Hello everyone, I am Litho.

I am in my mid 40's and still don't understand Christianity. It is not for a lack of trying. I studied the Bible so much that I can recite large parts word for word from memory, but still the spirit escapes me.

I grew up in a Christian cult, then did apologetics for years when I left, then became atheist for some more years, and now I'm back. But the truth and spirit still escapes me and this leaves me restless.

I have simplified my life in an attempt to draw close to God. I live alone, unmarried and no kids. I don't need to work, so I have plenty of time for faith, but I fail to find God. I don't even know what finding Him would look like.

I hope joining this forum will help me find my way, since in isolation I have fallen down rabbit holes and travelled down wayward roads in my thoughts. Hopefully my psyche is not damaged beyond repair.

I wish my eyes can see, and that my ears can hear the spirit of God, but I am lost, and everything seems meaningless without Him.

See you around!
Litho

Early starts, strict routines and discipline: more and more young men in Finland are being drawn to the rigours of monastic life and its conservative values.

In such a secular and progressive country, where experts had expected the young to be less religious, Christianity has been gaining ground -- among young men at least.

Inside the dazzling white Valamo monastery, the country's only Eastern Orthodox abbey, the day begins at 6:00 am with prayers, followed by breakfast and chores. Life here is much as it has been for hundreds of years.


But despite the spartan life, the brotherhood has been growing fast, expanding from around 10 monks to 18 in a few years.

Covid was a turning point, Archimandrite Father Michael told AFP. "After that, we started to see a huge increase in interest."

Continued below.

I would like some advice on how to choose a church and commit as an older (61) uneducated Christian. I have left churches when I was younger because after listening to some inspiring preaching only to find the flag or politics are more important and then I'm out. I have changed my personal life and have begun to read my bible regularly (still havent got to the new testament) enjoying the private changes I have made and still working on more but I know fellowship is important so I have been checking out some local churches and still on the fence. Any advice ?

JD Vance recently opined on what a Ukraine-Russia peace deal may entail:

1) Russia would retain all Ukrainian territory to date -- what he calls a "line of demarcation"
2) A fortified DMZ would be stablished
3) Ukraine would promise never to join NATO nor any other type of agreement - guarantee of neutrality

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Freethinking sounds liberating and sophisticated. It is the practice of thinking independently of “authority or tradition.” Dictionary.com defines a “freethinker” as “a person who forms opinions on the basis of reason, independent of authority or tradition, especially a person whose religious opinions differ from established belief.”

By definition, a freethinker should make up one’s own mind independently of “authority and tradition” by utilizing reason. I believe that freethinking, however, has sadly become a cultural ideology that keeps people from a rational consideration of discovering genuine freedom in Christian faith.

There are variations in the nuancing of freethinking even among liberal thinkers. Some stress the concept of individualism whereby each person has the right to pursue their own flourishing, independent of collective and societal impositions. Nevertheless the principle of freethinking continues to stress thinking that will consider almost anything except theism. This authoritative presupposition restricts freethinking and in cultural thought the presupposition has become a non-negotiable. Thus freethinking is not truly unfettered.

Christopher Hitchens was a prime example of a “cultural freethinker” who promoted freethinking as the opposition to faith. In The Portable Atheist, he introduced the anthology by noting that, “It is often unconsciously assumed that religious faith is somehow conservative and that atheism or ‘freethinking’ are a part of the liberal tradition.”[1] His choice of essays for nonbelievers fueled this cultural divide by encouraging people to read literature that was strictly skewed toward skepticism. As Hitchens said, “It is in the hope of strengthening and arming the resistance to the faith-based, and to faith itself, that this anthology of combat with humanity’s oldest enemy is respectfully offered.”[2] In other words, freethinking is still worth nurturing because the “faith-based” continue to require “resistance.”

Continued below.

Joshua 2:

1 Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse]tim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.

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Strong's Hebrew: 2181. זָנָה (zanah) — 93 Occurrences

Some argued that zanah meant "innkeeper".

