I’d like to write a sequel to a book I started nearly four years ago, and when I wrote that one it was very secular-leaning. I stopped writing it a little over a year ago due to mental health circumstances, and now I’d like to pick it up again and add in some biblical themes as a “sprinkling of salt” (as the Bible would say). I’d like to explore themes of religious trauma/hurt, overcoming, found family, loss, and faltering of faith in God. Specifically, I’d like to have two characters who were both hurt by religion, one of which has overcome her trauma and grown stronger faith because of it, and one who has lost his belief and trust in God altogether. I’d like the former character to show the latter character Gods love and try to talk to him about it, but I’m not sure how to do so without it coming off as pushy or forced.

On another (slightly related) note, do any experienced Christian writers have any tips on how to not make your writing into an idol? I feel like I do that so often, and it always leads to me getting hurt and distancing myself from God. Thank you!!

To save a Mall it needs 3 things.

1. A Book Store

2. A Furniture Store

3. A McDonald’s


The Book Store and the Furniture Store are needed
so people have a comfortable place to sit and rest.

The Furniture Store should sell recliners and couches.

The Book Store should have good seating.

The food doesn‘t technically need to be a McDonald’s
but something close to that.

In Februrary:

Governor DeSantis Signs Legislation to Authorize the Release of Jeffrey Epstein Grand Jury Documents​

HB 117 will allow disclosure of grand jury testimony if the following conditions are met:

• The subject of the grand jury inquiry is dead.
• The investigation was about sexual activity with a minor.
• yadda yadda

Because all the above apply to the Jeffrey Epstein Florida case, this legislation will authorize release of the Epstein grand jury documents when it takes effect on July 1, 2024.

That's today.

Florida prosecutors knew Epstein raped teenage girls 2 years before cutting deal, transcript shows​

The transcripts show that the grand jury heard testimony that Epstein, who was then in his 40s, had raped teenage girls as young as 14 at his Palm Beach mansion, often paying them so he could commit statutory rape or assault. The teenagers testified and told detectives they were also paid cash or rented cars if they found him more girls.

“The details in the record will be outrageous to decent people,” Delgado wrote in his order. “The testimony taken by the Grand Jury concerns activity ranging from grossly unacceptable to rape — all of the conduct at issue is sexually deviant, disgusting, and criminal.”

In 2008, Epstein cut a deal with South Florida federal prosecutors that allowed him to escape more severe federal charges

Criticism of the deal resulted in the 2019 resignation of Trump's labor secretary, Alex Acosta, who was the U.S. attorney for South Florida in 2008 and signed off on the deal.

I became a Christian in the summer of 2022. Prior to that, I had been an atheist for many many years. However, there is one thing I should clear up. Despite being an atheist, I never played around with the demonic, I didn't want to "poke the bear" so to speak. So maybe I was more agnostic? Nevertheless, I was quite frankly, scared of the demonic, and wanted nothing to do with it, even then.

This is important.

Now you see, I grew up with what ive recently learned was OCD. "Walk back there or you will develop cancer" "touch that 5 more times or you will hit your head" yadda yadda yadda.

I used to think this was God, but have been informed that God does not threaten in such ways. With that being said, as OCD does, it figures out exactly what it needs to do, to scare you. See where im going with this? I was scared of the demonic. So naturally, my OCD started to veer into that sort of territory. I started to get thoughts telling me to pray to satan. Naturally, I resisted. Again, I wasnt even Christian yet. I just was scared.

However, one day, I was tired, stressed, whatever, I don't really remember, it was years ago. But I gave in. I got on my knees and I prayed to satan. Now before you all start saying "repent repent" believe me, I have. I only did it that one time years ago, and even still, I have apologized to God several times.

Now what did I pray for you ask? Well, I was a teenage boy. What do teenage boys have on their minds? Girls. There was this one girl I really liked. Lets call her Jane. Jane and I had been friends for a couple months and I had developed quite the crush on her. So I prayed that within five days, Jane would reach out to me and confess her love. I got off my knees and didnt think much of it, I was a little disappointed I had listened to the thoughts in my head, but that was it. I tried to just move on.

Five days later, I get a text from Jane. A big text. A paragraph. Within the paragraph she talks about how she had a crush on me and loved me yadda yadda yadda. Normal gushy teenager stuff. I was stunned. Terrified. Did my prayer actually get answered? And if so, what did I owe? Had I sold my soul?? Had I- Questions were flying through my mind.

