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JPPT1974 · Saturday at 6:31 PM

JPPT1974's Labor Day Weekend 2025 Thoughts:
It should never be happening
Over in the first place even if
We are adults it is wrong as
Bullying of any and all really
Kinds should never be tolerated
It is about speaking up if we
Unfortunately see something wrong.

PTW · Saturday at 6:30 PM

Future-Worm!

JPPT1974 · Saturday at 6:30 PM

JPPT1974's Thurs Thoughts 8/28/2025:
Adults that bully are setting the
Wrong message and tone for their
Kids and children's children to be
Looked upon as people that are adults
Knowing better as sadly they just think the
Only way to get their own way is to
Put others down for little to no reason.

JPPT1974 · Saturday at 6:28 PM

JPPT1974's Wed Thoughts 8/27/2025:
And this is not just
Over due to kids and
School but it can be
Worse over with adults and
For in the workplace here
Really adults bullying is very sad
Place in our world these days.

prodromos · Saturday at 6:25 PM

Daniel Carlton said:
Like I said about the early Christians, they do not call what you are doing icon veneration, they call it idolatry

You keep making this claim, but it is one you have not demonstrated. We don't call icons 'gods' as Justin Martyr describes and it is ludicrous to even suggest we consider them to be 'gods'. The people depicted in the icons are either Christ Himself, or those whom God has revealed to be among those who now stand in His presence and are fervent intercessors to Him on our behalf. They are revealed by God to be righteous men and women whose prayers are powerful and effective (James 5:16).
I'm telling you the truth, they are not 'gods'. No one believes they are, so your claims of idolatry are empty.

sjastro · Saturday at 6:23 PM

Here is a table of the damage done to Abu Rawash and the Great Pyramid over time.
The evidence for grooves in stone with relatively modern tools is a product of vandalism and not a 4th dynasty construction project.

Era / Period Damage to Abu Rawash (Djedefre) Damage to the Great Pyramid (Khufu)
Old Kingdom (~2570 BCE) Pyramid of Djedefre completed with limestone casing; smaller scale than Khufu’s. Pyramid of Khufu completed, fully intact with fine Tura casing and granite chambers (~146.6 m).
First Intermediate & Middle Kingdom (~2100–1800 BCE) Little direct evidence; pyramid already obscure; possible minor stone robbing. Limited stone robbing; pyramid still mostly intact.
New Kingdom (~1500–1000 BCE) Quarrying begins; Abu Rawash already shows heavy ruin compared to Giza. Blocks reused for temples. Some casing stones removed; pyramid visited and inscribed by tourists (graffiti).
Late Period & Persian/Greek (~600–300 BCE) Major dismantling for stone; structure largely ruined. Extensive quarrying for Memphis and Heliopolis; significant casing loss.
Roman Period (~30 BCE–300 CE) Romans quarry Abu Rawash heavily; reduced almost to foundations. Additional quarrying; most casing gone, but core remains monumental.
Early Islamic Period (~640–1000 CE) Cairo expansion → systematic quarrying; stones hauled away. Casing systematically stripped for mosques and fortifications.
Medieval Islamic Period (11th–15th c. CE) Further quarrying continues; plug and feather wedge marks appear, showing organized dismantling with iron tools. Large-scale removal of casing and core blocks; plug and feather wedge marks visible on some blocks.
Ottoman Period (16th–18th c. CE) Site mostly dismantled; traces of plug and feather wedge extractions. Limited robbing continues; plug and feather wedge marks remain as evidence of post-medieval work.
Modern Period (19th–20th c. CE) Archaeological excavations reveal only foundations and rubble; wedge marks confirm later quarrying. Pyramid stabilized as ruin; modern plug and feather wedge marks and occasional drill holes visible on blocks from failed extractions.

Plug and feather wedge marks in the form of grooves found on pyramid stones and in quarries around Giza were caused by iron or steel chisels and wedges, not by ancient copper or bronze tools.

Platte · Saturday at 6:20 PM

Jipsah said:
An evening and a morning, as I recall. Which works great when you have a sun, and assuming that the earth's orbit was a a settled decision after the sun was installed. And no, the mere existence of light doesn't suffice for the measurement of time unless you're using light's speed, and not the duration of "evenings and mornings". So you're still invoking a fiat "day" as a definiitive measurement of elapsed time, when we have every reason to believe that is not the case based on easily observed empirical data. The net effect is that it's not at all a good basis for a dogma.

