stage on Tuesday to claim that Harris would be 'the president of joy'

Well who did they remove you might ask...

Dead people.
People who moved.
Convicted criminals.
7000 non US citizens.

The idea that 7000 noncitizens were able to register in the first place is pretty wild.

How did that happen? Is it like AZ where you don't have to prove citizenship to vote?

The nerve of Democrats suggest there's no evidence of noncitizens voting. We have evidence 7000 minimum intended to in Texas.

At this point January 6th is looking more like their fault. I understand there's no evidence of fraud (or not much) but that's because they don't require evidence to vote. Can't find a crime that can be pulled off without evidence.

Trump has rolled out his latest product offering: Trump Digital Trading Cards. For a mere $99 a pop, you too can have a digital card to save on your phone or laptop...for the ages. And if you by 15 digital cards, Trump will send you a physical card....and piece of his suit that he allegedly wore at the debate with Biden.

The folks over at The Bulwark break down the details....(or you can venture over to CollectTrumpCards.com
Login to view embedded media

This article was referenced from a Protestant Fundamentalist web site.

I agree whole-heartedly with the conclusion, although I disagree some
on the description of the dynamics involved, and the results of not catechizing.
---------- ----------

Topics mentioned in the article...

1 Some sort of teaching of "beliefs"/doctrines is necessary.
Some Christian groups incorporate this into preparing a person to join the
people of God, or incorporate this into teaching new Christians so that they
are more knowledgeable in the faith.

My comments on the points, are prefeaced by "---" ...

--- The article is from a Protestant Fundamentalist point of view. It denies that
the "faith" is a body of knowledge. However, one of the biblical uses of pistis
("faith") is as a body of knowledge, so I have to disagree on this point with the
article. Consider...

In the world-class NT lexicon (BDAG, 818-820), under pistis("faith" in English translations), there are the meanings...
"1 that which evokes trust and faith, the state of being someone in whom confidence can be placed, faithfulness, reliability, fidelity, commitment"
"2 state of believing on the basis on the reliability of the one trusted, trust, confidence, faith" specifically lists Ephesians 3.12 under the subheading of "of faith in Christ".
"3 that which is believed, body of faith/belief/teaching"

From the New Testament vocabulary, it is possible to have faith in all sorts of people or things ("faith" is not a uniquely Christian concept). And so, Christians must deal with the topic of misplaced faith.

--- Protestant Fundamentalists often do not believe that "faith" can refer to a
body of beliefs, simply because they are taught that the early creeds of the
Church are not necessary knowledge, in order to join God's People.
This ignores that the Nicene Creed was used as a template to teach those
who wanted to become Christians, in the early centuries of Christianity.
(Whether or not the doctrines in the Nicene creed, had the name "Nicene
Creed" when this body of beliefs was used to catechize.) This is a cultural
problem, and is not compatible with the New Testament's meanings of
"faith".

2 The faith is a way of being in the world.
I agree with this. But, following Jesus as King, is undefined behavior, apart
from the deposit of Apostolic teaching that we call "the faith". You can't "follow
Jesus as King", using any definition that feels right to you.

3 How do you teach your children the faith?
The article is correct, that we should not pawn this off on some day care
group. Parents have got to be involved.

4 One mark of how well a child has learned "the faith", is their ability to
answer questions about "the faith". We should not be afraid of using this
method of asking questions (there is a cultural problem in America,
where many educators and parents think that it is not a good/positive thing to
ask kids questions, and show up their ignorance). We should not be afraid of
learning that we are ignorant, as a first step in learning.

5 Sound preaching is good, but it is not quite the same as catechism.

--- In one way, preaching is not like ancient preaching in the Church.
In North Africa, we have people in the congregration interacting with
the great Christian teachers, as they preached. The pagan philosophers
might raise objections to the preaching, and probably the Christian
congregation would voice their approval of the orthodox doctrines being
taught.

6 The article brings up that it would be helpful to use a printed catechism.
The author suggests The New City Catechism. Of course Catholics would
use the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).

