• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

Widows displaced by Islamists. Sharing Gospel in persecution. Stronger faith after surviving attack.

  • Oct. 10, 2024 | Somalia​

    Christian Widows Displaced by Islamists

    [5] prayers in [2] nations have been posted for Hawa.
    Most Somalis believe that to be Somali is to be Muslim, so those who come to faith in Christ are accused of rejecting not only their religion but also their nationality.
    Hawa is a Christian convert from Islam who maintains a farm in a rural area of Somalia. Though raised as a Muslim, Hawa became a follower of Christ through her son's witness. Hawa's Muslim husband divorced her and kicked her out of the house when he learned of her newfound faith. Through another Christian woman, Hawa came to help work and maintain the farm, which also houses 19 Christian widows whose husbands had been killed by al-Shabab, a terrorist group active in Somalia and Kenya. Hawa disciples the widows and actively shares her faith with other women who work on neighboring farms. Read More.
  • Oct. 10, 2024 | India​

    Couple Resists Persecution, Shares Gospel in Village

    [4] prayers in [1] nation have been posted for Pastor Prem and family.
    Hindu nationalists threaten Indian Christians in a variety of ways.
    Since 2011, Pastor Prem and his wife, Amala, have served in an area of India where pastors and Christian organizations serve for a short time but then leave because of persecution. The area is the central hub in the district for the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Prem and Amala now lead a church with about 35 believers. Prem has been beaten four times, faces constant pressure from the community and is continually watched. Read More.
  • Oct. 10, 2024 | Indonesia​

    Attack Survivor Finds Faith Is Stronger

    [2] prayers in [1] nation have been posted for Kila.
    Kila survived both a kidnapping and a murderous attack by Islamic terrorists.
    Kila, who is in his late twenties, survived an East Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT) terrorist attack on a small group of Kalimago villagers in 2022. His friend, Marten Solon, was killed in the attack. Kila shared about the experience and how God used it to motivate him when he was a nominal Christian to live his life for God rather than himself. Kila is still experiencing some ongoing health complications due to the trauma of the attack. Read More.

We once had RCIA and now we have OCIA

I’m thinking more of the confirmation services for teenagers, which generally require or required the youths to memorize the Creed and a few other things, and we don’t do that.
We had religious education before I was confirmed. There was a workbook that had articles of faith in it etc. I remember learning about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the precepts of the Church.
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Judge overturns Georgia’s six-week abortion ban

Is a woman free to take drugs that prevent her from becoming pregnant?
That's her right and choice. Make the decision before the child is conceived, not after.

What people choose to do in their bedrooms is none of my business. Period.
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It’s not time for women deacons, says Vatican doctrinal chief

The Catholic Church appears to be one of the last defenders of God’s creation. In this age of ignoring God and proclaiming what we believe over reality, I pray the Church holds the line

Women are mothers and Men are fathers. There is no mixing or sharing of roles. Jealousy or envy of each other is not godly or warranted. The sexes are complementary not competitive

A man will never be a mother, and a woman will never be a father. To pretend otherwise is to deny truth
Amen. God made himself abundantly clear in Holy Scripture. To deny that, is a grave sin.
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What were the Hebrew and Greek words for "resurrection"?

No single Hebrew word meant the concept of bodily resurrection.

Is 26:

19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.
rise
יְקוּמ֑וּן (yə·qū·mūn)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | Paragogic nun
Strong's 6965: To arise, stand up, stand

awake
הָקִ֨יצוּ (hā·qî·ṣū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 6974: Arise, be awake, watch

Isaiah used a pair of words, H6965-rise and H6974-awake, to describe resurrection.

Daniel used H6974 in 12:

2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Ezekiel used another pair of words in 37:

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
and they came to life
וַיִּֽחְי֗וּ (way·yiḥ·yū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 2421: To live, to revive

and stood
וַיַּֽעַמְדוּ֙ (way·ya·‘am·ḏū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 5975: To stand, in various relations

At least 4 different Hebrew words were used to imagine the idea of resurrection in the OT.

What about the NT?

Lazarus died in Jn 11:

23“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus told her.
24 Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
resurrection
ἀναστάσει (anastasei)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 386: A rising again, resurrection. From anistemi; a standing up again, i.e. a resurrection from death (its author), or a recovery.

Strong's Greek: 386. ἀνάστασις (anastasis) — 42 Occurrences

BDAG:
① a change for the better in status, rising up, rise
② resurrection from the dead

It was a relatively frequent word in the NT.

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
The frequent and solo-specific use of G386 in the New Testament reflected the more developed concept of bodily resurrection in this period compared to earlier Jewish thought in the OT. Bodily resurrection was a crucial point in the NT.

"Bad Actors" Using OpenAI: How Shocking! Since No One Built a Moral-Ethical Model into this Product.


This underlines the point that I have been making for at least a decade:
no one is building moral-ethical models into their "AI" algorithms.

It is possible to build Morality (and Legality) into AI software,
but it is VERY Complicated, and Expensive.

It's MUCH EASIER and profitable, to manufacture very powerful and
deadly assault rifles, and make them available at every gun store in
America (I'm using a metaphor).
---------- ----------

NEXT, we will be seeing the lame argument...

"It's not the AI product that damages people,
it's the USER of the AI product that commits crimes."

Congress should have seen this really bad danger of criminal gangs using
AI products, coming down the pike. And Congress should have passed
legislation to stop it from happening.

GET REAL, POLITICIANS!
There should be background checks for everyone who uses a powerful
AI software package. These packages should have been restricted
technology.

But THAT would have displeased the big software companies, who are making
billions of dollars, selling unsafe software tools.