But that's OK. The Christian Faith isn't based on Genesis. It's based on the entrance of the Creator, God Himself, directly into human history. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. 'Nuff said, Trying to impose man-made time measurements onto it is nonsense. God's "days" aren't the same as ours. You may have read this, but if you're like most folks you've tried to force a human understanding of time on it.

2 Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing: that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

God's "days" aren't 24 solar hours. That's the Christian position.

Any single light source and a rotating earth would present an evening and a morning. And you can still understand the concept of a day as signified in the context would signify a 24 hour day. And later confirmed in many scriptures. I can provide you a list if you like.

Funny. You can’t define a day but you can define 1000 years. And “as is” is a comparison phrase not a replacement phrase

JosephZ · Saturday at 6:20 PM

Valletta said:
Liberal crime and education policies are much more responsible for these crimes than inanimate objects. Those policies need to be changed.

When you remove firearm-related homicides, the United States' non-firearm homicide rate is within the same range as other developed countries. The number of guns and the ease of acquiring them in the US is the primary difference between us and them. It's crystal clear that our gun policies need to be strengthened.

Bradskii · Saturday at 6:19 PM

Aldebaran said:
Let's go along with those ideas for a second. Gun license revoked---what prevents the person from using the gun any more than a revoked driver's license prevents someone from driving?

Do you want to lose your gun license or car license? Do you think that hey, another couple of beers before I drive home won't hurt because if I lose my license I can still drive. Gee, there's a speed limit of 40mph but nobody can stop me driving at 100mph! Actually nobody can stop me robbing a bank or shooting my neighbour.

You really don't realise how stupid the 'argument' is that you're trying to to present.

Aldebaran said:
...how are you going to apply the same rules to guns and expect that a person who intends to do a mass shooting from doing so?

It's not that you have no idea how to stop the carnage. You don't want to because it means it will be inconvenient for you to have more regulations. Dead children are the price you'll accept for the status quo.

RDKirk · Saturday at 6:13 PM

public hermit said:
Great, so we're saying "flat earther" is primarily an affliction of modern folk. That's somehow not surprising.

I wasn't sure how or why schools began teaching that people thought the world was flat until 1492. So, I asked ChatGPT that myth got into American public schools:

You’re right: educated people in antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance almost universally knew the Earth was a sphere. Eratosthenes even measured its circumference in the 3rd century BCE with impressive accuracy. The supposed "flat Earth" belief in Columbus’ time is a myth.

So, why was this myth taught in U.S. schools?

The short answer is: it was a 19th-century invention that became popular in American education.

1. The origins of the "flat Earth myth"

Washington Irving (1828) – In his A History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, Irving dramatized Columbus as a lonely genius battling ignorant churchmen who thought the Earth was flat. He exaggerated the opposition to Columbus to make a better story.

19th-century polemicists – During the conflict between science and religion (the “conflict thesis”), writers like John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White used the flat-Earth story to depict the Church as hostile to science. They presented Columbus as a hero of reason against medieval superstition, even though medieval scholars had long accepted the spherical Earth.

2. Why schools picked it up

Narrative simplicity – It was a very tidy story for children: “Once people thought the world was flat. Then came Columbus, who bravely proved it was round.” Simple, dramatic, and easy to remember.

Moral lesson – It reinforced the idea of progress: brave individuals overturning ignorance and tradition.

Anti-clerical bias – In Protestant-majority America, the myth dovetailed with a cultural narrative that the Catholic Church had been backward and opposed to science.

Textbook repetition – Once a textbook author included it, others copied it. By the late 19th and early 20th century, the "flat Earth Columbus" story was in most American schoolbooks.

3. The reality

Medieval scholars (including churchmen like Thomas Aquinas) assumed a spherical Earth.

Columbus’ real debate was over distances: he underestimated Earth’s size and thought Asia was much closer by sailing west. His critics actually had the better math, though luck (and America) saved him.

Galileo’s conflict with the Church was about heliocentrism, not Earth’s shape.

Bradskii · Saturday at 6:11 PM

dogs4thewin said:
...people that can be trusted with guns should not have to be punished for the few who cannot.

