What do Bubbles signify in icons? I was watching an Orthodox video on YouTube and there were many icons with skulls and bubbles present.

Is it significant?

Blessings

Media Grading Trump on Curve Again. Inarticulate Policy Rant.

Corporate media for years has held conservatives and Republicans to lower standards. Here is another blatant example. Trump was asked how he'd tackle childcare? Here is a transcript of his incoherent word salad response.


“Well, I would do that, and we’re sitting down. You know, I was somebody — we had, Senator Marco Rubio, and my daughter Ivanka, was so impactful on that issue. It’s a very important issue.

"But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I’m talking about — that, because look, childcare is childcare, couldn’t — you know, there’s something — you have to have it in this country. You have to have it. But when you talk about those numbers, compared to the kind of numbers that I’m talking about by taxing foreign nations at levels that they’re not used to. But they’ll get used to it very quickly. And it’s not going to stop them from doing business with us. But they’ll have a very substantial tax when they send product into our country. Those numbers are so much bigger than any numbers that we’re talking about, including childcare, that it’s going to take care. We’re going to have — I look forward to having no deficits within a fairly short period of time, coupled with the reductions that I told you about on waste and fraud and all of the other things that are going on in our country.

"Because I have to stay with childcare. I want to stay with childcare. But those numbers are small relative to the kind of economic numbers that I’m talking about, including growth, but growth also headed up by what the plan is that I just — that I just told you about. We’re going to be taking in trillions of dollars. And as much as childcare is talked about as being expensive, it’s, relatively speaking, not very expensive compared to the kind of numbers will be taking in.

"We’re going to make this into an incredible country that can afford to take care of its people. And then we’ll worry about the rest of the world. Let’s help other people. But we’re going to take care of our country first. This is about America first. It’s about make America great again. We have to do it because right now, we’re a failing nation. So we’ll take care of it. Thank you. Very good question. Thank you.”

There's a clear double standard in the way corporate media are covering Harris and Biden compared to Trump's coverage. When Biden bombed at the debate, all media spoke about his disaster for days. Trump has just given his wordy policy plan on an important issue for today: childcare. Why isn't mainstream media talking about what Trump presented? Let's talk about his policy. If Harris or Biden came unhinged like this, it would be discussed for days, and rightly so. But this is just one of many resent ramblings.

Please pray that my sore throat will soon disappear and I can eat again.

Blessings

Is anyone familiar with a group called organization called First Fruits of Zion? A fellow reformed brother suggest one of their books, but was I was a but unsure as I had never heard of them. I am a PCA Ruling Elder & licensed preacher, so I need to be very cautious...

Eschatologically speaking I frequently hear/read Christians say, "The event X is near to occurring." For example, I have read many books, many articles, many internet forum posts, and heard many times on the radio the assertion the time when the rapture will occur is near, or the building of another stone temple, or the mark of the beast is near. When I have the opportunity to engage that person (I've spoken to several noted teachers about this) and ask them "What do you mean by 'near'?" or "How near?" or "When you use the word "near,' what, specifically do you mean?" I rarely get and answer and on the rare occasion when I do get an answer the answers range from a in a week or a month to a few years or a few decades; sometimes even within this century" is the answer. To encourage an answer I even say, "Please be as specific as you feel comfortable being."

So, I would like to ask each of you all to simply answer that question. On the occasion when any of you say some eschatological event is "near" what, specifically, what exactly, do you mean when using the word "near"?


Nothing more.


Just something short and sweet, concise, succinct. Something like, "When I say the rapture is near, I mean the rapture will occur sometime in the next month," or "When I say the rapture is near, I mean the rapture will occur sometime in the next four years." For the purpose of this op there are no wrong answers. I'd simply like a sampling of members' personal views. Thanks

Hello folks. Yesterday, I downloaded Project 2025, the DNC platform, and a 3rd party platform onto my computer just for kicks. As a moderate, this thread is to ask the artificial intelligence software questions, and I will relay the responses* back to you guys. Also, I might install the Libertarian platform, if such a thing exists as well. Right now, the AI is learning the documents, so it might take a few hours before this thread can get on a roll. I do not like the concept of Project 2025, but maybe the AI will say some good, or bad things about it.