I decided to not date Jane, for just under a year. This happened in august, it wasnt until June that she and I finally got together. Needless to say...we are still together, and shes now my fiance. And it has got me thinking, I never did get answers to my questions. Did satan make her love me? I don't understand. I don't even know if satan can do that! But nevertheless, it does worry me. Any help?

The Text in Question: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

**********
Have you ever noticed when Acts 2:38 is discussed here at CF, many individuals will comment the on phrase “for forgiveness of sins” really means “because of the forgiveness of sins” and at the same time, all major peer reviewed modern English Translations have “for the forgiveness of sins?”

There is a reason for this. Historically, it is in the Baptist DNA to affirm “because” instead of “for” not only because it fits their anti Sacramental theology but also two major Greek Scholars of their heritage with world reputations rocked the Biblical academic world with a new way of interpreting this passage of Scripture….allowing for “because of the forgiveness of sins” to be affirmed.

What then is the Causal Usage of εἰς? This subject matter is complex and certainly above my pay grade….but I will try. εἰς is a greek proposition found 1746 times in the NT and most of the time is translated into English as “for.” εἰς usage is always forwarding looking with the semantic meaning as “for the purpose of” or “in order that.” The casual usage of εἰς means sometimes, the meaning can be translated as “because.”

It was A.T. Robertson (1863-1934) who first set forth the thesis “for the forgiveness of sins” really means “because of the forgiveness of sins” with his argument concerning the Causal usage of εἰς in Word Pictures published in 1927. This caused quite a stir in the Biblical academia as no scholar prior to that point in time attributed the causal εἰς to any part of the NT lexicography. The causal usage of εἰς was only found in Hellenistic Greek and is exceeding rare.

As expected, Robertson’s findings were met with skepticism and dismissed. The criticism leveled at him was his theology, as a Baptist, took precedence over grammar….a fact that he himself acknowledged.

The controversy of the Causal Usage of εἰς becomes turbocharged when another highly respected Baptist American Greek scholar Julius Mantey reasserted Robertson’s claims in an article published in the Journal of Biblical Literature (1951). However, Mantey’s claims went further than Robertson’s and stated there was no fewer than nine Causal Usage of εἰς found in the NT!

Mantey’s timing of publishing this article could not have been worse. In 1937, The National Council of Churches decided to authorize a new translation of the English Bible called the Revised Standard Version. Greek scholars from all parts of America were involved in this huge 15 year project…set for release in September, 1952. Most of these American Greeks scholars who had grown close together during the translation process and knew of A.T. Robertson’s flawed claims some twenty years earlier. But with academic stature of someone like Mantey upping the ante on an issue that was thought to be settled…he got immediately noticed….and not surprisingly got pummeled from all sides.

Dr. Ralph Marcus of The University of Chicago and head of the Department of Hellenistic Studies debated him in a series are articles. The location of this debate blow by blow is listed below.



A few take-aways.

(1) The Causal Usage of εἰς is very rare at best in Hellenistic Greek and unsubstantiated in Koine Greek.

(2) Even if the Causal Usage of εἰς be granted in Acts 2:38, the text would still appear to say that the gift of the Spirit occurs through both repentance and baptism. This would create just as much difficulty for anti-sacramentalists as the phrase concerning forgiveness of sins.

(3) Nearly identical language is given in Matthew 26:28 and concerning Christ's blood of the covenant, indicates that blood is poured out "for the forgiveness of sins"… clearly denoting purpose.

(4) Causal Usage of εἰς argues for an exception to the rule based upon the English distinction between “for” and “because” rather than the Greek distinction in meaning between εἰς and διά.

Some seventy years later, Baptists continue to use the Causal Usage of εἰς though without textual support.

And here is the big distinction: Sacramentalists believe baptism is a means of grace and not a human work and the anti-sacramentalists believe baptism is a human work and not a means of grace….. and the debate goes on and on and on.

Several US military bases across Europe were put on a heightened state of alert over the weekend, with the level of force protection raised to its second-highest state amid concerns that a terrorist attack could target US military personnel or facilities, according to two US officials.

The bases, including the US Army garrison in Stuttgart, Germany where US European Command is headquartered, raised their alert level to Force Protection Condition “Charlie” on Sunday, the officials said.

That status “applies when an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action or targeting against personnel or facilities is likely,” according to the US Army.

One of the US officials, who is stationed at a base in Europe, told CNN they haven’t seen this threat level “in at least 10 years,” and said it usually means the military has received an “active-reliable threat.”

There was an article on Yahoo! about Blessed Carlo Acutis being the first millennial Saint.

