Guojing said:

Is your answer yes or no to my question?

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No true believer will ever take the mark of the beast; but I doubt you will agree. Jesus said, "not everyone who calls Me 'Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore we know that many people who claim to be Christian will take the mark. But they were never saved to begin with. And I still doubt you will agree.

Postvieww said:

If I were you I wouldn’t worry much about a third term. That idea is just more liberal nonsense like claiming he is a king.

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Maybe the term 'testing the water' is one that you haven't come across before.

Landon Caeli said:

Can you point me in the right direction on how to one-up your post for the win? Im stumped.

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You tell me that you don't care about people who will be affected by the problem as long as it's not you.

I'll be nonplussed by that and struggle to find a response that stays within forum rules.

Bradskii said:

Trump news at a glance: president floats a third term as Democrats vow ‘no way in hell’

President has not definitively ruled out seeking to extend time in office. Key US politics stories from Monday 27 October at a glance

www.theguardian.com

“I would love to do it: I have my best numbers ever,” the 79-year-old told reporters on Air Force One during a trip to Asia. Pressed on whether he was not ruling out a third term, he said, “Am I not ruling it out? I mean, you’ll have to tell me.”

Apart from him lying yet again about his numbers (they are in the toilet), how about we get a consensus on this?

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I do recall more than one Christian prophet saying he would have two terms . That came to pass even though many thought after 2020 it would not . If I were you I wouldn’t worry much about a third term. That idea is just more liberal nonsense like claiming he is a king. Login to view embedded media

Guojing said:

So is Acts 2:44-45 and Acts 4:32, following Jesus's instructions in Luke 12:33, still required for us today, to be like the Acts 2 church?

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The Gentile Churches were instructed to provide support for the Saints in Judea, as they were struggling under the persecution that arose after Stephen's martyrdom. The long term expectation was for those who had the means to support those without, bearing one another's burdens .
2 Co 8:
8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 10 And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; 11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. 12 For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.

13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

Romans 15:
26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.
27 It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.

RileyG said:

That's....interesting....considering how inclusive the Episcopal Church has been for decades.

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I wondered about that. I don't know this particular person, or the particular situation. In principle, we intend to be inclusive across lines of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, native language, and so on. Possibly this committee isn't living up to its principles -- it's easier to talk about principles than to live them. Or possibly there are abrasive personalities on the committee who are clashing with each other. I really don't know anything about the inner workings of the committee, beyond what I read in the ENS article.

Landon Caeli said:

Isn’t Donald Trump constantly being referred to as a King on this forum? I can't imagine how calling Mamdani a communist is different than that.

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yep. Exactly !!

Bradskii said:

No. Because someone you appear to trust said:

'“...climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries...'

And said it in the very article to which you linked. But hey, the consequences to you might not be so serious, so if you're ok and it's only going to affect all those poor people then what's the problem?

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Can you point me in the right direction on how to one-up your post for the win? Im stumped.

Tuur said:

Like it or not, Trump isn't objectively unpopular.

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From The Economist:

'The president's net approval rating is -18%,
down 1.3 points since last week'.

I believe that's the lowest since...well, for ever. So what descriptive would you use to preface '....unpopular' if not 'objectively' (although the fact that he is unpopular is an objective fact)

Drastically? Overwhelmingly? Incredibly?

Me, I'd go 'Undeniably', but it's your call.

The pre-Reformation Hail Mary in the Latin West was similar to the Orthodox version, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you...". "Pray for us sinners" was added after the Reformation.

Landon Caeli said:

The Amazon layoffs are targeting corporate employees only, and it's because theyre being replaced by generative AI, not because of lack of sales, or the economy.

You can't blame Trump for technological advances.

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Yes, and that is even worse than layoffs because of low demand. The reason being is that those folks are unlikely to ever get called back. While Amazon and lots of tech investment is good at the macro level, it is not going to a large segment of the economy and the productivity gains are going to the few at the top and their investors. Sure some have small piece of Amazon stock, but nothing like those at the top. I do not begrudge them, but I that is the reality of all Ai.

stevevw said:

There has been ongoing debate about who is the best guitarist with the likes of Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan ect. Who do you think is the greatest guitarist. I think all the above are great each in their own way.

But I am also interested in other guitarist not as well known who may even be better. Even Youtubers or buskers. Whoever. I love the guitar and not just lead but also rythm, bass and all sorts of stringed instruments. The Banjo is great as well.

In recent years I came across Derek Trucks. He is actually the nephew of the late Butch Trucks, drummer for the Allman Brothers. So he grew up around the band and that era of blues and rock guitarist.

Derek plays the slide guitar which I love and think of Gilmor in classic songs like the Great Gig in the Sky. Its great because not only is the note played but all sorts of notes inbetween are bent into each other. Its almost like a violin and yet he still comes back to classic blues rock guitar.

Enjoy.

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Check out Guthrie Govan! Login to view embedded media

essentialsaltes said:

Unless you can document that 'they' claimed H. sapiens was among them, this is irrelevant to your initial claim.

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James Hansen predicted that burning all existing fossil fuels "would make most of the planet uninhabitable by humans"... I know most of the planet is not all the planet, so I guess Gates built kind of a strawman, but even then, sources say we've already burned half of earth's supply, and all we've seen so far are a couple tennis court size islands go underwater.