The machine is learning, as shown below.

*Disclaimer: In no way does the artificial intelligence model, Mistral AI, represent my own personal opinions. AI generated answers are based partially on the AI's training data, along with any selected files for the machine to process (known as retrieval augmented generation). Retrieval Augmented Generation can be turned off, so do not worry, the AI will not be permanently turned into a politician.

Retrieval Augmented Generation explained:

MAGA World's Reaction to Russian Election Interference Indictment;​

Conspiracy Theories and Attacks on Law Enforcement Agencie​

Every reaction but introspection about why the Kremlin would want to surreptitiously fund MAGA personalities

Right-wing media figures are responding to news that several prominent MAGA influencers were unwittingly working on behalf of Russia by spouting absurd conspiracy theories and attacking law enforcement officials who uncovered the apparent scheme.

The Department of Justice announced Wednesday a multidepartment effort to target Russian-backed attempts to interfere with the 2024 U.S. presidential election, including criminal charges against two Russian nationals, sanctions against 10 other individuals and entities, and the seizure of 32 internet domains.

At Russian President Vladimir Putin’s direction, three Russian companies used fake profiles to promote false narratives on social media, US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. Internal documents produced by one of those Russian companies show one of the goals of the propaganda effort was to boost the candidacy of Donald Trump or whoever emerged as the Republican nominee for president, according to an FBI affidavit.
All right-wing media downplayed the DOJ's exposure of Russia’s efforts of election interference. Russia's actions underscore the need for more transparency and oversight for social media platforms. Corporate media is doing a horrible job as part of "freedom of the press". Conservative corporate figures and billionaires have built their own right-wing echo chamber promoting right wing conspiracies and disinformation. Hopefully we will do better with social media.

Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado allowed a "nonbinary" female to supervise boys' showers and forced a female student to share a bed with a male, violating parental rights over children's privacy and accommodation decisions on school trips, according to a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of parents.

The lawsuit accuses JCPS of not providing truthful information to parents concerning who will be supervising and sharing accommodations with their children on school-sponsored trips, the advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, which filed the complaint on behalf of three families, said in a statement.

The policy at the center of the controversy directs that students be "assigned to share overnight accommodations with other students that share the student's gender identity" rather than according to their biological sex.

Continued below.

Credit card debt is on the rise.

Americans now owe a record $1.14 trillion on their credit cards, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Tuesday.




I have heard a report that defaults are skyrocketing too.

That's Bidenomics for you.

She branded her agenda as a “New Way Forward” despite her already being at the helm for nearly four years in the Biden-Harris administration. Nowhere in her platform did she explain how her approach would differ from what she is currently doing.

Hey everyone,
I’m at a loss of what to do. My daughter is almost a year old and I cannot find anyone to be her Godmother/father. Im beginning to feel awful about it. And worried. We’re military and I’m a convert so the very small amount of orthodox I do know are all scattered.

I’ve asked my Presbytera about any guidelines in this situation.

Are there guidelines to what to do? Have any of you been in a similar situation?

I don’t want to look for a different parish as that would take a while to find someone as well but I might have to? Our Mission is so small and there’s not a lot of people.

If I go to a monastery, do you think one of the nuns could do it?

This is starting to make me want to cry.

Note that the movie version of Shogun, just won a ton of awards.

This is a bit weird, as the original book Shogun is about an English (blond-haired and blue-eyed) navigator who took a European ship to Japan, in the 1500's.

Note that the book version in Barnes and Noble, has the navigator on the front cover, as brown-eyed and black-haired...I guess that sells better to Americans who want "diversity".

AND, essentially Shogun is a Japanese version of "The Handmaid's Tale", but THAT sort of gets lost on younger modern Americans who officially despise abusive male behavior in American men, but seem to miss that even worse behavior was codified into the bushido Japanese code, with regard to women.

