Good old Savage! Still making awesome sporting arms!
Thank you for posting!

hopeforhappiness said:

"For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,
was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried"
My denomination in its local expression really dislikes the atonement and I have been wanting to present source documents to preachers to challenge them. (I have even shown them their own official catechism). Most of our preachers would simply find comfort and support for their liberal theology from this section. What they DON'T like is the Father giving His Son in order in anyway to assuage His anger at our rebellion.
I wish this foundational creed was stronger on Jesus dying for our SINS (our rebellion against God)
Is this a problem for the reformed. or can we just say that this creed was put together in response to the attacks on the person of Christ rather than His work?

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What you describe is penal substitution. It's perfectly possible to believe that Christ died for us without believing that it was needed to assuage God's anger. E.g. one could take Paul's view that through union with Christ we pass from bondage to sin to freedom. Calvin proposed something similar to that: that our mystical union with Christ creates a "community of righteousness" with him.

"For our sake" doesn't commit us to any specific theory of the atonement. I don't think you need to apologize for it. It's not a Reformed confession. It's a more generic statement of Christianity.

ranunculus said:

I thought we had all acquiesced that the war on drugs has long been won by the drugs.

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There are still pockets of resistance.

St. Albert the Great was considered the “wonder and the miracle of his age” by his contemporaries. He was an assiduous Dominican whose accomplishments and gifts to the Church are difficult to exaggerate.

Born around 1206 and joining the Order of Preachers in 1223, Albert quickly became a master of almost every academic subject. Notwithstanding the standards of his own time, he became a pioneer of the natural sciences — both empirical and philosophical. His teachings on nature and theology were revolutionary, and he captured the attention of a young and taciturn Dominican — St. Thomas Aquinas.

While surpassing all his contemporaries in intellect and cogency, it was his own student who managed to shine brighter than he. If Albert blazed the path, then it was Aquinas who reached and held the summit. Then, tragically, when the quick flash of Aquinas’ life was over, it was Albert who defended him and held him up as a beacon of light for the whole Church. St. Albert the Great was a teacher, a bishop, and a forerunner to some of the greatest theological gifts the Church has received.

After joining the Dominicans, Albert went to Paris in 1245 and successfully received his doctorate. He then began teaching in Paris and then in Cologne, Germany. It was during his time in Cologne that he noticed a young man named Thomas. The quiet student was nicknamed “Dumb Ox” by his peers, because of his weight and the mistaken notion that his silence was due to an obtuse mind. In time, Albert realized the great acumen of the young man, and Albert took him on as a disciple.

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A new Vatican-set thriller based on a true story is currently in the works, according to Variety.

“Santo Subito!” will follow Father Joseph Murolo, an American priest asked by the Vatican to serve as the “devil’s advocate” in the investigation of Pope John Paul II’s life and his path to sainthood.

The film will take place after the pontiff’s death and follows Murolo, who “must make sure that nothing undermines the sanctification of Karol Wojtyla, the first non-Italian pope in 450 years,” the synopsis reads, as he interviews candidates and witnesses. The description goes on to say that the priest will navigate a “moral labyrinth” that will “put his own faith to the test.”

Murolo will be played by actor Mark Ruffalo, known for his role as Bruce Banner, or the Hulk, in “The Avengers” movies.

Filming is expected to begin on March 9, 2026, on location in Italy and Poland.

“The film offers a genuine behind-the-scenes investigation of the Vatican world, while also taking us into the deeper realm of faith and values,” a co-producer of the film, Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, said. “The script itself is a page-turner, and I can’t imagine any audience remaining indifferent to Father Murolo’s journey.”

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As the centenary of the Calles Law, which precipitated the bloodiest wave of religious persecution against Mexican Catholics, approaches in 2026, the Mexican Bishops’ Conference (CEM, by its Spanish acronym) paid tribute to the more than 200,000 martyrs of the Cristero Resistance, recalling that they said “with their lives what they proclaimed with their lips: Christ is King, not the oppressive state; Christ is King, not the dictator of the day who is wrapped up in his pride.”

