tranquil said:

The burning of the cedars of Lebanon refers to the 1st Trumpet's 1/3 burning of the trees. There is the implication of there being a coup as it is a reference to Judges 9:15 and the parable of the Trees

15But the thornbush replied, ‘If you really are anointing me as king over you, come and find refuge in my shade. But if not, may fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’​

The locusts of Joel are the same locusts as in the 5th Trumpet. These will begin at the Feast of Tabernacles/ 15 Tishri and will begin with at the start of the Trumpets.

The one month (Zechariah 11:8) is the time of the winter Sabbath great tribulation, the 1st phase of the 6th Trumpet in Rev 9:13-21. (If it starts Oct 17th, then this will be March 15th, 2025). Then the Dan 9:27 covenant will be confirmed by the Rev 10 mighty angel (aka the Dan 7 Little Horn, king of Babylon, Lucifer from Isa 14) one month later.

the 3 shepherds being dismissed during this month are: the Dan 7 Lion head, Bear head, Leopard head. See my thread about this month which I call the East Wind.

Futurist Only - The East Wind

The ‘east wind’ is the time of the great tribulation that occurs during Revelation 9:13-21 (the winter, sabbath great tribulation of Matt 24:15-16), at the start of the 6th Trumpet. But to start with, let’s look at Deuteronomy 28 for a moment. Deut 28:7 The LORD will cause the enemies who rise...

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After the Dan 7 Little horn (4th Beast) has possession of the saints for a time, times, and half a time (which is to say the 1st half of the covenant) (Dan 7:25), then he is killed after he tries to be like God (Isaiah 14:12-14) (same as Michael warring with Satan and thus falls from heaven in Rev 12:7-9). This is the breaking of the covenant after 1260 days at the 7th Trumpet. When he is killed, then the 'rest of the beasts' are given an extension for a season and a time (Dan 7:11-12). The 'rest of the beasts' are the 'lion, bear, leopard' that were dismissed from before - the beast from the seas' Leopard, Bear, Lion.

At the time of the confirming (and breaking) of the covenant, the beast has 7 heads, 10 horns, 7 crowns (Rev 12:3).

At the time of the beast from the sea, there are 10 horns, 7 heads, 10 crowns. The 3 dismissed shepherds (Lion, Bear, Leopard) turn into the 3 horns of Daniel 7:8 during the 1st half of the covenant and then become kings again with the resurrected Dan 7 Little Horn.

Dan 7:7 After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns. 8 While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.​

[...]​

23 This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it. 24 And the ten horns are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. After them another king, different from the earlier ones, will rise and subdue three kings. 25 He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.​

At the 7th Trumpet, the Lion, Bear, and Leopard shepherds that were present for the East Wind month are reinstated to round out the 10 kings given power by the dragon (7 heads plus the 3 reinstated heads).

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Wow! Your diagram has going for it that it at least makes falsifiable predictions. That is, it makes claims that are in principle falsifiable, as any scientific claim must be to have any real meaning. You (plural) are going at eschatology in accordance with the futurist school, where the eschatological events are all compressed into "the last days" at the end of the age (of Pisces). This leaves most of the previous 20 centuries of history free of any eschatological meaning.

I am looking at the topic from the standpoint of historical eschatology, where it has been happening all along. I have recently written down some notes of the topic and what follows is the first of them, for what they are worth.

Eschatology 1​

I have been putting some effort into studying biblical eschatology. This is, to many Christians, about like trying to learn particle physics, but it is possible (and somebody has to do it!). Certainly I do not have the remaining future to the end of the age figured out, but I find that the book of Revelation is not as cryptic as many suppose, given some knowledge of the Old Testament symbolism from whence most of it comes. For instance, the "four creatures" are Israel assembled - see Numbers 2.) Here are a couple of ideas:

1. The seven seals of Rev. 6 are the first of three "nested" sequences (followed by trumpets, bowls) and the first four are the Four Horsemen. Somewhere in the Middle Ages the idea came about that these were like the judgement of the seven bowls (and trumpets), but the facts do not fit this interpretation. First, the white horse of the first seal elsewhere is the Lamb empowered (see Rev. 19:11). What he carries is not clear from the Greek, though Bible translators have to put something down for it. It might be the "weapon" of the Word of God, or more likely, the cross, not a bow.

