Hello all,

It's been a long time since I've posted anything on CF. The last time I was active on the site, I was a member of a Baptist church. Since then, things have changed for me in my faith and the Lord has led me in a new direction. That direction is to search out Orthodoxy. I want to visit my local parish with my family as an inquirer of the Church, which has been a couple years in the making if I'm being honest. A couple years ago, I made a friend from work that is Orthodox and had converted from a protestant denomination several years prior and when he invited me and my family, I visited the Parish he's apart of with my wife and three young children. For me, the Liturgy very much stood out and the way the worship occurred and was performed, it was very apparent to me that it is distinct and different from anything I had ever experienced before. There was a certain holiness to it that I had never before witnessed in my life, if that makes sense. The problem I had during that visit was that my children (which were four years old at the time), were very difficult to keep under control without disturbing the others during the service. It was one of the reasons my wife and I were ever hesitant to return, because we felt embarrassed and overwhelmed by that dynamic. The thing is that now I can't resist the fact that I've been called to return and inquire about the Church and having looked into the faith on my own since then, I've come to the conclusion that I have to pursue it - there are so many tenants and doctrines of the faith that have come to make complete sense to me. There are still a couple things I wrestle with doctrine wise, but ultimately, my wife and I have to visit and then meet with the father of the local parish where I live and start this path. The only problem is I'm anxious about visiting with my family. The last time we had only the three kids, but now we have four. The eldest three are 7, 6, and 6 years old, and the youngest is about 10 months. What are the common strategies for families such as mine that attend Liturgy? I don't ever want to be a disruption to the others during the service, and the strategy of coming late is not something that I would really prefer, especially being inquirers of the Church with the intention of starting down this path. Also, to be fair, now that the eldest three are older, they may behave better and more naturally, but I'm not sure since Liturgy tends to be way longer than any of the protestant services we have attended in the past. The parish I will be attending has a service that is about two and a half hours long.

From what I can tell the one that I will be attending is a smaller mission and so I'm not sure if they have a room dedicated for children that become angsty and bored or disruptive. Any advice, strategies or tips? My children will behave when we correct them, but only for so long since their attention spans are so short at that age. Having to continually correct them during the service is the part I'm particularly concerned about, even if I try to do it as quietly as possible.

Thank you in advance for your time and responses.

Whether you are reading in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, we are taught that faith in God, in Jesus Christ (God the Son), if it is of God, will result in us dying to sin, and in us following our Lord in surrender to his will in walks of obedience to his commands. And this is required of God of us for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God, not as a means of us trying to earn our own salvation, but as part of biblical faith which comes from God, which is gifted to us by God, and which is persuaded of God.

For we read in Hebrews 3-4 and in 1 Corinthians 10 that the majority of the Israelites, who followed Moses into the wilderness, tested and tried God. They hardened their hearts against God, they provoked God, and they went astray in their hearts. They were hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. They were those who craved evil things, who had evil unbelieving hearts that fall away from God. And they were idolaters, revelers, drunkards, immoral, and grumblers against God and against his servant Moses, who disobeyed God.


So, what is this teaching us? It is teaching us that whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, the same biblical rules apply which define what genuine biblical faith in God/Christ Jesus must be like, in action, in conduct. We must die to sin and obey God, in practice, in submission to the will of God, and as empowered by God. For if we continue to make sin our practice, and not obedience to God, we will not enter into God’s eternal rest, i.e. we will not inherit eternal life with God, because of disobedience to God.

But what does it teach us about disobedience to God? It is unbelief. We cannot live in sin, in disobedience to God, in practice, and be those of genuine biblical faith. Now this is not to say that a genuine follower of Christ can never or will never fall back into sin. We have biblical examples of that. But always there is a call for repentance and for renewed faith, and there is a warning that if they remain in sin and do not repent, that they will not have eternal life with God. For biblical faith must continue until the end.

And there is a warning for us here that if we follow the example of disobedience as that of the majority of Israelites who wandered in the wilderness, we will suffer the same result as they did. They were banned from entering into God’s eternal rest because of unbelief. And we will be, too, regardless of what our lips profess, if we do not turn from our sin and if we do not follow our Lord in obedience to his commands, in practice. So, today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts in rebellion.

So, if you are thinking that you are standing firm in your faith in Jesus Christ, and that you have forgiveness of all sins, and that heaven is what awaits you when you die, take heed. For faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, will result in us dying to sin and obeying our Lord, in practice, or it is not biblical faith which saves. “Depart from evil and do good, so you will abide forever,” is both Old Testament and New Testament teaching, and so is, “For evildoers will be cut off.” So please take this seriously!!

