Apple Sky said:

Flat earth is a related subject but it has nothing to with the moon landings

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The photos of the earth that were taken in space have a lot to do with the moon landings.
You believe that they - along with everything else - was faked; therefore you don't believe that the photos show the earth is a globe.

None of it was faked - but as long as you dismiss everyone as liars, you can kid yourself that it was.

Jackie Chan Adventures

essentialsaltes said:

Trump's Secretary of Energy suggested it. They quoted him accurately.

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They did?

How do you know that? I looked y your link. They have the document, didn’t show it.

Clare73 said:

A "mere"?. . .49.8% to 48.3%. . .Trump had 2,300,000 more votes.

Works for me. . .

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Right, not a majority, but a plurality.

KolQoreBaMidbar said:

The papal calendar is corrupt. It's highly unlikely this is the year 2025 after Christ.
All such timeline calculations are thus flawed from the start.

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It's not looking too bad to me. It's looking like things are right on track. It's not the fault of the Papal Calendar. Pope Gregory changed New Years Day from April 1st to January 1st in 1582, but that would only throw my count off by 4 months. My start date is 1535 when they were still on the Julian Calendar. I'm not really counting the individual years themselves but sets of "sevens", heptads. And I'm not trying to count the years since creation week.

It's easy to figure out that Jesus died on April 7, 30AD by counting the Passover for that year. Celestial mechanics sees the phases of the moon, God's faithful witness. I pretty much can't be wrong with that.

cfposter said:

The days of Adam began in 3890 BC with Isaac born in 1910 BC, with the Exodus in 1479 BC.

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How can we be accurate with this? And is it the days when Adam began, or from when he fell?

I'm reasonably sure the Exodus was in 1437BC. That started a count of three sets of 70 weeks, the third set are the ones from Daniel 9 that began in 457BC, and ended in 34AD. The 7th set of 70 weeks ended in 1994. But for the purpose of our discussion, it's not really important.

I'm reasonably sure we're still right on track. I don't want to jinx it by saying what I think is going on now. We'll see it when it happens.

Akita Suggagaki said:

Atonement, forgiveness and salvation are a bit easier to believe because they are not testable. They are matters of faith.
But God's love when faced with disasters, God's protection when faced with catastrophe, not so easy.

And Jesus never hid that from us, challenging us to love him more than parents, not to worry about what we will eat or wear, to take up our own crosses and die to self. Blessed are we then.

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If i may just relay a few points on how i believe faith occurs. You are right it is a continuum but at some point you may pass into faith. The faith one has is based on what that believer has heard from God. I say this because "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word (rhema) of God." (Rom 10:17) Rhema is the spoken word. So when facing trouble or safety to some extent what you have heard in the past will matter. The word matters a lot. For instance a mind stayed on God will have perfect peace. God told Joshua that if he meditated on the law day and night he would be prosperous and have good success. (Joshua 1:8).

Some afflictions like health issues arise and some do find faith for their healing or deliverance. Others either are turned down such as Paul for his thorn in the flesh or many simply fail to even try or are not persistent enough. One might have faith in one area of life, but fail in other areas. It really just depends on what time they have spent on that area and how much they have heard from God.

Every Christian that is saved has heard from God and accepted their need of salvation. They confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.

Rom10:10 "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

This is why some teach a positive confession. but confession alone is not enough you have to have it in your heart. It would be a rare circumstance that God would speak to someone to have them walk on water. The reason there are more miracles and healings in the poorest nations is that desperate people seek God more and thus they get to the place of faith for a matter because they have no other options.

GoldenBoy89 said:

What is the acceptable number of crimes you can live with?

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No crime is acceptable.
The goal is to prevent crime.

Hans Blaster said:

The only one getting cancelled are confederate traitors.

What link have you requested from me. I recall none.

Back in 2020, when the BLM protests turned to removing confederate monuments like the one in the OP, there was a surge in neo-confederate apologetics. I adopted my avatar in opposition to the neo-confederate arguments. (SHerman is my spirit animal. The south must not rise against the US again.)

