That is love. You do love yourself you’re just not calling it that. All those ways of putting others first, that is love. You are humble. The Bible says don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought’ . Following that is love of God and love of others. You’re loving others while calling it thinking little of yourself. God loves you just the way you are. Be yourself. But don’t take this liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. Don’t be hard on yourself, don’t be angry and mistreat others. Be thankful you belong to God are loved so love one another. Put the scriptures into play. Kindness is love. You’ll win more friends by being kind than you will being grumpy.

tall73 said:

For man to be responsible he has to make choices. Does that mean that, however you see God's decree, that there is still room for people to choose something, thereby having accountability?

Certainly God planned the cross. God planned for Joseph to be in Egypt, both examples that you noted.

He also used the choices of sinful men, which they did not intend for good, to glorify Himself.

But is your view that they were determined to be evil to begin with?

To use an extreme example, if an assassin designed a robot programmed to kill anything that moved, and put it in position to take out his target, would the robot be responsible if it killed the target? Wouldn't the one who built the robot be responsible?

I don't think that Adam and Eve were programmed to sin. As you mentioned, I think they had the capacity to do so, but chose to sin.

In that respect they are responsible for their actions.

Since the fall things get a bit more complicated, due to sin now being in the world, and that gets into a whole other discussion of the nature of the fall, and post-fall anthropology.

But if Adam and Eve had a choice, then that means that God can still be sovereign,, yet allow for choice within the parameters He set.

If Adam and Eve had no choice, how are they any different than the robot? How can they have responsibility?

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Be wary of trickery that Calvinists typically engage in, such as defining "choice" not as a voluntary action but "selecting what you desire". Calvinism teaches that everything, including the fall, was God's intentional design to bring glory to Himself by "delivering" a lucky few from the horrors He designed for the unelect to endure based solely on His eternal design. When presented with verses like 2 Peter 3:9 and 1 Timothy 2:4 they suddenly attribute God two wills, thereby commanding what He would not have.

zoidar said:

That is if you believe this to be about individual salvation.

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Why wouldn't it though? Rom 9 specifically names two individuals, Jacob and Esau

enoob57 said:

View attachment 367554
I just thought everyone should see this ha ha… I rest my case… as you are without reason giving yes and no in the same instance… I really can’t reply to anything of this because it’s unreasonable!

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God, in His wisdom, can reconcile the fact of His soveriegnty with the ability to make man a morally accountable being. So it's not either/or but both/and, with man's participation required. The church came to the understanding that God, existing in eternity and in His omniscience, knows our choices beforehand and uses them for His purposes, without predetermining them. He certainly predestines none to hell.

Guojing said:

I actually asked you a very simple question, "Who were the beast and the false prophet at AD 70?"

If you don't know or don't wish to answer, just say so.

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No, you asked if "I thought they are nobodies".. and you're going on the assumption I'm a full preterist, which I'm not. So, I don't claim "Everything" was fulfilled in 70AD. What I do claim, are the scriptures that speak of Who is the true Inheritor of the promises of Abraham, and it's verbatim Jesus. Would you agree with that?

Skipper80 said:

For example, if my car broke down as I was going to the coffee shop to get coffee, am I right in saying it was God's will for the car to break down?

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Yes.

Isaiah 45:5-7
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
besides me there is no god.
I arm you, though you do not know me, so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness,
I make weal and create woe;
I the Lord do all these things.

And, the end of the Book of Job also says that God is in control of creation and events, and that we do not, as humans, have the right to question his control or blame other humans for God’s sovereign decisions.

AaronClaricus said:

There's absolute dating and relative dating. Absolute dating is based on physics.

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Okay, so you believe that with this methodology you are gaining absolute knowledge about the age of the Earth. Good for you!

timothyu said:

Nonsense. Unless of course our self-interest which is another matter altogether, overlies God's will. Self is the culprit, not sex.

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Marriage is always in one's self interest, be it for relationships, for sex, for children, whatever. Why do you allow such a selfish expression of humanity to be practiced without condemnation when it is better to be reliant on God alone? Or do you think God isn't enough for any man or woman? Doesn't Saint Paul say it is better to marry? Doesn't Jesus say we should seek first the Kingdom of God? Is seeking our own pleasure in earthly things seeking the Kingdom? Clearly it isn't.

Do you actually see how your hypercritical standards of worldliness can apply to literally anything. Power is not the only worry in this world, there are all sorts of temptations and evils yet power is necessary especially in how we relate to other people. Yet you think it is somehow uniquely deserving of Christians avoiding because of what exactly? Because you misinterpret the bible?

timothyu said:

No, I told you we had a leader here that did that but did it right. His concept of personal gain was not for self but was that ALL have access to equal heath care and a decent retirement.