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

The Heart of Man

Based off Matt. 15:1-20; Mk. 7:1-23
An Original Work / April 4, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Listen to me ev’ryone and
Understand this teaching of Christ:
Why do you break the commands
Of God for the sake of tradition?
When you follow the ways of man,
And don’t obey the words of Christ,
You nullify the words of God,
And you hold to the ways of man.

What comes out of a man’s mouth is
What makes him unclean and dirty.
The things that come out of the mouth
Come from the heart, from within him.
The heart of man is so sinful;
From his nature, out comes evil:
Lying, cursing, greed and malice,
Lust and lewdness, deceit, slander.

Jesus calls us to obey him;
Turn from our sins; follow His ways.
Yet, his people honor him with their lips,
but their hearts not with Him.
Their worship of God is in vain.
Their teachings are rules taught by man.
Jesus calls us; gently leads us
To return and follow His truth.

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So You Will Abide Forever
An Original Work / October 19, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

A Whiteheard classic from Highlands album.

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I found a very fascinating that that this priest on YouTube said about souls in purgatory, and he said something that had been crossing MY mind for AGES.

Granted, priests are not always going to say the correct things but when he said this, I was floored. He said that souls in purgatory can/may be released when the hurt/problems that they may have caused the next generation (through sin) are resolved, and when they see that the "cycle has been broken."

(this could mean, though, that if the problems are not resolved or the cycle is not broken, that they stay where they're at. he was also talking about praying for them, but it was MORE than that)

I'm not saying everyone has to agree but I have felt this even before I heard this priest say this.

(I don't want to give a link because his political talking points can be contentious)

October 18, 2025 Acts 10: 24-38 KJV
West Angeles Cogic Church Cathedral Los Angeles California

I Reference Jesus Christ is God of All. I Worship God of Morals and Meaning giving opportunity to believe in Christ-Only God to believe in with validity. I Worship God allows me to commune with God. I Worship God of Purity and Perfect Care. I Worship God that always does his Word for me blessing me with something and to benefit in all my subjects. I Worship God of healing of all sorts of ailments. I Worship God that wants to share the Gospel with other people and does not discriminate.

When one comes to the word of God we find that the blind leads the blind, because most people do not take the time and read for themselves. Jesus say in Luke 6:39 And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? Now understand that this is a spiritual and a physical saying, but in this case I’m seeing the spiritual side of this blind side of man. Paul say in 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Hardly know one, once to admit that they follow Satan, but there’s no middle ground in the case, either you follow God (Jesus) or Satan. It’s written in Revelation 12: 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Once a person realize they have been deceive that’s when the true change can come in. A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ and our adjective is to be Christ like. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: (1 Peter 2: 21, 22)

Jesus says in Luke: 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. See sin is what got us these two death in the first place. Let’s take a look at the biblical definition of sin. 1John 3:4) Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. Now we have just read the biblical definition of sin, the transgression (breaking) of the law (commandments.)

So when you sin, you transgress the law, what law? The Commandments brother and Sisters. And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1: 6,8,9)

So if you think because Jesus die for our sins, and you don’t have to keep the law (Commandments) then you are sinning, and Paul told us in Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We all have to do the same thing to get in the kingdom of God, and one of those things is keeping the Commandments. A man asked Jesus this very question, "...What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?", and Jesus replied, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matthew 19:16-19). This was a direct answer to a direct question, which all of us will do well to take heed to. Anybody can claim to have faith, but actions speak louder than words. Faith and works go together and you can't have one without the other. "Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).

Jesus had a custom, and his custom was to keep the Sabbath day on the seventh day of the week, but in our day we keep Sunday, and for some reason its not written in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, to attend Church service on the first day of the week. But let's go into Luke 4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

I have a family member that is going through some trouble. He is in his 20s, has money problems, smokes marijuana, and is expecting a baby with his girlfriend.

I have thought about buying this family member a Bible, but I do not know which one to buy him. I believe his current problems are happening and God is allowing them so that this family member will turn to Christ for salvation.

What recommendations do you all have?

Thanks.

Progress is being made.

Spiritual growth is a good thing. But it requires change in us. Not only change in behavior but also attitudes and often beliefs. Sincere Christians see both. We want to remain firm in the faith yet grow, be transformed, sanctified. But what about when our beliefs hold us back?

