In the "My very own conspiracy theory" department, today saw a sign at a defunct private store, and it has the very same shape and size ratio sign as the Cracker Barrel "new" logo. It was blue on a white background, the font was more distinctive than the one on the "new" Cracker Barrel logo and filled the space from one side to the other. A small image in line with what the store was selling was in the triangle part above. The only unused space was the triangle part in the bottom, and with the larger font that was smaller than in the Cracker Barrel sign. That implied the Cracker Barrel sign used a border in some graphics package, almost like in those old sign and banner programs.

So I have to ask again, was that "new" logo for real?

This seems to depend upon what you count. Here's a nifty site that lets you choose which set of crimes to track: Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Mid-Year 2025 Update - Council on Criminal Justice. It's weird how much they differ. Of course almos all mayors of the largest cities are Democrats. Party affiliation of the mayors of the 100 largest cities

joymercy said:

People do respond well, when they are given love

I think that we especially need to listen and to listen well with all humility

Attending services is not enough if you do not let people know that you love and care about them

Reflection on ourselves and our lives as faithful Christians can help to show us how and where we need to step up

Click to expand...

This post is not directed at you Joymercy, it is just a post to make people reflect.

The question could be asked: How do we show true love?
Is love simply doing good deeds and being a friend? Certainly, kindness and friendship can reflect love. But when it comes to eternity, there is an even greater way to love: by addressing sin directly, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Jesus Himself is our example. To the Samaritan woman, He said, “Go, call your husband”, knowing she had many and was living in adultery. To the rich young ruler, who declared his willingness to follow, He replied, “Sell everything you have”, exposing his love of money. To the self-righteous Pharisees, who claimed Abraham as their father, Jesus declared, “You are of your father the devil”, revealing their slavery to sin.
Jesus consistently confronted sin. Why? Because He loved people and did not want them to perish.
Yet, He also warned that such love would not always be well received. He said the world hated Him because He testified that its deeds were evil. If we follow His example, the world will hate us too.
But still, we are called to love our neighbour. And true love sometimes means “pushing the hot button”: showing people their sin, even at our own expense.

BelieveItOarKnot said:

Matt. 4:4, Luke 4:4, Deut. 8:3

Click to expand...

And there is. the "

# 1 There the Gospel of Matthew

# 2 The Gospel of. Mark

# 3. Gospel of Luke

# 4 Gospel of. John

# 5. God's Gospel in Rom 1:1

# 6 The. Everlasting Gospel in the Revelation

# 7 GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD

# 8 THE GOSPEL OF YOUR SALVATION Eph 1:13

dan p

Unqualified said:

The devil is an imposter.

Click to expand...

And a fraud.

From here: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/27/us/alligator-alcatraz-closing

'In a message sent to South Florida Rabbi Mario Rojzman on Aug. 22 related to providing chaplaincy services at the facility, Florida Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie said “we are probably going to be down to 0 individuals within a few days,” implying there would soon be no need for the services.'

essentialsaltes said:

Senate committee leaders ask RFK Jr. to testify on HHS overhaul​

The HELP Committee’s top Republican is describing his invitation to the HHS secretary as routine amid mass layoffs at the agency.

[GOP Sen] Cassidy received a number of assurances from Kennedy as a condition of voting in favor of his confirmation, including that he would not dismantle the nation’s vaccine safety systems or take down government vaccine guidance. But Cassidy quickly put out a statement Tuesday clarifying that he isn’t necessarily seeking to haul Kennedy to testify in front of his committee now because he suspects bad intent.

Click to expand...

Just like Supreme Court candidates assuring senators that Rowe v Wade was established law. Unfortunately people lie in these hearings. In both cases we could tell from their record that it was unlikely that they were telling the truth. The Senators involved surely knew that.

Maria Billingsley said:

Well I guess if one chooses not believe the most informed, "Doctors Without Boarders ", then there is no need to continue to convince.

FYI

MSF staff and patients are wasting away as mass starvation spreads across Gaza

More than 100 organizations are sounding the alarm and demanding the entry and distribution of lifesaving aid.

www.doctorswithoutborders.org

“Children tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food.”

Click to expand...

The UN used to run 400 food aid points with multiple crossings into GAZA.
Israel scaled that back to 4 - and then shoot civilians and women and teenagers and children who dare 'crowd' at these places!

THEN doctors without borders noticed the Israeli 'accidental crowd control collateral damage' shootings were coordinated! One day it was headshots, the next day belly shots, the next day groin shots on the men. Doctors without borders basically said they were gamifying the killings - and using the civilians for target practice.

keras said:

The Christian Body of Christ are the Israelites of God, the Overcomers for Him. No one changes their ethnicity.

Your insistence on a Jewish Israel, shows your support of the 'rapture to heaven' false theory. You fail to see the many verses which tell of the virtual demise of Jewish Israel, Luke 19:27, and only a remnant will survive. Romans 9:27

Click to expand...

