Like most of you, I'm shocked, disappointed and unsurprised that the Supreme Court made an ethics policy and promptly threw it in the trash.
Presiding over this is a Chief Justice who is always said to be concerned about his legacy.
The outright unchecked corruption and borderline treason of Thomas and Alito will justifiably be condemned by current and future historians. So what's up?
A political Chief Justice is, I believe waiting to ax them until there is a Republican president and Senate--even if in the meantime their graft piles up.
Should Trump win (heaven forbid) they'll be out the door, to be replaced by younger compromised replacements like Aileen Cannon.
Not that adding manipulation to shielding corruption would move him up from the reserved position of worst Chief Justice ever.
Jeffrey Toobin was very prophetic in writing about Roberts in "The Nine."

After reading through the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, I have come to the conclusion that RSF as an organization can no longer the trusted to be objective. It's ranking of countries are totally unbelievable. Take for example South Africa rank 38 which is far higher than respectable countries like Australia, Italy, Poland, South Korea & Japan. Really? You mean to tell me that I'm better off being a journalist in SA than say Japan. It's safer and easier to get information in SA than say Italy.

They dare say that press freedom is under attack when they come up with such a listing. What a farce.

As a USA Today piece recently observed, on its own at least, AI clearly is still working out some kinks. But, of course, AI is not on its own, so at least for now, the real threat remains fallen humans using AI to spread falsehood, gain power, hurt others, and try to become superhuman.

Examples of this also abound. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Jack Brewster recently described “How I Built an AI-Powered, Self-Running Propaganda Machine for $105.” It took him just two days to launch his so-called “pink slime” news site capable of generating and publishing thousands of false stories every day using AI, which could self-fund with ads.

The whole process required, as he put it, “no expertise whatsoever,” and could be tailored to suit whatever political bias or candidate he chose. Readers would have no clear way of distinguishing the auto-generated fake news from real journalism, or of knowing that Buckeye State Press, the name Brewster assigned his phony website, was only a computer making things up according to his political specifications. Even worse, the one human that Brewster spoke with in the process of setting up the site was a web designer in Pakistan who claimed to have already built over 500 similar sites (and likely not for reporters interested in exposing this problem). The news and information rating service NewsGuard has identified over a thousand such “pink slime” news sites so far and claims that many are “secretly funded and run by political operatives.”

Questions like, “What is the truth?” and “Who is actually telling it?” will become more important than ever as AI technology takes off and is used by unscrupulous people to flood the internet, newsfeeds, and airwaves with misinformation. Christians will need a great deal more discernment than we currently cultivate, and a hesitancy to believe everything we see, especially when it reinforces our biases and assumptions.

More importantly, we’ll need to carefully weigh out which tasks and activities are irrevocably human and shouldn’t be outsourced to machine learning. This question is already urgent. The Associated Press reported last year on an AI avatar that “preached” a “sermon” to a gathering of German liberal protestants. Recently, a major Catholic apologetics website announced an “interactive AI” chatbot named “Father Justin,” who supposedly provides “a new and appealing way for searchers to begin or continue their journey of faith.” It didn’t take long for “Father Justin” to be “demoted.” If it needs to be said, following spiritual advice from AI is a terrible idea.

In his book 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity, Dr. John Lennox argued that it’s not alarmist to note how some of the main AI pioneers openly espouse transhumanism. At the heart of this worldview is a very old lie, first whispered by a snake in a Garden, that humans “shall be like God.” We can acknowledge that without denying the legitimate, helpful, and humane uses of AI.

