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MarkSB · 2025-10-08T19:20:27-0500

Valletta said:
The defense against the accusations in both cases is freedom of religion. How convenient is it to just exclude all talk of any defense. Contrary to your assertions, I am doing just the opposite, I am honing in on the defense. In my country a defense in court is supposed to be allowed. I understand in these days statues of Madison and Jefferson are not popular, but the Bill of Rights is a reality.

Again, you're not addressing the issue. You're trying to generalize and hide behind "freedom of religion", instead of examining the principles in the case at hand. Someone being forced to buy health insurance (which is sounds like wasn't the actual case for the Little Sisters of the Poor, but I'll play along) isn't the same as sending someone away to potentially die. And what really needs to be addressed is the contingent of Christians claiming that the latter is, without question, a morally superior action. That position wreaks of self-absorbed pride, haughtiness, and hypocrisy.

Aryeh Jay · 2025-10-08T19:17:44-0500

CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN said:
Okay. I thought he was doing it all the White House.

The White House belongs to President Trump.

bèlla · 2025-10-08T19:16:04-0500

Johnson, in shift, signals no vote during shutdown for military pay

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday signaled opposition to moving a stand-alone bill to pay military service members during a government shutdown, walking back his Tuesday statement saying he was open to holding such a vote.

If the shutdown drags on and Congress does not pass a bill to pay the troops or reopen the government, Oct. 15 will mark the first time in the modern times that service members missed a paycheck during a government shutdown. In previous shutdowns, Congress had either already funded the military or passed a measure to ensure troop pay.

Asked in a press conference Wednesday if he would move a bill by unanimous consent to pay the troops if the shutdown drags into next week — which would not require bringing back all House members to vote if there were no objections — Johnson signaled he would not.

~bella

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5545001-mike-johnson-military-pay-bill-shutdown/

bèlla · 2025-10-08T19:09:05-0500

They’re already in Chicago and arrived yesterday. Photos were captured.

~bella

RocksInMyHead · 2025-10-08T19:08:11-0500

Servus said:
Here's the interview posted by CNN. Seems either the clip in the OP is fake... or CNN is covering up.

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Yeah, CNN edited the clip and is playing it off as "technical difficulties." Kinda puts paid to the idea that CNN is left-wing propaganda, eh?

There's enough reporting on it from multiple sources and enough versions of the original floating around that I'm confident he actually said that.

RileyG · 2025-10-08T19:08:09-0500

johnnypapa said:
It's happening now, I think, pretty widespread.

It’s unfortunate, but not surprising, sadly.

RileyG · 2025-10-08T19:06:16-0500

seeking.IAM said:
The problem is conversion therapy is too often coercive. The desire for therapy is driven by others, not by the person receiving the so-called therapy. At its worst, it becomes an attempt at de-programming dressed up as a therapeutic service. Of course, the fact that its efficacy is not supported by outcomes is yet another problem. While the professional organizations and the vast majority of therapists are against it, it will be interesting to see what SCOTUS does as the country swings right.

It’s sort of like asking a straight person asking if they can force themselves to be attracted to the same sex. I won’t comment further, but it’s an interesting thought experiment.

bèlla · 2025-10-08T18:53:02-0500

There’s a significant shift underway concerning Israel globally and Americans have followed suit. In response, Netanyahu undertook a campaign to repair the damage by hiring social media influencers who produce pro-Israeli content. You can hear an overview of what occurred below and direct remarks from him in the second piece. He mentions the purchase of Tik-Tok as well.

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The second video is a clip of Debra Lea who attended the event and addresses him directly. The original was posted her feed and proceeded with the following headline:

I had the honor of asking Bibi Netanyahu about Charlie Kirk’s assassination & the potential loss of evangelical support for the state of Israel.

~bella

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Hentenza · 2025-10-08T18:52:01-0500

Guojing said:
Salvation has always been by faith. (Hebrews 11:6)

Salvation has not always been by faith alone (James 2:24, Matthew 24:13, Revelation 14:12)

You understand the difference between these 2 statements?

Interesting that you didn’t use Eph. 2:8-10 for your first example. Do you think James and Paul are in tension? Do you think their teachings conflict?

The answer is no. You are arguing osas (once saved always saved) not sola fide. We are saved by faith alone otherwise, you argue, we are saved by faith plus works. That is not biblical. Paul is teaching about justification while James is teaching about the life long process of sanctification. There are many levels of faith as depicted in the parable of the soils. Saving faith, seed fell on good soil, will do works naturally from salvation not for it. That is why Paul teaches that we are made a workmanship of Christ created in Jesus for good works. Other faith levels could mature to having saving faith which is what the writer of Hebrews is encouraging, from milk to meat. So James 2:24 and Eph 2:8-10 compliment each other. Salvation is by faith alone apart from works.

