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I figured this video was a good recent example of conservative push back against the claim that the Orthodox Church no longer teaches against contraception. It reminds me of this quote from Palamas, because no one speaks this way anymore:

“For the physical impulse to reproduce is involuntary and does not obey the law of our mind, although some do bring it forcibly into subjection, while others chastely give rein to it solely for the purpose of betting children.” (Homily 52 Par 7)

I figured this is a worthy discussion.

Looking at history and all it's atrocities, people always wonder why the Christian masses simply "went along" (although there are numerous examples of the few who sacrificed themselves)? But most of these events took place in Gov'ts where the people didn't have much of a say such as Stalin, Pol Pot, Hitler, Mao...
But in America, we constantly have Christians who will vote for politicians who will make every effort to continue infanticide in our country because they value other issues as more important to them.
Not looking to argue...just trying to understand what the mindset is from those who feel this way? How do you justify this? Am I the one being too legalistic?
Thanks

repent in Bible = change of mind/direction, Bible says repent and believe the gospel for salvation, not "repent of your sins (works)" Acts 20:21 "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." God repented more than anyone in the Bible and he doesn't sin.

if you falsely believe and say that repent means "of your sins" to be saved you have 1. added to Gods word 2. believe that Christs death, burial, resurrection wasn't sufficient for sins 3. added to salvation 4. called God a sinner (he repented over 20 times) 5. made salvation works based (follow the law to be/stay saved) which is a false gospel

I believe in repentance for salvation, the biblical repentance not the false "of your sins" works righteousness salvation. and people will falsely accuse you of not believing in repentance when you preach this and then they will falsely throw verses like Luke 13:3 at you, which says nothing about turning from sins and in fact is just talking about physical repentance saying you will likewise perish (Luke 13:3-5). they will hit you with these verses out of context to silence you from preaching grace through faith salvation, it hinders soul winning.

Also they will claim you that you teach license to sin, turned grace into lasciviousness, encourage and glorify sin and falsely claim that you don't believe in repenting of sins at all, but this is a lie, I believe in repent of sins, but not to be saved! Repent of your sins is works,

Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Repenting of sins is a daily thing, not apart of our salvation, after salvation we still must die daily, take up our cross, choose to walk in the spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, however we will never be sinlessly perfect until our flesh dies and we go to heaven, Apostle Paul still struggled with Sin, all the apostles sinned after they were saved, yet they all preached against sin, and they never once lost their salvation. Peter denied Christ multiple times and didn't lose his salvation, King Saul, Samson committed suicide and never lost it, Judas committed suicide after he "repented" but went to hell because he was never saved.

Salvation is simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31, entire Gospel of John), if you believe then you sins are covered, if you haven't believed in Christ or believe in your works/repenting your sins or adding anything else to Christs death, burial, resurrection to save you, then you're not saved. this is not "downplaying" or condoning or even encouraging sin at all, this is just explaining the biblical reality of salvation and separating the free gift of eternal life offered freely by Jesus, from our works that we do after we are saved.

Voters encountered problems casting their ballots at 70 of the 223 vote centers in Maricopa County on Election Day, November 8, 2022, resulting in long lines and concerns that ballots ended up not tabulated or “misread,” and commingled with ballots that had already been tabulated. Averaged together, the problems occurred in areas where Election Day voting was more than 300 percent Republican versus Democrat. Of those 70 precincts affected, 59 were in heavily Republican-voting areas, and two were Republican-leaning but not heavily, with only nine from Democrat-leaning or solidly Democrat areas.

Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor, who has led the effort to stop the use of electronic voting machine tabulators, said that county officials must resign due to the problems.


Hopefully the courts will review the situation and see if another election is warranted.

The Calvinist way of thinking says that man is unable to choose good, that he/she is totally depraved, and God must select them for enlightenment. THat they have no ability to reach out to God. But that is not how Paul describes it. He shows clearly that man can "will" to do good, although the power not being present.

Rom 7:14-24 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Here we clearly see, the nature of the unregenerated man, he can "agree with/delight in the law of God", but has no ability to carry it out. It is this will that activates salvation. By desiring God, a man is pulled away from the unregenerated nature, to the empowered nature, one where the Spirit of God helps overcome dark desires.

Our choices lead to salvation or damnation, our choice to either accept or reject the hand given to us, that pulls us from sin.

John 14:20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.

Note again the order of John 14:20.

1. God shows us His commands and the command of faith
2. We either accept or reject it
3. If we accept it God enlightens us, comes to us, and makes His home with us
4. If we reject God's commands no enlightenment happens.
5. God desires however that all come to the truth, but not all respond

Calvinism runs contrary to this stating:

1. God gives His commands
2. Man hates and can not receive them, man has no ability to respond
3. God chooses to save a few by enabling them to have faith, regenerated they can now obey
4. God leaves the rest blind, not desiring their regeneration
5. God only desires a few saved (those he wills), and wills the rest damned

But it is not that God desired or willed man to be wicked, or come into judgment. But man did not respond in the way God desired, he responded contrary to His expectation.