(Feucht's First Law of Bible Study: never assume the translators had it right! This applies to every translation simply because translation as such is impossible; whole articles are needed to adequately explain some phrases in scripture, and some of it - especially paleo-Hebrew - can have multiple possible meanings.)

Second, the Black Horse is depicted as famine. However, it has been learned since the Middle Ages that nobody is going to starve if a choinix of wheat sells for a denarius, and the luxury items (oil, etc.) are "held" - made available. This is more like prosperity than famine.

I interpret the seals as phases of civilization, from the gospel spreading (white horse), leading to a strong society, growing into an empire phase (red horse) of military expansion, to economic prosperity and its materialist emphasis (black horse), to civil collapse of a death culture (chloros or green horse, the color of gangrene & death). The righteous suffer (covered by the blood of Jesus "under the altar") in the fifth seal from the death-mongers, then ecological disaster, and finally the threatening reappearance of the Son of Man in space (heaven) to the Rulers, and everyone taking for the underground, especially to the under-reported tunnels and underground facilities of all large cities, who do not try to commit suicide by calling the rocks to "fall on them". The Greek word pipto also means to alight - to close the tunnels from the wrath of the Lamb.

2. Much of what happens in biblical eschatology is positioned chronologically at the "end of the age". (The English word world is etymologically were-ald - were, as in werewolf, is man and ald is old German for age, or "the age of man".) It is generally supposed (as I also had) that this time is unknown, yet for millennia, the ultimate time clock for humanity has been the stars, and also for millennia, and before the babylonian mystery religion - the source of all extant paganism including New Age - corrupted it, the 12 constellations of the zodiac were the age clock. Before the sun rises in the east on the spring equinox, whatever constellation is in the night sky at that location is the age we are in. Astronomically, this corresponds to the cycle of precession of the earth, as a spinning top wobbling on its spin axis, pointing the earth to the different constellations. The period of this precessional cycle is 25,920 years. Each age is thus 1/12th that or 2160 years. The age of Pisces, which began not long before the first advent of Jesus, is now ending and the age of Aquarius is beginning. In the arid Ancient Near East (ANE) context, water was symbolic of life, and the bearer of life is Aquarius - a fitting symbol for the next age under the rule of Christ.

What every student of eschatology wants to do is determine its chronology. If we know when various events occur (whether past, present or future) we can assemble a coherent history from it. Yet that is the ultimate challenge, and the three major schools of biblical eschatology reflect that: preterist (past), futurist (future) and historicist (all along). The celestial age clock does not nail down the dating, however; constellations span a width in the sky and offer only a time resolution of several decades which can be over a century.

AV1611VET said:

Moon Dogs:

View attachment 354864

Apparently some other dogs didn't make it.

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Woof!

KevinT said:

if God wanted, for example, to give a command for everyone to move out of California because He knew that there was going to be a massive earthquake causing the state to fall into the sea, how would that sort of new instruction be taken?

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Thanks for the clarification.

I would take it this way: I assess the human speaker's prophetic authority against what I hear from the Paraclete in me. Check out How to hear God?.

Ophiolite said:

True, until there is a paradigm shift and we change the Laws of Physics. If the Laws of Physics were immutable there would no longer be any need for physicists.

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This raises the question of whether the laws of physics are what their understanding is according to scientific work or whether the "laws of physics" refers to the nature of the physical world apart from how well or poorly humans understand it. Philosophically and theologically it is the latter, and if we are studying science it is the former.

Full document attached.

We have a fine line to walk. We have an elderly lady that volunteers in the thrift store. The Haitians come in and argue prices and intimidate her. I told the director if it does not stop they should be banned. They are incredibly rude. Culture? I don’t know.

DennisF said:

the more biblical theological school at (Syrian) Antioch took the Bible more literally in that it believed the Bible meant what it said, though the usual rules of language applied. A metaphor was to be taken as a metaphor, but what was not a metaphor was not to be "metaphorized" mystically in a way that appealed the mystic's imagination.