Going back to the parable of the soils, the lesser faith levels might or might not endure. These are the ones that the writer of Hebrews explains in chapter 6 that those that do not mature and fall away once enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift cannot be restored. Mathew touched on this also in the verse you posted.

Im not getting into a debate about osas in this thread.

eclipsenow · 2025-10-08T18:51:53-0500

Vambram said:
However, we can look for blame if the responses to those disasters are woefully inadequate.

Sure! Valid rejoinder!

Problem is - only MAGA affiliated sources seem to critique California's response.

SYSTEMS ECOLOGY
What I would need to see is someone writing from a systems-ecology framework, as bushfire management is incredibly complex and involves how fire interacts with the local species of flora and fauna. Indeed - too many 'hazard reduction burns' too fast can change the nature of the landscape to be MORE fire prone! (At least it did in the 1939 Black Friday bushfires in Victoria, Australia. Page 11: https://www.voltscommissar.net/docs/Leonard_Stretton-1939_Bush_Fires_Royal_Commission_Report.pdf )

WE WANT TO LIVE IN THE WRONG PLACE
Someone I’ve chatted with online knows this stuff. His name is Adjunct Associate Professor Phil Zylstra from Curtin University. In the following interview, he analyses the impact of Aussie planes flying over vast areas of bushland dropping fire starters in ‘hazard reduction burns’. He says “there is not yet any empirical evidence to that large areas of remote prescribed burning have had any effect on reducing house loss” and that the “window of opportunity to do prescribed burning is shrinking as the climate warms and the landscape dries.”

In other words - why do we think burning the guts out of the bush hundreds of kilometres into the wilderness is going to save any homes when there are no homes there to save? He makes the point obvious. There is only one way to live near the bush safely: bulldoze the bush to at least 500 meters away from any homes. That’s it! No government could ever afford to employ enough park rangers and buy enough fire trucks and water tankers to manage the orders of magnitude more burns it would take to do ALL the tiny little burns - delicately managed and supervised - right next to every home and village across the entire Australian bush!
Hazard reduction burns not a silver bullet: expert - ABC listen

I imagine with so many people, California's suburbs stretching across such a vast area near wilderness, and frequently suffering drought, approximates something like Australia's population spread across the bush.

bbbbbbb · 2025-10-08T18:46:36-0500

sense receptors

Vambram · 2025-10-08T18:35:01-0500

Hamas accepts Trump peace plan ending 2 years of war in Gaza, returning hostages

Hamas agrees to President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan that calls for release of all 48 hostages and complete Israeli withdrawal in exchange for Hamas disarmament.

www.foxnews.com

Dan Perez · 2025-10-08T18:31:28-0500

Aristarkos said:
No they're not.

Yes they will become one nation again as Eze. 37:22 clearly states: "And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all". This is clearly a prophesy about the millennium in the next aion, not in this aion.

When Paul wrote 1 Tim. he had no knowledge of the mystery of the body of Christ, it therefor says nothing of what you state above. Paul aims in 3:16 at the resurrection which was promised by God for aions, therefor not a mystery at all.

""Born of water and spirit" is an idiomatic expression for "born of spiritual water". It is the "living water" of which John speaks further on (John 4:10; 7:38, 39) which is set in contrast with material water, and is defined in these texts as being the "spirit" which those who believe in Him would receive. We have here the figure of speech called "hendiadys" (two for one) which expresses the same thing by two different words. The second word is really and adjective. Other examples: Mat.3:11, "with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (with a fiery spirit); Eph. 6:18 "with all prayer and supplication" (with suppliant prayers). John is not speaking about material things but of spiritual actions. The Prophets had already spoken of this water (e.g. Isa. 4:4; Eze. 36:25 — 27). The Lord was the source (Jer. 2:13; 17:13). We may note that in "born of water and spirit" there is no article, whereas in John 3:8 we read "born of the Spirit"; in the first case it is about the action of the Spirit, in the second case, about the Spirit Itself. The word "water" may indicate the Word of God (1 Cor. 4:15; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23; Eph. 5:26)." From The Way of Salvation by S.V.M. (To not invent the wheel again.)

Aristarkos

And you never read Rom 16:25. and 26 and you make me. AGOG. !!

dan. p

Hentenza · 2025-10-08T18:28:15-0500

Apple Sky said:
OK I repent, but this still doesn't stop my belief that no man has walked on the moon.

