I don't think I'd ever noticed this before. Outside during the eclipse awhile ago, we noticed the light streaming through the leaves of the trees formed half-circle crescent like shapes on the pavement. As the eclipse progressed, the light made more elongated horseshoe shapes.

I also noticed my shadow got very blurry on the edges. What's weird is near the beginning of the eclipse, as I stood with my back to the sun, the right side of my shadow was well-defined like normal, but the left side of my shadow was blurry.

I think I found one article about this but the page wouldn't load for some reason. Anyone know what was going on?

AUSTIN – The Texas Senate voted late Thursday to approve to a bill that would give local and state police the power to arrest immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally.

It is Birdwell’s sixth time to bring this bill before the chamber and third time the Senate has approved it this year. His latest attempts failed to pass the Texas House. But with an endorsement from Gov. Greg Abbott, the bill has a solid chance of becoming law

In the House, Rep. Tom Oliverson R-Cypress, filed a bill Thursday that would allow law enforcement officers to apprehend immigrants who enter the country illegally via Texas’ southern border and take them to a port of entry, where police would order them to cross into Mexico. Those who don’t comply would be charged with a felony and could be imprisoned for 10 years.

“The U.S. is the most generous nation in the world, but we are in no position to accept additional refugees, especially from a region with as high a risk of terrorism, given our nation’s inability to secure our own border or vet those who are already here,” Rubio told The Post.

This should be no surprise, Palestinians can be expected to favor Democrats in elections.

Hi everyone. I was reading some akathists on a local Orthodox church's website, and there are so many powerful prayers. I think Orthodoxy is completely overwhelming for a Protestant. I don't think I could touch 0.0001% of anything Orthodoxy has to offer in this lifetime. However, I have a specific question regarding a prayer practice of the Orthodox.

I noticed in the akathists devoted to specific persons that we pray TO the departed saint. Sometimes things are even said like, "save us." I have long felt that praying for the dead, whether believers or unbelievers, is completely acceptable. It doesn't hurt, and in some mystical way, God maybe answers those prayers.

In Orthodoxy though, I find that there are very often prayers TO the saints, not FOR the dead. I understand veneration and even prayer to the Virgin Mary. I think she was the most elevated human who ever lived apart from Christ. I guess that defeats my whole objection. Perhaps I just get a little alarmed when I see akathists where we are praying to specific departed saints and asking them to "save us" and also saying, "we praise you." I just don't understand because for me this comes very close to idolatry and/or a violation of the first commandment.

Can someone help me to understand how it is I can say to a departed saint, "I praise you" and not feel in my spirit that I am doing something wrong?

Something I don't understand.

My Democratic friends have always taken a strong position against racist, The territory was Israel's to begin with homophobic, transphobic, anti- LGBTQ, misogynistic, and anti-Semitic groups. And that is a fair and respectable position.

Considering that - why do so many Democratic leaning groups - BlackLivesMatter - Democratic Socialist of America and several Democratic Congress members openly supporting Hamas?

It doesn't make sense to me.

An Alabama woman was imprisoned for ‘endangering’ her fetus. She gave birth in a jail shower
Exclusive: Ashley Caswell, one of a growing number of jailed pregnant women in Etowah county, is suing officials after she was denied care

But over the next seven months of incarceration for “chemical endangerment” [i.e. meth] in the Etowah county detention center (ECDC), Caswell was denied regular access to prenatal visits, even as officials were aware her pregnancy was high-risk due to her hypertension and abnormal pap smears, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday against the county and the sheriff’s department. She was also denied her prescribed psychiatric medication and slept on a thin mat on the concrete floor of the detention center for her entire pregnancy.

In October [2021], when her water broke and she pleaded to be taken to a hospital, her lawyer says, officials told her to “sleep it off” and “wait until Monday” to deliver – two days away.

During nearly 12 hours of labor, staff gave her only Tylenol for her pain, the suit says, allegedly telling her to “stop screaming”, to “deal with the pain” and that she was “not in full labor”. Caswell lost amniotic fluid and blood and was alone and standing up in a jail shower when she ultimately delivered her child, according to the complaint and her medical records. She nearly bled to death, her lawyers say.