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Yes and that is true for the Bible itself. We see this with the dead sea scrolls. They are an example of how ancient texts can have multiple translations and interpretations. The variety of languages and scripts used in the Dead Sea Scrolls reflects the diverse linguistic landscape of the time. For instance, some texts are written in a more formal Hebrew, while others use Aramaic, which was the lingua franca of the Near East during that period1. Additionally, there are a few texts in Greek, and even some fragments in Latin and Arabic.

The Bible is literal but we do have translation problems. For example the Bible says that Eve came from the side of Adam. But they translate that rib and this is just not accurate. The same with the fig leaf. They made clothing then the same way they do today. They take the fiber of the plants and spin it into thread and they weave the thread into clothing. Jesus had very special clothing and that is why they had to cast lots and it could not be divided.

I am reading a book on this now. Genesis and the Big Bang written over 30 years ago by Gerald Schroeder. We can see how much Science, the Bible and History all agree

orbiter said:

Peace in Christ.

We are dead with Christ from the “rudiments” of the world. You have to go to the Greek word and not other Bible translations to see what the true meaning of it is.

Col 2:20-22 KJV
(20) Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
(21) (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
(22) Which all are to perish with the using) after the commandments and doctrines of men?

The transliterated Greek word for “rudiments” is “stoicheion” - Neuter of a presumed derivative of the base of G4748; something orderly in arrangement, that is, (by implication) a serial (basal, fundamental, initial) constituent (literally), proposition (figuratively): - element, principle, rudiment.

The base word of it is:

“stoicheō” - From a derivative of στείχω steichō̄ (to range in regular line); to march in (military) rank (keep step), that is, (figuratively) to conform to virtue and piety: - walk (orderly).

The “rudiments of the world” are the “orderly arrangements” of the world’s governmental documents (such as a “constitution”) by which they self-govern and self-judge themselves with.

They conform to their documents…like keeping in step with it (such as marching in a military rank order) Their governmental documents are their orderly arrangements of fundamental principles of which they keep and serve.

Look at what the word “constitution” means – “a body of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is acknowledged to be governed.”

Why would a “church” have a handwritten document such as a church “constitution” to organize and self-govern themselves with when our God is our Ruler and His commandments are “written” in our inward parts?

Why be subject to church “ordinances”….dogmas arranged in order for you to keep and serve?

These church documents are elevated in their gatherings. They are highly regarded and men rule over others based on their handwritings of ordinances.

Indeed, these things are the devices of Satan used to deceive us and bring us into the bondage of sin. Men use these handwritings to judge others with ….thereby becoming slaves of the sin. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood….but against the so-called authoritative, highly regarded (among men) church handwritings of ordinances which are a device of Satan used to deceive us.

Eph 6:12 KJV
(12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

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This activity of writing down dogmas, etc. reminds me of the Druids - the spiritual continuance of the patriarchal worldview and practice of Abraham, Melchizedek, Noah. They did not write anything down but memorized what they knew. It took 30 years to become a fully-vested Druid. Few would remain in the university today for a 30 year PhD!

In addition, a significant issue now arises. How can those who belong to the kingdom of God, a distinctive nation set apart from the world-system with its own authorities, submit to any worldly authorities at all? Is not the world-system comprised of these earthly powers under the rule of the Devil? How then can God, through his apostles, encourage citizens of his government, under his rule, to submit to rulers of the Devil’s jurisdiction?

Historically, human civilization traces back to the first man, Adam. The world-system finds its beginnings in the first man who “hid his face from God” and built the first Sumerian city-state. Cain’s city, as the archetypal humanist civilization, sets the precedent for the subsequent world-system. God made a covenant with Cain that was essentially a provision for the sustenance of civilization among the ungodly. God made a similar covenant of preservation with the godly line of civilization in Noah, that he would sustain the ecosphere and preserve life on earth. Just as God blesses both the righteous and wicked in his creational providence (Matt. 5:45) by having created a universe in which life on earth is sustained, he also provides for the sustenance of social order for fallen humanity.