I guess that the systematic abuse of women, is fine when it happens in a non-European culture. But, this is not the Christian way.

https://apnews.com/article/emmys-sh...e-lee-curtis-641b33fcad195467a39df91ce673d32f

Make Homes Affordable Again

One reason Americans are so disenchanted with capitalism is that the national dream of home ownership is no longer within reach for much of the population. As a rule, housing becomes unaffordable when it takes up more than 30 per cent of a buyer’s income. Prices have been unaffordable in big cities for decades and have spiraled out of reach for a median US home in recent years.



Astonishingly, the US is building no more new homes and 80 per cent fewer “entry level” homes than it was half a century ago — when the population was much smaller. And the time it takes to complete a new multi-unit dwelling has doubled, with most of that increase coming in the past two decades — as “NIMBY” resistance spread.



Since 2000, according to Zillow, the average household income has doubled but the average price for its listings has tripled to $360,000. Over that period, the time it takes to save for a 20 per cent down payment has risen by nearly half to eleven years. And the share of income that goes to mortgage and insurance payments has risen by more than a third to 35 per cent — into the unaffordable zone.



Because developers are building homes much more slowly than Americans are forming new households, the shortage is growing by several hundred thousand residences a year. While consumer price inflation has receded to below 3 per cent, home prices are still rising by more than 5 per cent a year. True, voters continue to express anxiety about the cost of basic staples, but food and clothing account for a smaller share of household expenses than in the 1970s. Housing takes up a greater and growing share, and could become a pivotal election issue.

When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-honoring faith in him, which comes from him, which is persuaded of God, and which is gifted to us by God, and is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin. We are then buried with Christ in baptism (a spiritual baptism) into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Our old self is, thus, crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin, but to God and to his righteousness.

Therefore, we are not to let sin reign (have control) any longer in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to our Lord and to his commands are what we obey, that leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with Christ, our Lord. For the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk (in conduct, in practice) not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For if we walk according to the flesh, its end is death, not life eternal, regardless of what our lips profess.

Jesus Christ and his NT apostles did not teach the gospel of salvation in the way that is most popularized within the gatherings of the church (or in the false church) in America today. They did not teach “Once Saved Always Saved” which is the message largely permeating the church here in America. They did not teach that you can pray a prayer and invite Jesus into your heart and now all your sins are forgiven, and heaven is guaranteed you when you die, but with no mention of us dying with Christ to sin, and with no mention of the critical importance that we now obey his commands.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, in practice, then we have the hope of eternal life. For he also said that not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING his will. And many will hear him say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” for they did not obey God.

So, Jesus Christ, Paul, and the other apostles all taught progressive salvation. If our faith in our Lord is of God, and if it is persuaded of God, and gifted to us by God, then it is going to submit to God’s will and purpose for our lives. God will have persuaded us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of our sins, i.e. to die with him to sin and to now follow him in walks of obedience to his commands. Thus, we are saved (past), we are being saved (present), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns and our salvation is now complete.

[Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14,24; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 3:23; Acts 26:18; John 6:44; Titus 2:11-14; Matthew 24:9-14; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5]

All throughout the New Testament, not only are we taught what Jesus Christ did for us in putting our sins to death with him on that cross so that we can be forgiven our sins and have eternal life with God, but we are taught that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to his righteousness. We are taught that he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we will now surrender our lives to Christ to do his will and to walk in obedience to his commands in holy living. But if we continue living in sin, and not obedience, we will die in our sins.

The apostle John made that quite clear in what he wrote. For he said that if we claim that we are in fellowship with God, but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we say that we know God, but we do not obey his (New Covenant) commands, in practice, we are liars. The truth is not in us. For whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, but whoever makes righteousness his practice is righteous, as God is righteous. So, if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, we are not born of God, we don’t know God, and thus we will not have eternal life with God.