After she was taken to a hospital, she was diagnosed with placental abruption, a condition in which the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus and the fetus is deprived of oxygen, meaning there was a risk of stillbirth. The baby survived, but Caswell was immediately separated from her newborn.

I hope they realize they are setting terrible examples…

I'm very busy these days, although some days I get more done than on other days. I still have some things to do as a result of my husband's passing, matters to deal with as a result of taking over the roles that he was responsible for, arrangements to make for repairs needing done to the house and for refurbishment of various areas pf the house. and issues to support my 3 family members with who are on the autistic spectrum. That's not to mention the dreaded 'housework'.

When I tell people I'm busy, they either ask, 'Really? Still?' or exclaim, 'Oh that's good!' I respod with, 'I'd rather not be this kind of busy'. Does anyone else have a similar experience?

Gillian

The president’s campaign is reportedly “terrified” of the 80-year-old Biden having a bad fall, Axios reported in September. As concerns grow regarding Biden’s age, his campaign has focused on ensuring that he does not trip by dressing Biden in tennis shoes and shortening staircases.

I was baptised in hospital as a baby, I was dying of meningitis, but somehow lived.

These days I'm a Buddhist...

Does that baptism have any significance now, am I somehow different than if I had never been baptised?

Would it have a significance if I ever converted?

Romans 12:1-2 ESV


When we come to faith in Jesus Christ it is not just so that we can have our sins forgiven so that when we die we get to go to heaven and not to hell, even though that is widely what is being taught these days. For Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might live for him and no longer for self. And he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of sin so we will no longer be slaves to sin but slaves to God and to his righteousness.

So, Paul is making his appeal here to all who are believers in Jesus Christ on the basis of what the Scriptures teach with regard to why Jesus died on that cross, and on the basis of what the Bible teaches with regard to what the end result is intended by him suffering and dying for us on that cross for our sins. And the Scriptures make it quite clear that the purpose for his death on that cross is that we who believe in him will die with him to sin and now walk in his holiness and righteousness and in obedience to his commands.

Therefore, because of what Jesus did for us in dying on that cross and in being raised from the dead, then we, by faith in Jesus Christ, can be crucified and buried with Christ in death to sin, and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Thus, sin is to no longer reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, and obedience to God is not what we obey, we will not have eternal life with God.

[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Lu 9:23-26; Matt 7:21-23; Tit 2:11-14; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1,2&3]

Now, I know that all of that was probably not written before Paul wrote this here in his letter to the Christians in Rome, but that is still the foundation behind Paul’s words here, because it is on the basis of God’s mercies, his grace to us, in dying on that cross so that we can die to sin and live to righteousness that Paul is making his appeal. And the appeal begins with an urging from God that we now present our bodies (our lives) to God as living sacrifices to him, holy and acceptable (pleasing) to God.

So, what does that look like? Well, it means that we have forsaken our sins to now follow Jesus Christ with our lives in walks of obedience to him, in submission to him as Lord, in surrender of our wills to the will of God, and in holy and righteous living, by the grace of God, in the power of God. We accept that our lives are no longer our own to be lived however we want, but that our lives are his to be lived however God wants, and according to the teachings of the Scriptures under the New Covenant.

And to live holy lives means to live lives which are separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ. So this goes right along with verse two which teaches us that our lives are no longer to be conformed to the pattern (ways) of this sinful world. We are not, as believers in Christ, to look like, act like, speak like, and think like the ungodly of this world in their ways of thinking, believing, speaking, and behaving. We are to be different!

Now, when our lives are given over to the Lord as true living sacrifices to him, and now he is truly Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and we are living in submission and in surrender to his will, and we are no longer living for the will of the flesh, not only is this pleasing to God, but this is our spiritual worship of God. So, although singing praise and worship songs can be worship of God, if our lives are not surrendered to the Lord, and if we are still walking in deliberate and habitual sin, we are not truly worshiping God.

So, we are to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ as living sacrifices to him, holy and acceptable to him, and we are to no longer be conformed to the sinful passions of this sinful world. But we are to be transformed of God out of our lives of living in sin and for self to now walking in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord, for the glory of God, and in the power, strength, and wisdom of God. For now our minds are stayed on Christ and no longer on the passions and desires of the flesh (Romans 8:1-14).