Lunar reflectors. They are there now. On the surface of the moon. It is a man made object. It was left on the moon by the lunar landings. They still use them today. Now what?

timothyu · 2025-10-08T18:26:32-0500

More like they are looking for a new messiah. Probably, in their zeal, it won't be long before they connect the execution to one millennia ago. But, just like the jews they look for a worldly messiah. Someday they'll get it right.

zippy2006 · 2025-10-08T18:26:21-0500

Bradskii said:
A: '...certain actions are intrinsically right or wrong, regardless of context, culture, or circumstances.'
B: Yet when I asked you if you'd given due regard to the context, you answered 'Yes'. You gave the specific context. Quote: 'She refused consent'.

Again, "without consent" it not a context in which rape is permissible. You are playing word games. The definition:

Oompa Loompa said:
Absolute morality is the ethical belief that certain actions are intrinsically right or wrong, regardless of context...

You are claiming, "The act of rape is not wrong in the context where it is consensual, therefore it is not absolute." This is clearly sophistry. The definition is saying that the moral absolutist thinks there are acts that are always wrong, including in every context. So if someone thinks an act such as rape is always wrong, including within every context, then they are a moral absolutist. That's what the definition says. :sigh:

Moral Absolutist: The act of rape is always wrong, and is therefore a moral absolute.
Bradskii: But it isn't wrong in the context where it is consensual, and therefore it is not absolutely wrong.
Moral Absolutist: When is rape consensual?
Bradskii: Never.
Moral Absolutist: Correct, and therefore "the case where rape is consensual" is not a case where rape is not wrong. Such a case does not even exist. The one who pretends it exists is being dishonest.

bèlla · 2025-10-08T18:22:51-0500

Sometimes the government surprises me.

The Department of Homeland Security has shared a montage of ICE raids alongside clips and music from the Pokemon theme song, as the Trump administration continues to ramp up its hardline stance on immigration. In the compilation of footage, which was posted on Monday (22 September), enforcement agents can be seen arresting individuals, whilst clips of the popular anime show are interspersed throughout. The one-minute video, captioned with “Gotta Catch ‘em All!”, ends with Pokemon cards showing the people arrested and their alleged crimes.

~bella

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Tuur · 2025-10-08T18:20:53-0500

Ophiolite said:
And if that ever happens, demonstrably and not via hearsay, I shall certainly sit up.

I take you at your word. And yet we have eyewitness accounts that some will not accept it. Even those who witness such may not.

boughtwithaprice · 2025-10-08T18:18:13-0500

David Lamb said:
I didn't say that God needed sin, or depends on it or is powerless against it (sorry if my post was unclear). But He certainly did not need a sinless mother to bear His sinless Son. You seem to be saying that Mary being sinless shows God's power. But Jesus Christ being conceived and born sinless shows it, and is far more in agreement with what we find in God's word, where we are not told anywhere that Mary was sinless.

That is your interpretation, not scripture.

I showed you in Genesis that she is the enemy of Satan

The Hebrew word for "enmity" in Genesis 3:15 is <e>אֵיבָה</e> (pronounced ey-bah or eivah). This noun denotes a profound, deeply rooted hostility, conflict, or an enduring negative attitude, not merely dislike or temporary disagreement. In Genesis 3:15, God establishes a fundamental enmity between the serpent and the woman, which is understood as the beginning of a long-term spiritual conflict between good and evil.

If Mary is evil aka a sinner, she cannot be in conflict with evil, if she is susceptible to it. When we sin, we are deceived into thinking sin will bring us good, even though it is a lie. Mary, being the enemy of Satan, knows that sin brings no good. She is not deceived, and chooses the good in subjecting herself to God.

We read in Canticles(song of Solomon) that she is the perfect one. The daughters saw her and declared her most blessed.

In Luke we read that she is the Kecharitomene, which carries connotations of loved before hand.
We know she was in the mind of God immediately after the fall of Adam and Eve, because God told it to them.

In Luke we also read that her soul magnifies the Lord. Does sin magnify the Lord? Scripture does not say that. If she was in the mind of God in the Garden of Eden, it is reasonable to conclude, that God being God and all knowing, that He had her in mind before the creation of the world. We read in Proverbs 8, that wisdom, who played before God, is depicted as a woman.
Song of Solomon describes the great love God has for her.

If God left her a sinner, then why did she need to be a virgin? If Christ could break forth from sin, why could he not be born of a naturally married woman?