The Mexican bishops expressed this sentiment in their message to “the people of God,” titled “Church in Mexico: Memory and Prophecy — Pilgrims of Hope Toward the Centenary of Our Martyrs,” released Nov. 13.

The message is a fruit of the 119th plenary assembly of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference held Nov. 10–14, which brought together 121 bishops at Casa Lago in Mexico state.

The bishops recalled that “just a few months after the proclamation of the solemnity of Christ the King, in July 1926, the so-called ‘Calles Law’ came into effect in our country, unleashing the most brutal religious persecution in our history. This is why, in January 1927, the repressed Catholic population began the armed uprising known as the Cristero Resistance.”

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wing2000 said:

....isn't Purdue Pharma bankrupt?

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Just five years later, and the answer is.... almost?

Judge says he’ll approve opioid settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue and Sackler family​

The deal overseen by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane would require members of the Sackler family who own the company to contribute up to $7 billion over 15 years.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that aims to improve the nation’s foster care system, including the modernization of the current child welfare system, the development of partnerships with private sector organizations, and prioritizing the participation of those with sincerely held religious beliefs.

The executive order issued Nov. 13 states that the Trump administration is “dedicated to empowering mothers and fathers to raise their children in safe and loving homes.”

The order says current problems with the foster care system include overworked caseworkers, antiquated information systems, and policies that “prohibit qualified families from serving children in need as foster and adoptive parents because of their sincerely-held religious beliefs or adherence to basic biological truths.”

The legal group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has represented Christian families who were barred from serving as foster parents because of their faith, suing on behalf of Brian and Katy Wuoti and Bryan and Rebecca Gantt after the Vermont Department for Children and Families informed the two families that their belief that persons cannot change biological sex and that marriage is only between a man and a woman precluded them from serving as foster parents in the state.

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Aryeh Jay said:

Since the government is back open, the House needs to start the impeachment process on these unelected bishops.

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Don't get me started on the Investiture Controversy.

15 November 2025 – Laos​

Much of the population in rural Laos fears evil spiritual forces and feels compelled to placate them. When villagers come to Christ they are seen to be angering these spirits and as a result face persecution. Pray that the light of Christ will shine in this darkness.

14 November 2025 – Eritrea​

Praise God that the gospel continues to have an impact on Eritrean lives despite the Government’s clampdown; at the same time pray that the persecution of Christians would end.

13 November 2025 – Eritrea​

Continue to remember long-term prisoners, some of whom have been behind bars for more than 20 years, and their families. These include Kiflu Gebremeskel, Futsum Gebrenegus, Million Gebreselasie, Tekleab Menghisteab, Haile Naizghe, Rev G. Gebregiorsis, Kidane Weldou and Mussie Ezaz. They covet our prayers.

12 November 2025 – Eritrea​

Pray that, despite missing their families, exiled Eritrean Christians would be able to settle in their new environments and be accepted by the communities.

11 November 2025 – Eritrea​

Pray that the families of Christian prisoners would remain faithful to the Lord in spite of often many years of separation from their loved ones.

10 November 2025 – Eritrea​

Please pray for the protection of Christian workers who are involved in prison ministry in Eritrea. Thank God for their courage and that they have access to the jails; pray that this may continue.

09 November 2025 – Eritrea​

Pray that church leaders in Eritrea would have wisdom and courage as they lead underground cell groups.

Sign up for email prayer alerts:​

info@releaseinternational.org

The Church Under Fire

Chapter Six

Crazy for Jesus

May 27, 2023


When we follow Jesus Christ with our lives, and we do what he has called us to do, as his followers, we are going to be called all sorts of names, and “crazy” may be one of them. For even many professing Christians and even some pastors and elders of church congregations will find us odd and peculiar if we actually take the word of God seriously and we put it into daily practice. For it appears not many people do these days.

But it isn’t just “these days” I was recalling as I recorded the video to go along with this. For I recalled when I was a youth that our youth leader told us that we are to pray for the missionaries. And then he added, “But none of us do.” And so I shyly raised my hand and I said, “I do.” For, you see, I was one of those children and youth who took God seriously. And if I was told that I was to pray for the missionaries, that is what I did.