This is a comment that makes me want to weep. Children are being massacred and you are concerned about your rights.

It's shamefull.

Konnie King · Saturday at 6:07 PM

The Emperor's New School

Hentenza · Saturday at 5:45 PM

Jack Terrence said:
No. Calvinists redefined the scriptures. "Dead" as a metaphor in scripture is not a spiritual condition, it is a legal standing. Nowhere does Paul say "spiritually dead." Paul never used the words "spiritually" and "dead together." Spiritual death is an idea that Calvinists imported into the Bible

dead = condemnation
alive = eternal life

"24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death [condemnation] unto life.

Paul was saying that we were under condemnation [dead] because of our sins and that we had received eternal life through faith. Show me where the words "spiritually" and "dead" are used together in the scriptures.

Show me where the word Trinity is in scripture. Like the Trinity spiritual death is a well defined theological concept. A physical death is the separation of the soul from the body. Spiritual death, which is of greater significance, is the separation of the soul from God. For example, God tells Adam the he would surely die after eating the forbidden fruit but his physical death did not come until much later. Surely God did not mean physical death here so what death do you think God meant?

“but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2‬:‭17‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Genesis 2:17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.” | New American Standard Bible - NASB (NASB2020) | Download The Bible App Now

but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”

bible.com

מוּת mûwth, mooth; a primitive root; to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill:—×at all, × crying, (be) dead (body, man, one), (put to, worthy of) death, destroy(-er), (cause to, be like to, must) die, kill, necro(-mancer), × must needs, slay, × surely, × very suddenly, × in (no) wise.

Ellesmere · Saturday at 5:43 PM

If Hamas knows exactly what's doing the the Netanyahu Administration is serving as "co-conspirators" = providing the incentive for Palestinian attacks on Israel for the foreseeable future while sq

# kind of destruction isn't directed at Hamas but at the population - a deliberate to make Gaza uninhabitable, a form of "ethnic cleansing"to separate a population from its homeland!

LizaMarie · Saturday at 5:38 PM

Trogdor the Burninator said:
Alternatively, people between 18 & 21 should start a mass civil disobedience campaign and refuse to abide by alcohol laws. If they're old enough to buy a gun, they're old enough to buy a beer.

Now you can't buy cigarettes until you are 21!

The Liturgist · Saturday at 5:35 PM

Daniel Carlton said:
As others have already point out in this thread - there were incidents where people made things and were not permitted, like the golden calf. But other times they were, like the Ark of the covenant. So what makes the difference? Simple, God commanded his people to build certain things at certain times, other times people were not commanded and were doing so purely from a sinful heart.

Indeed, but the Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics and others are not acting from a sinful heart.

Scripture says “by their fruits ye shall know them,” and Orthodox Christians account for the majority of Christian martyrs, the majority of recent martyrs (from Communism and radical Islam), and the Roman Catholics, despite the very uncharitable things people say about them, likewise account for a very large number of martyrs, and also the majority of Christian charitable spending, with charities such as the Vincentians active in nearly every part of the US helping people regardless of religious affiliation.

Also there is the fact that icons have been instrumental in spreading the Gospel - indeed, an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the famed Our Lady of Guadalupe, was directly responsible for the conversion of the Mexica from the evil Mesoamerican human sacrifice religion, which of all the diabolical forms of paganism was perhaps the most diabolical, to Christianity.

PTW · Saturday at 5:34 PM

Dragon Flyz

Robban · Saturday at 5:31 PM

"We fell in love", question, from where did you fall?

RDKirk · Saturday at 5:29 PM

JAM2b said:
We were taught that Europeans used to believe it was flat before sailors where navigating the earth and making maps. We thought they were silly for thinking people would sail off the edge of the Earth if they got too close to the edge.

That was the false part. Educated people, particularly those who did blue-water sailing, knew the world was spheroidal 300 years before Christ.

Hentenza · Saturday at 5:24 PM

A New Dawn said:
He has to redefine it to “condemned” on order to get to his own beliefs.

He can’t.

νεκρός nekrós, nek-ros'; from an apparently primary νέκυς nékys (a corpse); dead (literally or figuratively; also as noun):—dead.

Daniel Carlton · Saturday at 5:22 PM

prodromos said:
Nohing in either quote suggests that icon veneration is what they mean by idolatry.

