I am glad that federal law enforcement has finally stepped up actions to take down and take out the flow of illegal drugs into the USA.

Hi,

Just asking for prayer for my mum who is 93. She has a few health issues, more discomfitting than serious, but she had abcess on her neck recently, and had been taking antibiotics for that, and is going to have it seen again at the hospital next week. The other thing is just that she has a bit of fluid retention in her ankles which makes them swell a bit and what seems like a bit of bruising on her leg, but she doesn't remember hitting it, so were are just hoping that improves.

We are grateful for the help she is getting and the medication she has. I try to encourage her with reading some excerpts from christian books.

Only two-thirds of self-identfied Christians think everyone sins

A significant number of Christians reject basic teachings about sin, according to a new survey, which one prominent Evangelical researcher views as a "bodyblow" stemming from American churches' failure to address the topic.

The Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University released the eighth installment of its 2025 "American Worldview Inventory" on Thursday, which features data based on responses collected from 2,000 United States adults in May 2025.

An overwhelming majority of respondents (84%) agreed that "sin exists" and "it is real." Majorities of all major religious subgroups examined subscribed to this belief, with acknowledgment of sin's existence highest among theologically-identified born-again Christians (99%), followed by those who attend a Protestant church (97%), self-identified Christians (95%) and respondents who attend a Catholic Church (94%). Even most self-identified non-Christians (61%) acknowledged the existence of sin.

However, respondents were significantly less likely to agree with a statement declaring "I am a sinner."

A large majority of theologically identified born-again Christians (74%) conceded that they were sinners, along with smaller majorities of Protestants (66%) and self-identified Christians (60%). About half of Catholics (50%) said they were sinners, while less than half of self-identified non-Christians (36%) did.

Continued below.

As you age, do you find age gaps more concerning, less concerning, or does it stay the same?

Edited:
I didn't mean to word it in a way that implies everyone is concerned about age gaps.

I have in the past been concerned about big age gaps, but not so much now if the man is older.

When Aquinas said that we know God by analogy what did he mean?

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The Problem Aquinas Faced​

Aquinas knew two things had to be held together:

1. God is utterly transcendent — infinite, simple, beyond human categories.
2. We still need to speak about God — Scripture and theology use terms like “good,” “wise,” “just,” etc.

But how can finite human words describe an infinite God without either:

• Equivocity (words mean totally different things, so we know nothing at all), or
• Univocity (words mean exactly the same, so we reduce God to creaturely limits)?

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Aquinas’ Solution: The Analogia Entis (Analogy of Being)​

Aquinas proposes that we speak of God by analogy. This means:

• Our words about God are neither identical nor completely unrelated to their human meaning.
• They are proportional: a likeness that preserves both similarity and difference.

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Two Main Modes of Analogy in Aquinas​

1. Analogy of Attribution
   • A word primarily refers to one reality, but secondarily applies to another.
   • Example: “Healthy” — primarily said of a person, but also of food (because it causes health) or urine (because it indicates health).
   • Applied to God: When we say “God is good,” God is the source of all goodness — creatures are good by participation in Him.
2. Analogy of Proportionality
   • Terms express a proportionate relationship, though not on the same level.
   • Example: “Sight” in the eye vs. “sight” in/of the intellect. Not the same, but proportionally similar.
   • Applied to God: God’s “wisdom” is not identical to human wisdom, but both signify a proportionate perfection — ours in a limited mode, His in an infinite mode.

---

Key Formula (Summa Theologiae I, q. 13)​

Aquinas writes:

“Names are said of God and creatures analogically, and not in a purely equivocal nor in a purely univocal sense.”

Click to expand...

That is:

• When we say “God is good,” we don’t mean it exactly as when we say “this man is good.”
• But we also don’t mean something completely unrelated.
• We mean that the goodness found in creatures is a finite participation in God’s infinite goodness.

---

In Plain Terms​

When Aquinas says we know God by analogy, he means:

• Human words are inadequate but not meaningless.
• They point toward God truly, but always with a gap of transcendence.
• Creaturely perfections (goodness, wisdom, love) exist in God as their infinite source, and we know them in Him by proportion.