In the provision for Cain, God does not bless the apostate world-system, for it stands in rebellion to his rightful authority over it. But in making provision for social order through wicked rulers, God implicitly asserts his dominion over the ungodly and their social institutions. Because humanity is created in God’s image, it is impossible for apostate man to actually hide from God. Cain carries God’s image because he was created by God to bear it, though he denies it. Yet he cannot rid himself of it. Consequently, even those in denial of God’s rule must themselves rule within the bounds of the order God has made just as the godly and ungodly alike are subject to the same physical laws of God’s rule of the creation. They must, to some extent, reflect in their own rule the law of God, for the law was made to apply to human nature. To rule over a social order, humanly-contrived law must apply to the social conditions of human nature. This is, to varying degrees, what has come to be called natural law. It is God’s law as received through natural revelation, through observation of the nature of humanity and those constraints within which humanity exists.

Consequently, it is “natural” for Cain to maintain his rule through vengeance, in response to threats to it. Through his law, God is the only legitimate avenger of evil because only he is just in executing it. However, Cain exercises vengeance, not on the basis of God’s revealed law, but in order to perpetuate his own authority, an authority illegitimately usurped from God. In view of this modus operandi, which lies at the base of how the world-system of social governance works (whether by governments of nation-states, within corporate hierarchies, or in the departments of universities), any actions Cain takes to preserve himself are legitimate to him, for to Cain, Cain is god. Therefore, it is not uncommon for Cain to use wicked methods toward this end, such as Machiavelli articulated in The Prince. Anything from brutal suppression of dissidents to double-crossing is permissible to Cain. A Saddam Hussein supported in one war is tricked into becoming an oppressor and object of vengeance in the next.

The American Church and State​

What is problematic for the American church today is that commonly held though erroneous beliefs about human authority have developed over time. Two of these common misconceptions are

Christians are to (indiscriminately) submit to any person or group claiming authority. Both Paul and Peter clearly delineate what constitutes the exercise of authority established by God. Both Paul and Peter were executed because their message was regarded as threatening to the illegitimate exercise of human authority. Jesus was crucified because his kingdom and authority were viewed as a threat to both the powers of Rome and the Jewish rulers, though his kingdom is being established on different grounds and methods than those characterizing states of the present age.

American Christians have been indoctrinated by institutions of (or behind) the State from their youth to believe in democracy as the highest form of good government instead of biblical government as given by God. In representative governments, the vote of the majority of individuals is the ultimate determinant of right and wrong, not the law of God; humans are empowered to make up their own laws in clear defiance of the givenness of God’s law.

One complication for Americans is that according to the US Constitution, ultimate authority rests with the people, not government officials. Those who hold allegiance to the US Constitution face the inconsistency of recognizing government as having an authority that the Constitution (9th and 10th Amendments) guarantees to the people instead. Therefore, any attribution of final authority to US government in order to “submit to the governing authorities” would contradict the very basis of that government. What has grown around these beliefs has been erroneously supported by biblical texts on taxes (Romans) and slave-masters (1 Peter).

SavedByGrace3 said:

Western policies are pushing China, Russia, N Korea, and other nations into a corner. What do we think they will do if they feel threatened to the point of national demise? I think this is a bad policy. It would be best to give these nations and leaders a way to escape without escalating to a larger and more widespread war.
The greatest threat now is the use of Western weapons given to Ukraine and used against Russian targets. American and Nato weapons are killing and destroying Russians in Russian territory. Think about what we would do if Russian missiles were used to attack New York City or Washington.
Leaders like Kim Jong Un are not "all there" and may feel destined to destroy America. Of course, his nation would cease to exist after his first volley, but Honolulu or San Fran are still toast.
With Russia, Putin may see himself as a savior to his nation and commit nukes to the fray.
Maybe the leader of some Islamic nation will think god is on his side and calling him to destroy the great satan, thinking god will protect him from the resulting destruction of his nation.
The current administration and state department do not seem capable of dealing with our opponents across the ocean.
We are indeed in a perilous place in our history. We are a very powerful nation, but can we sustain wars on three or even four fronts? Given the state of our military leaders and potential conscripts, I have serious doubts. Women 18 - 26 will be subject to the draft. Many of the males of the same age range are completely incompatible with military discipline and war. Many people fear that we are heading for this war, and perhaps sooner than later. Perhaps this fall.