Several anti-Catholics responded, the Church should be charged with crimes against humanity and banned, they must want more young people in so priests can molest them, their numbers are declining, it’s non-biblical. Etc

Why do they hate us so much?

If someone said negative comments about the gays, Muslims or Obama, people would go hysterical.

Very hypocritical.

Pastor Douglas Wilson of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, made waves online after arguing against women’s right to vote in a video last week.

In the video, Wilson seemed to frame the ratification of the 19th Amendment as a repudiation of the institution of the family and a man’s duty to represent his family in the public sphere.

Wilson has long been a controversial figure—both inside and outside the evangelical movement—for his charitable views of Christian nationalism and American chattel slavery, how his church has handled allegations of sexual abuse, and his methods for engaging culture, referred to by some as the “Moscow mood.”

“The problem can be called by many names,” Wilson said at the beginning of the video. “The men of our generation have had a failure of nerve. They have abdicated their responsibilities, and we are consequently in the midst of a crisis of leadership.”

Continued below.

I don't know.

I have zero reason to see how being homosexual is wrong and/or can hurt yourself or others. It has zero logic to me.

Click to expand...

Right, according to your logic of morality. In the beginning, Adam and Eve made a similar mistake. They wanted their own abilities to decide what is good or bad, independent from God and they did by eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the new Eve — and the new Ark of the Covenant.

Many of us are fascinated by the biblical Ark of the Covenant, one of history’s most enduring apparent mysteries. The search for the lost ark involves a search for the proof of God, and for some, possibly an attempt to obtain the power of God.

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas built on this theme in their wildly popular Raiders of the Lost Ark film from 1981. In this story, the ark is discovered by Professor Indiana Jones at the site of a Nazi expedition in Egypt in 1936 at the lost city of Tanis. While it is not believed that the Nazis ever made efforts to search for the ark, many others have attempted — and are still attempting — to uncover the mystery of the location of the lost relic. But are they looking in the right places, and for the right reasons?

Background of the Ark​

Continued below.

CNN​

Biden’s family encourages him to stay in the race as they discuss whether top advisers should be fired​

Mon July 1, 2024

CNN​

Democrats fear replacement scenarios as much as keeping Biden​

Sun June 30, 2024

Politico​

Biden’s family privately criticizes top advisers and pushes for their ouster at Camp David meeting​

06/30/2024
They also urged the president to stay in the race.

ABCNEWS​

Top Democrats rule out replacing Joe Biden amid calls for him to quit US presidential 2024 race​

July 1, 2024

Well that is inconvenient.

Israeli police said protesters threw rocks and attacked the car of an ultra-Orthodox Cabinet minister, pelting it with stones.

[Fires were lit by protestors; skunk-scented water cannons were turned on the crowd.]

People get upset when their privilege is threatened.

Berean Standard Bible, Genesis 2:

18 The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.”

Click to expand...

Adam had God and animals/pets with him, but he was alone. Eve is a suitable helper for Adam. In what ways?

The Bible does not talk much about that. Instead, right in the next chapter, Eve falls for the Serpant's lie and takes Adam with her.

a suitable
כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ׃ (kə·neḡ·dōw)
Preposition-k | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5048: A front, part opposite, a counterpart, mate, over against, before
Strong's Hebrew: 5048. נֶ֫גֶד (neged) — 150 Occurrences

Hagar sits down opposite her son Ishmael in Genesis 21:

16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Let me not look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept.

Click to expand...

She is not abandoning him, but emotionally she cannot be too close to him at that moment.

Nehemiah 12:

8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them in the service.

Click to expand...

There were two groups in the service. They stand H5048-opposite each other, not in the antagonistic sense but in a complementary sense. They complement each other in performing the service.

In this sense, Eve is an H5048-suitable helper for Adam. Although she is the opposite of Adam, she complements him.

I have a PhD in AI and have published in international journals. Born in Hong Kong, my mother tongue is Cantonese. When I was working in Japan, my blue-eyed Canadian wife used to proofread my research papers before I sent them for review. She did many things that I couldn't do or did not like to do. In many practical ways, she was helpful. We lived in Japan for a decade. I didn't learn to speak Japanese; she did. She was the opposite of me but complemented me.

Because your wife is the opposite of you, that's the source of disagreements and conflicts. If not taken care of, hostility will rise in the relationship.

Amplified Bible:

Now the LORD God said, “It is not good (beneficial) for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [one who balances him—a counterpart who is] suitable and complementary for him.”

Click to expand...