One painful example in our history was church sanctioned slavery. Beliefs had to change. Or should I say interpretations and applications of beliefs.

We all must cope with life and we use our faith to help us. But have you ever had the experience of your faith not helping? As if reality does not fit with beliefs? Or beliefs clash with reality?

Americans are split on the accuracy of the Bible, as the public remains divided about institutional trust in religion and the family, a new study finds.

The American Bible Society released the seventh chapter of its "State of the Bible USA 2025" report on Tuesday. The research, which focuses on Americans' levels of trust in several institutions, including religion and the Bible, is based on responses from 2,656 American adults collected in online interviews between Jan. 2 and Jan. 21.

When asked if they agreed that "the Bible is totally accurate in all the principles it presents," 36% of respondents answered in the affirmative, while 39% disagreed.

"A half-century ago, Americans generally trusted the Bible. Attitudes are more complex these days," said John Farquhar Plake, chief innovation officer at the American Bible Society and editor-in-chief of the State of the Bible series, in a statement reacting to the findings of the research.

Continued below.

Good Day,

I hope all here are doing well. I has been a long time since really being present here in the forums - and a lot of things (traumatic, to be honest) that have happened which caused me to need a substantial break. If I am honest, after seeing a tendency in some spaces I left literally embrace open American civil religion / Eurocentrism and xenophobia, it was a lot to process. Awhile ago, I was saddened at how other Evangelicals (Converts, more so in the tradition of Fundamentalists) who came into one parish was investing in started to then try and explain that slavery itself was not really a "bad thing" for African Americans in the U.S.

Although I had just had a good/encouraging discussion with others on what God was doing in communities through genealogy/helping kin to find one another again because of forced separations, a group of others came in/ interjected into the conversation once the Civil War was brought up. They dismissed the experiences of churches who addressed the matter, including Black Catholics who've shared and others I brought up such as the Brotherhood of St.Moses the Black. Moreover, they tried to use appeal to Monarchy in Byzantium to conclude that others were wrong to ever speak out against abuses in the government with slave trafficking/Black Codes and things that Christians did to certain groups.

The conclusions led to me being told at one point that what happened to those in my family (as my grandmother was the daughter of a slave and we had documents) was silly - and that there was no documentation to show that chattel slavery itself was bad. What stood out to me in the process of conversation with others was that many said openly (as folks with Rural Georgia roots) that they felt the church gave them pride as a white person cause they were told that being country/rural meant they were less...and at the same time, they also noted it was a major struggle for them because they weren't really comfortable with Black folks sharing their experiences AND they ended up merging their ideology (the belief that things shouldn't change) with what they saw in the church.

While I am glad others did speak out, it intrigued me the priest (British) could relate because of what happened with the Irish in the early church and having to reshape themselves uniquely in the era of St. Patrick and St.Columba when they had a lot of major problems occurring (Including trafficking) and the Celtic. The dynamics are very similar to what happened for the Kongolese Catholic Christians when kidnapping was forced upon them and they had to fight back, separating themselves from the Portuguese Catholics who wanted to practice kidnapping in their space.

The work of Dr. Justo Gonzales came to my mind immediately for many reasons. He noted what happened when Catholics came to the Americas and those who were impacted (Indigenous) ended up creating new experiences in their expression of their faith - and that led to competition with other expressions that didn't want their voices.

With that being said, I have been discussing with others lately on how so many things seem to develop over trauma/traumatic events and branches in the church can be shaped by this. I would love to hear from others on the following points: What are significant world events that have caused the the church or groups within it to change substantially? Do you feel that there are dynamics today that are leading into more groups within Traditional Church circles to develop in ways that differ from others in the same camp?

“I bring greetings today from our commander in chief, Donald J. Trump, and he wanted me to tell each and every single one of you that he’s proud of you, that he loves you,” Vance said. “And despite the Schumer shutdown, he is going to do everything he can to make sure you get paid exactly what you deserve.”

It's the right thing to do.

The employee was charged with tampering with evidence after the incident involving two customers who allegedly threatened violence​

A Florida sheriff called an altercation involving a worker and two customers at a McDonald’s in Polk County last weekend a "McMess" after it left one of the men with a minor gunshot wound to the neck.


Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd explained in a video posted to social media that a McDonald’s in the area had become inundated with online orders after several events in the area let out early Sunday morning.

Judd said the worker, Yoan Soto, 21, "politely" told Nicholas Jones, 18, and Peter Story, 20, who had pulled into the drive-thru, "‘Hey, sorry guys, we’re way behind. Our online orders are overwhelming us.’"

