ralliann said:

If they were tribes, why didn't they continue?

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Because Assyria conquered them and was very thorough in their occupation.

Fervent said:

You do realize Samaria was the capital of Israel(the northern nation), do you not? The Samaritans lost their ability to identify specific tribes because they were thoroughly occupied by Assyria for hundreds of years but they remained the descendents of the 10 tribes that made up Israel(the northern kingdom) which had Samaria as its capital.

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If they were tribes, why didn't they continue?

Larniavc said:

Evidence please. That simple does not stand to reason.

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Yah, cuz yanno all those Europeans are so much fatter and lazier than us 'muricans.

Jerry N. said:

“This idea of AI worship is gaining traction. People are creating AI bots to represent deities from various faiths, including Jesus, Buddha, and Hindu gods. These AI versions can chat with followers and offer guidance. It’s a modern take on age-old religious practices.”

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That sounds a lot like another sea story.

The net-net there is that an AI idol is, in the end, just another idol. Worship of it is essentially no different then worship of any other idol. Stone idols speak through their human devotees, AIs speak through a speaker. What's the dfiference?

I find it interesting that people refer to AI having been "trained" to do this and that, as though it was a person being taught something. It's still a matter of anthropomorphizing software. It's right up there with "the AI thinks" something rather than having been designed and written to behave in specific ways in specific circumstances.

You have to remember, an AI is program code running on a computer, end of. It doesn't "want", it doesn't "believe", it doesn't like or dislike. It has no more "opinions" than the "smart" fridge you bought at Lowes. It isn't self-aware, and never will be. Skynet, HAL 9000. Lt. Data, Colossus, C3PO, et al have as little to do with reality as the Tin Woodman of Oz. Techno-paganism is still paganism.

public hermit said:

It's a matter of changing culture, which is no small thing, I admit. What do the rich love almost as much as their money and things? They love how they appear. They get dressed up and get together and make appearances. If being generous is valued in that culture, that's good. And it's not an impossible shift in attitude. We already see some very wealthy people speaking in favor of paying more in taxes. Amazingly, it's those without wealth who help the most to keep it from happening. At any rate, I don't think we should underestimate the practical value of vanity.

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I suppose that might push things in the right direction, but I fear that would only lead to token acceptance and more likely lead to income tax raises that land more on small business owners than the billionare caste.

The Barbarian said:

I don't disagree with what you said; I was emphasizing the difference between evolution as observed fact and evolution as a theory that explains it.

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Ah, okay. Thought that I was wrong on something and was prepared to be taught something new.

ralliann said:

You don't "lose" it. Samaritans never had tribal identity. They are SAMARITANS. The twelve tribes each were given a portion of inheritance, from their fathers. The twelve patriarchs.. Either you are an heir or you are not. The entire nation enjoys the fulness of the blessing together benefitting from the blessings of each tribe together.

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You do realize Samaria was the capital of Israel(the northern nation), do you not? The Samaritans lost their ability to identify specific tribes because they were thoroughly occupied by Assyria for hundreds of years but they remained the descendents of the 10 tribes that made up Israel(the northern kingdom) which had Samaria as its capital.

The Liturgist said:

I believe the reasons why the Mormons and J/Ws do door to door proselytization is because it is ineffective most of the time in our current culture, and inculcates an us vs. them mentality.

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And they prey on the lonely and disenfranchised. The people who lived in my house before me let them visit. They were a brother and 2 sisters who never left the house. Probably lonely and out of the loop. They've been dead for 20 years and the JW's still come by to try to talk to them. (They must be on some list.)

Vambram said:

Because it was a really unnecessary tax that Canada was placing on American businesses.

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Why should you care if Canada places a tax on Amazon or Microsoft? Seriously.

And how is that different from the tariffs that the US has placed on every other country on the planet?

Fervent said:

They may have lost their tribal identities due to the Assyrian occupation, but that doesn't alter the fact that Israel is more than just the tribes of Judah and Benjamin that make up the Jews. Ephraim and Mannasseh are just as much Israelites as Judah and Benjamin regardless of 1st century bigotry among the Jews.

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You don't "lose" it. Samaritans never had tribal identity. They are SAMARITANS. The twelve tribes each were given a portion of inheritance, from their fathers. The twelve patriarchs.. Either you are an heir or you are not. The entire nation enjoys the fulness of the blessing together benefitting from the blessings of each tribe together.

Job 33:6 said:

What does it even mean to be formless?

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The earth without form would have not topography.
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces.

Google AI: If Earth were a perfectly smooth sphere, with no topography, it would be entirely covered by a global ocean of consistent depth.

We know the earth was covered by water and it was without form...its safe and logical that without form is referring to topography.
Later the water is gathered together and dry land appears - adding topography would do that...and now the earth has form.

What I am saying is not rocket science....and clearly explains what is happening. I'm not reading much into this.

@JohnClay, is this subforum for debating Christian Theology, or addressing non-Christian Seekers asking questions about those aspects of the Christian faith which seem hard to understand or accept?
You'd better take reign of the thread, before it runs "Helter Skelter" into a never ending theological 'boxing match' about the Ten Commandments.

ralliann said:

Just don't announce a strike before you do it.

