The United States Department of State (DOS) routinely issues condemnations of countries that fail to uphold religious freedom — but those harsh words are rarely followed by actions that lead to policy changes in those foreign governments, according to an analysis published this month.

After the United States adopted the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the DOS has issued regular reports that designate “countries of particular concern” (CPCs). The designation is reserved for countries with “systematic, ongoing, and egregious” violations of religious liberty, such as torture and other other types of inhumane treatment, prolonged detentions, abductions and disappearances, and other flagrant denials of life, liberty, or security of persons.

Although the legislation requires the president to either sanction or take other actions against a country designated as a CPC, all five presidents since 1998 have found workarounds to avoid taking new action against most countries that are added to the list.

Continued below.

Michie said:

Bishop Emeritus Edward Slattery of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, passed away at age 84 on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. | Credit: Diocese of Tulsa

Edward Slattery, the bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, passed away at age 84 on Friday following a series of debilitating strokes, diocesan officials said.

“Bishop Slattery was a man of deep faith who knew that death would bring him to his Lord,” Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma Bishop David Konderla said in a Saturday statement. “I was blessed to follow in his footsteps in the diocese and will remember him with fondness and prayer.”

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Peter Wells, who grew up in Oklahoma and was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Tulsa in 1991, shared that he was “deeply saddened” by Slattery’s passing.

Continued below.

Oklahoma Bishop Emeritus Edward Slattery passes away at 84

“Bishop Slattery was a man of deep faith who knew that death would bring him to his Lord,” Tulsa Bishop David Konderla said in a Saturday statement.

www.catholicnewsagency.com

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I listened on Friday to the outstanding homily he gave a few years ago at the National Basilica. It's well worth finding. Fr Z clued me in and advised that Slattery was on death's door and could use some prayers.

For Facebook users:


Or

mp3 format:

Armchair Apologist said:

I also got quite an education regarding the charismatics and certain cults and I went to the Philippines for a couple of weeks and met the lady who is now my wife!

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Nice testimony, AA!

We weren't saved at the time we were there, so we never went to church.

There was a St John's Episcopal School on Marine Drive that let the Chamorro Chess Club meet though.

Anyway, if you ever go back, go to Pizza Hut and get a Portuguese sausage pizza!

Talk about good!

Fearful said:

Your post of September 9 about if we go on sinning deliberately. I have sinned deliberately, many times. I want to repent, but I fear I have crossed the line and Christ will not forgive.

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God will forgive anyone who wants to be forgiven.
With that want, however, there must be an intent not to sin ever again.
Peter put it together nicely in Acts 2:38..."Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
First, a turn from sinning.
Second, the washing by the blood of Christ of all past sins.
Third, the equipping, by God, to prevail over future temptations.

Don't waste another minute thinking God will not have mercy on you !

中国和非洲合作会议期间，很多非洲穆斯林来到北京海淀清真寺参加周五的崇拜。我个人也可以参加在清真寺的崇拜。Allah（词根接近亚兰和希伯来的El） 这个词也被阿拉伯和东南亚基督教采用为指代最高神。 但是伊斯兰意义的Allah是否是圣经意义的Elohim, 阿拉伯基督教仍有争议。犹太教和伊斯兰教的交流比基督教和伊斯兰教的交流更深入。

During the China Africa Cooperation Conference, many African Muslims came to the Haidian Mosque in Beijing to attend Friday worship（Zumar）. I personally can also participate in worship at the mosque. The word Allah (whose root is similar to El in Aramaic and Hebrew) is also used by Arab and Southeast Asian Christianity to refer to the highest God. However, there is still controversy over whether the Islamic meaning of Allah is the biblical meaning of Elohim in Arab Christianity. The exchange between Judaism and Islam is deeper than that between Christianity and Islam.

图为北京海淀清真寺
The picture shows the Haidian Mosque in Beijing



And my girlfriend and I are both Huichu(Chinese with Middle Eastern blood lineage and culture). She has no religion but can take part in the activities of Christianity、Judaism、Islam、Buddhism、Taoism etc with me. She has freedom to choose the way.

chevyontheriver said:

Well, something's gotta be done. Good virtuous Catholic young women and good virtuous Catholic young men can't seem to find each other anymore. I know there are some of each out there.

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Check out this idea from Japan:

(I excised the author's pessimism about this approach, which I don't really share.)

DennisF said:

Thanks. This is quite helpful. To further the discussion, when Yahweh Elohim appears in the prophets or elsewhere, can it possibly be rendered as the "Lord of gods"?