Good day, I'm asking for prayer for the salvation of the members of The DC Alternative Health Meetup Group, SCHAMANISMUS * NATURMYSTIK * KLANG * YOGA * MEDITATION, Calgary: ViewU Events & Training, Alternativas-de-futuro - AULAS, PALESTRAS E WORKSHOPS, Embodying New Earth, The Pittsburgh Witches Ball, Vancouver WA Mystery Shamanism UA USA Meetup group, Omaha Shaman Drum Circle, Miami Pagan Meetup, The Edmonton Pagan & Witches Meetup Group, Guided Meditation with Sound Healing, Ancestral Spirit Traditions RGV, Twin Cities Soul Tribe, Drum, Journey and Sound Healing Circles - North Carolina, Du Corps à l'Esprit le Cœur à l'ouvrage, Qi Gong, méditation and families. Thank you for all your prayer.

Ubisoft just release a trailer for their new Assassin's Creed franchise set in Japan. Guess who the protagonist is? Yasuke the black "samurai". For those who don't know Yasuke he is a black servant of a Jesuit priest, Alessandro Valignano gifted to lord Oda Nobunaga during the 15th century. Yasuke is the name given to him by Nobunaga. He was a bodyguard and weapon's barer to Nobunaga. Yasuke didn't play a big role in Nobunaga's ambitions. In fact there are very little written about Yasuke's exploits. And the historical records do not mention Nobunaga ever conferring any title of samurai to him. The closest Nobunaga ever said anything is making Yasuke a "dono" (lord) in jest. The most pivotal moment of his life is after his master's death in Kyoto. Long story short Nobunaga was betrayed by one of his retainers Mitsuhide Akechi and Yasuke being his bodyguard was spared after Nobunaga's death. Mitsuhide didn't even counted Yasuke as a samurai letting him go as compared to other guards of Nobunaga.

Yasuke is not pivotal to Japan's history. He was more of an oddity due to his skin color and height of that time period in Japan. While he is remembered as part of Nobunaga's entourage, he is but only a mere footnote. The fact that the west try to place more importance to Yasuke than the Japanese themselves show a level of historical revisionism. And the progressives are making sure they can change history to suit their narrative. After the release of the trailer on Youtube which is downvoted to near oblivion, scores of people rushed to Wikipedia to try and change the entry of Yasuke. To make him into a true samurai by literally rewriting history. No history is sacred to the "DEI" messaging such as black Hannibal & black Cleopatra. Yasuke the first "black samurai" is no different.

Everyone knows that Yasuke was chosen by the developers due to his ethnicity. In short DEI messaging. In doing so have done a great dis-service to the historical source they took from. Gaming sites rushed to defend Ubisoft. And the usual gaslighting of gamers as bigoted and racist start. I even caught one gaming site (IGN) having 2 different takes for a similar issue. IGN complained that Capcom can't remake Resident Evil 5 due to racism having a white protagonist gun down black zombies. While not placing the same standard of a black protagonist slaughtering Japanese civilians of rival clans. They even have a line in the article "We Mustn’t Be Afraid to Dream a Little Bigger". Yes until it doesn't match the DEI messaging.

Do I have a problem of a black samurai protagonist? Yes, only because the western gaming world is inconsistent with their morals and messaging. Double standards are the only standard apparently. DEI is where games go to D-I-E.

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) said Sunday they had arrested several foreigners who were allegedly involved in a thwarted coup attempt after a shootout in the capital left three people dead.

Congolese army spokesperson Brig. Gen. Sylvain Ekenge told state television in a brief statement that the coup attempt had been swiftly stopped by Congolese security forces.

The U.S. ambassador tweeted that she had received reports that U.S. citizens were involved, and local media published footage of two men under arrest, their hands clasped pleadingly, with pictures of a passport that indicated one was a 36-year-old U.S. citizen born in Maryland. Media reports indicated that three other Americans were also arrested. The reports could not be independently confirmed.

The coup attempt appears to have been led by Christian Malanga, a 41-year-old man who set up a political organization among the Congolese diaspora in the United States and proclaimed himself president of Congo in exile. Congolese intelligence suspected him of previously trying to assassinate President Joseph Kabila, said Dino Mahtani, who has held senior positions for the United Nations in Congo; Kabila was president from 2001 to 2019.