He said after Soto told the two men that the store couldn’t take their order, they allegedly started threatening him.

Continued below.

Mental exercise.

“If” Jesus came back to dwell among us humans again in the form of a man. Would He be able to have communion in your church?

Comedian and actor Russell Brand closed out his appearance at a Turning Point USA event in Oklahoma on Thursday by praying in the name of Jesus, noting he found God through pain and that he believes revival is happening.

"Lord, I would ask for divine inspiration, I would ask for new conversations that pursue the lines that Charlie Kirk was pursuing in earnest, open discourse; love," Brand prayed in a packed auditorium of thousands at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

The late Charlie Kirk was scheduled to speak there on his college tour before he was assassinated at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10.

Continued below.

A car passenger got the fright of his life when a tiger snake slithered across his foot somewhere on New South Wales far south coast.


He'll check under the driver's seat next time.

We've lived in our suburb for 33 years. We had a small snake in our compost heap a few years ago, but this year I've seen two when I've been walking along a local "bush track" (concrete path through some scrub). I nearly stood on one in January and I was close to the other one a couple of weeks ago. In both cases I saw the tail slither off into long grass on the side of the track. I didn't get enough time to make a guess as to the species, and I wasn't going to go looking for them.

Prior to that I hadn't seen any on the track the whole time we've been here and I've probably covered it a few hundred times in those years.

They're not easy to see. I'm a bit more wary now, even though the odds are still very low.

“The two surviving ‘terrorists’ are being returned to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution,” Trump wrote in the social media posting.
The New York Times reports the two individuals have been transferred from the custody of the Pentagon to the U.S. State Department for their repatriation. They note that the U.S. has handed individuals in the past over to friendly countries when they were intercepted outside the country. The Coast Guard, in the past in the Caribbean, however, after stopping drug trafficking boats, has also arrested the individuals and brought them to the U.S. for prosecution.

Over 80,000 Americans died in 2024 as a result of a drug overdose.

Hello there, this thread is made for reliefing yourself of negative experiences or negative emotions. It is like Negative Ions---although called negative, it is healing and good fot you.

One more off of the streets.

I see a giant ball of interconnected thoughts. Picking a starting place is always hard. I'm just going to start somewhere and hopefully fill in the links between things. I am posting this here because I feel like I have to admit I have a need, but I have read the advice others have given and it...is not what I need to hear.

I have always been the person who helps others. Why? Because I was literally beaten if I didn't. If I didn't bring a tool to my father *before* he asked for it, I was punished. If I didn't know what 'bring me that' when pointing at a wall of 50 tools meant, I was punished. So as far back as 3rd grade I remember being the person people could talk to about their problems. Nobody could ever help me with mine though. Nobody had ever experienced mine.

Family was far away. 600 miles or more. I saw anyone outside my parents once every 2 years, if that. The neighborhood friends were not great people. They stole, they cheated, they did many bad things. I am an only child. When the internet became a thing I tried to stay in touch with my extended family. I only ever mattered to them on holidays. They mattered to me every day.

My relationship with my parents was destroyed during high school. They lied to me, over and over. I could not ask for their advice, I could not trust their wisdom. I was, truly, alone. Utterly alone. And it stayed that way ever since (>20 years). There were brief periods where I would have a friend or a few friends. But if you summed all that time up it would be less than 2 years out of those 20. And while those friends could help me remember how to be a normal person, they couldn't help me heal my inner world. They had never been through anything like that. They had their own problems and had nothing left for me. And, in all cases, I was in their lives to help them with their problems, not to get help with mine. Something therapy exposed for me was that I do not understand how to have any value at all unless someone else sees my value. I have no value or worth to myself. I don't matter to me. It was beaten out of me as a child. Before my nervous system even knew what it was like to have self worth. I don't know that I can be re-taught this as an adult.

Over those 20 years I have tried to explain to my parents what they did and why it was wrong. It has been a non-appology every time. "We're sorry if you think/feel/believe that..." "We're sorry you believe that..." etc. Gaslighting. Manipulation. Making me the problem, never the. It's been that way since I was a child. My journals exposed that to me when I finally re-read them as an adult. There's no way to rebuild a relationship with someone who won't admit they did something wrong.