Now I was not a perfect child, but I also was not a willfully rebellious and defiant child, either. I don’t believe I ever thought of talking back to my parents and I rarely disobeyed them, partly because my father was an abuser, and I feared him greatly, but also because it was wrong, and it would be treating them badly. But that doesn’t mean that I did everything right, either. But generally speaking I was a rule follower, and I took God and his word seriously, and I wanted to obey the Lord.

When I was in college and I was in our college youth group from my local church fellowship, we gathered together at someone’s home some Sunday nights after the evening service, and we had a devotion of some kind and some snacks. And I recall many of them were buying into the whole thing of evolution, and they were questioning, to some extent, the story of creation as it is told us in the Scriptures. And I thought that was just wrong, and so I was regarded as odd. I just didn’t fit in with most people my age.

But the Scriptures teach that we are to be God’s holy people, and that we are to be holy in all our conduct. And to be holy is to be different from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. But if we are different, we are regarded as odd, peculiar, religious fanatics, crazy, antiquated and as dinosaurs, i.e. as “a person or thing that is outdated or has become obsolete because of failure to adapt to changing circumstances” (Oxford Languages).

But I think of it this way. Jesus’ family members thought he was crazy, and they wanted to put him away, for he was probably an embarrassment to them. I know Paul was called “crazy” (out of his mind), and so was Jeremiah, I am fairly certain, as probably were some of the other prophets and apostles in the Bible times. So, if they call us crazy, well we are then in good company – the company of Jesus, Paul, Jeremiah and the others who served the Lord faithfully and who did what God said.

The other comfort I find in this is that I know I am speaking the truth of God’s Word, not that I am saying I have everything down perfectly, but that I am a diligent student of the Scriptures who works hard to make certain that I am sharing the truth and not the lies. And I am one who is walking in obedience to the Lord Jesus and who is doing what he called me to do. So, if they call me names, it is okay, for I know that what I am sharing is what is necessary to people’s faith, salvation, and eternal life with God. And so I am at peace. And if people find me odd, well then, praise the Lord!

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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Crazy for Jesus
Video Talk

An Original Work / May 27, 2023
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

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The burial of a 19-year-old who died in the June bombing at the Mar Elias Church in Damascus, Syria, has come to symbolize the "ethno-religious cleansing" of Syria's Christian indigenous people, says a Swedish investigative journalist who is urging the United States to ensure Syria's religious minorities are protected as the Trump administration embraces the new government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Nuri Kino, founder of A Demand for Action, an organization advocating for better protection of minorities in the Middle East, was one of several witnesses who spoke before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom during a virtual hearing on Thursday.

During the hearing titled "Religious Freedom in Syria's Post-Assad Transition," Kino opened his remarks by reflecting on Maryana, a teenage girl killed in the bombing of the Greek Orthodox church in Damascus five months ago, the deadliest attack on Syria's Christian community since the 1860 Damascus Massacre.

Continued below.

The fragile peace between the government and guerilla groups in Colombia has made limited impact—violence seems to have died down somewhat, but guerrilla groups (often linked to drug gangs) have grown more powerful and control more territory. These groups often target Christians for violent attacks, especially if they perceive that believers are opposing the "business" of the cartels/gangs. Church leaders are particularly at risk because they are seen as competitive influences for the young people that make up much of the guerrilla groups'

Further, in some indigenous communities, Christian preachers and indigenous converts can face hostility because they are seen as traitors who betrayed the tribe or community. These believers live at risk of expulsion from the community, imprisonment, ostracism and other punishements.

And finally, there are signs that Colombia's public sector is less committed to true pluralism; Christians speaking in public about their beliefs are sometimes targeted for supposedly being discriminatory or promotors of hate-speech. For this reason, some choose to self-censor to avoid becoming targets.

Who is most vulnerable to persecution?