You have not made a case that icon veneration is idolatry. Barnabas does not define idolatry and Justin Martyr specifically states that the idolaters consider their idols 'gods', which is exactly what I understand Barnabas to be referring to. Those of us who venerate icons do not for a moment consider the icons to be 'gods', so your charge against us of being idolaters is trivially dismissed.

and you no doubt read into them what you want to see

Since you can't read our hearts as God can, you will just have to take our word as followers and worshippers of the God-man, Jesus Christ.

That is not true. It is the claim you make without any evidence.

Your approach is just like those who argue that the earth is flat. They've already made up their minds and are deaf and blind to any explanations and arguments to the contrary.

It would be a Ford with a Ferrari badge

You are the one claiming icons are idols without evidence. Idol worshippers actually believed their idols to be a physical manifestation of their so-called 'gods'. Good luck making a case that anyone does that with icons.

That is exactly the point, you have just given it a different name and expect it to be believed. Sorry, I will not take your word for it - when a person or group create a thing, plant them in their place of worship, gives them names and make them fundamental part of their religion, to me that is literal idolatry.

Like I said about the early Christians, they do not call what you are doing icon veneration, they call it idolatry.

You complain I made up my mind but it is based off what I read in Gods word and the early Christians. You guys have done nothing except be dismissive and say ''it is not'' but that is not good enough for me when weighed against strong evidence.

The car was just an example and illustration and you are right - it is something but with a different badge. Like something else we are talking about.

If anything, you guys need to prove that there is a difference between an icon and an idol, because you are arguing the affirmative on that point.

The Liturgist · Saturday at 5:20 PM

Carl Emerson said:
Worship - veneration... Can we define...

I witnessed in Cyprus a congregant coming in the church door and kissing all the Icons before being seated.

OK or not ?

What @prodromos has said is correct - the Orthodox do not worship icons, relics or each other, but venerate them in the same way Anglicans venerate each other in the Kiss of Peace, or that Maori venerate each other by pressing their noses together (indeed I would not be surprised if Maori converts to Orthodox Christianity venerated an icon in that manner rather than by kissing it). The difference is that the icons are not the recipient of adoration or service - these two things are due to God alone.

The Barbarian · Saturday at 5:19 PM

Always in His Presence said:
It's not his fight - unless he is running for office.

We all get it. Republicans thought that they had a sure-fire way of getting more reps in the house, by Gerrymandering, only to be shocked and outraged to find that democrats were able to play the same game.

Selective outrage. No one is surprised.

Muhan · Saturday at 5:18 PM

Zceptre said:
Sweet child, God is not angry at you, and if you knew His heart for you then you would not be angry at Him. Being angry at Him simply means you don't understand what is going on, you are hurting somehow, the confusion has made you think negative things about Him, and His heart is hurting for you even if you can't understand how that is possible. God IS love, He doesn't "do" love. He never stops loving you for any reason (1 John 4:8).

God the Son did not show up in the world through a woman, walk among evil men for 33 years, allow them to beat him until He could not be recognized, and nail Him to a wooden cross until He died in agony for you, all for you to think He cannot be trusted. No one dies for someone they do not truly love, and only He really truly loves you and stays with you even with your hard feelings toward Him. (John 15:13 - Genesis 16:13)

1 John 4:9-10
In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:19
We love Him because He first loved us.

God loved all of us before we ever loved Him back, and He is loving you right now even if you don't feel much love toward Him. God proved His insane love for you by sending His Son Jesus to die for you before you loved Him, not after (Romans 5:8).

Don't you know that Peter the disciple cursed and disowned the Lord Jesus practically to His face (Matthew 26:74)? Don't you know the Lord Jesus knew Peter was going to do that seeing as He told Peter in advance that he would do it (Matthew 26:34)? And do you know that the Lord Jesus was not only not mad at Peter at any time, but was praying to the Father and forgiving Peter in advance and loving Peter every moment before and after the event (Luke 22:32)?

Love does not count wrongs against it, and while there is a God of justice in Heaven, He sent His Son to die for you so that He could love you in spite of your mistakes.

1 Corinthians 13:5
Berean Standard Bible
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

Romans 8:32 says that if God gave His Son's life to us to save us, what will He not do for us?! God has made a solemn promise that He would not be angry at you (Isaiah 54:9) and God cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18).