Mahtani said Congolese intelligence had previously told him that Malanga was a former U.S. military officer of Congolese origin; Malanga himself posted online that he had been an Air Force junior ROTC cadet and had led a Congolese military unit.

Hi, I didn't go to Mass yesterday or this morning. I got a couple of last-chance opportunities this afternoon but I don't feel that great in the head. I've felt worse, but I've felt better too. Yet if I don't go to Mass, I feel so awkward.

Greetings,

I have been trying to slowly develop a habit of praying every day (my hope is one day to live up to the ideal of the Didache 3x a day). I struggle to be consistent and it is often a source of guilt and frustration. Anyone have any suggestions on ways to cultivate discipline around prayer.

I have what seems to me to be a reasonable set of plans for what to do in my life in the future. But Proverbs 3:5-6 say, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart...lean not unto your own understanding..." I have been mystified by the gray area between God's will and my will. Because of my wavering faith, I may at some points wholeheartedly commit to something like what it says in the passage referred to, but at other times waver away from that and be concentrating on my agenda, all the while fully aware that God can do what he wants with us and our plans. I am living on a shrinking amount of savings and I have some specific plans as to career and as to reversing the outflow of money from me. We all naturally want God to rubber stamp/bless our own plans and projects, but Christians typically warn against such an approach. I am not sure if I will know if God is saying "Go ahead with your plans" or else "Do something else." As to career paths, it seems some Christians just go ahead with their own best thinking/planning while others claim to be clearly called by God to certain paths. Of course, many of those in ministry say they were called by God into the ministry. But, for example, I know of one woman who was a high-powered lawyer who said God clearly directed her to become a counselor in a rehab center in another state for half her income as a lawyer. So, I am cautiously going ahead with my plans while being aware that God could direct me to change them. My question is, how might I know it if God directs my paths?

As some of you know, she is back on the mental facility. She has stopped taking calls and tried to escape around 4am this morning. She refused to take her medication and is becoming extremely argumentative with the care team. She was in with a roommate and was so argumentative towards here that they had to remove my sister into a room by herself. My sister is not a big woman but it took 3 EMT’s to removed her from her couch to the ambulance. My concern is she will become increasingly combative and violent. She told her husband that Jesus accepted her into Heaven so there is fear of another suicide attempt. Please pray for this situation if you think about it. We are all exhausted and worried.

Thank you!

Is it wrong to be a homemaker as a Christian Dad and stay home and watch the kids and have the wife work.

This is in Philadelphia. If you ‘ve ever watched It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia this is in the opening. This is watercolor 12x16 on Arches

Hey there is a healing evangelist out there named Freddy Clark, he travels the country doing tent healing revivals, he stays down south in the winter and then comes up north during the summer, if he is ever within driving distance you should take a road trip and get a hotel room and come. Everyone who he prays for gets instantly healed, 100%! You don't have to tell him what is wrong with you, he already knows. He was up here in Pennsylvania last summer and I went, he told me my IQ was going up and now I am smarter, my mind is sharper! My vision was also blurry and he told me God was healing me and now my vision is back in focus! Someone also got healed of cancer! Some amazing things always happen!

IF you want to see a video of one of his meetings link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHzUP3qwwpk&t=1775s

See Is it a sin for a man to have long hair?

Joe is having a difficult time pandering to both sides.

What do you think the word "perfect" refers to?

consider these things and hopefully you will agree with the truth here,

"But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Cor 13:10-12)

To "know" here means -ἐπιγινώσκω epiginṓskō, ep-ig-in-oce'-ko; from G1909 and G1097; to know upon some mark, i.e. recognize; by implication, to become fully acquainted with, to acknowledge:—(ac-, have, take)know(-ledge, well), perceive.

and compare with this similar section

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." ( Philippians 3:10-12).

to "apprehend" here means - καταλαμβάνω katalambánō, kat-al-am-ban'-o; from G2596 and G2983; to take eagerly, i.e. seize, possess, etc. (literally or figuratively):—apprehend, attain, come upon, comprehend, find, obtain, perceive, (over-)take.

