Hans Blaster said:

Persuading people is how activist/advocacy groups work. (They don't "dictate policy". SMH.)

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Sure they do...I'll explain below in the next bit...

Hans Blaster said:

OK, you found some. And I don't care. Extremists have extreme positions and often aren't friendly to those in their direction, but in the middle. (You should know this. Your whole posting position is built around these kinds of things.) The issue was whether they were rejected for holding such a "legal but rare" position by the broad groups supporting abortion rights. (For example the Democratic Party.)

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"The middle" doesn't have any noteworthy PACs or lobbying forces.

They control policy on certain issues by either bolstering up or tamping down certain candidates (usually in a primary environment).

If there's two democrats (one who's moderate on abortion and another who's position aligns with their own), they buy ads, send out mailers and texts, etc... to make sure people see the one who agrees with them as the "true defender of women's rights", and label the other as a "sellout" or weak.

It's often known as the AIPAC playbook, but they all do it.

If you want to see how advocacy/activist groups control policy, this is how


If a candidate isn't voting the way they like on certain issues, they spend the money required to get them replaced with someone who will. (and then others get the message)

Hans Blaster said:

Good grief this is going nowhere. If you want a demonstration that a lot of "pro-choice" people *aren't* denigrating those who take the "legal but rare" position, just look at the way the VP is campaigning on this issue. She speaks of "restoring Roe", not some absolutist, extremist position from the NARAL playbook.

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"How she's campaigning on the issue"

Like being the first President or Vice President in history to do a meet & greet and public appearance at an abortion clinic?


Harris still dodged, however, on providing details about what type of restrictions – if any – she supports around abortion. Instead, she pivoted: saying that she wants to “reinstate the protections of Roe,”

Why did she dodge & pivot? If a centrist position on this is "acceptable" to wide swaths of "regular" pro-choice advocates (or "extreme" pro-choice activists are just a fringe few that nobody is afraid of and don't have any stroke), she should've been able to directly answer the question and proclaim the centrist position on it without fear, correct?

The reality is, she's afraid to tick off NARAL for the same reasons republicans are afraid to tick off the NRA. Doesn't matter if either of those groups are "ideologically radical"... they're one phone/text/mailer campaign or TV commercial away from having their campaign getting torpedoed if they don't "kiss the ring"

They're one text/email blast campaign (which can reach millions of people for a relatively low cost) from having 10+ million people get a negative message about them.

FenderTL5 said:

Reminds me of this one:
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"..can't you see you're not making Christianity better, your just making rock and roll worse."
Hank Hill - King of the Hill

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Yes. I can take about 30 minutes of klove, or any other ccm station. I do like some southern gospel, but I get burnt out pretty quick, on the Gaither channel on Sirius XM

On the secular side; in my younger days, I was a big prog rock fan (RUSH, Jethro tull, etc) and many of those songs have deep lyrics -their song: The Temples of Syrinx from RUSH's 2112 album, reminds me of the times we're in today.

Alan Jackson also has some great meaningful songs ("Remember When" to name one, as well as Waylon.

Grafted In said:

Since my having been baptized as a young child and that it meant nothing to me, and 20 some years later becoming born again in a dramatic manner and being baptized several weeks later was called into question on another thread, does perhaps baptism come before salvation?

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Define salvation. See Once saved, always saved?

Vambram said:

This is a great and I am glad to read that article. Also, I the pray that the improvements in ultra sound quality of technology shall greatly reduce the numbers of abortions.

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Me too!

I sincerely hope Florida does the right thing.

All ye holy Roman martyrs, pray for us.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican’s doctrine office has mandated the laicization of an Argentine priest accused of sexually abusing minors, overturning a surprise ruling from the Vatican Secretariat of State that imposed limitations on the priest’s activities.

In an Oct. 8 communiqué published via the news service of the Argentine bishops’ conference, Archbishop John Kennedy, head of the disciplinary section of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that the information regarding the restrictions placed on a priest specified by the Secretariat of State were “voided” and confirmed previous rulings for his laicization.

The case involves former Argentine priest Ariel Alberto Príncipi, who was accused in 2021 of sexually abusing minors while performing “healing prayers” associated with a Catholic charismatic movement. In June 2023, a local interdiocesan court found Príncipi guilty of sexually abusing minors and ruled for his removal from the priesthood. This decision was upheld on appeal by the interdiocesan court of Buenos Aires in April 2024.

Yet in a Sept. 23 message, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the substitute secretary for general affairs at the Vatican Secretariat of State, informed the local bishop that the ruling had been suspended as part of an “extraordinary procedure” following new evidence submitted by Argentine bishops and laypeople in June and July 2024.

Continued below.

Has nothing to do with what this forum was created for.

Anonymous 12345 said:

I feel alone and lonely, plus a single mum with little/ no support so there was already no social life
Sometimes feel like there is no one to talk to about it either because no one will understand.