However, BDB:

1. be or act as a harlot
2. figurative of improper intercourse with foreign nations
3. of intercourse with other deities, considered as harlotry, sometimes involving actual prostitution

LXX used H4204-porne for prostitute.

On Biblehub, all 36 versions used either "prostitute" or "harlot".

In the NT, He 11:

31 By faith Rahab the prostitute [H4204] did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

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Strong's Greek: 4204. πόρνη (porné) — 12 Occurrences

BDAG:
① one engaged in sexual relations for hire, prostitute, harlot
② a political entity hostile to God, prostitute, harlot, fig. ext. of 1

Similarly, Ja 2:

25 In the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute [H4304]] justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

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The evidence is strong that H4304 meant "prostitute". There is a chance that Rahab was an innkeeper also.

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Hi I’m a 51 year old woman who’s new on here. I don’t go to a church yet but I was brought up going to the Church of Scotland. I now find that church has become too liberal and lost it’s way years ago so I stopped going . I also lost my faith for many years but came back. I’m single.

Psalms 37:12-15,39-40 ESV


Who are the wicked? They are all who behave wickedly. They are all who deliberately and habitually do what is evil. They are liars, adulterers, slanderers, the unfaithful, the sexually immoral, cheaters, haters, abusers, tricksters, and/or deceivers. And sadly so, many of them are also professers of faith in Jesus Christ who are convinced that their sins no longer matter to God and that they can keep on in their sins and still go to heaven when they die. And some are mockers and persecutors of those of genuine faith.

For many who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but who deliberately and habitually sin against God and against other humans, are those who contend with and who oppose the truth of the gospel of Christ. And they are those who create their own gods out of their own minds to suit their own lifestyles of choice. And so they deny Christ by their actions, and they alter the message of the gospel to make it more appealing and acceptable to the ungodly and to human flesh. For they despise the truth.

So, they are against the righteous, i.e. those who are living righteously in the power of God, by the grace of God. And that is because the righteous are a reminder to them of their own sinfulness, and so they resent them. And some are bitter against them because they walk in the ways of God and not in the ways of the flesh. And so they want to bring them down. They want to trip them up. They are like Jesus’ opponents who were always trying to find a way to accuse Jesus of wrongdoing because they hated him.

And if they can’t trip them up, then they want to get rid of them, and so many of them do plot evil against those who are righteous in the sight of God (because righteousness is their practice, and not evil). And so they will find ways to injure and to hurt them. They want to hurt them because they resent them. And sadly some of these wicked are pastors and elders in church congregations (or in what are called “churches”) but who are wolves in sheep’s clothing out to deceive the sheep.

And that is another reason that they hate the righteous is because the righteous speak the truth, and the righteous confront the lies, and the righteous expose liars and deception. And so they want to silence them because they do not want their deceptions to be exposed and because they want to continue on deceiving and leading people astray. And so they will look for ways to “take them out” and to shut them up so that other people will not listen to them so that the liars can continue in their lies.

It really is not much different from how Jesus was treated by his persecutors who ended up plotting and carrying out his death on a cross after years of trying to trip him up with his words in order to accuse him of wrongdoing. They falsely arrested him, and falsely charged him with wrongdoing. And they beat him and mocked him and spit on him and put a crown of thorns on his head before they led him to a cross to hang there to die. And then I am sure many celebrated his death, believing they had put an end to him.

But God is going to judge us all one day by our deeds (works). And those who have sown to the flesh will reap destruction (death), while those who have sown to the Spirit will reap eternal life. Those who chose their sins over God will be cast away and they will not inherit eternal life with God while those who walked in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to the Lord, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, in the power of God, will be welcomed into God’s eternal kingdom.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, if you are being mistreated for righteousness’ sake, even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, some of whom might even be pastors, be encouraged. If by faith in Jesus Christ you are walking in obedience to the Lord in holy living, and you are not walking in sin, the Lord is your stronghold. He is your support. He will carry you through every difficult situation and he will give you the grace to withstand all opposition if you take refuge in him and if you follow his lead and don’t give way to fear.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