Paul is clearly in both cases referring to being perfect and the resurrection of the dead, when he gets a glorified body and when he shall see Christ face to face. And be "known, and "apprehended" same general meaning, as he is also known and apprehended. The similarity is very strong in these two sections. So the gifts have not ceased and that which is perfect does not refer to the holy scriptures. They already had the holy scriptures OT that were able to make them wise unto salvation through faith and to make them perfect unto every good work 2 Timothy 3.

Joshua prayed in 10:

12 At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
“Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” 13 And the sun stood still [H1826],

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Strong's Hebrew: 1826. דָּמַם (damam) — 30 Occurrences

Brown-Driver-Briggs:
3. be struck dumb, astounded, in amazement and fear

and the moon stopped [H5975], until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

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How was this possible physically?

It was not possible physically. It was a supernatural event.

How to explain this miracle from a scientific perspective?

The Bible did not explain, and Joshua used poetic language, not a scientific one. It was a sustained miracle similar to the parting of the Red Sea but at an astronomical scale. God created the heavens and earth in the first place. Nothing was too difficult for him.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped [H5975] in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day.

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Gill commented:

In the Chinese history (g) it is reported, that in the time of their seventh, emperor, Yao [堯帝], the sun did not set for ten days, and that men were afraid the world would be burnt, and there were great fires at that time; and though the time of the sun's standing still is enlarged beyond the bounds of truth, yet it seems to refer to this fact, and was manifestly about the same time; for this miracle was wrought in the year of the world 2554, which fell in the seventy fifth, or, as some say, the sixty seventh year of that emperor's reign, who reigned ninety years.

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(g) Martin. Sinie. Histor. l. 1. p. 25.

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Hi all. My name is Phil. I live in Huntsville, Alabama and have been a Christian for many years now. Thanks for the opportunity to be part of the community here! Hope you all have a great day!

Nice to see John MacArthur remaining true to his calling. In addressing the sloppiness of today's Christian MacArthur dives in the parable...

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. - Matthew 13

The Wayside
The Stony Places
The Thorns
The Good Ground

This upload is only a few days old and will be in my meditations this week...

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Tragic and very hard to read into...

Southern Baptists are the largest Baptist convention. The Southern Baptist Baptist Faith and Message 2000 states:


The American Baptist Churches USA policy statement On Women and Men as Partners in Church and Society takes a different view. The document is rather long. Here is a key phrase related to the topic:


The purpose of this thread is to discuss what Scripture says on the topic. Should wives submit to husbands? Should wives and husbands be equal partners?

The topic is NOT about whether women should be preachers, priests, elders, overseers, bishops, pastors, deacons, should teach, etc. That may be a topic for another thread for Baptists at some point. But this is looking at the relation between wives and husbands.

The English word "save" or "salvation" is polysemantic. It has at least the following meanings:

1. It could mean being physically rescued at a point in time (Exodus 14:13, H3444, יְשׁוּעָה yeshuah). It is being saved from a situation. In this case, you may need to be rescued again. You can be rescued or saved multiple times. The only places in the OT where yeshuah is used unambiguously as saving people from sins are in Eze 36:29 and 37:23.
2. It could mean being officially accepted by a certain church or denomination. When you lose your membership, you lose this salvation.
3. It could describe a shallow Christian who is a Christian in name only (1 John 2:19). He looks like a Christian and talks like a Christian. Instead of serving God, he wants God to serve him, but after a while, he goes away because he no longer finds God useful.
4. It could describe a believer who has been born again but remains infantile and refuses to grow in the Spirit.
5. It could describe a serious believer who regresses temporarily. Peter denied Jesus 3 times. John Mark deserted Paul (Ac 13:13). Demas deserted Paul.
6. It could describe a serious Christian who thinks he has been regenerated. He is in the faith (2 Cor 13:5, Col 1:23) and has performed Christian works sincerely for years but eventually departs from it (1 Tim 4:1).
7. It could mean that your name is written in the Book of Life. Later, God may erase or at least threaten to erase that name, and you may lose this type of salvation, Ex 32:32, Rev 3:5.
8. It could mean that you have the nascent Paraclete dwelling in you, but later on, you abandon him.
9. Finally, it could mean being saved from the physical now onto eternity. The Paraclete dwells in you presently. You keep growing in the Spirit and abiding in Christ for the rest of your life.