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The church is our family. Our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers. There are some really good churches out there with really good fellowship. Also to worship with our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord is amazing. There is nothing better than to worship, praise, honor and glorify God. I always thought if I were put in isolation somewhere I could always fellowship with God. Of course we have the angels also. I have dreams and visions but we are not allowed to talk about that on here.

When we go from marriage to single or single to marriage that means we need to change our close friends. It is the same when we get saved we need to get rid of our old friends and get new christian friends. I wanted to keep my old friends but I could not deal with the misery they cause themselves when God is not a part of their life. They just do not want to repent and turn away from their sin.

Lady Bug said:

It was a Yay, but I'm struggling to look at my situation in a positive light.

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Well, 'good for you' that you kept the appointment.

Lady Bug said:

I was dismayed over how I looked in the photo. I know however that people will say I'm being too hard on myself. I also know that we don't perceive ourselves in the same way that other perceive us, in pictures that is. But still. I have gained about 15 to 20 pounds in the past 6 months, and it shows IMHO. Other people don't realize the difference because they don't know me well enough, but it's still disheartening for me to know that has happened to my face and body. My face looks fatter and older IMHO and I think I can see depression underneath my eyes. What bothered me is how light my eyebrows looked. My eyebrows never had enough hair on it, and perhaps I could have used some "eyebrow mascara" to darken them, but I never use that type of makeup (even though I have it), and I feel weird when I try it on. They're supposed to mail the pics in a few weeks and send a digital version in the same time span, but everything was so expensive that I'm tempted to contact that company that came onto the church campus and just stick with the free 8 by 10 with a "small" fee for embellishment (filtering). I don't want to pay that much for photos where I'm not happy with my appearance. Even if I were happy with it, it's too expensive

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More times than not, I don't photograph well. So I get your concerns. (I'd probably just take the free pic, too. Even if just to keep it for myself, as a remembrance of this period in my life.)

Lady Bug said:

I'm starting to feel apathy toward my parish too. It doesn't make sense because I can't find anything negative about this parish, and for me to say such a thing is a major declaration. This year's Easter Vigil made me feel so alive at this parish, but at my previous parish I felt absolutely nothing at their EV for two years in a row.

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Feelings of apathy aren't always trustworthy ones, that's what I have to tell myself sometimes ... and especially if I'm experiencing depression. In so many ways, depression lies to us.

But even if your feelings of apathy are grounded in reality, at least you have some place to call 'my church', for now. Since you participated in the photo album project, they will probably consider you more now as 'part of the family', and I think that counts for something good. If you're ever in the hospital, need a priest, etc.? Your parish now knows you alittle better, and will be thinking of you as 'family'.

Lady Bug said:

I think I'm not going to be happy anywhere, because no matter how many friends/acquaintances I garner, they're not going to be able to substitute for the relatives I'll never have.

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That's some very good insight you have into yourself, and you may be right.

So that tells me that the church isn't the problem, but the problem is lack of family.

I won't bore you with details about my birth family, but suffice it to say that many years ago I learned to regard the Body of Christ as my true family, and my family forever. We have our birth family; we have our spiritual family. I love them both, but my birth family doesn't relate to my commitment to Christ, so we aren't able to share that level of intimacy. But my spiritual family does understand, shares the same goals, and so that is where I find true connection.

I hope the steps you've recently taken to be included in your church photo album will prove fruitful for you.

Vambram said:

I agree with the comparisons of "Brave" to songs by Matt Redman, Big Daddy Weave, and Seventh Day Slumber.
Also, always my brother, I love the Scriptures you post which always shows the Biblical truth found in the song lyrics.

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Thank you. We must always be brave, brother, no matter what happens in the world, as this life is temporary and God protects us. I love scripture, as it is important to see if the songs are Biblical, and so far, these songs connect with the Bible so well.

Why was Christianity so successful as to bring down an indifferent secular empire? They followed Christ's commands and did not just take his name. The Romans hated the Christians and loved to see them brutally tortured, but they could not dent their conviction of the truth and the fact that they loved each other and their enemies.

Jesus said if any man come after me, let him first deny himself, take up his cross and follow in my footsteps.
Jesus footsteps lead to the Via Dolorosa or way of pain, not the prosperity gospel or the buddy christ mentality
Eternal life is so valuable it costs us everything. Do we believe that? Do we practice self mortification or make excuses for our lusts?
Do we love our enemies or merely pay lip service?

I know I need to repent, and I am going to follow Jesus by self denial

SavedByGrace3 said:

He was following Peter's advice.

1 Peter 3:10-11 KJV
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

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Right. So, in practicle terms, when a threat mounts up to anything outside God's will, that I can understand to qualify for "longsuffering", but when a threat is knocking at the door, at some point we do have scriptural justification to denfend the defenseless or our family or members of the body of Christ, will possibly be called on very early in our walk. It then now becomes a matter of NOT denying the faith (1 Timothy 5:8).