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Western policies are not pushing these nations out. I would argue that Western policies created these monsters. Now the monsters are reverting back to their real roots and we should be surprised? The seeds were planted long ago but we ignored what we were watering. Now all of a sudden they are some seriously dangerous plant? The biggest destroyer is the thinking that institutions (Like the U.N.) and mutual trade could somehow take the edge of nations aspirations. Instead all that did was create a false security as Western enemies took advantage of their situations. Sure we ostracized N.Korea and Cuba and put a hurt on them, but the bigger markets like Russia and China were given almost free reign. Most bought the kool aid and gave China a boon in industrialization that seems unapparelled.
China is backed into a corner now because their game is over. Everyone knows what a few smart people recognized early on, they are not team players and they are basically doomed economically, drained and fluttering probably worse than the lost decade of Japan. China was in it for themselves and has greater power aspirations. State-led enterprising , Covid, negative human rights abuses and mercantilist policies have brought China down and neither they nor Russia are backing down, they are doubling down. Russia had a chance to be Western, Gorbachev was a decent leader but they too went back to their old ways and those include being expansionist as well. Now the two non-conformists have found love in their mutual hate and yes they are rabid and joining with the other belligerents such as Iran, and N. Korea.

For years we kicked cans down the road. McArthur versus Truman, Obama/Biden being soft on Iran, Clinton opening up normal trade relations to China, Bush and all the trade loving "mutually beneficial" crowd that were all duped. Because behind the scenes most of time these nations were working against the West, trying to buy time to find an opportunity to gain power and challenge the West from a much stronger position. So here we are. Stock market highs and our head in the sand worried about some of the most trivial stuff in the history of the West when the whole world is on fire.

The precursors to the tribulation are here. Nowhere in the bible is Israel saved by the USA or any other nation. Let that sink in. It is basically God's will that materialism has its last gasp. That the church too needs to repent and focus on what is important to God.

I will say one other thing. Putin has redefined the use of nuclear weapons in his mind. He recognizes that the West will suffer far more damage from a limited nuclear strike because the West is too weak to push the big button. Mutually assured destruction is not necessarily true. Tit for tat is far more likely with the Western world and I think we might be asked to dance very soon. Wll the USA defend Taiwan? Will the USA defend the Philippines? Will the USA even take on Iran if things get hot?

Some will say I am too negative. I pray that is true. Trump is not going to save us but at least he might deter more serious threats at the expense of partners like Ukraine and parts of Asia. However, if the tribulation does not start with Harris, and the USA continues on, she and most other democrats are perfect to take the blame. Otherwise most will just blame Trump and move the USA so left that the anti-Christ will for sure look great.

In re-reading your analysis we are not that far apart, except with the exceptions to your idea about Ukraine. God help us all.

A mature queen conch – credit, Jennifer Doerr, NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Galveston.

This incredible critter is the queen conch, and look out fellas she’s single.

She’s one of many queen conch bachelorettes being saved by a new initiative in Florida that’s relocating these endangered mollusks to deeper waters.

Warming seas off the Florida Keys have made this species lethargic and survival-focused, impeding their reproductive activities. Marine biologists hope that in the cooler, deeper waters, they will pair up and mate without issue.

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I believe the Lord accepted the young man’s basic testimony but called him to the conclusion of what he claimed. It was a shock and he was unprepared for it (I try to learn humility from it). I don’t think he was a bad guy but fell into a dangerous self assurance ( probably at the opposite attitude end of the Pharisee and the publican parable in Luke 18:9-14). I believe the Lord says we have to have the courage to be martyrs but should not seek to be martyrs etc. ( 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 verse 3 in focus here). The Lord expects good works from us but we are not to claim any self justification of this ( Ephesians 2:8-10, Luke 17:5-10).

All Becomes New said:

To be honest, and this might be a bit of a separate issue, I find that I have fewer and fewer people I can see eye to eye with as a Christian. I find myself being more and more theologically homeless.

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I feel exactly the same, I do not fit with any current denomination and am still looking for one that fits scripture.

When I was a little boy, my uncle once told me about his chance encounter with former NBA Basketball star, Michael Jordan—my childhood hero. While interviewing for a job at a Cleveland hotel, my uncle ran into Jordan in a parking garage elevator of all places. As Jordan left the elevator, my uncle said, “Good luck tonight!” That night Jordan crushed my Cleveland Cavaliers.