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Not even in chat groups?

ralliann said:

They have no tribal affiliation. They are not named on the breastplate of Judgment of the high priest. The representative agent whereby the appear before God. They beget Samarian children. They are not heirs within a tribe.
Ezek 47:22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

Daughters that become heirs keep with the tribe of their fathers in marriage

2 And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

4 And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

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They may have lost their tribal identities due to the Assyrian occupation, but that doesn't alter the fact that Israel is more than just the tribes of Judah and Benjamin that make up the Jews. Ephraim and Mannasseh are just as much Israelites as Judah and Benjamin regardless of 1st century bigotry among the Jews.

Nithavela said:

Why even maintain something you can't trust?

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Just don't announce a strike before you do it. Many presidents have done this stikes.

Warden_of_the_Storm said:

Do correct me on where I go wrong, but I honestly can't see the distinction between that and what I said.

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I don't disagree with what you said; I was emphasizing the difference between evolution as observed fact and evolution as a theory that explains it.

Valletta said:

Congressman calls on Noem, Dr. Oz with plan to 'swiftly remove' 1.4 million illegal migrants on Medicaid

Texas Congressman Wesley Hunt told Fox News Digital he is calling on Noem and Dr. Oz to establish a task force to remove 1.4 million illegal migrants receiving Medicaid.

www.foxnews.com

California in particular has a lot of illegals on Medicaid.

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Good ! This is theft of senior citizens, which paid into this. They are handing it out, to young persons male female alike that are able bodied. They have stolen FEMA money, to help American citizens with disaster relief.

ralliann said:

No. It is acknowledging the congress cannot be trusted.

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Why even maintain something you can't trust?

The Barbarian said:

A hypothesis is not a theory until it is repeatedly confirmed by subsequent evidence. Evolution, like gravity, is an observed phenomenon. There are theories that explain them.

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Do correct me on where I go wrong, but I honestly can't see the distinction between that and what I said.

JohnClay said:

Then there's this:
1 Samuel 18:25-27

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Dead men feel no pain.
Taking the foreskin of dead men, is like taking the sandals from their feet.
It was nothing, other than fulfilling a request which demonstrated that God was with him, and could deliver him, even from an army that would have been impossible to beat with just a few men.
David delivered double the amount to prove it.

JohnClay said:

I think the Bible is an interesting collection of very different things - like those insightful verses about circumcision after 8 days then what seems to be genocide in Deuteronomy 20:16-18 and vulgar parts like Ezekiel 23:20 (both of which I'm making a game about).

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Do you know why those "genocides" took place?
The Bible tells us what they were, and why God had them executed.
There were judgments, carried out to wipe out every trace of vile practices that could be spread, and every element that might raise its 'ugly' head in the future. Exodus 17:14-16; Deuteronomy 7:22-26; Deuteronomy 18:9-14; Deuteronomy 20:16-18

It's good the Bible gives us those "vulgar parts", since it's no different today, and we can learn from lessons of the past, without the need for personal, experience.
Here, God let's us know how he feels about prostitution, and the lust of the phallus.

One part of the Bible, I really like, that gives God's view, is Genesis 3:7, 21
So, when we see people in skimpy wear, we don't need to guess if we ought to follow suit.

JohnClay said:

I haven't read it cover to cover and still find new interesting things from time to time.

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I hope you do eventually read it cover to cover, but at the same time, I hope you do get help studying it, because, reading it through, and not understanding its messages, leaves us as if we haven't read it, even though we started from Genesis, and went through to Revelation.

JohnClay said:

I think it's good that people faithfully pass the Bible text down rather than removing the parts that seem problematic.

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I agree.
That's one very powerful proof of its authenticity.
I was reading a passage the other day... I don't remember it now, but I was thinking, Wow. If a religious people did this, they would not record it for everyone to read and see that they were really so disobedient... but it's all there.
Nothing was hidden/

So, there is the scientific and historical accuracy, the candor, the reliability, as seen in fulfilled prophecy, and the practicality, and there remains the criticism, of course.
However, millions of people who accept the Bible as divinely inspired, started out as critics of it.
That's the beauty of knowledge. It increases.

About circumcision, though, I was not aware of all the benefits mentioned by the CDC.
Highly intelligent people know that we grow in knowledge, and understanding, and over the years, so much has come to light that agrees with the Bible, and one would think that more people would consider taking up the Bible, with the consideration that God is.
In reality, though, human nature tend more toward pride than toward humility.
We humans are a work in progress. For this, I appreciate God's patience. 2 Peter 3:9

Not to swing off topic... I was wondering... are you using a game engine to make your game, or coding?

Fervent said:

Not Jews, but the Samaritans are the descendents of the 10 northern tribes of Israel and follow the Torah which is precisely why they were circumcised in the same manner as the Jews. Jewish bigotry in the 1st century doesn't change their heritage, nor does it make Israel entirely comprised of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin(the Jews).

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They have no tribal affiliation. They are not named on the breastplate of Judgment of the high priest. The representative agent whereby the appear before God. They beget Samarian children. They are not heirs within a tribe.
Ezek 47:22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

Daughters that become heirs keep with the tribe of their fathers in marriage

2 And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

4 And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.