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Marching Through Georgia:

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My dad liked the Northern version of the Battle Cry of Freedom:

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BelieveItOarKnot said:

1 John 4:7 makes it clear enough that anyone who loves knows God and is born of God

These then also have faith because faith works through love. Intimately tied.

Jesus taught that we all have One Father, Matt. 23:9

The devils in pharisees were berated for blocking the gates of heaven and making people twice the sons of hell they were

Still happening

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The idea is that faith can exist without love (even demons believe, etc), while love always includes faith. Either way, yes, love and the fruit it naturally produces is the surest sign that we're one of His.

Clare73 said:

Well, if all it takes is one resident, then there is nowhere in the US that is "crime free," so why bother?

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What is the acceptable number of crimes you can live with?

Prostitution is illegal in the United States as far as I know so what is the difference between Prostitution and Pornography. With both of them, one pays money to have sex (whether with an actual person or with oneself). Many, many men (and now women too) have been ensnared by pornographic pictures causing them deep guilt and sorrow and addiction. Once one is pulled into looking at that disgusting garbage, the images get burnt into one's brain and they are very difficult to get rid of. Only through God's grace and mercy, can these bonds be broken. It is better to NEVER see such vulgarity.

I understand some people may not be affected by looking at pornography (though, I truly question that answer) but those that pornography bounds, it's a hell if you try to overcome it and leave it forever. I truly hope our country will abolish this industry in all its forms.

A New Dawn said:

Alligator Alcatraz is for illegals aliens.

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Yeah and it’s a concentration camp that you support just because they’re “illegal”.

A New Dawn said:

The Japanese were citizens, so, yes, that event should never have happened.

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I don’t buy for a second you wouldn’t have stood with the majority of Americans who supported the internment of Japanese Americans at the time. It was widely seen as a reasonable precaution in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

But since you seem to care so much about the Japanese Americans who were illegally imprisoned, why don’t you hear it directly from one of them?

A New Dawn said:

It’s just weird that you don’t seem to know the meanings of the words “illegal” and “aliens” yet don’t have a problem taking their side in an argument over the laws of our country being enforced.

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What’s weird is how a simple legal designation is all it takes for you to abandon your humanity.

DaisyDay said:

If one mugging triggers martial law, we're not likely to ever not be under the jackboot.

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Works for me. . .don't see the law as "jackboot," neither God's law nor the national laws of our republic.

What an "unfortunate" point of view. . .no doubt in agreement with the lawbreakers.

DaisyDay said:

Plurality. Trump did not get the majority of the vote but a mere plurality.

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A "mere"?. . .49.8% to 48.3%. . .Trump had 2,300,000 more votes.

Works for me. . .

SavedByGrace3 said:

We went shopping yesterday. Prices are actually down.

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An Anecdotal Fallacy occurs when someone relies on personal experiences or individual cases as evidence for a general claim, overlooking larger and more reliable data.

rambot said:

This cannot be a policy held by Trump supporters. It would belie too much ignorance.

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I tell you the irony meter blow up and became engulfed in flames after that comment.

ViaCrucis said:

So if our choices are between Hamas propaganda and Israeli state propaganda, then perhaps the solution is to have independent international journalists.

Have outside, independent journalists report honestly.

Israel: Grant international media access to Gaza and protect journalists now - ARTICLE 19

Israel must allow international media access to Gaza, and protect Palestinian journalists reporting on the ground.

www.article19.org

-CryptoLutheran

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Only if you have independent journalists from all sides. Far too many journalists these days are leftists and belong to leftist organizations. And there are most certainly journalists on the right who belong to conservative organizations. I say they should pair up.
But then both Israel and Hamas could set up things they want them to see. Let them hear the stories they want them to hear, not even knowing if they are true. Both sides are being accused of lying and propegandizing.

But perhaps if journalists HAD to team up, one from the left and one from the right we might actually find a more honest report.

Clare73 said:

Well, if all it takes is one resident, then there is nowhere in the US that is "crime free," so why bother?