Since I was 15 I wanted to have a family. I'm basically 40 now, and I think that ship has sailed. Impossible? No. Improbable? highly. I cognitively understand that my family will be in heaven. The people I've saved over the decades of my life. The people who decided not to kill themselves because I talked them through their problems. The people who I helped find better jobs so they could afford the treatment I couldn't give them. The people whose faith I strengthened when they found themselves stuck in old loops of doubt. I have helped many, but I have found no human that could help me for more than a few months at a time.

Psychedelic therapy made it possible for me to start healing. And I share this so that those who can understand, might comprehend who utterly broken I was beforehand. I make no exaggeration when I say that I was so far gone that no other treatment could have gotten through to me. If you understand the totality of those three sentences, you understand how bad off I really am/was. I have made more progress in the last 8 months than I've made in the past 15 years. But I'm grinding against a wall and I need...I don't know what I truly need, other than to no longer be alone.

But people have betrayed me so consistently and so deeply that I cannot trust them. I cannot face going to church because the last time I tried I was placed on suicide watch. There are traumatic memories in the church for me I cannot face alone. People talk about the languages of love. Words have a negative meaning to me. I am more Romulan than human in this respect. I suspect everything is a lie, every action has another motive. The only girlfriend I ever had cried when she realized I wasn't lying about this. That I couldn't comprehend her parents being genuine, without subterfuge. Such is the depth of how deeply people have hurt me. And if you still don't understand, let me explain it this way: I can't just 'stop'. My entire nervous system is wired to distrust. The distrust is physical. It happens BEFORE conscious thought. Can it be changed? Yes. But only with great effort, and consistency measured in years, if not decades.

You'd never know it talking to me though. I seem totally normal. I have good social skills. I seem friendly, kind, and genuine. I mask very well. I had to. It is how I survived. It is how I felt safe. To this day I continue to try and find other people to help as my way to 'earn' my right to exist in a space. I sit at home, alone, because it's the only place I feel allowed to exist without paying. I do go sit in nature sometimes, when it isn't terribly hot outside. That helps a bit, but I can't be out there 16 hours a day.

In some ways, I need to have value to someone without me having earned it. And I need that to be a flesh and blood human, because I don't think I can rewire my nervous system any other way. I wish I could, but months of effort have shown no results. I think...I think this problem is one I can't fix in isolation.

So, maybe what I'm asking you to pray for is people to enter my life who can help heal me. People who can show me I have value inherently. People who can show me how to trust again. People who can...make it actually possible for me to heal.

I think I could claim that there's been a lot of frustration in my life, particularly in the "vocation" or "career" sense.

Lately it's been annoying me a lot, so I sat down to reread CS Lewis "The Problem of Pain".

In chapter one he starts with "Not many years ago when I was an atheist, if anyone had asked me, 'Why do you not believe in God?' .... and he went on to point to the universe we live in ... the greatest part consists of empty space ... Earth herself existed without life for millions of years and may exist for millions more when life has left her ... it is so arranged that all the forms of it can live only by preying on one another ... the creatures cause pain by being born, and live by inflicting pain, and in pain they mostly die ... in...Man... reason (appears) .. (which) ... enables men by a hundred ingenious contrivances to inflict a great deal more pain than they otherwise could have done on one another and on the irrational creatures... their history is largely a record of crime, war, disease and terror... etc.

But then he did a volte face. "There was one question which I never dreamed of raising. I never noticed that the very strength and facility of the pessimists' case at once poses us a problem. If the unverse is so bad, or even half so bad, how on earth did human beings ever come to attribute it to the activity of a wise and good Creator? Men are fools perhaps; but hardly so foolish as that. The direct inference from white to black, from evil flower to virtuous root, from senseless work to a workman infinitely wise, staggers belief. The spectacle of the universe as revealed by experience can never have been the ground of religion: it must always have been something in spite of which religion, acquired from a different source, was held."

Any thoughts on how this volte farce took place - the belief in a wise and good Creator when the universe and human society itself shouts the complete opposite?

When the Black Death was killing off half of (Christian) Europe for example, did God's wisdom and love shine forth?

There is a fix.

CONSERVATIVES
Seach google (or your favorite engine) regarding very Democratic/socialist ideas or extreme positions.

LIBERALS
Seach google (or your favorite engine) regarding very MAGA ideas or extreme positions.
==========
Google will now treat you differently if you occasionally search on both extremes.
==================
YOU DON"T HAVE TO GO TOO CRAZY (but this isn't as likely to confuse the computer
You could simply ask who are the strongest supporters of the right to bear arms? Or
Who prevents us from passing effective gun control laws?

Post anything that is creepy, crawly, scary, spooky!