Pray for a suitable helpmate. If my wife were exactly like me, God help our kids

I am going to be cross posting this in both the Anglican and RCC forums for input from both groups. Can anyone comment on the potential full communion and recognition of ACNA Holy Orders? I came across this article and it is compelling to believe that we may be on the cusp of full communion between Rome and the ACNA. But how would that actually play out?
Article: Rome Moves Toward 'Full Communion' With Orthodox Anglicans

In a historic step, the Vatican is working toward "full communion" with conservative Anglicans by recognizing Anglican holy orders and churches without requiring "amalgamation or conversion."

The union will be based on a Malta II proposal presented by the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA), that revives the Malta I report agreed upon by Pope Paul VI and archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Michael Ramsey in 1966.

According to the Malta I proposals, differences in matters like Petrine primacy, infallibility, and Mariology, would be overcome by ensuring that "neither Communion is tied to a positive acceptance of all the beliefs and devotional practices of the other."

Click to expand...

he meetings have now been confirmed in an Ecumenical Relations Task Force Report released by the ACNA College of Bishops, who met at a provincial council from June 20-25, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

The report reveals that Abp. Foley Beach, then-primate of ACNA; Bp. Eric Menees, chair of dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church; and Bp. Ray Sutton, presiding bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, flew to the Vatican for meetings at the DDF in June 2023.

Click to expand...

A high-level ACNA source told Souls and Liberty that "the door of union and mutual recognition of holy orders would remain open only for Anglican provinces that were orthodox and had not permitted the ordination of women or gay blessings/marriage."

"Rome has agreed to enter a separate dialogue with the ACNA and Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GFSA) / Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) part of Anglicanism. This dialogue will not include the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church of England, the Anglican Church of Canada, or the The Episcopal Church," Sutton emphasized.

The ACNA proposals in September will also suggest ways that GAFCON and GFSA could be included in a broader dialogue.

Click to expand...

I was leaving Mass this evening. As I was approaching the parking garage, a man starts hollering for me "Maam?" and I sort of look at him but pretend that I didn't realize he was referring to me. I think he asked me something if I could give him a dollar. I'm not embarking on a discussion about whether or not someone should give a stranger a dollar if asked - to be honest, I don't care as much as some people do, I'd do it in a more public location, but this was sort of in a back alley, if you will. I don't appreciate male strangers asking women for help when they could ask a man - for the most part, I think it's completely unethical for male strangers to approach women for help. I ignored him because I didn't know if he was dangerous or not. I kind of wish I were a better Christian and helped him if he needed it, but as I said - ASK A MAN, NOT A WOMAN WALKING BY HERSELF!

John 4:
25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ).
“When He comes, He will tell us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

27 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman;
yet no one said, “What do You seek?” or, “Why are You talking with her?”
28 The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city, and said to the men,
29 “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”

30 Then they went out of the city and came to Him.


These Samaritans will rise up and testify against this generation, for on the testimony
of an adulterous woman, they sought out the Lord, and heeded His Word.

39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word
of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.”
40 So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them;
and He stayed there two days.

41 And many more believed because of His own word.
42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said,
for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ,
the Savior of the world.”

Today, if you will hear His Voice, harden not your heart.

I came across this on another site that can't be linked but I thought it was interesting. What are your thoughts? Any areas for concern?

**********

Introducing Cognify, the prison of the future. This facility is designed to treat criminals like patients. Instead of spending years in an actual prison cell, prisoners could finish their sentence here in just a few minutes. Cognify could someday create and implant artificial memories directly into the prisoner’s brain. It could offer a new approach to criminal rehabilitation, transforming how society deals with offenders by focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishment.

Login to view embedded media


The prisoner undergoes a high-resolution brain scan to create a detailed map of their neural pathway.



Although the procedure would only take a few minutes, time would pass differently in the criminal’s mind as they would experience “years of memories.”

These memories would be tailored to each prisoner, according to the crimes they’ve committed and their psychological profile. For instance, violent criminals would be forced to see their actions from their victim’s perspective and feel the pain and suffering they’ve caused firsthand. Some memories would even be designed to implement permanent trauma in the criminal’s mind.



Cognify could modulate neurotransmitters and hormones to induce specific emotional states, such as remorse or regrets.
Later in the video, the narrator says that Cognify could treat a wide range of crimes, such as “hate crimes and discrimination.



The video then explains how the AI-driven system could collect massive amounts of data from inmates and gather them in a central computer to “prevent crimes.”

Who Created This? Hashem Al-Ghaili, a Germany-based scientist.