I Just Keep Trusting My Lord

By John W. Peterson

I just keep trusting my Lord as I walk a long
I just keep trusting my Lord and He gives a song
Though the storm clouds darken the sky o'er the heav'nly trail
I just keep trusting my Lord, He will never fail

He's a faithful friend, such a faithful friend
I can count on Him to the very end
Though the storm clouds darken the sky o'er the heav'nly trail
I just keep trusting my Lord, He will never fail

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Psalms 37:1-2 ESV


Who are the evildoers? They are those who make it their practice to do evil. They are liars, adulterers, murderers, slanderers, idolaters, mischief makers, haters, tricksters, charlatans, the unfaithful, and the sexually immoral, etc. They are those who plot evil against others and who carry out their evil plans. So they are those who deliberately and habitually sin against God, who made them, and against their fellow humans, without conscience.

We don’t always know their evil plots, but sometimes we do, for sometimes we are recipients of those evil plots. And in most cases we have no influence and no control over what these evil people do and plot against us, especially if they are people in high up positions in governments and in the corporate world and even in church denominations. Yes, evildoers exist within the gatherings of what are called churches, too. And some of them are pastors.

So, we just commit our lives into the hands of God, and we trust in his sovereignty over our lives, and we believe that nothing will touch us unless God allows it for a purpose, and he will carry us through it. And we are definitely not to worry because worry is lack of faith, and worry never changes anything for the good, but it just destroys us from within. If God allows it to happen in our lives he will provide what we need to survive it.

Psalms 37:3-7 ESV


So, when Satan attacks our minds with all kinds of fearful thoughts, which he sometimes will, we must cast off those fearful thoughts and instead we must put our trust fully in the Lord Jesus. We have no control over what Satan does other than we can resist him, and we can take up the armor of God and fight against him and his evil plots against us. We can tell him “No!” and we can refuse to let him have his way with us.

And then we need to tell the Lord “Yes,” but not just with our lips but with our actions. Instead of giving way to Satan’s evil plots against us, we can put on faith and love, and we can walk in obedience to our Lord, and we can be faithful and live holy and godly lives in the power of God, by his Spirit. For Jesus already won this battle for us. We just have to live like we believe that. For we need to walk by faith and not by sight.

And we need to trust the Lord with our circumstances believing that he has our best in mind. And we have to remember here that he never promised us that life would be easy. In fact he promised us that we would be hated and persecuted as he was, and that we will have trials and tribulations to test our faith, but that these trials and persecutions are for our good to make us into the holy people God wants us to be.

Psalms 37:8-9 ESV


I hate lies! Do you hate lies? I get angry about lies, but so does God. He hates lies, too. So is all anger wrong? No! We read in Ephesians 4 that we are to be angry and sin not, and that we are not to let the sun go down on our anger, and we are to give no opportunity to the devil. Jesus got angry at the money changers in the temple. But that was righteous indignation. We should get angry over the things that anger God.

But we are not to sin in our anger. Anger should be used as a motivator to move us to do what is good. Or it should be used as a motivator to look into our own hearts to examine them to find out why we are angry, for some anger is sinful. Some people are angry people because their hearts are filled with bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, envy, hatred, lust, and greed. They don’t get their way and so they get angry and they lash out in hate.

In James 1 we read that we are to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. But this is not speaking of all anger, for God gets angry, and Jesus got angry, and we are not to sin in our anger, so not all anger is sin. It is the anger of man which comes from human flesh, and not from hearts grieved over all the wickedness in the world, which does not produce righteousness.

And the context helps us understand this, too, for in James 1 it continues by saying that we are to put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save our souls. So clearly the anger here is not righteous anger over the things God gets angry over but it is anger produced in the human flesh of those who are living in filthiness and in rampant wickedness, and that is wrong.