Gen 6:5-8 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Chesapeake police say the suspect behind a mass shooting at a Walmart just off Battlefield Blvd. is dead.

It’s still unclear just how many people were killed or injured in the shooting, but police say there are multiple of both. A police spokesperson told WAVY’s Michelle Wolf that no more than 10 people have died.

Police are still going through the building and people are asked to steer clear. The call reporting the shooting came in at 10:12 p.m. Tuesday.


Prayers for all involved and for the families that lost loved ones.

Fentanyl-laced pills being smuggled into the U.S. are becoming stronger and deadlier, according to a federal study that found that a majority of them now contain a fatal dose.


The Drug Enforcement Administration’s lab found that an average of six out of ten of the fake-prescription pills that contained fentanyl have a fatal dosage of the synthetic opioid.

Our food is pretty much toxic. I don't eat junk food but eat a VERY limited diet. I have a hard time consuming food because the poisons in the food are becoming worse. Even my interest has been gone for years so I eat to survive & that's it. I try to use organic as much as possible but still can't bring myself to eat much. I eat a simple generic diet with no frills. I have a list of roughly 10-12 foods that are edible. I've also been intermittent fasting for many years & eat OMAD starting at 1-5 p.m. Anyone else?

BUSINESS INSIDER

A Christian petition against Donald Trump's 2024 bid has amassed thousands of signatures​

A Christian organization which launched a petition protesting Donald Trump's 2024 presidential run has amassed thousands of signatures so far.

The petition was launched on November 16 by Faithful America. The group says it is an online Christian community founded in 2004 that is "organizing the faithful to challenge Christian nationalism and white supremacy."

At press time, 14,904 people had signed the petition — just shy of the organization's goal of 15,000 signatures.

In its petition, the group called on Christians to "speak out" and "make it clear that Donald Trump does not share our values and will never have our votes."

"We don't know much yet about how the 2024 election will play out, but one thing is certain: Another Trump presidency would be a disaster for our country," the organization wrote on the petition.

"In a speech laced with fearmongering and lies, Trump made it clear that he intends to double down on the fascist tactics that led to the deadly January 6 Christian-nationalist attack on our Capitol," the group added.

Faithful America also said in its petition that the Bible teaches "love, equality, and dignity," which it says are values that Trump's MAGA movement "clearly rejects."

Nathan Empsall, a reverend and the executive director of Faithful America told Newsweek on Monday that Trump had "weaponized religion" in his last two campaigns for president in 2016 and 2020.

"Neither the country nor the church can afford another four years of this charlatan's fascism, racism, misinformation, or ego," Empsall said.

Faithful America's position comes at a time when several of Trump's evangelical allies have either held back from backing him or have publicly slammed him.

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Please pray that my wife and I can have a pleasant Thanksgiving. We went to Walmart and I discovered when we arrived that I left my wallet at home. I went home to retrieve it while she shopped. She had to stand for awhile until I returned and now is experiencing pain in her legs. We have been quarreling in general. Please pray that this situation turns around and we can have Thanksgiving together.

There are some Baptists that believe. Anyone who believes a single work has anything to do with being saved will be damned.

And some believe that those who don't believe in eternal security will also be damned.

Some Baptists also tend to be very strict. So even though they believe they are saved through no works at all, they still strive to do good, work hard, and avoid sin. Same with Calvinists.

If it was true that works were part of being saved. Would a Baptist or Calvinist be at any risk even if they did the good works anyways.

And would the Calvinist be at any risk for having the incorrect view about predestination if they were wrong?

Or a Baptist who was uncertain whether people had any choice in the matter of being saved or not?

According to the NY Times, the USA has seen a dramatic rise in evangelical preachers making prophesies, particularly concerning the political affairs of Trump and the republican party.

Prophesies are not new, of course, with doomsday prophesy groups, almost exclusively Christian, failing to see the world end on the predicted date.

In the last ten years, prophesies have emerged focussed on the the re-election of Donald Trump and the so called red wave which would see the Democrats swept from power. Now I am not from USA so couldn't care less about their politics. I'm more interested to know how those who believe prophesies, reconcile their faith in both their religion and their preacher, when the prophesy does not come to pass.


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Hello Friends,

I am interested in some discussion around what was lost during the fall.

It seems as if 'to the innocent all things are innocent' applied to Adam and Eve, created good, yet fell.

That begs the question as to if total depravity of man, if you believe in it, is part of the curse of the fall.