--- The advantage of using a printed catechism, is that you can look up topics,
and there are definitions right in front of you. You may not agree with the
definitions. But at least you know what precisely you don't agree with. So
there is a path of discussion, and a path to ask questions about all sorts of
topics.

7 The author of the article mentions that one of the problems with NOT
catechizing, is that you will get pastors who do not know the doctrines of
the faith, (and so, cannot catechize others).

--- I would add that there are a dozen SERIOUS problems with NOT catechizing...
and that some of these problems will not fully present themselves, for a few
generations after a group has stopped actively catechizing...

(a) There is a degeneration in congregations, of what "the faith" is.
This leads to all sorts of "cultural Christianity", that is not orthodox.
(b) The New Covenant that the New Testament describes, is a formal covenant
between God and mankind. God will give us guaranteed benefits, IF we
hold to required behavior and belief. Do we really expect God to change the
terms of the agreement (to forgive our sins, and make us holy), if we are
generationally forgetting the terms of this agreement? Can we stop paying
our mortgage agreement, and still keep our house???
(c) A formal class on catechism OUGHT TO present basic models of
what reality is
how we perceive reality
what good evidence is, for believing something
what lying about reality is (such as in "You shall not lie!")
how we can choose to mis-perceive reality
that there is a MORAL-ETHICAL OUGHT to properly perceive reality
that reality is NOT whatever I assert it is, or wish it to be
that conspiracy theories are explanations of reality, that are NOT
demonstrated to be true; and so, holding and propagating
conspiracy theories involves "bearing false witness" about reality.
and THAT is a serious and forbidden sin in Christianity and Judaism.

NOTE: most of the younger generations of Americans, and the "electronic
screen" genertions, cannot intelligently discuss what reality is, or how we
have a moral-ethical ought to perceive reality accurately, or what evidence is,
or what knowing is. Becasue of this, they do not understand one of the very
basic teachings of Jesus, about reality and perceiving and believing.
"Be careful how you hear!"

(d) As soon as orthodox catechism stops, then that generation of Christians
is no longer equipped to explain/defend the faith (Christian apologetics stops),
and the entrance requirements (to join God's People) and the continuing
living requirements of the new covenant, and the exit requirements (for
leaving the new covenant) ARE NO LONGER UNDERSTOOD.

This means that we will have congregational members who conder themselves
to be "Christians" or "Catholic Christians" or "Orthodox Christians" who are
using a false measure of what it is to be a Christian. This is not benign! This
creates new impediments in congregational members, that an orthodox pastor/
teacher must overcome.

When orthodox catechism stops, then there are generations of people who
consider themselves to be Christians, and who may be "evangelizing" for
some other faith, but not for "the faith once delivered to the saints".

---------- ----------

This article brings up crucial questions, about how the Christian faith is
described, and passed on to new generations.

Although the questions raised are good, many of the crucial topics that
SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED, were not addressed. And, this is
probably because the author is not using a definition of "faith" from the
Greek New Testament, and is projecting an anti-intellectual view of
what Christianity is.

The CSB states that it is a gender accurate translation, similarly ESV 2011, NIV, and some others are in varying degrees gender accurate, is this a good thing?

Eph 2:
8 For it is by GRACE [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God;

9 not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].
(MY NOTE: Vrs 8, By GRACE (undeserved/unmerited/earned favor) are you SAVED (from sins required wage/DEATH) thru FAITH (in Who Jesus is (God the Son) & what He accomplished on the cross. Vrs 9, No boastful personal works involved. Jesus (praise His Name) did ALL the work)

2 Tim 1:9 for He delivered us and saved us and called us with a holy calling [a calling that leads to a consecrated life—a life set apart—a life of purpose], not because of our works [or because of any personal merit—we could do nothing to earn this], but because of His own purpose and grace [His amazing, undeserved favor] which was granted to us in Christ Jesus before the world began [eternal ages ago],
(MY NOTE: Delivered from sin's wage is, NOT, on the merit on any personal works. But, because of His own purpose & GRACE which was granted/given to us thru FAITH in Christ' sacrificial sin atoning death on the cross.)

Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
(MY NOTE: Thru the POWER of Christ's resurrection! Every believer Past-Present-Future is Justified/Saved/Judicially Declared Righteous by God)

Titus 3:
5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
(MY NOTE: The believer is Justified/Saved by the GRACE of God! NOT, by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy He SAVES us)

Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
(MY NOTE: GRACE has a name, it's Jesus the Christ!)

God’s GRACE isnt deserved, cannot be earned, nor can it be accessed thru any personal works. GRACE is a God given FREE GIFT (Rom 3:24, 4:16, 5:1-2,15, 11:6, Eph 2:5 & 8) & is accessed thru FAITH. FAITH placed in who Jesus is (God the Son) & what He accomplished on the cross. Sins ordinance/law levied/required wage (DEATH Rom 6:23).

Conversion is a finished transaction. When Christ baptizes the believer with His Forever (Jn 14:16) Indwelling Holy Spirit (only Christ preforms this spiritual baptism. The believers salvation is sealed & forever preserved.

ALL the believers sins Past-Present-Future are imputed onto Christ & the believer (thru FAITH) placed in who Jesus is (God the Son) & what He accomplished on the cross (paying sins required wage/price DEATH Rom 6:23) completely pardoned/forgiven.

SALVATION/ETERNAL LIFE SECURE

Mark 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
(MY NOTE: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Also see Mat 3:11, Lk 3:16 & Jn 1:33)

Christ's Holy Spirit, "eternal sealing's/NT/Body of Christ" doesn't begin until after Jesus death & resurrection:

Jn 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

2 Tim 1:14 Refers to the Holy Spirit as a Good Deposit.

2 Cor 5:5, Eph 1:14 & 2 Cor 1:22. Refer to the Holy Spirit as "the earnest" = Deposit or Pledge.

Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 1:22 & Eph 4:30 Refer to the Holy Spirit as a Seal.

2 Tim 1:14 The Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you
(MY NOTE: The Holy Spirit dwelling within us <PRESENT TENSE). Is God's good deposit)

2 Cor 5:5 God, who also hath given unto us the "earnest" of the Spirit
(MY NOTE: Cor written to believers: God has <PAST TENSE, given/DONE DEAL)

2 Cor 1:22 Who hath also "sealed us" & "given the earnest" of the Holy Spirit in our hearts
(MY NOTE: God has given <PAST TENSE/DONE DEAL > Holy Spirit. His DEPOSIT/PLEDGE/PROMISE & SEAL, until the soon coming day of our final redemption)

Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
(MY NOTE: The gospel of your salvation: you believed & were <PAST TENSE > sealed/DONE DEAL with God's salvation sealing Holy Spirit promise)

Eph1:14 Which is the "earnest" of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession
(MY NOTE: The Holy Spirit by which only Christ baptizes/seals & indwells us. Is God's earnest = a down payment/pledge)

1 Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
(MY NOTE: Know that you HAVE (< present tense). If one can lose eternal like, then it was never eternal)

Heb 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
(MY NOTE: Christ via the offering of his own sinless blood, entered once into heaven holy place & obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION for us.)

Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
(MY NOTE: This new sin management blood covenant is EVERLASTING! Not just 1 year or until the next time to stumble or fall)

Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
(MY NOTE: Christ sinless payment REDEEMED believers/saints from Mosaic laws sin punishment & has obtained scriptures promise of an ETERNAL inheritance)

Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
(MY NOTE: Christ PERFECTED FOREVER those that are sanctified)

Still, Mikey, 43, who grew up in nearby Oakdale, and began building the castle five years ago on farmland while he was homeless, will not surrender if he can help it.


Even though he lives in a nearby council flat and not in the castle, Mikey has been told by the local authority that he breached planning rules because the structure needed permission to be built on agricultural land.



The veteran, whose retreat has been visited by people such as troubled reality TV star Katie Price, has a growing army of supporters, not least his 100,000 followers on Instagram.

Click to expand...