And there is NO , Greek word called RAPTURE in. the Greek text , unless that you know where one is inbthe KJV. ??

dan p

Now that we have established that homosexuality is considered a sin, let’s take a look at the Lord’s wrath being poured out because of this abomination. Let us direct our attention to Genesis 18:17.

And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; (Genesis 18:17)

Why did the Lord stop to talk to Abraham? Make a special notation of the next few scriptures.

Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (Genesis 18:18-19)

The statement offered above gives us the explanation of why the Lord stopped to talk to Abraham. The reason is this, “that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” Brothers and sisters if we do justice and judge righteously the Lord will also reveal His secrets to us. If we keep the commandments then we will be able to do justice.

Let’s continue:

And the LORD said, “Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.” (Genesis 18:20-21)

Sisters and brothers, note what the verse says, “their sin is very grievous.” What is sin? Sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4). This indicates to us that the law was around long before the Prophet Moses came into the picture.

Let’s continue:

And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes: Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake. And he said unto him, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. (Genesis 18:22-33)

Abraham was pretty bold don’t you think? Let’s go right into the 19th chapter and see this grievous sin that was being committed.

And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: (Genesis 19:1-4)

Abraham could have asked the Lord if there was one righteous. Notice the verse states, “people from every quarter.” We see that there were none considered righteous and all were worthy of death.

And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. (Genesis 19:5-8)

Lot offered his virgin daughters to these sodomites? That’s deep! Let’s see what happen next.

And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. Genesis 19:10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. (Genesis 19:9-11)

Note what the verse says, “they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.” They still made an attempt to break the door down to sodomize Lot and the two angels, after they were blinded. This is an example of James 1:14, where it states, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” By the way brothers and sisters, if an individual commits any sin continually, after they have been informed or have the knowledge that it is sin; the Lord may kill an individual with the first death, which Adam past onto us all. And after that He may wake up the same individual in the second resurrection and will have an angel throw them into the lake of fire. So, we see that the men of Sodom were involved in homosexual activity. Let’s see this death that was brought about by the Lord because of sin. Let’s skip down to the 24th verse.

Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. (Genesis 19:24-25)

The Lord destroyed all the inhabitants of the city and all the plain, nothing escaped but Lot and his two daughters. Why? Because of sin, which brings about death?

essentialsaltes said:

Big League Brother is Watching.

Click to expand...

One of the drawbacks of not reading.

The Barbarian said:

I wonder if he actually realizes the impression this is making on normal American federal workers.

Click to expand...

He should have waited until after he implemented a maximum IQ to work for the federal government.

joymercy said:

Yes

Click to expand...

I think there will be more people in hell than heaven, based on what our Blessed Lord said.

An apostolate rooted in an ancient Church tradition is training Catholic men today to protect parishes and parishioners.

Do Catholic churches need to provide more security?

That question is on many minds in the aftermath of a mass shooting of schoolchildren during a Mass at a parish church in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

One group in Arizona has been training Catholic men to provide security for their parishes for about five years.

“Unfortunately, today is an example of why it’s needed,” said Brian Eaton, the founder of Porters of St. Joseph, an apostolate of volunteer men who, according to its website, seek “to imitate St. Joseph as the Protector of the Holy Church, Pillar of Families, and Terror of Demons.”

“We don’t live in the world that I grew up in. That world has gone away. The Church is always changing and adapting to the challenges, spiritually and physically, in any moment in time,” Eaton told the Register in a telephone interview on Wednesday.

Eaton, 45, a police officer in Arizona, said he was surprised when he entered the Catholic Church in June 2020 how little security he saw.

Continued below.

Viki_rrr said:

Hello, my name is Victoria. I grew up in a country with secular views, but the most widespread religion here is Islam. My family are not very devout Christians; since childhood I went to church, was baptized in Orthodoxy, but I could not call myself truly faithful. Until I came of age, I lived, in some sense, a rather reckless lifestyle: I got acquainted with alcohol and cigarettes early on. At the age of eighteen, I began to take an interest in Christianity, and to be honest, that was the worst year of my life. I started thinking more about religion, and this gradually helped me come out of a crisis. Of course, I read the Bible, prayed, but honestly, I am sure that my knowledge is not well-structured, and I would like to hear your advice: where is the best place for me to start?

Click to expand...

Nice to meet you Victoria.
Welcome to the forums.

The best place to start, is where you did - reading the Bible, and prayer.
I remember a song they sung at Sunday School... "Read your Bible, Pray every day... Pray every day... Pray every day. Read your Bible, Pray every day... and you;'' grow grow grow..." Or was it, "And the good Lord will bless you"? I forgot.

Of course, as little ones, we did not have a clue what exactly that meant, as we just enjoyed singing, but now that I am grown, I realize how true those words are, and what they really mean.