So, if you are angry over all the sin going on inside the gatherings of the church, which is being given full reign at times, it appears, that is a healthy anger, but don’t let it lead to sin. Give it over to the Lord and let him direct it in a good way. For, we are to grieve over all the rampant sin going on within the church today. But if you are angry because you didn’t get your own way, then that is the kind of anger you need to cast off.

And, again, we are not to fret and fear and worry over what evildoers are doing or plotting. But we are to commit our lives and our future into the hands of God and trust him to work it all out for our good. But again, that doesn’t mean that evil won’t be done to us. It will. But we have to keep trusting the Lord that he has a plan and a purpose for it all and then we need to rest in him and commit our ways to him.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13]

‘Til The Storm Passes By

By Thomas Mosie Lister

In the dark of the midnight have I oft hid my face
While the storm howls above me, and there's no hiding place
'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry
Keep me safe till the storm passes by

Many times Satan whispered
There is no use to try
For there's no end of sorrow, there's no hope by and by
But I know Thou art with me, and tomorrow I'll rise
Where the storms never darken the skies

Till the storm passes over, till the thunder sounds no more
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky
Hold me fast, let me stand in the hollow of Thy hand
Keep me safe till the storm passes by

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Please describe and explain what hell is, using scriptures.
Thank you?

Edit:
All posts not having an explanation, description, and scripture, will be ignored... starting with @Clare73.
Thank you.

I am consumed today by the study of how truly eternal and ancient God's Word is. He is glorious. May those who don't know his words find Him and absorb and digest his wisdom. It's been a powerful day and I thought I needed to share this with you all. May God Bless and Praise Him.

Not everyone is going to understand this, but I am going to explain it anyways because of its far reaching implications.

1. Average Temperature: The average surface temperature on Earth is actually around 59°F (15°C)1. This average can fluctuate due to various factors, including climate change. Temperatures vary widely across different regions, the global average is a bit lower than 67°F.
2. Heat Flow and Weather: Heat flows from hotter to colder areas, which is a fundamental principle of thermodynamics. This heat transfer is indeed a driving force behind weather patterns, as it influences atmospheric circulation and the movement of air masses.
3. Digging a Hole to China: If you were to dig a tunnel straight through the Earth, you would end up in the Southern Hemisphere, not necessarily in China. The exact location would depend on your starting point. For example, if you started in the United States, you might end up in the Indian Ocean.
4. Day and Night: The concept of day and night being opposite on different sides of the Earth is accurate. When it’s day in one hemisphere, it’s night in the other due to the Earth’s rotation.
5. Biblical Reference: The idea of evening and morning marking the first day is a fascinating interpretation. Many cultures and religions have their own ways of understanding the passage of time and the creation of the world.
6. Sun and Heat: The sun indeed plays a crucial role in heating the Earth. Through nuclear fusion, the sun generates immense energy, which travels to Earth and warms our planet.

This is why Einstein talks about relativity and our perspective. If you want to meet a friend, you have to have a time and a place. Actually my wife is on vacation with our son right now. She is on the other side of the earth. So there is a 12 hour difference in time. When she is waking up I am going to sleep. She is getting ready to go to church on Sunday but it is still Saturday night for me. She is somewhat close to the equator so the temp there is close to the same year round.

Think of a landlord, they provide housing for tenants.
And then there is a volunteer who has their own domestic violence shelter that helps women have a safe place to stay.

One exists for profit, the other does not gain anything. We do need both landlords and domestic violence shelters.
Are both of them doing good works, or is only one of them? Does God count the landlord for providing housing for tenants?

It’s time for the fourth volume. Once again, I don’t own the Left Behind series or any of the canon characters. All rights go to Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. I only own my OC’s. Hope you enjoy.

Prologue

*****
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius,and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine.
Revelation 6:5-6

“If you had to be stuck on an elevator with either President Trump, [Vice President] Mike Pence or [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions, who would it be?” TV host Ellen DeGeneres asked Harris in an April 2018 interview.


Harris deadpanned back, “Does one of us have to come out alive?” — before breaking into a cackle.