[1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; cf. Galatians 5:16-21]

Therefore, we cannot write off Hebrews 10:26-31 as though what it teaches is not taught elsewhere in the Scriptures. For Jesus definitely taught that genuine faith in him results in us denying self, dying with him to sin daily, and following him in obedience to his commands. And he taught that if we do not die to sin and follow him in obedience that we will not have eternal life in him. Paul and the other apostles taught the same. But somewhere along the line some people began to distort the gospel message, so those who are still teaching what Jesus fully taught appear to be in the minority.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 24:9-14; Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:35-58; John 8:31-32; John 10:27-30; John 14:15,21,23-24; John 15:1-11; Acts 26:18]

The Prayer

Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,
Alberto Testa and Tony Renis

I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know

I pray we'll find your light
And hold it in our hearts
When the stars go out each night
Remind us where you are.

Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.

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What the Church looks like today in social media and the like looks nothing like what the Church should look like.

Luke 6:27-36
"“But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. Give to everyone who asks you, and from someone who takes your things, don’t ask for them back. Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”"

It is becoming all too common for people to know you more for what you are against than what you are for. A topic will come up, such as egalitarian vs complementarian, and then all of a sudden everyone loses their minds and people forget how to talk to other people with "gentleness and respect" and everyone is an expert. And it is usually that people do not make a strong case for what they believe, but rather are bent on tearing down other people's views. I see it all the time. Then, a week later, that issue is completely forgotten about and there is another controversial topic that comes up that suddenly everyone is an expert on. And the cycle continues.

We are not going to be experts on every issue. People specialize. Some people do not have the luxury to study every issue so they must study what they can. I know for myself, even though I would never consider myself an expert on this that I tend to sink more time into determinism and free will than other things. I do have other issues on the back burner that I want to look at eventually, but as of right now, this issue is very important to me.

Let us be the kind of people who do not need to weigh in on everything. Let us be the kind of people who will give our interlocutors a drink of water if they are thirsty. I am by no means an expert at this and I have a long way to go. Still, people should know you much more based on what you are for than what you are against. There are times when you have to call people out (such as in the case of Herod and John the Immerser), but your general message should be about what you stand for in a positive case rather than a negative one.

This idea of being known for what you are against rather than what you are for is a form of fundamentalism. In this regard, some people will turn their minds off and be incredibly reactionary towards any issue they have not studied. It is very sad. It is fine to not know some things. It is fine to not be an expert on something. Further, it can be somewhat of a dog pile on one person who said the wrong thing. You should think about the necessity of your speech. I know this sounds cliche, or whatever, but I am reminded of the popular bracelet that said "W.W.J.D?" Which stands for What Would Jesus Do? Jesus did not wast his words! Let us only speak what is necessary and do it with grace and gentleness so that people can be won over by our good conduct rather than how well we articulated our point(s).

From Israel to India to Egypt, attacks against churches and other symbols of Christianity in the East have become so frequent that they are now, in the words of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, “common”.

In recent years, however, a new phenomenon
has emerged: the desecration of Western churches in Europe and North America, a trend that some have labelled “Christianophobia”.

A report earlier this year by the Family Research Council outlined the alarming rise in acts of arson and vandalism against churches in the USA in 2023; there were 436 such acts, double the number logged in 2022.

It constituted a nationwide assault, encompassing 48 States, with only Hawaii and Wyoming spared.

Continued below.

Yes, but only in a limited special sense. Divination, in general, was forbidden. Dt 18:

anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.

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When Moses was alive, at times, he could speak to God face to face (Ex 33:11). He did not need to use the Urim. The Lord told Moses In Nu 27:

21 "[Joshua] shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him—the entire congregation—will go out and come in.”

Click to expand...

King Saul used the urim in 1S 14:41 to find out that Jonathan violated his oath. Some years later, the urim didn't work for him. 1S 28:

5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently. 6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

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In 1 Samuel 23:9-12, David inquired of the Lord through the priest Abiathar, who used the ephod to find out whether the people of Keilah would betray him.

The use of these items declined over time, with later biblical books rarely mentioning them. Their uses were extremely limited.

Were the ephod and urim and thummim tools of divination?

They were of such a special nature that I would hesitate to label them as tools of divination. Divination usually was associated with polytheism.