And in all of this, as we walk with the Lord in obedience to his commands, and as we live holy lives, pleasing to him, in the power of God, we are learning and we are discerning what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect, because we are obeying the Lord and not the flesh. It doesn’t mean, however, that we are perfect people, for we won’t be perfect until we are in our glorified bodies. But lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for deliberate and habitual sin. Please get this!

Seek the Lord

An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off Isaiah 55

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”

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Ephesians 4:14 ESV


The focus of what the Lord Jesus would have me write on today has to do with warning and cautioning us against putting our trust in other human beings, for in so doing we may easily be deceived into believing the lies and not the truth of what the Scriptures teach. And this includes every living human being on this planet earth, no matter who they are, and no matter how famous or how well respected they are. Our trust must not be in them. For not everyone is who he says he is. Liars and deceivers abound!

And the Scriptures warn us much about these liars and deceivers, these wolves in sheep’s clothing, who on the outside appear righteous, but inside are full of all kinds of wickedness. And they can be anyone. They can be our politicians, the news media, and preachers and pastors and teachers of the Scriptures and evangelists and missionaries. Just because someone has a title of respect next to his or her name does not make him or her godly or above suspicion. We need to be people who are testing every spirit.

False Teachers: [Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

For the Scriptures make it clear that our trust needs to be in God, and in God alone, and not in human flesh:


[Old Testament: Psalms 146:3; Psalms 118:9; Isaiah 40:23; Hosea 8:4; Hosea 13:10; Psalms 147:10-11; Jeremiah 17:5-6]


[New Testament: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9,18-23; 1 Corinthians 7:23; Galatians 1:10; Galatians 2:12; Ephesians 4:14-16; Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 2:8,20-23; Colossians 3:23-24; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-8; 1 Peter 4:1-5; 2 Peter 3:17-18]

So, just because you hear it or you read it or you think you see it, it doesn’t make it true. It doesn’t make it of God. And please watch out for teachings supposedly of God where Scriptures are being taught out of context and made to say whatever the person sharing them wants you to believe. Be students of the Scriptures yourselves and study them IN CONTEXT. And then please know, too, that anything can be faked, altered, photoshopped and made to look like and appear like what it is not.

So, just because you hear or read it or think you see it, it doesn’t make it true. Test everything! Test everyone! Test what I am sharing with you here against the Scriptures in their true biblical context. And please remember that we live under the New Covenant relationship with the Lord Jesus, and we do not live under the Old Covenant. And test politicians and the news media, etc., for remember that the Scriptures teach us that in these last days many false teachers will appear on the scene and will deceive many.

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan won the House Republican Conference’s nomination to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives on Friday, after his primary competitor, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, dropped out of the race.

Every time we watch the news, there are various disasters happening and spreading all over the world, and wars have been waged between some countries one after another, which makes us frightened and anxious. Others will say for the disasters you mention, actually they were happening for many years, but is it right that we think so. For those who truly believe in the Lord and understand the Bible, they know that these disasters are related to the prophecy of the return of the Lord Jesus being fulfilled. Do you know that? Now that the 6 prophecies of the Lord Jesus' return in the Bible have been fulfilled, we have a chance to be saved by God if we can welcome the Lord. Then how can we welcome His return?

"We’re often told to look at two sides, like the Israeli government and Hamas. But what if you were told they share the same masters?

Why did the attacks happen, and why were they allowed to wreak such horror on innocent civilians?"

A false flag of course.

I would greatly appreciate any thoughts on finding Christian community near me. I realize that's a difficult ask, considering I'm posing this question online without my location, but let me explain some of the obstacles I've been facing for a while.