I was shocked that my uncle didn’t ask for his autograph—as a young boy, I chased professional athletes’ autographs—they were like gold. But as I’ve aged, my heroes are no longer those who play sports, and autographs are no longer currency. Instead, I find heroic those who follow God’s will, and I seek out their blessings so that I may do the same.

In my life, I have been blessed to meet Fr. Benedict Groeschel, Fr. Andrew Apostoli, Fr. Thomas Dubay, and to be within one foot of Pope Benedict XVI. These men inspire me and my work.

On Thursday August 1st, I was invited to be on EWTN’s “Women of Grace” show. To my great delight, I overhead that his Eminence, Raymond Cardinal Burke would be arriving at the studio that evening—specifically when and where we did not know (for security purposes). Cardinal Burke was my “Michael Jordan;” I look up to him in many ways.

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Hebrews‬ ‭8‬:‭

7‬ For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

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If God is perfect, why must God make a second covenant? Did He make a mistake on the first covenant, which motivated Him to create another one?"

No, this has to do with God's modus operandi of gradual revelation, also known as progressive revelation. It is the theological concept that God's plans were not revealed all at once, but gradually over time throughout biblical history. This concept helps explain the developmental nature of some theological ideas.

Some examples of gradual revelation in the Bible:

• The understanding of God evolved from early Israelite monolatry to explicit monotheism.
• Messianic prophecies became increasingly specific from Genesis to the later prophets.
• The concept of the afterlife developed from vague references in the early Old Testament to clearer teachings in later prophets and the New Testament.
• God's gradual revelation to Abram
• God's gradual revelation to Joseph

This concept recognized that God communicated in ways appropriate to the recipients' cultural and historical context. God's revelation unfolded over time, becoming clearer and more complete as history progressed. The revelation culminated in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

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In her prescient book, Rights Talk: The Impoverishment of Political Discourse, Mary Ann Glendon of the Harvard Law School warned her fellow Americans in 1993 that our public life was being degraded by the promiscuous use of the language of “rights” as a rhetorical intensifier in campaigns to promote this, that, or the other thing: things that the Founders and Framers would never have imagined to be “rights.” “Rights talk,” Professor Glendon cautioned, sets the individual against the community, as it privileges personal autonomy – “I did it my way” – over the common good. And that, she concluded, was going to be very bad for the American experiment in ordered liberty over the long haul.

The long haul has now arrived. And the results are every bit as bad as Professor Glendon predicted.

Nowhere has this descent into verbal incontinence created as malodorous a public stench as in the profligate use of the self-contradictory phrase “reproductive rights.” What can that term possibly mean if we’re not in Alice’s Wonderland? “Reproductive rights” is a euphemism for abortion. Elective abortion is the willful destruction of a human being at an early stage of his or her development. How can the destruction of that human being – whose biological humanity is affirmed in high school textbooks – be a matter of exercising a reproductive right when the process in question is intended to end reproduction by expulsion from the womb or fetal dismemberment?

Yet this blatantly deceptive – in fact, absurd – term, “reproductive rights,” was recently embraced by the Republican Party’s presidential candidate shortly after the Democratic National Convention celebrated abortion as if it were a civic sacrament – indeed, the civic sacrament, before which all must bow in worship. There is something quite sick about all this. And mutterings about the “lesser of evils” are of little consolation when what is being embraced as a “right” by the putatively lesser miscreant is, in truth, the deliberate destruction of an innocent human life – which is, this side of blasphemy, about as evil as evil gets.

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Bradskii said:

I think that I now know who to go to if there's something financial in a thread I don't understand.

Thanks.

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Well there is lots of disagreement on economics, policies and all that stuff. Lots of room for improvement for everyone. Glad I could review some theory. The big worry coming up (besides war) is what if inflation ticks up slightly and growth slows down. Stagflation can be real.

Thinking back to when my children were babies, I remember carrying each on my left side. Being right-handed, it seemed to make sense to hold a baby on the left so my right hand was free to do other things. My husband, however, who is left-handed, said he carried our children on the left side because it was his dominant hand.