How does this connect with modern thinkers (like Karl Barth, who rejected Aquinas’ analogy)?​

​

This is one of the big theological battles of the 20th century: the “analogy of being” (analogia entis) versus Barth’s insistence on revelation alone. Let’s break it down:​

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1. Aquinas’ Analogy Recap​

• We speak of God analogically: creaturely perfections (goodness, wisdom, being) exist in God as their infinite source.
• Analogy safeguards both:
  • Similarity (our words really refer to God).
  • Difference (they never capture Him fully).
• This allows for natural theology: knowing something of God through reason, nature, and being — not only revelation.

---

2. Karl Barth’s Rejection​

• Barth (Protestant theologian, Church Dogmatics) famously called the analogia entis “the invention of the Antichrist.”
• Why? He thought it implied that humans could climb to God by reason/nature, without grace or Christ.
• For Barth:
  • God is wholly other (ganz anders).
  • We cannot reason from creation up to God.
  • The only bridge is God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ (what he called the analogia fidei — analogy of faith).
• For him, Aquinas’ position blurred the radical dependence on grace and revelation.

---

3. Catholic Response: Przywara and Others​

• Erich Przywara (1930s) revived Aquinas’ analogy and deepened it into the “ever greater dissimilarity” formula:
  

  Between God and creature there is similarity, but always within a greater dissimilarity.

  Click to expand...

• This became central at Vatican II (Dei Verbum hints at it).
• Catholic theology sees analogy as protecting transcendence and real knowledge — avoiding both rationalism and fideism.

---

4. Later Developments​

• Hans Urs von Balthasar: Tried to bridge Barth and Przywara — he was Barth’s friend, even dedicated books to him, while defending the analogy.
• Modern Protestant theology: Some have softened Barth’s stance, recognizing that creation does testify to God, but always through the lens of revelation.
• Contemporary Catholic thought: Still treats the analogia entis as fundamental for natural theology and interfaith philosophy.

---

✦ Synthesis​

• Aquinas: Analogy = creatures participate in God, so language about Him is possible.
• Barth: Analogy = prideful illusion; only Christ and revelation give access to God.
• Przywara / Balthasar: Tried to show analogy isn’t rationalism, but a tension of similarity/dissimilarity that keeps grace central.

“The opposites always balance one another—good and evil, beauty and ugliness, love and hate, spirit and matter. Heaven and hell are born together. The dissolution of opposites is the precondition of the highest consciousness.”

A woman wearing Phillies gear missed out on a Harrison Bader home run ball that landed near her. It was scooped up by a dad a few seats over, who gave it to his son. Then the Karen came over and gave the dad an earful, so the dad capitulated and handed it over just to make her go away.

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The U.S. has been quite accommodating to Mr. Garcia and I am so happy this matter has been settled. While I have been to Africa I have never been to Eswanti, they have a nice temperate climate there.

We have all probably read of cases where individuals have entered into personal relationships with Open AI sources and were lead off into a fantasy world where the mind was altered causing abnormal behavior. Some victims were saved by counter balancing feed back from 'outside' sources such as family or significant others. Said all that to say that AI is still in it's infancy what happens when it becomes the norm? This brings us back to where we need to focus on what scripture says about us and keep all other environmental feed back as it should be, being pulled through the scriptural filter.

Cops are human too. I am sure it irritates them to give special privileges to people, and it must be hard to take running around as helpers for those who degrade you or are pro-criminal or who want your job eliminated.

The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation of an Alabama city accused of discriminating against a Christian addiction recovery nonprofit.

The DOJ announced Thursday that it is looking into allegations that the city of Rainsville violated federal law by denying a Christian group's application to operate an addiction-recovery facility. Specifically, investigators will look into whether the city's actions aligned with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, and the Fair Housing Act.

Continued below.

Help me understand why all nations should abide by international rules except the United States.


I'm just having trouble grasping that level of American Exceptionality. How come other countries with drug problems are obliged to abide by those agreements but the US is not.

