rodtrent said:

Good day all. Long time Christian and a well-established author for fiction and technology (you can find my stuff on Amazon and at my blog https://RodsFictionBooks.com) but with everything going on in the world, feel I need to refocus my experiences on more important matters. I have recently turned my focus on devotionals for personal, small group, and church use with topics I believe are timely. Each book has its own free Resource Kit and the ability for everyone to directly improve it.

Happy to share they are available on Amazon and the Resource Kit is housed on GitHub (can't take the geek out of me completely, lol)

Divine Design Devotionals: Amazon.com

Resource Kits: GitHub - rod-trent/DivineDesign: This is the repository for the electronic resource kits for Rod Trent's non-fiction, faith-based work

Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your talents with us. I pray you can find some inspiration here in CF. Plenty of topic to learn about and contribute too as well. Welcome to CF. God bless.

Clare73 said:

Does anti-Semitism differ from anti-Muslimism, or anti-Communism, or anti-Facism, etc.?

How does this work?

Click to expand...

Anti-semitism tends to be more insanse and laden with conspiracy theories etc.

There are various reasons for this, but a big one is that Judaism is such an old religion so a big pile of nonsense has accumulated over the years around it unfortunately (to be clear, I'm criticizing anti-semitism, not Judaism).

The context here is that of believers in Jesus Christ needing to be those who are putting aside all sinful desires and actions and to long for the pure word of God that they may grow to maturity in Christ and in their salvation. We are to be those who offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For we are a people for God’s own possession, that we might proclaim the excellencies of God who has called us out of darkness (sin) into his marvelous light (Jesus Christ, truth, righteousness, the gospel of Christ).

And then we are instructed that we are to be submissive to governing authorities, and we are to be people who do what is right. So, those two cannot contradict one another. In other words, if submitting to any governing authorities means that we have to compromise our faith in Jesus Christ or the gospel of Christ or our morals or the commandments of God, then we must obey God rather than man. And biblical examples of this are found in the lives of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and Jesus Christ, Peter, John, and Paul, and many others throughout the world.


For, even though we are doing what is right, and not what is wrong, corrupt leadership may indeed make us suffer because we obeyed the commands of God and we did not give way to compromise of truth and righteousness. And that is what happened in the lives of the people of God listed above who suffered greatly at the hands of people who were in positions of rule of law but who were apart from God’s rule of law, and who opposed the law of God, such as those who are malicious, morally unclean, deceivers, manipulators, opportunists, liars, untrustworthy, egocentrics, who fake their Christianity.

So, if we suffer for doing right, and at the hands of people in positions of power and rule of law over us, either within the government, or within other law enforcement, or within the gatherings of the church (or what are falsely being called “church,” but which are businesses created in the minds of humans), we are not to retaliate. We are not to return evil with evil, but we are to return evil with good. And we are to keep putting our lives into the hands of our maker God, entrusting ourselves to God who judges righteously. And we are to keep obeying God and doing what is right.


And it is critical that we get what this is saying here for we have many malicious, morally unclean, deceivers, manipulators, opportunists, liars, and untrustworthy egocentrics, who fake their Christianity, now living among us, who serve in positions of power, rule, and authority over us, but who are presenting a gospel message which is a lie, and which is straight from hell. For they are telling us that all we have to do is to make a verbal confession of Christ as Lord, and believe that God raised him from the dead, and now we are saved. But that is out of context, and is not the gospel in whole.

For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross in putting our sins to death with him so that we will now die to sin and live to righteousness. This is the gospel message which is taught all throughout the Scriptures, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. We cannot put on our new garments in Christ Jesus if we don’t first remove the old ones, by the grace of God, in the power and wisdom of God. For if we do not die to sin, and if we do not obey our Lord’s commands, we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with Christ, and we do not have eternal life with God. Know this!

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

Login to view embedded media
Caution: This link may contain ads

Don’t Listen to The Cockroaches
An Original Work / November 14, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Ugh Lord have mercy!

As it should be!

Delvianna said:

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has ordered a massive mobilization of nearly 200,000 troops, according to the country's defense minister, following the arrival of the US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford in the region, US media reports.
The mobilization is a response to the "imperialist threat" from the United States, says Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, according to CNN.