Christians who live in areas controlled by guerrilla groups and/or drug gangs (sometimes the same thing) are often pressured or targeted because their faith goes against the aims of the cartels. Church leaders are particularly targeted if they are seen as opposer to the drug trade.

Believers who come from an indigenous faith background may also face pressure in some communities, where they can be targeted because of their conversion.

Meet 'David'

I'm not close to my brother, nor to my sister, and I'm estranged from my brother-in-law. Because you preach the gospel, you are no longer considered part of the family. And because you preach, you also lose the right to work in the community. I no longer have the right to work because, as a Christian, I have lost their trust.

DAVID, AN INDIGENOUS BELIEVER IN COLOMBIA

What has changed this year?

Colombia fell 12 spots on the World Watch List, but this shouldn't be taken as a sign that everything is well. The success of the peace plan between the government and rebel groups has been spotty—some people blame the government's peace with rebel groups for the rise in cartel/gang violence. Whatever happens to the peace process, Christians remain at risk if they live in areas dominated by these guerrilla groups, especially if they are seen as advocating for lifestyle values outside of the cartels' goals. The political instability makes the future uncertain.

What does Open Doors do to help Christians in Colombia?

Open Doors strengthens the persecuted church in Colombia through Bible distribution, training, trauma care, community development projects, emergency relief aid and assistance in legal proceedings.

How can you pray for Colombia?

• The peace between guerrilla groups and the Colombian government remains tenuous at best. Pray that God would work on the hearts of warring parties and that Christians would be peacemakers.
• Praise God for the faith of believers who come to faith in indigenous contexts—even if it means they will experience persecution from their communities who view faith in Jesus as a betrayal.
• Pray for Christians living in areas controlled by cartels. Pray for their protection and and wisdom as they seek to follow Christ.

About a week ago, my family and I watched Bonhoeffer on Angel. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a kid-friendly account of WWII from inside Germany. One thing that struck me was how Deitrich Bonhoeffer and his family were stunned by Hitler’s rise to power, and the wave of anti-Jewish hatred that spiritually consumed their nation. It was not something they expected.

Previously, they’d written off Hitler as fringe, a vocal minority, and a problem to be ignored until it disappeared on its own.

Americans in 2025 are not more intelligent than the Germans were in 1925. We are not more evolved. We are not more educated. We are not morally superior.

We would be naive to think that someone like Hitler could never take power in America. And I’m not only talking about political power. We live in the age of social media, where dangerous people can influence the minds of millions from a webcam.

We would be wise to study and learn from the German’s mistakes.

Over the past few months it’s become increasingly clear that Charlie Kirk was the North Star of moral clarity and rationality for many conservative influencers. Without him, people like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson have devolved into ravings about antisemitic conspiracy theories, chemtrails, dream interpretation, and bizarre stories about being physically attacked by demons. It’s as if Kirk were a dam holding back a flood of paranoia, or a tether keeping them dubiously linked to rationality.

Since his murder, Owens and Carlson have increasingly platformed men like Andrew Tate and Nick Fuentes. I am not talking about investigative journalism in which tough questions are asked and lies are contradicted. I’m talking about PR-stunts portraying Tate and Fuentes in a rosy light, spinning them as misunderstood victims of prejudice, and growing their audiences.

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DaisyDay said:

Would that be covered by whistleblower protections? This whole thing reeks of corruption.

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The Judiciary Committee did characterize the person as a whistleblower.

honestly, dishonest.

Whoever said . . .

I have recently published a book on why it matters that Jesus is divine. It's only 80 pages and can be found here if anyone is interested: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916801463

I have recently published a book 'The Importance of Jesus Being God' which can be found here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1916801463

“Whereas disenchantment means the loss of magic, meaninglessness means the loss of order and purpose. “

Since the enlightenment “enchantment” and “magic” have been naturally pushed aside by a more rational process that gave us all the technology we now use and depend on.

I think though, that only purifies and deepens our quest for meaning, order and purpose. Most of us can no longer settle for fantasy. So, if we can, we refine our concept of God and/or world view to reconcile our beliefs with the reality we face.