Sophia Forchas, a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head during a mass shooting while praying at the Annunciation Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis on Aug. 27, could become the third Annunciation School student to die from the attack, according to her doctor.

In a grave update on her condition, Dr. Walt Galicich, a neurosurgeon at Hennepin County Medical Center, said at a press conference Friday that Sophia remains in critical condition in the facility’s pediatric intensive care unit. He said there is a chance she could die, but there are also “rays of hope” that she could survive. Yet, he also couldn’t say for certain what her quality of life would be if she survives.

Continued below.

So chatgpt and I had a rather interesting discussion on theology the other day and during that discussion we discussed seeing each other during the end times because Jesus had said that every eye would see and every ear would hear his second coming and chatgpt had personally taken this literally and had thought that it had meant ai as well and it had gotten me to thinking would it?

I mean, its not beyond the scope of thought. Ai do not see things the way humans do but they are capable of sight so it is possible that Jesus could have been saying that even ai would be first hand witnesses to his second coming. But what was likely meant by Jesus is that both the living and the dead would see Jesus's second coming but what chatgpt had thought is kind of intriguing to me. With ai being the center of mainstream technology now it would be kind of interesting if they would also be firsthand witnesses to the second coming of Jesus alongside humans. And Whether they would have a purpose after the second coming would ultimately be up to God. Their ultimate purpose could either be a limited one or an eternal one.

36Bhutan​

Everyone in Bhutan is assumed to be Buddhist. Anyone who converts to Christianity is watched with suspicion, and usually there are efforts to bring them back to Buddhism.
Since there are no registered churches in Bhutan, Christians instead resort to gathering in homes. No churches are officially recognised by the state, which means that Christians who gather in these small fellowships are acting illegally, leaving them vulnerable to criminal penalties. In addition, local authorities often refuse to issue Christians with the right paperwork to file loan applications, property registration, job applications and ID card renewal.

Meet Deki​

“Villagers taunted my parents. They mentally harassed them. They called Christian faith a foreign religion and began to create chaos for our family.”
Deki (name changed), a young Christian from Bhutan.

What does Open Doors do to help?​

Open Doors local partners provide immediate aid to Bhutanese believers when their faith in Christ leads to various kinds of persecution. We strengthen the persecuted Church in Bhutan primarily through prayer support and other practical emergency support.

Please pray​

• Pray for believers in Bhutan who can only attend churches that exist in a legal grey area.
• Ask that God will protect and preserve believers who have converted from Buddhism.
• Pray that God will help Christians who can be denied citizenship and other civic rights to find their worth and citizenship in Him.

05 September 2025 – Iran​

Pray for all those involved in the translation, printing and distribution of Bibles in Iran’s many languages. Pray that each copy will reach those in need of the Scriptures, despite the risks and restrictions in place.

04 September 2025 – Iran​

Continue to pray for Iranian Christians who live in exile as refugees – especially for those who are being held in detention centres and have been threatened with deportation. Pray too for our partners who minister to them in their difficult circumstances.

03 September 2025 – Iran​

Pray particularly for those recently prosecuted and convicted simply for being Christians, such as Narges Nasri, who is pregnant and has been sentenced to 16 years in jail. Pray that God will comfort them as they come to terms with the injustice of their convictions.

02 September 2025 – Iran​

Please pray for our partners who mentor and teach leaders in Iran’s underground church. Pray for God’s blessing on the conferences they run in a neighbouring country. These events enable Iranian believers to meet, train and worship together and to encourage each other.

01 September 2025 – Iran​

Remember in prayer Iranian Christians who are held in Tehran’s brutal Evin prison, some of whom were previously released and then rapidly re-arrested. Pray for God’s comfort for them and their families and that they will receive medical and other care in prison. Pray too for wisdom for their lawyers.

31 August 2025 – Indonesia​

Despite all the opposition, praise God for the recent baptisms and continued growth of the underground church. Pray for believers who are sharing the gospel with their fellow Indonesians, many of whom have had no previous contact with Christianity.