Venezuela mobilizes nearly 200,000 soldiers | Sweden Herald

Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has ordered a massive mobilization of nearly 200,000 troops, according to the country's defense minister, following the ar

swedenherald.com

Click to expand...

Hope he can find the means to keep them fed!

I hope and pray everything has worked out for you; may God bless.

The U.S. bishops received a briefing on the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence (AI) from Paul Scherz at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore.

Scherz, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame, has studied the ethics of AI. At the Nov. 12 meeting, Scherz highlighted some of his findings and shared how the bishops should approach the technology within their dioceses.

AI technologies “have great potential to contribute to human flourishing and the common good,” Scherz said. “But note that it would be a mistake to describe these programs as intelligent in the same way that humans are.”

“They lack consciousness and any kind of subjective relationship to the world. So as Pope Leo says, ‘The person is not a system of algorithms. He or she is a creature, relationship, mystery.’ Thus, despite their power and utility, they shouldn’t be called persons or truly intelligent,” he said.

“We’re made for a relationship as created in the image of the triune God. We don’t find our good alone,” Scherz said. “Instead, our individual flourishing is enmeshed with the flourishing of those around us. Together, we see the common good in our common life.”

AI in Catholic ministries​

Continued below.

Pope Leo XIV on Nov. 13 received Rolando Álvarez, the exiled bishop of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of Estelí in Nicaragua. Álvarez is in forced exile after being deported by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, in January 2024.

“The Holy Father received in audience this morning His Excellency Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, bishop of Matagalpa (Nicaragua),” the Vatican Press Office reported, without providing further details.

From Chicago, Father Erick Díaz, an exiled Nicaraguan priest, said that Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with Álvarez is “an audience of hope and ecclesial communion” as well as “a significant moment for our Nicaraguan Church, marked by challenges, fidelity to the Gospel, and hope in the Lord.”

After offering his prayers “that this event may be fruitful and filled with the Spirit,” the priest wrote on Facebook: “‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation’ (Mark 16:15). May the Lord continue walking with us!”

Continued below.

The Barbarian said:

Trump actually isn't against Christmas per se; he just hates the teachings of the One who's birthday is being celebrated.

Click to expand...

Trump hates Mithras?

-- A2SG, who knew?

Good! I don’t care what adults do. Just leave minors out of it.

Neogaia777 said:

The "personality" of the AI, if you will, evolves or grows or changes over your interacting with it, and no one seems to be able to know/predict what it will become, or how or why, etc, and if that's not concerning to you, especially as AI gains more capabilities, and we put it in charge of a lot more things, and we move even further and further away from ever being able to know that fully, then I don't know what will, etc. It's one of the main chief primary problems involved with the future of AI safety, and AI safety currently, etc.

God Bless.

Click to expand...

There's really nothing to it. Just training data.

The only people who has to worry are those wasting their resources on shallow pleasures.

I’ve been working on a literal translation and grammatical analysis of Daniel 9:24–27, and I believe the prophecy is intentionally structured with two 70-week cycles:

1. First 70 weeks — Ancient fulfillment (457 BC decree → Messiah → 70 AD destruction)


2. Second 70 weeks — Modern fulfillment (1542 Suleiman’s wall rebuilding → 1967 Jerusalem return → final 7-year week)



I’m particularly focused on Daniel 9:25, where the Hebrew reads:

> שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁנַיִם (shishim u-shenayim) — literally “sixty and two”



Traditional translations render this simply as “sixty-two weeks,” but I interpret it as “second sixty”, marking the first 60 weeks of the second 70-week cycle. My reasoning:

Inversion/wordplay: Verse 25 inverts the normal order compared to verse 26, highlighting a purposeful sequence rather than a simple count.

Cardinal-as-ordinal usage: Hebrew routinely uses cardinal numbers to indicate sequence. Examples include:

Exodus 40:2 — “in the second month” uses the cardinal word for two to indicate sequence.

Daniel 7:25 — “years” (cardinal) used sequentially for prophetic timing.


Contextual necessity: This block must be distinguished from the first 70-week cycle to align with historical events (Suleiman 1542 → Jerusalem 1967).