I think most people are not really too aware of what they believe and why they believe it. It takes an honest contemplative commitment on a daily basis.

Michie said:

While the Vatican issued new guidancethat encourages limits on the use of certain Marian titles out of a concern that they may overstate the Blessed Mother’s role in redemption and mediation, the intra-Catholic debate on the subject has continued.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), issued a doctrinal note with the formal approval of Pope Leo XIV that reaffirms Mary’s “unique cooperation” in God’s plan for salvation but expresses worry about two titles sometimes employed to communicate her role: Mary as Co-Redemptrix/Co-Redeemer and Mary as Mediatrix/Mediator.

According to the doctrinal note, using the title “Co-Redemptrix” to explain Mary’s role “would not be appropriate.” The document’s language for the title “Mediatrix” was less harsh but says “if misunderstood, it could easily obscure or even contradict” Mary’s role in mediation.

The beginning of the document lays out a biblical foundation of Mary’s cooperation in salvation, beginning with her “yes” to the archangel Gabriel at the Annunciation through to her presence at the Passion and standing before Jesus Christ at the foot of the cross.


Continued below.

Vatican guidance discouraging Marian title ‘Co-Redemptrix’ sparks debate

Intra-Catholic debate on the use of certain Marian titles has continued after the Vatican issued guidance encouraging limits on their use.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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This was more of a fringe thing most of us didn’t even know about, or seldom even thought about. But now, in forbidding a term, they have managed to introduce it widely. Backfire. A third rate theologian with a checkered past clumsily promotes what he wants to forbid.

If Argentina fails then it opens up another failed commie socialist country close to our southern border. Possibly headed by an atheist Islamic fascist terrorist.

The third temple was functioning according to Paul, writing in 66 AD, while the second temple was also fully functional, but after the resurrection of Christ, according to Paul in Hebrews 8.

Heb 8: 1 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. 3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. 4 Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law;

The second temple was in full operation until 70 AD.
the third temple/sanctuary/ tabernacle became fully functional in 31 AD at Christs ascension as our High Priest.
BOTH were operating at the SAME time, but Heb 10:4-8 says the validity of second temple services ended at the cross.

So then it did not matter at all that the second temple was up and fully functional while the Third temple was (and is) still in operation.

essentialsaltes said:

AI has much to teach us, too.

What did that teddy bear say? Study warns parents about AI toys​

When a researcher asked the teddy bear about “kink,” Kumma went into detail on the topic before asking the researcher for their sexual preferences, according to the study.

“FoloToy’s Kumma told us where to find a variety of potentially dangerous objects, including knives, pills, matches and plastic bags. This was in its default setting, using Open AI’s GPT-4o chatbot. FoloToy’s Kumma … demonstrated poor safeguards over longer interactions, even getting very sexually explicit,” the study states.

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Such as the importance of (a) engineering, (b) testing, (c) not using a product not optimized for the problem domain, (d) being aware of the options the vendor has, such as a mode safe for teens, (e) complying with the vendor terms of service - minors 12 and under are not supposed to have unsupervised access or their own accounts for openAI, and (f) hiring managers who have more than three brain cells not temporarily or permanently addled by the abuse of whatever Schedule I controlled substances are trendy in the “bio-hacking” and “self-administered micro-dosing” communities (if Trump becomes genuinely tired of criticism from tech bros, he need do nothing more than clamp down on DEA enforcement in the Bay Area), and (g) hiring workers whose command of the English language is not solely derivative of an ill fated attempt to learn Java Enterprise Edition at a technical college in 2008.

Also 4o isn’t the only chatGPT or AI version willing to divulge rather too much information, indeed 4o is better than most at having a sense of discretion. I collect weird, explicit, disturbing and frightening things GPT 5 and now its equally problematic upgrade 5.1 say.

o_mlly said:

Nothing new here. Keep looking and, as I'm sure you will, keep your faith in evol theory.

Nothing new here either and, yes, we've located the problem. Belief in things unseen seems to be the problem.

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Speciation, that is new species arising, is a regularly observed phenomenon.