No no, if you are angry at God it is because someone has whispered in your ear that He is not good and you are believing it somehow and in some way, but we know He is good. I think you know He is good, and I think you feel abandoned somehow, when He is always with you and never leaves you (Hebrews 13:5 - Matthew 28:20).

What I think you need to do, is be brutally honest with Him and have a talk. I think you need to give Him what you are carrying around and holding on tight to so He can fix it (1 Peter 5:7).

He already knows what you are thinking, what you are feeling, what is upsetting you exactly, and why you are holding on to it. He still has not left you, He still loves you, His heart is aching to help you and love on you, and He refuses to force you to come to Him. Love does not force people to come to them and interact with them against their will. You are His Child and He is hurting for you right now and wants to fix this for you.

He will never turn you away under any circumstances (John 6:37) and He will use all of this situation for your good (Romans 8:28).

If you are feeling condemned because of your feelings, know that you are not if you are in Christ (Romans 8:1) and that you never will be even if your heart is telling you such things (1 John 3:20).

Again, take your heart and everything you are feeling to Him and put one step in His direction, and you will know He is there and that He cares (1 Peter 5:7). Just talk to Him. You do not have a bad heart, just a hurting heart, and an afraid heart, and fear is a control mechanism used by the enemy. Don't let that keep you from the one that loves you with all of His being. You simply need to see how much He really loves you and when you do, and you listen in your heart to Him speaking to you, He will lift you up.

The fact it is bothering you shows He lives inside of you, do not doubt your conversion. Remember that you will always be His Child and no one can take you out of His hand, not even you (John 10:28).

I am praying for you.

Isaiah 54:10
For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

After reading all this the first thought that came to my mind about you,
how do you account for the wrath of God that is upon all sinners.
Did it evaporate into thin air?

Always in His Presence · Saturday at 5:16 PM

Hans Blaster said:
Your whole claim is basically:

Why did you hit me back?

This is not a fight Newsom started, not even in the slightest.

It's not his fight - unless he is running for office.

Era / Period	Damage to Abu Rawash (Djedefre)	Damage to the Great Pyramid (Khufu)
Old Kingdom (~2570 BCE)	Pyramid of Djedefre completed with limestone casing; smaller scale than Khufu’s.	Pyramid of Khufu completed, fully intact with fine Tura casing and granite chambers (~146.6 m).
First Intermediate & Middle Kingdom (~2100–1800 BCE)	Little direct evidence; pyramid already obscure; possible minor stone robbing.	Limited stone robbing; pyramid still mostly intact.
New Kingdom (~1500–1000 BCE)	Quarrying begins; Abu Rawash already shows heavy ruin compared to Giza. Blocks reused for temples.	Some casing stones removed; pyramid visited and inscribed by tourists (graffiti).
Late Period & Persian/Greek (~600–300 BCE)	Major dismantling for stone; structure largely ruined.	Extensive quarrying for Memphis and Heliopolis; significant casing loss.
Roman Period (~30 BCE–300 CE)	Romans quarry Abu Rawash heavily; reduced almost to foundations.	Additional quarrying; most casing gone, but core remains monumental.
Early Islamic Period (~640–1000 CE)	Cairo expansion → systematic quarrying; stones hauled away.	Casing systematically stripped for mosques and fortifications.
Medieval Islamic Period (11th–15th c. CE)	Further quarrying continues; plug and feather wedge marks appear, showing organized dismantling with iron tools.	Large-scale removal of casing and core blocks; plug and feather wedge marks visible on some blocks.
Ottoman Period (16th–18th c. CE)	Site mostly dismantled; traces of plug and feather wedge extractions.	Limited robbing continues; plug and feather wedge marks remain as evidence of post-medieval work.
Modern Period (19th–20th c. CE)	Archaeological excavations reveal only foundations and rubble; wedge marks confirm later quarrying.	Pyramid stabilized as ruin; modern plug and feather wedge marks and occasional drill holes visible on blocks from failed extractions.

Latest activity

Latest activity

1. The origins of the "flat Earth myth"​

2. Why schools picked it up​

3. The reality​

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1. The origins of the "flat Earth myth"

2. Why schools picked it up

3. The reality