By the time he was through, the 8000 seat Wilkes Barre arena was almost empty. One guest said in 2016 he put up a lawn sign for Trump. In 2020 he just voted for him.
After hearing his speech, he decided Trump would be a dangerous president.

One of things you’re not supposed to do when you’re in the business of news reporting, or political commentary, is repeat yourself. Saying the same things over and over again is usually a good way to turn off your audience. Everyone in the media knows this, and political campaigns know it too. They count on it. They think that if they just ignore inconvenient facts — no matter how bad they may be — then eventually people will stop talking about them.

That’s why I’m going to begin by repeating a highly inconvenient fact that the Kamala Harris campaign apparently wants everyone to ignore, even though it’s unprecedented in modern politics. Since becoming her party’s presumptive nominee well over a month ago, Kamala Harris still hasn’t participated in a single press conference or interview. The most she’s done is deflect a couple of softballs on an airport tarmac. Harris was also completely absent from the Sunday shows the other day, even though pretty much every single Sunday show is explicitly on the side of her campaign.


Even when Joe Biden ran for office in 2020, when he was secluded in his house supposedly because of COVID, he sat for more interviews than this. He logged in via Zoom, and he only spoke to media outlets that wanted to do everything in their power to prop him up. But still, he technically spoke to the media. Kamala Harris isn’t even capable of doing that. And to this day, there are still no policies listed on her campaign’s website. She’s given speeches about price controls and more taxes, but she hasn’t outlined how any of that will work in practice.

Assertions - see below - have been made as to why the canonical autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine is not canonical. This is in reply.

I'll state again the gist of how the OCU came into being: Historically, Kyiv is the mother of Moscow and not the other way around. The dominance of Moscow was affirmed in the 17th century when it uncanonically took over the Kyiv Metropolitanate. Given the independence of Ukraine, the EP corrected the 17th century theft by Moscow by inviting in 2018 the various Orthodox factions - at least 3 of them - in Ukraine to unite in order to receive the Tomos of autocephaly. All three main jurisdictions were represented in the unification council. They affirmed their commitment to a canonical Church, elected a Primate, and was bestowed the Tomos. Thus was formed the canonical autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine. It has 5 college and above educational theological institutions, many monasteries, and many historical churches and cathedrals galore, etc.

It is due to Moscow's uncanonical actions in the 17th century that in 2018, Ukraine had 3 fully functional Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine, 2 of which had no desire to commemorate Moscow's archbishop. In addition, the Greek Catholic church (Uniate but orthodox practicing) was formed in Ukraine in reaction to the actions of Moscow even prior to the decisive blow to Kyiv in the 18th century. So there were 3 fully formed Orthodox and 'Orthodox like' bodies that were developed in Ukraine due to Moscow. This was a mess and without the EP's action would remain so today. Today, there is still the Greek Catholic church, which is on friendly terms with the OCU's Primate, the canonical OCU, and the renegade UOC under Moscow. The renegade UOC has 9 months to break its link to Moscow.

To deny the validity of the EP's actions in Ukraine is to deny that Kyiv is the mother of Moscow, and to assert that there is a canonical way for one canonical Church (Moscow) to take over another canonical Church (Kyiv). That isn't Orthodoxy. That is uncanonical, un-Orthodox.

This document, very readable, in English, details the basis for the EP's actions regarding Kyiv. THE ECUMENICAL THRONE AND THE CHURCH OF UKRAINE: The Documents Speak

As to the assertions below:
There was no uncanonical action taken by the EP in granting the Tomos. See the link above.

1'. Yes, there is no canonical way for a functioning church to be taken over by another in Orthodoxy. That point is made in the link given above. The uncanonical action was Moscow's in the 17th century.

2'. There has been violence, but it has been the actions of the UOC and not the OCU. Ukraine has a detailed statute governing transfer of church property and affiliations of governance. Parishioners have taken legal actions - documents, votes, etc. - fulfilling the statute only for the UOC remnant to bully the majority from taking control of the properties, padlocking the churches, stripping the churches of icons and accoutrements - candle stands, and divine utensils, etc. Legal actions have been prolonged in order to gain access to legally transferred churches. Prior to the full scale invasion, some regional authorities purposely frustrated communities from switching to the OCU.