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I'm hardly an expert. But based on what little I know, I don't think that it can. The Tetragrammaton doesn't mean "Lord". We render YHWH as "The LORD" due to an ancient tradition that goes back to Second Temple Judaism, where it was common to substitute the Tetragrammaton with the Hebrew word for "lord", which is adonai. When the translators of the LXX rendered the Tetragrammaton into Greek, they used the Greek translation of adonai, which was kyrios. This practice is seen, also, in the New Testament; in large part because the NT quotes the LXX, even verbatim. Since the earliest Christians relied on the LXX as their Old Testament, when the Scriptures were translated into other languages, such as Latin, this same thing was retained. So the Vulgate uses dominus.

In the late Middle Ages we see a re-introduction of the Tetragrammaton. Through what was probably a scholarly mistake. In the 10th century AD the Masoretic sages who were part of the move to revitalize Hebrew among the Jewish Diaspora and reading of the Tanakh in Hebrew (since the time of Jesus it had been common to read the Tanakh in Aramaic translation among both Palestinian Jews and Diaspora Jews). In order to facilitate this the Masoretes created a system of vowel markers to aid reading of Hebrew, called niqqud. One of the unique facets of the Masoretic Text which they produced is that it includes the niqqud for ease of reading, but they intentionally used the niqqud for "Adonai" in the Tetragrammaton, to indicate to the reader to say "Adonai" rather than pronounce the Divine Name.

When we take YHVH (or YHWH) and add the vowels of Adonai we get YaHoVaH. As a result we get the Latinized Iahovah/Iehovah. Take the consonontal 'i' and give it a tail and we get the letter 'J', so Iehovah -> Jehovah. So we get "Jehovah" occasionally in some early modern Bibles, but more commonly English language translations stick with the traditional usage of using "lord" as a substitute. The KJV, relying on the Masoretic Text, the LXX, the Vulgate, and the critical Greek texts of Erasmus, Stephanus, and Bezae fundamentally set the standard in English Bibles. When the Tetragrammaton appears, the KJV type-faced it as "The LORD"; alternatively where the Tetragrammaton appears alongside Adonai, the KJV chose to type-face it as "GOD" as in "The Lord GOD". Though the KJV on a couple occasions does use the Latinized corrupted form of the Tetragrammaton, "Jehovah", but it is sparsely used.

As for what the four letter Name of God means, I don't think there is anything resembling a conclusive answer. But the most popular theory is that the Name is taken from the same tri-consonontal root as the Hebrew verb hayeh (H-Y-H) "to be" or "I am". As in where God says to Moses in the burning bush, "I am that I am" as the answer to Moses' question of what God's name is, who God is. In other words it's theorized that the four letter Name of God means something like "The one that is" or "He is". God says "I am" and so His Name is "He is".

As far as I'm aware (which, take that with a huge grain of salt) to get something like "lord of the gods" would require some kind of construction involving the word Adonai, or another Hebrew word that could mean "lord", the only other suitable Hebrew word I know of would be ba'al. The problem with ba'al, of course is that while it does infrequently get used in reference to God, and it is used generically to mean something like "sir" in reference to human beings, the word ba'al is pretty infamous for its common usage among Canaanite and other Levantine pagan gods. The various "ba'als" which the the Israelites were constantly being rebuked for worshiping instead of God.

DennisF said:

Another question: Is there a collective singular in Hebrew? (I gave an example in British English of "city have" which in American English would be "city has" - a plurality of people in city rendered a collective singular. If so, could in Gen. 1:1 the same apply grammatically in Hebrew to elohim bara? I am looking at the possibilities, not being well-versed in Hebrew.

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When it comes to Hebrew I'm really only good for regurgitating what I've read from people way smarter than myself. I don't know if Hebrew has collective singular nouns.

-CryptoLutheran

It’s time for the fourth volume. Once again, I don’t own the Left Behind series or any of the canon characters. All rights go to Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. I only own my OC’s. Hope you enjoy.

Prologue

*****
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius,and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine.
Revelation 6:5-6

mourningdove~ said:

Yes. She lied, and lied, and lied.

In case you haven't yet seen this:

25 Lies Kamala Harris Told In Her Debate Against Trump

Here are 25 of the biggest falsehoods Kamala Harris told during her Tuesday night debate with Donald Trump.

thefederalist.com

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Thanks for the article.

Why am I not surprised?

SMH

Well duh.

Glory to God!

I wonder how many followers he had? I think the late "Pope" Michael had around 30 or less.

May God continue to bless and protect the people of Brazil

That's sounds really fascinating! I would love to go to the New England area at least once in my lifetime.

tonychanyt said:

Genesis 2:


LORD
יְהוָ֥ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

God
אֱלֹהִ֖ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

made
עֲשׂ֛וֹת (‘ă·śō·wṯ)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 6213: To do, make

The sequence <H3068 H430> (more precisely יהוה אלהים) appears 1157 times in the OT. It is one noun followed by another in apposition. This grammatical side-by-side formation refers to the same entity. Both words are in the absolute state, not the construct state. On Biblehub, 27 used "LORD God"; 2 "Lord God"; 2 "Yehweh God"; 3 "Jehovah God". None used "Lord of gods". Translating יהוה אלהים as "Lord of gods" would be wrong because it is not a genitive construct state. It is an apposition.