This then leads us to conclude that after the fall, man was not fully human, having lost the innocence of Adam.

In Christ then, our humanness is fully restored?

Finally the conclusion is that the unsaved are not fully human ???

Bare with me - I am presenting questions - I am sure about the vast chasm between our so called righteousness and the Holiness of God.

But I am unsure about the concept of total depravity and what that means, given the way God described Job and the favour Noah found.

The reason I am raising this is because total depravity can lead to believers failing to act as they perceive all their efforts as essentially unrighteous.

“CBS News is now reporting on what Democrats told you for two years was a, ‘conspiracy theory,’” tweeted Rep.-elect Wesley Hunt, Texas Republican. “The Hunter Biden laptop is not Russian disinformation, it’s a real and very uncomfortable truth for the Biden White House.”

There are many types of Christian denominations so how do we know which one to follow? I personally have been to many types of churches of varied denominations & I’ve felt at home with all of them for different reasons. Lately, I’ve just been following the Bible and not attending a church.

You see it often and regularly. Christians who either have an image of Jesus hanging on their wall at home or have a picture of Jesus as their profile picture on social media. There are also Christians who bow down before an image of Jesus (or Mary).

My question is: Is that reprehensible to make an image of God?

Paul said in Acts 17:29: "Because we are descended from God, it is absurd to think that we can represent God in statues made of gold, silver or hewn stones. These are, after all, only creations of our art and our imaginations."

Isn't that a clear statement?

My other question is: Why do people always tend to make an image of God? We see this already in the early times of mankind and until today it is still common. How do you explain this phenomenon?

is the inability--on both sides--to compromise. Compromise is not a dirty word. It's a necessity. Making deals is how our government was designed to work. At times, our political leaders will have to give something up in order to gain something else. Of course, this is far from perfect. Our Constitution was a product of compromise. (And obviously, it's most glaring deficiency was the inability to end slavery.) Somehow, we have to get over the notion that making a concession is a capital offense. Donald Trump was on the mark to choose this as a campaign song:

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St. Mary's, my wonderful parish, has a nice size library filled with great books to read! Upon entering the church last Sunday, I went through the library and stopped long enough to look over the titles. The one that caught my eye was THINKING ORTHODOX, by Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou. Knowing that I have so much to learn, I brought it home to read.

What a book!

I think that every convert should be made to read this book while in catechetical classes, or at least after chrismation! Dr. Constantinou carefully and thoroughly outlines the pitfalls facing us Western converts and the differences between Eastern and Western thought as she seeks to have her readers understand what it is to develop the Orthodox phronema.

After reading it, I saw so much of myself and my errors in what she wrote that I went to Fr. David before Vespers and asked for Confession. I have been for most of my Christian life an "armchair theologian," (not to mention a just plain old arrogant fool theologically) and have done all the wrong things in presenting heresies as truth and error as the Christian faith. I realized in my reading just how Protestant my thinking still is in certain areas, especially that of Bible-thumping and putting Scripture over and above Holy Tradition, which, as I understand it, defines Scripture.

I am determined now to SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, AND LEARN!

Especially when cruising the Internet and seeing theological discussions.

An Orange County man who worked as a children's ministry director and a music teacher has been charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl and allegedly secretly recording her while she was nude, the Orange County District Attorney's Office announced Monday.

Investigators are seeking the public's help in identifying other potential victims.

When you were a child, who brought the Christmas presents for you, according to your parents?

You may perhaps say: Uncle X - or Aunt Y - but they are not among the options here.

I keep seeing the number of the beast on a weekly basis usually on the internet or other media possibly applied by God to rich and/or powerful people I tried to speak about it at church but they didn't believe me.

OK, you sat through diversity training. There you were told that, in your workplace, you will be expected to treat everybody with respect, regardless of race, creed, gender or national origin.

OK, yes, you can put on a cheesy smile and put on a show of respect. But do you also feel a sincere respect for say, a Muslim, sitting next to you?

In particular, if you think that the person in the next cubicle deserves to go to hell, can you at the same time feel respect for that person?

And if you do not feel respect, how do you sincerely show respect? Or do you elect to show respect that is not sincere?

As a freethinker, I find it my goal to both feel respect and to treat others with respect.

Apparently, Saudis and now the government of Oman think the Trump brand still has value?

When former President Donald J. Trump returned briefly last week to his office at Trump Tower in New York, he was joined by his son Eric Trump and the top executive of a Saudi Arabian real estate company to sign a deal that creates new conflict-of-interest questions for his just-launched presidential campaign.

The deal is with a Saudi real estate company, which intends to build a Trump-branded hotel, villas and a golf course as part of a $4 billion real estate project in Oman. The agreement continues a practice that had been popular for the Trump family business until Mr. Trump was elected president — selling branding rights to an overseas project in exchange for a generous licensing fee.