As to the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra - a critical state historic property, there are still UOC monks there and a system of occupation by UOC people have prevented the full inventory of the property (this may have been done) by the state. No UOC monk has been expelled. The UOC ran full businesses on the property, and added/changed buildings in violation of its lease.

3'. As the EP has said, the banning and defrocking of hierarchs and priests by Moscow was based on lack of conformance to Moscow's uncanonical control (the concept, but my words) and not for canonical reasons. Those actions were and are invalid - un-Orthodox, uncanonical.

The link gives the relevant references. Yes, the canons should not be violated, but they were in the 17th century and for years thereafter. The EP fixed that in 2018/2019 with the Tomos delivered to the canonical Church.

I cannot make out the meaning of the last sentences. The OCU has been recognized by the EP, Alexandria, Cyprus, and the Church of Greece. When the war is over, there are very likely 3 national churches that will quickly recognize the OCU. And the monks of Mount Athos pray for Kyiv/Ukraine against Moscow. Slava Ukraini!

Assertions made against the OCU: (shortened, but not edited):
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) began by violating the canons from the moment of its creation. As for the historical aspects, one can argue for a long time, but as of 2019, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) was the only canonical, world-recognized church in the entire Orthodox world.

1. According to Orthodox canons, it is impossible to create a church on the canonical territory of another church. Thus, the very creation of the OCU on the territory of the UOC was non-canonical.

2. The second argument is that the activists supporting the OCU began with violence. I am not saying that all members of the OCU agree with this. But the violent seizure of churches and monasteries is true. There were 150-200 monks of the UOC in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, now there is 1 monk of the OCU instead of them, because the OCU has almost no monks.

3. The personnel of the OCU priesthood raises serious doubts. They have 3 types of clergy:
3.1. clergy ordained in the ROC and UOC, but defrocked banned from serving by their church;
3.2. clergy who transferred from the Kyiv Patriarchate and ordained by former Metropolitan Filaret Denisenko, who was not only defrocked and banned from serving, but is also under the anathema of the ROC. Also clergymen ordained by other clergymen who had already been defrocked at the time of ordination;
3.3. clergymen who came from the UOC and are under a ban on church service. Thus, the OCU has no canonical clergymen.

The canons of the Orthodox Church were adopted at the Ecumenical Councils more than 1100 years ago and it is not for us to change them.

At the same time, the only canonical orthodox church of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Due to the adoption of such a law [what law?], where the terms are written ambiguously, and other actions of the authorities, there cannot be canonical Orthodoxy in Ukraine with officially legally registered canonical orthodox religious organizations.

The assertions were made here, last entry - then closed: In what cases can a traditional church be banned in democratic states? The Ukrainian Orthodox Church may be banned.

Hello. My name is Abby and I live in North Carolina. I'm 20 years old and attend community college. I plan to transfer to a four year university once I earn my associate's degree. I want to study literature. I hope to become a professor and an author when I'm older. I have big dreams, but I've been struggling in school and in my personal life for the past few years.

I struggle with maladaptive daydreaming (MD). For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a dissociative disorder that traps a person in daydreams for hours at a time. These daydreams can be based on insecurities, past trauma, relationship troubles, stress, etc. After attempting many remedies, I've realized that praying to God is the best cure. I've also been wondering whether or not these daydreams are a form of demonic possession, but I don't want to get too deep into that just yet.

I have memories of praying to God when I was really little, but not very often. I didn't think about God for the majority of primary and secondary school. I only started exploring my faith about two years ago. Even then, I didn't speak to God or read the Bible everyday. I spoke to Him and read when I felt desperate. I feel desperate now, but I think being a part of this community will inspire me to keep God at the front of my mind for longer.

My goals include building a strong habit of prayer, expanding my biblical knowledge, and joining a church one day. I hope this community will prepare me.

Here is a William Blake poem titled "On Another's Sorrow" that I love - The Poetry Hour