Job 33:6 said:

The Bible says nothing of Pangea. The Bible is not a geology textbook.

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Pangaea and Noah's Flood come from vastly different contexts: one is a geological concept, and the other is a biblical narrative. However, they both deal with profound transformations on Earth.

Pangaea, the supercontinent, existed around 300 million years ago and eventually drifted apart due to plate tectonics. Noah's Flood, on the other hand, is described in Genesis as a divine event to reset humanity.

Connecting these events through typology would require a bit of creative interpretation, seeing the massive shifts and changes in both as a symbolic parallel for transformation and new beginnings. It's a stretch

Okay, I’ll have to watch sometime! Sounds interesting, something his people s/b aware of. Someday it’ll be rebuilt!

Mt 7:

21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'

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They knew Jesus but Jesus didn't know them. Jesus didn't know them as someone who does the will of the Father. They used Jesus' name to prophesy, exorcize, and perform great works, but not according to the will of the Father. Jesus didn't send them to do all these showy works. They served themselves, not God. True discipleship involves not only outward actions but also an inward transformation of the heart that aligns with God's will.

RileyG said:

This might be going over my head, but is it essentially stating someone can save themselves without the grace of God and the Sacraments?

I think I completely misunderstood.

Blessings

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yes.

A new form of Pelagianism is spreading in our days, one in which the individual, understood to be radically autonomous, presumes to save oneself, without recognizing that, at the deepest level of being, he or she derives from God and from others. According to this way of thinking, salvation depends on the strength of the individual or on purely human structures, which are incapable of welcoming the newness of the Spirit of God.

On the other hand, a new form of Gnosticism puts forward a model of salvation that is merely interior, closed off in its own subjectivism. In this model, salvation consists in elevating oneself with the intellect beyond “the flesh of Jesus towards the mysteries of the unknown divinity.” It thus presumes to liberate the human person from the body and from the material universe, in which traces of the provident hand of the Creator are no longer found, but only a reality deprived of meaning, foreign to the fundamental identity of the person, and easily manipulated by the interests of man.

Following the publication of Dominus Iesus (2000), various theologians asked the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to further examine certain aspects already enunciated in that Declaration, suggesting a new Document on Christian salvation. In this respect, after having carefully studied this important issue, in collaboration with the Consulters of the Congregation, the Letter Placuit Deo on certain aspects of Christian salvation was presented. https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/03/01/180301b.pdf



I found this in Dominus Iesus in 20.
For those who are not formally and visibly members of the Church, “salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church, but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit”‌;81 it has a relationship with the Church, which “according to the plan of the Father, has her origin in the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit”‌.

New King James Version, 2 Corinthians 5:

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges:

behold, all things are become new] Many MSS., versions and recent editors omit ‘all things.’ The passage then stands ‘behold, they are become new.’ If we accept this reading, the passage speaks more clearly of a conversion of the whole man as he is, thoughts, habits, feelings, desires, into the image of Christ. The old is not obliterated, it is renovated.

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English Standard Version

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

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Benson Commentary:

2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore — Since all Christ’s true disciples do thus live to him, and not to themselves, and only know him in a spiritual manner; if any man be in Christ — By living faith and the indwelling of his Spirit; if any man have an interest in and union with him; he is a new creature — Καινη κτισις, there is a new creation, in the soul of that man. His understanding is enlightened, his judgment corrected, and he has new ideas and conceptions of things. His conscience is informed, awakened, and purged from guilt by the blood of Jesus, Hebrews 9:14. His will is subjected to the will of God, his affections drawn from earth to heaven, and his dispositions, words, and actions, his cares, labours, and pursuits, are all changed. Old things are passed away — All old principles and practices; behold — The present, visible, undeniable change! all things are become new — He has new life, namely, a spiritual and divine life; new spiritual senses, new faculties, new desires and designs, hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, passions and appetites. His whole tenor of action and conversation is new, and he lives as it were in a new world. God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, angels, men, sinners, saints, and the whole creation — heaven, earth, and all therein, appear in a new light, and stand related to him in a new manner, since he was created anew in Christ Jesus.

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After we are born of the Paraclete, we have a new spirit.

They disgust me to no end.

How long, O Lord?

Prayers for SF and all the unborn.

It's so sad to see how Western Europe has mostly abandoned Christianity and now bows down to the secular gods in this day and age. Prayer for a revival and an end to the culture of death.

Lord have mercy

Continued prayers for their safety

Thanks for posting

Basil the Great said:

As I recall, Pope Francis recently said that life's final test will be how we have treated the poor and the less fortunate. His statement seems to go along with what Jesus taught in the Gospel of Matthew.

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Following the Beatitudes in other words? Makes sense to me.