But what makes this project unusual — and is sure to intensify the questions over this newest transaction — is that by teaming up with the Saudi company, Mr. Trump is also becoming part of a project backed by the government of Oman itself.
............
The deal Mr. Trump signed was with Dar Al Arkan, the Saudi-based real estate company that is leading the project in collaboration with the government of Oman, which owns the land. It is the second deal signed recently between Mr. Trump and his family that has direct financial ties to a Middle East government.

Colossians 3:12-13 ESV

“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

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We who are followers of Jesus Christ are still human beings. We still live in flesh bodies. And so we still have a propensity to sin, and we are still tempted to sin. And if we are not armored up spiritually, and so we let our guards down, we may respond to certain situations in the flesh and not in the Spirit, and we may say or do things that hurt other people, even fellow believers in Christ. Or we may be the ones who have gotten hurt by other people’s words or actions which we believed were against us.

So, when these things take place, what should our response be? If at all possible we should try to reconcile with those we have hurt and/or who have hurt us. First we must forgive the other person, even if we believe the other person was in the wrong. And if we were in the wrong we should extend our sincere apologies and seek forgiveness from the other person. And then we need to forgive which means that we hold no animosity in our hearts toward the other person and we do not seek revenge but reconciliation.

And instead of animosity and aloofness and distancing ourselves from our fellow Christians we show them love and compassion and kindness. And we are willing to humble ourselves and to have others think badly of us if they are not willing to forgive us for whatever wrong we may have done or that they may have perceived that we have done. For it isn’t always black and white and good and evil. Sometimes these situations are because of misunderstandings and people not willing to talk them through reasonably.

So, if we are the ones who did the wrong, then we need to do what is right to try to make it right. And if we are the ones who have been wronged, or we believe we have, then we need to forgive those who have hurt us and do what we know to do to try to reconcile. And then we need to put on love and kindness. And we need to demonstrate that love and kindness to those who we felt did us wrong. For if we hold on to unforgiveness it will eat away at us and it will destroy us from within.

Basically, if we are followers of Jesus Christ, in truth, we should be those who love even our enemies and who do good to people and not evil. So we should definitely not be at war with our fellow believers in Christ. We are not all going to always agree on everything. And we aren’t all going to always see things from the same perspective. Now I am not saying that we should tolerate or pacify sin. This is not about coddling people in their sin. But we can still love other people regardless of what they have done.

Colossians 3:14-15 ESV

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

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Now God is love and love comes from God so love is truth and righteousness and holiness and godliness. It is kindness and forgiveness and humility and compassion. And it is moral purity and faithfulness and goodness and self-control. So love is action not just feelings. We can love others for whom we don’t have warm and emotional feelings. For love is based in who God is and not in who we are. So we can love even when we are hated and mistreated in return. For God loved us even while we were dead in our sins.

So, God is our model for how we are to love others. Now God is God so he has the authority and the power and the right to show vengeance against his enemies. And he doesn’t have to forgive everyone. For he will only forgive the truly penitent who obey him. But we are not God and so we have no right to exercise vengeance against others. And we have no right to not forgive others because of all that God has forgiven us when we were so undeserving of his grace and mercy.

But God loved us even while we were still living in sin, and he loved us enough to send Jesus Christ (the Son of God and God the Son) to die on that cross for our sins so that we could be delivered from our slavery to sin and live holy lives pleasing to God. And this is how we need to love others. We must be willing to humble ourselves and accept people thinking evil of us, if that is the case, and if there is no way to change their thinking, in order to show them the love that comes from God who is love.

For remember that Jesus Christ was sinless, and so he did no wrong even though he was accused of much wrong. And he had enemies who were hounding him constantly trying to trip him up with his words so that they could find cause to accuse him of wrongdoing. Yet he willingly gave up his life for us on the cross because he loved us and so he wanted to free us from our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we could live in freedom from the control of sin and in righteousness and holiness.

So sometimes loving other people means sticking our necks out on the line for people to chop it off (not literally, but figuratively). It means we love even our enemies and even though we know they are plotting evil against us and even though we know they intend to do us evil and not good. Now we need to make certain this is true and that this is not just in our minds, but if we have real evidence that people are against us to do us harm, we are still supposed to love them and forgive them and do good to them.

There is a Redeemer

Melody Green / Keith Green

There is a redeemer, Jesus, God's own son,
Precious lamb of God, Messiah, Holy one,

Jesus my redeemer, Name above all names,
Precious lamb of God, Messiah, Oh, for sinners slain.

When I stand in glory, I will see his face,
And there I'll serve my king forever, In that holy place.

Thank you oh my father, For giving us your son,
And leaving your spirit, 'til the work on earth is done.

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