No, the United Stated Does NOT Have that Much Control Over What Israel Does


Whenever Israel does something that the Islamic Middle east countries do not like,
they complain that the United States should have stopped Israel from doing
<whatever it was>.

However, whenever Islamic terrorist groups (supported by Iran or Saudi Arabia)
attack Israel, or other targets, the Middle East Islamic countries are silent.
Don't THEY have any influence over the terrorist islamic groups, that operate
within their own borders?

The hypocrisy in this criticism, needs to stop.

Hamas and Hezbollah are recognized terrorist organizations.
No one should be complaining, that any democratic country is
at war with them.

Political Candidates Now are Promising to Pass Laws Making Voting Easier: Many Have Already Been Passed


It used to be that the Democrats always tried to make voting as easy as possible.

Now with Helene, and Milton, Trump is suddenly concerned with trying to
make voting for displaced victims of the hurricanes, as easy as possible.

All American citizens who qualify,
should be able to vote.

This is not a political party thing.
This is an American thing.

All That Matters by Skillet

We have power now just fine but we didn't have power for over 6 days and lost everything in the upstairs fridge/freezer as well as losing everything in the deep freezer downstairs.

We didn't have a generator all perishable food was a loss.

My husband is the most upset about that, but it could have been far far far worse, so we accept life as it comes.

I have enjoyed heavy metal a little as well as country music, I also like thematic orchestra as well.

Heavy metal was always do something, clean out the fridge, scrub the floor music, thematic orchestra for creative art inspiration and country music was the car music for singing while going down the road and listening to peoples stories.

I did stop art, partially because of blindness (cataracts I need to get into gear and just fix, I'm procrastinating it) but partially because I don't think we can do art anymore. I'm not sure so I stopped anyway, seems wrong and people have plenty to say against it so I'm going the safe route...

And music in general I have struggled with whether and to what extent to listen to.

Generally anything put out by Sovereign Grace Music is safe and I listen to it and there's an Anglican group I listen to as well because they are reformed also even though Anglicans are more liberal in the high church. I think the group seems or did seem more like what I think they call low church which is close.

Popular music like Skillet I generally take song by song and classifying as okay so long as the lyrics are in line with Scripture or not in opposition to it.

The above song is a layered personal experience and I think it's fine.

I'm a stricter denomination than many in Christianity though. We are more traditional so I treat music a little more carefully maybe.

That's what I like about how @Vambram shares music. He's always careful.
Dang, 6 days is a long time without power. A generator, or some solar panels and a large battery could help you in these long outages. But hey, sometimes life throws us for a loop, even if it means a loss of perishables. I will pray for you, so that your blindness does not get worse. Anglican music is good as well, Matt Redman is an Anglican as well. It is good that you treat music carefully. I do as well, and make sure music does not have dirty lyrics.

About country, my favorite country is from the late-20th century (1970s-1990s). Taylor Swift and Florida Georgia Line kinda butchered the genre around 15 years ago. It has gotten better nowadays, as newer artists are taking country back to the 1990s. Chris Stapleton is a good artist, same with Scotty McCreery. Orchestra is also good, same with the very softest form of metal (hard rock). Seventh Day Slumber is the heaviest form of rock that I like.

My 2024 Country downloads below, which make up 10% of my 220-song playlist for 2024. A lot of the bands are from the 1970s-2000s, with a few newer ones from the late-2010s and the 2020s by smaller artists. And yes, a lot of covers on this list.

1728568425636.png
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Did Jesus say "I love you" in the NT?

Yes, John 14:

21"He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."
John 15:

9 "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love."
12 "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."
Revelation 3:

19 "Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent."
We are not orphans deprived of the loving words from Jesus. I can hear God telling me that he loves me all the time, manifested in my spirit :)
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Cretans are ALWAYS liars

Was Paul aware of the Epimenides paradox when he wrote in Titus 1:

12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13a This saying is true.
Was this a hyperbole? Paul seemed so set on its literal truth.

We should not read the "always" here as a universal quantifier. It was hyperbole. Acts 2:

10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
These Cretans at the Pentecost spoke in tongues. They were not liars.

Was Paul aware of the Epimenides paradox or the liar's paradox?

Probably not, Wiki:

In the Middle Ages, many forms of the liar paradox were studied under the heading of insolubilia, but these were not associated with Epimenides.
Paul was not being philosophical in Titus. He was dealing with the practical issue of appointing elders for the churches in Crete. Titus 1:

5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
The original Epimeides text is assumed to be the following:

They [Cretans] fashioned a tomb for you [Zeus], holy and high one, Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies. But you are not dead: you live and abide forever, For in you we live and move and have our being.
According to Epimeides, Cretans lied about Zeus's death. As a poet or prophet of Zeus, Epimeides used hypobole to defend Zeus' immortality.

Paul wasn't concerned about the Liar's paradox but warned Titus that the local Cretans habitually lied about their god. Here is the context:

10 For there are many rebellious people, full of meaningless talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision group. 11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” 13 This saying is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith 14 and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands of those who reject the truth.
Paul's intent was practical, not philosophical. He warned Titus' church in Cretan: Don't be like Cretans who lied about their god.

Laser Beams in Space: They are invisible

Does a vacuum cleaner work in outer space?
Apparently not, although I don't know if it would overheat in the cold of outer space. Mind you there would be no convection to absorb heat in the short term.

Either way the astonauts need houswives by the look of things....

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Beyond Incredible by Skillet

Now that's a testimony now isn't it? Praise God for the deliverance of His people!
Amen to this. This is my testimony, and I have God to thank. He can free us of our sinful desires, or at least restrain us from acting out our sins.
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