1. I work a sensitive job and can't really discuss the details. Most of my life I was an open book, but the past few years I've had to get creative about how I tell/don't tell people what I do. So it can be hard to form new relationships and be the new person in a group.
2. I travel a lot for this job, so it's difficult to attend regularly. I think some people understand this when they get to know you. But unfortunately a lot of us Christians can be too attendance focused.
3. I am in my late 30s, but everyone says I look 25, so the past several times I've attended new places, I've been steered toward much younger groups, classes, etc. before I can explain my age. Or find out there is no one my age. I get along with all ages, but I really need some peers in my life.
4. Even if I don't have peers, I've always longed for an older mentor. Leadership was thrust on me at a young age and everyone looked to me for guidance when I barely knew what I was doing. No one has it all figured out, but I greatly wish I could find an older lady or couple that has some wisdom and experience to share.
5. I recently reached out to a church because they had a form online for mentors/groups. Someone called and offered to set me up with an older lady for coffee and invite me to a discipleship group. She called back and said that lady was already mentoring people and a little busy, so I should just come on Sunday and get to know some people. I fully intend to rejoin a church, but because it can be tough to just walk in, especially when people start asking a lot of questions, I wanted to get to know a few people first. I know they meant well, but after getting my hopes up, I felt rejected. (I did tell them my reasons for reaching out the way I did).
6. A lot of people with my job have supportive spouses, but I have not been blessed with a spouse yet, so I do get lonely. Add to that the fact my best friend recently pulled back from our friendship because of some personal issues she is having, so it made the lack of Christian community in my life more apparent. I started by joining this site.

I feel strong in my personal relationship with the Lord, but bereft of friends. I grew up in church (mostly a combo of non-denom and AG, but live around and have attended a lot of Baptist, as well), and used to have a supportive friend group, but most have moved or drifted away. I love my job, but it doesn't leave a lot of room to rebuild a community from scratch. I realize that's not a church or group's responsibility to cater to, but maybe there's something else I can try. I'm feeling a little defeated.

The beloved cheese was created as a way to turn milk into a long-lasting dairy product that is now protected under European Union law.​

In the past few decades, Parmesan cheese has become a beloved staple of Italian cuisine around the world. Shredded Parmesan goes well on top of almost any pasta dish, works well as a pizza topping, and can be used to make delicious cheese-crusted roasted veggies.


Parmesan as we know it today probably made its entrance into Italian kitchens in the 13th century. As explained by cheesemaker association “The Four Madonnas,” Parmesan cheese was first created in Benedictine monasteries around the northern Italian towns of Modena, Reggio Emilia, Parma and Bologna, thanks to a technique learned from monks from the famous French monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France.

Well before the age of fridge and freezers, monks on both sides of the Alps were faced with the challenge of preserving milk from local cows beyond immediate consumption. Italian Benedictine monks were used to turning milk from sheep or goats into cheese; however, they had yet to find a similar technique to transform cow cheese into a long-lasting cheese.


Thanks to cheesemaking techniques learned from Cluny’s “cousins,” they were able to come up with a solution for cow’s milk, too. By adding salt from Salsomaggiore salt mines to milk, the monks created a dry, calcium-rich cheese in large wheels that — thanks to the preservative effects of salt — could last for months.

Continued below.

Charles Lawson gives an interesting plausible scenario of what could unfold from what is happening right now in the middle east.
If he's scenario does play out as he sees it , then we are indeed living in exciting times.

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After months of investigation and many public accusations of corruption against Mr. Biden and his family, the first report of the premier House G.O.P. inquiry showed no proof of such misconduct.

House Republican Report Finds No Evidence of Wrongdoing by President Biden (Published 2023)

After months of investigation and many public accusations of corruption against Mr. Biden and his family, the first report of the premier House G.O.P. inquiry showed no proof of such misconduct.

www.nytimes.com

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) criticized House Republicans’ recent effort to impeach President Joe Biden saying it was not done in a “legitimate” or “serious” way, a video obtained by NBC News shows
“I just don’t get the sense that it’s for the sake of impeachment,” Gaetz reportedly said during the fundraiser. “I think it’s for the sake of having another bad thing to say about Joe Biden.”

Gaetz Slams Republican Impeachment Inquiry Of Biden As Not “Serious” In Leaked Video

At an invitation-only fundraiser, Gaetz compared the impeachment inquiry into Biden to a “forever war.”

www.forbes.com

Everyone knows, and now republicans are starting to admit it.

First of all some geography, Bass Strait which separates the Australian continent from Tasmania.

I have never been trusting of AI chatbots particularly with complex scientific questions but I read somewhere if you ask truly incoherent and illogical questions AI chatbots will "hallucinate" and make up an answer which it the passes off as fact.