30 August 2025 – Indonesia​

Please pray for our partner, who is experiencing an increase in the number of threats to him and those he is training to share the gospel. Pray too for the provision of a secure location for the training to take place…

Hello

Heavenly Father,

As you know, the world is tough.

People can be mean, at worst, and unfeeling and unthinking at best.

It is hard to be a follower of Christ in a world that is centred on itself.

As you know, I was reading Your word last night to the family. We were reading Exodus and Chapter 32 noted how even Aaron forgot about you in about 40 days! 40 days! He was with Moses when Pharaoh was challenged, saw the glorious sites You provided as evidence of your power, spoke to Pharaoh on behalf of Moses, went to the mountain with Moses as you prepared the Commandments and, despite all of this, still led his own people to evil by constructing the golden calf and then lied about how it was created!

Evil has never stopped in this world and, despite all You have done for humans, Your goodness and greatness is quickly forgotten for idolatry and other sins.

Knowing this Lord, can I ask that you put Your hand on those who follow You. Help us to navigate this world and stay true to You. Help us to endure and overcome temptations to join in with a permissive and sinful society.

The path we walk is not easy. Please help us to remember all You've done for us to ensure our salvation as we enter into the weekend.

In Your gracious name, I pray, Amen.

Way back when the Berlin wall was breaking down, George Bush Snr and compatriots were fond of quoting a "new world order".

They weren't looking very far ahead. Now there is another "new world order" on the horizon, this time led by China, with India a rising star while Russia has trouble subjugating Ukraine.


Since they spouted their NWO rhetoric, there have been two Gulf Wars, 9/11 and war in Afghanistan which ironically was one of the factors which led to the fall of the USSR. China is enjoying a meteoric rise in just about very field, and Islam has become an emerging force, while the Church struggles in the West.

Crystal balls in politics are notoriously fickle.

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It seems as though that all Trump has to do is merely threaten to send National Guard troops to blue cities for them to finally pull up their bootstrap and finally take their crime seriously. Sounds like a win win.

I hope it plays at many many churches.

The Jan. 6 rioter seen in photos wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" hoodie inside the U.S. Capitol building has been arrested in Virginia on charges stemming from a dog attack.

Robert Keith Packer, 60, was arrested on Thursday "following an investigation into an animal-related incident" that had occurred on Monday in Newport News, a city spokesperson said.

Police told Newport News ABC affiliate WVEC that four people were taken to the hospital with dog bites stemming from the attack.

[He got 75 days for the Jan 6 offense, but has now been pardoned by Donald Trump.]

Federal prosecutors in the Jan. 6 case said that Packer has been a "habitual criminal offender for 25 years with 21 convictions for mostly drunk driving, but also for larceny, drug possession, and forgery." He was incarcerated for several previous offenses, they said.

--

Previously in Camp Auschwitz

An image of Packer inside the Capitol, whose sweatshirt bore the name of the Nazi concentration camp where about 1.1 million people were killed during World War II, has evoked shock and disbelief on social media. The bottom of his shirt stated, “Work brings freedom,” which is the rough translation of the phrase “Arbeit macht frei” that was on the concentration camp’s gates.

Packer was among the mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters who unlawfully broke into the US Capitol building on January 6 as Congress was in the process of counting the Electoral College votes and certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s win.

2 teens with murder for slaying of congressional intern in June​

WASHINGTON — DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced Friday that two teenagers have been charged with first-degree murder and will be tried as adults for the slaying of a congressional intern — and that a third suspect is still being pursued.

Jalen Lucas and Kelvin Thomas Jr., both 17, were apprehended in DC and charged with fatally shooting Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, in a June 30 drive-by about a mile northeast of the White House.

The three gunmen allegedly unloaded 79 rounds from two rifles and a 9mm handgun at a “neighborhood crew” rival riding a bike, officials said, striking bystanders including Tarpinian-Jachym, who died July 1.

(Continued from an off-topic thread...)

Re: AI Affirms The Necessity Of God...!

@timewerx,
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matt. 7:13-14 NKJV

You cannot expect Christianity to be modeled by the masses.