---

My Interlinear Translation (simplified)

HebrewEnglish

עַל־ נֶחְתַּךְ שִׁבְעִים שָׁבֻעִיםThere are divided out 70 weeks
לְכַלֵּא חַטָּאתfor the restraining of lawlessness
וּלְחָתֵםwhich is marked for the coming punishment
חָזוֹן וּלְחָתֵם עֹלָמִים צֶדֶקfor the sealing of the vision and the age of righteousness
נָגִיד וּמָשִׁיחַ לִירוּשָׁלִם שָׁבוּעִים שִׁבְעָהfor a ruler and an anointed one for Jerusalem; it shall take seven weeks to build
וְתָשׁוּב בַּשְּׁנַיִם שִׁשִּׁיםand it shall be returned at the second sixty


(Remaining verses continue with the first 70 and second 70-week timeline, including v.26–27.)


---

Dual 70-Week Timeline

CycleWeekEvents / Fulfillment

First 70 7 weeks (49 yrs)457 BC decree → completion of Jerusalem wall (Nehemiah)
First 70 62 weeks408 BC → Messiah arrival (~26–33 AD)
First 70 1 weekMessiah ministry, covenant people cut off → Temple destroyed 70 AD
Second 70 60 weeks1542 Suleiman rebuilds Jerusalem walls → 1967 Israel returns Jerusalem
Second 70 1 week + ½~2025–2032 final tribulation / Day of the Lord
Second 70 remaining ½ weekAbomination removed, age of righteousness begins



---

Argument for “Second Sixty”

1. Hebrew שְׁנַיִם (“two”) functions as ordinal in context — sequence rather than pure quantity.


2. Chiastic structure (v.25 inverted vs. v.26 normal) highlights the dual-cycle reading.


3. Historical alignment supports a second prophetic block distinct from the first.


4. Restraining of lawlessness (v.24) corresponds with the final week revelation in 2 Thessalonians.




---

Question for Scholars / Linguists

Given the Hebrew construction, the chiastic inversion, and historical alignment:

1. Is translating שְׁנַיִם as “second sixty” contextually and grammatically defensible?


2. Are there other examples in Scripture where cardinal numbers function as ordinals in prophecy?


3. Does this dual-70-week chiastic reading hold up under textual and grammatical scrutiny, or are there constraints I may be overlooking?



I’ve tried to base this entirely on Hebrew grammar, syntax, and historical alignment rather than prior interpretive traditions. I’d appreciate insights from those familiar with biblical Hebrew, Danielic prophecy, or prophetic numerology.


---

Apple Sky said:

It is round but it is like a dish shaped disc, it is not spherical.

View attachment 373118

Login to view embedded media

Click to expand...

The elephant in the room is what is casting the shadow on the moon. Oh, and that the premise of the video is that light is being reflected off the moon (how else can you cast a shadow on the moon) so it rejects one of flat earthers claims that that the moon is its own light source. Another own goal from flat earthers.
He also claims earth shine isn't a thing when it absolutely is. You only need to take a long exposure photo of a half moon to see the dark half is lit up by dim light reflected off the earth. It's one false claim after another which seems par for the course for flat earthers. You gotta lie to flerf.

# 1 ONE GROUP. are those under the LAW. and the LAW of Moses does count for today as Christ BLOOD

has NOT YET BEEN CRUCISFIED on the Cross. !!

#. 2 Those who are in the BODY of CHRIST

# 3 THOSE that are UNBELIEVERS'

# 4 THOSE UNDER THE NEW COVENANT

dan p

United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced Thursday that Transportation Security Administration employees who worked during the government shutdown will receive $10,000 bonuses as the longest shutdown in U.S. history has come to an end.

During a Thursday press conference at Bush Airport in Houston, Texas, Noem announced that the agency was distributing bonus checks to TSA employees across the country who continued to work without pay during the government shutdown.

While Noem handed out bonus checks to several TSA workers standing beside her at the press conference who went “above and beyond” during the shutdown, she stressed that the DHS will “continue to evaluate every single employee that helped during the shutdown and stepped up and went above and beyond.”

Continued below.

Nothing about homosexual civil rights that I can recall ever required everyone else to deny scientific facts and accept a universally applicable change in basic decency standards. When same-gender activity involved children, we called it abuse already.

essentialsaltes said:

FIFA will use Kennedy Center free of charge for World Cup event, contract says​

The Kennedy Center booked the World Cup draw at President Donald Trump’s urging. It will occupy much of the campus and displace planned performances.