Is the doctrine Once Saved Always Saved true?

I don't think so. One potential danger of this belief is that they may think they are free to sin.

Can you lose your salvation?

Yes, in every step of the process of salvation and in many ways: John 15:2, Romans 11:22, Hebrews 6:4, 1 Corinthians 15:2, etc.

Can you lose your Indwelling Paraclete?

It is possible, but I don't think I can. The Paraclete does what he does. He chooses to dwell in a person by directly connecting with the person's human spirit. I only need to walk with him daily, guided by his peace in me. My spirit in the Holy Spirit grows every day. It gets stronger, not weaker. The Paraclete dwells in me permanently. I can know about the assurance of my own salvation. I cannot know if others are. That's between them and God. They also can know their assurance of their salvation, just like I.

Does this mean that we are free to sin?

No, I am not asserting unconditional eternal security. If the Paraclete dwells in you, you naturally abide in Jesus. As long as you abide in Jesus, you are free to serve God and are saved. When you grow your faith daily, your faith strengthens. There is no worry that you might lose it. This is a natural way of life for me.

See also

• Every branch IN CHRIST that does not bear fruit the Father takes away
• What does "fall away" mean?

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

After so many years of disobedience, of faithlessness and degradation, I have finally found my home. For more than a decade now I was barely a Christian in even name, paying lip service but failing to live as commanded. I excused every manner of sin within myself and my failure to war against my passions poisoned not only myself but those I loved. For over a decade I wallowed in filth - having squandered my inheritance.
Only Christ was able to free me from this bondage, to break the chains I have forged for myself. He alone changed me, comforted me, released me from the hatred and the shame, the lust and the greed. For the first time in as long as I could remember I have found peace. While this peace, this amazing grace, is free to me - I must now cooperate with it. I must from this moment on obey and follow the path laid out in accordance with His Will. No longer will I trust on my own understanding, for I can do nothing without Christ.

I was baptised a Catholic but cannot reconcile myself with Rome. For most of my life I was a poorly behaved Protestant - but there is only shallowness and the cult of self. Both left my spirit hungry, thirsty and longing for communion with both God and fellow Christians. Finally, I feel at home. Today I attended the Divine Liturgy and I cannot begin to describe how overwhelmed I was. I stood and watched as not a group of people, but one family in Christ raised their voices in love and reverence and together worshiped. How many years I've longed for this. I am an outsider, a stranger, but I felt like after a long journey, I had come home. One of the elder women of the Church introduced herself and we spoke for a time, introducing me to the Abbot. The Abbot, Deacon and elder men of the church were gracious and nurturing of my desire to learn and my need to obey. I didn't know these people, they didn't know me, but they were so kind and open and loving. I spoke openly about my past, my desire to return to God after being faithless for so long; but it honestly didn't feel like a return, so much as it felt I was starting anew. I was encouraged to continue to attend and become part of their community, to be active in the Church and through practical action learn and grow.

I write these things down not to boast or take pride in what I feel, but because I feel so overwalked and joyful that I cannot keep this to myself.

Pray for me, Brothers and Sisters, as I continue down my path to learn obedience to Christ through the Holy Orthodox Church. Pray for me that I learn humility and faith, so as to set aside my pride and arrogance. Pray that I have the courage to walk in faith, not shying away from sharing Christ with others be it in deed or word.


Alone I can do nothing, but I am able to do all things in He who strengthens me.