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OK. A few days ago I watched a video by Sabine Hossenfelder about detecting a quantum of gravity. (Link below)

I thought it was more or less settled that mass warps space. What role would a graviton have if it existed? I get the Higgs (for a peculiar definition of "get") -- it's a field that causes what we experience as mass.

Is mass not sufficient to explain gravity? Apparently, not.

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It’s an episode in Jesus’ biography that causes some of the top theologians to shrug their shoulders and admit they don’t know what happened.

For example, Baker’s New Testament Commentary series by Hendriksen & Kistemaker (one of the best available) says the reason for what occurred “has not been revealed to us.” The Expositor's Bible Commentary — another excellent work — basically says the same thing.

John Calvin suggests Jesus acted as He did, “…most probably for the purpose of proving … that he had full liberty as to his method of proceeding, and was not restricted to a fixed rule, so as not to resort to a variety of methods in exercising His power.”

So, what part of the Gospels am I talking about? You can read about the encounter for yourself in Mark 8:22-26. After studying it, the question you’ll walk away with is: why does Jesus fail to fully heal the blind man brought to him in Bethsaida the first time around?

It’s a head-scratcher for sure.

Some modern-day faith healers use the account to justify their failures and have people return multiple times to them for healing. Others point to it and question just how much “God” the God-Man Jesus had in Him.

Continued below.

Leaders on both sides of the political aisle reacted to reports of the U.S. Secret Service firing at a man with an AK-style rifle near the Trump International Golf Club in Florida believed to have been planning to assassinate former President Donald Trump.

During a joint press conference with the FBI and Secret Service officials, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach shared that an agent spotted the muzzle of the rifle and fired shots at the gunman on Sunday. According to Bradshaw, the shooter was between 300 to 500 yards away from the former president.

Authorities identified Ryan Wesley Routh as the gunman. The suspect has been chargedwith federal gun crimes. Authorities are working to determine a potential motive.

Continued below.

Harris vs Trump on Ukraine

Who has a better peace plan?

Congenitally petulant former guy declared on his failing platform, "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” - yes, in all caps.



Poor Donald, reduced to first pretending the pop star endorses him, then, when exposed by her endorsing his opponent, he whines like a toddler denied candy.

Former President Donald Trump escaped a second assassination attempt unharmed Sunday after the Secret Service fired at a man attempting to shoot him while he was playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, thereby thwarting the intended act of violence. While the gunman escaped, a witness identified the license plate number of his getaway vehicle and he was later arrested in Martin County, Florida.

Sunday’s assassination attempt marks the second time in the past two months that the Republican nominee for president has found himself the target of gunfire. At a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, two months ago, an assassin’s bullet grazed the candidate’s ear while one rally attendee was fatally killed and others were wounded by gunfire.

Prominent Christian leaders in the United States have reacted to the latest assassination attempt against Trump, who remains locked in a tight race with Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Continued below.

A social media account run by Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has been repeatedly deceptive.

The @KamalaHQ account, which has more than 1.3 million followers on the X social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has made a habit of misleadingly clipping and inaccurately captioning video clips to attack former President Donald Trump.

Suspect in 2nd assassination attempt identified as Ryan Wesley Routh


Melania Trump | Screenshot: X.com

Former first lady Melania Trump warned Americans about government encroachment on their freedoms and discussed the July assassination attempt against her husband in two video messages promoting her memoir days before a Secret Service stopped a second potential assassin targeting former President Donald Trump.

In her first video released last Tuesday, Melania Trump said, "The attempt to end my husband's life was a horrible, distressing experience," referring to the July 13 assassination attempt during a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the assailant, fired eight shots into the crowd, resulting in the tragic death of former fire chief Corey Comperatore and wounding two others, marine veteran David Dutch and retiree James Copenhaver. A bullet pierced Trump's ear.

Continued below.

Paul says
Galatians 5:14
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Yeshua says
Matthew 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment.

I don't think you can fulfill the law with just loving your neighbor. If we do not look up, our world shrinks to just those around us.