Who would ever suspect FIFA of taking bribes?

Click to expand...

What's that, you can bribe influential Americans at the Kennedy Center?

Saudis to host investment summit in DC’s Kennedy Center during crown prince’s visit, sources say​

essentialsaltes said:

So far the government has alleged only two gang members were among those arrested. This is what required helicopters and zip-tying citizens.

Click to expand...

Reporting Highlights​

• Chicago Raid: Agents rappelled from a helicopter to raid an apartment complex “filled” with Tren de Aragua gangsters. ProPublica found little to support the government’s claims.
• Immigrants Speak Out: Federal officials declined to release the names of 37 immigrants detained in raid. ProPublica has identified 21 of them and spoken with a dozen.
• A Bust? Immigration officials said they arrested just two members of Tren de Aragua. ProPublica talked with one and found no criminal records in his past.

Shortly after midnight on Sept. 30, some 300 agents from Border Patrol, the FBI and other agencies stormed the 130-unit apartment complex. SWAT teams rappelled from a helicopter, knocked down doors and hurled flash-bang grenades. They arrested 37 immigrants, most of them Venezuelans, who authorities say were in the country illegally. Agents also zip-tied and, for several hours, detained many U.S. citizens.

Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone who was arrested. Nor have they revealed any evidence showing that two immigrants arrested in the building belonged to the Tren de Aragua gang, or even provided their names.

That “raises a legitimate question as to whether any of the people in that building were really considered susceptible to prosecution,” said Mark Rotert, a former federal prosecutor and defense attorney in Chicago.

[Propublica identified one of the 'gang members'.] Our review of criminal records indicates that Chicago police arrested Parra for drug possession and driving without a license after a traffic stop last year, but the charges were dropped. We found no other arrest records.

Because of the lack of information provided by DHS, it is difficult to assess the accusations that Parra and another Venezuelan, who has not been named, belong to Tren de Aragua. A DHS spokesperson said one of the two men “was a positive match” on a watch list for terrorists. We checked several lists of alleged gang members that are kept by Venezuelan law enforcement officials and the international law enforcement agency Interpol; Parra’s name was not on those lists.

Nathan Howard, a U.S. citizen, was asleep in a fifth-floor apartment when the raid began. He saw the helicopter and the agents storming into the building from a stairwell on the roof. He was temporarily blinded by bright white lights as agents threw a flash-bang inside the apartment.

“It’s 20,000 of them running through my house like we got Saddam Hussein in the closet,” he said.

Cohen, a 40-year law enforcement veteran and former SWAT team member, questioned the decision to have agents descend from helicopters on ropes. Helicopters are routinely used for observation and support during raids. But in cities, the tactics known as rappelling, in which agents are attached to the ropes, and fast-roping, in which they are not attached, are typically reserved for extreme scenarios such as hostage rescues because of the risks of injury to agents and of a helicopter mishap to the public, experts said.

Cohen said he has done hundreds of searches, including in gang-controlled buildings, but “I have never rappelled out of helicopters in those operations.”

A Canadian nonprofit organization has succeeded in persuading the city staff of Toronto to fly the Palestinian flag at city hall next week in recognition of the “State of Palestine’s Independence Day” on Saturday.

Yup! They need to defend Church teaching and stop allowing this sinful nonsense! Ugh!

St. Peter Damian, pray for us!

Pope Leo XIV during an address at the Vatican on Thursday called for the “prudent” evaluation of supernatural phenomena to avoid falling into superstition.

“To avoid falling into superstitious illusion, it is necessary to evaluate such events prudently, through humble discernment and in accordance with the teachings of the Church,” the Holy Father said to participants in a Nov. 13 meeting organized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints that reflected on the relationship between mystical phenomena and holiness of life.

The conference focused on the theme “Mysticism, Mystical Phenomena, and Holiness.” Upon receiving the participants at the Vatican, the pope noted that, through constant commitment, the magisterium, theology, and spiritual writers have provided “criteria for distinguishing authentic spiritual phenomena, which can occur in an atmosphere of prayer and a sincere search for God, from manifestations that may be deceptive.”

For the pope, mysticism and spiritual phenomena are “one of the most beautiful dimensions of the experience of faith,” and he expressed his gratitude for the participants’ collaboration in shedding light on certain aspects that require discernment.

Continued below.