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'YHWH Elohim' semantically is a full combination of the proper name (YHWH) + title/function (Elohim).

It's the exact same construct as e.g. 'Yeshua Hamashiach' / 'Jesus Christ'.

The first word is the name/identity - the second word their title/function/position.

ValeriyK2022 said:

We do not intersect with them in any way, so I have never been interested in this issue before. Never in my life have I had the opportunity to not only talk to, but even see a representative of these churches. Also, I am not a clergyman and do not have a spiritual education. I am an ordinary parishioner of the UOC. If they are really Orthodox, then that is very good.

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Indeed, its a profound blessing, and I don’t think any live in the Ukraine, although there are some in Russia (Moscow, specifically), Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK, and eastern Turkey, Tur Abdin, used to be a major population center before the genocide in 1915 which they call the Sayfo (the Sword), and some Suriac Orthodox still live there, but they
experience constant danger.

HarleyER said:

I was just at a prayer meeting last night where we closed with the Doxology. Several weeks ago we recited the Nicene Creed during the church service.

I suppose the only thing spontaneous is when we cite the creeds, Lord's Prayer, and doxologies. There is order to the service, but it isn't like some of the more formalized liturgical services which might have a common book of prayers, common homilies, etc.

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Interesting! Thanks for answering

tonychanyt said:

The English noun "fish" can function as a collective singular. Similarly, Ex 7:


Brown-Driver-Briggs: דָּגָה> noun feminine fish … almost always collective.

Hebrew had collective singulars, e.g., a collective singular noun followed by a singular verb to denote a collection of objects.

On the other hand, Ge 1:


God
אֱלֹהִ֑ים (’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

created
בָּרָ֣א (bā·rā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1254: To create, to cut down, select, feed

This was not an example of collective singular. The noun was plural in form. And then it broke the usual grammatical rule. It was followed by a singular verb. The noun and verb did not agree in number.

Now, the British English phrase "city have" is an example of a collective plural.

Was 'elohim' in Ge 1:1 a collective singular?

No.

Was 'elohim' in Ge 1:1 a collective plural?

No.

What was it then?

It was an unusual construct that broke the usual grammatical rule.

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Not knowing enough Hebrew I'll have to defer to your answer but I am suspicious of this because being familiar with the extensive nuances of language, it seems to me contrived to make this an "unusual construct" when it seems that an alternative is the collective singular for the verb.

Another angle to this is that the Hebrew language in scripture extends over centuries - over a millennium - and would not have remained static that long. Are there grammatical differences between paleo-Hebrew and, say, post-captivity (square-letter) Hebrew? I suppose that much of what is known of Hebrew is of the later Hebrew, not so much of paleo-Hebrew or "Phoenician". That makes me wonder.

chunkofcoal said:

That verse in context Paul is telling people they need to get along -
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
(Gal 5:13-15)

But James also said:
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
(Jas 2:8)

And Yeshua said:
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
(Mat 7:12)

So, what are they teaching? How is what they are saying to be understood?

If you read your quote from Yeshua in context, notice He says "the second is like unto it" -
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
(Mat 22:37-40)

So, how is "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" like unto "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind"?

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You just reminded me of something I was to mention.

@visionary
1 John 4:20, 21
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

Obeying the second commandment is required to obey the first.
We cannot obey the first, if we are not obeying the second.

Nithavela said:

I don't know if that's such a big change. In both stories, he was going vigilante against something he apparently thought was evil. In the first story, he helped in taking down a criminal, in the second story, he tried to kill a former president of the USA. Seems to me like a change in degrees of violence and social acceptance of the target instead of complete change.

(To be clear, I'm not condoning trying to shoot Trump. Just speculating on the mans deranged thought processes.)

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Yeah, it does sound like the man has changed his tactics, and became more violent between 1991 and 2024. I am curious what his religion is. Some religious fanatics like to commit violence it seems, regardless of religion or denomination.

All Praise, Thanks, Glory & Honor to Jesus Christ for ensuring that political leaders in India are kept Humble due to recent elections that have led to a parliament with larger share of seats won by the opposition parties:

Rxlx said:

Geology merely proves The Flood and the Upheavals of the Day of Peleg.

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Yep, and the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Archeology proved that one.

DennisF said:

What is the difference in meaning between (H7854 satan) and (H6862 tsar)? If H6862 is best rendered "adversary" what of H7854? Accuser?

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See Compare H6862-adversary and H7854-satan-adversary and follow up there