Apparently (no pun intended), we aren't the only couple who prefers to carry our young on the left hand side. In fact, according to psychiatrist, philosopher and neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist, this preferred pattern has been around for millennia.


In his deeply insightful 2009 book, The Master and His Emissary, McGilchrist reports that "[t]he right hemisphere's affinity for both the perception and expression of emotion appears to be confirmed by the strong universal tendency to cradle infants with their faces to the left, so that they fall within the principal domain of attention of the adult's right hemisphere, and they are exposed to the adults own more emotionally expressive left hemiface." In other words, the right hemisphere of the brain is more focused on emotions and relationships, so therefore the left hand side, which wires to the right hemisphere, has an easier time of engaging with emotional triggers, like a baby. McGilchrist adds that "even left handed mothers display the leftward cradling bias."

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The word ‘place’ can both mislead and make us uncomfortable. I still think we should consider the ‘place’ of man and woman because it makes us reckon with something that demands attention. How to be a man or woman will always be a central feature of becoming who we are. And it’s something we need to figure out.

Think of any past hero or great person today. Being a man or a woman has been refined and developed in that person. Ever so gracefully and naturally, masculinity or femininity is a hallmark of the person’s life.

Human greatness always has the same essential features, such as the cardinal virtues. Yet at the same time, the wise have asserted that these virtues are lived differently by men and women. There is real difference even in the very ‘same’ things: a difference that is meaningful and beautiful, and life-giving. We might think of it as two distinct but complementary modes of human life. Each is equally human. And only through a recognition and living out of the difference will the fullness of human life be enacted.

But why is this difference so difficult to understand and enact? Perhaps if we consider that simply to live a truly human life is an arduous task, we will not be surprised that this too is arduous. A pre-Christian philosopher like Socrates saw that the richness of a good life demands a habit of rigorous reflection and examination. How to be a man or woman must be part and parcel of such examination.

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Theocracy is dangerous just because presuming one is legitimately speaking for God is demanded, it leads to corrupt things like the Inquisition, and any such torturing and slaughtering heretics who think differently to some significant extent... which has happened, as many of us know. When Christ returns it will be different, with God's will, which is always with God's love, manifest then. We can until then only come towards that willingly, individually, and with trusting God's guidance, not forsaking learning what we can from reading what we can from the Bible we have available.

COMMENTARY: The U.S. media appear distressingly uninterested in pursuing the details about why two would-be assassins have targeted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference regarding an apparent assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on Sept. 17 in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Governor announced that the State of Florida's law enforcement will do their own investigation into the incident, which the FBI said "appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump' while he was golfing at Trump International Golf Club. (photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

Our Lord instructed the Apostles to “be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves” before sending them out to retrieve the lost sheep of Israel in the Gospel of Matthew.

This directive could not be more apt for journalists and news consumers attempting to discern the truth through the smoke and mirrors of the present media landscape. Case in point: the dissembling coverage of the second assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump, which was cleverly conflated with the migrant controversy in Springfield, Ohio, to avoid casting Trump in a sympathetic light.

Last weekend, a would-be assassin hid for 12 hours in the shrubbery of a Florida golf course with a scoped rifle. A Secret Service member on Trump’s detail spotted the gun’s barrel poking through the leaves and opened fire, causing the alleged gunman, identified as a pro-Ukraine radical named Ryan Wesley Routh, to flee to his sports utility vehicle. Had it not been for a civilian snapping a photo of Routh’s license plate as he escaped, he might never have been apprehended.

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KevinT said:

I wouldn't have come to that conclusion. What makes you think this way?

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I was guessing.

KevinT said:

Because S1 lied?

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Yes.

tonychanyt said:

Can her actions be viewed as part of a divine plan?

Yes, that would depend on the definition of divine plan.

Can Delilah be considered a tool for divine justice?

Yes, God used every one, Delilah, Samson, and the Philistines,

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Judges 14:14 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.”

3 His father and mother replied, “Isn’t there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?”

But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me. She’s the right one for me.” 4 (His parents did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines; for at that time they were ruling over Israel.)

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Yes, God (or one of God's angels working according to God's plans) was working to stir up conflict with the Philistines so that the Israelites would be kicked out of complacency.

KT