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Oh so there is a political order we can appeal to. Was this leader you admire a Christian?

timothyu said:

Already answered that.

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No you didn't but people of your persuasion never can because they are ashamed of the implication. That we apparently only exist as a serf class. If you disagree with this accusation then say you disagree with it. But to disagree with it is to suggest that Christians can be in positions of power, can be part of politics.

It took evolution 300 million years ago to cut off the production of Coal.
This first 4 minutes of this video goes into a lot more information into how coal was produced than I understood. The rest is a plea for money to plant trees.

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Fantine said:

Unbelievably, 48% of Hispanic voters supported Trump in the 2024 election.

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It's actually quite believable when you consider that they're overwhelmingly Catholic, and have views on some of the social issues that are not inline with the Democratic party.

Fantine said:

Months later, only 35% approve of him. While I am sorry that this dawning of awareness did not happen earlier, I understand it completely.

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Approval ratings and "who would you vote for if given these two choices" are two totally different things.

For instance, there are plenty of times when both candidates have approval ratings that are well below 50%, but in a two person race, somebody's gotta win...

Fantine said:

And what about the Cubans? They know what it was like to be a refugee fleeing communism. I wonder what they think about Trump's lies about the Haitian refugees--"they're eating the dogs!" I wonder what they think about refugee status being cancelled--when the refugees have no home to return to?

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Hispanic/Latino voters come from very different familial backgrounds, that will heavily influence how they feel about certain terms and economic ideas.

For instance, people whose families came from Central America or Chile probably are much more receptive left-leaning economic ideas and terms like "democratic socialism" due to having bad experiences with capitalism. However, immigrants from places like Cuba likely see the s-word (socialism -- in any context) as toxic due to their past experiences. 20-something White kids may associate the term with Denmark, but you ask a 50-something Cuban dude about that term, expect an earful lol.


Also, I'm not sure how many Americans you interact with from Mexican heritage... but in my experience, there's a special kind of resentment that exists among some of them who "did it through the proper channels" aimed at people who "skipped the line"

I've heard Mexican Americans make statements that were, for lack of a better term, the Mexican equivalent of the Chris Rock stand-up bit about ""<slur> vs. Black People.""

An AI story. Problem is, there are three different ways to do the first half, and I'm not happy with any of them.

Apple Sky said:

I'm not out to impress anyone, I just tell it as it is.

The vape video did it for me.

Witsit Vapes It - The Final Experiment Fakery Exposed!

Witsit Vapes It - The Final Experiment Fakery Exposed!

153news.net

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That was trivially debunked, but you don't watch the videos that debunk your sources, do you?

Trump is trying to hard to get rid of any possible involvement in the Epstein client list. His supporters didn't see nothing wrong with his locker rome talk. They didn't care about all the women, that accused him sexually assault and the list can go on. Why would his supporters care if he slept with underage trafficking victims. Which I believe it's supposed be against the law in the United States. I'm sure we will lose a lot of respect the famous people involved. Or not be surprised. Trump seems to be making people, more curious about the Epstein client list.

keras said:

How anyone could believe such nonsense, is unfathomable.

Revelation 12:14 & 17 tell us exactly where Gods Christian peoples will be during the 42 month time of the 'beast' in world control.
The Christians who kept the Covenant with God, as per Daniel 11:32, will be kept safe on a distant earth location.

Those who do violate the Covenant*, will have to face persecution and possible/probable martyrdom. But it will be them who Jesus will bring back to life and who will reign with Him. Revelation 20:4-5 The two Witnesses, Rev 11:1-13, are included with these people.

*Those Christians who agreed to a peace treaty; Daniel 9:27, with the leader of the secular peoples, instead of trusting in the Lords protection.

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And what you call nonsense is. written in 2 Thess 2;3 -4- 8.

dan p

d taylor said:

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​

Why would God tell someone something that is not supported by The Bible.

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Just because you say that it's not supported doesn't mean that it's not.

I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 16 : 19

Hank77 said:

OK, but if they are true, would the first count towards doing something very important and helpful to the people in her district? In the second case, would this count as fulfilling her responsibilities to a national effort?

Wiki usually sites work very well.

AOC doubled her fundraising total for Texas storm victims to $4 million, as she joined fellow lawmakers in Houston to continue relief efforts

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday said her fundraising effort for Texans suffering after winter storms doubled to $4 million.

www.businessinsider.com

​

YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

WATCH: Sen. Gillibrand, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez hold news conference on postal banking​

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Didn't realize that Texas was in her district. All politicians are going to want the spotlight. As far as the postal banking I doubt that her intention was to save money to poor rural people, who usually vote republican, rather than giving immigrants a free way to send money back home.

Gregory Thompson said:

Okay I think it's clearer in my mind now.