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If one mugging triggers martial law, we're not likely to ever not be under the jackboot.

Akita Suggagaki said:

"Your faith has saved you." Luke 7:50, Luke 18.42

There is great power in faith.

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The power in faith is the Holy Spirit.

There is no faith that he does not give (Php 1:29, 2 Pe 1:1, Ac 13:48, 18:27, Ro 12:3).

Clare73 said:

In the meantime, I'll just enjoy what is, along with the rest of the majority who put him there.

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Plurality. Trump did not get the majority of the vote but a mere plurality.

Say it aint so said:

Smarter nuanced policies?
Did he forget who he voted for?

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Think of all the American jobs that could be created, sharpening knives by hand.

The Liturgist said:

Which is why ChatGPT and other responsible providers include a warning label.

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You mean like the California warning labels that mark nearly everything as cancer-causing...to the point that people simply ignore them?

The Liturgist said:

By the way, one can protect against inaccurate information to a large extent through careful use of the prompt. People don’t understand the real capability of these systems is that they represent the ultimate macro processor or text-transformation utility, as if one can speak the word and animate all of the text processing utilities of the UNIX system like m4, grep, less, sed, awk, et cetera.

Also the errors tend to relate primarily to questions posed in natural language not checked against external data, for example, with a web search, and never relate to the output of questions processed by the built-in programming language.

So whereas on the one hand I have made the point that if people refer to AI as a reliable source for information in their posts they are making an appeal to unqualified authority, but on the other hand, AI can be a source for information that is as potentially reliable as any other web search, with additional processing capabilities.

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This is pretty much like a gun owner attempting to explain proper marksmanship training and gun handling to people who buy guns but still expect them to be magic wands that somehow just make bad guys fall down.

essentialsaltes said:

Rubbish.

How some Texas parents and historians say a new state curriculum glosses over slavery and racism

A new Texas curriculum seeks to captivate first-grade students with a lesson on Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s historic estate long revered for its French neoclassical architecture and as a symbol of the founding father’s genius. However, if the State Board of Education approves the curriculum...

www.christianforums.com

The rightwing US textbooks that teach slavery as ‘black immigration’​

Guardian analysis finds that private schools, especially Christian schools, use textbooks that tell of a version of history that is racially biased and inaccurate

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I guess the alt left and the alt right are in a competition to see who can write the most incorrect history book. What can I say? At least some of the facts in the article you linked are true, despite the fact that you object to them. Malcom X was the most prominent black supremacist of his era. Even Martin Luther King, Jr., referred to his extreme tactics in his speeches, saying to look at his brother Malcom, if you don’t do things his (MLK’s) way then there will come a point in time they get done Malcom X’s way.

And illegal aliens ARE illegal aliens. They are not immigrants unless they are here legally. Immigration infers the legal process has been taken and those persons conform to our laws.

GoldenBoy89 said:

And DC can’t really be ‘crime free’ while its most prominent resident is himself a criminal.

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Well, if all it takes is one resident, then there is nowhere in the US that is "crime free," so why bother?

Jerry N. said:

This is a very interesting thread. There are two things about AI that I’ve been wondering about:

• AI is running out of good data. Except for biological data that can be used for creating new and better medications, and some forensic studies, and similar studies in electronics and such, AI can’t exceed human knowledge. Researchers warn we could run out of data to train AI by 2026. What then?.

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It's not so much that they "run out" of good data, exactly. The good data is out there. But that there is so much more "noise" caused by AI multiplying the noise from AI-generated noise. I think we've already gone past the point that most of the "data" on the entire Internet is AI generated noise from other AI-generators. At least that's the case with imagery; at this point AI-generated imagery is more from AI-generated imagery than from real imagery.

Jerry N. said:

• I wish there was some type of marker on images and videos so I know it was generated by AI. I often view harmless videos that I find interesting. I show them to my wife, and she can often spot that they were AI generated. It is deflating, and I wish there was a required water mark or something.

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Those can always be evaded (it's an "arms race"), and the people who intend to misinform the audience will evade them.