Tropical Wilds said:

I have linked numerous sources that show he is objectively unpopular. You said I only think that because of the circle I run in (despite you knowing nothing about the circle I run in). You say he is popular, and you know him to be because the people you talk to like him.

Sounds like to me the person who’s basing their opinion on their circle is you, not me.

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Considering I post on CF, kind of hard to justify the latter claim. As to the former, assuming the cited polls are even partially accurate, they, too, show that Trump isn't objectively unpopular, only that a percentage of the US population dislike him. Even then, the existence of a single person who likes Trump would be sufficient to show the fallacy of objectively unpopular. Just as, if I claimed Trump was objectively popular, your own dislike of Trump would be enough to show the fallacy of objective popularity.

What we have is the situation that we always have: Some like a person; some don't. We can argue about polls and percentages all day long, yet it remains more than a few do like Trump. A tacit admission of this can be found right here on CF whenever something bad happens in a red state and someone invariably chortles that they got what they voted for.

Like it or not, Trump isn't objectively unpopular. Neither is he objectively popular. That's the way of things. And neither claim of unpopularity or popularity has much to do with remodeling the White House.

jacks said:

Well as long as we are speculating...

Trump could divorce Melania, marry Elon Musk; (thus gaining Canadian citizenship) and become Prime Minister of Canada.

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And then join the US. Sounds like a plan!

I think that Al Dimeola is perhaps the greatest guitarist. I once saw him live and at the time he had a marimba player, Philippe Saisse? (After the Chick Corea era). Sometimes he would play in unison, and it was totally amazing. No Marimba but here is a sample. Look especially at the 4:45 mark. Login to view embedded media

Landon Caeli said:

Is it safe to say then, that the climate change emergency, was science fiction?

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No. Because someone you appear to trust said:

'“...climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries...'

And said it in the very article to which you linked. But hey, the consequences to you might not be so serious, so if you're ok and it's only going to affect all those poor people then what's the problem?

As a Catholic of English descent, I am fascinated by this! My great-great grandparents came from England and were Catholic, even though many ancestors of mine in England were Anglican.

9Rock9 said:

So, I want to explore political philosophy and how it relates to Christianity.

Ideally, our faith should inform our politics, but not the other way around. Yet, this unfortunately not the case in reality. I don't intend to turn this into a finger pointing game between the left and the right, I just want to explore options here.

Should the government enact policies that reflect Christian policies?

One could argue yes, since a Christian government could provide a moral foundation for an otherwise secular society and arguably improves everyone's lives. On the other hand, one can say that the government would just bastardize Christianity and use it as a weapon for social control.

What about libertarianism? The Bible says to help the poor and needy. Yet, does that mean we should petition the government to do it, or is charity a personal responsibility for us as Christians, and thus we should not outsource it to the state?

Should there be a government? There are verses that seem to advocate for submitting to earthly authorities. Then again, many of these earthly authorities have, and sometimes still do, put innocent people to death. It can also be argued that the government has a monopoly on force and violence.

What are your thoughts?

I'm personally undecided, but that's why I made this thread. I want to see what others think to help me find out where I stand.

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Jesus Christ of Nazareth and His Gospel do not teach earthly governance because His Kingdom is not of this world. This decisively separates the Gospel—a message of salvation, spiritual transformation, and heavenly citizenship—from temporal political goals and nationalist movements. Jesus consistently refused to become an earthly king, resisted popular attempts to turn His ministry into a political revolt against Rome, and taught that His followers’ primary allegiance and focus must remain on the Kingdom of God, not on the kingdoms of men. Therefore, the core of Christ's teaching dictates a separation, meaning the Gospel should not be diluted or compromised by entanglement with human politics.
Blessings

Michie said:

It used to bother me. I think mostly because I’m a convert from Protestant Christianity and used to be horrified by a lot of it. Now? Not so much. It’s easy enough to find the truth of the matter but most do not. It’s their schtick and they got to stick to it I guess.

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Absolutely!

Sorry I don't post more often here. My introvertness extends to my online activities as well. The begining of this year was a huge fall for me, due to struggles in mental health, with home life and my church life. I shared before I ended up leaving my home church. I had guilt in doing so, thinking I had betrayed my brethren there. God had then reminded me about my prayers late last year, how I asked Him to remove me, if I was not suitable for the roles I had taken on, some of which was in a form of pastoral roles. My main issue came with how the elders where limiting God from working within the church. I had become aware they lacked much faith in God, especially when I would be given a chance to show how God was willing to use the church to reach out to thousands of people who went by the church each day.

I haven't rescinded my membership yet, so I get the weekly newsletter still. On Friday, I decided to take a look if they had found a new senior pastor finally, as it has been several years they've had one. I saw they had not. Then as I looked at the board of elders, I noticed there was a change. One of the new elders is a recent member in the recent years, who helped me with the live stream service once a month. There are things I had noticed about him, which I brought up to my friend, who is the music director. I recall clearly, my friend saying this person wasn't suited to be in a spiritual role for the church. I had originally thought about becoming an elder myself last year. I saw this as a clear sign, as my old church rejecting God's direction, especially His wisdom. I feel I'm at peace now, for leaving this church behind. I'm still seeking God for healing, and seeing where He wants me to serve with the gifts He has revealed to me last year.

That's....interesting....considering how inclusive the Episcopal Church has been for decades.

Odd.

Great actor! May God bless him abundantly!