The sign of her virtue is that she never exalted herself. She proclaims her low estate and declares everything she has comes from God. She says her soul magnifies the Lord, and all generations will call her blessed. Her last words in scripture were , Do whatever He tells you

There is scripture upon scripture that shows us to humble ourselves as little children and thank God that He fulfilled His promise to send the woman, the promised enemy of Satan, to become her seed and to redeem us with His own blood

To say that she is a sinner like the rest of us in league with Satan, brings dishonor to God by saying He is powerless to bring us Satan’s enemy

Marilyn C · 2025-10-08T18:17:22-0500

Hvizsgyak said:
Many, many points here to contend with on this one. As almost every Christian knows, when Jesus returns, He will do it in the same way as He ascended to Heaven (so the angels said) (They said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” ACTS 1:11).

We are also told that many will come pretending to be Jesus. What if these false Jesus' arrive the same way Jesus said He would return? How would we know the difference. Yes, maybe after a while we would start to see the falseness in those impersonators but at first, we may not.

And now that I put "the false Jesus appearing the same way the real Jesus is suppose to arrive" into your head, what happens if the real Jesus arrives but we are too cautious to recognize Him afraid we might get duped.

You are referring to when Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives. (Zech. 14: 4) And the two men at the ascension said that Jesus would return that way. The disciples had just asked about Jesus` kingdom rule through Israel. That is what it refers to.

As to the Body of Christ we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. (1 Thess. 4: 17)

`Beloved, now we are children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.` (1 John 3: 2)

joechristianwarrior · 2025-10-08T18:17:06-0500

Many people talk about "social justice" as if it's separate from Christian faith, or even opposed to it. And yet the Gospels constantly show Jesus standing up for the oppressed, calling out hypocrisy, etc. In fact, if Jesus were alive today, I wonder if His ministry would be labeled under the "social justice" branch?

I recently made a short video exploring what all this means for us today, and especially looking at the concept of Judgment, and how it relates to justice: Login to view embedded media

Do you think modern Christianity has lost touch with Jesus' idea of justice? Love to hear your thoughts!

d taylor · 2025-10-08T18:13:22-0500

-

Eternal Life is what is receive at the very moment a person believes in Jesus for Eternal Life.

Now why most people will say they can lose their salvation (Eternal Life), is because they are not believing in Jesus, but are believing in actions they are doing. Which is why they say salvation is something received in the future. Which is accompanied with a final judgment of their life.

But that is not what God is promising people who believe in Jesus for Eternal Life. This verse from The Bible states God's promise to the believer in Jesus for Eternal Life. Which is a pernamnet everlasting promise.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

fhansen · 2025-10-08T18:11:23-0500

Dan1988 said:
This verse confirms that salvation is a divine gift, but many think that they conjured up their own faith before they heard the gospel. So according to their interpretation of the gospel, salvation is achieved by combining Gods grace with their own faith. I take it you also believe that interpretation.

Man can't save himself, but he can refuse to be saved. This is at God's discretion, for our highest good. Man can respond to grace, to God, or not, or respond today and later turn back away.

The gospel is simple. We don't call Him but if we answer when He calls, we become His people, connected to the Vine, and He puts His law in our minds and writes it on our hearts. If we remain in Him, John 15:5, we will produce much good fruit-and that fruit, in fact, is the best evidence that we're one of His.

So, the nearer we draw to Him, the nearer He draws to us and the more like Him we become- the more we begin to love as He does to put it best. And that love is the true mark of our sonship as well as our justice/righteousness; it's the law fulfilled in us, and the authentic motivator for the fruit that separates the sheep from the goats. It's our purpose, the reason we were created. And that's our salvation, not just escaping the fires of hell but becoming something great and noble that God has had in mind for man since the beginning.

You've simply taken texts that were made for exhortation and encouragement, and that will certainly end up pertaining to some who've heard them, and understood them in a wooden, fundamentalist black or white manner and as applying specifically to yourself, and infallibly so, while ignoring any warnings and admonishments that are also in scripture.. And while believers can certainly have a strong level of assurance, supported by the presence of that aforementioned fruit, and while God is infinitely trustworthy and true, no one can predict whether or not they will end up as good soil with some kind of perfect and infallible, absolutely certainty. That has never been part of the Christian faith.

Paidiske · 2025-10-08T18:08:10-0500

Larniavc said:
Yeah but some people in this very thread appear to want to keep having to pay much more than other countries for comparable results.

Bluntly, not even comparable, often worse. Your life expectancy, rates of death from preventable or treatable conditions, maternal and infant mortality, and more, are all worse than ours. You pay more, get less value for what you pay, and still have much of your population arguing against change that would improve things. It makes no sense!

Note: I'm not saying our system is perfect. It definitely also has room to improve. But even so, the numbers speak for themselves.

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