I speak from experience, although later in my life I ended up believing in Jesus. It did not happen right away or instantly after saying a prayer. I had no idea who Jesus was at the beginning after all, I didn't know anything of his death, burial, and resurrection at the time, or that God was a trinity. So I studied, and learned what the Bible is saying. It was only until then I read some verses, particularly John 3:16 was when I became a believer in Jesus Christ. I did believe in a God right before that happened, and during when this happened and after it happened I fully believed that God was Jesus.

I want to know, without knowing who Jesus is, or anything at all about the Bible can someone be saved after saying a prayer and becoming a believer?

Maybe everyone has a different experience, for me it wasn't until I really wanted to know who God was and until I was determined to find out.

I have finally answered what my heart has been calling for. I want to join the Catholic faith. But we have some problems. My current wife and I are both remarried. I first married a non-practicing Catholic as a baptized Protestant. We were married in an outdoor civil arrangement without a dispensation so there is the lack of form for me. My current wife was married in a Catholic ceremony to a man that converted prior to the wedding. She likely does not have any grounds for decree of nullity.

I have heard the suggestion to “live as brother and sister,” but that is not a serious suggestion for most. A vow of chastity is not realistic for most and undertaken by a very small percentage. Our marriage and family would not survive.

I feel that abandoning my current wife, either literally or figuratively, and consequently my children, is the only way that I could practice the faith.

I had an eyestroke back in March. They photographed my eye and I was to come back in a week to begin a series of injections into my eyeball. I wasn't looking forward to the experience, but the Lord was keeping me remarkably calm trough the whole experience. I got a lot of prayer and my main prayer was that God would do a miracle as a witness to the doctor. I feel there is no point in a Christian being afflicted unless we can use it to glorify God, either by a miracle or by going through it with a good attitude. They photographed my eye again and the doctor studied both photos that were taken. Then he turned to me and said, "This is a miracle." He showed me the before and after pictures. Then he shook my hand and said, "I am not going to give you the shot." I danced out of the office into the parking lot shouting, "Jesus heals!" When Jesus healed it was to glorify God and validate the gospel. I think we would see more healings if our perspective was directed to those purposes and not so much for our own benefit. I think that is the main reason why the Lord answered my prayer and also possibly to protect me from the side effects from the shot. Anyway, I hope this encourages you all.

Tonight is a bit hard for me but I realize I'm carrying alot of anger, sadness, depression and fear. I feel myself being a bit bitter as well.

I feel anger and sadness come up alot.
Is there a way to spiritually release this bc I just don't want to carry this with me.

How do I let this go?

Hi there,

Do you apply the same judgement to yourself and others ?

I am quite interested in your answers.

Let's keep it polite and to the point.

Hello folks. Just competed DC Talk's movie, "Free At Last", which is a movie that interspersed live performance with more personal moments during the DC Talk tour of 1994. The movie was pretty good, and is available on DVD, hence why I rented it. @Rebecca Jo recommended me this movie, so this movie could not be passed up.

Info about the movie:

As summer comes to an end, what offers more wholesome fun than the local agricultural fair? Bring the family. Wander through the exhibits of prize pumpkins and tomatoes. Sample the homemade baked goods. Let the kids ride the bumper cars and the ferris wheel. Watch the oxen pull. Listen to the bluegrass music. See the local witches dance.

Wait. Witches? At the local fair? Doing their dances on the midway near where the children buy cotton candy and take pony rides?

Yes, that’s what the program said. As we prepared to submit our sourdough bread and our honey to the judges, we learned that a group of witches would be dancing nearby. The organizers of the fair assured us that it would be a lighthearted show, all in fun—a bit spooky, maybe, but nothing “dark.” But the web site of these local witches included a reference to “Lord Lucifer.” Suddenly you realize that what is presented in fun is only a short step removed from something very, very dark.

As I write, on the day the local fair opens, I am still not sure what to expect. Are these “witches” just ordinary women who happen to enjoy playing at Halloween games all year round? I hope so. (And because I do not want to cause unmerited trouble, I’m not identifying them or the fair at which they are appearing.) But if they are innocent, they are playing a dangerous game. Intentionally or not, they may be opening the doors to the occult, even to direct dealing with “Lord Lucifer.”

Continued below.