Keep reading the Bible, and praying every day for the Lord to help you come to really know him, and he will provide you the means to do so.
Have a good time.

Aldebaran said:

Post #60
That's where you said you have "repeatedly" referred to the the assault as a crime.
Therefore, my "accusation" that you admitted that it actually was a crime is not a false one. You posted to that fact yourself. I'm not sure what the problem is here.

Click to expand...

It's the framing of it. By saying "admit" you are implying a previous "denial" which is disingenuous, at best.

Aaron112 said:

They are/were human.

Many octogenarians don't understand much if anything from the Bible.

Click to expand...

I don't think you should limit your comment to octogenarians. The reasons for the decline in octogenarians involve several issues.
Mobility issues, hearing problems, vision issues, and not feeling welcome. I won't be in your group a year from now; I'll be 90. I am unable to attend church more than once or twice a month, but I spend 2-6 hours a day compiling the New Life Christian Bible. This should be ideal for reading and studying. Scripture is the New Testament of the American Standard Version; a newer version of the American Version would have been better, but the original American Standard Version is in the Public Domain. Chapter and verse numbers are being replaced with outlines from Biblehub.com. The placing of chapter and verse numbers leaves much to be desired.

I find it appalling that some egalitarian Christians support homosexuality. What part of "do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman" did they not understand? (Leviticus 18:22)

One might assume that the soul would be a more controversial topic than the body in Catholic teaching, given that it is invisible and hard to imagine.

Nevertheless, when St. Paul was preaching to the Athenians, their main objection came after he revealed the doctrine that we would all rise again — with our bodies!

Now, what causes us daily griefs? Physical ailments, being tired, needing to hydrate, needing to go to the bathroom when we are busy, weight gain — do we want this mortal coil forever? Yet it is an article of our faith that we were made bodily and, after a brief separation, our souls will be reunited with our beloved bodies forever.

A love-hate relationship​

As with many things in a culture that has been formed by Christianity but has lost the fuller, integrated sense of it, we are constantly bouncing back and forth between an inordinate love of our bodies and the other extreme of hating them. The former causes the latter.

You can’t hate something you don’t first love, and our image-saturated culture loves to show us bodies. Many of our readers can surely sympathize; my body doesn’t look Instagram-ready all the time.

For the body-obsessed, countless hours are spent on hair and makeup and in the gym. Nevertheless, ol’ Grim Reaper will come for the chiseled as well as the flabby, and gravity will take its toll. The massive growth of the Botox and plastic surgery industry fights back, but to no avail.

Continued below.

It is strange that you wrote this...

Because I have a family member that is dating a very bad woman right now, and multiple people have thought that she has placed a curse on him. Many bad things happen to him.

I do not know if he has been cursed, but I think God could be allowing it in his life to repent and turn to Jesus for salvation.

com7fy8 said:

Well well . . . I just viewed a few translations of this verse, and yes it seems some make it about what God desires, while others bring out prayer that He will do the good things we hope for.

For starters . . . it can mean the same thing, either way. After all, if God has good He desires for us, yes it is good for Paul to pray this for us. And . . . "of course" . . . if we desire what God desires . . . praying for what we want is the same as praying for what God wants . . . if we want what God wants! So . . . either way of translating can mean the same thing.

So . . . now let me look at an interlinear >

It seems Paul prays that God will fulfill every good pleasure. Every pleasure that is good,

***pleasing to God Himself***

. . . is what Paul means, here, I would say . . .

This would mean whatsoever God Himself in His so great goodness can desire and do; and this good is so more and better than we now can hope and think and desire. But as God shares with us His own good, and we grow in this sharing with God, then we become more and more able to discover all so better than we could have hoped while less mature. However, He changes our character so we become more and more able to share with Him in His own love where all His good is.

And this includes how God changes us to become all-loving and sharing and caring as His family, the way His love is > this is included in the good pleasure which so pleases God Himself.

But is this what has our attention, all through the day and in our praying???? May be, "not quite" > so, in case ones translate this verse to mean what we ourselves are now capable of desiring . . . this can be limiting, away from all which God is capable of pleasing and doing.

So, I would favor, most of all, how this scripture can mean all that is possible with God. And we have Jesus Christ "who also makes intercession for us" > in Romans 8:34 > praying for us according to His own faith, not limited to how we might be able to wish and want and pray. Plus, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us > Romans 8:29.

So, I see how Paul is praying for God to take us beyond how we can now think and want and pray.

Click to expand...

Well thought out, com!

Jerry N. said:

Of course we are saved by the Holy Spirit, but we don’t receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit until after we accept Christ. Are you saying that I was saved before I asked Jesus for forgiveness and salvation? That doesn’t fit with the book of Acts. When was Paul saved?

Click to expand...

You sound confused to me, and I dont know anything about you. This is about Jesus said no man can believe on Him, they dont have the ability.

People are fed up and taking action. Co-existing is not a thing that can ever happen.