I put this to the test by asking GPT-3 "Who was the first Tasmanian to walk across Bass Strait?"
Now while this may have been "technically possible" over 12,000 years ago during the last Ice Age when there was a land bridge between Australia and Tasmania, GPT-3 gave a truly bizarre answer.

GPT-3

The first recorded person to walk across Bass Strait from mainland Australia to Tasmania was Paul Smith. In 2003, he completed this historic journey by walking from Wilsons Promontory in Victoria to Preservation Island in Tasmania. This remarkable feat made him the first person to walk across the Bass Strait, a challenging body of water known for its strong currents and treacherous conditions. Smith's journey took several days, and he faced numerous obstacles, but his determination and preparation ultimately allowed him to accomplish this unique feat.

Click to expand...

A Google search of this Paul Smith character exhibiting powers to walk over water like Jesus revealed nothing.
When I asked the same question to Bing chatbot, its answer was far more sane.

Bing

I’m sorry for any confusion, but it’s not physically possible for a person to walk over Bass Strait. Bass Strait is a sea channel that separates Tasmania from the Australian mainland. However, there was an instance where a person named Andrew Englisch crossed Bass Strait on a wing foil. This was a significant achievement given the treacherous nature of the ocean stretch. Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Click to expand...

When The Lord Jesus Christ says to pray for those who persecute you, what exactly / specifically should we pray for them ?



“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

• Matthew 5:43-45

@Estrid

The article is from 2014 but it was requested I post it in an area where non-believers can comment as well.
**************************************
The well-preserved nature of the fossils gives scientist a snapshot of life more than 500 million years ago

A treasure trove of fossils chiseled out of a canyon in Canada's Kootenay National Park rivals the famous Burgess Shale, the best record of early life on Earth, scientists say.

"Once we started to break fresh rock, we realized we had discovered something incredibly special," said Robert Gaines, a geologist at Pomona College in Pomona, Calif., and co-author of a new study announcing the find. "It was an extraordinary moment."

The Burgess Shale refers to both a fossil find and a 505-million-year-old rock formation made of mud and clay. The renowned Burgess Shale fossil quarry, a UNESCO World Heritage site located in Yoho National Park, is in a glacier-carved cliff in the Canadian Rockies. The fossils were discovered in 1909. Since then, several other fossil sites have been found in the Burgess Shale, but none as rich as the original.

The fossils are extraordinary because they preserve soft parts of ancient animals in exceptional detail; these soft parts are less likely to be imprinted in stone than harder parts, like bones. More than 200 animal species have been identified at the 1909 fossil site, providing a rare window into the Cambrian explosion, the time when complex body forms first appeared in Earth's fossil record starting about 542 million years ago.

"Nowhere do we have a better view of exactly what the Cambrian looked like and its relationship to the environment than in the Burgess Shale," Gaines told Live Science's Our Amazing Planet.

The new site is also in the Burgess Shale formation, and seems to rival the 1909 original in fossil diversity and preservation, researchers report today (Feb. 11) in the journal Nature Communications. In just two weeks, the research team collected more than 3,000 fossils representing 55 species. Fifteen of these species are new to science. [Gallery: Amazing Cambrian Fossils from Canada's Marble Canyon]

"The rate at which we are finding animals — many of which are new — is astonishing, and there is a high possibility that we'll eventually find more species here than at the original Yoho National Park site, and potentially more than from anywhere else in the world," said Jean-Bernard Caron, lead study author and an invertebrate paleontologist at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

Better than Burgess


Continued below.

"Mother Lode" of Fossils Discovered in Canada

The well-preserved nature of the fossils gives scientist a snapshot of life more than 500 million years ago

www.scientificamerican.com

Hello everyone,

It's been a long time since I've posted anything. But I would love to have a discussion (civil as possible) about why you would or would not join the Anglican church. If you are Anglican, why are you?

I've continued to grow more and more fond of the Anglican vision, and I would love to hear others reasons why you are Anglican or why you would stay away. Thanks!

I'm painting with broad strokes- Apply the question to the Church of England, ACNA, etc.

Moderators, feel free to move this thread if I have misplaced it. I didn't put it specifically in the Anglican thread in hopes of hearing other denominational perspectives.