At first I thought it was about the trinity and the church. But that isn't it.

What I was reading was using the trinity as a reference to illustrate that all the Perfected personality traits of God are one in the same way the Trinity is one with no modalist or partialist language.

Quite often one would say, God is like this but saying He is like that is misguided though both characteristics are in the scripture and traditions of the church teachings.

Thanks for sharing, it was a good one to unpack.

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I still am unpacking. But I see the reference to the Trinity as the same soert tof mystery.

d taylor said:

-
​

Buy Mexican Coke

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Or, a lot of the common soda brands actually make a "Passover version" of their products (with the yellow lid), due to some sort of dietary restrictions Orthodox Jews have where they're not allowed to consume derivatives of grains that have come in contact with water during that holiday. (corn syrup checks that box) so the "Passover Coke" actually uses the real sugar.

Hi all,
as much as I disagree with almost everything about Trump with every fibre of my being, I personally doubt there could be anything devastating against him in the Epstein files simply because I'm sceptical about conspiracy theories - and feel human beings are too prone to leaking something THAT big!

Mind you - decades ago I was a Department of Community Services officer in the NSW government. I can tell you with some authority that sick, powerful men in a society do cluster together and form paedophile conspiracies. They form networks to enable their sick addictions.

Leaks like this can be kept quite by the same logic with which NATO have not nuked Russia - it's Mutually Assured Destruction. I don't have details on me, but have read departmental training material on various local cabals in NSW back in the day. The only stuff more disturbing? When this gets combined with "Ritual Abuse" - when it gets into Satanic stuff. Even us DOCS officers were not to attempt investigating THAT stuff - we would tell our managers who would escalate it to a special unit. (I like to think of them as a child welfare version of Mulder and Scully! Fortunately I never had a case like that. But the curiosity of this old X-Files fan does sometimes make me wish I knew more about that special unit. From a distance. I don't even know the unit's name!)

The thing that makes me sceptical about a cabal in Federal Administrations - especially under Trump - is the sheer scale - and the venomous energy of those he burns! Think about the vast number of public servants he has yelled "You're fired!" at like he's the star of his own reality TV show. I guess he still is? Unfortunately for us, it's called "The News!"

If any of the more bitter ex-staffers knew anything - surely it would have been leaked by now?

HOWEVER - having said all that - Trump is not helping himself!


QUIZ TIME: Trump has explained away the Epstein files by claiming:-
A: They're one of America's largest conspiracies - written by Obama and Hilary Clinton and Democrats and "Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration",

B: Then tried to blame the Democrats for NOT releasing the files THEY created!?,

C: In doing so contradicted US Attorney General Pam Bondi who says there ARE NO Epstein files (even though she had them on her desk in February),

D: Anyone who asks about Epstein all these years later is a bad person. (Even though he still can't stop lying and crying about the 2020 election 'being stolen' and a thousand other petty grievances he has with anyone ever who has ever opposed him or his policies.)

E: Said of his own MAGA base asking these questions - "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!"

F: ALL OF THE ABOVE!
30 seconds thinking time...
...
...
...
...
ANSWER:
The correct answer is E - all of the above!

Well done! You have demonstrated you have a grip on logical inconsistencies and self-contradiction. Just as his MAGA base are starting to discover!

This was his first ever "Truth Social" post to get MORE COMMENTS than likes - indicating the MAGA base want to question him more than adulate him. This is a new low with his OWN base - and now he is turning on his own base as 'weaklings'. Interesting times.

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JimR-OCDS said:

No, Isreal is the state of Jewish people, a nation of Israel.

Politics are part of every situation, even social clubs,.

Not so Israel.

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Israel existed as a nation even before they occupied the territory.

Israel existed as a nation even while they were in Babylonian captivity.

But Israel did not exist as a state during those times.

See the difference?

NxNW said:

They were spotted recently at a Coldplay concert.

View attachment 367552

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Now, now.

Careyap87 said:

Such lies.

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Plus Musk is originally from two other countries before becoming an American. There's a general bias against people like that.

I have tried AppBlock described at the website appblock.app. I'm using it on Android, but I found a technical way to bypass it. AppBlock is for setting time limits on apps. Since I can bypass it, I wasn't able to limit my texting well, and sometimes I have been turning my phone's power off and putting it in my desk drawer to limit my time on it better. Someone told me that Google Family Link may be more difficult to bypass, so I am wanting to research it, but it may require buying a second Android device to manage the restrictions on my own smartphone.

Fantine said:

I'm pretty sure the after 4 years of the 99% being left behind, the Left Behind policies of the far right, and their callous proponents, will be gone.

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As an independent I would still vote against the far left policies and a weak DNC candidate.

BTW- you can reply to me I don’t bite.