What else is he known for? Ectolife Concept: An artificial womb that creates custom babies.

The former deputy White House director of photography, Chandler West, appeared to criticize Biden’s inner circle in an Instagram post after the debate, according to Axios.
“It’s time for Joe to go,” West wrote. “I know many of these people and how the White House operates. They will say he has a ‘cold’ or just experienced a ‘bad night,’ but for weeks and months, in private, they have all said what we saw last night — Joe is not as strong as he was just a couple of years ago.”
Remember also that the major media has helped conceal the truth.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a press release that the violence there was "abhorrent."

"I want to be clear that Los Angeles will not be a harbor for antisemitism and violence. Those responsible for either will be found and held accountable," she said.

She added that she has asked the LAPD to provide additional patrols in the area.

In videos posted on social media, protesters from both sides can be seen shouting at and physically confronting one another. Palestinian and Israeli flags were on display, and some people wore yarmulkes and keffiyehs.

In one video, an egg was thrown at a pro-Palestinian demonstrator and bear spray appears to be deployed.

In another, protesters can be heard shouting "long live intifada," using the Arabic word for an uprising or resistance movement.

Police in riot gear cleared the area in front of the synagogue, and officer Im told CNN that the situation was "pretty calm" hours later.

California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the clashes in a post on X: "There is no excuse for targeting a house of worship. Such antisemitic hatred has no place in California."

Australia gets a new boss​

Australia has today appointed Samantha (‘Sam’) Mostyn as its new Governor-General (aka ‘the GG’). To those of you who don’t live in a British Commonwealth country the idea of a GG may need explanation.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy.

This means that, while King Charles is our head of state, he does not have absolute power. He must follow the Australian Constitution. The King delegates his powers to the Governor-General of Australia. The GG is appointed (unelected) by the King, on the advice of the Prime Minister. In practice Australia has minimal direct connection with the British King and, despite having a King-in-Common, Australia has no official legal, political or governmental ties to the UK Government.

The GG’s role is scrupulously non-political and exercises a limited range of constitutional, traditional and civic powers.

The GG’s role includes;

• Signing bills into law
• Convening Parliament and setting meeting times
• Approving Federal elections
• Acting as Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force
• Appointing or dismissing Prime Ministers under clear constitutional limitations

The role also has a range of ceremonial duties including;

• Administering the oath of office to Ministers, judges etc.
• Awarding national honours
• Acting as official patron to various organisations
• Welcoming foreign heads of state

Unlike the US, the role of Australian Head of State and Head of Government are split between the unelected GG and the Prime Minister (‘the PM’). Australia does not have a position of President where the roles of both Head of State and Government are combined into one position. To confuse things even more, the Prime Minister (‘the PM’) is not specifically elected as PM in a public election. He or she is an ordinary, elected, member of Parliament who is selected as PM by the political party with a Parliamentary majority.



OB

Goren haAtad - "Threshing Floor of the Thorn", ("the threshingfloor of Atad", KJV and most translations).

Genesis 50:7-11 KJV
7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.

If you read the majority of the commentators on the location of Goren haAtad there is one primary thing they prove altogether as one: the location cannot be known for sure by the wording in the text because one cannot tell for sure even which side of the river the place is located.


This may actually be an account written by a firsthand witness, such as Yoseph himself, or perhaps he had a personal scribe, (being Pharaoh's Vizier this is likely). In such a case the "other side of the Yarden" may indeed be from the perspective of the writer, and the funeral procession surely went around the Salt Sea, on the eastern side, the long way around, so as to approach the land of Kanaan from the eastern side of the river. Then we read that the Kanaanites saw this wailing at Goren haAtad and therefore they called the place Abel Mitzraim, the mounring (place) of Egypt (or the Egyptians). The Kanaanites witnessed this great occasion? The Kananites dwelt on the western side of the river, in Kanaan, not on the eastern side of the river.

Recently, while looking up the general location of "Bethany beyond the Yarden" and its surrounding topography, on Google maps, I took a look southward in the area of Qumran. I was immediately stunned by what I saw on the satellite map.

Do you see what I see?



Could this location, now known by the Arabic name Khirbet Quran, actually be Goren haAtad?

The Threshing Floor of the Thorn?



Hmmmmmm ......................................... ???

Hello folks. Today's study is on how Jesus forgives us of our sins, but does not condone our sins. Habitual sins will also be covered in this devotional.

Hello folks. Today is a great day, cos Lust Month is finally over, or it will be in around 4 hours.